Grilled Scallops with Flower Foam, Watercress Salad and Orange-Shallot Vinaigrette

The three required ingredients for this month's Royal Foodie Joust were Satsuma (or any orange citrus), shallots, and most surprisingly, edible flowers. It was not easy to come up with a dish that could successfully utilize this unusual combination. I was especially skeptical about edible flowers, as I have never used those before in my cooking. However, when I saw the fresh edible flower mix available in my store, I knew what I wanted to make.


I used these flowers (a mix of pansies, marigolds, snapdragons, chive flowers, and sage flowers) in two ways - in a foam to top these gorgeous grilled scallops and in a salad mixed with watercress and drizzled with orange and caramelized shallot vinaigrette.

Two essential items that are necessary to make this dish are: Lecithin, a dietary supplement that is used to make foams; and an immersion blender.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper to taste

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons edible flowers, chopped
2 tablespoons Lecithin

4 large scallops
Coarse sea salt

Approx. 1 cup watercress
1/4 cup edible flowers

Directions:

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and saute for a few minutes until shallots start to caramelize.

Place shallots, orange juice, sherry vinegar, and oil in a bowl or a large mixing cup and mix well with the immersion blender. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In another bowl or a mixing cup, add water, chopped edible flowers, and Lecithin. Mix with the immersion blender until the foam appears on the surface. Let the foam set for a few minutes.

Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with sea salt. Grill for about 2 minutes per side.

Arrange watercress on plates, and scatter the petals of flowers on top of the watercress. Add the scallops. Drizzle the orange-shallot vinaigrette over the salad. Top the scallops with the flower foam.


This dish would make a fabulous appetizer for eight or a very light main course for two. The vote polls for the Royal Foodie Joust start on March 1 and you can see the other entries and vote here.

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I would like to thank Gloria Chadwick at Cookbook Cuisine and Foods and Flavors of San Antonio for giving me this wonderful Blogging With a Purpose award.

Banana Macadamia Nut White Chocolate Waffles

Homemade waffles are our all-time favorite family breakfast. Usually, we make Belgian-style waffles served with maple syrup and pecans on top. Today, however, I created a new version. These whole grain waffles are loaded with flavors of banana, macadamia nuts, and white chocolate.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup Macadamia nuts, ground

2 eggs
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup mashed banana (approx. 1 medium banana)
1 ounce of white chocolate chunks or chips

Additional butter, Maple syrup, ground Macadamia nuts, coconut flakes (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda, and Macadamia nuts. Mix well.

Preheat waffle iron, sprinkling it with a non-stick cooking spray.

In a separate large bowl, whisk eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and milk. Add the dry ingredients mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth. Whisk in melted butter, mashed banana, and white chocolate.

Pour the batter into the waffle iron (about 1/4 cup into each square). Bake for 4 minutes or until the waffles are golden.

Serve warm with additional butter and Maple syrup and if desired sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes and Macadamia nuts.

Makes 4 square waffles.

Trout Amandine

About a year ago I brought home some gorgeous Steelhead trout fillets. I wanted to prepare Trout Amandine, and I immediately thought of Antoine's restaurant in New Orleans which offers this classic dish. Excited, I found a recipe for Trout Amandine in Antoine's Restaurant Cookbook. The recipe involved a very rich batter with half-and-half and eggs, frying the trout in deep fat, preparing the almonds with a lot of butter. When we tried the first bite of this Trout Amandine, it tasted heavenly. It was a morsel of perfection. But our pleasure in the dish was momentary. We could only handle a few bites. It was just too rich for us.

We still loved the flavors of this dish, and so I created my own version of Trout Amandine. This version is very low in cholesterol and fat, and yet it still retains the flavors of the classic. It is also quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 Steelhead Trout fillets
1 tablespoon flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 tablespoons butter substitute (or real butter)
2-3 tablespoons sliced almonds
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

Sprinkle trout fillets with salt and pepper and dust lightly with flour.

In a skillet, heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Cook trout for about 3-4 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and mix in the almonds. Saute for a few minutes until the almonds are golden brown. Stir in a little bit of lemon juice.

Serve trout fillets on top of mashed potatoes and top with almonds and butter.

Mini Cheese Tasting - Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar Cheese

Our cheese tasting this weekend is consistent with the spicy flavors predominant in our meals this week. We found and enjoyed a new cheese from Carr Valley in Wisconsin, Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar Cheese.

