Tropical Mango Ceviche

Last summer I visited a restaurant in Washington, DC called Oyamel. It's owned by Chef Jose Andres, and I highly, highly recommend you check it out. While I was there, I had the table-side guacamole, Tamal Verde, and Ceviche con Citricos. Lord, everything was so freaking good. I had never tried Ceviche before, but I realized I've been missing out. It was DELICIOUS!! I loved the hint of spice from the habanero. And, the juiciness of the pineapple. It was so good that I went searching for a similar recipe. I came across this one from Rick Bayless, and I decided to give it a try tonight. Wow! It's pretty damn good. Maybe not Oyamel quality, but certainly close. The recipe doesn't call for pineapple, but I added some to it, anyway. I'm glad I did. I love the hint of sweetness and juiciness that pineapple gives when you bite into it. I halved the recipe, and I still have plenty for lunch tomorrow! If you like Ceviche then you should definitely give this recipe a try! You won't be disappointed!!

Ingredients:
1pound “sashimi-quality” skinless meaty ocean fish fillet (halibut, mahi mahi, or bass all work well), cut into ½ inch cubes
1/2cup fresh lime juice
1/2cup fresh orange juice
1small red onion, sliced very thin
1fresh habanero, stemmed and seeds removed, finely diced
2cups (about 12 ounces) cubed mango (we love the honey manila mangos that come from Mexico, usually starting in mid March)

1 cup pineapple (optional)1smallavocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin, diced
About 1/3cup chopped cilantro, plus more whole leaves for garnish

Take out a glass bowl and add the lime and orange juice. Add the chopped habanero and chopped fish. I used Chilean Sea Bass from Whole Foods. Cover and place in the fridge. If you like your fish medium-rare then let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour. If you want the fish fully cooked then let sit for 3-4 hours. Once the fish has finished cooking you can either keep the juices and add in the mangoes, pineapples, avocado, and onions. Or, you can drain the juice for a drier ceviche. Garnish with the cilantro, and serve by itself or with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin Lettuce Cups

Recently, I wanted to try a new pork tenderloin recipe, and one that I didn't have to grill. So, as any technologically savvy individual would do; I went to the world wide web to find a great recipe! The recipe I ended up using was courteous of the Food Network. Ellie Krieger created this Pork Tenderloin Seasoned Rub, and the reviewers gave it 5 stars. The good thing about it is I had all the ingredients in my kitchen already. I like not having to go out to the grocery store to purchase just one or two ingredients for a recipe. Anyway, I have to say the pork tenderloin turned out delicious. Originally, I had the pork tenderloin just by itself with a baked sweet potato accompanying it. But, I decided to use the leftovers in these lettuce cups as pictured. I included my pineapple salsa in the lettuce cups, and it turned out simply divine! Please see the recipe below for the Pork Tenderloin Seasoned Rub recipe. And, click here if you'd like to include the pineapple salsa. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt (I used half a teaspoon)
1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic

First go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees. Now, take out a small mixing bowl and combine the garlic powder, dried oregano, cumin, coriander, thyme, and about half a teaspoon salt. Stir with a fork until well combined. Take out your pork tenderloin, and sprinkle the rub all over and pat the seasoning into the tenderloin so it adheres well. 

Next, go ahead and grab a medium to large skillet (depending on the size of your tenderloin) and add the tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Make sure the temperature is set to medium-high, and then add the minced garlic. Once the garlic becomes fragrant go ahead and add the tenderloin to the pan. Sear the tenderloin for about 10 minutes making sure to flip to the other side, so both sides are nice and seared. Then, transfer the mean to a roasting pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until the tenderloin is about 165 degrees internally. Enjoy!

Aloha Burger

I don’t often make burgers for home consumption, although I do often ORDER a burger at a restaurant. And I really do enjoy burgers of all shapes and sizes (with fries, gotta have great fries!) But I think they are one of those things that seem really simple to make, and they really aren’t. First you have the patty. Gotta figure out what kind of meat, and do you want to add any seasoning or anything to pep it up. It’s hard to make the perfect patty. Then come the toppings. And when do you prep those? Do they go on the burger while it’s cooking or after? And the bun! There are a thousand buns to choose from. English muffin is a personal favorite, but the classic is good too. So, as you can see, there’s a reason why I’ve never posted a burger on this site before. But I decided that I’d try one for the July Fourth weekend. This aloha burger caught my eye because it has pineapple on top! Yes, pineapple! It seems a little strange, but it actually tasted really good. We had some issues with our patty, but I’m modifying the recipe below to reflect changes I would make to solve the meatball effect. I would definitely make this again.

