Back in Action - Tropical Thanksgiving

After a somewhat brief hiatus, I am back to blogging!  The holidays were extremely busy, but don't worry, you no longer have to go through KitchenTravel withdrawal...

Now that it is 2011, I have to catch you up on a few things, namely my trip to The Bahamas over Thanksgiving 2010.  As the meal planner of my family, I organized several days of delicious, tropical-themed dishes that were enjoyed after long, hard days of golf, tennis, beach time, and laziness.  Almost all of these dishes were served with a hearty portion of fried plantains.  Lucky for us, the Bahamian grocery store sells an enormous bag of frozen plantains - all you have to do is defrost them a bit and dump them into a frying pan with a little bit of oil.  And they are YUMMY.

But first, let's set the stage.  The Abaco Club at Winding Bay is where we ate these delicious meals...

 

 

Now that I have made you sufficiently jealous, I will now make your mouth water...

Meal One: Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Fried Plantains, and a Green Salad

Meal Two: Shrimp Tikka with Mango Chutney and Grilled Corn on the Cob.

Meal Three: Beef Kebabs with Red Onion and Bell Pepper, Greek Salad, and Fried Plantains (forgot to take photos of the Beef Kebabs...apologies!)

Meal Four: Fish Tacos and Fried Plantains

These fish tacos were to die for and are very easy to make.  They are even customizable if you want to add/subtract ingredients!  Here are the easy steps:

Ingredients:

- Red onion

- Red wine vinegar

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1.5 teaspoons chili powder

- 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano

- 0.5 teaspoons cumin

- approx. 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

- 1 jalapeño

- 1 lb. mahi mahi

- small tortillas

- salsa

- avocado

- sour cream

- mango

- limes

- anything else you may want to add!

1. Thinly slice a red onion and marinate in red wine vinegar for at least 30 minutes.

2. Grab a gallon-sized seal-able plastic baggie and add 1/4 cup olive oil, 1.5 teaspoons of chili powder, 1.5 teaspoons of dried oregano, 0.5 teaspoons of cumin,  1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (chop up some more to add to your tacos later), 1 minced jalapeño, and 1 lb. mahi mahi (without any skin).  Seal the bag and squeeze/shake so that the marinade spreads evenly over the fish.  Marinate for 20 minutes.

3. Cook the fish in a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat for 5-7 minutes.  Add a little salt and feel free to pull apart the fish as you cook (because that's how you will want it in your taco!)

4. Warm the tortillas (if you want) and then assemble your tacos (don't forget the marinated red onions)!  In addition to the fish, I added salsa, sour cream, fresh mango, fresh avocado, extra cilantro, and a bit of fresh lime juice to my tacos.  They were unbelievably tasty!

And of course, I should mention that we did eat Thanksgiving dinner.  We just didn't cook it :)

Credits: My Fish Taco recipe is adapted from Lourdes Castro's cookbook, Simply Mexican, which I found online. The photos were taken by yours truly.

Littleneck Clams in a Spicy Thai Broth

I CAN'T BELIEVE that this is my first official post on Thai cuisine.  After spending our honeymoon in Thailand and eating our weight in curry, my husband and I have taken Thai cooking by storm.  I had long been a fan of Thai food, but cooking Thai dishes had been somewhat of an intimidating mystery.  If you want Thai food, you go to a Thai restaurant, right?  Wrong!  Well...you can get Thai food at a Thai restaurant, of course, but you can also make it yourself!!

Since the beginning trepidations, we have mastered the art of utilizing the grocery store bought curry paste, as well as other fresh, organic ingredients.  This recipe actually doesn't call for the pre-made paste--turmeric is the main spice that this meal relies on instead.  And while Thai dishes typically do include seafood, it's rare to see a dish on a Thai restaurant menu that only contains clams.  Why is that?  Clams are pretty awesome...

