We’re talking FUN food ideas for your next gathering!
One-handed food is the way to go, so you still have an extra hand for wine, gesturing, grabbing more delicious food, you get my drift? Earlier this month, I gave some ideas for “Chip”ed and “Skewer”ed appetizers, now it’s time for some “Cone”ing.
Fill your favorite tortillas with delicious combination…
like baked panko breaded Tilapia, sweet kale salad, roasted red pepper, and feta; roasted chicken adobo, pickled red onion, avocado and queso fresco; and curry tempura veggies, shishito peppers, and pickled ginger Cone it up, baby! Grab your tortillas, fill it, and roll your own…to thrills of gratification! Sexy right? Are you feeling it yet? Check out the awesome, cone stand…I can hook you up! I will be selling them soon. My hubby made it. It’s made out of cypress wood.
Short on time?
Make it fast and easy visit your favorite deli or grocery and check out their possible fillings already made.
Short on cash?
Take a new look at the possibilities of your left overs. Take another look in your pantry or freezer. You can make it your own!
Here I grabbed Panko Breaded Tilapia from Costco… (I keep these on hand in my freezer for my grandson and hubby for a quick fix) with red romaine hearts and micro greens, roasted red peppers and pesto mayo; Roasted Chicken Adobo leftovers from the night before add Mexican micro greens, black bean and corn salsa, avocados, queso fresco and pickled red onions; and Curry Tempura Veggies then dolled them all up with yummy sweet kale salad, leafy and micro greens, pickled ginger, mayo pesto sauce, and rolled and cone them up!
It’s all about the cone.
Choosing your cones correctly, the type, flavor, and size. I used the large plain flour tortillas here, but you can do the corn.
Decide on your choices of fillings and choose the cones.
This is a time to engage your guest, to cone it up! Entertain them…give them demo so they can make their own cone art!
Serves 6
[ingredients title=”Equipment”]
- 4 Qtr. Sauce pan for frying
- 2 Qtr. Sauce pan for blanching hard veggies
- 2-3 Sheet pans with racks for baking fish and draining tempura veggies
- 3-6 Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Wire whip
- Chef Knife
- Tongs
- Spider
- Cone stand *
[/ingredient]
[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]
- 6 Large flour tortillas
- 2 Otrs Peanut oil
- 1 Pkg Hime tempura batter mix *
- 1-2 T Curry powder or turmeric
- 3 pc Chicken Adobo, boneless chicken thighs, sliced *
- 6 pc Panko breaded Tilapia fillets , baked
- 3-4 oz Red leaf romaine, heart
- 6 T Taylor Farms’ Sweet kale salad with berries cranberries (leftover salad)
- 3 oz Super greens *
- 1.75 oz Micro greens, Mexican Fiesta *
- 1 bu Baby carrots with tops removed, peeled and sliced in half
- 1 sm. Japanese eggplant ,sliced *
- 3 Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 Red bell peppers, one sliced raw the other roasted, deseeded and sliced
- 1/2 Cauliflower, florets
- 6 Asparagus, trimed
- 12 Shishito peppers *
- 3 oz Queso fresco, cheese
- 3 oz Feta cheese, crumbled
- 3 oz Pickled ginger, Asian Pink
- 1 Avocado, sliced
- 1 C Aioli or garlic mayo
- 1 Lime, sliced in wedges
- 1-2 t Pistachio and Mint Pesto *
- 2 T Black Bean and Corn Salsa
- Pickled Red Onion *
-
1 lb Red onions, ¼ inch slices
-
1 T Salt, kosher
- 2 T Oregano, fresh and chopped
- 1 t Cumin seeds, toasted (In a dry small sauté pan just heat the cumin seeds up, don’t burn them and just smell..Aaah! It really opens the aroma and flavor of the seeds. Do this to all dried whole spices and herbs before using or grinding.
-
1¼ C Vinegar, white balsamic
-
5-6 T Sugar, granulated
-
1 t Black pepper, freshly ground
-
[/ingredients]
Chef Gerrie’s Notes:
* Cone stand made of cypress wood for 6 cones. Will be selling them soon. Just let me know if you desire one.
