Shrimp Fajitas with Cilantro Rice and Black Beans

Mr. J returned to NYC a few weeks ago! To celebrate his arrival, I made quite the tasty dinner. I've wanted to make Shrimp Fajitas for a while now. When I saw a recipe in the June 2011 Cosmo magazine, I decided to make my version of the recipe.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed

½ red bell pepper, julienned

½ orange belle pepper, julienned

1 small red onion, julienned

1 jalapeno, minced

In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 3 ingredients. Add shrimp, and toss to coat. Put the shrimp in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Add peppers and onions. 

Sauté until tender, about 7 to 8 minutes then remove and place in a separate bowl. Add the shrimp with marinade. Cook shrimp about 2 minutes on each side.

Mix the shrimp with the peppers and onions.

Done! I served it in tortillas with a side of black beans and cilantro rice.  Mr. J was quite pleased, as was I. 

Another successful dinner!

Hungry yet?

Brazil Grill

Ms. H is finally making the big move to NYC. She came apartment hunting and brought Mrs. H with her. I was fortunate to miss out on the apartment viewings but still be included in the post search dinner. When they selected Brazil Grill for dinner I was even more excited considering Mrs. H is an expert in the cuisine. The menu had a lot of variety and I had a difficult time deciding. Luckily Mrs. H took the lead and we started off with Salgadinhos Fritos, which was a mix of fried goodies.

The Coxinha was a fried ball filled with magnificently delicious shredded chicken. 

The Cod Fish Croquets were also well flavored and tasted great. I didn’t sample the Pastel. It is a pastry shell filled with ground beef or cheese. For my main course I ordered the Bobo de Camarao.

A delicious bowl of sautéed shrimp in palm oil, coconut milk and yucca sauce. The sauce was very flavorful. There were many different spices. I was initially skeptical of the combination of palm oil and coconut milk but it turned out just fine. I was a little annoyed that my food was sitting under the heat lamp long enough to form a slight film. bah! I also had food envy when Ms. H's Muqueca de Peixe arrived.

The Brazilian fish stew was a mix of coconut milk and dende oil in tomato broth. The aroma alone was enough to make my mouth water. The fish tasted great. The rich flavors of the stew had definitely seeped into the fish and they were one. Mrs. H ordered the Picanha Na Chapa.

Apparently, it is Brazil's national meat dish. It consists of slices of top sirloin steak served in a sizzling pan with caramelized onions. She commented that this is the best cut of meat because it is a mix of flank and sirloin. She really enjoyed it and Ms. H sampled a few bites. Our dishes were served with white rice. We also had beans, French fries and fried bananas. Wow what a meal. The only drawback was the very hands off staff. I had to beg before my water was refilled and I guess since they know their food is good, no one stopped by our table after the food arrived.

Brazil Grill is delicious and with such an expansive menu I look forward to returning so I can try something new.

Hungry yet?

Jamaican Grilled Chicken and Plantains with Rice & Peas

I’ve been catching some flak lately for the drastic increase in frequency of my restaurant posts and the impact it has had on my recipe posting.  Trust, the skills still exist, I just don’t showcase them as often. I’ve made a lot of repeat dishes lately so not as much to post about.  The past week has been filled with adventures in the kitchen though, because my latest kitchen toy arrived.  My cast iron grill!! The thing about living in a wonderful apartment building in NY is that even though we have outdoor space, we are not allowed to grill out there.  It’s summer though and I feel like breaking the rules.  Rather than doing that though, I bought a grill I could use in my apartment.  So far so good! I started by throwing anything I could on the grill.

The shrimp took a while but that’s because I didn’t let the grill heat up.  The corn was oh so sweet and tasted incredible. I then decided it was time to actually make some food so I started playing with my Epicurious app and found a recipe for Grilled Chicken and Plantains, Jamaican Style.  I decided that if I could get some grill lines on my chicken I would be a happy camper.

I missed a few ingredients in the recipe so I think mine came out a little different. I was happy with the taste, but I’d recommend following it as written.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1 large garlic clove, peeled

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin

2 semi-ripe plantains, peeled, cut on diagonal into 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick slices

I prepared this indoors, but the recipe was created with an outdoor grill in mind. If you’re using an indoor grill, make sure to turn it on while mixing your ingredients so it’ll be nice and hot by the time you’re ready to cook.  Puree molasses and next 7 ingredients in blender until smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Spoon 1/4 cup sauce into pie dish. Add chicken; turn to coat.

Marinate 15 minutes. Grill chicken, skin side down. 

The cook time will depend on whether you’re using an outdoor or indoor grill and also how hot your grill gets.  You should turn it after about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it but make sure it’s cooked thoroughly before serving. No one wants to find that their food isn’t cooked all the way. The flavor in the chicken is incredible - I don't know if it's necessarily "jamaican" but I know it's delicious!  I couldn’t stop there though so I also made sure to cook some Rice & Peas.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Vegetable oil

1 medium onion coarsely chopped

1 large jalapeno seeded and minced

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice (10 ounces)

1 14-oz can unsweetened coconut milk

2/3 cup Water

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 15-oz can kidney beans

Hot sauce

In a large saucepan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook over moderate heat until barely softened, about 5 minutes. 