And while we are talking about clams, why do many people shy away from these delicious shellfish, in general?  Maybe they seem difficult to cook?  That's a myth (as I intend to prove in this blog entry).  Maybe eating whole clams in the shell are a bit outside of some people's comfort zone?  Get over it, clam chowdah lovers.  These are the same things, in a (nut)shell.  Maybe some are allergic to shellfish?  Uhhhh...I guess you probably shouldn't eat them then...that's an acceptable excuse.

But this delicious recipe should make (almost) everyone's mouths water.  And it is SUPER easy to make.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

- 2 lbs. littleneck (or similar) clams (available at most seafood departments of grocery stores - make sure you scrub and clean them)

- 1 1/2 cups bottled clam juice (in seafood department of grocery store)

- 5 shallots

- 2-3 vine ripened tomatoes (you need a cup, diced)

- 1 inch fresh ginger

- 1 jalapeño

- 2 green onions

- 1 can of unsweetened (and NOT light) coconut milk (typically 12-14 oz.)

- 1 tbs. vegetable oil

- 1 tsp. ground turmeric

- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

- 3 tbs. lime juice

- White rice (I'll let you cook this on your own)

OK - get chopping!  You need to chop up your shallots, dice up your tomatoes, and mince your ginger and jalapeño (make sure to remove the seeds).  In the below image, I separated them into two different bowls (in the order that I will add them to the recipe) - shallots and ginger in one bowl, tomato and jalapeño in the other bowl.  I did this also because it photographs well...

Heat up the 1 tbs. of veggie oil in a large pot over medium heat (I prefer to use a Dutch oven for this...not sure why because it's not like it goes into the oven...but nonetheless, I use it).  Add the ginger and shallots to the pot and sauté until tender, about 3-5 minutes.

Now add the turmeric and cumin and stir up the mixture for a minute.

Now add the clams, clam juice, coconut milk, tomatoes, and jalapeño.  Add some salt and pepper, as well (eyeball it).  Bring this to a boil (you may need to increase the heat a bit). 

 

 

Cover the pot and simmer until the clams open up, which should take about 7 minutes. Make sure not to eat any that don't open up.  They may have their own clammy problems, or you may get a nice broth shot to the eye if you try too hard to open them.  But the main reason is so you don't get sick.  While simmering, finely slice/chop your green onions.

 

 

Now stir in the lime juice.  And you are all set to eat!  Put some white rice in a bowl, and serve the broth and clams on top.  Sprinkle with green onions and chow down!  I highly recommend accompanying your meal with a nice, light white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc.  And make sure to have an extra plate to discard the empty shells.  You could even make a necklace out of them!  ขอให้เจริญอาหาร!

 

 

Credits: My Littleneck Clams in a Spicy Thai Broth recipe is adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe that I found online.  All of the photos are of the cooking process.

Red, White Lobster Roll and Blue Cheese Butter Lettuce Salad

When thinking about my second blog post, I decided that I didn’t want to set a precedent that I would be traveling every month to some exotic location so that I could fill my blog with interesting cuisines and recipes.  This is not financially sustainable (although it would be ideal…).  I also didn’t want people to think that I was trying to disassociate myself from my own country, which happens to offer up some pretty fantastic culinary options.  Hence, I decided to blog about perhaps my second favorite food (after good steak), which just happens to be very American: LOBSTER. Turf, then surf.

In the spirit of the recent celebration of our American independence, did you know that the U.S. is the number two lobster producer in the world?  You may think that number two is not good enough.  Well, you know what Canada?  You are the number one producer of AMERICAN lobster.  The species is named after US (I don’t care if you claim that it is referring to North America…the name is definitely connected with the United States of AMERICA).  Therefore, I believe that lobster is pretty much up there with bald eagles and American pie.  Canada also has bald eagles—but who thinks of them as Canadian?  I sure don’t. 

