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 Lemongrass Want to wow your friends at a sit down dinner party? How about Baked Lemongrass Fish in Banana Leaf and Pandan Coconut Rice? Talk about a meal full of flavor! Wrapping fish filet such as Halibut or Chilean Seabass with Lemongrass and white wine in banana leaf then baked to perfection flakiness will guarantee to surprise and delight your dinner guest(s). 
Adding Pandan Coconut Rice and Asian Watercress salad to the meal, you got a winner of a dinner! What is Pandan you ask? Is is a fragrant and flavorful leaf that are used in a lot of Asian desserts while giving a beautiful green color to boost. I used the Pandan paste and coconut milk in the rice which resulted in a rich, tasty and flavorful green color rice. Do not use the Pandan flavor that is a fluid, it does not have as much flavor and would not give you the green color no matter how much you use. Then to round out the meal, I added the Asian Watercress salad with boiled eggs, tomatoes and red onion which is an absolute refreshing yumminess.
Next time you have a sit down dinner party, venture into an Asian supermarket and try fresh lemongrass, banana leaf (available in the frozen section), Pandan paste and coconut milk for that wow factor and I promise, your guests will be pleasantly surprised. 
Baked Lemongrass Fish Filet in Banana Leaf Parcel
4 pieces of white fish filet such as Halibut or Chilean Sea Bass
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
White wine
2 stalks Lemongrass (cut into small diagonal pieces and lightly smashed)
4 pieces of large Banana Leaf (available frozen in Asian supermarket)
Aluminum foil
Lemon wedges
Soy sauce
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the white part of the lemongrass diagonally into small pieces and lightly smash with a pesto or back of a knife to bring out the flavor. On baking sheet, place a large piece of aluminum foil then a piece of banana leaf. Place fish on banana leaf, season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Fold banana leaf and before closing the end, add about 1/4 c. of white wine. Close banana leaf and fold aluminum foil to prevent from leaking. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and remove aluminum foil. Use Rafia to tie banana leaf parcel and place on plate flat side up. To serve, remove tie, flip parcel over, unfold parcel and use scissors to cut banana leaf. Discard the lemongrass, add a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of soy sauce and enjoy!
Pandan Coconut Rice
2 cups Jasmine long grain rice
1/2 c. Coconut Milk
1/2 c. – 3/4 c. water
1/8 tsp. Pandan paste
In automatice rice cooker, add coconut milk, pandan paste, and water to rice. Water should be about 1/4″ above rice. When using coconut milk in rice, your fluid requirement will be less than usual.
Asian Watercress Salad
2 bunch of Asian watercress
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion
1/2 c. chopped tomatoes
Asian Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Clean Asian Watercress and use scissors to cut into pieces about 2″ long. Add hard boiled eggs, red onion, and chopped tomatoes then toss in Asian Vinaigrette.
Asian Vinaigrette
3-4 cloves garlic
4 slices Thai red chilies or green Serrano chilies or to taste
2 Tbsp. fish sauce (3 crabs brand recommended- see Ingredients page)
4 Tbsp. fresh lime juice or 2 Tbsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
3/4 c. granulated sugar
Use a pesto and mortar and smash the garlic and chilies. Place in bowl and add fish sauce, lime juice or rice wine vinegar, and sugar. Let dissolve for at least 1 hour. Toss in salad and serve.
 Flat Bread One of my favorite new cooking competition show is Fox’s Master Chef with that loud mouth, in your face, and adorable Michelin Star chef Gordon Ramsay.
In the show, he is joined as judges by Graham Elliot, who became the youngest 4 star chef in America at 27, and Joe Bastianich, who owns 20 of the America’s best restaurants and 3 award winning Italian wineries. The purpose of the show is to find a home cook and select the winner to be named Master Chef with a prize of $250,000 and their own cookbook published.
In Episode 3 , about 13 minutes into the show after the onion cutting challenge, the contestants were asked to make a dish in 30 minutes using 1 egg and the egg has to be the star of the dish. There were many creative dishes including a Sushi like Pan Fried Noodle Roll with Egg dish by Slim. After watching the episode, I asked myself, what would I have done for that 1 egg, 30 minutes challenge? 
I came up with a tried and true egg dish that I created for a brunch a while back with flat bread toast, pesto sauce and soft scrambled egg. It is made simply by toasting flat bread, cut into small triangles, top with pesto sauce, soft scrambled egg, chiffonade fresh basil and kosher salt. Voila! Scrambled Egg Flat Bread Toast Point.
