Latin Inspired Appetizers for a Hot Night Out

With the sun shining brightly and our lawn chairs in full force, campus has officially transformed into summer mode. Many things around campus start to change… Drinking becomes day drinking. ‘Doing homework’ in front of the TV becomes ‘Doing homework’ outside on your deck. The campus changes for the best and so does my appetite. When warm weather hits, my appetite goes south of the border. In order to satisfy these recent hot weather cravings, I perused one of my favorite Latin cookbooks for some inspiration and got cooking. I changed a few ingredients in order to fit your time and your budget! All of these foods are made tapas style. So you and your friends can make plates of these little treats and enjoy them while sipping on my featured margarita. Both tapas are a perfect pregame snack to heat up your night before Her Campus’ social event benefiting RACES (Rape Advocacy, Counseling & Education Services) on Wednesday April 20^th. This event will be held from 8-11pm at The Clybourne.

The Dish: Chipotle Cheese Bites with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Quick Fix: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Peel eight tomatillos (green tomatoes). Roast the tomatillos, one garlic clove and one jalapeno pepper for 30 minutes on a baking sheet. While the tomatoes are roasting, dice chipotle cheddar cheese into small cubes and place one cube in each filo pastry cup. You can purchase both the cheese and the small pastry cups at Sun Singer Wine & Spirits and Wine Bar Café. If you don’t have time to pick these up, you can buy mini toasts and pepper jack cheese from County Market and they will be just as delicious! Throw the cups in the oven until the cheese melts. Once the tomatoes are roasted, throw all the ingredients in the blender and puree. I had a handful of cilantro leftover so I threw that in the mix for an even fresher, bolder taste.  Next, arrange the filo pastry cups with melted cheese on a plate and add a teaspoon of salsa to each. Enjoy!

The Dish: Steak Skewers with Mint Mojo

Quick Fix: Slice the skirt steak across the grain into ½ inch slices. If you are on a budget (or saving a few extra bucks to purchase a $5 ticket and donate to RACES at our social event April 20^th from 8-11pm ) check your grocery store for flank steak. It was a little cheaper per pound and these days every penny counts! The grain in the meat is similar to the grain in wood. Once you see the lines in the steak, cut perpendicular to those lines. Marinate 1/2 lb skirt steak in ¼ cup teriyaki sauce, one garlic clove and two T peanut oil (vegetable or canola oil works too!). The usual recipe indicates overnight marinating but I only marinated mine for a few hours which still resulted in full flavored, succulent steak. While waiting for the steak to marinate, you can prepare the skewers and make the mojo. Soak bamboo skewers in water in order to prevent burning during the grilling process. If you can’t find bamboo skewers, grill the meat without the skewers and have your guests use toothpicks to enjoy your tapas.

To prepare the mojo, puree 1/4 cup mint (the original recipe called for ½ cup but I think it overpowered the meat), ½ cup cilantro, 2 T olive oil & one garlic clove in a blender. Once a few hours have passed, weave each piece of meat onto a 4-6 inch skewer. Make sure that the meat is not bunched up so it will cook quickly and evenly. Next, grill the steak for 1-2 minutes on each side. You have many options when it comes to grilling. You can use the George Foreman, a pan with the stove top or the grill outside. If you choose the middle option (which I did), make sure the heat is very high so you can get a good char on the steaks. Dip the steak in the mint mojo and enjoy!
Thanks to ‘Isabel’s Cantina’ cookbook for the steak and mint mojo recipe!

The Dish: Cucumber Margaritas
In a blender, puree 3 cups ice, ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice, ¼ cup gold tequila, ¼ cup triple sec and a ½ of a peeled/deseeded cucumber. Even if you aren’t a fan of cucumbers or vegetables in general, don’t shy away from this recipe. The cucumber adds a subtle coolness and takes the bite off the tequila without tasting like a vegetable!

Thanks to ‘Isabel’s Cantina’ cookbook for the margarita recipe!