March 6th, 2015
Jimmy Durante started as a piano bar player. Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” is based on his experiences as a piano bar player, as well. And, Andrea Bocelli, the famous Italian tenor played in a piano bar to pay for his singing lessons. Just a little trivia in order to start my post.
The Thoroughbred Club is a piano bar located inside Charleston Place at 205 Meeting Street in Historic Charleston, South Carolina. Tel. 843-722-4900 You can find it on Facebook.
They do offer afternoon tea and light music. During the evenings you will find Calvin (Deke) Taylor a.k.a. “The Entertainer” playing some pretty good jazz. It gets crowded. You can contact him at 843-554-4039 or his cell 843-822-0389. His website is http://www.calvindeketaylor.com. Click on it and check his videos.
The menu is light and just enough. Tapas style, grazing here or there.
While at Charleston Place you could have found us listening to his music in the evenings. It had a great beat. It was fun and entertaining. We ordered sliders, an artichoke dip and drinks.
Another night lollipop lamb chops, meatballs, cheeses and drinks.
Have a great week-end. Talk to you later.
August 22nd, 2011
I had to laugh. I got an e-mail from the Delray Beach Green Market. This market is the one I visit when in Delray Beach, Florida. Just like the markets in Delaware, it is that time of the morning when you can stroll and get fresh baked goods, produce, and flowers, while sipping your coffee. Great way to start the day, by the way.
I laughed because it said that in August, in South Florida, the mangoes are falling off the trees. Ha ha. Here, in Delaware, I found that Giant was having a sale; 4 for $5.00. I bought them. Why not? I love mangoes, probably as much as I love ice cream.
Growing up in Puerto Rico I remember sitting with a bag of mangoes and just diving into them; peeling them with my teeth; eating that sweet flesh. I am not kidding, no knife was needed. Some of the mangoes had fibers and some of them were just perfectly round.
If you do want to know how to eat a mango without getting messy, then go to You Tube and on the search put How to Eat a Mango. There is an informative video for you to check out. Still, in my book, you need to get messy!!
In a perfect world I would love to pick them directly from the tree. But, since beggars can’t be choosey, then a grocery store is probably the best bet on my neck of the woods.
Mangoes are native of India and are the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. Full of vitamins, as well.
The Fresh Mango Salsa is one of those that you can add a little bit of this or a little bit of that. You want a little more of a kick? Then, add more jalapeno. Don’t like the cilantro? Well, then you know what to do, but it does add so much.
The Mango Salsa is very versatile; on fish, pork, hamburgers, salads, omelettes, corn chips, or you can do like I did and top corn fritters with it.
Mango Salsa
1 mango, peeled, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno, chopped (I used canned jalapeno wheels; chopped)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and allow the salsa to rest at least 30 minutes before serving. It is really good. I love the combinations of the jalapeno, mango and cilantro along with the citrus flavors of the lime and lemon juices.
Corn Fritters
When I first came to Baltimore in 1976 someone introduced me to a place in Maryland that used to serve Whiskey Sours with a basket of corn fritters. I always remember that and as I made them, my thoughts went back to those times long ago.
There are so many recipes for corn fritters. I have to use gluten free flour so I decided to use Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix. This mix is for waffles, cookies, crepes, muffins, and more. When I saw that it said “and more”, I made the corn fritters using:
1 cup of Pamela’s Mix
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 can corn, drained
You want the mixture to be nice and thick in order to drop them by the spoonfuls in hot oil.
Fry them until they achieve a nice golden brown color. Careful not to burn. Place on paper towels to drain. Then, just serve them like I did; with the Mango Salsa. Could be an appetizer, a tapa, or a side dish.
Corn fritters go well with ham or poultry. But, they are delicious with maple syrup, butter or jelly.
Traditional Corn Fritter Recipe
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 (20 ounce) can cream-style corn
1/2 cup canned corn, drained
1 egg, slightly beaten
Sift dry ingredients.
Combine corn and egg. Stir corn and egg mixture into sifted dry ingredients until just blended.
Drop batter by tablespoons into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes, turning once during frying. Drain on paper towels.
Note: Since we have an abundance of corn in the summer, using fresh corn is the way to go. In a hurry? Use canned corn.
Enjoy and make it your own!!…Talk to you later…
November 22nd, 2009
When I was growing up in Puerto Rico, mojo was a side sauce for dipping sorullitos de maiz, which are like a hush puppy with cheese inside, fried plantains, and chicharrones de pollo, which are fried chicken pieces. You could really put mojo on anything, including fish, grilled chicken or meat.
A basic mojo is made of garlic, herbs, olive oil and lemon juice. But, believe me, there are plenty of variations.
I hope you enjoy the following recipe:
Shrimp with Cilantro Garlic Mojo
2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 lbs. medium size shrimp (frozen, cleaned and easy to peel)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped, some of the green part included
4 ounces tomato sauce
1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
Put the first 4 ingredients in a blender. Push pulse until it has the consistency of pesto sauce. Set aside or if not using right away, put in the refrigerator.
Peel shrimp. In a frying pan, preferably non-stick, put butter and olive oil to heat on medium. Add the green onions and then the shrimp and stir fry them for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and the mojo sauce and heat them up for another 4 minutes or so. You want them hot but make sure you don’t over cook them.
That’s it!!!
You can serve them over rice, angel hair noodles or wrap them in a flour tortilla, burrito style.
Serves 4 for an entree or 8 for an appetizer or tapas.
Remember to make the recipes your own so if you feel you need more lemon or more tomato sauce or less garlic, please go for it and enjoy.
See you soon…
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