Spicy Pineapple Margaritas

Perfect Pairing:  Good tequila

Since I started Perfecting the Pairing the first blog post each January is something really healthy.  It’s always a recipe to help with those New Year’s Resolutions.  In the past I have posted about a light Berries n’ Cream Dessert, the uber-healthy diet food, Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup, Sweet Sesame Green Beans, and a hearty Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole.  This year was to be no different, except life caught up with me and it just didn’t happen.  I did jump right on the healthy bandwagon, it just didn’t quite make it to the blog.

I kept telling myself to do it, but now we are well into January and the healthy resolutions post lost some luster.  Why not move onto something more inviting in these frigid temperatures?  Something that will remind you of being on a beach somewhere.  MARGARITAS.  Not just any margarita, a Spicy Pineapple Margarita with a cinnamon sugar rim.  Yes, please.  Add some guac and the Latin Heat Pandora station and you are basically on vacation. 

I made these margaritas with an incredible tequila, Hotel California Reposado.  It is hands down the best, smoothest tequila I have ever tasted.  It also comes in a gorgeous red glass bottle, which I am obsessed with.

When my parents are on vacation they tend to make friends.  They’ll chat with the staff, the person next to them by the pool, or the person next to them at a restaurant.  I love it!  They have made some wonderful friends through the years.  Last year while in Cabo my mom and I met a beautiful new friend named Paula while relaxing with an ocean view.  After chatting with her and her husband for some time we found out that they own and operate the Hotel California Tequila company.  Their tequila is award winning and highly rated.  The Reposado I used scored 93 points with The Critico Official Tequila Rating Co.  You could sip it on the rocks.  Or, make some quality margaritas.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Creole Jicama Hash with a Sunny Side Up Egg

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Southwestern Chicken Slow Cooker Soup

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Arugula and Parmesan Stuffed Potatoes

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Lasagna Soup

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Fruit Slush

Perfect Pairing:  Shallow dish

I don’t think my family has had a Christmas breakfast without fruit slush.  It is a staple.   It is great because you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the freezer until you are ready to serve breakfast or brunch.  The kids always go crazy over it, and why wouldn’t they?  It has crushed pineapple (sweet), maraschino cherries (sweet and really red), orange juice (kids love juice), and bananas (enter the only real fruit).  Don’t get me wrong, adults love it too.

When my brother was little he had a bit of an allergy to red food dye.  Nothing critical would happen, but he would get extremely hyper and the edges of his ears would get bright red.  My mom said she could always tell when he had Hawaiian Punch or even Cheetos at a friend’s house.  Maraschino cherries are like the holy grail of red food dye.  They practically hurt your eyes they are so bright.  I remember being at my aunt and uncle’s wedding and my brother kept sneaking up to the bar to get bowls of the neon fruit.  Bouncing off the walls. 

This recipe makes a big batch and uses an entire jar of cherries, including the juice, which makes it a pretty pink color.  I love pink.

I recommend using a shallow bowl or dish, like a 9x13 pan when you make this.  If you pour it into a big bowl the fruit will fall to the bottom and it takes longer to defrost and serve. 

Merry Christmas!  I hope your holiday is filled with loved ones and precious moments together.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup (perfect for those New Year resolutions)

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Sweet Potato Strudel with Brown Butter

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Huli Huli Chicken

Perfect Pairing:  Pineapple

Huli Huli Chicken was the official recipe of summer for my family.  We made it a lot.  I first had it when my sweet cousin, Julie, made it for a family BBQ.  Then my mom and I made it at least five other times this summer.  According to the google, huli huli, “is Hawaiian for rotisserie or 'end-over-end' and is also the name for a marinade made and sold in the Hawaiian Islands. It is composed of mostly ginger and shoyu (soy sauce).” We didn’t rotisserie this chicken, just used a good old grill. 

The original recipe comes from Taste of Home, which is a great source for solid recipes.  I followed this recipe without many changes.  I used sherry instead of chicken broth.  They seem very different to me, and I like the flavor of the cooking sherry.  Also, we used chicken breasts instead of thighs.  Try cutting the chicken into smaller pieces before you marinate it.  That way the marinade gets on more surface area and the chicken will grill up faster, which helps keep it from drying out.

After you make the marinade reserve some for pineapple.  We used canned pineapple rings, drained off the juice and marinated them in the same sauce and grilled them alongside the chicken.  They are the perfect complement.

I served the chicken and pineapple alongside this Crunchy Asian Noodle Salad.  Everything worked really well together!  You will love this chicken recipe. 

