Grilled Mahi Mahi, Vanilla-Curry Emulsion, Truffled Banana Tempura Fries, Mai Tai Gelée

Our first 5 Star Makeover cooking group event in February was a lot of fun, and we continue this month with the theme of Sustainable Fish. Sustainability is a very important issue. Our goal with this week's event is to raise more awareness about cooking with fish that are abundantly available and sourced in an environmentally friendly way. My co-host Lazaro @ Lazaro Cooks! is an expert on this topic. Please check out his post tomorrow, as he explores the issues in more detail. We will be publishing a final round-up with our participants' creations this Friday.

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celebrating my first big catch at 4 years old

I have always enjoyed eating fish and loved to go fishing with my dad. Even simply prepared fresh fish can be delicious. However, I didn't really learn how to cook fish with any sophistication until I was in my 20s. The first gourmet preparation of Mahi-Mahi that I tasted was in an upstairs cafe above a fine dining restaurant in San Diego! Then, I started exploring gourmet cuisine more seriously and learned a lot about different preparations of fish very quickly, especially during my three-month trip to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia. In Tahiti, in particular, I ate a lot of Mahi-Mahi. My favorite preparation was a Tahitian specialty, Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Vanilla Sauce. This is the classic dish that I chose for my makeover today.

I used the Atlantic wild-caught Mahi-Mahi which is considered as the Best Choice for Sustainability on the Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch site. I transformed the simple creamy vanilla sauce into a coconut cream emulsion infused with vanilla and curry spices. I paired Mahi-Mahi with truffled banana tempura fries, meaning banana pieces sliced in shape of French fries, dipped in tempura batter, deep fried and sprinkled with truffle salt. A fun addition to this dish is a Mai Tai Gelée, inspired by the famous Polynesian-style cocktail.



Ingredients:

Mai Tai Gelée
2 ounces Rum
1 ounce Triple Sec
2 ounces Orgeat or other almond flavored syrup
1 tablespoon Grenadine
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon gelatin

curry powder mix
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Vanilla-Curry Emulsion
1/4 cup rum
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup cream
2 vanilla beans
1 tablespoon curry powder mix
Salt, pepper to taste

Tempura Banana Fries
1 cup water
1 cup flour
1 egg
4 bananas
Truffle salt

Grilled Mahi Mahi
2 fillets mahi mahi
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper to taste


Directions:

Mai Tai Gelée

Combine rum, triple sec, orgeat syrup, grenadine, lime juice, sugar and gelatin in a saucepan, mix well, and bring to simmer slowly, stirring. Simmer until the gelatin is dissolved. Cool. Pour carefully into a desired shape mold. Refrigerate for at least six hours until completely set or overnight.

curry powder mix

Place the cumin, coriander, mustard and fennel seeds in a dry skillet over very low heat. Toast the seeds, stirring occasionally. Ground into a fine powder in a spice grinder or coffee grinder, then add turmeric and cayenne.

Vanilla-Curry Emulsion

Split each vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Place rum in a saucepan along with vanilla bean pods and seeds, bring to boil and quickly reduce the rum by half. Pour in coconut milk, cream, and curry powder mix. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to low. Season with salt and pepper then simmer until the sauce is reduced by half. Keep warm, and blend until foamy with an immersion blender just before serving.

Tempura Banana Fries

In a bowl, combine water, flour, and egg. Do not overmix. Heat oil in large saucepan. Cut the bananas into shape of French fries. Carefully dip the banana pieces in batter and deep fry in batches until golden. Sprinkle with truffle salt.

Grilled Mahi-Mahi

In a plastic bag, combine lime juice and extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle Mahi-Mahi fillets with salt and pepper and place in a plastic bag with the lime juice and extra virgin olive oil. Shake well, and marinade in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Grill mahi-mahi for about 3-4 minutes per side.

to assemble:

Serve Mahi-Mahi with tempura banana fries, top with the foamy portion of the vanilla-curry emulsion sauce and pour the rest of the sauce over the plate. At the last minute add the Mai Tai gelée.

Spiced Rhubarb Pancakes

We continue our brunch celebration of spring with our new favorite seasonal pancakes made with rhubarb. These pancakes are very light and healthy using only egg whites and brown rice flour. Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and brown sugar add a wonderful flavor pairing well with the rhubarb.

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
2/3 cup low fat cultured buttermilk
Pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup rhubarb, finely chopped
Butter or cooking spray

Directions:
Whisk egg whites, buttermilk and spices in small bowl. In a large bowl, mix both flours, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder. Gradually whisk the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Mix in rhubarb.

Heat griddle over medium-high heat. Melt butter or use a cooking spray. Pour ice-cream scoops of batter onto the griddle. Cook until golden brown on one side for about 1-2 minutes. Turn over and cook on the second side for about 30 seconds.

Serve the pancakes with maple syrup.