Patty Ingredients

½ pound ground beef

½ pound sausage (I used Hot)

1 medium onion, diced small

1 jalapeño, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano (or basil)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons barbecue sauce

Toppings

Barbeque Sauce

Pineapple Slices

Bacon

Cheddar (or your favorite cheese)

This makes about six big patties. We actually only cooked half and froze the others to make later! If you want to make it with all beef, that’s fine too. I just like the extra flavor that sausage brings. Take your beef and sausage out of the fridge while you prep so that when you mix with your hands you won’t freeze your fingers. Sauté your onion and jalapeno for just a few minutes in a little olive oil to soften them up. Add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds before taking it off the heat and letting it cool. You can skip this step if you aren’t feeling it, but the heat helps bring out the flavors a little and I think helps it feel more incorporated into the patty. Sometimes raw veggies want to separate from the meat a little more than sautéed ones do.

In a bowl, mix together the beef and sausage with the cooled onion, jalapeno and garlic. Add in your spices and barbecue sauce and mix those really well with your hands. I’ve found that using cooking gloves really helps with the mess here. Seems a little excessive but no one likes raw meat under the fingernails.

Once the meat is thoroughly mixed, form it into patties and cook on your grill! Add the cheese towards the end to melt onto the patty. Give your buns a light toast while you’re at it. And don’t forget to grill the pineapple! Then build your burger. I opted to put the pineapple on top of the burger so that it wouldn’t get the bottom bun all soggy. So, cheese, pineapple, a little BBQ sauce (Stubb’s Spicy is my favorite!) and a few strips of bacon. Then say Aloha to your hunger!

Honey Lime Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Today is Cinco de Mayo. No, I'm not Mexican, but I do love me some Mexican food. I especially love tacos. Our fellow blogger, Wormfood, loves herself some tacos, too. So much so that we've created a separate category called Taco to help easily find these yummy recipes. I was going to try her Jerk Chicken tacos in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, but didn't have all the ingredients on hand to make it the appropriate way. So, since I'm on this pineapple kick I decided to find a recipe that utilizes chicken, tacos, and pineapple salsa. I found this recipe from Elle's New England Kitchen. She saute's her chicken, but I decided to grill mine. I utilized this recipe on our blog to make the Pineapple Salsa, but just omitted the mango (they weren't quite ripe enough). This was a yummy recipe. I think I will even use the marinade just for regular ol' grilled chicken. Strawberry Mojitos and Tacos; can it get any better than this? Enjoy!



Ingredients for Chicken and Marinade:
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly crosswise
1/2 cup canola oil
juice of 2 limes
1 1/2 tsp adobo pepper
1 1/2 tsp ancho chile pepper (optional)
2 tsp cumin
2 pinches cinnamon
1 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp honey

Ingredients for Pineapple Salsa:
2 cups diced pineapple
1/4 c. diced red onion
1 jalapeno pepper, diced and seeded (if you don't like it spicy)
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
juice of one lime
dash of salt

For assembling:
Cilantro for garnish
Corn or Flour Tortillas

First make the pineapple salsa by combining all the above ingredients into a medium-sized bowl. Cover with a lid and refrigerate for an hour or so. Next, prepare your marinade by taking out a medium sized bowl. Then, add in the oil thru the honey into the bowl. Stir well. Pour the marinade into a large zip lock bag and add in the chicken. Coat well. Let marinate for an hour, or so, turning the bag occasionally. After an hour or so; let's get the grill ready. Once the temperature has reached 350 degrees; take out the chicken from the bag, and toss the marinade in the trash. Grill the chicken till it's cooked thru. Remove the chicken from the grill and set aside. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle; go ahead and slice it up. Next, take out a non-stick skillet and set the heat to medium. Place the tortilla on the skillet and let it heat thru for about 30 seconds or so. Flip the tortilla and let it heat thru for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from the skillet. I used 2 tortillas to make one taco. Then, spread a couple spoonfuls of the pineapple salsa along the tortilla. Add the chicken and additional cilantro if you so desire. I sprinkled some goat cheese on my tacos just because I can. Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken with Grilled Pineapple

For a long time I've said that I don't like Pineapple. Eh. It just didn't do it for me. However, as my palate has evolved over the years; I've decided that I really enjoy it. And, I'm really loving this Mango and Pineapple Salsa. Hint. Hint. Try it!! Anyway, I knew that I was making chicken tonight, and I wanted to try a new recipe. So, I went searching on trusty Google trying to find a chicken with pineapple recipe. I came across this one from Ladies' Home Journal, and decided to give it a shot especially since I had all the ingredients save for the scallions. Only when I got home and started preparing the marinade did I realize you are supposed to marinate the chicken for 8+ hours. Whoops. Well, I certainly wasn't going to wait 8 hours before eating dinner. So, I let it sit for about an hour and a half. And, I thought it was very tasty for only that short period of time. I bet if it sat for 8+ hours it would have even more flavor. I really liked this grilled chicken recipe, and the grilled pineapple made it even tastier. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
8 scallions, chopped, plus 1/4 cup dark-green 2-inch-long thin strips for garnish
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional for grill
1 habanero or jalapeno chile, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 1/2 pounds chicken parts (thighs and drumsticks)
1 fresh pineapple, about 4 pounds
2 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

