Sauteed Shrimp, by Diane

This recipe came from the show Real Food. I made it to go with the Braised Artichokes (below). It was quick and easy, but I made the mistake of using frozen instead of raw shrimp which caused the shrimp to get chewy. I think with raw shrimp it would have been good though. Also, I substituted the clam juice for chicken stock in equal amounts because I don't like clams, and I think it came out well.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. EVOO
3 scallions, chopped (both green and white parts)
3 cloves garlic, sliced
Salt and pepper
4 roma tomatoes, seeded and cubed
1/4 cup clam juice/chicken stock
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sugar (optional)
16 large shrimp, shelled and deveined (1 1/4 lbs)

Directions:

1. Add first four ingredients (through pepper) into a saucepan on medium high heat. Sautee until garlic lightly browns.

2. Add in tomatoes and a pinch more salt. Cook until tomatoes soften, about 3 minutes.

3. Add in next two ingredients and sugar if the sauce is too acidic.

4. Add in shrimp and cook until pink, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Braised Artichokes with Lemon and Garlic, by Diane

I saw this recipe on a cooking show, Real Food. I've never had artichokes except when they are marinated, and I was curious as to how they would taste from this recipe. Although they came out looking delicious, I could not figure out how exactly to eat them once they were done. The leaves came out very stiff so that you couldn't bite through them despite being braised for an hour. I went online and found that you are only supposed to eat a small part of the leaf, which was soft and tasted good, but the amount on each leaf that was edible was so tiny that I wound up eating through one whole artichoke in a few seconds. I'm not sure if this was a bad recipe (although the host seemed to have no problems eating them) or if I just need more of an education on artichokes. Either way, I won't be making this again, I'll stick to the artichoke hearts in a jar.

Ingredients:

2-3 artichokes, depending on size
2 lemons
4-6 cloves garlic (one for each artichoke half)
EVOO
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chicken stock

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Fill a bowl with cold water and the juice of 1 lemon, cut in half. Add in the lemon halves.

2. Cut and prepare artichokes: trim off 1 inch of the stem and bottom, cut artichokes lengthwise in half, scoop out the choke (all the hairy and purple part), and cut the stem off.

3. After each artichoke is cut place inside down into the bowl of water to prevent browning.

4. In a baking dish large enough for each artichoke to be in a single layer, layer the remaining lemon in slices. Place all artichokes inside up on top of lemons. Put a clove of garlic in each one, then drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5. Turn artichokes upside down on top of lemons, making sure garlic cloves stay in. Drizzle again with EVOO and sprinkle more salt and pepper.

6. Pour the chicken stock into the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Mofongo, by Diane

This crazy-sounding Puerto Rican dish has been taunting me over the past few months. I first saw it on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives at this little place in Miami. A few weeks later, someone was presenting it on Best Thing I Ever Ate. A week after that, someone put up a post about how delicious it was on facebook. Finally, a friend took me to a restaurant in Philadelphia and guess what was on the menu...mofongo. I ordered it instantly- and it was SO good!!! Soon after I got home, I looked up some restaurants in the DC area that served it, and found a few- but as I called each one, I found they were ALL closed. Stuck dreaming about a dish that I couldn't get, I decided to take matters into my own hands this week and attempt it myself.

The dish is based around plantains that are deep fried and mashed in a mortar and pestle with deep fried pork or pork skins (chicharrones), tons of garlic, salt, and olive oil. Sometimes it is topped with a sauce or meat such as pork, chicken, or shrimp. Since I don't have a deep fryer nor do I love fried foods, I compromised and created this recipe. I sauteed the plantains in olive oil along with a bit of fat I trimmed from the pork I used, then ground it in a food processor before mashing it with a meat tenderizer (I don't own a mortar and pestle and it's way less work anyway). Since I knew that deep frying makes things juicy and thus my plantain mixture would be a bit dry, I decided to take the pork and create a sauce similar to the one I ate in Philly to go on top of the mofongo.

