#18 Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Potato Rounds

I don't really know what prompted me to buy a package of 4 portobello mushrooms this week, perhaps it was in the hope that I have always wanted to like them a little bit more. Whatever the reason, I had to quickly find a recipe before they went to waste and ended up with a simple marinade and grilling recipe. So though it wasn't one of my favorite recipes, it did provide something different this week and a nice vegetarian meal. So take it or leave it, here it is.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 4 portobello mushroom caps
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 (1 ounce) slices provolone cheese

Directions

1. Place the mushroom caps, smooth side up, in a shallow dish. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over the mushrooms. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or so, turning twice.
2. Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
3. Brush grate with oil. Place mushrooms on the grill, reserving marinade for basting. Grill for 5 to 8 minutes on each side, or until tender. Brush with marinade frequently. Top with cheese during the last 2 minutes of grilling.

Potato Rounds

Ingredients:

1 potato, sliced

Few Dashes of Steak Seasoning

Salt and Pepper

Dash of Paprika

1/2 cup of flour

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions:

Pown olive oil into frying pan over medium heat. Mix the dry ingredients together and dip potato slices in the dry mixture before frying them in the pan. Fry to your own liking.

Buen Provecho!

#17 Southern Delight: Tomatillo Bass, Avocado Salad and Margarita Granita

Wow, this recipe was one well-rounded delight. Not only was the fish and tomatillo sauce mouth-watering, the avocado salad had a nice bite to it which was refreshingly followed with the post-dinner margaritas. This will definitely be a recipe to pull out next time I have dinner guests so more people than just the novio and I get to savor all the tastes this recipe provides. And as far as the novio and I, we both gave this recipe a 5 star rating. Be ready to be gratified, this one is a keeper. (And thanks go to Rachel Ray as the recipe was adapted from her original one.)

Tomatillo Bass

Ingredients:

4 fillets Bass

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin (eyeball it)

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (eyeball it)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

The juice of 1 lime

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeded, and finely chopped

2 or 3 large cloves of garlic, minced

8 to 10 tomatillos, peeled and diced with juice

1/2 can of beer

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (a palmful)

Avocado Salad with Corn and Peppers

1 tablespoon extra-virgin oilive oil (once around the pan)

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 can corn kernals

1 sprinkly of sugar

Dash Cayenne pepper

Dash salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 ripe avocadoes

The juice of 1 lime

Coarse salt

Directions:

Season Fish on both sides salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the hot skillet and saute fish 3 minutes on each side, turning carefully with a thin spatula. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lime over the fish, and transfer fillets to a warm serving platter.

Return skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, red onion, jalapeno, and garlic, and saute, 1 minute or 2, then add tomatillos. Season with salt and pepper, and saute, another 1 or 2 minutes. Add beer and the juice of 1/2 lime, and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, 5 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, get a second skillet hot over moderate heat. Add olive oil, onion, jalapeno, bell pepper, and saute, 2 or 3 minutes. Pour the corn into the skillet. Combine with peppers and onions. Season with sugar, cayenne, and salt. When mixture bubbles, reduce heat to a simmer. Cut butter into pieces, stir into corn mixture, and simmer until creamy, 5 to 7 minutes.

Cut avocados in half lengthwise and remove pits. Squeeze lime juice over the avocados to keep them from browning and season with a little coarse salt.

Back to the sauce for fish: Add cilantro, and adjust salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon hot tomatillo sauce over the fish.

To serve, set 1/2 an avocado per person alongside a serving of fish, topped with tomatillo sauce. Fill the avocado with corn and peppers, allowing the corn to spill down and over the sides. The ripe avocado is spooned away from its skin with bites of creamy, warm corn and peppers.

Margarita Granita

Ingredients:

The juice of 2 limes

1 tray ice cubes

1 pint lime sherbet

4 shots good quality tequila

1 cup of frozen strawberries

Combine all ingredients ina blender and blend on high, 1 or 2 minutes or until smooth and frothy. Spoon into glasses and serve.

#16 White Fish with Mango Salsa

Cinco de Mayo served me well this year, even if we didn't get our usual 3-5 day weekend, we all enjoyed a Thursday off this week. There's something about having a day off that makes cooking so much easier. After spending a day going on a run, going out for coffee with the girls, seeing "Fast and the Furious 5" with the boys, it only seemed right to invite some friends over for dinner and keep the fun going.

For this impromptu dinner party, I decided fish with a little kick was going to be the main dish. I had hoped to do salmon with mango salsa, but after seeing that less than a kilo of salmon is costing $20, I opted for an alternative - white fish. And in the end, it was still filling and tasty with the tangy mango salsa on the top. At the last minute, I also made a veggie stir-fry rice dish to round out the meal.

