These appealing little ‘blossoms’ are perfect as appetizers or as a sophisticated dessert. They’re very easy to make and they delight the senses with their transporting flavors and variety of textures.

Here’s a photo of the Pina Colada Blossoms below.

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp sugar
Cooking oil spray
24 wonton wrappers (or 6 egg roll wrappers cut into quarters)
Ground cinnamon (for dusting)
1 can pineapple chunks
1 can mandarin orange sections
3/4 Cup shredded sweetened coconut
Fresh mint leaves, minced (optional)

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the cream cheese, lime juice, and sugar. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Press a wonton wrapper into each cup, folding the corners out like petals, and dust lightly with cinnamon. Put about a teaspoon of cheese mixture into each, press a pineapple chunk and a mandarin orange section into the cheese, and top with about a teaspoon of shredded coconut.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Sprinkle with minced fresh mint leaves, if desired.

Makes 24 appetizers.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Delicious Pina Colada Blossoms

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

Warning: The warm, rich, multi-layered flavors of these visually appealing appetizers will tempt you very strongly to eat all 24 of them by yourself in the kitchen and tell your guests that you, uh…dropped the whole tray on the floor! Yeah, that’s it! They’ll believe that! Just make sure you’re not still chewing when you give them the bad news.

Here’s a photo of the Shrimp & Blue Cheese Blossoms with Vidalia Cranberry Marmalade below.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
3 cups diced Vidalia onions
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 tsp anise seed
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp white pepper
Pinch of salt
4 oz cream cheese, softened
Cooking oil spray
2 oz blue cheese (I use Maytag Blue)
24 wonton wrappers (or 6 egg roll wrappers cut into quarters)
24 medium (41-50 count) cooked shrimp
Minced fresh chives (optional)

PREPARATION:

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the onions and the cranberries and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions have softened and colored (about 20 minutes.) Stir in the anise seed, brown sugar, lemon juice, water, pepper, and salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes more, stirring regularly.

While the onions are cooking, crumble the blue cheese in a medium bowl. Add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Press a wonton wrapper into each cup, folding the corners out like petals. Put about half a teaspoon of cheese mixture into each, add about 1 teaspoon of onion marmalade, and top with a shrimp.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Sprinkle with minced fresh chives, if desired.

Makes 24 appetizers.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Shrimp & Blue Cheese Blossoms with Vidalia Cranberry Marmalade

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

Please join us tomorrow to find out how to make this recipe’s companion dessert, Pina Colada Blossoms.

Though most people never give it a second thought until Thanksgiving pie-making time rolls around, canned pumpkin is one of the hidden treasures of the vegetable aisle. It’s nutritious (high in fiber and low in fat and carbs), delicious, economical, and incredibly versatile. You can use it to make sweet desserts (cakes, pies, puddings, turnovers, souffles, tarts, etc) as well as savory side-dishes, casseroles, empanadas, soups (hot and chilled), croquettes, and more. You can also use it to make wonderfully moist breads and muffins, too.

Sweet or savory - breakfast, lunch, or dinner - that shamefully neglected can of pumpkin in your cupboard can do it all! How many canned vegetables can claim that kind of versatility?

Try these easy and delicious pancakes for breakfast or Sunday brunch. They’re lightly sweet and are great with just butter, or you can mix in any number of goodies (raisins, chopped walnuts or pecans, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, etc) and/or top them with maple syrup (buy the real stuff; you deserve it!), or peaches, berries, pineapple, or mango - or how about a dollop of real whipped cream or even a scoop of ice cream? Too decadent, you say? Perhaps, but well worth it: a sybaritic breakfast will put a mysterious smile on your face that your co-workers will wonder about all morning . . .

Here’s a photo of the Homestyle Pumpkin Pancakes (made with raisins) below.

Ingredients:

1 cup self-rising flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar (or white)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 cup half & half or milk
1/2 cup solid-pack canned pumpkin (See Cook’s Note)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
Butter or oil for cooking

PREPARATION:

Mix together the dry ingredients, then add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Lightly oil or butter a heated skillet or griddle and pour in about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the edges are just dry. Turn pancakes and cook until lightly browned. Keep warm in very low oven while making remaining pancakes. Makes 8 -10 pancakes.