Coconut French Toast Sliders, Strawberry "Burgers", Balsamic Reduction Syrup

I originally discovered King's Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls when I was looking for a bread with a softer texture for 5 Star Foodie Junior. King's Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls turned out to be the ones she liked the most. They are sweet, delicious rolls that are just perfect to make little lunch slider sandwiches filled with whatever ingredients I may have on hand, ranging from a simple ham and cheese to Thai fish cakes.

This Sunday we used the leftover King's Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls to create a new Spring-themed brunch dish. We made Coconut French Toast Sliders with Strawberry "Burgers". Strawberry "burgers" are basically patties of chopped strawberries, flavored with rosemary and orange zest. We also prepared a sweet and flavorful balsamic reduction syrup that we drizzled on top of the strawberry "burgers". This was a terrific way to celebrate the first day of Spring!

Disclaimer: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I will receive a stipend for this recipe development using King's Hawaiian products.

Ingredients:

balsamic reduction syrup
2 cups Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup Agave syrup

strawberry "burgers"
1 cup fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon egg white
pinch of salt
Butter or cooking spray

coconut french toast sliders
6 King's Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls, sliced in half
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon coconut extract
Butter or cooking spray

Directions:

balsamic reduction syrup

In a saucepan combine balsamic vinegar, honey, and Agave syrup. Bring to boil, then simmer over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens achieving consistency of a syrup. Cool.

strawberry "burgers"

In a bowl, combine chopped strawberries, rosemary, orange zest, sugar, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, egg white, and salt. Preheat a griddle and grease with either butter or cooking spray. Drop the strawberry batter by heaping spoonfuls on the griddle, carefully flattening each into a round. Fry on one side until just starts to brown and then very carefully flip to fry on the other side. Carefully transfer to a plate and keep warm.

coconut french toast sliders

In a bowl, combine coconut milk, egg whites, and coconut extract. Whisk to blend. Dip each roll half in to the coconut milk mixture quickly to soak very lightly (the King's Hawaiian rolls will absorb the mixture fast so do not over soak to avoid the mushy texture). Place on a greased griddle and fry on each side on medium heat until golden brown.

to assemble

Place a strawberry "burger" on each coconut French toast slider half and drizzle balsamic reduction syrup on top of the "burger", then top with the other slider half. Drizzle more balsamic reduction syrup on top of the burgers if desired.

5 Star Foodie Junior: Irish Brown Bread Ice Cream

Welcome to the special St. Patrick's Day edition of 5 Star Foodie Junior, a series of monthly posts that feature my daughter learning how to cook in the kitchen. Today we have made Irish Brown Bread Ice Cream for the St. Patrick's Day Parade Event @ Daily Spud.



5 Star Foodie Junior:

We spent our last summer in Dublin, Ireland. We stayed there for a while, and we had our own apartment. I enjoyed seeing all the sights in Dublin and my favorite activity every day was chasing the pigeons and feeding ducks in St. Stephen's Green park. One day we had lunch with Mama's blogger friend, Aoife (Daily Spud). We had a fun lunch, and after lunch Aoife showed us an ice cream shop, and its name was Murphy's. We came back there later, and tried different flavors of ice cream. My favorite was the Brown Bread Ice Cream.

When Mommy told me that Aoife is doing a St. Patrick's Day Parade event on her blog, I wanted to participate and so we decided to make the Brown Bread Ice Cream.

On Saturday, we made Brown Soda Bread. First, I mixed melted butter and honey together. Then, I mixed whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt. Next, we put in the egg, honey mixture, and buttermilk.



Mommy helped me mix and form the dough. We put the dough in a pan and put in the oven.



When the bread was baked, we cooled it for a while.



We ate some of fresh bread for dinner with Potato, Salmon And Cream Cheese Chowder, a recipe that we found on Aoife's blog.



On Sunday morning, we prepared the ice cream (using this recipe as a guideline). First, I poured milk in a pot and then we put vanilla seeds and the vanilla bean, and heated the milk a little bit.



While the milk with vanilla was standing, we made the breadcrumbs. We crumbled the brown soda bread in a food processor and mixed with regular sugar and brown sugar. Then, I scattered the breadcrumbs on a baking rack and put in the oven until the sugars were melted.


Next, I whisked the egg yolks with sugar and the vanilla milk. Then, I stirred the egg yolk vanilla milk mixture in a pot until it was thickened. We chilled this custard in the refrigerator.



We whipped the cream and folded the vanilla custard in and then breadcrumbs. Then, we put the mixture in the containers and froze it.


The Brown Bread Ice Cream tasted like vanilla and the breadcrumbs were crunchy and crumbly.



We served strawberries on top of the ice cream and the strawberries went nicely with the brown bread ice cream.

Cookbook Review: Janet Ching's Gourmet Traveller 88

Recently, my friend Janet at Gourmet Traveller 88 sent me her new cookbook, and I had the pleasure to make a few of her excellent recipes.

