Dairy Free Mango Colada Sherbet

Sherbet is somewhere between an ice cream and a sorbet - light, smooth and with soy milk its dairy free too

Makes 1 litre

580g can pineapple chunks (or 340g fresh pineapple, 240g pineapple juice)
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. coconut rum
3 tbsp. My Secret Kitchen Mango Mojito Dessert Sauce
100ml soy or rice milk

Strain the pineapple reserving the juice. Put the juice in a pan, add the sugar and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then reduce to approximately 150ml of syrup. Put to one side to cool. Finely chop or puree the pineapple chunks and add the lemon juice, coconut rum and Mango Mojito Dessert Sauce. When completely cold, add the syrup to the fruit mixture before whisking in the soy milk. Churn in an ice cream maker until smooth and frozen or transfer to a container to place in the freezer and whisk every hour until frozen.

Mango Mojito Rum Ice Cream

Recipe from Lisa Riddoch

150g icing sugar, sieved
125ml lime juice
2 tbsp white rum
4 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Mango Mojito Dessert Sauce
500ml double cream

Dissolve the icing sugar in the lime juice, add the rum and 3 tablespoons of the Mango Mojito Dessert Sauce and mix together. Slowly whisk in the double cream and continue to whisk until the mixture forms soft peaks. Pour into a 2L container suitable for freezing and drizzle / swirl with the final tablespoon of Mango Mojito before placing in the freezer until set.

Secret Smoked Trout Tart, Watercress, Thai Dressing

(This is an adaptation of Hazel Kerr's winning recipe for Salmon En Croute)

Makes 6 single serve tarts

200g cream cheese, full fat
3 tsp My Secret Kitchen Secret Wild Garlic Spices
My Secret Kitchen Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt
1 egg, beaten
1 x 375g puff pastry sheet, ready rolled
100g smoked trout, flaked
Watercress, to serve
My Secret Kitchen Thai Dressing with Kaffir Lime to serve

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese with the Secret Wild Garlic Spices, a twist of Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt and half of the beaten egg. Mix until smooth and put to one side for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven 200C / gas mark 7. Unroll the pastry sheet and cut into 6 equal rectangles.  Divide the cream cheese mixture equally over the pastry and smooth to within 1/2 cm of the edge. Divide the flaked trout over the top of the cream cheese and press lightly. Brush the sides of the pastry with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve hot or cold, with the  watercress and drizzle with Thai Dressing with Kaffir Lime.

Chocaberry Passion with Hibiscus & Rose Nectar

Makes 24 individual petit fours or 6 larger desserts


300ml crème fraiche
125g mascarpone cheese
1 packet My Secret Kitchen Chocaberry Cheese Ball Mix
2 passion fruit
24 pastry shells
3 tbsp. My Secret Hibiscus & Rose Nectar
Crystalised rose petals or soft fruits as required to decorate


Mix together the mascarpone with the crème fraiche until smooth. Add the Chocaberry Cheese Ball and mix thoroughly, refrigerate until required. Half the passion fruit and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. When ready to serve, fill each pastry shell with 1 tea spoon of Chocaberry mixture, top with some of the passion fruit pulp and garnish as required before drizzling with Hibiscus & Rose Nectar.  Serve immediately.

8/11/13 ChefElla's Shrimp Salad San Diego

CHEFELLA'S SHRIMP SALAD SAN DIEGO

It is fun to go new places and try new things.  Recently my family and I visited San Diego, California.  We played on the beach, swam in the ocean, built sand castles and tried some new food. On our last night of vacation we tried a restaurant right on the beach.  It was beautiful.  The sun was setting and there was a nice breeze.  My little sister likes plain shrimp and the closest dish they had at the restaurant was a shrimp cocktail.  When the dish arrived, my sister was not happy because the shrimp came in a red sauce with vegetables, more like a salad.  My parents explained that in Southern California the food people eat is influenced by Mexico, because it is close, the ocean, because it is easy to get fresh seafood, and American traditions because many people in California are from other parts of the country.
I tried the sauce and I liked it even though my little sister did not.  This is my quick and easy version of the shrimp salad we tried that night.

For this recipe you will need to use a knife.  If you are not allowed to use a knife by yourself you can have a grown up help.

1. Wash your hands.

2. For this recipe you will need measuring cups and spoons, a rubber spatula, a large mixing bowl, a grater, a knife and a cutting board.