Cook’s Notes:

There are two types of canned pumpkin: the kind that’s premixed with sugar, etc., to use as pumpkin pie filling, and the kind that’s just pumpkin with no added ingredients (often called Solid Pack.) I recommend buying only the plain pumpkin type, as it allows you the widest range of possibilities.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Delicious and Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

“Abuelita” means “little grandmother” in Spanish. These sweet little treats are based on the deep-fried and very delicious Cuban empanadas filled with guava & cheese that I used to buy in Union City, NJ (where there are more Cubans and Cuban restaurants per square mile than in Havana!).

When I first made these, a friend said that they seemed like the kind of after-school snack that a little old Cuban grandmother would bake for a favorite grandchild. Serve them warm from the oven with a cup of espresso for a very grown-up dessert.

Here’s a photo of the Guava and Cheese Abuelitas below.

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp sugar
4 oz guava paste (see Cook’s Note)
1 15 oz box rolled refrigerated pie dough, brought to room temperature (see Cook’s Note)
Cooking oil spray

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the cream cheese, lime juice, and sugar. Cut the guava paste into four slices. Cut each slice in half lengthwise, and cut each of these halves into three pieces, giving you 24 small pieces. Unroll the pie crusts and use a cookie cutter or drinking glass to cut the dough into 2 1/2 inch rounds to make 24 pieces (12 from each roll of pie dough). Lightly coat mini muffin pans with cooking spray and gently press a dough circle into each cup. Add about a teaspoon of cheese to each cup and push a piece of guava paste into the cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Makes 24 mini cups.

Cook’s Notes:

• Refrigerated pie dough rolls come two to a box and can be found in the refrigerated biscuit dough section of the supermarket.

• Guava paste comes in a rectangular block and is available in the International foods section of the supermarket. If guava paste is not available, guava jelly can be substituted.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Delicious Guava and Cheese Abuelita “Little Grandmother” Tea Pastries
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

At last month’s Redwood Creek Campfire Classic event in National Harbor, MD, four semifinalists from the South (including myself) and four from the Northeast met in a combined event to compete in our respective regions.On contest day, we were each assigned to share a preparation table with a semifinalist from the other region who we weren’t competing against.

I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Melissa Mullins, a charming and talented woman who persevered in the face of unforeseen technical glitches to produce first-rate examples of her beautiful, scrumptious sounding Blackberry Hand Pies with Jar-Whipped Lavender Cream and win the finalist spot for the Northeast Region.

I say scrumptious sounding because, sadly, in all the excitement of the event I never did get a chance to taste them!

But they must have been pretty darn wonderful because, I’m thrilled to report, my tablemate went on to win the Redwood Creek Campfire Classic Grand Prize in NYC this weekend!

Hooray for Melissa! Now I really wish I had gotten to taste those pies!

As it says in an article about the 2008 Redwood Creek Campfire Classic Contest in Epicurious:

“Mullins’s empanada-like pies are baked over the campfire in mini-foil ‘ovens’ that allow the air to circulate, helping the crust get crispy. She says shortening works better than butter for the great outdoors since it doesn’t spoil and also aids in crisping the crust.”

Melissa’s love of local ingredients and culinary ingenuity gave her the inspiration for the winning dish. “The campground we were at was just surrounded by blackberries.” Then she found frozen pie crusts at the camping store, and turned her grill into an oven with tinfoil, according to New York’s Daily News.

Want to make her winning dish during your next cookout? You can see her full recipe here on the Metro Sports NY site.

• Southern Hoe Cakes from Group Recipes

• Fried Corn Meal Mush From About.Com: Southern Food

• Lavender Flavored Lemonade from Southern Sandra

• Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Simply Recipes

• Carolina Fish Muddle from History.Org

• Colonial Corn Pudding from Foodreference.Com

• Georgia Peanut Salsa from Taste of Home

• Thomas Jefferson’s Ice Cream From Slashfood

• Colonial Innkeeper’s Pie from Cooks.Com

Enjoy the Holiday!

Join us tomorrow to enjoy an interesting series of historical 4th of July photos taken across the United States, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

This zesty relish gets its fiery nature from lots of freshly grated ginger, but the bite is tempered by sweet oranges, dried cherries, honey, and spice. It goes great with roast pork, turkey, or game (especially venison) and a dab on a hot, buttered biscuit is a fine way to kick-start the morning, too.

