Copy Cat Recipes Bahama Breeze

Conch Chowder recipe
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Conch meat, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic
1 1/2 cup onions, diced 1/2-inch
1/2 cup celery, diced 1/2-inch
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 quart chicken broth
2 teaspoons thyme, fresh
1 teaspoon oregano, fresh
1/2 cup carrots, diced 1/2-inch
2 cups clam juice
1 1/2 cups potatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Place oil in a pot and heat until very hot. Add the conch meat and sear for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic, onions, celery, carrots and potatoes. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients, mix well and bring to a boil.

Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste

Fish in a Bag recipe
2 sheets parchment paper
2 fresh mahi-mahi fillets
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground annatto seed
4 slices vine ripened tomato
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Vegetable Sauté

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Fold a piece of parchment paper in half to create a 13 x 18-inch rectangle. Using scissors, cut the paper to form a large half-circle with the fold as the straight edge of the half-circle so that when unfolded, it looks like a full circle. Do it again for the other fillet.

Slice each mahi fillet diagonally on the bias, into 3 equal pieces. Combine adobo and ground annatto seed (both available in Latin markets) and sprinkle on both sides of the fillets.

Unfold the parchment paper and spread about 2 tablespoons of the vegetable sauté on half of the circle. Place one piece of a fillet on top of the veggies and layer with 4 Tbsp. vegetable sauté, a slice of tomato and another fillet piece, more veggies and tomato and the third fillet piece, topped with veggies and fresh thyme sprigs. Do the same thing with the other mahi fillets, on the other piece of parchment paper.

Fold the empty side of the parchment paper over the fish and veggies and seal the edges by crimping and folding 1/2-inch deep and 2-inch long folds, all the way around. Place pouches on a baking sheet and bake in the middle of a preheated 350 degree F oven for 18 to 20 minutes. When done, the paper pouch will puff from the steam trapped inside. You can carefully unroll an edge of the pouch (it will be steaming hot) and insert an instant read thermometer into the center fish fillet. It should read 150 to 155 degrees when done.

Serve with black beans and yellow rice

Pan-Seared Sea Scallops recipe
6 tablespoons olive oil
10 jumbo sea scallops
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons red bell pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoons yellow bell pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoons green bell pepper, finely diced
8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to package
instructions, drained and kept warm
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
4 tablespoons cold butter
4 tablespoons scallion tops, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan. Season scallops with salt and pepper on both sides. Sear scallops for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, (2 to 3 minutes if they are not jumbo-sized).

Sauté 1 tablespoon garlic in olive oil for about 1 minute. Remove from heat, then add butter; swirl butter into the garlic until it has melted. Add 3 tablespoons scallions, thyme and bell peppers. Toss sauce with pasta. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons garlic, cilantro, parsley, 1 tablespoons scallions and sugar; toss to combine.

Combine pasta mixture with scallops. Garnish with lemon juice mixture.

Roasted Cuban Bread recipe
Cuban bread can be bought in some Hispanic stores or from latingrocer.com. It's between French and Italian bread in texture. Bahama Breeze presses it in a hot press that looks like what dry cleaners use for pressing clothes. I've used a waffle maker to get a similar effect. icuban.com had some ideas on how to "press" bread.

6 cups bread flour (or slightly more to bring
dough to proper consistency)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup lard
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons wheat gluten
2 tablespoons yeast
2 cups warm water

Grease a large bowl, and set aside.

Dissolve the yeast in warm (90 degree F) water. Add the salt and sugar. Stir well. Mix the flour and wheat gluten. Add lard then add the flour/gluten mixture, one cup at a time, beating it in using a wooden spoon (or using the dough hook on an electric mixer) to make a fairly stiff dough. Shape dough into a small ball. Place dough in the Pyrex bowl, turn over so both sides are greased, cover with a moist cloth and place in a warm place. Let rise about 20 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

Grease two more bowls. Remove the dough from the bowl and punch it down. Cut dough in half to form two balls. Place each ball in a separate bowl. Cover each with a moist cloth and let rise about 30 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Do NOT preheat the oven. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Shape into long, Cuban bread-style loaves. Place the loaves on the baking sheet. Allow to stand and rise for five minutes. Brush the loaves with water. Place in middle shelf of the COLD oven. Place a pan of boiling water on the bottom of the oven. Set the temperature to 400 degrees F. Bake the breads until they are crusty and done - about 45 minutes

Vegetable Saute recipe
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 yellow bell pepper, julienned
1/2 green bell pepper, julienned
1/2 chayote squash, seeded and sliced
1 stick celery, sliced
1/4 cup chicken broth
8 mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauté vegetables in olive oil over high heat, stirring often for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring often, for 2 more minutes and remove from heat.