Steamed pulled pork buns

A take off on traditional Vietnamese steamed buns, these are filled with Epicure’s prepared Pulled Pork instead of the more common barbeque pork typically found in Asian eateries. And of course, they are home made:)

Make pulled pork in the slow cooker with Epicure’s What’s For Dinner pulled pork seasoning. Then you can make this sweet dough for the steam buns:
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
3/4 c. lukewarm water
2 T sugar

2 T grapeseed oil or other healthy oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

Combine yeast, water and sugar in a medium sized bowl. Mix gently and let sit until yeast foams. Then add the oil, baking powder and flour and combine. Knead lightly into a ball and cover the ball in the bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel.

Let rise for 45 minutes, then pound down and let rise again.

Shape small pieces of dough into 1/4″ rounds and add about one teaspoon of pulled pork in the middle. Pull two edges together to form a hammock shape, then bring the other two sides to the middle and twist the dough to close.

Place each bun on a small piece of Epicure’s parchment paper and then in a traditional bamboo steamer or Epicure’s Pasta pot. Allow to rise again for about 15 minutes.

Steam over boiling water that doesn’t boil onto the steamer for 15 minutes. Let cool slightly and enjoy.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

This was a quick and easy pizza, reminding me of the Tandoori Chicken Pizza I made a while back. Again with this one I used large 12″ pitas for the crust, they turn out thin and crisp and such a time saver if you can’t make your own dough. In my opinion they turn out better than store pizza rounds. Here in Edmonton you can pick them up at the Italian Centre Shop or H&W Produce.

Make a quick barbeque sauce with one can tomato paste, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp molasses and 2 Tbsp Epicure’s Barbeque Seasoning. Spread this on a couple of chicken breasts and broil about 5-7 minutes per side.

Spread the rest of the barbeque sauce on the pita and slice the chicken and spread it on top. Then add your other favorite toppings; I opted for fried onions in butter and Epicure’s Herb & Garlic. Then add shredded cheese and bake at 400F until cheese is melted. Serve with veggies and your favorite prepared Epicure dip.

 

 

Day 241 – Pan fried Plantain

We were out shopping one day and the kids saw these giant bananas and wondered what they were. Of course, they were plantain, cousin of the banana. Which I have never cooked with before.

So we bought one and left it in the fruit basket and stared at it for a few days. One of the kids saw that it had turned from yellow to green and thought we should eat it like a banana. A little research showed that plantains are better cooked in most cases than eaten raw. And the blacker, the better for ripeness and sweetness. We are fans of sweet, so decided to wait awhile longer.

Eventually, that plantain got good and black and we decided it was time to cook it up. We found this excellent web page: http://hubpages.com/hub/Plantains—How-To-Cook-Plantain-Bananas that describes the different stages of plantain as well as a few uses for them. I will be trying some of these recipes in the next while, Epicure-style, of course:)

Our first plantain dish was this pan fried plantain. Paulina picked out Epicure’s Tropical Fruit Dip Mix to cook it with. I would like to try it out with Epicure’s Cinco Pepper Blend or Herb & Garlic next time.

1 ripe plantain, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Epicure’s Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 Tbsp Epicure’s Tropical Fruit Dip Mix (or seasoning of your choice)

coconut oil

Coat plantain slices in flour and dip in the egg and salt and pepper mix. Mix bread crumbs with Tropical Fruit Dip Mix and then coat the plantain with the bread crumbs. Pan fry in coconut oil or cooking oil of your choice. Use an oil with high smoke temperature, like coconut or grapeseed. Fry until brown and turn and do the other side, about two minutes per side.

Day 237 – Chicken Wings in Adobo Sauce

Just started using one of Epicure’s new 2011 products, Adobo seasoning. I really like it, an interesting and traditional Mexican flavour blend that can be used straight or as a “red” Adobo sauce when mixed with tomato paste.

Here is a recipe for chicken wings using the Adobo sauce:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Epicure’s Adobo Seasoning
• 1/3 cup vinegar — white or cider
• 2 lbs chicken wing pieces
• Epicure’s Arriba! Sansel™ or Epicure’s Sea Salt, to taste

Whisk together Adobo Seasoning with vinegar. Toss chicken wings with 3 Tbsp (45 ml) prepared Adobo Sauce. Place in a single layer on Epicure’s Baking Sheet. Roast in oven for 30 minutes at 400F. Toss wings in remaining Adobo Sauce immediately before serving. Season with Arriba! Sansel™ or Sea Salt.

