June 2009—AnnMarie and Lindsay

Gourmet Club
June 27, 2009
AnnMarie Cutrell and Lindsay Cutrell
Tomato-Ginger Compote
Red Pepper Relish
Sunrise Punch
Ceviche
Strawberry Mint Soup
Forbidden Black Rice Salad
Quinoa Salad
Ginger Shrimp
Shrimp with Rum Glaze
Lime Coconut Cake
Grilled Pineapple
Coconut Ice Cream

Sunrise Punch
Makes 32 eight ounce servings
Total time: 15 minutes

1 can frozen orange juice Concentrate, thawed (12oz)
1 can frozen limeade Concentrate, thawed (12oz)
1 can frozen lemonade
Concentrate, thawed (12oz)
1 cup grenadine
1-2 fresh oranges, sliced
1-2 fresh lemons, sliced
1-2 fresh limes, sliced
2 liters club soda or seltzer water (I used 7-Up)

One day before the party, combine orange juice, limeade, and lemonade concentrates (adding water according to package directions) in a large bowl. Stir in grenadine. Fill 3 ice trays with punch and freeze. Refrigerate remaining punch.

Right before serving, add fresh orange, lemon, and lime slices, club soda, and frozen-punch ice cubes to punch in a pitcher of punch bowl. Serve immediately.


Red Pepper Relish

10 red peppers, shredded
1 tsp salt
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp Tabasco
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp orange marmalade

Sprinkle shredded peppers with salt and let drain in a colander over night. Boil peppers with vinegar and sugar for 30 minutes or until the consistency is thick. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Relish and be canned or frozen.


Tomato-Ginger Compote

1 qt water
2 pounds plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. You may want to use a potato masher at the end to get the chunks small enough. Cool and add salt to taste.


Ceviche
1 lb shark
1 cup lime juice
Cilantro
Tomatoes
Jalapeno peppers
Onion
Salt

Chop raw shark or pulse in food processor. Marinate in lime juice over night. Chop remaining ingredients and add until you like the ratio of onion to tomato to shark. Add salt to taste.


Cold Strawberry Mint Soup

1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
1/3 cup (83ml) water
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 cups (290 g) fresh strawberries

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water and mint and bring to a simmer. Cook for about a minute, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool (it will give the mint time to infuse the syrup).

In the meantime, hull and halve the strawberries and place them in a blender or food processor. Once the mint syrup is cooled, process the strawberries, adding the syrup, one tablespoon at a time until the mixture is nice and smooth. The more syrup you add, the thinner your soup will be. Serve in shot glasses.


Forbidden Black Rice Salad

2 cups Forbidden Rice
3 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup Tamari
3 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 pound roasted diced sweet potatoes
3/4 cup diced red peppers
3/4 cup diced yellow peppers
1/2 bunch sliced scallions

Bring rice, water and pinch of salt to a quick bowl, cover and lower heat to a simmer for 30 minutes. Let rice sit while you whisk together sesame oil and tamari. While rice is still warm toss in the sesame oil and tamari mixture. Let cool, then add sweet potatoes, red peppers, yellow peppers, scallions, and salt, pepper to taste.


Quinoa Salad

Quinoa:

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed very well
2 1/4 cups water
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Vegetables:

2 medium-large tomatoes, finely chopped
Kernels of 2 ears of cooked corn (about 1 cup)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup parsley, minced
1/3 cup fresh mint, minced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced (reserve a few slices for garnish)

Dressinq:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (NOT lemon)
3 Tbsp vegetable broth or bean cooking liquid
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste (optional)
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1/4 – 1/2 tsp chipotle chili pepper

To cook the quinoa in a pressure cooker, place it and the water, garlic, and salt in the cooker and lock the lid. Over high heat, bring to high pressure and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally. Fluff the quinoa and allow it to cool.

Combine all of the vegetables in a large bowl. Add the quinoa and mix well. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Mix well and refrigerate until chilled. Taste before serving, and add more lime juice as necessary (you want it to be tangy). Garnish with avocado slices and serve.

Makes about 10 servings.


Ginger Shrimp Marinade

2 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1/4 soy sauce
2 limes, zested and juiced
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp grill seasoning

Mix and marinate shrimp for up to 2 hours. Grill.


Shrimp with Rum Glaze
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 4 shrimp)

1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, minced
24 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 t pounds)
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup corn syrup
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp black pepper
Cooking spray

Prepare grill. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add shrimp, toss to coat. Cover and chill 15 minutes.

Thread shrimp on skewers.

Combine brown sugar and next 8 ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until syrupy.

Place shrimp skewers on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 3 minutes on each side or until done. Baste generously with glaze.


Lime Coconut Cake

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp grated lime zest
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350° with rack in the middle. Generously butter a 9x2-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Toast coconut in a small baking pan in the oven, stirring once or twice, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool. Leave oven on.

Beat together butter, granulated sugar, and zest with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir together flour and 1/2 cup coconut (reserve remainder for topping). Stir together milk and 1/4 cup lime juice. At low speed mix flour and milk mixtures alternately in batches, starting and ending with the flour.

Spoon batter into pan and smooth top. Bake until golden and wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool to warm and then turn out of pan and discard parchment.

Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons of lime juice and melted butter. Pour over warm cake and sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut.


Coconut Ice Cream

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Heat the heavy cream, coconut milk and whole milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Place the eggs and sugar in a heatproof mixing bowl and beat until pale yellow in color and all of the sugar has dissolved. Temper about 1/2 cup of the cream mixture into the egg mixture and whisk vigorously to incorporate well. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the cream mixture, lower the heat slightly, and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon, until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove from the stove and strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Place the bowl in another bowl half-filled with ice and water. Stir occasionally until chilled.

Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions until frozen. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.