 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing - Lake House Brownies

 

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing - Overnight Cornbread Strata

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Un-Recipe Files – Prosciutto and Pineapple Grilled Pizza

When I first started the Un-Recipe Files I warned that the pictures will probably be taken on my phone and would most likely not be beautiful.  Case in point.  So even though the picture may not show it, this is a really good pizza. 

Instead of going the traditional route with Canadian bacon I used thinly sliced prosciutto.  I love how it gets crispy while it grills and the salty flavor pairs so well with the sweet pineapple.

This is what I used:

·         Pre-made crust (like Boboli)

·         Jarred pizza sauce

·         ¼ lb of sliced prosciutto

·         1 small can of pineapple chunks

·         Fresh mozzarella and/or shredded mozzarella

I topped the crust with the sauce, prosciutto, pineapple, and cheese.  I grilled the pizza on a grill-safe pan until the bottom was crispy and the cheese melted and starting to turn golden.  You could certainly cook this up in the oven but I like the grilled flavor. 

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Chicken and Pineapple “Fried” Quinoa, not Rice

Perfect Pairing: Pre-rinsed quinoa

Since my parents just moved my mom has had an opportunity to analyze all of her kitchen tools before storing them in their new home.  She ran across a lot of duplicates, and superfluous gadgets that did not make the cut.  She called me the other day as she was organizing her pantry and asked if I could think of any reason for her to keep the electric skillet.  We went over what we have used it for in the last few years and pretty much came up with one thing, fried rice.  We both agreed that this was not a good enough reason to keep a bulky piece of equipment and into the trash it went.

That discussion got me thinking about the fried rice she used to make.  I loved it.  It was salty from the soy sauce, filling, and about as ethnic as we got growing up.  I decided I was going to make my own variation of fried rice.  My recipe is very different from that original.  I guess they both had peas, soy sauce and eggs in.  That is where the similarities end!

Instead of rice I decided to use quinoa.  I LOVE that stuff.  Side note: If you are a fellow lover of the grain you may want to try this Spicy Quinoa, Tomato, Spinach and Chicken Sausage Soup and this Quinoa, Shrimp, Asparagus and Goat Cheese Salad.  Quinoa's health benefits far outweigh even brown rice.

To keep it extra healthy I used lots of vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, peas, and edamame.  Fried rice from the local restaurant is going to be full of oil; this recipe uses only two teaspoons.  It is spicy, slightly sweet from the pineapple, filling, and delicious.  Most importantly, it is good for you!   

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is pre-rinsed quinoa.  I made the mistake of buying un-rinsed quinoa once, and will not be doing that again.  I didn’t have a colander small enough to rinse it and had to come up with alternate methods.  I tried coffee filters, paper towels and draining through my fingers.  Long story short, I had a bit of a mess on my hands (literally) and a lot of wasted quinoa.  Do yourself a favor and buy the pre-rinsed variety!

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Coconut Curry Grilled Pineapple

Perfect Pairing:  Marinated chicken

I am slowly getting to be more adventurous with the grill.  I used to always leave the grilling up to my dad and brothers, but I find myself grilling more and more.  In all honesty, if I am with the men in my family they are still in charge of the grill.   I have a feeling that will never change.  Men like fire.

You might as well grill your side dishes if you have the grill heated up.  I grill all kinds of vegetables and fruit.  I think the best grilled fruit is pineapple, it is straight up delicious.

I had grilled plain pineapple a lot (and it was great), but decided to make a quick coconut and curry marinade.  It really added a lot to the fruit.  Grilled pineapple is very sweet and this marinade adds a savory side as well.  I like the kick of curry and cayenne. 

My brother recommended brushing the pineapple with leftover marinade while it was grilling.  This was key.  It kept the pineapple moist and added a lot of flavor.

The recipe makes quite a bit of marinade.  It is not easy to cut the marinade in half because of the can of coconut milk.  Of course, you could easily marinate two pineapples.  My solution was to use half of the marinade for pineapple and the other half for chicken.

The Perfect Pairing for Coconut Curry Grilled Pineapple is marinated chicken.  After separating out half of the pineapple marinade I added cumin, ground coriander and the chicken breasts.  The chicken was grilled alongside the pineapple.  They went so well together.  I made this meal for my parents and grandma this summer and everyone raved.  In fact, my grandma said she would pay $23 for that meal in a restaurant.  Let’s just say that is a really big deal for Grandma Rosie.

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