Good Friends, Good Food

Hosted by Denette and Heidi
June 2010

See all photos here...

Jalepeno Jelly

• 13 jalepenos (4 whole, 9 seeded)
• 3 medium peppers (1 orange, 1 red, 1 yellow)
• 3 cups vinegar
• 10 cups sugar
• 4 ounces of liquid pectin (I prefer Certo brand)

Remove stems and chop jalepeno, remove stems and seeds from peppers – all in food processor. Pour peppers in pot and add vinegar. Cook on outside stove and add sugar bringing to a hard rolling boil for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in pot to reduce foaming. Skim foam from top if there is any.
Remove from heat and add pectin. Boil for another 1-2 minutes. Pour into hot sterile ½ pint jars. (12-14 jars needed) Boil the seals in a saucepan to keep hot. Pour hot jelly into jars leaving 1/4 “ space from top of jar. Tighten screwbands and let sit upside down for 24 hours with a towel over them. *Only make one recipe at a time.

Lime Honeydew Slush

• 1 honeydew melon, cubed
• ½ gallon lime sherbet

Thaw sherbet until soft. Place in blender with pieces of honeydew melon and blend until smooth. Refreeze. To serve, scoop into glasses or bowls and garnish with a wedge of lime.

Fruit Kabobs with Sweet Balsamic Dressing Dressing

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
• ¾ cup grape seed or canola oil
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

In blender or food processor, combine all dressing ingredients except oil and poppy seeds. With machine running, slowly add oil to make a thick dressing. Stir in poppy seeds.
Arrange fruit kabobs with fruit of choice. Top with sweet balsamic dressing (above). You can serve sliced fruit on top of Bibb lettuce and then top with balsamic dressing.

Grilled Herb Shrimp

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium yellow onion, small-diced
• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
• ¼ cup minced fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled, tails on, devined

Combine the garlic, onion, parsley, basil, mustards, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice. Add the shrimp and allow them to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals, and brush the grilling rack with oil to prevent the shrimp from sticking. Skewer the shrimp. Use 5 or 6 shrimp on a 12” skewer for a dinner serving. Grill the shrimp for 1 ½ minutes on each side. Serve with the Mango Salsa (below). Serves 6 people.

Mango Salsa

· 2 tablespoons olive oil

· 1 ½ cups diced yellow onion (2 onions)

· 2 teaspoons peeled, minced fresh ginger

· 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic

· 2 ripe mangos, peeled, seeded, and small-diced

· 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

· 2 teaspoons light brown sugar

· 1 teaspoon kosher salt

· ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

· 1 to 2 teaspoons minced fresh jalepeno pepper, to taste (1 pepper)

· 2 teaspoons minced fresh mint leaves

Saute the olive oil, onions, ginger in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add the mangos, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 more minutes. Add the orange juice, brown sugar, salt black pepper, and jalepenos: and cook for 10 more minutes, or until the orange juice is reduced, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the mint. Serve warm at room temperature or chilled. Makes 2 cups.

Citrus Salad Toss

• ¼ cup sugar
• 2/3 cup pecan halves
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1 teaspoon grated orange
• 8 cups torn leaf lettuce
• 8 cups torn romaine lettuce
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 large orange, peeled, sliced
• 1 pint strawberries, cut in half
• 2 avocados, thinly sliced

For the pecans, mix the sugar with the pecans in a small skillet. Cook over low heat until the sugar melts, stirring to coat the pecans well. Spread on foil and cool; break pecans apart. For the dressing, combine the oil, lime juice, orange juice, sugar, lime zest and orange zest in an airtight jar and shake well. Chill until serving time. For the salad, combine the lettuce, onion, oranges, and strawberries in a large salad bowl and toss gently. Chill until serving time. Add the avocados to the salad just before serving. Drizzle with the dressing and toss gently. Top with pecans. Note: Mandarin oranges may be substituted for fresh oranges.

Twice Baked Potatoes

• 6 large potatoes
• 1 cup milk
• 1 square butter
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• seasoning salt
• salt and pepper

Cook potatoes in hot oven at 425 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour. Prick with a fork to make sure it is done. When it is done, cut the potato in half lengthwise. Let cool and scoop out the potato centers into a bowl, leaving the skins intact.
Heat milk and butter together and then add all the rest of the ingredients in a bowl with the potato centers. Beat ingredients with hand mixer until well blended. Add the seasoning salt, salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the potato center mixture into the skins and bake again at 325 degrees until warm. When the potato is warm all the way through, turn off the oven and top with cheese until it is melted. Garnish with chopped green onions and bacon if you would like.

Seared Tri-Tip

• 1 large trip tip roast (I like ‘Morton’s Brand from Costco-it is already marinated)

Turn grill on High and sear each side of Tri tip until almost black. Doing this keeps all of the juices on the inside making the roast very moist. Once you sear each side, turn the grill off and let the roast sit for ½ hour until it reaches medium rare.

