Chicken and Shrimp Mojo

I am like 1/8th Cuban. Not that I was brought up with Cuban influences but my mom never let me forget her Cuban heritage. Lauren and I spent our honeymoon in Key West which is 90 miles North of Cuba and it was in Key West where I first tried Cuban food. I found that I really liked the citrus spicy Caribbean Cuban cuisine. During our first year of marriage I looked for various Cuban dishes to cook and I have a few that I have developed into a semi regular rotation in our house.

Knorr , the food company known for their side dishes and gravies, is having a recipe contest through Blogher, to promote their new Homestyle concentrated Chicken Stock.

In the past I have professed my admiration on this blog for chefs like Alton Brown and Guy Fieri. I am sure I have mentioned the shows Chopped, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and a few other Food Network programs as some of my favorites. I decided to enter the contest. If I win I may get a chance to work for Knorr as a consultant. It may be as close as I can get to having a food network type of gig. When I first met Lauren her favorite dinner was crab legs. After the last few times I made this dish Lauren has now proclaimed it as her favorite.

This is the recipe for my Cuban influenced Chicken and Shrimp Mojo with a Warm Avocado Mango Salsa.
Ingredients-for the Mojo Marinade
2tsp cumin powder
2 Heaping tsp of minced garlic
1 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp salt
2tbsp olive oil
1/2 container of Knorr Homestyle (concentrated) Chicken Stock
1/4 cup of water
1½ tbsp orange juice
1½ tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 large boneless chicken breasts
1 lb of Shrimp (raw, peeled)

For the Warm Salsa:
1/2 (the other half) container of Knorr Homestyle (concentrated) Chicken Stock
1 cup orange juice
1 tsp grated lime peel
2 tsp honey
4 tsp thick sweet soy sauce
5-6 tbsp of chilled, unsalted butter
2 firm but ripe mango, peeled, diced
1 1/2 ripe avocado, peeled, diced
freshly chopped herbs to taste (coriander, parsley, etc.)

To make the marinade: In a heavy medium-size skillet over a medium-high heat, toast the cumin powder until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the two tsps. of (Heaping Teaspoons as the picture above shows) garlic, olive oil, water, 1/2 container of Knorr Homestyle Concentrated Stock, chili powder and salt into pan and whisk together to make a thick marinade/paste, about 3-5 minutes,  (If you like spicier meals add more Chili pepper or some Cayenne)

                                             
Whisk in Orange juice and Lime juice and remove from heat. See the consistency of the Mojo above, that is kind of how you want it to look.  Let cool for 5-10minutes.

Pour marinade over chicken and shrimp, turning to coat. Refrigerate from 1 to 3 hours.

About 15 minutes before you are ready to cook the shrimp and chicken you will need to make the salsa.

SALSA --whisk together the remaining Knorr Concentrated Chicken Stock, orange juice, lime peel, honey and soy sauce in saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce (approximately 5-8 minutes). Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the pats of butter one at a time.

During that 5 to 8 minutes mentioned in the above paragraph is usually when I peel and chop/dice my Mango and Avocado.

Mango can be a pain in the butt to peel and chop but it is so worth it. Mango is also something the kids will definitely eat.

The first time I ever ate Avocado was on my honeymoon.

Combine the mango and avocado in medium bowl.

The recipe says you can drizzle sauce later onto the Chicken and Shrimp. I like to just pour it on to the Mango and Avocado and mix it all together.

Cook Chicken on a medium heat grill 7 to 8 minutes each side. Remember presentation side (smooth) down first on grill. Place shrimp (marinade and all) onto a piece of foil, when you flip the chicken, place Shrimp on grill for 7-8 minutes. It is at this point of the recipe that I want to make-out with my grill but I am afraid I would burn my mouth.  Move the shrimp around to get even heat. Remove chicken and Shrimp, cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

Sometimes we slice the Chicken breasts and sometimes we serve it just whole. Slicing it up makes enough for 4 people when you combine it with Shrimp.

We serve Chicken and Shrimp Mojo with rice and black beans and fresh herbs on top. Also to give the Shrimp a little bit of extra zing sometimes I squeeze some lime juice on it just before serving.
Here is a the complete  recipe to copy and paste and try at home. Prep time any where from 13 to 18 minutes, plus 1-3 hours to marinade.  Cook time: 14-16 minutes. 

What foods make you want to Make-Out with your grill?



Ingredients-Mojo
2tsp cumin powder
2 Heaping tsp of minced garlic
1 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp salt
2tbsp olive oil
1/2 container of Knorr Homestyle (concentrated) Chicken Stock
1/4 cup of water
1½ tbsp orange juice
1½ tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 large boneless chicken breasts
1 lb. of Shrimp (26-30 count.)

