Guacamole

My Husband is from the midwest, the Chicago suburbs to be more specific.  Apparently Mexican food wasn't one of the food genres that his family ate.  It was more of a meat, potato, veg situation.  And the veg did not include avocados (though technically a fruit).  Hubby moved to Southern California to finish out his college years in the late 90's.  A place where you can find an abundence of little taco stands and Mexican restaurants.  We first met during my last semester of college, his second to last.  When I found out that Hubs didn't really do Mexican food, I took it as a personal challenge to introduce him to some of my favorite local Mexican inspired flavors, including guacamole. 

I have a funny story to share that really doesn't have anything to do with guac, but recalling the humble beginnings of Hubs and my relationship reminded me of this.  The first time I met my Hubby's family (including Mom, Dad, sister, aunts, cousins, etc.) was when Hubs and I were graduating from college(even though we finished school a semester apart, they only hold one walking ceremony per year).  His whole family came to town for the graduation and one evening we were planning to have dinner with his Dad. I suggested we go to a steak house.  His Dad with a surprised expression said, "You eat steak?".  With a somewhat puzzled look I said, "Yes, of course!"  He replied something to the effect of, "oh I thought most California girls were vegetarians."  Ha! Stereotypes run the gamut I guess with all us granola crunching, liberal, veg heads in So Cal.  Which couldn't be further from the way I grew up.

But let's get back to stereotyping my Hubs with his midwestern meat and potato ways.  For the record, he doesn't eat that much meat, but he is a total carb junkie, namely pasta and bread.  Over the years, I've gotten Hubs to eat at Mexican restaurants and he always orders the same thing, fajitas.  Okay, it's a start.  He does venture into the occasional burrito if we are more of casual dining place.  But Mexican food is by no means his favorite.

I cannot pinpoin where and when it happened, but my avocado hating husband magically started eating and enjoying guacamole.  First at family events (guac has always been a popular dip).  Then even at restaurants.  He actually asks me to make guacamole.  Which I'm more than happy to do.  But please note, despite is fondness of guac, he still stands strong on not liking avocados that are not mashed up with onions, spices and herbs.  When I tried to serve him an avocado cup salad in place of a side salad for dinner one night, he ate everything off the avocado and handed me his naked avocado.

Small victories though.  Maybe in the next decade he will embrace the avocado in all its creamy rich goodness.  In the meantime, we'll keep eating guac!

As the heat indexes continues to soar across the nation, I wanted to share something requiring no cooking or baking.  This guacamole is easy to make and very tasty.  It's a mild version, so if you like to heat things up add in half (or whole if your're really brave) finely diced jalapeno and/or a few dashes of hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Guacamole
from The Ginger Snap Girl

4 ripe medium avocados
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
Juice from 1 1/2 limes
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use fine sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup of finely chopped tomato, seeded (I use grape tomatoes and squeeze out the excess juice and seeds)
1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro

To cut your avocado, hold the avocado standing on its long end and run your knife through the top middle cutting lengthwise around the pit until you come full circle.  Place the avocado in both hands and twist to reveal two halves.  To remove the pit, hold the avocado pit side up on your cutting board and take the fat end of a chef's knife and give it a little whack it into the dead center of the pit.  Be careful here! You don't want  to lose any digits! Once the knife is in the pit, twist the knife around to release the pit. 

Scoop out avocado with a spoon or peel away the skin.  Place the peeled, pitted, avocado halves in a medium bowl.  Using a fork lightly mash the avocado until you have large chunks.  I like to keep my guac somewhat chunky.  Stir in remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning.  You may need to add more lime juice or salt and pepper depending on your preferece.  Serve immediately with chips or fresh veggies. 

If you want make your guacamole ahead, I recommend doing so the day you want to serve it, a few hours ahead.  Take your finished guacamole and place plastic wrap directly on the surface on the guac, pressing down so that no air is between the plastic and the dip.  Air makes guac turn brown pretty quick.  Place another sheet of plastic over the top of the bowl (or close with a lid if you have one).