This gorgeous white cheddar cheese is made from cow milk and infused with cranberries and chipotle peppers throughout. The white cheddar cheese itself is mild and somewhat creamy in taste and texture. The smokiness and spiciness of chipotle pepper is predominant and lingering with a satisfying warmness. While visually there are more cranberries than chipotle, the cranberries offer just a slight hint of tanginess and sweetness, mostly contributing to firm up the consistency of the cheese and offer a stage for the chipotle to shine.

Aspects of this cheese are reminscent of a Pepper Jack or Jalepeño Monterey Jack cheese, with a pleasant mild flavor with smokey tones and a lasting bite of spice. Rarely in fact are such flavors as distinct in a cheese from the first bite through the finish. One notices the mild cheddar, then the smoke, and finally the full-on chipotle heat as a lasting impression, tasting this cheese on a fresh baguette.

We paired this cheese with a classic bottle of cabernet sauvignon, opting for a full bodied balanced wine, rather than challenging the spiciness with a Rhone style or granache wine. This pairing worked well, and elevated the mild fruit and pepper notes in a way the cheese may not have achieved on its own.

In short, this is one great spicy cheese, not too subtle, but with flavors that avoid overwhelming despite the potency of chipotle. Enjoy this with a range of dishes that can benefit for a bit of Tex-Mex smoke and sizzle, or on its own as a tasty treat.

An egg-white omelet is a perfect example of a dish that always needs a little bit of a kick. For our Sunday morning breakfast, I made these paper-thin egg-white omelets with our new favorite Cranberry Chipotle Cheese melted inside and topped with a little bit of salsa and sour cream.

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I would like to thank Katherine at Smoky Mountain Cafe for giving me this sisterhood award. I share it with all my wonderful foodie friends.

A Taste of New Orleans - Pasta Jambalaya

As Mardi Gras is coming up next week, I am thinking of wonderful memories from my trip to New Orleans in the spring of 2003. Some of my colleagues took me to lunch at Labella’s to have a Muffuletta sandwich. I was actually looking forward to having my first Muffuletta at the famous Central Grocery, but I was firmly told that Labella's is where all the locals go. I didn't have any regrets. Labella's Muffuletta sandwich was amazing. It was also huge! The guys quickly took a picture of me eating that sandwich and posted it on our website without the webmaster's (that was me!) knowledge with a caption: "She ate the whole thing!" Here's the picture of the sandwich, and it is the biggest sandwich I have ever seen or eaten.


This was definitely the week to be in New Orleans. Not only was it the week of Jazz Festival, but also that month New Orleans celebrated the 200 year anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. After our conference, I took in some sightseeing and enjoyed partying a little with friends from work, and then my husband joined me on the weekend for some culinary adventures. We had Po' Boy sandwiches at Remoulade, Hurricanes at Pat O'Brian's, breakfast at Brennan's, beignets at Cafe du Monde, a French-style dinner at Dominique's, and Italian cuisine at Ralph Brennan's Bacco. There are many great restaurants in New Orleans but the highlight of our weekend was Antoine's. They say if you haven’t been to Antoine’s you haven’t been to New Orleans. I definitely agree with that. My dining experience here was amazing (review). Just look at this picture of Antoine's special desert Baked Alaska.



Today, I would like to share my version of Pasta Jambalaya, a New Orleans specialty, perfect for Mardi Gras.

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons butter
4-5 teaspoons Creole seasoning
1 cup smoked Andouille or Chorizo sausages, cut in rounds
½ half chicken breast cut in 1-inch chunks
Pinch of salt
Pinch of Cayenne pepper
8-10 shrimp
1 small onion, chopped
½ bell pepper cut in 1-inch strips
2 cups cooked Penne pasta
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter on a skillet. Brown sausage in the skillet for about 2 minutes, turning a few times. Remove sausage from the skillet and into a bowl.

In the skillet mix another tablespoon of butter, chicken, 1 teaspoon of Creole seasoning, salt and Cayenne pepper. Sauté chicken for about 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken from the skillet and add to a bowl with sausage.

Add one tablespoon of butter, one teaspoon of Creole seasoning, and shrimp to skillet and cook for about 2 minutes or until shrimp turns pink. Add shrimp to a bowl with chicken and sausage.

Melt one more tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Add onions, peppers, and one additional teaspoon of Creole seasoning. Simmer on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes or until onions are soft.

To onions and peppers add penne pasta. Mix in sausage, chicken, and shrimp, remaining butter and the rest of Creole seasoning. Cook on high heat for another few minutes, stirring constantly.

