Steak and Mango Salad

Now here's a super tasty salad that will please a man and a woman and will satisfy those pretending to be on a diet! Recipe courtesy of Our Best Bites.


Ingredients
1 lb flank steak
1 head romaine or red leaf lettuce
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 mangoes, sliced
1 or 2 avocados, sliced
1/2 cp chopped cilantro
1/2 cp carmelized macadamia nuts

Dressing & Marinade
1/2 cp fresh squeezed orange juice
6 tsp fresh lime juice
6 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cp olive oil
1/2 cp canola oil

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Continue whisking while slowly drizzling in the oils until combined. Reserve about 3/4 C* and place the rest of the mixture in a zip-lock bag.

Lightly score the flank steak in a diagonal pattern on both sides. Place steak in the zip-lock bag with marinade and leave in fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove steak from fridge about 30 minutes prior to cooking and leave at room temperature. You'll want to let the dressing portion to sit at room temp during this time as well. Heat outdoor grill to med-high heat. If an outdoor grill is not available, use the broiler, or an indoor grill pan. Remove steak from bag and let any excess marinade drip off. Sprinkle steak lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-8 minutes on each side or until done. In order to stay tender, flank steak should still be pink in the middle, but nicely seared on the outside. When done, remove from grill and wait at least 5 minutes before cutting to let the juices redistribute. Then slice into thin slices.

Now comes the assembly. Divide lettuce onto plates and top with slices of mango, avocado, and red onion. I purposely chose these toppings not only for the perfect blend of flavors and textures, but for the gorgeous color combination- we eat with our eyes first!

Add steak slices and drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle macadamia nuts and cilantro on top.

Makes 4-6 large dinner salads or 6-8 smaller side salads

Darlene's Tips:
Let steak sit for 5 minutes after cooking with out slicing so juices settle in.

Substitute macadamia nuts with pecans, walnuts or almonds

Carmelize nuts with a mixture of brown sugar and butter heated on stove-top until liquified.

Add or substitute chicken or prawns


¡Buen Provecho!

Strawberry French Toast

Surprise your sweatheart with a romantic breakfast! Set a fancy table with table cloth, candles and roses and stir up some Mimosas to celebrate Valentine's Day with your loved one.

Ingredients
1 egg
2 egg whites
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
dash nutmeg
8 slices French bread
or Bolillos

Fresh sliced strawberries
2 tsp sugar or honey
Lemon juice
Powdered sugar

Directions:
In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and egg white until foamy. Whisk in milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Have warming drawer heated or heat oven to 200°.
Heat butter in heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Dip 4 slices of bread in the egg mixture, turning to coat thoroughly. Let excess drip back into bowl.

Place coated bread slices in hot skillet. Cook, turning, until both sides are nicely browned, about 2 minutes each side.

Transfer to a warm plate and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining bread and egg mixture.

Mix sliced strawberries, sugar and lemon juice together. Arrange French Toast on plate and place serving of strawberries on top, sprinkle with powedered sugar. If desired sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and warm maple syrup.

Darlene's Tips:
Old bread works better so your french toast won't be soggy.
Go to the bakery and purchase a loaf of white bread sliced thick.
Substitute peaches, bananas, rasberries or other favorite fruit.
Warm butter and syrup together in microwave prior to serving.

¡Buen Provecho!

Potato Latkes

Fried Potato Pancakes, called Latkes in Yiddish and Levivot in Hebrew are traditionally eaten on Hanukkah in commemoration of the oil that miraculously burned for eight days when the Maccabees purified and rededicated the holy Temple in Jerusalem.

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 lb potatoes
• 1/2 cp finely chopped onion
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cp olive oil
• Sourcream or Applesauce

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 250ºF
Peel potatoes and coarsely grate by hand, transferring to a large bowl of cold water as grated. Soak potatoes 1 to 2 minutes after last batch is added to water, then drain well in a colander.

Spread grated potatoes and onion on a kitchen towel and roll up jelly-roll style. Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and stir in egg and salt.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 4 latkes, spoon 2 tablespoons potato mixture per latke into skillet, spreading into 3-inch rounds with a fork. Reduce heat to moderate and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes. Turn latkes over and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt. Add more oil to skillet as needed. Keep latkes warm on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan in oven.