Here’s a photo of the Firecracker Chutney below.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried cherries (about 14 oz)
1 cup grated fresh ginger root
3 large oranges, peeled & chopped (white pith and seeds removed); juice reserved (see below)
2 Tbsp orange zest
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp brandy
Water plus reserved juice from oranges to equal 1 cup

PREPARATION:

Place all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding
a bit more water if needed. Chill thoroughly before serving. Makes about 2 pints.

Cook’s Notes:

• 5 or 6 tangerines (depending on size) can be substituted for the oranges.

• Southern Comfort, Grand Mariner, bourbon, or dark rum can be substituted for the brandy, or it can be omitted.

• For another layer of zing, try adding a finely minced jalapeno pepper.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Delicious Firecracker Chutney With Oranges, Ginger, and Dried Cherries
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

This refreshing and cooling summer recipe won’t heat up your kitchen but will spice up any meal, picnic, or family gathering where you decide to serve it.

Here’s a photo of the Sun and Moon Orange and Sweet Onion Salad below.

Ingredients:

2 large navel orange (or 4 tangerines)
1 medium seedless cucumber
1 medium sweet onion
1/4 cup green olives (I used Spanish olives with pimento, but any pitted green olive would be fine)
1/4 cup parsley leaves, loosely packed (cilantro would be nice also), divided
1/4 tsp each of paprika, cumin, & cinnamon
1/8 tsp white pepper
Pinch or two of cayenne or red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1 lemon, divided
Pita breads (non-pocket type) or thick (gordita-type) tortillas
Olive oil
1 container (8 oz) plain or flavored hummus

PREPARATION:

Peel the oranges, removing all the white pith, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. Peel and cut the cucumber into 1/2 inch chunks. Peel and cut the onion into 1/2 inch chunks or quarter and cut onto very thin slices. Leave the olives whole or slice, as desired. Finely mince the parsley leaves and reserve a tablespoon.

Combine all the above in a mixing bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice (about a teaspoon) and mix. Sprinkle on the spices and mix gently. Taste, adding a little salt, if desired.

Toast or grill the breads with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and cut into 8 pieces.

TO SERVE:

To serve, mound 1/4 of the hummus in the center of a small plate (drizzle a little olive oil on top, if desired), spoon 1/4 of the salad around it, and arrange the bread pieces around the outer edge of the plate, points outward, in a sun pattern. Decorate the hummus with a thin, half-moon slice of lemon and a pinch of reserved parsley.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Join us tomorrow to find out more about how to make Firecracker Chutney, Doug DuCap’s original recipe which features dried cherries, fresh ginger, and oranges.

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Sun and Moon Orange and Sweet Onion Salad
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

Here’s Day 6 of the A Week of Onion Rings series which features Southern Style Sweet Corn Onion Rings.

(Yesterday’s featured onion rings were Stuffed Potato Skin Onion Rings.)

This one’s a little different, but still very easy. It captures the flavor of sweet summer corn and wraps it around the onion in a golden, pillowy crust. Perfect with grilled food of all kinds.

This recipe uses canned corn, but you can make it using fresh corn scraped off the cob. Adjust the salt and sugar to your taste. A nominal amount of garlic powder is invoked for its mysterious power to enhance the flavor of corn while not making its own presence known.

Ingredients:

1 can (about 15 oz) cream-style corn (I use Del Monte because they add less sugar)
1 cup self-rising flour (plus additional if needed)
1/8 tsp white pepper (or more to taste)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
Oil for frying
1 very large yellow or Vidalia onion, cut and separated into 3/4 inch rings

Preparation:

Pulse the corn in a food processor or blender until nearly smooth. Remove to a bowl and whisk in the flour 1/4 cup at a time until a thick batter is achieved. Whisk in the spices and set aside. Heat 1/2 to 3/4 inches oil in a heavy skillet to 375 degrees.

Dip an onion ring into the batter, coating thickly. Lay it gently into the oil and cook until golden, turning once. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining rings. You can do 2-3 at a time depending on the size of your skillet, but take care not to crowd the pan or let the temperature drop too much, or the rings will turn out greasy.
Enjoy!

Serving Suggestions:

• A pinch or three of cayenne adds a little counterbalance to the corn’s sweetness.