Finally, stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Four Cheese Chipotle Sirloin with Jalapeño Corn Sauté

In the last few weeks, I have been experimenting with sweet and delicate flavors, but now I am craving something more savory and spicy. The style of cuisine that perfectly reflects these flavors is Tex-Mex. This sirloin steak is rubbed with ground chipotle, grilled, stuffed with a four cheese blend that melts inside, and served with a spicy pickled jalapeño corn sauté.



Ingredients:

2 tablespoons ground dried chipotle peppers
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Sirloin Steaks, beef or bison
4 tablespoons shredded cheese blend (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Cheese)

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 medium pickled Jalapeño pepper, chopped
2 cups cooked corn kernels
Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix ground chipotle, salt, and pepper together. Rub the ground chipotle mix all over the steaks. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Grill the steaks on each side (2 minutes for bison, 3 minutes for beef). Let them rest for a minute, then with a sharp knife, cut horizontally through the middle of each steak, but do not cut all the way through. Put cheese inside the steaks, then grill for another minute.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add peppers and sauté for a 3-4 minutes, then add green onions and cook for a minute more. Add corn and Jalapeño peppers, mix well, and cook for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the steaks on top of Jalapeño corn sauté.

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I would like to thank Gloria Chadwick for including me in her Foodie Friends award. Please check out her new cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio.

Hilltoppers at the Goodstone

Location: Middleburg, VA
Last Visited: February, 2009
Mobil Rating: N/A
Michelin Rating: N/A
My Rating: 6/10
Website: visit site

The Goodstone Inn and Estate is a charming country inn just a mile or so from the quaint streets of Middleburg, Virginia, a town notable for its antique shops and boutique stores, an island of small town independence in the shadow of greater Washington D.C. The property's history is known from colonial times, when in 1769 the land was purchased by Jamie “the Scot” Leith. In 1915 the estate was acquired by the Goodwin family, who named the plantation Goodstone. The current owner purchased the farm in 1996, renovated it and established the country inn. Today, the Goodstone Inn also features Hilltoppers, a restaurant for fine dining.

In October 2008, Chef Tarver King joined the Hilltoppers restaurant as its head chef after previously working as head chef for The Dining Room at the Woodlands, a Mobil 5-star rated restaurant near Charleston, South Carolina. Not long ago, we enjoyed a wonderful and memorable meal at Tarver King's Chef's table at the Dining Room at the Woodlands. Before that, Tarver's resume included stints at restaurants including the French Laundry, Le Bec Fin, Fat Duck, and The Inn at Little Washington. An extremely talented chef, Tarver King has created a delightful menu at Hilltoppers reflecting the restaurant's farm-to-table cuisine, utilizing fresh and seasonal ingredients from the Goodstone and other local farms, and incorporating inspirational creations from his time in the Low Country near Charleston, South Carolina.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were warmly welcomed and seated. The dining room is intimate and charming, befitting a romantic country inn setting. We enjoyed glasses of champagne as we looked over the menu, and chose to enjoy the Chef's full tasting menu, specially prepared for Valentine's Day.

piquillo pepper,brandade,chorizo,garlic,pine nut; photo by Tarver King

A playful amuse bouche to start our evening consisted of a "shrimp crunch" on a fork and "eggs and bacon" on a spoon. The crispy shrimp was a scrumptious and well textured morsel to exercise our taste buds, it paired well with the delightful creaminess of the egg yolk, dashed with just a hint of crispy bacon.

Our first course was She-Crab Soup featuring sweet chunks of crab meat in a foam-like bisque, poured at the table. Traditionally, She-crab soup is South Carolina Low Country dish, featuring a rich soup, similar to bisque, made of milk or heavy cream, Atlantic blue crab meat, and finished with a splash of dry sherry. We greatly enjoyed this extraordinary version, the soup notable for being light, buttery, and foamy, complimented by the sweet natural crab meat texture. This dish was outstanding, and was our favorite of the evening.

Between courses, we absolutely loved the scrumptious biscuits and cheese puffs served with a creamy seaweed butter and special "white gold" sea salt flakes from Île de Ré. The southern style biscuits were melt-in-your-mouth good, and adorned with the intense butter and salt flakes, these were little slices of southern heaven.

The second course was a piquillo pepper stuffed with cod brandade, accompanied by a thin slice of chorizo, pine nut crumble, and visually attractive, mild sauces. The bright and delicate tangy flavors of this delicious dish were a perfect transition from the sweetness of the crab into the rest of the meal.