Serve with sourcream or applesauce.

Note:
Latkes may be made up to 8 hours ahead. Reheat on a rack set over a baking sheet in a 350°F oven, about 5 minutes.

Mijo's Lengua

So, right now you are either smiling or gagging. For people who are not familiar the culture, it's almost like a dirty secret when you admit to eating and enjoying menudo (cow stomach and pig's feet), chicharrones (pork skins), sesos (brains) and a number of other interesting parts of an animal's body. Kinda gross, right? Actually they're all quite tasty when cooked and spiced just right.

Beef Tongue is a very soft beef that can be used in many dishes. This is my mother's recipe for the Lengua dinner she prepares for my brother's birthday every year. She told me this off the top of her head so feel free to play with the measurements of the ingredients, as I guessed what they might be as best I could.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 2-3 Lb Beef Tongue
• 1 Large Onion (half chopped)
• 1/4 cp Cilantro
• 1 cp Sliced Mushrooms
• 2 Tbls Chopped Garlic
• 1 14oz can Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 14oz. can Tomato Sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Red Wine (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Wash fresh tongue and place in 6 quart pot, cover completely with water and bring to a boil. Add 1/2 onion, salt and pepper. Place on simmer and add more water as it evaporates, keeping the tongue covered until no longer pink, about 45 minutes per pound of tongue. It will be done when it can be easily pierced with a fork.

Remove from water and let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel the skin off the tongue, trim the fat, and cut into 1/2 slices.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute chopped onions, garlic, mushrooms and cilantro. Add stewed tomatoes and oregano with a little flour to thicken. Add 1/2 cup or more of tomato sauce to make enough to serve over meat. Add 1/3 cup red wine to sauce if desired. Simmer for 5-8 minutes.

Places slices on plate with rice, beans and serve with salad.

!Buen Provecho!

Chipotle Tacos

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ pounds bone-in pork butt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chilies
12 small corn tortillas
2 15 oz. ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions
2 avocados, pitted, peeled, diced
Lime wedges
Salsa of your choosing


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pork on baking sheet, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast pork until brown and very tender, about two hours.* Once out of the oven, set the pork aside and allow to cool, and then shred. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until tender. Add shredded pork, cilantro, and chopped chipotle chilies with their sauce to the skillet and stir until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and heat in oven for ten minutes. Meanwhile, stir beans in saucepan over medium-low heat until heated, then mash the beans so that they are still chunky but also creamy. Remove from heat.

To assemble tacos, first spread the mashed beans on each tortilla, top with the pork mixture, then sprinkle with green onions and avocados. Serve with salsa and a lime wedge. *Make sure meat is fully cooked before shredding.

Alma-Rita Cocktail

Hola!
Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off with ALMA awards airing this Friday hosted by Eva Longoria Parker and George Lopez, honorees Salma Hayek and Oscar De La Hoya, as well as a bevy of popular Latino artists including Rita Moreno who will award Ricardo Montalban a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award.This refreshing cocktail is perfect additon to your night of glamour during the Alma Awards.


INGREDIENTS:
1 oz. Tequila*
1 oz. Orange Liqueur*
3 oz. Tropicana Pure Valencia with Mango Juice
Fresh mango slices
Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:
Rim your margarita glass with sugar. Add some ice to the glass, and shake the tequila, orange liqueur, and Tropicana Pure Valencia Juice in a martini shaker. Pour drink over the ice, and garnish with a slice of mango. Alternatively, you can blend the ice and drink mixture together for a frozen ALMArita!

*Liquor is optional. Simply replace the tequila and orange liqueur with a sparkling citrus beverage, such as Sierra Mist, then mix and enjoy!

Aviation Cocktail

Once you pick up a rare bottle of the Crème de Violette liqueur you'll want to try the Aviation Cocktail as well which became all the rage when man first started to fly at the turn of the century.
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces gin
½ ounce lemon juice
⅓ ounce Maraschino liqueur
⅙ ounce Crème de Violette

DIRECTIONS
Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake to chill well, then strain into a cocktail glass. Drizzle the Crème de Violette into the glass and garnish with a lemon twist.