Combine the first 12 ingredients into a Food Processor and puree until smooth. Mine had some chunky pieces...just go with it. Place half the puree into a small bowl and cover and refrigerate. Take the other half of the puree and pour it into a plastic zip lock bag and add the chicken to the bag as well. Marinate for 8 hours or overnight in the fridge and turn the chicken occasionally. Again, I only marinaded mine for about an hour and a half and it was still quite tasty. When you are about ready to start grilling your chicken; take it out of the fridge and let sit for 30 minutes on your counter. Meanwhile, take out your pineapple and cut it crosswise 1/4 inches thick. Sprinkle brown sugar over it. When your grill is ready; grill the pineapple with the brown sugar facing down on the for 3 to 4 minutes and be sure to turn the pineapple half way thru to give the other side some nice grill marks. Set the pineapple aside. Now, grill your chicken till it is cooked through. Take out the puree that you set aside in the bowl and spoon on top of the chicken. Serve with the pineapple and enjoy.

Asian Grilled Salmon and Pineapple

First off, can we all just agree that grilled pineapple is kind of amazing? There’s just something magical about pineapple when it’s warmed up and maybe even a little caramelized. Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about salmon and pineapple together. I’ll admit it sounds a little weird. I’m not a big fruit and fish person, although I know it’s been done many times, and a lot of people really love it, it’s just not my jam. But this actually turned out to be good. The Hubs really liked it, I thought it was just fine. It was pretty sweet, but the touch of char and the sesame oil kept it from being too cloying. I think it could have used a touch more soy sauce because it felt like it needed that pop of salt. Especially the rice. I found the recipe on Half Baked Harvest and she actually served it as lettuce wraps, which we did not do. I’m sure that would be fine, but we thought it was an extra step that wasn’t really needed. She also had a honey glaze that we skipped. Maybe that would have made it better, but I worry that it might have taken the sweetness over the top. If you’re interested in that, follow the link to the original recipe above. Anyway, if you are into fruit on your fish, I definitely think you should try this.

Ingredients

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 teaspoon wasabi powder (optional)

4 green onions, sliced, plus more for garnish

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 cup uncooked brown rice

1/2 of a medium size pineapple

In a small bowl mix the honey, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic and wasabi powder together, whisking until the wasabi powder has dissolved. Then stir in the green onions and sesame seeds. Put your salmon into a large Ziploc bag and then pour about ¼ of the marinade over it and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime slice your pineapple into long spears (remove the rind and the core, of course) and toss half of it with about two tablespoons of the marinade. The other half is yours to do with what you will! Heat up your grill and start with the pineapple. Grill it about 3-4 minutes a side. Put your salmon on the grill, skin side up, and grill for 3-4 minutes (depending on the thickness of your salmon). Flip it and baste with the reserved marinade and cook another 2-3 minutes.

While you’re grilling also make your rice. When it’s done you’ll want to mix in about 4 tablespoons of the reserved marinade. Personally, we thought the rice was rather blah. It could have used a little salt, or maybe it was because it was brown rice instead of white and we are terrible white rice people. Not sure. Anyway, once it’s all done, cut your pineapple into cubes. Serve the salmon over your rice and spoon some pineapple on top! 

Mango & Pineapple Salsa

I went to the grocery the other day, and noticed that Mango's were on sale for a $1 each. I believe we are entering Mango season if we aren't already there, and I had this great idea to make Mango Salsa. Several years ago my Aunt made this Mango and Pineapple salsa and it was to die for. We ate it up in a flash. I decided to try and replicate it, so I purchased a pre-cut pineapple core as well. I have to say this Mango and Pineapple salsa is really delicious. It's not quite exactly like my Aunt's because I didn't add a tomato to it, but pretty darn close. The addition of a jalapeno and a Serrano pepper gives it a nice spice. If you like Mangoes and Pineapples then you will love this salsa. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Mangos, diced (about 2 cups)
2 cups diced Pineapple
1 Jalapeno, seeded if you don't want it spicy and diced
1 Serrano, seeded if you don't want it spicy and diced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
Juice of one lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Dash of Salt

Combine all the above ingredients into a medium sized bowl and stir well. For optimal taste, place in a fridge, covered, for an hour or so before eating. Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips.