Did you attend Pop A Cork? The 2nd Annual Pop-A-Cork event for Capital Theater was Saturday, August 28th. The following recipes were shared during cooking demonstrations:
Fruit Compote
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups dry white wine
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 -3/4 cup white granulated sugar (depending on sweetness of fruit)
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (may substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 pound dark sweet cherries
1 pound red raspberries
1 pound blueberries
1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Sponge cake or pound cake
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons 10x sugar
Preparation:
Place wine, orange juice, sugar, and orange zest in a medium heavy saucepan. Scrape the tiny black seeds from the inside of the vanilla bean into the pot and toss the bean pod in as well. (Or add the vanilla extract) Bring to a gentle boil over high heat and cook for 3 minutes.
Add cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries to syrup. Return to the boil, lower heat, and simmer about 2 minutes, until fruit is barely tender. Remove from heat, stir in cinnamon, and let rest for 30 minutes.
Mix 10x sugar with sour cream.
Serve warm over cake and top with sweetened sour cream.
This would also be good served over vanilla ice cream.
The wine-poached fruit may be made up to 2 days in advance. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then heat gently just until warm.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
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Jamaican Turkey Burgers with Mango Salsa
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 burger)
SALSA:
1 cup diced peeled mango
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
BURGERS:
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup bottled sweet-and-sour sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon Jamaican jerk seasoning
1 large egg white
1 pound ground turkey
Cooking spray
4 (2-ounce) Kaiser rolls or hamburger buns
**Optional**1/2 to 3/4 cup dry white wine
Take a sip of the white wine.....then:
Prepare salsa, combine first 6 ingredients. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes.
Prepare grill to medium heat.
To prepare burgers, combine 1 cup onion and next 5 ingredients (onion through egg white), stirring well. Add turkey; mix well to combine. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1-inch-thick patty.
Lightly coat patties with cooking spray; place on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 7 minutes on each side or until done.
Cut rolls in half horizontally. Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until lightly toasted. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each roll; top with 1/2 cup salsa and top half of roll.
***You can make these burgers in a pan on top of the stove. If you do this, have your pan on medium high heat. As the burgers cook, watch them closely so that they do not become overly dry. You can use the white wine to deglaze the pan. Keeps the burgers most and gets all of the tasty bits from the bottom of the pan.
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Chicken, Tortilla and Lime Soup
In this classic soup, called sopa de lima, from Mexico's Yucatan region, the chicken is not cooked directly in the soup broth because it will make it cloudy. Be careful not to add too much chili or the soup may be too fiery for comfort. You want to maintain a good balance between the tartness of the lime and the heat of the chilies. One large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced, makes a soothing garnish to the spicy broth. Although it's not authentic, 1 cup corn kernels may be added to the soup with the tomatoes.
Ingredients:
4 quarts chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
Vegetable oil for deep frying
3 corn tortillas, cut into strips 2 inches long
1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into a small dice
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbs. minced garlic
2 to 3 tsp. finely minced jalapeño chili, with or without seeds, to taste
1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
6 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
6 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
12 paper-thin lime slices, cut into quarters
Directions:
In a deep-fry pan, pour in vegetable oil to a depth of 2 inches and heat to 375°F on a deep-frying thermometer. Working in batches, drop in the tortilla strips and fry until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried tortilla strips to paper towels to drain. Sprinkly with salt.
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the chicken breasts with the 2 cups stock. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until the chicken is opaque throughout when cut with a knife, about 8 minutes. Set aside.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the white wine. Add the garlic and jalapeño chili and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to soften. Add the 2 cups remaining broth, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the cooked chicken, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper, and simmer until the chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Sprinkle the lime pieces and tortilla strips evenly over the top. Serve immediately.