Gobi Sunset: Drink In The Adventure No Matter Where You Are
This week our recipe is inspired by my off-the-grid adventures in Mongolia.
Get ready to fall in love as you sip a Gobi Sunset…
The Details
This drink is named for the trip I took to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.
What I love most about this refreshing sipper is that every time I smell it, I’m back to the breathtaking place that inspires it. I hope that this recipe inspires you to create your own adventures, wherever you may be.
To read more about my Off-The-Grid adventures in Mongolia (including how I taught the staff of a world-renowned lodge about elevated hospitality using a cookbook and not a translator…) click here to visit the blog.
So, about that drink…
Gobi Sunset
Ingredients
1 part white tequila
1 part peach nectar
1 part passionfruit nectar
A float of black currant with the seeds
What You Do
Shake the tequila and juices together.
Then float the currant on top so the seeds float thru like a bright orange and purple sunset.
Feel Free To Get Creative
Serve this one up in the glass of your choice, close your eyes, take a sip, and enjoy!
Perfect Portuguese Rolls
Ready for a taste of Lisbon?
Maybe a mouthwatering trip to the blue wave shores of the Azores?
Grab your flour and let’s get rolling…
The Details
These delicious rolls came to us while on a trip to Lisbon, Portugal and The Azores (a set of islands off Portugal’s coast). Our time in Portugal was filled with great food, awesome people, and some amazing Vinho Verde (Read all about it here.) As for the rolls… Yeah, they are just as tasty as they sound!
Let’s bake!
Portugese Rolls
Ingredients (Makes 1 dozen)
5 cups white bread flour
1 package dry active yeast
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1/8 cup margarine
¾ teaspoon olive oil
2 cups lukewarm water
What You Do
1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water with sugar added.
(can place the bowl in a sink with warm water to stimulate the yeast to develop)
2. Let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Place yeast mixture in large bowl, add 1/2 cup flour to the yeast and mix to make a paste and leave for 45 minutes. Cover with a wet cloth and let sit for about an hour, or until doubled in size. (You will notice bubbles forming in the dough)
4. Pull out the sticky dough and add in your remaining ingredients. Mix well. Then, on a well-floured surface, hand-knead for 10 to 12 minutes, or until smooth. (must not be sticky and must be pliable)
5. Gather in to a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Cover again the wet cloth and blanket for an hour or until doubled in size.
6. Punch down and then break off 12 portions of dough (about 1/2 cup sized each).
7. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a smooth ball. Size of hamburger rolls.
8. Press down each piece with palm of your hand. Then make a crease in the middle with the side of your hand and fold together. Pinch the ends of dough together. Sprinkle with flour.
9.Place each portion on a cloth, crease down. Cover and let sit in a warm, dry place for about 45 minutes.
10. Have a water mister on hand to help form the crust.
11. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Place rolls (crease up!) on a lightly greased and floured baking sheet – give the oven a heavy a healthy spray of water – 6 or 7 trigger sprays and bake for 10 - 15 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and dust with flour while they cool.
Feel Free To Get Creative
You can add whatever you’d like to these babies once they’re baked but, I love them just the way they are.
Enjoy!
Lobster Empanadas (And Some Irresistible Toppings)
Lobster Empanadas: Inspired by Vieques and made by you.
You’ll find the recipe for the empanadas and some truly awesome toppings here.
The Details
I know why you’re here. You read “lobster” and “empanada” in the same line and you felt that your heart and stomach flutter at just the thought of that very combination… Well, if you’re already drooling and you’re wondering how to make the most of your next (now inevitable) trip to Vieques, head over to my blog and I’ll show you around!
In the meantime, let’s get to those dreamy lobster empanadas…
The Lobster Empanadas
Ingredients
8 oz. Lobster meat claw and knuckle
1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper and 1 poblano pepper - seeded and diced small
2 oz chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
8 oz shredded white cheddar
4 oz roasted corn
4 empanadas (“10” inch discs)
Salt and pepper to taste
What You Do
Mix all ingredients together in mixing bowl.
Divide mixture equally between 4 discs.
Crimp edges.
Bake in 450-degree oven or fry at 350 till golden brown.
Feel Free To Get Creative
Serve with Roasted poblano tomato salad, and chipotle aioli.
(Don’t worry, those recipes are provided below.)
Cilantro Sour Cream
Ingredients
½ bunch of cilantro
1 quart of sour cream
½ teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger
½ teaspoon of sugar
¼ of a medium red onion pealed
What You Do
Blend all ingredients except sour cream
Add sour cream last and blend in (don’t overdo this or it will get watery)
Chipotle Aioli
Ingredients
1 cup Mayo (use a good brand preferably an organic one or make your own)
1 tablespoon Mae ploy - (sweet chili sauce)
2 chipotle peppers from a can
1 ounce Chopped cilantro
What You Do
1. Blend Mae ploy, chipotles and cilantro
2. Add mayo and blend until smooth
Poblano Salsa
Ingredients
14 roasted poblanos
14 roman tomatoes
2 medium onion slices, sliced in the middle
2 bunches of cilantro, chopped
1 ½ ounces of salt
2 ounces of rice vinegar
2 ounces of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of magi sauce
2 ounces of lime juice
What You Do
Roast the poblanos.
Cover them for 5 minutes.
After that, peel them and cut them in rounds.
Put them in a container together with onion, cilantro, and tomatoes (cut in rounds without the seeds).
Combine the salt, the vinegar, oil and magi.
Put in lime juice.
Mix it.