Shrimp Salad

Ingredients: (This recipe will make 4-6 servings.
1 Lb.       Shrimp 60-70 count, cooked, and peeled.
                  -60-70 count means how many pieces of shrimp will be in 1 pound.  For example if you
                   had 10 count shrimp you would get 10 pieces of shrimp in a 1 pound bag.

2/3 Cup   Cocktail Sauce   

1 1/3Cup  Fresh Salsa, or Pico de Gallo
                  -Pico de Gallo is a fresh uncooked salsa, usually containing tomatoes, onions, and peppers.
1/2 Cup    Green Pepper, small diced
2 2/3 Cup Jicama, Grated (12oz)
                  -You can buy jicama at your local supermarket.  There are two kinds whole and cleaned.
                    Jicama are large so I would recommend buying cleaned jicama from the produce section.
                    If you purchase a whole Jicama you will need to remove the skin and then cut it up before
                    you grate it.  Jicama has a fresh and almost sweet flavor and is good by itself with
                   vegetable dip.
1 Head     Bibb Lettuce, this can also be known as green leaf or boston.
4-6 Each  Hogie Rolls.  Hogie rolls look like hot dog buns only bigger.
Optional: 2 Avocados

3. Add cocktail sauce and salsa to your mixing bowl.

4. Shred Jicama, dice green peppers and add to your bowl.

5. Add shrimp and mix well.  Look surprised because you are all done.

6. Line your hogie buns with lettuce and fill with your shrimp salad.

7. As a nice addition you can top your sandwich with sliced avocado.

-This is a great quick recipe for any summer night.  Keep cold and serve with chips, salads, and something cool to drink.

Enjoy

- ChefElla

secret recipe club: cherry sorbet

for this month's secret recipe club, i was on a mission for one thing: ice cream. luckily nichole at cookaholic wife has plenty to choose from. there's caramel smores ice cream, rocky road ice cream - which as nichole mentioned, is actually really hard to find here too, salty caramel ice cream (i have a version of this sitting in my freezer right now!), classic vanilla bean, trendy cake batter, sweet corn ice cream (i just can't quite get over the fact that it's corn to make it), coconut ice cream, apple pie ice cream (bookmarked for fall!), and cherry and brownie bite ice cream (this is on my short list, since i actually have homemade brownies sitting in my freezer). as you can see, nichole pretty much has ice cream tackled. i was this close to making her chocolate tacos, and while all of these choices sound delicious, they were all just a little too much. i wanted something not quite as heavy. something fruity. sorbet! after a quick search, this cherry sorbet was it! the only change i made: doubling the recipe to use up a pound of cherries i had sitting in my fridge. and am i glad i did.

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the secret recipe club website!
 
check out my previous secret recipe club posts: slow cooker beans & mushrooms, mojito chicken tacos, maple glazed whole wheat spiced apple pizza, pig out cookies, pasta with blistered tomatoes & arugula and iced grapefruit cookies, mushroom barley soup, scalloped ham and potato bake & andes mint cake, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki, asian pork chops, lemon lime meltaways, blueberry peach crisp, minted lemon ice, white chocolate macadamia nut blondies, raspberry cream filled eclairs, jam swirled cheesecake, whole wheat grapefruit cake, chewy no bake granola bars & carrot cinnamon waffles, cannoli, gingerbread muffins, double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies, butterscotch peach cake, whole wheat honey pancakes, minted pineapple lime agua fresca, breakfast tacos, simple almond sandwich cookies, & roasted banana rum cake.

cherry sorbet
adapted from cookaholic wife
serves 4

this recipe makes about 2 cups of sorbet (or half a quart), which easily serves 4, because unlike ice cream, a half cup serving is more than enough. if you're serving a larger crowd or simply want to make more, double or make one and a half times the recipe. the freezing time might be extended by a minute or two in your ice cream machine, but the rest of the steps remain the same.

1 pound (about 4 cups) black cherries, pitted
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

1. add all ingredients to a saucepan and place over medium high heat. stir frequently and bring to a boil. boil for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries start to break down. let cool slightly.
2. use a food processor or blender to blend the mixture completely. strain with a fine mesh strainer to remove the skin. chill the mixture for a couple hours or overnight.
3. process in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions. i have an older version of this cuisinart and i let it go about 20 minutes. serve right out of the ice cream machine or transfer to a container and freeze solid. let sit out about 5 minutes to soften slightly and make it easier to scoop.