So, yesterday FINALLY brought my Cinco De Mayo "Finale" Dinner....and it was one I had decided I was going to make back in (not even kidding:) JANUARY!!!! And I knew it was going to be...drumrolll....Arroz Con Pollo! However, a non-Mexican confession: Since we loveddddd the Arroz Con Pollo we had in Costa Rica, I actually used this recipe for it:) It didn't look like what we had before, but that didn't mean it wasn't Awweessoommmeeeeee.....I loved, loved, loved that the woman said her Grandmother brought this recipe to the US "in her head." So cool:)
And your probably wondering what all those spices were for from last night? (well, maybe your not...but I'm gonna tell you anyway;) So the recipe called for a can of "El Mato"...and having no clue what that was: I googled it to find out it was a Mexican tomato sauce:) So I threw in a little of all of those spices, along with a shredded onion and some roasted chilies in a can of crushed tomato. I was leery, until I got home after work and was met with an AMAZING aroma coming from my slow cooker:) This recipe might have been a bit more work than normal, but it was divine! The chicken fell apart when I took it out of the slow cooker = heavenly!
And since we were having a guest at our fiesta (and that I have ZERO self-control at Trader Joe's), I decided a salsa sampling would be a fun "appetizer"... ;)
The peach was the ladies favorites, but you shouldn't be surprised that Scott's favorite was the Roasted Garlic...;) But they were all DELISH! :)
And for our side: Another "Costa Rican" dish of ours;) Watermelon & Cantaloupe mixed with cilantro and lime juice. Memmmmorrriesss....
And we rounded out our dinner with some "mock mojitos" :) Don't get too excited...they were only limes, sugar & mint muddled with Sprite & Lemon Seltzer. Non-alcoholic, but totally refreshing!!
And I kept my Cinco theme going through dessert, where I made one of our favorite treats: Tre Leche Cake! But Tre Leche Cake kicked up by 400 degrees, as it was COCONUT Tre Leche Cake with Dulce De Leche BUTTERCREAM FROSTING...Hellloooooooooo! :)
I actually combined 2 recipes to make this cake. I used Cooking Light's recipe for the cake portion ( I could not justify using butter AND shortening in the cake, when this recipe was perfectly fine and used NO butter) and this recipe for the three milks and the frosting. I don't know if I'll ever go back to NON-coconut leche cake anymore;) This one was just tooo good;)
Anndddd...we did have an extra little surprise treat along with the cake. I came home at lunch time yesterday afternoon to find this box sitting on my porch...and I knew exactly what it was!!! It seems "Penny" had sent me an early "Mother's Day" present all the way from Ohio! Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream!
Now, we had seen Jeni's featured MANY times on different Food Network/Travel Channel shows and have been meaning to order it for so long! Well, I guess "Penny" finally put her foot (well, paws:) down! The difference with Jeni's is that they make SAVORY flavors of ice cream, as well as sweet! So, when dessert time came last night...we just HAD to crack them open. And when I say "them," I mean all 6 pints;) hahahahahahaha....
In case your interested, we sampled:
- Dark Chocolate: "Mouth-filling, palate gripping, intense chocolate flavor with a fudge-like texture. Pleasingly dry finish." (Amazing, tasted like a pudding pop!! :)
- Gravel Road: "Savory & Smokey hits of almond first, rounded out with salty notes for a satisfying finish." (Please...this is pure heaven! It tasted almost like BACON ice cream...in a good way;)
- Honey Vanilla Bean: "Amazing cream flavor is lifted up and exalted by subtle hints of honey and vanilla." (and FILLED with vanilla beans...perfect & clean flavor!)
- Salty Caramel: "Initial notes of burnt sugar give way to mouth-watering saltiness. A perfect salty sweet balance." (aka-the reason we HAD to try this ice cream...and it was worth the wait!)
- The Buckeye State: "Our version of Ohio's favorite confection. Rich & salty peanut butter yields to the crunch of exceptional dark chocolate for perfect balance. Total comfort for Buckeyes and Buckeyes at heart." (do I need to say this was awesome??)
The Salty Caramel was the clear winner out of the entire batch of excellent winners;) But I must say, my hands down favorite went to:
Savannah Buttermint: "Salted butter softens cool mint while flecks of white-chocolate add a playful crunch."
It tasted JUSTTTTTTTTTT like buttermints, which somehow made for an AWESOME ice cream:)
And of course, I do love this part the most:
