Flank Steak & Marinade
Chef Christopher Burgos

5 lbs. Flank Steak
4 cp Olive Oil
2 cp Worcestershire Sauce
6 cl Garlic (rough chop)
1 bu Rosemary (rough chop)
1 Tb Black Peppercorns (cracked)
1 cp Red Wine Vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients (except the steak)
2. Pour over meat, making sure that meat is fully covered
3. Refrigerate at least 2 hours
4. Ideally, meat should marinate over night
5. Grill meat over high heat to desired doneness

Sweet Onion BBQ Sauce
Chef Christopher Burgos
Yield: app. 1 1/2qt

2 ea Onion (small dice)
2 Tb Garlic (minced)
1 Tb Mustard
3 Tb White Wine Vinegar
1 lb Brown Sugar
1 Tb Tabasco Sauce
2 Tb Worcestershire Sauce
2 cp Catsup
2 cp Water

1. Combine the onion, garlic, mustard, vinegar & brown sugar in a sauce pot and cook until the sugar is fully dissolved
2. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over low heat until sauce becomes thick (approx. 1 1/2hours)

Seared Tilapia with plantain fritters, black bean sauce and a mango marmalade

Preparation of Fish
Tilapia 4/6 pcs.
Cilantro 1 cup chopped
Garlic 3 cloves chopped
Flour 1½ cups

Black Bean Sauce
Black beans 3 cups cooked
Garlic, chopped 4 cloves
Cumin 1 tsp
Oregano ½ tsp
Butter, diced ¼ cup

Plantain Fritters
Yellow plantains, cooked and mashed 6 each
Eggs whipped 2 ea
milk 2/3 cup
Flour 1 cup

Mango Marmalade
Mango, medium diced 5 ea
Red onion, sm., diced ½ ea
Jalapeno roasted, chopped 1 ea
Brown Sugar, 2 tblsp
Rice vinegar, 3 tblsp
Red pepper diced, roasted 1 ea

To prepare fish:
Season the Tilapia with cilantro, salt, garlic and cracked pepper, dust the fish with flour.
In a hot pan, sear the fish skin side down first until crispy.
Add to the oven, cook for 12 to 15 minutes until the fish is completely cooked.

Black bean sauce:
In separate pot cook black beans, season with garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano.
Cook until tender, then blend into a paste add stock to thin out enough for a sauce. Whisk butter to give a smooth flavor and texture to the sauce.

Plantain Fritter:
Cook yellow plantains in stock until soft then mix with eggs, a little flour, cream, salt and pepper. Shape the plantain into oval shapes with two large tablespoons. Deep fry until golden brown. Set aside for garnish. Serve 2 plantains.

Mango Marmalade:
Dice mango and red onion, caramelize the onion and roast the jalapeno pepper. Lightly sauté mango and then add caramelized onion, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, jalapeno pepper and adjust salt and pepper.

“Sleah”
Chef Elaine Mamary

Mediterranean Cuisine is well known to be healthy as well as delicious because of its liberal use of olive oil, whole grains, fruit and vegetables. Sleah, one of Chef Elaine’s favorite dishes is an unusual lightly sweetened whole grain Middle Eastern specialty made from barley or wheat berries, pomegranate seeds, nuts and raisins.

This festive and delicious dish begins with cooking the wheat berries or barley until done. While still warm add sugar and season with ground fennel, anise and rose water. Mix in golden raisins, pistachios, almonds, walnuts and pomegranate seeds*. Serve piled onto a large platter and decorate with extra pomegranate seeds and candy-coated fennel seeds and/or candied almonds.

Here is my mom’s recipe, which makes a party sized batch:

Cook 4 cups barley in 10 cups of water; drain extra liquid if necessary

Season with:
1/2 cup sugar (to taste, some like it sweeter)
1 Tablespoon ground fennel
1 Teaspoon ground anise
2 Tablespoons rosewater

Add in:
2 lbs. golden raisins
1 lb. walnut pieces
1/2 lb. sliced almonds
1/2 lb pistachios
Seeds from 3 pomegranates (use gloves while removing seeds to prevent hands from staining; reserve some for garnish)

Decorate with:
1/2 cup candied covered fennel seeds (optional)
1/2 cup candied almonds (optional)
Extra pomegranate seeds

* Pomegranate has anti-oxidant properties, making it healthy as well as delicious!

Holiday Slices/Southern Italian Cookies
Chef Frank Condezio

Ingredients
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ tsp almond extract
4 cups AP flour
3 tsp baking powder

Icing Ingredients
approximately ½ cup milk
1 pound 10x sugar (confectioners sugar)
½ tsp of anise extract

Preparation

1. Combine oil, sugar, and vanilla
2. Mix at medium speed with paddle attachment until smooth
3. Add eggs a bit at a time, mix until completely incorporated
4. sift together baking powder and flour
5. Add to mixing bowl in three parts to form a thick loose dough

Prepare sheet pan with parchment paper
Oil hands in order to handle the sticky doug

Shape into small football shapes (6 equal shapes)
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes

For the Icing

1. Place milk in mixing bowl
2. Add 10 x sugar using wire whip to smooth the mixture until smooth and thick but not solid
3. Add anise and stir.

Pour icing over cooled loaves and let them dry, slice on an angle

Curried Stuffed Lobster with Cilantro Lime and Mango Reduction
Chef Lawrence DeSimone

Ingredients
1 ½ lb.-Lobster
4 oz.-Boiled Shrimp
Mild Curry powder
2 T-Cilantro chopped
Juice of 3 Limes and 1 Lemon
3 oz. Breadcrumbs
1 ripe Mango pureed
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T melted butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Simply put, this is a relatively easy recipe. Boil Lobster then cool immediately, cut in half and remove the tail meat leaving the claw intact. Chop the tail meat and the Shrimp, mix with approximately 2 teaspoons of curry powder (your choice of what kind, hot spicy or mild) 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro, the melted butter and breadcrumbs. Add about 1 tablespoon of Lime and Lemon juice and salt and white pepper to taste. Then mix and stuff the 2 empty cavities of the Lobster Halves. Put them on a ½ sheet tray. Top them with a little bread crumb and bake them on the top rack of a preheated 400 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes or until the stuffing turns a slight golden brown.

To make the sauce or reduction. Take a small sauce pan, add your olive oil and get it hot. Add the rest of your cilantro and lemon and limejuice. Reduce by half and add ½ cup of pureed Mango. Cook the reduction for about 2 minutes, careful not to burn it adjusting your heat as needed. Serve the sauce on the side with your freshly baked Lobster. Enjoy.