Manila Clams in Spicy Black Bean Sauce Part Duex

I first attempted to do this dish last Thanksgiving when I had some excess turkey broth. It was so good over steamed rice that I couldnt stop eating it. So here we go again...as with any sequel, I had to throw in a twist - orange juice. Odd eh? But the citrus married up real well with the heat!

Ingredients
1 lb of manila clams
2 stalks of green onions
2 tomatoes
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno
2 spoons of spicy blackbean sauce
ground pepper
sesame oil
corn starch
splash of orange juice

the aromatics (minced garlic, diced red onions, diced tomatoes, chopped green onions and sliced jalapenos)

Make sure you soak and scrub these guys in water multiple times. i throw in some salt to try to draw the sand out. i really like manila clams because the meat is so sweet

browning the aromatics in oil

layer the clams on top of the aromatics and cover the lid. manila clams typically open in 3-5 minutes. you should discard any clams that do not open. it typically means that they're dead

i love when the juices from the clams spill onto the sauce. i throw in the spicy blackbean sauce, some ground pepper, corn starch to thicken the sauce, and some sesame oil.  good to go and served over steam rice is amazing!

J4 Grillin'

My fridge had some leftover pineapples and peaches so I decided to throw them on the grill. I'm a big fan of grilling fruits because the heat really brings out the natural sweetness! To accompany the fruits, I decided to go with some chicken drumsticks and shrimp.

Ingredients
6 drumsticks
1 lb of shrimp / shell on
2 white peaces
2 nectarines
leftover pineapple

For the shrimp, make sure you clean it well. If you throw in some salt, it'll draw out some of the dirty stuff. To prepare the marinade, I used italian dressing, scotch bonnet hot sauce, green scallions, grated ginger, salt and a little oil.

For the drumsticks, I prepared a hoisin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoisin_sauce) and honey marinade. Throw in some celery salt, pepper and sesame oil and let it get happy for half a day.

For the peaches and nectarines, simply halved them and remove the pits. The glaze that I applied was a simpe equal parts of balsamic vinegar and honey with a little bit of ground pepper to kick it up a notch. Oh i sprinkled in some cinnamon and nutmeg too!

When it comes to chicken, I try to go for low fire because who wants chicken thats burnt on the outside and raw on the inside right? So low and easy

Towards the end, i raise the fire a bit to get some final charred marks

Plated and Ready to Eat!

Mother's Day Cookout: Grilled Tropical Chicken Wings & Drumsticks

Since little man went to Cali yesterday with his mom, i found myself with a lot of extra time on my hands.  So i figured why not do some grilling.i opened my freezer and fridge and just randomly took things out. For this recipe, the ingredients are:

1 pack of chicken wings (count is irrelevant)

1 pack of chicken drumsticks (count is irrelevant)

2 orange cuties - juice and peels

1 mango - juice only

grated ginger - as much as needed

1/2 glass of ginger ale

2 spoons of honey

2 spoons of scotch bonnet hot sauce

3 ears of corn

 i like to have the marinade in for overnight...the longer the better.

 heat up the grill - med/low heat and throw in the meat

 while you wait, kick back with a nice cold glass of limenade and a good book

 not sure why the photos are always flipped, but oh well. i dont have a precise time on how to long to leave it there. i typically just eye-ball it.

plated and ready to eat!

Go Red: Red Snapper and Red Onions

I'm still learning this blogging site and have yet to figure out how to rotate pictures. Oh well! I bought a red snapper for the market the other day. Asked them to clip the wings, tails and clean the scales. Im a big fan of leaving the head on for a couple of reasons: decor and flavor.

My philsophy on fresh seafood is to keep it simple and not do too much or else you may overpower the natural sweetness of the fish. To bring out the sweetness of the fish, I went with some red onions knowing that they have a sweeter taste than the spicier yellow onions. The onions are stuffed inside the snapper's cavity and coated on top as well. Just salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Enjoy!

Sausage Stuffed Squid with Stir-Fried Greens

 I bought a couple pounds of squid the other day. To prep, I cut off the tentacles and discarded the heads. Do save the tentacles for reuse! Cleaning was the worst part here getting all the ink and gunk out of the squid. I read somewhere that you're supposed to turn the squid inside out to prevent curling. So let me tell you....that is one tedious step!!! It took me forever to do all the squids.

Now for the stuffing, I ended up mincing some of the tentacles and tossing it in with a diced sausage mixture that I came up with. Salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and more garlic! The picture above are the stuffed squids and I went ahead and drizzled EVOO over the squids and the orange bell peppers.

I set the oven at about 350 with really no idea of how long to put them in. Just eye-balled it. When I felt that it was almost done baking, I turned it on broil to get the golden crust look on top.

 These are snow pea leaves. Some good EVOO, dash of salt and pepper, minced garlic, and some of the squid tentacles.

Here's the final plating and I just felt that red wine would go well with the sausage stuffed squids. I suppose a good fruit-based white wine would have worked here too for seafood. Enjoy!

Manila Clams in Spicy Black Bean Sauce with Turkey Broth

Most asian restaurants serve some variation of a black bean clams dish. This was my first attempt! This is probably about 2 lbs of live manila clams. I first soaked them in water with a little salt to draw out the sand. Then I scrubbed the shells with a toothbrush to get it fairly clean. I used some cooking oil on a hot wok. Threw in some scallions, ginger, peppers, diced onions and loads of minced garlic. Then I layered the clams on top of the prior condiments. Close the lid and let the magic happen. In no time the clams will open up and release their clam juices all over the condiments. At this point, I added some turkey broth and the spicy black bean sauce (store bought). Close the lid again and let it slowly cook. Turn off heat and let it settle. Bam...that's it....served over white rice and it's amazing.....

Mojitos

This is actually back-dated but i wanted to start off my cooking blog with some drinks. Isn't that always the rule of thumb? Whet your appetite with some cocktails. By the way, like every kid who watched Tom Cruise in Cocktail, i wanted to be a bartender when i grew up!

The following cocktails are all different variations of the standard mojito base of crushed mints, lime juice, simple syrup, rum and soda water. Lemongrass, coconut, and ginger are the different infusions i tried.

                                         Traditional Mojitos

                                              Fresh Mints - soon to be crushed!

                                        Candied Ginger Mojitos with Coconut Flesh

                                          Ginger and Lemongrass Mojito