• Add some finely minced sweet red or green pepper, or finely minced pickled jalapeno to the batter.

• Take a large soft kaiser roll, put a big onion ring on the bottom half, put a heap of smoky pulled pork inside the onion ring, top with creamy cole slaw, put the lid on, bite. The great outdoors just got greater, didn’t it?

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Gigantic Southern Style Sweet Corn Onion Rings
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

Here’s Day 4 of the A Week of Onion Rings series which features Curly Ramen Crunch Onion Rings.

(Yesterday’s featured onion rings were Cheese and Chive Onion Rings.)

If you’re looking for the ultimate crunch experience, these are for you. You get to ‘mainline’ your ramen noodles, and work in a vegetable at the same time! They’re fun, delicious, and totally addictive.

You want to use the inexpensive, cellophane wrapped ‘block’-type ramen. Choose a flavor you like; I used Roast Beef but most would work equally well, I think. The batter has to be quite thick to hold the crushed ramen in place, so test one and whisk in a tablespoon or so of additional flour if necessary.

Ingredients:

2 blocks ramen noodles (with 1 flavoring packet reserved)
2 cups Basic Batter (made with beer)…see the ingredients list for this batter to the right.
Oil for frying
1 very large yellow or Vidalia onion, cut and separated into 3/4 inch rings

Preparation:

Break off half of one block and pulse it in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Stir these into the batter and set aside. Break up the remaining noodles into small chunks and either processes them carefully in small batches until they’re chopped into small bits (but not ground) or put them in a heavy duty plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or soup can. Spread the crushed noodles in a shallow bowl and shake the contents of the flavor packet over them; mix thoroughly.

Heat 1/2 to 3/4 inches oil in a heavy skillet to 375 degrees. Dip an onion ring into the batter, coating thickly, and dredge in the crushed noodles. Lay it gently into the oil and cook until golden, turning once. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining rings. You can do 2-3 at a time depending on the size of your skillet, but take care not to crowd the pan or let the temperature drop too much, or the rings will turn out greasy.

Enjoy!

Serving Suggestions:

• Got a bunch of leftover Duck Sauce packets choking out the butter & cheese from their rightful compartment in the refrigerator? Now you know what you were saving them for!

• If you’ve already evicted all your Chinese takeout packets, some mango chutney would be quite nice, too.

• A sweet Thai chili sauce (like Sriracha) might just be the killer app for these crunchy delights.

Join us tomorrow to read Doug’s new recipe for Stuffed Potato Skin Onion Rings as part of his Week of Onion Rings Series which celebrates the official start of Summer.

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Gigantic Curly Ramen Crunch Onion Rings
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

The moment I saw this recipe I knew I had to share it with you because of its perfect combination of elegance and simplicity. Here’s a recipe for King Prawn Pancetta Fried Rice from the folks at The Sugar Bar.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup long grain white rice/basmati rice
1/2 cup water, for cooking the rice
1/3 cup lettuce, sliced
1/3 cup king prawns, shelled and deveined
2 slices smoked pancetta
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp fish sauce
sprinkling of dried oregano
pepper, for seasoning
mild tasting vegetable oil, for frying

How to Make King Prawn Pancetta Fried Rice
See More of Hugging the Coast’s Fish For Friday Recipes

The winners of the 2008 James Beard Awards have been announced. (You can see a full list of all the winners here.)

Because of the area’s bumper crop of great chefs, fine dining, and fresh ingredients, local congratulations go to Robert Stehling of Hominy Grill in Charleston, SC who has won in the Best Chef: Southeast category.

(You can see our list of all the JBA nominees here.)

Here’s eight of Stehling’s recipes in case you want to experience a taste of Lowcountry inspired goodness in your home kitchen:

• Robert Stehling’s Buttermilk Pie from The New York Times (also an exploration of the recipe from The Wednesday Chef)

• Robert Stehling’s Shrimp and Grits from Discover South Carolina

• Bacon-Roasted Turkey with Sweet-Onion Gravy from Food & Wine

• Grilled Portobello Mushroom and Barley Salad W/ Basil Puree from Big Oven

• Citrus-Pickled Shrimp from Food & Wine

• Robert Stehling’s Spinach Potato Cakes with Roasted Tomato Sauce from Cookie

• Shrimp Burgers from My Recipes.Com

• Avocado and Wehani Rice Salad from Astray Recipes

If you’d like to learn more about Charleston’s Hominy Grill and see the chef in action, click here to watch a brief clip from the Food Network.

