May 2012 by Vincy Stringham

May 2012 by Vincy Stringham Appetizers... 2 Bacon & Date Roll-ups... 2 Goat Cheese, Bacon & Mango Crostini... 2 Lime Shrimp Lettuce Wraps... 2 Crab Salad in Crisp Wonton Cups... 3 MAIN DISHES... 3 Tropical Fiesta Steak... 3 Island Kabobs with Tropical Fruit Salsa... 4 SIDE DISH... 5 Fiesta Fruit Bowl... 5 PUNCH... 5 Cranberry Limeade Punch... 5 DESSERTS... 5 Grandma Yearwood's Coconut Cake with Coconut Lemon Glaze... 5 Banana-Mango Bread Pudding with Coconut Caramel Sauce... 6 Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Mango Butter cream... 7 Strawberry Limeade Bars... 7

Appetizers Bacon & Date Roll-ups Bacon Whole pitted dates Cut each bacon strip in thirds. Roll around date & secure w/toothpick. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min. Remove & place on paper towel for about 5 min. Serve. Goat Cheese, Bacon & Mango Crostini 1 baguette, sliced crosswise into ½ slices 1 T. extra virgin olive oil Salt 1 # bacon, chopped 1 c. balsamic vinegar 8 oz. Goat cheese, softened 2 large mangoes, peeled, pitted & diced 3 green onions, sliced thin Preheat oven to 400 F. Place sliced baguette on large, rimmed baking sheet & drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and bake until golden brown & crisp, about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through baking. Set aside. Cook bacon in a large non stick skillet, in oven or microwave, depending upon your preference. Cook then drain on paper towel. In small, non-reactive saucepan, simmer vinegar & sugar over medium heat until reduced by half, is thick & syrupy, about 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.. To assemble, spread toasted bread with 1 ½ t. goat cheese. Top with diced mango, sprinkle with bacon & drizzle with cooled balsamic syrup. Top with sliced green onion. Lime Shrimp Lettuce Wraps -recipe courtesy Paula Deen 3 T. fresh lime juice 3 T. olive oil, divided 2 T. soy sauce, divided 2 t. grated fresh ginger 1 clove garlic, minced 1 # medium to large fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined & chopped ½ red bell pepper, diced 2 green onions, diced 1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained & chopped 1 head butter lettuce 2

1 T. chopped fresh parsley In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice, 2 T. oil, 1 T. soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Add the shrimp and let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. In a medium skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium high heat. Add the bell pepper, green onions and water chestnuts, cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Add shrimp & marinade & cook till shrimp are pink. Stir in remaining soy sauce. Remove from heat & cool slightly. Wash lettuce & dry. Tear off leaves. Spoon about ¼ c. shrimp mixture down the center of one leaf. Fold the bottom edge & sides up & over the filling & secure w/toothpick. Repeat with remaining leaves. Place on serving platter & sprinkle with parsley. Crab Salad in Crisp Wonton Cups Cooking spray 18 wonton wrappers 2 t. canola oil ¼ t. salt 2 T. fresh lime juice 2 t. finely grated lime juice dash black pepper dash red pepper flakes 2 T. olive oil ½ # lump crabmeat, picked for shells 1 stalk celery, finely diced ½ c. thinly sliced scallion 2 T. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro Preheat oven to 375. To make wonton cups, brush both sides of wonton wrappers with the canola oil and gently press each wrapper into a mini muffin tin so it forms a cup shape. Sprinkle with salt & bake until browned & crisp about 8-10 minutes. Tool cups and remove from the tin. To make the dressing, whisk together the lime juice & zest, the salt, black pepper & red pepper. Add the olive oil & whisk till well combined. To make the salad, in a medium bowl, gently toss together the crab meat, celery, mango, scallions & cilantro. Add the dressing & combine. Fill each cup with the salad and serve immediately. MAIN DISHES Tropical Fiesta Steak ¼ c. frozen orange juice, thawed 3 T. cooking oil 2 T. honey or agave nectar 3

1 T. Dijon mustard 1 T. sliced green onion 1 t. snipped fresh mint 1 ½ #'s boneless sirloin steak ½ c. chopped red sweet pepper ½ c.. chopped red apple ½ c. chopped peach or mango ¼ c. chopped celery 2 T. sliced green onion 2 t. lemon juice Romaine lettuce leaves, washed & dried Marinade: For marinade, stir together orange juice, oil, honey, mustard and 1 T. onion & mint in a small mixing bowl. Set aside ¼ c. of the mixture for the relish; cover & chill till needed. Place the steak in a plastic bag set in a shallow bowl. Pour the remaining marinade over meat. Seal the bag & turn to coat the meat with marinade. Marinate in fridge for 12-24 hours, turning bag occasionally. Relish: Combine reserved ¼ c. marinade, sweet pepper, apple, pear, mango, celery & 2 T. green onion and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Cover & chill up to 24 hours. Meat: Remove steak from bag, reserving marinade. Grill steak on rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat to desired doneness, turning once & brushing occasionally with marinade till the last 10 minutes of grilling. Allow 18-22 minutes for medium. To serve, biasslice steak into thin strips; arrange on romaine leaves. Top steak with fruit relish. Makes 6 servings. Island Kabobs with Tropical Fruit Salsa 4 servings 2 ripe, firm bananas, each cut into 6 pieces, plus 1 ripe banana, peeled & diced 12 chunks fresh pineapple 16 extra large or jumbo shrimp, cooked & deveined 1 green pepper or red bell pepper, cut into 8 pieces 2 T. lime juice ½ t. ground allspice 1 mango, peeled & diced 1 T. chopped mint 1 green onion, minced 2-3 t. minced jalapeno pepper bamboo skewers 4

