by Krista | May 26, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
CEC (cooking group) this week was a jolly affair as folks brought fixings for All-American food. The theme was chosen by our dear friend and meat-smoker extraordinaire, Cameron, who is departing for South Africa this week. A talented artist, he has been commissioned to create a piece for the lobby of a home that provides help and support to victims of the sex trade and human trafficking. If you are interested in understanding more about the need for this difficult but important work, please watch this 10-minute documentary.
We will miss him greatly, but are proud as can be of this good thing he’s doing, and can’t wait to hear all about his adventures later this summer.
Since he’ll be dining on South African fare for the next while, Cameron wanted his going away party to feature home-cooking. 🙂
I was on dish duty this week, but the others made one fabulous American dish after another!!
Deborah made her wildly popular Coconut Pineapple Sliders, the toasted rolls spread with coconut milk solids instead of mayonnaise or butter. Yum!!
Jon made deliciously chunky potato salad with all sorts of lovely spices.
Toby whipped up a wonderfully creamy coleslaw with green and red cabbage.
These are what we fondly refer to as “Don’s Hot Buns.” I do not take any responsibility for this moniker. 🙂
Don’s juicy burgers were topped with crispy bacon and slices of creamy Havarti cheese.
Jason delighted all of us by making two big pans of Blackened Louisiana Alligator Spicy Mac and Cheese. Alligator!!! I was thrilled. 🙂
Jack finished off our meal with this gorgeous fruit salad featuring strawberries, mangoes, cherries and grapes in a creamy base of whipped cream and cottage cheese.
Last, but not least was Darren’s homemade ice cream to go with berry shortcake. Alas, I forgot to get a picture. Sigh. Better luck next time! 🙂
What is the strangest food you’ve eaten recently?
This post is my contribution to Wanderfood Wednesday!
Toby’s Creamy Coleslaw
(From Epicurious)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 lb green cabbage, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced (8 cups)
3 medium carrots, shredded
Directions:
- Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined well, then toss with cabbage and carrots.
- Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature, tossing occasionally, until wilted, about 30 minutes.
- Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Deborah’s Coconut Pineapple Sliders
Ingredients:
1 pound hamburger
3/4 can pineapple tidbits
1 cup shredded coconut
1-2 Tbsp coconut milk, enough to moisten
King’s Hawaiian Rolls, halved and toasted
3-4 Tbsp coconut milk solids
Directions:
- Mix hamburger, pineapple, coconut and coconut milk together. Let sit in fridge overnight.
- Form small patties with ice cream scoop and grill to desired doneness.
- Spread toasted rolls with coconut milk solids.
- Place burger between rolls and serve immediately.
Jason’s Blackened Louisiana Alligator Spicy Mac and Cheese
Alligator Ingredients:
1 lb alligator tenderloin
1 cup milk
1 tsp white vinegar
Directions for the night before:
- Place alligator in glass bowl and cover with milk and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Alligator Rub Ingredients:
4 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp salt
Directions:
- Remove alligator from marinate and pat dry with paper towels.
- Coat both sides with the rub.
- Heat up a skillet with a small amount of vegetable oil until smoking.
- Turn to medium high and blacken each side of the gator for 6 minutes.
Macaroni Ingredients:
1 lb macaroni noodles
1 ½ lb grated pepper jack cheese
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
½ cup pickled paprika, diced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 ½ cups milk
½ cup gluten free flour blend
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp garlic salt
1/8 of a red hot chili pepper, diced.
Cayenne pepper to taste
1-2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Macaroni Directions:
- Cook (gluten free) macaroni noodle according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Heat remaining ingredients except cheddar cheese over medium heat, stirring until heated through and has a nice smooth consistency.
- Mix the sauce with the noodles and stir in chopped blackened alligator.
- Fill two 9×11 Pyrex pans with the Mac and Cheese.
- Top with shredded sharp cheddar and bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Jon’s Potato Salad
Ingredients:
Four potatoes boiled, then chopped
1 cup of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon yellow curry
Cracked pepper
Salt
1-2 tsp paprika
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
A dash of white wine vinegar
4 dill pickles, chopped
Half of a red onion, chopped fine and steamed briefly to soften.
Directions:
- Place cubed potatoes, onion, and pickles in bowl.
- In separate bowl mix mayonnaise, curry, pepper, salt, paprika, and vinegar.
- Pour dressing over potato mixture and stir until evenly coated. Let sit at least 30 minutes for flavors to meld. Serve.
by Krista | May 19, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
Monday was one of those ghastly days where everything seemed to go wrong. I was exhausted and on the verge of tears as I worked feverishly to fix one mess after another when suddenly, like a burst of sunshine after days of fog, everything righted itself and all was well. Phew.