Avocado Cup Salad

From the looks of my blog it might appear like I eat desserts for every meal with an occasional shrimp dish or salad tossed in here and there.  It's true I have been known to eat a dessert or two as my breakfast.  And when I'm not eating desserts, I'm not always eating the most healthy thing I can get my hands on.  A girl likes homemade nachos after all!  But.  In order to eat the number of desserts I do, I try to eat somewhat healthy meals most of the time.  If I didn't, I would have to buy a new wardrobe.  And that would be expensive.  So in the spirit of continuing to fit into my current wardrobe, I bring you a healthy recipe. 

I came across this salad at Corner Bakery a few weeks ago.  It's one of their trio side salads called the Southwest Avocado Wedge.  I'm not sure if it's new to their menu or I just never paid attention before.  Regardless, I'm glad I discovered it.  Actually the thanks go to my friend Crystal who ordered this little beauty and was kind enough to extend me a bite.  I immediately knew I wanted to recreate it at home.

What drew me into this salad was how refreshing, bright, creamy and crunchy it was.  And did I mention, healthy?  Plus I adore avocados and the avocado is the main centerpiece in this one. 

The first layer of this salad is a crisp, tangy, jicama slaw dressed simply with fresh lime juice and minced cilantro. 

A half of an avocado sits atop the slaw and fresh roasted sweet corn salsa...

...fills up the avocado cup and spills over the sides.  The final touch is a crumble of tortilla chips for a little salty crunch and sliced green onions.

This is a nice alternative to a lettuce based side salad.  I have made it a couple times, once as an accompaniment to shrimp with mango salsa for dinner and another time as lunch.  For lunch it was on the light side so you may want to add some grilled chicken or shrimp on the side to round out your meal.

I see many more avocado cup salads in my future. 

And don't worry.  The desserts aren't going anywhere.

Enjoy!

Avocado Cup Salad
by The Ginger Snap Girl, inspired from Corner Bakery

This side dish starts with a bed of jicama cilantro slaw.  A half of an avocado is nestled on the slaw and topped with roasted corn salsa, finished with crushed tortilla chips.  Easy.  Simple.  Refreshing.

Serves 4 side salads
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn (if fresh corn is not available I use C&W frozen petite white sweet corn)
1/2 red, yellow or orange pepper, diced
2 roma or plum tomatoes, cut in half, seeded and diced
1/4 cup red onion finely diced
1 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon cilantro
1/2 anaheim green chile or jalapeno (if you like spicy), finely diced
2 limes
1 small jicama, peeled and cut into matchstick size strips (about 2 cups)
2 small to medium sized ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise
2 green onions, thinly sliced at an angle
12 round tortilla chips broken into small pieces

Start by making the corn salsa.  Heat a small non stick skillet on medium high heat and add the olive oil frozen corn, red, yellow or orange pepper, and the chile.  Saute stirring occasionally until the corn, pepper and chile begin to take on roasted appearance, about 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
Once mixture is cool, add tomato, red onion, 1 teaspoon of cilantro, the roasted corn, pepper and chile mixture to a medium bowl and stir together.  Squeeze the juice of one lime on the salsa and season with salt and pepper if desired and stir.

Next make the jicama slaw by combining the jicama, juice of one lime and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cilantro in a small bowl.  Stir to combine.

Assemble by diving the jicama slaw amongst 4 plates.  Create a well in the center of the slaw and place a half of avocado cup on top, nestled in the well.  Top the avocado generously with corn salsa, allowing it flow over the sides.  Finish each salad with 3 crushed tortilla chips and a sprinkle of green onions.

Serve immediately.

Barbecue Chicken Salad

Have you ever had barbecue chicken salad at California Pizza Kitchen?  It's one of my favorite entree salads to order out a restaurant.  I've had it at other restaurants and I think the CPK salad is hands down the best version.  All the flavors complement each other...sweet, tangy, crunchy, cheesy.  It's a filling (a half order is plenty for me or if Hubby wants to share we get the full order) and oh so delicious meal.

