Black Beans with Rice and Coconut Shrimp

Is it Monday already again? Time seems to be flying lately and weekends go by way too fast. We had a fun hot weekend here in the Southwest with plenty of World Cup watching. Go Germany!

We also had a eventful food weekend, I was busy trying out a few new recipes and my wonderful husband was making homemade sausage. I'm hoping to have him write a guest post sometime soon about the great things he makes in the kitchen.

This weekend I set out to make a meal I have only had in restaurants so far, Coconut Shrimp. While thinking of side dishes I figured why not make homemade black beans served over white rice to keep the Caribbean feeling going. 

Beans were first. I found the recipe on Foodnetwork.com and was really happy with how the dish turned out. The beans are not complicated to make, but they do take a lot of time if made with dry beans, which I did. The beans are brought to a boil, then set aside for an hour, brought to a second boil and then lowered to a simmer for another hour and a half. After that you add spices along with onions and peppers, and once again the beans are cooked for another hour and a half or until soft. More seasonings and red wine vinegar finish off the dish. Thankfully after all this time the flavor in this dish was incredible and I will be making these beans many more times.

While the beans were cooking away I started working on the shrimp. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com, which was a good basic start but needed some alterations. Practically, shrimps are dipped in a seasoned flour mixture, get a quick bath through a simple beer batter, and are then tossed in unsweetened coconut. The coated shrimp are then laid out on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and take a chill in the refrigerator before being fried in oil. While we all enjoyed this recipe along with the beans and the rice, it was agreed that I would continue looking for a different coconut shrimp recipe. Don't get me wrong, this is a decent recipe but I wanted a little more oomph, and these were lacking a bit of that.

Following are the recipes for both, plus stay tuned for a giveaway coming on Wednesday! It is truly a great one and you don't want to miss it!

Black Beans

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Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups (about 1/2 pound) dried black beans

12 cups water

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped

4 garlic cloves, mined

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and black pepper to taste

Cooked white rice for serving (optional)

Directions:

Put the beans in a large saucepan, add the water and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Set Aside, covered, for 1 hour.

Return the beans to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cook uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and coriander and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add the onion mixture to the beans and continue simmering until the beans are very tender and the liquid has thickened, about 1 1/2 hours more.

If the beans seem to thick, adjust the consistency with a little bit of water. Stir in the vinegar, season with cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with white rice if desired.

Adapted from: Food Network

Coconut Shrimp 

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Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour, divided

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and Pepper 

1 egg

2/3 cup beer

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups flaked unsweetened coconut

24 shrimp, cleaned

3 cups peanut oil for frying

Directions:

Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow bowl. Season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Whisk together.

Place coconut in another shallow bowl.

Hold shrimp by tail end, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut, and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a deep--fryer or large pot.

Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, move shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve warm!

Adapted from: allrecipes.com

Cubano-Style Burger

 

I have much love and great admiration for a lot of different cuisines. With the weather being so hot here in the southwest already, one of the easiest things to make for a quick dinner is a good burger on the BBQ. Flipping through the pages of several of my cooking magazines, my eyes caught the Cubano-Style Burger in "Cuisine at Home".

This burger is modeled after the traditional Cuban roast pork sandwich which is topped with sliced ham and Swiss cheese and I absolutely adore them. We have a little Deli here that makes one of the best Cuban sandwiches, everything is made from scratch using only local ingredients. It is a requirement to  order it every time I eat there, it is that good. 

The burger is composed of pork and beef (which I added to cut a bit of the fat) but you could certainly make this burger with all pork or even turkey. Deli ham and Swiss cheese are layered on top after the burger is cooked through and left on the the grill until the cheese is melted to perfection. The finished burger is then topped with a mustard pickle relish that mimics the flavor of the classic sandwich which usually has pickles on it.

This recipe makes substantial 1/3 pound burgers which are moist and juicy. All the flavors work incredibly well together even before adding the relish, but once it is topped, the burger becomes irresistible.

This burger is so good, my 8 year old managed to eat almost a whole one all by himself and that is unheard off. I'm adding this to our regular burger rotation, and am already planning to make this at our next party. I served this burger with sweet potato fries since that is what I had on hand, but if you are trying to add even more authenticity then go with fried Tostones (fried green plantains). 

So, if you like to crank up the heat, love a really good burger, and want to add a little spice to your next dinner, don't wait, make this soon!

Cubano-Style Burger

~serves 6~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

For the mustard relish:

1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard

1/4 cup dill pickle relish

2 tablespoons minced red onion

2 tablespoons diced pickled jalapeno

1 tablespoon honey

For the burgers:

1 pound ground beef (I used 90 % lean)

1 pound ground pork

Salt and black pepper

6 slices deli-sliced ham

6 slices Swiss cheese

6 onion hamburger buns, buttered

Mayonnaise

Directions:

Preheat one side of grill to medium-high and the other side to low.

Combine ingredients for the relish in a bowl; set aside.

Combine the ground beef and pork. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into a patty slightly larger than the bun to allow fro shrinkage. Season patties with salt and pepper and coat bother sides of each one with nonstick spray or brush lightly with olive oil.

Grill burgers, covered, over medium-high heat until cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side. Top each burger with a slice of ham and a slice of cheese. Grill, covered, until cheese is melted, 1-2 minutes, more. Remove burgers from the grill and tent with foil.

Grill buttered buns, covered, over low heat until lightly toasted, 1-2 minutes.

To serve, spread bottom of buns with mayonnaise, place burgers on buns, and top with mustard relish.

Adapted from: Cuisine at Home