Just in time too, for it was Deep Fried Game Hen night at CEC, my cooking club, and I so didn’t want to miss that! My brain was mush by this point so I sent a plea over Twitter for recommendations for gluten-free desserts. @saffronberry recommended financiers, @Valerie_78 suggested my favorite Nanaimo Bars, and @DuchessinBK urged me to try mini pavlovas with cream and berries. Although they all sounded divine, a quick scan of the contents of my cupboard and fridge decided it for me: the pavlovas. Duchess was lovely enough to type the recipe out for me (thank you!!) and after reading it through I figured I could tweak it a bit to suit my ingredients: limes and mangoes. Oooee, I could hardly wait to give it a whirl. 🙂
I arrived at CEC with arms full, oh so ready for a glass of Petite Sirah to calm my frazzled nerves. Selwyn started us off with a dazzling array of fabulous cheeses: Stilton with Dried Cranberries, Hot Wasabi Aged Cheddar and Smoked Gouda with bacon. Mmm, mmm!!
This was followed by a lovely mixed green salad topped with Toby’s delicious Reduced Balsamic Dressing.
We could smell the main course before we saw it, heavenly scents of deep fried game hen and grilled veggies wafting in through the screen door.
At last Cameron brought in the first batch of hens, slicing through the salty, crispy skin to reveal a spiced pear stuffing inside. Amazing!!!
Deb and Darren grilled asparagus, squash and sweet peppers, and they were the perfect smoky accompaniment to the sprightly salad and savory chicken.
Alas, I cannot share the chicken recipe with you for it involves a “Secret Family Recipe” of spices, but if you can come up with your own concoction of spices, simply rub it all over the chicken before frying to give the skin an out of this world flavor.
We ended the evening with my Lime Pavlovas topped with vanilla cream, fresh mangoes and blackberries. I gotta say those meringues were fantastic. Duchess knows what she’s talking about!!! I adored the addition of lime zest and the mangoes went beautifully with the citrus.
What is the best food you’ve eaten this week, dear ones? 🙂
Before I forget!! I got my RSS feed and email subscription sorted out. If you’d like to receive blog updates, feel free to sign up. 🙂
Today is my first day of participation in WanderFood Wednesday! 🙂 It’s a place for travel writers to share photos, stories, recipes, book reviews and any other food-related topics with other foodies (and non-foodies!).
Toby’s Reduced Balsamic Dressing
3-4 teaspoons reduced balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Hawaiian sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, peeled, green germ removed, and minced
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
7 ounces (210 g) mixed salad greens (8 cups, loosely packed), such as escarole, oak-leaf, and romaine, rinsed, patted dry, and torn into bite-size pieces
Directions:
- Place the vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, and garlic in a medium-size bowl and whisk together until blended. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking constantly, until the dressing is emulsified.
- Add the greens and toss well until they are coated with the dressing. Season with pepper to taste and serve the salad immediately.
Lime Pavlovas with Mangoes and Blackberries
(Adapted from @DuchessinBK)
Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbs vanilla
fresh berries
2 tbs orange zest (optional)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 230 degrees, and cover a cookie sheet with parchment.
- Start whipping whites, when just broken and slightly frothy, add tartar – whip it in well.
- Slowly, painfully slowly, add sugar while whipping (scrape down sides gently with rubber spatula)
- When soft peaks form, add 1 tbs of vanilla. Keep whipping until firm peaks form but be careful not to over-whip.
- Very carefully fold in orange zest
- Spoon onto cookie sheet. Depending on size, you’ll get 12+ per sheet. You’ll probably need two sheets.
- Bake for 1 hr. If its humid, 1 hr 20-30 minutes. (By the way, if its super humid, don’t even bother, the whites won’t whip up enough.)
- When finished, they should be completely white, give a hollow noise when you tap them, and still just slightly gooey inside.
- Let them cool completely.
- Meanwhile whip cream with 1 tbs of vanilla.
- Add a dollop of whipped cream to each meringue and add fruit on top.
by Krista | May 5, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
It’s so wonderful to arrive at CEC in daylight again! So lovely to putter in the kitchen as the sun streams in the windows shimmering through our wine glasses before sinking behind the trees. 🙂
This week we chose Cinco de Mayo as our theme, and we laughed as most of us arrived clutching recipes for a bevy of things to go with tortilla chips. We ended up having an appetizer dinner and not a soul complained. 🙂
Don started things off with his famous margaritas, some blended, some on the rocks.
Darren made fabulous guacamole, bright with cilantro and lime and a hint of spicy cumin.
