No more chicken wings

Being back home in Mexico, has been a challenge for me. I admit I liked working 13 hours straight, locked-up in a ship's galley, not being able to see or feel the sunlight. The question is: now what?.

Many friends, family and random people who knows about my kitchen adventures ask me that all the time. The answer is cooking. 

This post will show you 3 delicious snacks or hors-d'oeuvre that you can make in no time. Forget about chips, bbq ribs, wings, cucumber and carrot batônnetes. Thanks to my fellow colleague Eduardo who came back from the USA with new ideas that we improved as follows:

Zucchini Rolls

Ingredients for 10 pax: 

-3 zucchini or squash, all with an even, regular size. Avoid curved or irregular ones.

-1 goat cheese, natural. 

-nutty mix (pecans, peanuts, almonds), cranberries, pistachios.

-190 grs cream cheese.

-Whole pink pepper.

Procedure:

Wash the zucchini, and slice lenghtwise, aprox 3 mm thick. (If you dont have a mandoline, you can use a chef's knife. Cut as shown to avoid any accident.

Make sure you make one clean cut.

Blanch them in simmering water with a pinch of salt. (1-2 min) and cool down immediately in iced water to stop them from overcooking. 

Chop the nutty mix as even as possible, but dont grind it; you want to feel the different textures.

 Mix the cream cheese, the goat cheese, the nutty mix and a pinch of salt and pepper until it has
a nice smooth consistence.
Put a spoon of the mix over the zucchini slice and roll tightly, but be gentle or you'll break it.
Use a small brush with olive oil to make this rolls shiny. Decorate with toasted pink pepper and balsamic reduction.

Remember you can use chives, blueberries, fennel, figs , chipotle, to make varieties of this rolls.

Shrimp & Bacon lollies

Ingredients for 10 pax:

-10 U/15 shrimps

-10 bacon strips

-10 15 cm skewers

-Honey

-Truffle oil (if available)

Procedure:

Peel, devein and wash the shrimps. Pat dry them and brush them with truffle oil.

Cover the shrimp with the bacon, tight enough so it will hold on place when cooking. 

If you had a griddle or a big pan, you can use the skewers. If not, just secure the bacon with toothpicks and insert the skewer after its done. 

Warm the honey and glaze the lollies.

Be careful and dont overcook them, yet make sure the shrimps aren't raw. 5-6 minutes per side will do.

Remember to baste the shrimps in honey right before serving so they are shiny and moist.

And last but not least, the simple salmon-cheese rolls.

Ingredients for 10 pax:

-250 grs smoked salmon, better if sliced.

-100 grs cream cheese

-Fennel

-White pepper

Optional: chipotle chiles 5 grs

Procedure:

Cover the cutting board or table with cling film. There is no need to oil it, but you can brush some truffle oil / olive oil and place the salmon slices making a 15x25 cm rectangle.

Mix the cream cheese with finely chopped fennel, pepper, and blended chipotles. If you have salmon trimmings and leftovers, add them to the mix and blend until you get a smooth cream. 

With a piping bag place the cream  lenghtwise over the salmon rectangle, not at the very centre but at around 1/3 of the width.

Cut the cling film from the table or board, and use it to place one extreme of the salmon over the filling, and roll firmly, but evenly.

Once you ve got a nice roll, twist the ends and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Without peeling the cling film off, cut with a hot, wet chefs knife or fish knife.

Take out all the remaining cling film and serve. Decorate with fennel.

Salmon & cream cheese rolls, simple and fresh. No more carrot sticks for summer meals!

G. Santamaria-