Tuna Avocado Ceviche with Pickled Chorizo

The star here is the pickled chorizo. Cubes of dry chorizo sausage have been sitting in a mason jar with sherry vinegar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and balsamic vinegar about 3-4 days. That tenderizes the otherwise chewy chorizo. This is a great topping for salads, guacamole, and ceviche claim the authors of “Ideas in Food” Aki Kamozawa and Alexander Talbot, where I found this idea, so I decided to put it to the test. My ceviche has avocado and chives as well, and the avocado actually dominates. But I must say pickling the chorizo is a really good move! If you want to try it, the pickling liquids must be in equal proportions.

http://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/548890/pickled-chorizo

Cuban Sandwich Tots

The Cuban Sandwich (which it turns out is in its most authentic form in Tampa and not Miami -> http://www.yborcityonline.com/about-ybor-city/ybor-city-home-of-the-real-cuban-sandwich) is a pressed sandwich made with pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mayo and mustard (on Cuban bread of course). It is definitely worth trying, however having it too often is just not sensible (plus, most places in Florida do a lousy job of making it). So – enter this treatment of tater tots with a Cuban sandwich taste profile! Nice little appetizer, nothing fancy, but a good spin on the classic sandwich – courtesy of the Food Network Magazine. Level “Easy” for sure.

With a little mayo/mustard dip:

https://goo.gl/photos/PeYKCDEpPNb1cHnY6

Recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/cubano-tater-tots.html

P.S. Tots for the win!

Oatmeal Chocolate Cake

I found this recipe through Dan J. Wilcox who posts some of the best recipes and photos from the foodie blogosphere. The recipe promised a moist and rich chocolate cake perfect for mass functions and potlucks, and it is definitely that. The topping is made with melted marshmallows, and the cup of oatmeal in it helps delude me that it is somewhat healthy. Actually, the oatmeal gives it a certain texture that makes you think there is dried fruit in there too. Best with a glass of milk.

Here you go:

http://pinchofyum.com/the-worlds-best-chocolate-oatmeal-cake

I am starting to like this more that my usual go-to Chinese comfort food – Honey Garlic chicken. It gives the same feeling of satisfaction that comes with any food that is fried, crunchy, sweet and spicy.

Here is the recipe (by memory) – it comes from a video, which I can no longer find

Mix:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

Cover your cauliflower florets with this mix. Heat an inch of oil.  Fry until golden. Make the sauce – heat some sesame oil, 3 tablespoons of chopped garlic, half a cup of soy sauce, sugar (by taste)  I used 1/4 of a cup, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, a tablespoon of sriracha. The original recipe calls for some cornstarch slurry to thicken. I just heated it until it became syrupy and skipped the slurry.

UPDATE: Found the recipe, it is from Buzzfeed’s Tasty channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJPYwX-8cB4

Pan de Jamon

This is a Venezuelan bread stuffed with ham, bacon, green olives and raisins, and it is customarily eaten around Christmas. It reminds me of course of the Colombian cachito (a smaller pastry roll with ham popular in Latin bakeries here in Miami). I followed one of these “fast-forward”  cooking videos that are becoming popular – it is on Criollo Cookbook on FB: https://www.facebook.com/criollocookbook/videos/1145509638815537/?pnref=story. The recipe is there!

Triple Cream Cheese & Bourbon Tomato Jam on Croissant Crostini

Sounds fancy and pretentious, but it’s made from leftovers! If you have stale croissants, just cut them in rounds, butter them up and bake until golden brown – they are softer and flakier than regular french bread crostini. The bourbon tomato jam takes just about 20 minutes and is made with cherry tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, onions, garlic, sugar and a splash of Bourbon. And the cheese – well, Costco.

I am sharing this, because using croissants in this way was a revelation – no more piercing the roof of your mouth with the sharp edges of regular toasted bread.

Recipe for the Bourbon jam:

http://www.theflavorbender.com/2015/12/cheesy-thumbprint-savory-cookies-bourbon-tomato-jam.html

Brown Butter Date Cake with Lebneh

This virtually flourless cake (just 1/3 cup), is super soft because of the snowy egg whites (no yolks) used. It is caramel-y in flavor because of the exorbitant amount of browned butter used (2 sticks). The dates make is quite sweet, but that is why you eat it with lebneh, which is sour, thick and creamy. I poured date syrup over the lebneh… and I think that by itself makes a darn good dessert.

Recipe here:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/date-cake-with-pistachio-lebneh

Sorghum, Feta, Mint and Cranberry Salad

Sorghum, or millet, is taste-wise pretty close to brown rice, so I decided I can do a substitution in this recipe:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/brown-rice-salad-with-cranberries-walnuts-mint-and-feta

Feta, mint, nuts (I only had pistachios) and cranberries turn out to be a darn good combo. Furthermore, according to this post: http://www.allaboutfasting.com/healthy-grains.html it turns out  “millet is especially regarded for the treatment of candida yeast overgrowth. Yeast thrive on all the refined sugars we consume and can actually create sugar cravings within us. I have personally found that after eating millet there is a definite lack of a craving for sweets, as if it has somehow magically “subdued” the yeast.”

That is some sorcery – reducing sugar cravings! I plan on using sorghum more often. And not calling it just millet. Sorghum sounds more exotic (and reminds me of a big Chinese movie production in the 80’s called “Red Sorghum”).

Cashew, Cucumber & Dill Dip

This is the vegan version of the Greek yogurt-based dip/salad Tzatziki. Raw cashews are creamed in a blender with olive, oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano and grated cucumbers. I found this recipe on a flying piece of paper in my archive – probably copied from a book  (update – the book is Veganomicon, and here is the recipe itself: https://ourrecipefile.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/mediterranean-style-cashew-cucumber-dip/).

This dip is truly an honorable rival to the classic tzatziki, and will make any vegan and dairy-sensitive stomach happy 🙂

Savory Thumbprint Cookies with Caramelized Onion Jam

This recipe by The Flavor Bender is insane! Just brilliant! Her original version has you make a Bourbon tomato jam from scratch, but I have no Bourbon, and without it things won’t be the same, so I used my trusty savory Jammy Yummy jam (I got two flavors – jalapeno jelly, and caramelized onion) and the cookies turned out  just fine: http://www.jammyyummy.com/

Here is the original recipe:

http://www.theflavorbender.com/2015/12/cheesy-thumbprint-savory-cookies-bourbon-tomato-jam.html – they look stunning, don’t they! Mine have more tan. It’s Florida.

Next, I will try making the Bourbon jam and spread it on some herb bread. Off to the liquor store.