I made a citrusy bowl of Tilapia Shrimp Ceviche, adding clementine juice to the lemon and lime to make it even better. 🙂
Selwyn made two massive pans of delicious nachos sprinkled with chilies, tomatoes, red onion, ground beef and all manner of goodness.
Cameron smoked a platter of deliciously seasoned carne asada that was tender and flavorful.
He also roasted corn on the cob and we eagerly slathered it with butter and sprinkled on a smattering of taco seasoning.
Mike made cheesy beefy taquitos that rounded things off nicely.
Deb finished off our feast with deliciously creamy sweet corn pudding.
What is your favorite Mexican food?
Krista’s Clementine Ceviche
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped fresh tilapia
1 cup chopped fresh shrimp or prawns
Juice of 6 lemons
Juice of 6 limes
Juice of 2-3 clementines
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 red onion, chopped fine
1/2 serrano chili, diced fine (more if you like it hot)
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a non-metal bowl. Cover and refrigerate 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with tortilla chips.
Deb’s Sweet Corn Pudding
Ingredients
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/4 cup masa (corn flour)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen, thawed
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. milk
Directions:
- Preheat oven 250 degree F.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix the butter, masa, and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. About 1 minute.
- In a blender, blend half of the corn kernels with the water until smooth.
- Combine this mixture with the butter mixture, stirring well.
- Add the remaining corn kernels, corn meal, baking powder, salt and milk and mix well.
- Pour the corn mixture into an 8 inch square baking pan. tightly cover with foil.
- Place covered dish in a larger roasting pan filled with so water is 3/4 of inch up side of baking dish. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- It is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
by Krista | Apr 21, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
It’s been a week of the most lovely surprises. 🙂 My friend Bekah popped by my office for a flurried visit from New York, bearing her beamiest of smiles, squeeziest of hugs, and this gorgeous little gardenia from her grandmother’s garden.
My dear friends Art and Donna came for dinner and brought the most wonderful house-warming gift, this exquisite dish handmade by their oh-so-talented daughter, Jennifer. I think it suits my jeweled pens splendidly! 🙂
Last but not least, when I arrived home from my lovely weekend away, these little beauties were blooming like mad near my front door. 🙂
They make me grin every time I’m coming or going. 🙂
After some outrageously beautiful, sunny, Spring days, the rains, dark skies and chilly breezes have returned. Thus I’ve been turning to comforting, warming soups like this scrumptious Black Bean Pumpkin. The first time I read through the ingredients I was a wee bit nervous. Black beans, pumpkin, tomatoes and a bevy of spices like cinnamon, cumin and ginger are definitely not traditional companions, but it looked so yummy I had to try it. I’m SO glad I did! This soup is now a family favorite, making many a dull day cheery and interesting. 🙂
Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon and Ginger
(Adapted from Once Upon A Tart)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried black beans, picked through, rinsed and soaked overnight, or quick-soaked (when I don’t have time for such things, I just use 3-4 cans of black beans, drained)
6 cups cold, unsalted water (for simmering beans)
1/2 big yellow onion, diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 pound plum tomatoes, peeled and diced (I use 2-3 cans diced tomatoes when I want to speed things up)
(I always use more of the next three spices)
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 cups (1 quart) vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Directions:
- If doing beans from scratch: drain and rinse the soaked beans in a colander. Bring the water and beans to boil in a large soup pot over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about an hour, until the beans are soft to the bite, but not falling apart or splitting. Drain the beans in a colander.
- Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a large soup pot over high heat, stirring frequently so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan, until the onion begins to soften, 5-10 minutes. Lower heat to medium and continue to saute, stirring occasionally for about 10 more minutes, until onion is tender and translucent.
- Add the tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and pepper to the soup pot, and saute until the tomatoes begin to break down and give off juices, 5-10 minutes. Pour in the stock, pumpkin puree, vinegar and beans.
- Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.
- Remove the soup from the heat to puree. Pureeing makes it a thick, smooth, more cohesive soup, but you still want the texture of the black beans so don’t puree it all. Serve warm.
by Krista | Apr 14, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
It was breakfast for dinner at CEC this week as we dug into gluten-free crepes filled with all manner of loveliness!!
We started with glasses of sweet Spanish wine with red-pepper hummus, chips and a platter of wafer-thin, salty capicola.
Cameron fried up a whole mess of bacon and more capicola, and oooeee, that platter was picked clean in no time flat! 🙂
Then it was time for the crepes, piping hot off the griddle where Michael and Selwyn were busy pouring batter and flipping crepes as fast as they could.