Stir in the rice.

Add the coconut milk, water and salt and bring to a boil. Stir in the beans, cover and simmer over low heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and fluff the rice with a fork. The rice is pretty spicy, especially if you leave the seeds in the jalapenos. YUM!

Still doubting my skills? Didn’t think so!

Hungry yet?

Miss Lily's

I love when Bestie's around! Since she's not around much, I try to make sure I see her as much as possible. We had dinner at Ms. lily's a couple of weeks ago. I came across the restaurant when it was featured in one of my daily food newsletters. I was in the mood for Jamaican food so I couldn't wait to get there! We were famished so we immediately ordered the Middle Quarters PepperShrimp.

I'm a big fan of peel and eat shrimp. This was even better because it was served with super spicy pepper sauce. Amazing! The sauce was fire! After that experience I knew spicy was the way to go for dinner. I ordered Jerk Chicken.

It showed up looking pretty plain, but they brought along a bottle of jerk sauce and I obviously doused the chicken.

Holy moly! The best jerk sauce I have ever tasted!! It was crazy hot though. Very spicy and not for those who can't handle the heat. The chicken was served with rice and peas and plantain.

The plantain was perfect. The rice and peas were good but there were some crunchy parts so perhaps it was a bit undercooked. Bestie ordered the Bushman Bowl.

Stew peas, ackee and mushrooms and sweet potato. She was loving every bite. I was a fan of the greens but I think it needed some more seasoning. The stew peas were mouthwateringly good. There were definitely other items on the menu that I would love to try.  Red Snapper, I've got my eye on you!

Miss Lily's has been getting a lot of press these days and it's totally worth the hype. I'm glad we were able to get a seat there and enjoy a really good meal. I will definitely be back!

Hungry yet?

RED

One of my absolute favorite parts of warm NY days is outdoor dining! I also love the way warmth garners spontaneity. So last weekend while the sun was shining bright, I sat around in Union Square reading. Since I was already that far downtown, I figured why not go see my favs who live WTFDT (hehe). Mr. M was on his way out but Ms. O was on her way in so I hustled to their apartment and saw them both!  Then Ms. O and I headed out to the Seaport in search of some good eats.  We decided on RED because the menu had enough items on there that sounded tempting.  Our eyes both zoomed in on the Fiery Chicken Wings so I was thrilled that they soon appeared on our table.

They were awesome! They were definitely marinated in a delicious sauce which for some reason I thought had hints of buttermilk but turns out it was bleu cheese - close enough. We were very happy with the flavor and the fieriness of the wings.   Ms. O ordered a salad.

She was pleased with the dressing but the server definitely lied about the size of the salad.  I ordered Chicken Tacos.

I was very excited about the tacos, but sadly they did not meet my expectations.  The chicken was pretty well seasoned but a little bit of salt would have gone a long way. Generally, corn tortillas don’t do it for me – these were mad worse by the dry cold cheese that fell across them. The suuuper runny guacamole didn't help the plate either. The rice and beans were tasty though.

Refried beans are awesome and every time I eat them, it takes me back to my days at UMD and the delicious burritos at Jalapeno Grill. YUM!

RED was not the best Mexican food I’ve had. The service was subpar and at one point our regular water was replaced with flat seltzer. I don’t know who goes around carrying a pitcher of seltzer but something definitely went wrong there.  The wings were delicious and had we stuck to our original plan of appetizers we would have definitely won. Alas, my eyes are too big and when I see food I can’t help but want to eat it. I recommend the wings but not much else.

Hungry yet?

Red Rooster Harlem

After months of anticipation waiting for them to open and weeks of anticipation for Ms. J’s return so I could finally go, I went to Red Rooster.  ::sigh:: Chef Samuelsson definitely made my night when he came over to greet us while we waited for our table.  He also stopped by our table after we were seated.  Red Rooster is beautiful.  The bar area has a couple of high tables where I could certainly see myself eating if I don’t get a reservation or just needed a quick fix of something delicious.  The main dining area is sprawling yet the warm colors make it feel like an intimate setting.  Considering we didn’t have reservations and it was only week 3, I was impressed by how quickly we were seated. 

Although the menu is pretty straight forward, there were several options and I had a hard time deciding.  Eventually, we decided to start with the Corn Tacos and Tostadas Ceviche.

Those little guys are topped with yellowtail, salmon and avocado with a small red onion to finish it off.  The tacos and tostadas were crisp and had some spice to them, which was a welcome surprise.  The fish was properly “cooked” and had a nice tart taste.  My only complaint was that they disappeared so quickly!  Our entrées definitely took a while to arrive, but we had a slight mix up which also played a roll.  Ms. A ordered the Shrimp & Red Grits.