I love Pesto and always have a jar in my fridge for pasta, marinading pork chops etc. The richness and sweetness from the olive oil and nuts along with the flavor of fresh basil provides a tasty, light and easy to make dish. I wonder what the judges would say about my dish? I would have to use 1/2 piece of flat bread if I only had one egg though. For parties such as brunch, increase the recipe for additional servings.
I also want to issue a Challenge to all my food blogger friends to do the same and post the One Egg dish that can be completed within 30 minutes and the egg is the main ingredient. What would you make with one egg in 30 minutes? Please make your post and link to this page. Leave a comment too to let us know what you are doing. Happy egg!
Scrambled Egg Flat Bread Toast Point
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water or milk
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil and 1/2 Tbsp. butter
Fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Kosher salt
1/2 piece Flat Bread
Pesto sauce (recipe to follows)
In heated dry skillet, toast the flat bread until lightly browned on medium heat. Flip over and toast the other side. Cut into 4 small pieces.
In small bowl, whisk egg with water or milk. Add olive oil and butter to heated skillet, make scrambled egg on medium heat and remove from heat when egg is still soft.
Spread pesto sauce on toast, top with scrambled egg, chiffonade basil leaves and pinch of Kosher salt. Make 1 serving. Increase recipe for additional servings.
Pesto Sauce
1 c. fresh basil
1/2 c. raw pine nuts, walnut, pecan, or almond
3-5 garlic cloves
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 c. water
1/8 c. grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
In blender or food processor, blend basil, nuts, garlic, olive oil, and half the amount of water. Pour into sauce pan and use the rest of the water to rinse out blender or food processor. Add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes or until the bitter taste of raw garlic is gone and sauce reduced to desired consistency. Store in tight container or jar in refrigerator.
Laura at Family Spice has a wonderful Shrimp recipe that is the Winner of the Tiger Bay Shrimp Company 2009 Recipe Contest and I just found out why. It is Delicious with a capital D!
I made Laura’s Shrimp with Artichoke Hearts and was absolutely delighted with how tasty it is. The shrimp is first marinated in lemon pepper, garlic powder, paprika and flour. The dish starts by sauteing chopped onion, cremini mushroom, artichoke hearts, garlic and flour. Then the pan is deglazed with lemon juice and white wine before adding the shrimp. Laura’s recipe is a little thick for me so I added chicken stock to make more sauce because I like mine with lots of sauce. I also chopped my artichoke hearts instead of just quartered them because I served mine inside puff pastry shells. It is then finished with a pat of luscious butter and voila! The richest & yummiest shrimp dish you’ll ever have.
The artichoke hearts, lemon juice and white wine made the dish very refreshing and the richness of the butter brings out the sweetness of the shrimp. I served the shrimp inside puff pastry shells and the butter sauce just went extremely well with the flakiness of the pastry. Pepperidge Farm has frozen puff pastry shells that are beautiful and easy to prepare so there is no need to fuss with the puff pastry sheets. I’ve used them for desserts, salads as well as savory dishes like Crawfish Etouffee. I ended up pouring more of the sauce over the puff pastry and found myself licking the dish. 
Shrimp with Artichoke Hearts in Puff Pastry
(Printable Shrimp with Artichoke Hearts in Puff Pastry Recipe)
1 lb shrimp (tail removed)
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. flour (to marinade)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. diced onion
10 0z sliced cremini mushroom
1/2 c. artichoke hearts, drained and quartered or chopped
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 Tbsp. flour (to make the sauce)
1 c. chicken broth
Salt to taste
1/2 Tbsp. butter
Garnish with paprika and chopped parsley
Marinade the shrimp in lemon pepper, garlic powder, paprika and 1/2 tsp. flour. Set aside.
In large nonstick skillet, add olive oil and saute chopped onions and mushroom until tender. Add artichoke hearts, chopped garlic and more flour.
Deglaze the pan with lemon juice and white wine. Add shrimp and saute until pink but not over cooked. Add chicken stock, salt to taste, whisk until thickened, and finish with the butter.
Serve with crusty bread, pasta or inside puff pastry shells. Enjoy!
Puff Pastry Shells
1 box of 6 frozen puff pastry shells (Pepperidge Farm)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and put puff pastry shells in ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden. Cut out the top and spoon shrimp and sauce inside puff pastry. Garnish with a dash of paprika and chopped parsley and serve.