The third course, really the main course in miniature for the evening, consisted of tender short rib meat folded inside a plump, delicate ravioli, topped with a slice of a perfectly cooked beef loin with mushroom brodo and baby turnips. Savory and salty, this dish was light in texture consistent from earlier courses, and satisfied with flavor explosion. While highly salty, perhaps just a bit too much so, this did not detract greatly from the succulent meat and mushroom flavors. This was another fine dish, although perhaps not sufficiently filling to feature on its own as the main savory dish for the evening.

Next followed a very unique warm cheese course of ossau iraty, a Basque sheep's milk cheese, melted on top of a "pomme darfin" potato galette and accompanied by tart candied apples, bits of bacon, and sherry vinegar. By itself, ossau irary is a delightful creamy and nutty cheese with pleasantly complex flavors. Melted in this combination, it joined to form a mildly textured combination with playful sweet, tart, and salty flavors. As the fourth and middle dish of the seven course meal, this nontraditional cheese course featured the most subtle and complex flavors of the evening. We really enjoyed this, although it may have been better to feature this dish earlier, or to offer another savory dish to bolster the short rib ravioli before this one.

We next enjoyed a champagne granite flavored with currants and lavender. This was an excellent palate cleanser, the champagne and tart currant flavor stripping preparing our taste buds for the meal's conclusion.


Two dessert courses followed. A lime parfait in a glass layered with blueberry gastrique, hazelnut, and meringue was light and flavorful. Last, a dish of miniature chocolate crepes was served with roasted banana cream and cocoa nibs. This dish too was pleasantly mild, tasteful, and not overly sweet, offering a most delicious conclusion to this romantic dinner.

Hilltoppers at the Goodstone is a lovely restaurant in a magical setting, and shows a lot of promise as a new and exciting destination for fine dining in the region. Chef Tarver King is an extremely talented chef, and our Valentine's Day menu showed off delicate textures and flavors that satisfied without overwhelming the palate. As a maturing chef, Tarver King has created a more consistent dining experience at Hilltoppers than we experienced previously at the Dining Room at the Woodlands. We missed some of the magic from some very special dishes at the Woodlands. We nonetheless greatly enjoyed ourselves and look forward to coming back for more foodie adventures at Hilltoppers!

Truffled Scrambled Eggs

Last summer when we visited Dublin, Ireland, we had a fabulous dinner at Thornton's. We had several courses featuring truffles. We started with a taste of truffle powder, which exploded with bright and wonderful flavors and got our palates ready for the real truffle adventure. The foie gras was rolled in summer truffles and accompanied by a truffle fritter, truffle sauces and crisps. Our truffle heaven continued with a truffled scrambled egg which was creamy and delicious. We loved the idea of enhancing a simple dish like scrambled egg with truffles making it pretty incredible.

Today, I'd like to share my own version of the truffled scrambled egg. It is simple to make and yet elegant and romantic. This recipe will make two small portions which can be served as breakfast or an appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, room temperature
1 ounce truffles
Pinch of fleur de sel

2 eggs
1 tablespoon cream
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of truffled butter, plus additional truffled butter


Directions:

Place butter and a pinch of fleur de sel in a small bowl. Grate the truffle and mix gently into the butter. Form into a ball or a log, wrap, and refrigerate for at least a few hours. Note: You can also make the truffle butter by combining truffle oil and butter or purchase prepared truffle butter such as D'Artagnan and use it instead.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, cream, and a pinch of salt. In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of truffle butter. Add the egg mixture. Cook the eggs, continuously stirring until they are lightly scrambled and creamy. Take the eggs off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of truffled butter. Serve immediately and top with a tiny dollop of additional truffled butter.

***

Hungry for more eggs?

• http://icookstuff.blogspot.com/2009/02/fresh-eggs.html
  
• http://icookstuff.blogspot.com/2009/02/cheesy-scrambled-eggs-with-veggies.html
  
• http://savorthethyme.blogspot.com/2009/02/breakfast-crown-scramble.html
  
• http://timeinthekitchen.com/2009/01/perfectly-poached-eggs-the-easy-way/
  
• http://ricocoffeeshop.blogspot.com/2009/02/eggs-with-peas-my-way-portuguese.html
  
• http://www.macheesmo.com/2009/01/how-to-make-scrambled-eggs/
  
• http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2008/12/eggs-benedict.html
  