It was an impressive display and certainly didn’t look like any shrimp & grits I’ve ever seen.  The combination of shrimp, basil and sausage was welcomed by Ms. A, but the poached egg was immediately removed.  Ms. J ordered the Hearth Baked Mac and Greens.

The display was beautiful – I truly do love personal sized dishes.  The Mac & Greens are made with Gouda, NY Cheddar and Comte.  Ms. J was not too impressed because apparently there was a lack of salt in the dish.  It tasted fine to me, but she was right about the salt. I didn't get a chance to sample the greens but they looked fun! 

She loved her side of black vinegar cauliflower. I didn't get a chance to try it but she was raving about it.

I couldn’t have been happier with my Fried Yard Bird. 

It was served with White mace gravy, hot sauce and shake.  Shake is a tin of seasoning that is pretty amazing.  The chicken  was crispy but the inside was extremely juicy.  The hot sauce is spread on the plate and I didn’t realize that’s what it was until I dipped into it.  It was incredible. I would definitely buy that sauce if they bottled it up. I was initially concerned that it wasn’t going to be enough, but I was quite satisfied with the portion.  I also tried the black-eyed peas. 

They were well seasoned and a welcome accompaniment to my chicken, but I would have preferred if it was served with a little less liquid.  Of course we had to leave room for dessert.  All the desserts were incredible and I can’t even begin to adequately convey how fabulous they tasted.  I highly recommend that you try as many as you can.  Ms. J ordered the Whiskey Fudge with macadamia nuts.

It didn’t photograph as well as it should have and the portion seemed a little small, but Ms. J made a good choice because it was quite rich.  Ms. A had the Sweet Potato Doughnuts with cinnamon sugar, creme fraiche and vanilla bean ice cream.

Wow sugar on a platter - awesome!  The doughnuts were actually filled with sweet potato goodness.  I would have loved to try more of Ms. A’s dessert, but was too busy enjoying my delectable Black and White Mud.

OMG definitely the best dessert EVER.  If you’re looking for chocolate heaven, this is the fastest way there! I will definitely take a trip to Red Rooster just for another slice. The combination of black and white was made even better with that amazing crust and the sea salt.

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Red Rooster’s menu, but wish I could have ordered many more items.  Dirty rice & shrimp, red snapper and crab cakes – I’ll be back for you.  Thank you Chef Samuelsson for bringing such a wonderful restaurant into the neighborhood. I can't wait to try brunch!

Hungry yet?

El Centro

My reluctant return to NYC means that I now have to get used to the restaurants again (poor me, my life is so hard - ha!) I have a few outstanding meal dates and I intend to sort them all out this week.  Especially since I'm now 11 on urbanspoon and fast approaching 10!

I had a date with my mentee and when she selected Mexican food, I was thrilled.  There are lots of options for Mexican food on Ninth Avenue close to my office so it was only a matter of picking one I hadn't been to or blogged about.  After perusing the options on urbanspoon, I settled on El Centro.  The reviews weren't stellar but they were pretty good.  When we arrived around 6:15 it was empty in there, but within a half hour the place was packed!  We started with an order of guacamole.

It was quite good, but apparently a little too spicy for Ms. D.  They also served it with their house made salsa which was awesome!

I tried not to fill up too much on the chips, salsa and guacamole but it was so good!  Ms. D ordered the Chicken Enchilada.

Quite the presentation, no?! She was quite pleased with her meal but the portion was quite large so she didn't finish it all.  I ordered the Shrimp Fajita.

Steamy presentation - that's part of the fun in ordering fajitas!  They were quite good and accompanied with rice and beans. As well as peppers, 3 corn tortillas, guacamole and sour cream (which I stayed away from).

El Centro definitely exceeded expectations.  The food was good and not too expensive.  The decor is interesting - especially the table tops and the service was great.  If you're in the mood to explore the many restaurants on Ninth Avenue, you should definitely give this one a try.

Hungry yet?

Burrito Night!

If you can't tell by now, I love food.  I might be picky in my tastes but generally me and food get along pretty well.  That's also the case for my siblings.  My brother invited me over for dinner on Sunday and I couldn't be happier.  I really wasn't in the mood to cook and he's always holding it down.  I was hoping for some magical jollof, but instead he featured chicken burritos.  

I'm not sure how he made everything but I was around for the final product and it was AWESOME. Some of the parts that made up the whole include: 

Onions and peppers

Delicious non-greasy chicken (trust it's an accomplishment for him!)

His roomie made some guacamole that was creamy and delicious. Also a lot better than the one I tried to make the day before. So bad I couldn't even blog about it (ouch!)

My bro wraps burritos like he has worked at chipotle. Witness the magic...it's like being in chipotle - BUT BETTER!

Loved it. The chicken was delicious, the vegetables beans and rice all belonged and the chipotle mayo brought everything together quite well. Perhaps he'll share his recipes! Yup no better way to ward off the sunday night blues than a good meal and some good tv. Next Sunday promises to be equally exciting! Stay tuned...

Hungry yet?