For the Warm Salsa:
1/2  (the other half) container of Knorr Homestyle (concentrated) Chicken Stock
1 cup orange juice
1 tsp grated lime peel
2 tsp honey
4 tsp thick sweet soy sauce
5-6 tbsp of chilled, unsalted butter
2 firm but ripe mango, peeled, diced
1 1/2 ripe avocado, peeled, diced
freshly chopped herbs to taste (coriander, parsley, etc.)

To make the marinade: In a heavy medium-size skillet over a medium-high heat, toast the cumin powder until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add the two tsps of garlic, olive oil, water, Knorr Stock, chili and salt into pan and whisk together to make a thick marinade/paste. Whisk in Orange juice and Lime juice and remove from heat. Let cool for 10minutes.

Add Chicken and Shrimp to marinade, turning to coat. Refrigerate from 1 to 3 hours.

Cook Chicken on a medium heat grill 7 to 8 minutes each side. Remember presentation side (smooth) down first on grill. Place shrimp (marinade and all) onto a piece of foil, when you flip the chicken, place Shrimp on grill for 7-8 minutes. Move the shrimp around to get even heat. Remove chicken and Shrimp, cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

SALSA --whisk together the 1/2 container Knorr Concentrated Chicken Stock, orange juice, lime peel, honey and soy sauce in saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce (approximately 5-8 minutes). Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the pats of butter one at a time.

Combine the mango and avocado in medium bowl. Scatter the mango and avocado around the chicken and Shrimp drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs.

Serve with black beans and rice

Dream Job

One of my dream jobs, and I have many, would be to have a gig like Guy Fieri on the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. If you are not familiar with the show, Guy Fieri, drives across the country stopping in various eateries sampling the food and signature delicacies from each stop. I don't think I would want to be on camera but I was thinking my dream job would be to be the point man. I would be the guy to go to the various locations, try the food, then report back to the producers what joints Guy should visit. Yeah, that would be a dream job and half.

When we were vacationing at the South Jersey shore, I had the opportunity to try a bunch of different places. Two of places that stick out, as far as recommendations go, were Maui's Dog House in Wildwood, NJ and The Beach Box in Ocean City, NJ.

I have been to Maui's Dog House twice now and I think I may make my it one of my life's goals to try every one of the dogs on their menu. This past visit I had the J-Bell and the Horsey in Chicago. Maui Dog has a decent selection of sides including their signature dish Salty Balls, which is brine cooked small potatoes served with drawn butter. Each dish is served in a plastic dog bowl and the whole dining experience is fun for the whole family.

The Beach Box is a walk-up take-out joint located at 33rd and Asbury in Ocean City, NJ. In the interest of full disclosure, The Beach Box is operated by my double cousin Monica and her friend Erin. I say double cousin because Monica's mom is my mom's sister and Monica's dad is my dad's brother. Pretty cool huh? This is the first year that Monica is running The Beach Box. They are open from 7 am to 3pm focusing on breakfast and lunches that can be boxed and taken to the beach, which is only a block down the road. The lunch menu is standard sandwich fair like BLTs, Tuna Salad, Cheese steaks and such. I had the Tuna Salad sandwich which was very good and served on one the best rolls I have ever had. Lauren and the kids enjoyed their lunches (Chicken Fingers and Fries) which we ate in the limited seating they have out front.

Since The Beach Box is new they have not yet developed any signature items although they have a few in the works. One of the breakfast items they have is a Bacon and Chive Cream Cheese spread which is incredible. The Beach Box is also known for their Chocolate Chip Cookies. These cookies are out of this world with the perfect blend of chocolate chips and cookie. The cookies are huge and have been called "man hole covers" with a diameter of 5 to 6 inches across.

What struck me most about The Beach Box is the fact that Monica, although working (cooking, serving, etc) took the time to talk to every person that came by. Although she is new to that area she seemed to know everybody there and everybody seemed to know her. Monica is one of the nicest people and with a person like her running a place like The Beach Box I think the food is almost secondary and that the signature item is the friendly staff.

I was talking to Monica about creating a signature breakfast sandwich and I recommended that she make a scrapple sandwich of some sort. Scrapple as described in Wikipedia is a mush of pork scraps and trimmings and is regional food of the Mid Atlantic States. Lauren immediately turned her nose up at my idea because Scrapple is made from "everything but the oink" of a pig. Which to me would be the perfect meat to use for what could become the Poop and Boogies Sandwich.

If you have a Facebook page go and become a fan of The Beach Box.

If you are in Ocean City NJ this summer stop by The Beach Box at 33rd and Asbury and tell them I sent you. And tell them you want a Poop and Boogies sandwich.

If anyone knows Guy Fieri tell him he needs to hire me as a point man.