• http://www.thehungrymouse.com/home/2009/01/29/basic-cooking-the-secret-to-perfectly-cooked-hard-boiled-eggs/
  
• http://alittlebitofchristo.blogspot.com/2008/11/memory-lane.html
  

Crispy Dilled Potato Cakes

The other day I found myself with a canceled dinner party and a pot full of boiled potatoes. I used some mashed potatoes for dinner, but the next day I still had leftover potatoes and needed to do something with them. So, Crispy Dilled Potato Cakes were born. These delicious potato cakes are creamy and delicate on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Ingredients:
2 cooked potatoes, mashed
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
1/4 cup onions, chopped
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise or soy-based substitute such as Nayonnaise
Pinch of salt and pepper
Panko bread crumbs
Vegetable Oil

Directions:

Place potatoes, dill, onions, and mayonnaise in a food processor and mix well. Season mixture with salt and pepper.

Heat oil on a griddle (or a skillet) over medium heat. Place panko crumbs in a large bowl. Drop spoonfuls of potato mixture in the panko crumbs, coating completely, and flatten onto a griddle. Cook about 2 minutes per side or until the potato cakes are golden. Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.

***

I am submitting this recipe for the February Potato Ho Down

Chocolate Festival

This weekend we enjoyed attending the Chocolate Lovers Festival in the city of Fairfax, Virginia. It was a gorgeous day to walk around the quaint old town center, marvel at the beautiful chocolate cake creations, and taste some excellent chocolates. It was a day in chocolate heaven!

Our day started with a breakfast of delicious chocolate chip pancakes followed by a tasting of Starbuck's Vanilla Robust Tea Latte, one of the festival sponsors. Temporarily satisfied with our first chocolate tasting, we then proceeded to gain some knowledge on cake making and decorating. A Question and Answer session was headed by Warren Brown, the owner of CakeLove and Love Café in Washington, D.C., as well as host of Food Network's Sugar Rush. It was very instructive to hear his approach to making cakes with fresh and inspirational ingredients. Joining the session were also Norman R. Davis and Zane Beg, owners of The Sweet Life in Annandale, Va., who have been featured in multiple Food Network’s cake decorating challenges. Norman Davis then demonstrated how to decorate a cake utilizing various innovative tools and special ingredients.

At the Chocolate Challenge competition, we viewed and helped in the judging of cakes created specially for this occasion. The chocolate purse was my personal favorite.


We were completely overwhelmed by the multiple chocolate truffles, pastries, and other chocolate treats at the Taste of Chocolate display. We chose to taste some of our favorites, including those from the Confection Connection, the Schakolad Chocolate Factory in Arlington, Virginia, and the Watergate Pastry Shop in Washington, DC.




One spectacular exhibit was from Capitol Chocolate Fountains, featuring magnificent liquid chocolate consumed by dipping fruits or wafers in the spinning fountains. This treat was simply irresistible!


We finished our day as chocoholics with a Death by Chocolate wine tasting, offered by The Wine Bar in Fairfax. We tasted three different sweet wines from Italy, France, and Portugal accompanied by chocolate truffles. Our clear favorite was Brachetto D'Acqui from the southern Piedmont in Italy, with wonderful aromas of black raspberry and black cherry, medium sweet and lightly sparkling, with subtle flavor hinting of violets and cloves. This wine was outstanding, and perfect with fruit or chocolate! The other wines tasted were more traditional desert wines, including a Tannat from Maydie in France, and a 2001 late bottled vintage Port from Taylor Fladgate. Sweeter and less subtle, we nonetheless enjoyed these refreshening wines paired with excellent dark chocolate.

This slide show features the best pictures from our Chocolate Festival experience, including all the gorgeous cakes at the Chocolate Challenge competition. View it in full screen!

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Thank you, Salt and Pepper, for giving me a wonderful award for this post!

Sleeping Chicks

I believe it's never too early to introduce kids to gourmet food. A great way is to make food fun and kid-friendly. These "sleeping chicks" are extremely popular with my daughter and all her friends who visit for lunch or dinner. The puff pastry shells make a "bed", vegetables are the "sheets", the chicken-apple patties are the "chicks", and the little puff pastry rounds on top are the "blankets". These are very healthy treats too - all of the necessary food groups are represented here. Finally, this recipe is quite flexible. You can use your favorite cooked veggies or even salad, and the chicks can be served separately, with vegetables on the side. Adults will find these especially good with a little bit of mustard added on top of the chicks. They are delicious, served in any way, for all ages!