Chicken Kabobs

• 1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup corn oil
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ½ cup Worcestershire saue
• peppercorns
• ½ cup sesame seeds
• 1 chicken breast per person (adult)
Mix all ingredients together to make marinade. Trim fat off chicken breasts and marinate in mixture for 2-3 hours. Thread chicken on skewers and grill chicken on barbeque until done.

Grilled Garlic Herb Bread

• 1 loaf or crusty artisan bread (baguette, pugliese or ciabatta)
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• aluminum foil
Cut loaf of bread in half lengthwise and open up. In a small mixing bowl, combine butter, garlic, basil and parsley. Mix until well combined. Spread half of the mixture on each half of the bread. Place halves back together and wrap in double aluminum foil, sealing edges tightly.
Place on upper rack of grill heated to between 375-400 degrees. Allow to cook about 15 minutes. Remove from grill and unwrap

Bite-Sized Oreos

• 1 package of oreos(2 sleeves)
• 1 brick of cream cheese, softened
• dipping chocolate
Crush oreos in blender and add the brick of cream cheese. Blend both together and form into small balls. Chill in refrigerator until cold and firm. Dip in chocolate and put on wax paper in the refrigerator.

Lemon Cream Cheese Pie (or Tarts)

• 2-8” baked pie crusts (or 12 tart shells
Filling:
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 3 eggs beaten and strained
• juice from 2 lemons
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• yellow food coloring (optional)
Cream Cheese mixture:
• 6 ounces cream cheese
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla
• ¾ cup whipping cream, whipped
In a double boiler, mix sugar and cornstarch. Add eggs, lemon juice, and water. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla and a couple drops of yellow food coloring. Cool.
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in whipped cream. Fold cooled lemon filling into cream cheese mixture. Place in baked pie crusts or tart shells and serve chilled.

Cheesecake Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

• Strawberries, clean and dry (the bigger the better)
• original cheescake, prepared (Costco, easy and good or frozen)
• dipping chocolate (I like the Belgian chocolate from Trader Joe’s)
Slice the strawberries on the side with out breaking it open. Hull out the middle of the strawberry. Fill in the strawberry with as much cheesecake as you can. Dip the strawberry in your melted chocolate. Chilll-Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Fiesta Mexicana

Hosted by Erika and Angie ...

May 2010

See all photos here...

4 Pepper Salsa

• ½ Red Pepper
• ½ Yellow Pepper
• ½ Orange Pepper
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 jalapeño (seeded)
• ¼ cup cilantro
• ½ white onion
• ½ cup Mango (diced)

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can whole corn (drained)
• 2 large tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 avocado (cut into small pieces)
• ½ small red onion
• 1 fresh jalapeno
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro

Chop the onion, jalapeño, and cilantro into small pieces. Fold in the rest of the ingredients. Mix marinade and pour over mixture 15 minutes before serving.

Jicama-Mango Guacamole

4 medium very ripe avocados, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 medium plum tomato, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice

• 1/2 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 3/4 cup finely diced ripe mango
• 1/2 cup finely diced peeled jicama
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
• 1 medium chipotle in adobo, minced (1 tablespoon)
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Kosher salt
• Tortilla chips, for serving

In a large bowl, gently stir the avocados with the tomato, onion, mango, jicama, cilantro, chipotle, jalapeño and lime juice until well mixed but still slightly chunky. Season with salt and serve with chips.

Mixed Grill with Cilantro Pesto

• 4 (1 1/2-inch-thick) center-cut bone-in pork chops
• 4 (6-oz.) beef tenderloin fillets (about 2 inches thick)
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• Cilantro Pesto

Garnishes: fresh cilantro sprigs, rosemary sprigs, chives

Sprinkle pork chops and beef fillets evenly with desired amount of salt and pepper. Grill chops and fillets, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°). Grill chops 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until done. Grill fillets 8 to 10 minutes. Turn fillets over, and cook 5 more minutes or to desired degree of doneness. Remove chops and fillets from grill, and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with Cilantro Pesto. Garnish, if desired.

Cilantro Pesto

• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Pulse first 6 ingredients in a food processor 10 times or just until chopped. Drizzle olive oil over mixture, and pulse 6 more times or until a coarse mixture forms. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Pasta Mexicana

• 2 (9-oz.) packages refrigerated angel hair pasta
• 3/4 cup Mojo de Ajo

Toppings: freshlyqueso fresco cheese, sliced avocadoes, baby tomatoes, pine nuts, and fresh chives

Mojo de Ajo

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 3 whole guajillo chilies*
• 3/4 cup bottled minced garlic
• 5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Heat oil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat to 350°. Using tongs, submerge 1 chile into oil, and cook 5 seconds; remove and drain on paper towels. Let cool 5 minutes or until completely cool. Repeat with remaining 2 chilies. Remove and discard stems. Process remaining portion of chilies in food processor 30 seconds to 1 minute or until crumbled into small flakes.
Cook garlic in hot oil in same saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. Let stand 5 minutes.
Stir in chile flakes, lime juice, and salt. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 5 days. Allow mixture to come to room temperature before using.