Mini Fish Tacos with Avocado & Mango Salsa

Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Blackberry Cheesecake filled Rolls

Comment - These rolls turned out great. The flavor reminded me of a berry pie at first, but a little more creamy. The filling has a liquid constancy right out of the oven, but it firms up a little after cooling down. To make the rolls, I filled dough with a vanilla cheesecake mixture & sweetened blackberries. The dough is fairly easy to make. You mix the ingredients together, knead it for 8 minutes, separate it into medium sized balls, roll it out, fill it, enclose and let the rolls rise for 30 minutes. They only take 10 minutes to bake. 

Dough Recipe

Cheesecake recipe

1 - 8oz package of cream cheese

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp mexican vanilla

Blackberries sweetened with sugar.

After kneading the dough for 8 minutes, Separate it into medium balls. Roll each ball out, but not too thin. You want the bottom of your roll to match the top in thickness. After rolling out the balls, add 1 Tbsp cream cheese filling & 3 to 4 sweetened blackberries to the center of each. Cover the filling with the dough. let rise for 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash mixture (egg & small amount of water), bake for 10 min at 450 degrees.

Spicy Pepper Hummus

Comment: I think this hummus recipe is restaurant quality. It is spicy and has a great pepper flavor. One of the main ingredients used to make hummus is tahini. Not all brands of tahini taste the same. We go through a restaurant owner online to get our tahini. It can only be purchased with a business licence and is brought in by a supplier from the middle east. Here is a link to the site where we order it from - Dedemed

Recipe for spicy roasted red pepper hummus

1 can garbanzo beans

3 Tbsp garbanzo bean juice (from can)

3 Tbsp Tahini

3 Tbsp lemon juice (I use lemon juice in a bottle)-

3 Tbsp plain yogurt

1/3 red bell pepper, roasted

1 Serrano pepper, roasted-1/2 tsp salt

1 small clove garlic

Roasting the peppers Broil each side of your red bell pepper for 5 minutes. The skin will look black or have black spots. Pull it out and with a fork scrap off the skin. Take out seeds. The Serrano pepper needs to be roasted to but it takes less time since its so small. 

Making the hummus - Blend all ingredients. Heat a pita in microwave for 30 seconds and use it to dip in the hummus.If you want to make the Garlic hummus version, just omit the peppers

Tofu with Lemon Grass Sauce

Comment: The lemongrass sauce for this recipe turned out really good. I don't think you have to add all off the miscellaneous ingredients...I was experimenting. The ingredients that stood out were the lemon grass and a balance between sweet & salty. I cooked up two thick tofu pieces and two thin. I liked how the thiner pieces of tofu turned out. There was a crispiness on the outside and a softness on the inside from pan frying it.


Recipe - 


1 lb Extra Firm Tofu
Breadcrumbs
Oil to pan fry


Lemon Grass Sauce & Marinade

1-1/2 tbsp tamarind
1 cup water
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp water
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp lemon grass, grated
1 tsp hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp Mexican vanilla
1 tsp chili sauce
1/4 tsp mustard seed, crushed

Instructions -
Add water and tamarind to a saucepan and boil for 10 minutes until it becomes soft. Strain tamarind into a bowl.

Add oil to a separate pan. When hot add chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes, then add the ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add these ingredients in with your tamarind.  Combine this mixture with your remaining sauce ingredients.

Pile 2 plates onto of your block of tofu and let it set so the water will come out of your tofu. Then slice it and marinate it in your sauce mixture for at least 1 hour.

When done marinate, pull your tofu out of the sauce and dip it in bread crumbs. Fry them on all sides in a pan. It usually takes 3-5 min per side.

Strain your marinade. Put the liquid into a pot and add 1 tsp of cornstarch to thicken it. Strain again and serve with your fried tofu. 

Mini Shrimp Fish Cake Sliders with Wasabi Mayo & Japanese Mayo

Comment: These sliders turned out fabulous. The fish cakes were warm and crispy, the mayo had good flavor with some heat, & the bread was soft and fresh. I made homemade buns for the first time to go with the shrimp fish cakes. I have always thought sliders make a cute appetizer, but I think they would be fun for kids too. Next time I make them I will try using Chipotle Mayo as a condiment, because I think it would go well with these mini cakes too.

Bun Recipe
I doubled the amount of yeast that the recipe called for and added brown sugar.
   
    Fish Cakes
    12 shrimp (medium sized)
    2 Tilapia Fillets
    1 clove garlic, chopped
    2 Tbsp onion, chopped
    salt/pepper to taste
    1 Tbsp Mayo
    1/2 tsp mustard
    dash lemon juice
    2 dashes Worcestershire
    1/2 an egg
    Pinch lemon pepper
    1/2 tsp smoked paprika 
    Pinch dried dill
    1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Heat oil in pan and cook onions for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 minutes before adding shrimp and fish. Break fish up into chunks while cooking. Season with salt and pepper. When the meat has finished cooking, take it off the heat and cut it up into smaller pieces. Mix the remaining ingredients in with your meat mixture. Shape each ball using 2 Tbsp of filling. With your hand press down so the top and bottom of the ball are flattened. Cook in oil over medium heat on each side for about 2 minutes.