Ingredients

2 cups tomatoes, diced

1/2 cups diced peeled ripe mango

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • 4 fish fillets
• 
  

Preparation

• To make the salsa, combine the first 7 ingredients. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and garlic.
• Prepare grill. Rub halibut with oil; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.Place fish on grill rack; grill 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with mango salsa.

Buen Provecho!

#15 Lasagna by Candlelight

After two weeks of traveling and not doing a whole lot of cooking, I was looking forward to coming home and making some yummy homemade goodness. I took a special trip to the store to get the ingredients for lasagna since it's usually something that doesn't grace my dining room table too often. I picked a new recipe from a family friend from back home, made my usual adjustments (adding more veggies) and made sure to get the necessary ingredients.

Sadly, I came home to my cozy apartment to find that my entire building was out of electricity. Living in Mexico, this isn't such a rarity, but it nevertheless put a damper on my desire to make lasagna. However, my hunger won and I lit all 7 candles I own, placed them around the kitchen to illuminate the necessary ingredients and tools to make this week's new recipe.

Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger

1/2 diced onion

McCormick's Steak Sea

soning

Red Pepper Flakes

2 tablespoons pesto

3 diced tomatoes

1 cup freshly cut spinach

1 (8-oz.) tomato sauce (I used pre-seasoned sauce)

garlic salt to taste

1 (8-oz.) package lasagna noodles (pre-cooked)

8 to 16 oz. mozzarella cheese (sliced or shredded)

1 c. cottage cheese

Directions

In a saucepan, brown hamburger and onion. Add a dash of steak seasoning and red pepper flakes to give the meat some flavor. Add the pesto sauce. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, spinach and garlic salt, simmer for 40 minutes. Salt to taste. Place 1/2 noodles in a 9 x 13 pan. Top with 1/3 sauce, 1/2 cheese and 1/2 cottage cheese. Repeat layers ending with sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting (very important). And though you can't see much in the photo, I sliced some oranges to eat alongside the lasagna.

Buen Provecho!

#14 Can't Go Wrong Bruschetta

One of the easiest things to throw together and never one to disappoint would be bruschetta. This week I decided to make it "new" by throwing some broiled chicken on top. So if you're looking for something simple, easy and delicious, give this one a go.

Can't go Wrong Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1 loaf of french bread (best if freshly made from bakery)

A few tablespoons pesto

2 diced tomatoes

1 cup of shredded/diced cooked chicken

A couple handfuls of shredded cheese

Dash of Oregano

Directions:

Slice the bread down the middle. Spread the pesto on like butter. Put diced tomatoes on top along with the chicken. Sprinkle the loaves with cheese and top with a dash of oregano if you please.

Buen Provecho!

#13 Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi and Pasta del Dia

Let's just say this has been one of my favorite recipes so far this year. It required some creativity for the quickly thrown-together pasta and some ticklers for the tastebuds with the fish. It even was worth the opening of a bottle of wine to accompany the meal, so get your forks ready and seriously consider this mouth-watering meal.

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi (courtesy of allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 (6 oz) mahi mahi fillets

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.

3. Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze. Spoon glaze over fish (and over pasta if you like) and serve immediately.

Pasta del Dia

(quickly invented in the kitchen and quickly devoured off the plate)

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked pasta of your choice

6 bacon strips, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

A touch of olive oil

1/4 cup of diced onion

1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup of butter, cubed

1/2 cup of grated cheese of choice

1 avocado, diced

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon until crips. Remove to paper towels. In the drippings, saute garlic until tender. Add a little olive oil and saute mushrooms and onions. Add the milk and butter; stir until smooth. Stir in the cheese and bacon; heat through. Drain pasta; toss with sauce. Top with fresh, diced avocadoes.

Grab that glass of wine, say cheers and Buen Provecho!

#12 Chicken Dijonnaise

You can never go wrong making one of mom's dishes and that's just what I did this week (with just a few additions) - I brought Minnesota to Mexico and enjoyed it with friends. Taste it for yourself and say thanks to mom.

#12 Chicken Dijonnaise

Ingredients:
10 oz. butter
3 (7-oz.) chicken breasts, boned
flour
1/2 c. thinly sliced yellow onions
1/2 c. mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 artichoke hearts
2 oz. Dijon mustard
1 c. white wine
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 c. steamed broccoli
fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
In a skillet, heat butter. Dredge chicken in flour; saute in butter until lightly brown, about 2-3 minutes. When you turn chicken to brown second side, quickly add onion, mushrooms, garlic, broccoli and artichoke hearts. Let vegetables heat in residue. Stir to prevent garlic from burning. Add mustard and white wine, continue to move pan to blend mustard and wine. Let liquid reduce by half. As chicken gets ready, add cream, cook 3-4 minutes to a creamy consistency. Remove chicken to a serving dish. Pour sauce on top, sprinkle with parsley. Serve with rice or noodles. (It is really important to have all the ingredients ready before starting to cook.)

Buen Provecho!