Yucca - Take 2

I love a culinary challenge. I am no Bobby Flay but I like to push myself out of my comfort zone in the kitchen. When I failed at my first round of Yucca, sent to me by Goya to test I was very disappointed. So I challenged myself to get it right on take two. Here is my second attempt:


Goya Yuca with Garlic Sauce

After failing at working on my own recipe I decided to start with something proven. This is recipe supplied by Goya that I adjusted slightly to our preferences.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (24 oz.) frozen GOYA® Yuca
• ½ cup GOYA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 6 cloves of minced fresh garlic
• 1 TB fresh, chopped oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare the yuca according to package directions. (This was as simple as boil and drain!)

2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat the olive oil. Once hot add the garlic cloves salt and oregano. Heat, stirring occasionally, until you just begin to smell garlic, about 5 minutes. (Do not allow liquid to simmer or garlic to brown.)

3. Serve!

The Verdict: This attempt was a much bigger success. I hope to take some bigger risks with it in the future. The kids liked it more than I expected. I think next time I will try something like yucca fries since it is more appealing to little ones.

Mojito Chicken with Cilantro Crema

For Valentine's Day my sweeties and I all went to dinner at Bahama Breeze. We chose somewhere family friendly as we had all three kids in tow. I ordered a grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and a cilantro cream sauce. It. Was. Delicious. Specifically that cilantro cream. I knew this would be my next recipe to tackle.

Step forward about a week and I received a box full of awesome ingredients to try. Goya foods is a line of foods I have bought in the past. I love their rice, beans and sauces. As a test chef I was working with Frozen Yucca, their Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Adobo Lite (a lower salt of the original seasoning). I decided I could marry these two and come up with something delicious.

Mojito Chicken with Cilantro Crema

Chicken Ingredients:

• 1 lb Boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
• 5 TB Goya Adobo Lite Seasoning
• 2 TB Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 cup of beer
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 2 TB cornstarch
• 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• 
  

Steps:

1. Set up a station to dredge the chicken. In one bowl I mixed the cornstarch, flour, 2 TB adobo seasoning and beer.  (Most people would probably want to use egg and milk but we cannot because of Abby's allergies.) In the other I combines the panko and the rest of the adobo seasoning. 
2. Dredge each piece of chicken in the batter mixture and then in the bread crumbs. Set aside. Sprinkle with extra adobo seasoning
3. In a large skillet (I used my new favorite cast iron pan) heat the olive oil to medium high heat. In batches brown each side of the breaded chicken. My tenderloins were thin so they were almost cooked through after browning. Place the chicken in a a baking dish in a 375 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until cooked through. 

Cilantro Crema Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sour cream (we used soy)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup soy creamer
• 1/3 lime, juiced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Whisk the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over chicken. 

The Verdict: A definite thumbs up! The chicken was delicious and even the kids loved the seasoning.

A word about yucca. The recipe was supposed to read Mojito Chicken with Cilantro Crema with Yucca. I planned to boil the yucca, season with adobo and drizzle with the cream. However, it didn't come out right. It was very bland and needed work. It is obvious this is a new ingredient for me. Thankfully I was sent two bags so I can get back to the drawing board on that one. Stay tuned...