Related Links
Family Spice’s Shrimp with Artichoke Hearts – Winner of the Tiger Bay Shrimp 2009 Recipe Contest
I love Mexican food and am a big fan of Quesadilla. My little doggies have their own profile on dogster.com which is like facebook for dogs and one of my friend on there gave me a recipe for Garlicky Prawn, Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese from a website called The Gutsy Gourmet that is lip smacking good. These are seriously the best Quesadilla I ever had. It is truly good eats.
It is made with grilled shrimps that had been marinaded in garlic, olive oil, cayenne pepper and tequila.
How can you go wrong? You start by mixing the salsa with ricotta cheese and goat cheese. The Quesadilla is then made with the cheese/salsa mixture, grilled shrimp, roasted bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes and jalapeno pepper-jack cheese. OMG! It is oozy, gooey and is the tastiest Quesadilla ever!
The richness of the ricotta and goat cheese and the sweetness of the prawns, roasted peppers and sun dried tomatoes make one incredible quesadilla. I served it with an avocado salsa and this is one terrific recipe that I surely will make over and over again for my parties.
Garlicky Prawn, Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese Quesadilla
10 extra-large flour tortillas
20 large tiger prawns, 16 ct., shelled & deveined
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 oz. Tequila
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups Ricotta cheese or 3/4 cup Ricotta & 3/4 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup fresh salsa {Can use any good salsa}
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon mild Chili powder
1 large head garlic, roasted*
8 oz. jalapeno pepper-jack cheese, grated
3 large red bell peppers, roasted {Can be in jars}**
4 large pablano peppers, roasted {Can substitute whole Ortega chilis}**
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
Marinate [ 2 hours] the prawns with the chopped garlic, olive oil, cayenne pepper, salt and tequila. Place prawns on a barbecue and cook 1-1/2 minutes on each side or until pink and opaque.
Mix the Ricotta & Goat cheese into a spread with the roasted garlic, salsa, cilantro and chili powder. Cut the roasted red bell peppers, roasted poblano peppers, and dried tomatoes into julienne strips.
Spread the Ricotta/Goat cheese mixture on 1/2 the tortilla. Cut the prawns in half lengthwise and place 4 halves across the bottom 1/3 of the tortilla. Add about a tablespoon each of the red bell and pablano peppers, and 1 teaspoon sun dried tomatoes on top of the prawns. Top this off with a generous amount of shredded pepper- jack cheese and fold in half.
Grill on each side for 2 minutes on a hot barbecue or skillet until the cheese is melted. Cut into four even pieces and serve hot with avocado salsa or green salad, rice and beans.
*ROASTED GARLIC: Peel outer skin layer from head of fresh garlic, leaving cloves and head intact. Place head on double thickness of foil; top with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a sprig of fresh rosemary or oregano [or 1/4 teaspoon dried]. Fold up and seal. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour or 400 degrees oven for 30 minutes. Let cool. Squeeze cloves to release roasted garlic and set aside. Discard skins.
ROASTED PEPPERS: • On a charcoal barbecue or a gas fired barbecue place the whole peppers on the grill and roast, turning occasionally, until the skins are blackened. Remove from the grill and put inside a small paper bag. Let cool until they can be handled for peeling off the blackened skin.
p.s. Sorry for not posting for a while. We moved to a new place and I was without a kitchen for a couple weeks. I am back now and promise to post soon with more yummy recipes.
This is not just any Banana Split, it was created for a very special cause, to raise awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF). Electrolux and Kelly Rippa are raising funds for OCRF and Foodbuzz is helping them raising awareness by sponsoring this special Banana Split posting challenge and Top 9 Takeover event. We are a Featured Publisher for Foodbuzz and for every Banana Split posting, Foodbuzz will donate $50 to OCRF. You too can help the cause by visiting Kelly Confidential (or copy and paste the link http://www.kelly-confidential.com/foodbuzz) and build a virtual banana split.
For this special challenge, I created the Lychee and Jackfruit Banana Split with Boba. I also gave it the extra crunch by adding toasted coconut flakes and chopped peanuts. Lychee and Jackfruit are exotic fruits usually found in Asia. They are both sweet fruits with the Lychee probably a bit more on the tart side. Similar to the Lychee are the Longan or Rambutan fruits which are equally delicious and can be used in this dish. The Jackfruit is one of my favorite fruits. It is very sweet, crunchy and full of flavor. Ann bought a fresh Jackfruit the other day and I can smell it the minute I came into her house. If you have never had the Jackfruit, you are in for a treat.