Thread banana pieces, pineapple, shrimp & bell pepper pieces equally onto bamboo skewers. Whisk together lime juice, oil & allspice in small bowl. Brush 2 T. over kabobs. Combine remaining marinade with diced banana, mango, mint, green onion & jalapeno pepper. Place into serving dish. Arrange kabobs over relish & serve. SIDE DISH Fiesta Fruit Bowl Cut up watermelon, kiwi, mango, strawberries, peaches. Place in bowl & serve. PUNCH Cranberry Limeade Punch Mix frozen cranberry & limeade drinks. Add 4 cans water & carbonated lemon lime pop. Serve in punch bowl with floating slices of lime. DESSERTS Grandma Yearwood's Coconut Cake with Coconut Lemon Glaze courtesy of Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood Clarkson Potter 2010 Cake: 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing flour, for dusting pan 2 c. sugar 6 large eggs, room temperature 1 t. vanilla extract One 12 oz. Box vanilla wafers, finely crushed 6 oz. fresh grated coconut ½ c. chopped pecans Coconut Lemon glaze: 2 c. sugar 2 T. cornstarch pinch of salt 5

grated zest of 2 large lemons ¼ c. fresh lemon juice 6 oz. fresh grated coconut Directions: For the cake-preheat oven to 325. Grease & flour 9 inch tube pan or 8 miniature bundt pans. Cream the butter and sugar till light & smooth. Add the eggs & extract, beating well. Mix in the vanilla wafers, coconut & pecans. Pour into pan & bake 1 hour and 15 min for tube pan or 40 minutes for miniature pans. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then invert on serving platter. Glaze: Mix the sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon zest & juice, 1 ½ c. water & coconut in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring till thickened, for about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then using toothpick, poke several holes in the top of cake & drizzle the glaze over the cake. Banana-Mango Bread Pudding with Coconut Caramel Sauce Bread Pudding: cooking spray 8 c. lightly packed ¾ inch bread cubes 2 ½ c. diced mango (2-3 mangoes) 2 medium bananas, halved lengthwise and sliced 4 large eggs, room temperature 1 14 oz. Can sweetened condensed milk 1 9.6 oz. Can mango nectar ½ c. milk 1 T. butter 1 t. vanilla extract 1 t. cinnamon ¾ t. salt ¼ t. nutmeg Spiced Sour Cream: 1 c. sour cream 1 T. sugar ½ t. vanilla extract ¼ t. ground cinnamon ¼ t. ground ginger Coconut Caramel Sauce: 2 T. butter ½ c. firmly packed brown sugar 1 c. unsweetened coconut milk ½ c. sweetened coconut flakes, toasted Heat oven to 325. Coat 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. 6

Bread Pudding: combine bread cubes, mango & bananas in large bowl. Whisk together eggs, condensed milk, mango nectar, milk, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, salt & nutmeg in medium bowl. Pour over bread mixture, stirring till thoroughly moistened. Let stand 30 minutes. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake 55-60 minutes or till set in center. Cool slightly in pan on wire rack. Spiced Sour Cream: stir sour cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon & ginger till blended. Coconut Caramel Sauce: cook butter & sugar in small sauce pan over medium low heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk in coconut milk. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 15-20 minutes or till slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Cover & keep warm. Toasted coconut: spread coconut in medium fry pan. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly till lightly browned or toast in oven. To serve spoon bread pudding into shallow serving bowls. Drizzle with caramel sauce. Top with dollop of sour cream & sprinkle with coconut. Serve immediately. Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Mango Butter cream Cupcakes: 1 15.25 oz. Box vanilla cake mix 1 c. water ½ c. canola oil 3 eggs Preheat oven to 325. Line mini muffin tins with cupcake liners. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with mixer on low speed about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium & mix till smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pans & bake about 15-18 min. Cool in pans 5 minutes then cool completely on wire rack. Mango Butter cream: 2 large mangoes, peeled, pitted & diced 2 sticks butter, room temperature 5 c. powdered sugar 2 T. white sparkling sugar sprinkles Puree 1 ½ diced mangoes in food processor or blender till smooth, set aside. Reserve remaining diced mango for garnish. In large bowl, beat butter with mixer on medium speed till smooth. Slowly add sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing between each addition. Add ¾ c. mango puree. Increase speed to high and beat till incorporated, about 2 minutes. Transfer butter cream to a pastry bag or large zip top bag fitted with a pastry tip. Top cooled cupcakes with piped butter cream. Top each with 1 piece mango and sprinkle with sugar. Strawberry Limeade Bars Crust: 1 strawberry cake mix ½ c. butter, melted 1 egg 7

2 T. lime zest Topping: 4 eggs, beaten 1 c. sugar ¼ c. flour ½ c. lime juice powdered sugar Preheat oven to 350. Mix crust ingredients & press into 9x13 pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Mix together topping ingredients & pour over crust. Bake another 25 minutes, till set. Remove from oven & sprinkle with powdered sugar while warm. Cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Top with sliced strawberries. 8