Janet's cookbook, Gourmet Traveller 88 is a collection of selected recipes that she has published on her blog. The recipes are organized by the type of cuisine, featuring authentic Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Western-style dishes.

I have chosen to try three recipes. First, I prepared Janet's Thai fish cakes, or Tod Man Pla. These fish cakes were terrific appetizers, featuring flavorful with the homemade red curry paste.

Next I made the Cantonese Stir-Fried Beef Rice Noodles. The beef was very tender marinated in a soy sauce and mirin mixture. We really liked this stir-fry.

The mango pomelo sago dessert was light, refreshing, and not too sweet.

You can order Janet's cookbook Gourmet Traveller 88 at Bider & Tanner or visit Janet via her blog directly. Please visit Janet's blog right now as she is giving away free copies of her cookbook!

ENTER COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY HERE

Cookbook Review: Debi Shawcross' Friends at the Table

Debi Shawcross is a chef, cooking instructor, and a cookbook author from Richmond, Virginia who has also been my blogging friend for over two years. Her blog, Table Talk features excellent recipes perfect for dinner parties as well as lots of helpful tips and ideas for entertaining guests at various gatherings. This is also the main focus of her brand new cookbook, Friends at the Table: The Ultimate Supper Club Cookbook.

Friends at the Table shows how to re-create at home the elements of the supper clubs of the 1930s and 1940s which were gatherings of friends with fine dining, drinks, and entertainment. Debi has put together a number of complete well thought-out menus with starters, main course, side dishes, and dessert; each menu featuring a seasonal theme as well as a common style of cuisine and flavors that progress perfectly from course to course. For each menu, there is a grocery list, plan-ahead steps and other helpful tips that make it really easy to prepare and execute all the recipes.

For a family gathering this weekend, I chose one of the spring menus featuring Southwestern flavors. We started with Artichoke Quesadillas which we really loved. The blend of delicious artichokes, aromatic basil, smoky poblanos, and spicy Pepper Jack cheese was just perfect.

Southwestern Caesar Salad was terrific, and we really liked the additions of toasted pumpkin seeds and crispy tortilla crisps. The dressing had a nice spicy and smoky kick from the chipotles.

Tequila Marinate Halibut was very flavorful, juicy, and wonderful with the refreshing Grapefruit Avocado Relish.

We really liked the side dish of Creamy Green Chile Rice. It was rich, delicious, and very satisfying.

The Chocolate Tres Leches Cake was an excellent dessert, that was delicious and easy to put together. It was moist, not too sweet, very light, and especially good with the caramel drizzled on top. This was a terrific end to a wonderful meal.

My family loved this meal, and I really enjoyed making all the dishes. I can't wait to try the other recipes from Debi's cookbook. It is definitely the best cookbook to use if you have a party to plan. You can order it at Amazon or at Barnes and Noble.

5 Star Foodie Junior: Beignets

Welcome to the special March edition of 5 Star Foodie Junior, a series of monthly posts that feature my daughter learning how to cook in the kitchen. Today we have made delicious beignets for the upcoming Mardi Gras, that taste just like in New Orleans' Cafe du Monde.



5 Star Foodie Junior:

Last Saturday, we watched the movie "Princess and the Frog". This movie is about a girl kissing a frog. The girl turned into a frog too but then when the two frogs kissed each other, they both turned into humans again and became a prince and a princess. The girl was a waitress in New Orleans, and when there was a wedding party, she had to serve beignets.



I didn't know what beignets were so my dad told me that they are special French-style donuts with powdered sugar on top from New Orleans. He told me that he and mom had really delicious beignets at a famous cafe in New Orleans, called Cafe du Monde. I really wanted to try beignets so my mom and I decided to make them.

On Saturday night we prepared the dough. First we put warm water and a little bit of sugar in a bowl and sprinkled yeast over.



Then the yeast turned into bubbly liquid. We added flour, sugar, salt, egg, and buttermilk and mixed it all up. After adding some butter and more flour, we mixed it up some more and made a dough ball. Then we put it in a bowl sprinkled with flour and covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.



When we woke up on Sunday morning, we rolled the dough out and cut squares.





Next, we fried the squares in oil until they were golden and puffed up.





Then we covered them with powdered sugar.



The beignets were scrumptious!



They tasted sweet and they were light and perfect! It was the best breakfast ever!



Ingredients:

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Additional flour
Vegetable oil for frying
Powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, add warm water and a tablespoon of sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over and let it sit for a few minutes until the yeast dissolves. Then, add the rest of the sugar, salt, eggs, buttermilk, and mixwell. Mix in 2 cups of the flour and beat until smooth (can do this with the KitchenAid or by hand). Add the butter, and then the remaining flour. Mix well until the dough comes together to form a ball (add a little more flour if necessary). Place in a bowl dusted with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Roll out dough about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch squares. Fry in 360F hot oil until puffed up and golden brown.

Roll the beignets in powdered sugar. Serve immediately.