Day 212 – Bruschetta with fresh yellow tomatos

Mmm, I saw these beautiful yellow tomatos at the Italian Centre Shop and thought, “I gotta have those!” Time for fresh tomato bruschetta.

Epicure’s Bruschetta Herbs are a wonderful, versatile blend. I especially like them with fresh tomatos. Of course red tomatos will work great with these herbs as well.

three fresh tomatos, chopped

red onion, finely chopped to taste

1 tbsp Epicure’s Bruschetta Herbs

1 tbsp of the finest olive oil you have

Combine all ingredients and let rest for 30 minutes or so. Spread on freshly toasted sliced baguette pieces and enjoy!

Day 209 – Souvlaki Chicken Bites with Tzaziki and Cucumber

This is a super quick and easy appetizer with tasty chicken seasoned with Epicure’s Souvlaki seasoning. I recently served these at an Epicure Mediterranean theme get together complete with Bellinis. Lots of fun.

Cube a chicken breast into small bite sized pieces and cook in an Epicure pan with 1 tsp of Souvlaki seasoning sprinkled on the chicken. Serve on sliced cucumbers with a dollop of Epicure’s Tzaziki. It’s made with 1 cup thick yogurt, 1/2 cup grated cucumber, 2 tsp lemon juice and 2 tsp Epicure’s Tzaziki Dip Mix.

Day 207 – Fruit Kebobs with Maple Spice

Once I saw a kid in the local playground eating something on a stick. When I asked him what it was,  he said, “An apple.”

“Candy apple?” I asked? His dad, who was following close behind, piped up, “No, just an apple. But the stick makes it taste better. Everything tastes better on a stick.”

Ok, placing fruit on a stick perhaps does not qualify as a real recipe, but kids do seem to like food on sticks, or skewers, to be accurate. And if they are eating fresh fruit, who cares if it’s on a stick or not!

We used bananas, apples and oranges for our fruit kebob. The bananas are rolled in yogurt and Epicure’s Maple Spice, then frozen for a delicious treat. Add the rest of the fruit after freezing. Or simply place on the skewer and roll in any of Epicure’s Fruit Dip mixes.

Day 185 – Sweet Cinco spread

Yum, had this today on top of my omelette. I made a plain one with only eggs, I didn’t have any grated cheese. So I tried this on top, very good. My youngest daughter tried it and asked for more, which surprised me, since it does have a few hot pepper flakes from the Cinco Pepper Blend. That is a new mix for 2011, I quite like it so far on everything that I have used it in.

Sweet Cinco spread

1 cup cream cheese

1 Tbsp Epicure’s Cinco Pepper Blend

2 Tbsp Epicure’s Red Pepper Jelly

Combine all three ingredients in a bowl and serve with crackers (or omelettes, as the case may be:)

Day 179 – Salsa Pueblo Bean Dip

An easy one, combining the wonderful flavours of fresh salsa and black beans.

2 cups black beans, cooked

2 cups Epicure’s Poco Picante Salsa, prepared

1 Tbsp Epicure’s Pueblo Bean dip mix

3/4 cup sour cream

Combine all ingredients except sour cream, let rest for 20 minutes. Puree half and add back to original mixture. Stir in sour cream and serve.

 

Day 178 – Tandoori Chicken Pizza

I have been waiting to make this for months…….for the longest time, I couldn’t figure out what the sauce should be. I knew it wasn’t tomato, but what would really make this pizza great? A friend clued me in: mango chutney. So I had to go and figure out a mango chutney recipe and then make the pizza. It was well worth the wait, this is now one of my favorites so far from the Epicure 365 challenge.

Originally, nan bread was the idea for the crust, I didn’t have time to make it so I prepared it on a large pita bread instead.  A nice East Indian cheese would be a nice addition to the pizza instead of the mozzarella cheese.

Marinate and pan fry the chicken breasts in the Tandoori Paste recipe from Day 149, which is:

2 tsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp Epicure Tandoori seasoning

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp Epicure’s Garam Masala

 

 

 

And the recipe for the mango chutney:

2 medium mangos, peeled and cut in small cubes

1/4 onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp walnut pieces

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp chopped jalapeno pepper

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp Epicure’s Spices for Mango Chutney

Combine all ingredients in Epicure’s 8 cup Multi Purpose Pot or small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Cool and spread on whatever you are using as the base of the pizza, top with sliced cooked chicken and cheese and bake about 10 minutes at 400F.