Ever wonder where top chefs like Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Keller, and Tom Colicchio like to go on vacation, area restaurants they can’t resist, what their guilty culinary pleasures are on the road, and more?

Then you’ll enjoy this series of interesting pieces from Fodors which features 14 top chefs including Alice Waters, Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Keller, Tom, Colicchio, Ming Tsai, Suvir Saran, Lidia Bastianich, Govind Armstrong, Michelle Bernstein, Gavin Kaysen, Bobby Flay, and Suzanne Goin, sharing their favorite foodie meccas (excerpts below):

Anthony Bourdain on New York:

“What do we do in New York better than anyone else in the world?’ The answer to that question is deli…It’s the food that I miss when I’m away, no matter how well I’m eating. Even in places with fantastic food — Singapore, Hong Kong — the food that I miss first is deli.”

(You can read more from Anthony Bourdain on the subject here.)

Thomas Keller on the Napa Valley:

“When I think of lunch in Napa, I think of something quick that’s kind of comforting. And one of the places I like is Taylor’s Refresher. They have great hamburgers and fish tacos and you can sit outside in the beautiful weather because they have a big lawn right behind it. One of the things about Napa Valley, which is so unique, is that all of our restaurants are really good…People come to Napa Valley primarily to eat and drink, so we have great wine and great restaurants.”

(You can read more from Thomas Keller on the subject here.)

Tom Colicchio on Charleston, SC:

“What’s great about the South is that the idea of hospitality is second-nature. One of my favorites in Charleston is Hominy Grill. It is just the epitome of Southern casual dining. Breakfast, lunch, dinner — every single meal is just wonderful. Usually when I go to Charleston, I go right from the plane to Hominy Grill. I try to get there for breakfast — they do shrimp and grits and different egg dishes. Whatever they serve is usually seasonal, wonderful, delicious. Last time I was there I had shad roe and scrambled eggs for breakfast…

For me, going to South Carolina, it’s not so much about the beaches, it’s about the marshes. It’s just wonderful to get a kayak and go through the marshes. You see everything from redfish to alligators to dolphins. It’s amazing — the amount of birds and wildlife…

There are so many little fish shacks around Charleston. There’s a little place called Bowen’s Island, an oyster grill where you sit at a picnic table, and the guy comes by with a shovel full of oysters that come off the grill and just puts [them] on the table on top of newspaper and they’re kind of steamed open from the grill — and that’s it. You dip them in butter and that’s all they serve…”

(You can read more from Tom Colicchio on the subject here.)

Also, you can see photos of Bowen’s Island on our FlickR Photoset here as well as read the full series of top chef interviews here.

Looking for a sophisticated recipe perfect for a first course appetizer or lunch? Try making this recipe for Crab and Coconut Risotto with Mango from the folks at Coastal Living.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup Arborio rice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk, divided
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, heated
1/2 pound lump crabmeat
1 ripe mango, chopped
Flaked coconut

How to Make Crab and Coconut Risotto with Mango
See More of Hugging the Coast’s Fish For Friday Recipes

Planning to do some serious hiking, biking, or backpacking and need a simple way to make nutritious meals on the run using a minimum of dishes and cooking equipment? Then thermos cooking might be for you.

For most meals made in a thermos (you’ll need a fully stainless steel-lined 1 quart thermos with a small-medium sized opening like the Aladdin Stanley, not those wide-mouthed, styrofoam insulated cheapies that the kids take to school) all you’ll need is a good thermos, the ingredients you plan to cook, some hot water, and a little patience.

Plus, if you’re camping, boating, etc. and don’t have easy access to boiling water, simple hot water will do…however be prepared for the cooking process to take a bit longer. (For many, thermos cooking can also be a good technique to know in the event of an extended power outage.)

The best way to get started with thermos cooking is to read this thread about it which has tips and recipes for successful and easy thermos cookery from people who do it for a wide variety of reasons.

There’s also another good thread here where the author compares his experiences cooking steel-cut oats, grits, stew, pasta, etc. on a conventional