Boba are tapioca balls used in tea or smoothies. It is a little chewy and soft at the same time. You can find canned Lychee, Longan, Rambutan and Jackfruits in Asian supermarkets. Fresh are also available in season. The Boba come dry which can be ready after boiling for 5 minutes.
For the Banana Split, I used banana with vanilla icecream and topped with the Lychee, Jackfruit, chopped peanuts, toasted coconut flakes and Boba. It was sweet, crunchy, and the chewy texture of the boba made it a different and delicious kind of Banana Split.
Lychee and Jackfruit Banana Split with Boba
6 bananas, split in half
1 can Jackfruit, chopped into small pieces
1 can Lychee (or Longan or Rambutan), split in 1/4
1 cup dry boba
1/2 c. chopped roasted, salted peanuts
1/2 c. toasted coconut flakes
Vanilla Icecream
In a skillet over low heat or preheated 300 degress oven, toast coconut flakes until lightly browned. Boil boba for 5 minutes or according to package directions.
Put banana on a dish or in a cup, put in ice cream scoop and top with Jackfruit, Lychee, toasted coconut, chopped peanuts and boba. Enjoy!
I have been making cupcakes for our catering services and my hairdresser Kara told me about Ina Garten’s super moist Coconut Cupcakes so I tried it today. OMG! They were soooo moist and light. I love Ina Garten and have always found her recipes reliable and delicious. These cupcakes were no exception.
Ina’s recipe just says flour so I used Cake Flour and I think that is crucial to make them light. Also, I reduced the sugar amount because I don’t like my cake too sweet but still find it a bit on the sweet side. The cake batter and the frosting had vanilla and almond extract and that gave it so much flavor, the whole house smelled wonderful when they came out of the oven. My sister Ann made a comment that if she ever put her house up for sale, she should bake these to make the potential buyers feel at home.
It is important that you do not over bake these cupcakes to retain their moistness. The toothpick should come out with a little crumbs in it still instead of completely dry. I don’t know if it is the high altitude in Denver but although the recipe says 25-35 minutes, mine were done after only 15 minutes. These cupcakes were absolutely delectable and they turned out to be one of the best cupcakes I ever had.
Update: The picture for this post was published on foodgawker today 07/11/10. :D
Coconut Cupcakes
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut
Frosting
1 lb. cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 lb. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 lb. confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.
Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 15 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out almost clean with just a little crumb. Cake baking is sensitive so I recommend you get an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is not too hot. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.
Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.
Related Links
Ina Garten’s Coconut Cupcakes
 Rau ram - Vietnamese Coriander 
My sister Tina went to one of those fancy party  and was telling me that they served raw tuna on individual spoons which I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Then I had another conversation with my other sister Ann the next day about what dish we should do next for the blog and Ann said, “What about Vietnamese Rare Beef in Lime Juice (Bo Tai Chanh)? Ding, ding, ding…. A light bulb went off in my head and the result is this Rare Beef and Pineapple Salad.
Bo Tai Chanh is a Vietnamese beer food dish that is made with rare thinly sliced beef in a lime dressing. Some have likened it to the Italian Beef Carpaccio. The beef is tossed with the lime dressing, an herb called rau ram or Vietnamese coriander, thinly sliced onion and topped with fried shallots and chopped peanuts. Rau ram is a little spicy, has very distinct flavor and can be found in most Asian supermarkets but cilantro or Thai basil will work in this dish as well. Since I wanted to create a light dish to be served in individual spoons, I thought I’d update the Bo Tai Chanh and give it a modern twist.
Tina just came back from a vacation in Hawaii with her family and she brought me a pineapple so I thought I would use it in my dish. Ann cut the pineapple the Asian way trimming the eyes outside in a spiral fashion only so it gave the pineapple slices a nice flowery shape. I forgot to take the picture of the whole pineapple but will do it again in the near future.
For my creation, I used thinly sliced roundeye beef and quickly blanched it in pineapple juice. Then I made a dressing of lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. The beef is tossed in the lime dressing, chopped herbs such as rau ram, cilantro or Thai basil, red onion then topped with toasted sesame seeds and served on a slice of pineapple. It was refreshing, tasty and absolutely delighful.