Now, like most of you, when I think of lobster, I think of Maine, or at least of New England, in general.  What else do you associate with New England?  Maybe specifically in the state of Vermont?  DAIRY.  What is my favorite dairy product?  CHEESE.  Now, in keeping with the patriotism of this blog entry, what is the most American cheese?  Blue cheese.  The lobster will be red, the bread from the lobster roll will be white, and the cheese that will be used to create a salad dressing that will go on top of a delightful selection of butter lettuce will be BLUE (work with me here).  And everything will be delicious.  By the way - butter lettuce is also called BOSTON lettuce.  I am on a ROLL!

Okay, so lobster may be intimidating for some of you cooks out there--but most seafood sections of grocery stores sell small lobster tails for much cheaper than you would expect, and they are super easy to cook.  For this recipe, I bought two 4 ounce tails for $5.99 each.  Not too bad.  But I will concede that trying to make a big lobster roll full of lobster meat can become expensive.  So I am cheating a bit with this one—I am supplementing some nice juicy lobster tail with some imitation crab meat that requires absolutely no preparation.  If you feel like shelling out the big bucks and buying more lobster, be my guest.  I envy you.

Required Ingredients (Food for Two—Double it for Four):
- Two 4 oz. lobster tails (uncooked)
- 1 medium package of imitation crab meat (preferably in “clusters”—should be available in the seafood section of a grocery store)
- 2 white sub rolls
- 3 tbs. and 1 1/2 tbs. mayonnaise (separated)
- 2 1/2 cups of butter lettuce (I buy the 6.5 oz. bag of Fresh Express Sweet Butter in the produce section—a head of butter lettuce works, as well)
- 6 slices of bacon
- 1/4 cup dried cherries (dried cranberries are a good substitute)
- 1 tbs. white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- Chips (I recommend Terra veggie chips, available at most grocery stores)
- Salt and Pepper 

First thing’s first – cook your lobster tails. Boil water (and add a pinch of salt), then add the tails. Cook 5-7 minutes for a 4-6 oz. tail.While you are cooking the lobster, make your salad dressing.
 

Whisk together 1 1/2 tbs. mayonnaise and 1 tbs. of white wine vinegar.  Slowly add the vegetable oil while whisking, then add the blue cheese and mix it all together.  And keep it chunky--it's much better that way.  Set aside for the time being. 

When the lobster is done, pull it out and let it cool--you don't want to burn your hands when you pull out the meat from the shell.

While the lobster is cooling, make the bacon--the easy, microwaveable way.  Grab two paper towels--put one down on a plate, put the six slices of raw bacon on top, then cover with the other paper towel.  Microwave for about3-4 minutes.  I like my bacon crispier on a salad, but it's ultimately up to you.

Go ahead and start to prepare your salads.  Pull out enough butter lettuce from the bag to go on the sandwiches (about a handful or two).  Then divide the rest up into two plates/bowls.  Go ahead and divide up the cherries into each plate/bowl.  Do the same with the bacon—add three slices to each plate, but crumble it up/tear it apart before you add.  (You can also wait to add some of the cherries and bacon until you have added the dressing.)

By now, the lobster should have cooled down a bit.  Take some kitchen shears (aka scissors) and cut down the middle of the hard shell starting at the top and working your way down toward the end of the tail.  Now your hands are going to get a bit dirty.  Just work your way down the shell towards the tail with your hands, ripping towards the sides and trying to pull out the meat as you go along.  Your last pull should pull out the whole tail’s worth of meat from the very end of the tail.
  

Chop up the lobster into bite size pieces and add to a medium/large mixing bowl.  Now pull out your imitation crab meat package and throw those into the bowl.  Add the remaining 3 tbs. of mayo and some salt and pepper.  Mix well.
   

Heat up your oven broiler, slice up your sub rolls, and let them toast for a couple of minutes (I always like my bread toasted).
  

While broiling, top your salads with dressing.  Then grab the buns out of the oven and put 'em on a couple of plates.  Add the lettuce you set aside earlier to the rolls, then add your lobster/crab mixture.  Pour out some chips on the side and grab your salad--you are ready to EAT...and to be an AMERICAN.
  

Credits: My Blue Cheese Butter Lettuce Salad recipe is adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe that I found online.  The photos are of our cooking process.