PS The secret ingredients are swing dancing, good company, good music and a lightning storm.
Serrano Hoppers:
Cooked Shrimp
Serrano Peppers
Sharp White Cheddar
Pre-made Wonton Wraps
Instructions
Take the cooked shrimp, remove the tails and chop them up into thin circular slices. Then take the serrano peppers, remove the stems and chop them into thin circular slices. Then take a block of sharp white cheddar and chop it into thin rectangular slices (approximately 1x1.5cm). Using prepared wonton wraps (due to preparation time, we decided to use pre-made wonton wraps, but they're fairly easy to make.
Dip (for Serrano Hoppers):
Tomato
Cilantro
Lemon
Thyme
Cumin
Instructions:
Put the whole tomatoes in boiling water and cook them until the skin begins to separate from the fruit and then remove and hand-peel the tomatoes once they've cooled. Chop cilantro and add freshly squeezed lemon juice, thyme and cumin to taste.
Sweet Potato Dumplings:
Sweet Potato
Olive oil
Butter
Nutmeg
All-purpose flour
Eggs
Spearmint
Instructions:
Preset the oven to 350 degrees and then rub the sweet potatoes with olive oil and bake them for an hour. While the potatoes are baking, make a simple dough mixing all-purpose flour and water, starting with as little water as possible and adding more as needed until the dough sticks together and can be kneaded but not too wet and sticky. Pull off small pieces of the dough and form balls of about 1-inch in diameter. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough as thin as possible into sheets and then set them to dry a little. Remove the potatoes, peel and mash them. If the potatoes aren't mashing well, add some butter and put the mashed potatoes in the oven for 15 minutes to soften them further. Once the potatoes are properly mashed, add enough sweet potato to fill each piece of dough (make sure not to over fill) and then wrap the dumplings. Using some water, seal the dumpling shut and then glaze them with a mixture of beaten eggs and spearmint. Put them on a tray and bake them for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Try to pull out the dumplings before the dough has hardened too much so they become like a sweet and savory bite-sized appetizer.
Salad:
Spinach Leaves
Dried Cranberries
Dried Apricot
Unseasoned Goat Cheese
Leek
Salted Almonds
Instructions:
Mix Spinach leaves, goat cheese (unseasoned), dried cranberries, dried apricot , leek and chopped almonds so that the cheese gets well mixed. Then toss the salad with the honey mustard dressing.
Honey Mustard Salad Dressing:
Honey
Dijon Mustard
Rice Wine Vinegar
Instructions:
Mix a ratio of 5:3:2 of Honey to Dijon Mustard to Rice Wine Vinegar for as much dressing as you need. I'd recommend mixing the honey and rice wine vinegar using a fork and then slowly add in the mustard and keep mixing. Thanks to Alton Brown and the Food Network website for this recipe and ratio.
Baked Chicken with a Poblano Pesto:
4 breasts of chicken
2-3 poblano peppers
Dried or Fresh Basil
Pine Nuts
Olive Oil
Cilantro
Instructions:
Take the breasts of chicken and rub them lightly with olive oil and put them on a sheet to bake for about 15 minutes on each side at 350 degrees (or until the outside has turned white but doesn't start browning). Meanwhile, using a food processor or blender, chop and add in basil, pine nuts, cilantro and olive oil to taste for a pesto to your liking. Then add chopped poblano peppers to your liking (based on the level of spiciness you'd like). I prefer 1 pepper for about 1 cup of pesto. During all this mixing, don't forget to add olive oil as needed to avoid clumping and per your preference. Using some of the pesto, rub each breast with the pesto and then bake each side for 5 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Slice the chicken and serve it on a platter or in a bowl with the remaining pesto poured over the chicken.
Wild Rice with Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Leeks, Squash and Cilantro:
Wild rice
Butternut Squash
Olive Oil
Leeks
Cilantro
Chives
Sweet Potato
Instructions:
Using a rice cooker, book about 2 cups of rice wild rice. This can take about 45 minutes, but make sure not to overcook the rice (allow it to be slightly chewy). While that's cooking, chop the butternut squash into cubes and rub those cubes with light olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Set them to bake on a sheet at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Using some olive oil, sauté some chopped leeks, chives and cilantro. If you have any leftover sweet potato from the dumplings (above) you can use it here too. Taking all the prepared parts, mix and toss the rice, squash, sweet potato and cilantro, leek and chive mixture. Recipe modified from Nancy Oakes, Pamela Mazzolo and Bon Appétit (and Epicurious.com)
Coconut Couscous:
Israeli Couscous
Coconut milk
Instructions:
Following the directions of the specific couscous you purchase, add the suggested amount of water and then add half to a full can of coconut milk (depending on how much coconut flavor and smell you'd like). Stir and cook until the mixture absorbs the water.
Crepes with Raspberry Sorbet and Dark Chocolate:
Flour
Salt
Sugar
Grated Ginger
Raspberry Sorbet
50% Dark Chocolate
Instructions:
Mix a cup of flour and 2 eggs in a bowl and slowly add in 1/2 a cup of milk and 1/2 a cup of water. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of butter and 3-4 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger into the mixture and stir. In a frying pan, melt some butter and make crepes using 1/4 cup of batter per crepe (this should yield about 8 crepes per batch). After make the crepes, serve them with raspberry sorbet and grated dark chocolate. Recipe modified from JENNYC819 at AllRecipes.com.
After-Dinner Shooter (Dark Chocolate Surprise!):
Amoretto
Grand Marnier
50% Dark Chocolate
Instructions:
Put a small chunk of dark chocolate at the bottom of a shot glass. Fill the shot glass half way with Amoretto. Using a spoon, hold the concave side over the shot glass and touch it to the side of the shot glass such that the spoon covers the mouth of the glass. Slowly pour Grand Marnier onto the spoon such that it drizzles slowly on top of the Amoretto, forming a layered drink.
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