Rare Beef and Pineapple Salad
(Printable Rare Beef and Pineapple Salad Recipe)
1/2 lb. of thinly sliced beef (round eye or tenderloin)
1 c. pineapple juice (store bought or fresh from 1/2 c. chopped pineapple and 1/2 c. water)
Lime dressing (recipe follows)
1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion
1/4 c. chopped herb such as rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), Thai basil or cilantro
1/4 c. toasted sesame seeds
1 c. pineapple slices
Ask the butcher to slice round eye or tenderloin beef very thin or freeze the beef for easy slice. Cut pineapple into 6 or 8 lengthwise. Slice into 1/4″ thick pieces be used to serve the salad. Chop into small pieces 1/2 cup pineapple, add to blender with 1/2 c. water and blend to make pineapple juice .
In a sauce pan, bring pineapple juice to a boil and blanch beef slices quickly for a few seconds. Transfer beef to bowl and toss with lime dressing, chopped herb, and red onion.
On individual spoons, place a slice of pineapple, 1 piece of sliced beef, top with more herbs, onions, sesame seeds and serve.
Lime Dressing
2 Tbsp. fish sauce (3 crabs brand recommended) or salt to taste
3 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. sugar
Mix fish sauce or salt, lime juice and sugar in bowl. Let dissolve for at least 15 minutes. Dip one piece of beef in dressing and taste with a pineapple slice to adjust according to taste. The amount of lime juice and sugar will depend on how sweet your pineapple is.
Satay is a dish usually made with chicken, pork, beef on skewers and grilled then served with a peanut sauce. It originated in Java, Indonesia but is also popular in other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Instead of the usual barbeque, why not make some satay? For this recipe, I simplified it by using curry powder, coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar and oil. The chicken is marinaded for at least 1 hour and grilled. For the sauce, I found a great recipe using real roasted peanuts instead of peanut butter on about.com and could not believe how much better it is. For some refreshing crunch, I also made pickled cucumber to go with it.
The dish was so easy and quick to make, not to mention absolutely delicious. You can also use other meat such as beef or pork and give your guests a variation of satay this 4th of July weekend.
Chicken Satay
(Printable Chicken Satay Recipe)
1 lb. chicken breast, sliced
2 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. fish sauce (or 1/2 tsp. salt)
1/2 c. coconut milk
1 Tbsp. oil
Bamboo skewers
Peanut sauce (recipe follows)
Pickled cucumber (recipe follows)
Soak the skewers in water for about 1/2 hour so it will not burn when grilled. Marinade the chicken in coconut milk, curry powder, sugar, oil and fish sauce for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Put chicken on skewers and grilled. Serve with peanut sauce and pickled cucumber.
Peanut Sauce
1 c. unsalted dry roasted peanuts
1/3 c. water or adjust for desired consistency
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. fish sauce (3 crabs brand recommended)
1/2 tsp. tamarind paste or 1/2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/3 c. coconut milk
Chili garlic sauce
Add all ingredients except the chili garlic sauce in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and adjust according to taste. Add water or coconut milk for desired thickness of sauce. Top with Chili Garlic Sauce and serve with satay.
Pickled Cucumber
1 large cucumber, sliced thinly
Optional – Julienned carrots
4 Tbsp. white vinegar
2 c. water
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
Mix all ingredients and let soak for at least 1/2 hour before serving.
Since I cannot visit (or afford to visit) every high end restaurants in the country, I like to peruse blogs that review them and take a sneak peak at what they serve at these eateries. I saw on Kevin Eats recently a review of Rick Bayless’ new Red O Restaurant in Los Angeles. They have a dish there called Grilled Mazatlan Blue Shrimp Tostaditas that looks heavenly. It has grilled shrimp with roasted garlic mojo, avocado, and served on fresh jicama chips. Since I made the Fruit Mojito recently, I thought I’d try to recreate the dish to go with my Mojito.
On his PBS show, Mexico – One Plate at a Time, Rick Bayless has a recipe for Slow Roasted Garlic Mojo or Mojo de Ajo. I made the Mojo de Ajo by smashing the garlic cloves, peel, and put them into a baking dish with salt and olive oil. They are then baked in a 325 degrees oven. Rick’s recipe said to bake for 45-55 minutes and I don’t know if it is the high altitude in Denver but my garlic cloves were browned after only 30 minutes. Then I smashed them with a potato smasher, added lime juice and returned it to the oven for another 10 minutes.