Ingredients:

1 whole boneless chicken breast
1/2 onion
1 apple, peeled and cored
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt, pinch of pepper
Vegetable oil

1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells (8 shells)
(or shape your own pastry shells from regular puff pastry dough and cut out little rounds for the "blankets")

1 large potato, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the puff pastry shells on a baking rack and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Put the chicken, onion, and apple through the meat grinder and into a large bowl. Add egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. With your hands, scoop a little bit of the chicken mixture and flatten into round patties. Place on the skillet. Fry about 2-3 minutes per side, or until light brown.

In a separate skillet, heat oil on medium high heat. Add potatoes, red pepper, and onions and cook, stirring frequently for about 6-8 minutes, or until the veggetables are cooked and potatoes are golden brown.

Place a small scoop of vegetables inside the puff pastry shells, then top with the chicken patties and the puff pastry rounds.

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I'd like to thank Kendra at Homegrown Housewife for giving me a wonderful Lemonade Award!

Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Mango-Avocado Salsa

I’ve enjoyed seafood since my childhood. We spent a lot of summers on a farm near a river. My dad still had to work in the city, but he would join us on weekends. My father and I would get up really early and go fishing together. Once I even caught a fish that was larger than I was at the time. I loved it. Sometimes we fried the fish, and sometimes my mom would prepare a special fish soup called ‘Uha’ in Russian. The taste of fresh fish was unbelievable.

When I was shopping the other day, the fishmonger announced that he had just received a shipment of wild Mahi-Mahi, and it looked so fresh that I couldn’t resist getting some. With a main ingredient this good, the preparation has to be simple to highlight the natural flavors. I grilled the Mahi and topped it with just a little bit of mango-avocado salsa. It was excellent.

Ingredients

2 Mahi-Mahi fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, pepper to taste

½ cup avocado, cut in small chunks
½ cup mango, cut in small chunks
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper



Directions:

Pre-heat grill. Brush Mahi-Mahi with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for about 4 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together avocado, mango, onions, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve Mahi-Mahi with rice and top with Mango-Avocado salsa.

I'd like to thank Katherine at Smoky Mountain Café for giving me the fabulous Lemonade Award!

* * *

We loved this mango-avocado salsa and I created a spicy version of it for the blackened swordfish. I am sending the recipe for Blackened Swordfish with Mango-Avocado Salsa to BloggerAid.



You will find information on the BloggerAid cookbook at

Kopiaste

More than Burnt Food

Equal Opportunity Kitchen

Mini Cheese Tasting: Chocolate Cheese

If you are looking for a special cheese course to serve for your sweetheart on the Valentine’s Day, look no further. We found a perfect cheese for the occasion – a “chocolate” cheese.

The name of this gem is Cocoa Cardona and it comes from Carr Valley in Wisconsin. It is made from 100% goat milk, aged, and dusted in cocoa powder with a slight hint of black pepper. It is very unique because it differs from most familiar goat cheeses which are typically soft and crumbly. By contrast, Cocoa Cardona’s texture is quite firm and uniform throughout. It is actually a semi-soft cheese, one of only a few goat cheeses in this category. We found Cocoa Cardona to be a mild cheese with a creamy delicate taste, a wonderful hint of bitter chocolate, and soft essence of pepper. The award winning cheese has won 1st Best-in-Class in the 2003 U.S. Cheese Contest as well as 1st Place in the 2007 American Cheese Society Awards for Goat’s Milk Cheeses. It is amazingly delicious.

Cocoa Cardona paired beautifully with a very special Pearl Ice Wine from the Inniskillin winery in Canada’s Niagara region. Made from Vidal grapes, left on the vine to ripen before the deep freeze of Canadian winter, the concentrated sugars and acids from the late-picked harvest yield an intense and aromatic desert wine with an amazing depth of flavors. The winemaker writes of Pearl:

The nobility of this vintage shines with an alluring assortment of fresh nectarine, papaya, litchi, tangerine and orange blossoms. These exquisite fruit flavors, combined with invigorating acidity, offer multi-layers of balanced pleasure.

Pearl is indeed a complex ice wine and wonderfully satisfying. The nectar’s sweetness is balanced with subtle fruit flavors which melded nicely with the soft cocoa and pepper in Cocoa Cardona. In combination, the taste was extremely pleasing, soft and creamy, lightly refreshing and aromatic, with restrained sweetness. This was a perfect pairing of wine and cheese that is highly recommended!