Hubs and I eat salads for dinner (as our entree) at least 1 or 2 times a week.  Most of the time it's a basic salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, red pepper, sometimes mushrooms, topped with grilled shrimp or chicken.  I sometimes add a sprinkle of feta or cheddar cheese and or some croutons if I have them.  Our favorite salad dressing is one I get in the produce section at my grocery store by Litehouse.  They have a lite ranch dressing that is low in calories and doesn't taste like a "light" ranch dressing.  I was getting a little bored with our basic salads so I started thinking about alternative options...

I had ranch dressing and barbecue sauce in the fridge and chicken in the freezer and thought why not make barbecue chicken salad at home?  I didn't consult a recipe for this one.  I went from memory and crossed my fingers. 

You start by baking the chicken in barbecue sauce.  Once it's cooled, chop it and toss it in more barbecue sauce.  There is one other cooking component to this recipe.  I like to roast sweet corn and it's easy to do right on the stove top.  I keep frozen white sweet corn on hand at all times (I have found the C&W brand to be the sweetest).  To roast, drizzle a little olive oil in a non stick pan and throw in the frozen corn (don't thaw) and cook about 10 minutes on medium high heat, stirring once in a while until the corn takes on a roasted, caramelized color on some of the kernels.  If fresh corn is in season that would be even better, just toss your husked corn cob right on the grill and turn every couple of minutes until that charred color starts to appear (also about 10 minutes).

The rest comes together easily.  While your chicken and corn are cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients. 

Tip of the day - Freeze Your Chips!

One of the ingredients in the salad is crushed tortilla chips.  I have a tip to share for storing chips.  Once you've opened the bag, use a chip clip to close the bag and store it in your freezer.  This works great for both tortilla chips and potato chips.  In our two person household it can take a while for us to eat up a bag of chips before they go stale.  The chips will keep nicely in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

*****

So how did my version of barbecue chicken salad compare?  Both Hubby and I gave it two big thumbs up.  In fact I've made it twice already and it's officially been added to our salad rotation.  I'm loving it! 

The salad is very similar to my beloved CPK version.  I just went to the CPK website to compare ingredients and I came pretty darn close.  The only thing my version didn't have was jicama and basil (which I didn't really miss).  At CPK avocado is an add on ingredient for extra money.  Since avocados were on sale at the market, they were a definite add in my version of the salad. 

Oh, and I can't forget to tell you, the squeeze of lime takes this salad up a level.  It gives it a little tang that goes nicely with the creamy ranch and sweet barbecue sauce from the chicken.  Don't skip the lime!

Enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Salad
from The Ginger Snap Girl, inspired from California Pizza Kitchen

Serves 4 entree portions

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup barbecue sauce (I used Lucille's)
1 large head of romaine lettuce, washed, air dried, and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro (optional)
1 cup frozen petite white corn
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large avocado, peeled and sliced into chunks
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions, thinly sliced on the bias (at an angle)
1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese
12 round tortilla chips, crushed
Ranch dressing, about 1 cup (I used Litehouse lite ranch dressing, found in the refrigerator section of the produce section)
1 lime cut into 4 wedges

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray an 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.  Place chicken breasts on top of the sauce and spread the remainder of 1/4 cup of sauce on top of the chicken breasts.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and clear juices run out of the chicken.  Transfer chicken from the baking dish to a cutting board and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.  Once chicken is cooled, cut into 1 inch chunks and place in a medium bowl.  Toss the cut chicken with 1/3 cup barbecue sauce.

While the chicken is baking, heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil to the pan.  Add the frozen corn (do not thaw) to the pan and stir.  Allow corn to cook over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You want to allow the corn to roast and get lightly browned.  You can also grill fresh corn on the cob if it's available.  Remove corn from heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl toss the lettuce with the ranch dressing.  Add cilantro and toss to evenly distribute.  Divide lettuce amongst 4 entree portion bowls.  Top lettuce with tomatoes, black beans, roasted corn, avocados, cheese and green onions.  Divide barbecue chicken amongst the 4 bowls and sprinkle each evenly with crushed tortilla chips.  To finish place a lime wedge in each bowl.  Don't forget to squeeze the lime over the salad....it's what makes it!