I used the oil of the Mojo de Ajo to marinade the shrimp adding a little more salt and some cumin then grilled. The grilled shrimp is then chopped into small pieces and tossed in more Mojo de Ajo with the garlic pieces and all. I added some more salt and lime juice to taste, topped with chopped Avocado and served it on top of fresh Jicama chips.
The Mojo de Ajo was every bit as delectable as Bayless promised and the crunch of the Jicama was just perfect. Of course I have no way of knowing whether my creation tasted like the dish at Red O because I never had it, but it sure was delicious.
Grilled Shrimp Tostaditas
(Printable Grilled Shrimp Tostaditas Recipe)
1/2 lb. shrimp, cleaned, shelled and deveined
Mojo de Ajo (recipe follows)
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. cumin
black pepper
Kosher salt and Lime juice to taste
2 medium size Jicama
1 Avocado, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Make the Mojo de Ajo. Marinade the shrimp with the oil from Mojo de Ajo, salt, pepper and cumin then grill. Let cool and chop into small pieces. Toss chopped shrimp in more Mojo de Ajo with the garlic pieces, add Kosher salt and lime juice to taste.
Cut Jicama into quarter, trim the skin, and slice about 1/8″ thick. Use the straight edge as the bottom and trim the top into triangles. Chop avocado and squeeze in some lime juice then mix gently. Spoon the grilled shrimp on top of the Jicama chips, top with chopped avocado, cilantro and serve.
Rick Bayless’ Slow Roasted Garlic Mojo or Mojo de Ajo
Makes about 3 cups mojo de ajo (made with 2 cups of oil) Recipe from Season 7 Mexico – One Plate at a Time
Ingredients
4 large heads garlic or 10 ounces (about 1 3/4 cups) peeled garlic cloves
2 or 3 cups fruity olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
Directions
Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Break the heads of garlic apart, then mash each clove (a fist against the side of a knife is what I do) to release the clove from its papery skin; if using already-peeled garlic, scoop the cloves into a heavy plastic bag and use a rolling pin to mash them slightly. Stir together the garlic, oil and salt in an 8×8-inch baking pan (make sure all the garlic is submerged), slide it into the oven and bake until the garlic is soft and lightly brown, about 30 to 55 minutes.
Add the lime juice and return to the oven for 10-20 minutes for the garlic to absorb the lime and turn golden brown. (If you’re using the larger quantity of oil, ladle off 1 cup—no garlic cloves—and store it in a cool dry place for use in salad dressing or sautéing.)
Using an old-fashioned potato masher or large fork, mash the garlic into a coarse puree. Pour the mixture into a wide-mouth storage container and refrigerate it until you’re ready to enjoy some deliciousness. The mojo will last for up to three months as long as the garlic stays submerged under the oil.
Mojito is a refreshing Cuban drink that is perfect for this hot weather. You can also add any puree fruits and have a number of different choices for your guests. It originated from La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba and is made by using a muddler which is a small pestle to crush the mint leaves to bring out its flavor. You can find Mojito set with glasses and the muddler at places like Target or online. We have a small wooden rolling pin and I found that it works just fine.
I used the basic Mojito recipe from tasteofcuba.com but adjusted it a little bit. I used only 1 ounce of lime juice and added fruit puree. The amount of sugar you use depends on how sweet your fruit puree is. The mango puree was a little sour so I added another 2 tsp. of powdered sugar to the mix. Some recipe use a sugar syrup but I find it is just easier to use powdered sugar. You can also use other fruits such as strawberries, rasberries, passion fruit, watermelon, or blueberries .
I started by crushing the mint leaves in lime juice and powdered sugar. Then I added rum, fruit puree, ice and club soda. Combine this with some tasty barbeque and you’ll have a great summer party.
Fruit Mojito
(Printable Fruit Mojito Recipe)
5 mint leaves
1 oz. lime juice
2 tsp. powdered sugar or to taste
2 oz. Rum
2 oz. club soda
Ice
1 Tbsp. fruits puree such as mango, strawberries, or rasberries
In a blender or food processor, make fruits puree. In a glass, add mint leaves, lime juice, and powdered sugar. Use a muddler, small pestle or back of a spoon to crush mint leaves. Add the rum, fruits puree, ice, club soda, mix and enjoy!
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