Grilled Brined Shrimp with Mango Salsa

mmm..another mouthwatering recipe from yahoo!!



Ingredients

1. 1 medium mango, diced
2. 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
3. 1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno
4. 2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled ginger
5. 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
6. 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
7. 1/3 cup kosher salt
8. 1/3 cup brown sugar
9. 1 quart cold water
10. 1 1/4 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
11. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
12. 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro, plus cilantro sprigs for garnish
13. 1 teaspoon honey
14. 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
15. 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
16. 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
17. 2 tablespoons dry white wine

Directions

1. Combine the mango, red onion, jalapeno, ginger, lime juice and 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. Season to taste with salt.
2. Stir the salt and brown sugar into water until dissolved. Add the shrimp and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil with the chopped cilantro, honey, garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes and wine and set aside.
4. Remove the shrimp from the brine and rinse thoroughly, then pat dry. Toss the shrimp with the marinade. Transfer the shrimp and marinade to a resealable plastic bag and marinate for at least 20 minutes or up to 45 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. Preheat the broiler or a grill. Cook the shrimp until just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Arrange the shrimp on plates and top with the mango salsa and cilantro sprigs. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings

(source)

Simple Tiramisu Recipe

I'm not really fond of eating cakes during birthdays or other celebrations not until last week when I bought a cake for mother's day. The Ube cake from Red Ribbon was really mouthwatering and we just can't get enough.
For now, here's a simple recipe of Tiramisu from http://www.heavenlytiramisu.com/

Ingredients (Cake)

• CAKE MIX, white, 1 box off the shelf
• VEGETABLE OIL SPRAY
• WATER, 1-1/3
• VEGETABLE OIL, 2 tbs
• LARGE EGGS, 3
• PURE VANILLA EXTRACT, 1 tsp

Ingredients (Syrup)

• HOT WATER, 3/4 cup
• INSTANT COFFEE POWDER, 2 tbs
• GRANULATED SUGAR, 3 tbs
• KAHLUA, 1/4 cup

Ingredients (Topping)

• VANILLA YOGURT, 2 cups
• CREAM CHEESE, 2 packages (8 oz. each) at room temperature
• POWDERED SUGAR, 1/4 cup
• UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER, 1 tsp

Directions

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly mist a 13 X 9 inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set aside.
3. Place the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
4. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 min. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to med. and beat 2 min more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with spatula. Place in the oven.
6. Bake the cake until golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 32 to 35 min.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
8. Meanwhile, prepare the syrup. Place the hot water, coffee powder, and sugar in a small bowl and stir to combine until the coffee and sugar dissolve. Stir in the coffee liqueur.
9. Poke holes in the cooled cake with a chopstick or straw and spoon the syrup over the cake so that the syrup can seep down into the holes. Set the cake aside.
10. Prepare the topping. Place the yogurt, cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and blend on low for 1 to 2 min. till well combined and thick.
11. Spread topping over the syrup-soaked cake, using a rubber spatula to spread the topping out to the edges of the cake.
12. No more then an hour before serving, sift the cocoa powder over the topping so that it covers the top of the cake.
13. Slice the cake into squares and serve.

Post Mother's Day Waffles

Mammaw's Waffles

====this is an easy to cook, easy to prepare recipe from allrecipes.com=======

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Make a well in center. Add yeast mixture, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil; stir until smooth.
3. Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Serve hot.

Wagyu Burger!

Last Sunday night as we were watching Rated K, they featured the biggest burgers sold in the Philippines. It was about 8 inches wide, I can say that it is indeed the biggest burgers I've ever seen. But that did not caught my attention. What made my jaw drop was the juicylicious and the most expensive burger in the Philippines! It's the Wagyu Burger.

I'll give you some facts why it is really expensive and oh so delicious!;)

Wagyu is a breed of cattle naturally predisposed to produce beef that is densely marbled. In fact, Wagyu beef surpasses USDA marbling standards for prime-grade beef. Often referred to as the “foie gras of beef,” Wagyu has an exquisitely tender texture and incomparable, luxurious taste.