* Hime tempura batter mix is great tempura batter mix to use in a pinch. Tempura batter requires rice flour. It is great to use were you don’t have to buy a big bag. Add the curry or turmeric to the dry ingredients. Add sparkling water to it instead of tap water…makes the batter lighter and crunchier. You can season this batter anyway you want…no tempura police here.
* Chicken Adobo is classical Filipino dish where you marinate the chicken thighs, with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves in a large pot. Cover and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours. Bring the chicken to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. My hubby and I were lucky to bring back leftovers from a friends party.
* Super Greens are composed of tangy red & green chard, hearty bok choy, and spicy arugula accented with mild sweet spinach. Sneak it in your cone for extra nutrition. Micro Greens are smaller than baby greens and bigger than sprouts. Micro greens germinate in soil or soil substitute, require sunlight for growth and are harvested when they’re seven to 14 days old and one to three inches tall. Their flavor is much more intense than that of mature greens. You can add them to salads or use them to garnish soups and sandwiches. Almost all of the tiny greens contained about five times more nutrients than found in the mature leaves of the same plants.
* Japanese Eggplant are great to use in tempura batter for coning because they have less seeds and are thinner, cut them in longer diagonal slices.
* Shishito Peppers are great, they have a spicy flavor but with a slight sweetness, perfect for tempura. You can grill, sauté, or eat them raw! You got to try them!
* Pistachio and mint pesto by Bella Cucina has some great tasting pestos. I just love there products you can use them as flavor boosters in mayo, pasta, soups, sauces…etc. Or just spread it on a crostini…delicious!
* Pickled Red Onions are the bomb! They are addicting. And so easy to make and are great to serve with any Latin or asian dish…on a sandwich or burger. And great on salads.
[directions title=”Directions”
1. Peanut Oil heat oil to 350°F
2. Vegetable Mise en Place get all veggies ready to be battered (carrots, Japanese eggplant, asparagus, cauliflower, mushrooms, peppers and/or a mix with Shishito peppers)
Baby Carrots, Japanese Eggplant, Shiitake Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper, Asparagus, and Cauliflower
Shishito Peppers
3. Make tempura batter as directed on package, but add the curry or turmeric powder to dry mix first then follow with cold sparkling water instead of tap water.
4. Dip veggies in batter and fry in preheated oil (350°F) when golden and not brown remove with spider and place on a rack above a sheet pan (they stay crispier) They can be held in a warm oven.
Curry Tempura Vegetables
5. Bake panko breaded tilapia at 450°F for 18 minutes on a rack above a sheet pan…you’ll get a crisper crust. You can also hold in a warm oven.
6. Heat up chicken adobo and slice to be ready to roll.
7. Make pistachio and mint pesto mayo
8. Lay out 2 tortillas for each of the three different fillings. Total of 6.
1. For the fish: Place red romaine leaf down in center of tortilla with red ruffle top showing, then top some of the sweet kale salad, lay down 2-3 breaded tilapia, fillets, drape with a couple of roasted red pepper strips, micro greens, sprinkle with feta cheese and dollop of pesto mayo. Fold up bottom of tortilla just to cover ends of leaf lettuce…to make a seal of sorts To catch any drip-age. Then roll in a cone shape. You can also roll tortilla cone up in parchment paper.
2. For the Chicken: Place red romaine leaf down in center of tortilla with red ruffle top showing, top with micro greens, then lay down the chicken strips, avocados, queso fresco slices, sprinkle with bean and corn salsa, and pickled red onions. Fold up bottom of tortilla just to cover ends of leaf lettuce…to make a seal of sorts To catch any drip-age. Then roll in a cone shape. You can also roll tortilla cone up in parchment paper.
3. For the Tempura Veggies: Place super greens and micro greens down the center of tortilla with greens showing at top, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and a dollop of pesto mayo.Fold up bottom of tortilla just to cover ends of leaf lettuce…to make a seal of sorts To catch any drip-age. Then roll in a cone shape. You can also roll tortilla cone up in parchment paper.
9. Lime wedges for garnishing on the side or spritz over each cone.
Cone It Up, with Baked Panko Tilapia, Roasted Chicken Adobo, and Curried Tempura Veggies
[/directions]