Ahi Tuna Poke

This is my second month participating in the Secret Recipe Club.  What is the Secret Recipe Club you ask?  The concept is simple.  A group of food bloggers each get assigned another persons blog...and the assignments are....you guessed it, a secret.  You browse the blog you have been assigned that month and then choose a recipe to make and blog about.  Everyone reveals their posts on the same day.  What I love about the Secret Recipe Club is it is a great way to get know new blogs.  I'm always super excited the day the blog assignments are handed out.  I can't wait to check out my assigned blog and see what it's all about and what tasty dish I might make.

This month I was assigned Mary Anne and Mariel's blog, Feast on the Cheap.  These two very talented ladies are a mother daughter team.  Mary Anne is a professional caterer and Mariel is a writer who contributes regularly to publications like Martha Stewart Living, Self and Redbook and describes herself as a "fledgling foodie".  Feast on the Cheap is all about delicious, affordable homemade food.  Mary Anne and Mariel provide a cost per serving for every recipe and have a wide array of dishes that elevate food to a gourmet status.  I spent quite a bit of time drooling over all the wonderful recipes on their site. It was difficult to choose just one.  Initially I had my eye on New England Clam Chowder, Cheesecake Brownies with Glazed Mixed Berries and Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Mint Glaze.  I have bookmarked all three for future indulgences.  But at the end of day I selected the Ahi Tuna Poke for two reasons.  I knew Hubby would love it and it didn't require me turning on the oven or serving a hot soup on a hot summer day. 

Ahi Poke is a light, delicious and simple appetizer that can be whipped together in no time.  You can serve it with crispy fried wontons, tortilla chips or crisp pita wedges.  I stayed pretty true to the original recipe in terms of the ingredients only making one small change to add in sliced green onions.  I halved the recipe and Hubby and I had it for a light Sunday dinner (recovering from a somewhat heavy lunch).  I used half the ingredients to make a layered mold so I could take a photo.  To make the mold I used a short wide mouthed drinking glass and lined it with plastic wrap.  I took a little liberty with how I layered it in the event that Hubs wasn't a huge fan of the heat from the siracha chile sauce.  I took a small portion of each of the ingredients (ahi, cucumber, tomato, avocado and green onion) and mixed it with the sauce (chile sauce, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and dijon mustard--I omitted the mustard).  That's how the Feast of the Cheap ladies served the entire dish.  But Hubs is not a huge fan of spicy stuff so I only used the spicy mixture in the middle layer.  The rest of the layers were sauce-less.  And I had some extra sauce on the side for those of who like a little more heat (i.e., me).  Turns out Hubby liked the spice!  Now I have a huge bottle of siracha chile sauce to use up.  ;)  This recipe is a keeper!

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the blog see what the other Secret Recipe Club bloggers made this month.


Ahi Tuna Poke
from Feast on the Cheap

Serves 20 appetizer portions

Ahi Mixture:
1 1/2 pounds of sushi grade ahi tuna, chopped
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and chopped
3 avocados pitted, peeled and chopped
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Optional: 2 green onions thinly sliced (this was my addition)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons chili sauce (siracha)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or Tamari sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons mirin wine
1 teaspoon dijon mustard (optional) - I omitted

Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl combine the ahi tuna, cucumber, avocados, tomatoes and green onions (if using).  Pour sauce over the ahi and vegetables and gently stir to evenly coat all the ingredients with the sauce.  Serve with crispy fried wontons, tortilla chips or crisp pita wedges.

Mahi Mahi with Mango and Avocado Salsa

Grilling season is officially in full swing at our house.  And hubby and I are trying to eat a little more healthy as a few extra pounds have crept up on both of us.  Plus vacation last week didn't help.  After a week of indulgence I thought a nice simple fish with a fresh salsa was the perfect meal to start our post vacation detox. 

I didn't grow up eating fish.  Unless you count fish sticks.  I ate a lot of fish sticks but never cared much for real fish.  Over the years I've introduced more and more fish into my diet, but I mostly stick to the mild white fleshed fish, like halibut, cod, tilapia, swordfish and mahi mahi.  I'm still not a fan of fish snapper, salmon or sea bass.  But mahi mahi ranks among my top fish picks.  I buy it at Costco and it's packaged in individual fillets and frozen. 

