We've hit the middle of the summer so my roommate and I decided to have a BBQ and invite everybody over for a night. Since I am the head chef in these parts I decided I was bored with basic burgers, hot dogs, mac salad, etc. and chose instead to go Mexican!
The plan was chips, mango salsa and queso dip for munchies, lime marinated chicken fajitas and sangria for dinner, and flan for dessert. The first 3 recipes are here, but the flan failure deserves its own post...
Pineapple-Mango Salsa
1/3 whole, fresh pineapple
2 fresh mangoes
3 tomatoes
3/4 white onion
fistful of fresh cilantro (minced in the food processor)
1 fresh jalapeno
dash of cayenne
juice of 3 key limes
salt and pepper to taste
chop it all up and let it sit over night. You can make it as mild or as spicy as you want. This one had a kick but wasn't mouth burning by any means.
Little Crank's White Sangria
Double bottle Barefoot pino (I have to plug this wine, it's my fave to use for this plus its cheap)
1/4 cup sugar
1 bag frozen strawberries
1 bag frozen peaches
(You can use whatever fresh or frozen fruit you want, this wine seems to really pull in the flavors of whatever is in it)
I mixed it up and let it sit over night to develop flavor as well. I also made pureed pineapple ice cubes to serve in the sangria. This is an overly simple recipe, but to me, it tastes the best.
Lime Chicken Fajitas (recipe adapted from this one)
chicken breasts (I cooked 5 lbs. These were the biggest chicken breasts I've ever seen...)
1/8 cup cider vinegar (just realized recipe calls for red wine but I know this time I used cider...)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp sugar
1/2 salt
pepper to taste
cilantro
All of these measurements are 'ish amounts.' Because I was cooking so much meat I had three skillets going and just eyeballed each of these ingredients into each skillet based on how much chicken there was. (I also omitted the onions and the tomato that this recipe calls for, and I cooked the chicken breasts whole and sliced them just before serving)
Once you saute up the chicken you add in these ingredients and let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes. I added the cilantro while everything was simmering just to add a bit more flavor.
Because I was making this into fajitas and not tacos, I sauteed some red and yellow bell peppers and onions to go with it. I also had the mango salsa, shredded mexican cheese, sour cream, and fresh jalapenos out to build your own fajitas. They really were quite delicious.
The plan was chips, mango salsa and queso dip for munchies, lime marinated chicken fajitas and sangria for dinner, and flan for dessert. The first 3 recipes are here, but the flan failure deserves its own post...
Pineapple-Mango Salsa
1/3 whole, fresh pineapple
2 fresh mangoes
3 tomatoes
3/4 white onion
fistful of fresh cilantro (minced in the food processor)
1 fresh jalapeno
dash of cayenne
juice of 3 key limes
salt and pepper to taste
chop it all up and let it sit over night. You can make it as mild or as spicy as you want. This one had a kick but wasn't mouth burning by any means.
Little Crank's White Sangria
Double bottle Barefoot pino (I have to plug this wine, it's my fave to use for this plus its cheap)
1/4 cup sugar
1 bag frozen strawberries
1 bag frozen peaches
(You can use whatever fresh or frozen fruit you want, this wine seems to really pull in the flavors of whatever is in it)
I mixed it up and let it sit over night to develop flavor as well. I also made pureed pineapple ice cubes to serve in the sangria. This is an overly simple recipe, but to me, it tastes the best.
Lime Chicken Fajitas (recipe adapted from this one)chicken breasts (I cooked 5 lbs. These were the biggest chicken breasts I've ever seen...)
1/8 cup cider vinegar (just realized recipe calls for red wine but I know this time I used cider...)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp sugar
1/2 salt
pepper to taste
cilantro
All of these measurements are 'ish amounts.' Because I was cooking so much meat I had three skillets going and just eyeballed each of these ingredients into each skillet based on how much chicken there was. (I also omitted the onions and the tomato that this recipe calls for, and I cooked the chicken breasts whole and sliced them just before serving)
Once you saute up the chicken you add in these ingredients and let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes. I added the cilantro while everything was simmering just to add a bit more flavor.
Because I was making this into fajitas and not tacos, I sauteed some red and yellow bell peppers and onions to go with it. I also had the mango salsa, shredded mexican cheese, sour cream, and fresh jalapenos out to build your own fajitas. They really were quite delicious.
The food's not there yet obviously, but that's the fajita bar set up!
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