We had all sorts of delicious fillings, from Cameron’s Icy Peanut Butter Banana Mascarpone…
…to Kat’s food grade lavender buds and…
…orange blossom honey.
We slathered some with Deb’s Nutella and Toby’s bananas…
…and others with Toby’s strawberries and my fresh goat cheese.
I loved every configuration but I think my favorite was Nutella with lavender. Like chocolate perfume! 🙂
Darren ended our feast with frosty glasses of the limoncello we made last week…but I’ll tell you all about that another day. 🙂
Gluten-Free Crepes
Darren had Pamela’s Gluten Free Pancake and Baking Mix, so Michael used it, adding vanilla and sugar.
Cameron’s Icy Peanut Butter Banana Mascarpone
Ingredients:
1 cup Smooth Peanut Butter
2-4 frozen bananas
Small tub mascarpone
Directions:
- Blend everything together in a food processor until smooth.
- Spread on crepes or eat right out of the bowl.
by Krista | Apr 7, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
The jolly thing about being part of CEC is that whenever it’s your birthday, you get to choose the theme for the menu! This week was Toby’s birthday and, being an island lad, he asked us all to cook Hawaiianish things. We were more than happy to oblige. 🙂
Deborah started the evening with her fantastic Coconut Pineapple Sliders, scrumptiously moist little burgers mixed with coconut and pineapple and served on toasted sweet rolls spread with coconut milk solids.
Darren made us all deeeelicious Mai Tai’s and Jason and Kim served up a cheery bowl of fruit salad made of three different varieties of apples, plus oranges, bananas, pineapple and coconut.
Don whipped up a batch of his “Hawaiian” Guacamole which looked suspiciously like his “Mexican” Guacamole. 🙂 Regardless, it was a marvy mash perfect on the extra salted tortilla chips he brought.
Meanwhile, Toby was working hard over the stove creating two chicken dishes: Shoyu Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken. They were both splendid, the chicken tender and juicy, the sauces distinctive and savory.
Then Cameron emerged from the darkness bearing platters of four different types of smoked Spam (yes, SPAM!!!!) and pork tenderloin. I don’t think I’d ever had Spam before and I was assured that these renditions were the best Spam I would ever taste. 🙂 Cameron smoked plain Spam, Teriyaki Spam, BBQ Spam and “Dry Rub Special Spice” Spam. 🙂 We all agreed that they tasted like greasier, saltier hot dogs, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 🙂
Cameron’s smoked pork loin was gorgeous and tender, packed with flavor.
Our evening of feasting ended with my creamy Coconut Almond Jelly with Fresh Mangoes, and Jason’s crispy Fried Plantain slices sprinkled with sugar. Delish! 🙂
Happy Birthday, Toby! 🙂
Deborah’s Coconut Pineapple Sliders
Ingredients:
1 pound hamburger
3/4 can pineapple tidbits
1 cup shredded coconut
1-2 Tbsp coconut milk, enough to moisten
King’s Hawaiian Rolls, halved and toasted
3-4 Tbsp coconut milk solids
Directions:
- Mix hamburger, pineapple, coconut and coconut milk together. Let sit in fridge overnight.
- Form small patties with ice cream scoop and grill to desired doneness.
- Spread toasted rolls with coconut milk solids.
- Place burger between rolls and serve immediately.
Don’s “Hawaiian” Guacamole
Ingredients:
4 ripe avocados, halved and flesh scooped out
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped fine
handful fresh cilantro, chopped
lime juice to taste
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
- Mash everything in mortar and pestle to desired consistency.
- Serve with salty tortilla chips
Jason and Kim’s Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
3 apples, different varieties
2 oranges
3 bananas
1/2-1 pineapple
1/2-1 cup shredded coconut
Directions:
- Chop all fruit then toss with coconut and serve.
Jason’s Fried Plantain
Ingredients:
Plantains, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Vegetable oil
Granulated sugar
Directions:
- Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in frying pan.
- Add plantains and fry until golden and crispy.
- Transfer to paper towel and drain.
- Sprinkle with sugar while still hot and serve immediately.
Krista’s Coconut Almond Jelly with Fresh Mangoes
Ingredients:
2 pkgs. unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 c. coconut milk
1 tsp. almond extract
2-3 ripe mangoes, cubed
Directions:
- Sprinkle gelatin on cold water in a pot. Put on medium heat.
- Stir constantly until dissolved.
- Add 1 cup sugar, stir to dissolve. Remove from heat.
- Add almond flavoring to the milk and pour into the gelatin mix. Stir to blend.
- Pour into 9″ square glass pan and put in fridge to set.
- When cut in 1/2 -1-inch squares.
- Place a cup full into each bowl. Top with cubed mango and serve.
