Mexican BBQ Fiesta! - April Supper Club

When it was my turn to host Supper Club I had two choices for my Menu. Once was “Pregnancy Cravings” the other was “Mexican BBQ Fiesta”. I went with the latter. For my Menu I went with a simple Mexican BBQ theme since we were so close to Cinco de Mayo. Our dishes to make were Carne Asada, Mango Avocado Salsa & my Grandma Dolly’s Spanish rice. Since I am "the substitute" I will admit that yes, the Carne Asada was from the local Mexican Carniceria. However, I painstakingly chopped by a HUGE batch of my award winning Mango, Avocado & Tomato Salsa and Anthony fried up some of his tortilla chips. Also I made my Grandma Dolly famous Spanish rice. In the Severy household we mean business when it comes to Mexican food! J Please enjoy with you next Mexican fiesta! 

Dolly’s Mango, Avocado & Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

1 mango – peeled, seeded and diced

1 avocado – peeled, pitted and diced

4 medium tomatoes – diced

1 jalapeno pepper – seeded and minced (to avoid burning hands please use plastic gloves, I’ve learned the hard way)

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 cloves of fresh garlic – minced

Salt

2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice – really I don’t measure this.

¼ cup red onion – finely chopped

3 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. To blend the flavors it is best to refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

Anthony’s Tortilla Chips

Ingredients

About 10 corn tortillas cut into triangles (like a pizza)

Vegetable Oil

Salt to taste

Directions

Please oil in a heavy bottom pan. He judges the temperature by placing one chip into the oil. Once the chip starts to fry your oil is ready. Fry in small batches moving around every couple minutes to ensure even browning.  Fry for 5-7 minutes. Remove to a paper towel bowl, salt immediately. Enjoy with your favorite salsa!

Grandma Dolly’s Spanish Rice

I’m going to apologize in advance that there is no real “recipe” to this. This has been passed down for many generations.

Ingredients

1 cup long grain white rice

About 3 cloves of fresh garlic – minced

2 stalks of green onions – chopped

1 small can of tomato sauce

2 cups of water

About 1 palm full of Cumin

Salt to taste

Vegetable oil ** be sure it is veggie not olive they have different cooking temps!

Directions

Like I mentioned there is no real recipe so here goes.

Over medium heat coat the bottom of a medium pot with the vegetable oil. Add rice and start to brown. Once the rice is semi browned, add in garlic and green onions. Cook until rice is slightly brown and garlic is soft. Add in the water tomato sauce and cumin. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until has absorbed the liquid. The first time you will need to keep a close eye on it. It will burn quickly once rice has absorbed the liquid. Once done fluff with fork and add in your salt to taste! Enjoy!

xoxo – Dolly
“The Substitute”

Italian Rice Balls Recipe

I have never heard of these before Mandy posted her menu. This was definitely out of the box for me. Since I LOVE Italian I thought I’d give it a shot! They were easy and tasty. However, If I make them again I think I will season the rice a bit more. Maybe by adding some fresh chopped garlic and basil. These were a huge hit with the kids and grown-ups alike (although I think the grown-ups liked the name better)! Here is the recipe adapted by Allrecipes.com. My one tip to this is to keep your hands very wet with water when you are rolling the balls they are very sticky. Also, used jarred sauce for the dipping sauce. Hope you all enjoy!

Italian Rice Ball Recipe

The tasty result! :)

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 quart water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
2 cups olive oil

Directions

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cheese, parsley, pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate.

2.  Pour water and 1 teaspoon salt into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in rice and reduce heat to low. Cook rice until water is almost absorbed, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and slowly pour in egg mixture, stirring rapidly to prevent egg from scrambling. Allow rice mixture to cool for 1 hour.

Rice after being cooked, ready to be cooled and rolled.

3.  Pour bread crumbs into a pile on one end of a cutting board. Dampen hands and roll rice mixture into 1 inch balls, then coat each one with bread crumbs.

Ready to roll!

4.  In a small, deep skillet, heat olive oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (Should have enough oil to completely cover rice balls.)

Frying the up!

5.  Fry rice balls 6 at a time, turning as needed to ensure even browning. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

xoxo - Dolly
“The Substitute”

Pot Sticker Recipe

I have to admit I was intimated making these pot stickers. But, once I got going it was extremely easy! I will definitely be making these again for my family. I adapted my recipe from Martha Stewart and since I am "the substitute" I modified it a bit.

Pot Sticker Recipe

I started by making the filling….

Ingredients

1/2 cup finely chopped Napa cabbage – **I used bagged coleslaw
Coarse salt
6 ounces ground pork, not all lean
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil – **I omitted this because I didn’t have any

Here are the ingredients...

Directions 

1.  In a medium bowl, toss cabbage with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand 10 minutes.

2.  Wrap cabbage in a double layer of paper towels; firmly squeeze out excess liquid. 

3.  Return cabbage to bowl; add pork, scallions, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well with a fork. Refrigerate leftover filling up to 2 days

Then I started on making the Pot Stickers themselves. This is the tricky part! Once you get the hang of it you will be on a roll. (No pun intended.) Biggest advice is to keep your fingers moist so the wonton paper does not stick to you. Also, don’t worry about the appearance they will still taste great! I used the sauce recipe but added a little sugar for sweetness.

Ingredients

24 rectangular (3 1/2-by-3-inch) or square wonton wrappers
1 recipe Wonton Filling
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 scallions, finely chopped (optional)
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, for serving

Directions

1. Put a small amount of the wonton filling in the middle of the wrapper.

2. Fold edges to form a triangle, pressing lightly.

3.  Fold triangle corners inwards.

4. Transfer to an oiled plate, and cover with a damp towel to keep moist.

5.  In a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add half the wontons and cook, turning once, until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side. Carefully add 1/2 cup water (oil may sputter), cover, and steam until translucent and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and wontons. 

6.  Sprinkle pot stickers with scallions, if using, and serve with soy sauce.

Of course we sampled just to make sure they tasted ok! They were amazing! Thank goodness there was no need to stop by the store for frozen ones on the way over! Enjoy!

xoxo – Dolly

“The Substitute “