Mahi mahi is a firm and very mild tasting fish that is taken up about 10 notches with this delicious mango and avocado salsa.  The fish is like a blank canvas for the sweet mangoes and creamy avocados.  I have also made this salsa with white peaches in the past and it's equally fabulous.  This is a nice simple dish that can be put together in about 20 minutes (if your hubby or significant other is helping out by doing the grilling).  It's a nice light and fresh dinner.  We ate our fish with just the salsa.  It would also pair nicely with cilantro white rice if you want something a little more hearty.  Or you could flake up the fish and make fish tacos topped with this tasty salsa. 

Even if you are not a fish fan, I urge you to try the salsa.  It's simple and delicious and would make a lovely appetizer for your next summer barbecue.


Grilled Mahi Mahi

Mahi Mahi filets
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Drizzle fish generously with olive on both sides.  Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Grill on medium high heat with lid closed until fillet looks opaque on the sides (about 4 minutes depending on thickness).  Using a grill safe spatula flip fillet and cook for additional 3 minutes with lid closed until fish just feels firm.  If you don't have a grill you could use a grill pan or simply pan sear the fish.


Mango and Avocado Salad
adapted from williams-sonoma.com

2 large ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 large ripe avocado (or 2 small avocados), peeled, pitted and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 teaspoon lime zest
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except avocado in a medium bowl and stir.  Gently toss in avocado so the juices fully coat the avocado pieces (to prevent browning).  Serve a generous portion over grilled mahi mahi or enjoy as an appetizer with white or blue corn tortilla chips.

Sushi Nachos

Sushi? Nachos? Hmmm. A strange combination. This unlikely pairing has become a favorite at my house. I will admit up front that I did not dream up this delicious concoction. I got the idea from our favorite local sushi restaurant. Then our favorite sushi place closed for an extensive period for remodeling, thus cutting off the life line to the infamous nachos. What to do? I think you know the answer.

Luckily around the same time Hubby and I were craving our nachos, we discovered a great local butcher. A good old fashioned butcher that happens to carrier sashimi grade ahi tuna. The moment I spotted it in the butcher's case I knew nachos were in our near future.

So what is a sushi nacho you ask? A crispy fried wonton topped with raw ahi tuna, a dollop of avocado cream (i.e. guacamole), slivers of green onion and a few drops of soy sauce.


Ok, so there is no cheese in these nachos, but trust me you won't miss it! Cause I'm thinking ahi and cheese is a little weird.

But avocado and ahi tuna are, in my humble opinion, a culinary match made made in heaven. If you like either of these ingredients, try this dish! It's easy to make, and will make you feel like you are eating like a queen (or a king) in the comfort of your own home. Or you could really impress your friends and serve this as an appetizer at your next gathering.

Ahi tuna runs about $12.99 a pound at our butcher and Hubby and I made dinner out of 3/4 pound. Supplemented with a salad with fresh ginger dressing and you have a light, yet filling meal. The wonton wrappers (or in this case the potsticker wrappers) can be found in your local grocery store in the cold section containing asian and other ethnic products. And you can use the left over wrappers to make your own ravioli. Hopefully the subject of a post in the near future...

Sushi Nachos:
Serves 2 for dinner or 4-6 for appetizers

12 wonton or potsticker wrappers, fried in vegetable oil (flip after 10 seconds, these brown incredibly fast...in under 30 seconds total)
3/4 - 1 pound of sashimi grade ahi tuna, diced into 1/4 inch chunks
3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce for drizzling
3 green onions, thinly sliced including white and green parts

Avocado Cream:
3 ripe avocados, diced
1/4 cup thinly sliced white or yellow onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp freshly cracked pepper
Juice of 1 small lime
1 heaping Tablespoon of sour cream
6-8 dashes of tobasco (optional)

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. I use my mini prep for this. You can adjust the salt, pepper and lime juice to your taste.

To assemble place a dollop of avocado cream on the fried wonton wrapper. Top with about a teaspoon of ahi, another dab of avocado cream, thinly sliced green onions and drizzle with soy sauce to taste.