Blogger Recipe Night

Like many foodies I subscribe to a plethora of food blogs and other sites, and finally made the effort to recreate some of the delicious recipes that had been piling up in my e-mail "Recipe" folder. Most of the recipes for this dinner came from chefs chosen by Tasting Table, and dessert was from my favorite dessert blogger, Bakerella! (Nicole)

Piquillos Rellenos

This recipe came from Rivera, a Latin restaurant in downtown LA that I have been wanting to try. The dish itself was fairly easy to make, and a good appetizer. Melted cheese is pretty much always delicious, and the raisins add a unique and sweet touch.



Asparagus, Radicchio and Roasted-Calamari Salad
I was slightly disappointed in this salad, thinking that it was going to better than it turned out to be. It was okay, but not a recipe that we would plan to make again. I would cut back on the asparagus a bit, as there was a bit much compared to the other ingredients.


Seared Scallops with Coconut-Mussel Stew
Our favorite recipe of the night! I had eaten a somewhat similar scallop dish at Noir, a local restaurant here in Pasadena, and loved it. When I saw this recipe I knew that I wanted to try it at home, and this recipe is a keeper. We learned that crowding the mussels in the skillet doesn't work too well, and they will cook more evenly and faster when given some space. This dish takes some work, but is well worth it if you are a scallop lover.


Cake Pops
After seeing pictures of cake pops online I knew that it was something that I wanted to try out, and the Foxy Foodies were up to the challenge. We chose a more simple design, smiley faces, and sadly most of ours were not too smiley! The recipe called for an entire can of frosting, but that seemed to be a bit much. Using less would have made the cake pops a little more dry, and also able to hold their shape a bit better. The food marker pens that we used were no match to write on the chocolate-coated cake pops, so our faces were a bit light; maybe I should paint it on next time with frosting coloring? The cake pops were delicious though, and quite filling - we could only eat one!

Vamos al Caribe!

We've been exciting enough to try foods around the world, and then I realized we hadn't yet tried my own culture. Believe it or not, it's hard to find "Dominican cookbooks" so I knew I couldn't get too specific there. But I pulled the recipes that I had onhand from all around the Caribbean. Did it come out like Dad's cooking? Nope..it really wasn't my best of dinner nights. But that is bound to happen..let's blame it on the lack of authenticity from the recipe sources? Call us passionate cooks, but we do experiment and have humanly 'off' nights. Anyway, this just gives me a challenge to master for next time!

The Real Mojito

Mojitos are a classic favorite..so refreshing and full of citrus. But to get that citrus taste, it takes work! You must muddle the lime and mint leaves together (lots of mint leaves), add more limes and sugar and muddle, muddle, muddle. Again..the trick is to muddle to release the flavors. It's work when you have 6 drinks lined up in a row! I appreciate my local watering hole all that much more. I think it's just too much work to make at home for more than two people, but the result being a delicate balance between sugary and citrusy makes for a delicious beverage.

Seared Queso Fresco and Queso Panela with Cilantro Mojo

Who doesn't love cheese? Queso panela was hard to find, so we stuck with queso fresco which I grew up on. Frying ("searing") the cheese made it a little rubbery to be honest..and the cilantro mojo didn't make a huge difference. All in all, it is not like a mozzarella cheese stick that melts as it cooks and adapts well with marinara sauce. Though it was super easy to make and a great idea for an appetizer, it wasn't something to make again.

Cuban Black Bean Patties with Pineapple Rice


Surprisingly, the low fat dish was the best dish of the night. Black beans and rice are classic to Caribbean cuisine and it tasted just great. Being that the patties were low fat though, they were a bit on the dry side. (didn't fry them in oil) Mixing with the rice made it no issue though. Some might think pineapple in rice is an odd combination, but it gave it moisture, flavor (especially with the cilantro) and just came out delicious!


Tamarind-Glazed Chicken Thighs

This recipe had so much promise and sounded amazing. Just fyi, frozen tamarind pulp is only found at hispanic food stores. The idea of boiling the pulp and apple cider vinegar/brown sugar into a nice reduced sauce and then baking the chicken with this glaze sounded delicious. Problem is the sauce never really reduced, so it came out watery. We baked the chicken anyway with it, but it just did not come out like the picture. Perhaps we didn't have enough patience because we were making double the recipe and did not give it proper time to reduce, but it was a disappointment.

Whiskey Cake
What to say..this wasn't our best of nights, but it has to be blogged, right? I know whiskey is not that Caribbean..rum may have been more appropriate, but I decided to try it anyway. The cake tasted like straight alcohol!!! I never thought I'd say this, but maybe we add a little less next time? No frosting on the cake (which to me does not make it seem cake-like), but it really wasn't needed either! Just ok..would not make again.