The result was good, but nowhere near what I had in the restaurant- which is not really a surprise since baking and sauteing is never quite as good as deep frying and since I am not puerto rican and the sauce was of my own creation! BUT- it was very good, very filling, and fairly healthy. I used the leftover mofongo mix to make into patties that I fried (w/ cooking spray!) and they made and excellent snack later on.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
 1 tbsp EVOO
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. boneless pork chops, trimmed (reserve fat) and tenderized, then cubed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes, chopped (reserve liquid)
2 tbsp. orange juice
1-2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder

Mofongo:
4 tbsp. EVOO
2 tsp. garlic juice
Pork fat (trimmed from above)
5 green plantains, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt


Directions:

1. Make the sauce first. Start by heating EVOO in a saucepan over medium heat, add onions and cook until translucent about 2 minutes. Add in pork and cook until brown on all sides. Add garlic and red pepper, cook for 1 minute. Add in the remaining ingredients including the juice from the canned tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, stir, and cover.

2. While the sauce simmers, make the mofongo. Heat 2 tbsp. EVOO and 1 tsp. garlic juice in a saucepan over medium to medium high heat. Add in pork fat and half of the plantains (there should be enough room so that all plantains can brown evenly in one layer). Cook plantains, flipping once browned on the bottom, until both sides are brown. Remove from pan and place in bowl, set aside, and repeat this process with the second batch keeping the pork fat in the pan. Once all plantains have cooked, place into a food processor (including the pork fat and oil from the pan) along with the remaining ingredients. Grind finely, then transfer to a bowl and mash together with a tenderizer, adding salt if needed and mixing well.

3. Serve the mofongo with the sauce over top, spooning extra liquid down over it.

Chocolate Irish Cream Mousse Cupcakes, by Diane

These cupcakes were made for a bridal shower whose themes were brown and pink + irish. My solution? These devil's food cupcakes filled with chocolate irish cream mousse and a homemade irish cream buttercream (dyed pink for the shower). These cupcakes were amazingly moist and delicious with just enough of a hint of irish cream to make them unique. Since I only made the buttercream from scratch, I'll use that recipe here. The cupcake and chocolate mousse were store bought- I had a trial and my homemade versions couldn't compete with Mr. Hines and Ms. Crocker!- but my icing was definitely better and much less sweet. Note: for the cupcakes I used Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake mix, and for the chocolate mousse I used a Betty Crocker mousse that I added about 3 tbsp. of Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor to. Also, the icing was adapted from the here: http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/03/buttercream-frosting/


Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2-4 tbsp. Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor (any flavor- I used regular)

Directions:
1. Beat butter for a 2 minutes on medium speed.

2. Add powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.

3. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of Bailey's and beat for 3 minutes.

4. Taste test your Bailey's level. I wound up using around 3 tbsp. of Bailey's for this recipe since it was for a bridal shower, but would have used more had it been for me.

For these cupcakes, I used a piping tool to fill in the chocolate mousse before icing them, and a piping bag with a rosette tip to ice them. I also topped them of with a chocolate design, which I'll share the recipe and photo below:

The only ingredient here is 2 giant sized Hershey chocolate bars. Break into small pieces and melt in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly so chocolate does not burn. When the chocolate melts completely, pour over a long sheet of wax paper in swirly designs back and forth. Here is a photo:

Allow to completely harden (I had to fold mine and put it in the refrigerator because the kitchen got so hot from baking!) and break into pieces that contain the most swirls. Place on top of cupcakes to decorate.

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting, by Cheryl

Mmmmm, banana cake with peanut butter frosting... (cue Homer Simpson drool). As soon as I saw my good friend and neighbor Ashley (www.ashleyscookingadventures.blogspot.com) post this on her blog I knew I wanted to make it! I love anything with bananas in it and of course, when you add peanut butter it makes everything tastier. Now I did forget to add the sour cream when I was making the cake (It sat in the fridge.. oh well) so my "cake" turned out a little like bread. Still very tasty, but using all of the ingredients will most likely give you a more moist cake. Nevertheless, we polished it off! Yum! Ingredients for the cake: 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs 1 cup sour cream 2 cups sugar 1 1/2 to 2 cups mashed bananas 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder Ingredients for the frosting: 1/3 cup peanut butter 1/3 cup milk 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 3 cup powdered sugar Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2) Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and bananas together well. (I used my KitchenAid). Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to mix well. 3) Pour into a greased and well floured 9X13 inch pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 4) For the frosting: Beat peanut butter, milk, and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread over cake.