Wagyu refers to several beef breeds of cattle genetically predisposed to intense marbling, and produces a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. Also known as Kobe-style beef , the meat from Wagyu cattle is known worldwide for marbling characteristics, increased eating quality through a naturally enhanced flavor, tenderness and juiciness, and thus a high market value. Grocery stores in the United States will sell cuts of American Wagyu for $40/lb to $150/lb. Because of the Wagyu cattle's genetic predisposition and a special diet, wagyu yields a beef that contains a higher percentage of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and the tell-tale sign of a highly marbled beef. The increased marbling also improves the ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats.

Now you know why.

Here's the recipe on how to make this Wagyu Burger (Wagyu Beef "Rossini" Burger)

Ingredients

For the salad

• 1/2 mango, cut into julienne (very thin strips)
• 1/2 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 apple, cut into julienne
• 1 carrot, cut into julienne
• 150g Celeriac, cut into julienne
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 4 English muffins
• 2 bunches watercress

For the Burgers

• 400g Wagyu steak Mince, (trimmings from the fillet, finely chopped)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• Olive oil
• 4 x 125g fillet steak, (fillet mignons)
• 250g fresh foie gras

For the truffle glaze

• 75ml Madeira
• 1 tsp clear honey
• 1 black truffle, finely sliced
• 2 banana shallots, finely chopped
• 100ml veal jus

Methods

1. Preheat the grill. Season the steak mince with salt and pepper then beat in the egg and dijon mustard and form into 4 equal size burgers.

2. Heat a little oil in the grill pan and start cooking the burgers under a medium heat for 2 minutes 30 seconds on each side.

3. After 2 minutes sear the fillet mignons in the same pan as the burgers for 1 minute 30 seconds on each side, then remove from the pan and rest.

4. In the same pan sear the foie gras for 1 minute on each side and season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. For the truffle glaze: add the Madeira and honey and cook, stirring for a few minutes until reduced. Add the banana shallots, truffles and veal jus and cook until reduced to a glaze.

6. For the salad: mix the mango, apple, carrot, red onion, celeriac with the mayonnaise

7. Toast the muffins.

8. To build a burger: top one half of the toasted muffin with the salad. Top the salad with watercress. Top the watercress with a fillet mignon. Top the fillet mignon with the burger. Top the burger with the foie gras. Finish with the truffle glaze. Finally skewer the remaining toasted muffin half to the top.

PASTA WITH RED CLAM SAUCE

I got this recipe when I was searching for my first blog entry and it sounds interesting!
here are the ingredients and procedure for your delicious pasta with red clam sauce..

2 tb Olive oil
   4 md Garlic cloves, chopped fine
   1 c  Rich, salt-free fish stock
   1 c  Dry white wine
   2 ts Dried oregano
  36 sm Fresh clams such as little-
        -necks or Manilas, in the
        -shell, thoroughly cleansed
   1 lg Ripe tomato, peeled, cored,
        -seeded and coarsley chopped
   2 tb Double-concentrate tomato
        -paste
1 1/2 tb Fresh basil leaves, finely
        -shredded
1 1/2 tb Fresh Italian parsley,
        -finely chopped
        Freshly ground pepper
        Cooked linguine

In a large saucepan, heat the oil with the garlic over moderate heat. When
the garlic sizzles, add the fish stock, wine, and oregano.

As soon as the liquid comes to a boil, add the clams and cover the pan.
Steam the clams until all of them have opened, 3 to 5 minutes; discard any
unopened clams. With a slotted spoon, remove them from the pan and keep
them warm in a covered bowl.

Stir in the remaining ingredients, except the black pepper, into the
liquid in the pan. As soon as the liquid returns to a simmer, place the
clams, shells and all, on top of pasta and spoon the liquid over them.
Season to taste with black pepper.