    Wasabi Mayo Recipe

    Japanese Mayo Recipe
    2 Tbsp mayo
    Sriracha chili sauce to taste (adds heat)

Assembly: Bun, Fish Cake, Mayo, Tomato

 

Roll with Savory Filling - Three Ways

 Comment: I had some extra dough from making homemade hamburger buns and decided to use it for the purpose of making these stuffed rolls. I love when rolls have filling. I've tried making 5 types of savory filling and like the chicken pesto with parmesan the best. I've also tried this roll recipe with a sweet blackberry cheesecake mixture, have posted it separately.



Dough Recipe
Note - I doubled the yeast & used brown sugar instead of white and they still turned out great.


Filling #1 (See picture)
1/8 lb Turkey burger
2 Tbsp onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp thyme, chopped
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Cook onions for 2 min in oil. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding mushrooms. After a minute or two add the turkey burger & thyme. Roll out medium size ball of dough. Add 2 Tbsp filling in center. Top filling with 1 Tbsp cheese. Wrap dough around filling and seal it together at the top. Place it in a pan and let it rise for the suggested 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash (egg mixed with 1 tsp water) Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Filling # 2 (Asian)
1/2 chicken breast
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp water
Chili sauce to taste (for heat)
dash mustard
1-2 tsp rice vinegar
dash brown sugar if needed
pinch ginger spice
garlic powder or fresh ginger

Mix all ingredients together in a pan over medium heat. Add the chicken. Before the chicken finishes cooking, remove it from the pan and use to forks to pull it apart on a plate. Put the chicken back in the pan to finish cooking. When cooked use it as filling. Roll out medium size ball of dough. Add 2 Tbsp filling in center. Wrap dough around filling and seal it together at the top. Place it in a pan and let it rise for the suggested 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash (egg mixed with 1 tsp water) Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.



Filling # 3 (BBQ)
1/2 chicken breast
BBQ sauce (your preference)
equal part water
dash mustard
pinch garlic powder
pinch onion powder
brown sugar if needed
1 Tbsp vinegar

Mix sauce together in a saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until almost done. Remove the chicken from the heat and pull it apart with 2 forks on a plate. Add the chicken back into the sauce and finish cooking it. Use it for filling. Roll out medium size ball of dough. Add 2 Tbsp filling in center. Wrap dough around filling and seal it together at the top. Place it in a pan and let it rise for the suggested 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash (egg mixed with 1 tsp water) Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Filling #4

Shredded chicken
Pesto to cover
Top with slices of parmesan cheese.

Filling # 5

Salmon
Add spices (garlic powder, onion powder, salt, etc.)
Top with slices of asiago cheese

Quail with Plum Chipotle Sauce

Comment: I wanted to try making Quail ever since I saw a picture of it in a venetian cookbook I checked out from the library. I later watched a You Tube video of the Le Pigeon restaurant preparing Quail for a competition and decided to go out looking for it at the store. I was able to find 6 quail in a package at the Asian market close to where I live. I found the recipe I used online. The sauce/BBQ is plum chipotle sauce. I thought it was a great match for the Quail. I altered it a little (see note below) and it turned out sweet and spicy. The flavor of Quail meat reminds me a lot of Turkey, except for that it was more moist. There is not a lot of meat on them, so I would recommend serving the dish with a large side or two.


Recipe
Alterations -
I doubled the amount of honey the recipe called for because my plums were not very sweet. I only added 2 chipotle peppers from the can, which I thought gave it the perfect amount of heat.

Pork Chops with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

Comment: I was inspired to create this dish after seeing a picture with similar presentation in one of my cookbooks. The recipe idea came from the Ringside Steakhouse restaurant.


Sauce – The sauce turned out good but was a little too sweet and didn’t have the consistency that I wanted. You can get bottled raspberry chipotle sauce at the grocery store or you could use the recipe below that I discovered about a year after I made this post.

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce recipe. Note – The sauce is a little sweet. I strain out the chipotle peppers before serving the sauce because they are really spicy.

Pork – I cooked 3 pork chops and used half of the slices for this dish. I cooked them in a saute pan in butter for a few min on each side over medium heat after adding salt and pepper. Then I backed them for 350 degrees for 10-15 min (until temp reaches 170 degrees). With a sharp knife I cut thin strips and placed them on top of my mashed potatoes.

Potatoes – I quartered and boiled them for 20 min. They were mashed up without their skins. My husband mixes sour cream in them to make them creamy. Use any dish you have to mold them and put them on your plate. A ring mold would be ideal.

Garnish – rosemary & raspberries.

BBQ Salmon

Comment: This salmon recipe comes form the chef at the Portland City Grill restaurant in Oregon. The addition of cherry cola in the BBQ sauce recipe is suppose to give it a sweet berry flavor. I didn’t think the soda flavor was prominent. The BBQ sauce turned out pretty good. My husband & I both agreed that we would like it better on chicken instead of Salmon. You could substitute cherry cola with caffeine free cola and cherry extract if you wanted. The potato recipe comes from Ina Gardner.


Recipe

Video