5-course Fundraiser Dinner for 18ish

Wow... Saturday, July 24th I prepared (with much, much help) a 5-course fundraiser dinner for my sis and bro. It went very well, except that I was planning 6 courses. Anyway, my sis, asked me if I could prepare a dinner for approx 20 people to help fund her missions trip . I had only cooked for up to 10, so like any person that loves food I had no choice but to agree b/c:

1. It's for a great cause! no doubt.
2. I can test my abilities to cook for 20.
3. I get to conceptualize all dishes.
4. Eaters will be present to help.
5. Food is good.

The day after I was asked to cook I provided my 6-course menu for approval...thumbs up, then I couldn't stop thinking about this thing. Finally the night before I bought half of the ingredients (luckily I have a decently stocked pantry, so I didn't have to buy everything). Then I bought the other half Saturday morning. And off we went...

6-courses became 5-courses when I decided to shop the night before (I was going to make codfish fritters with salt cod, but salt cod needs at least 24 hours to soak so that was out)

1. tropical fruit and black bean salsa w/ plantain chips
2. beef empanadas w/ mango & jalepeno salsa
3. chicharron and tostones w/ citrus mojo
4. arepas and bacon-wrapped shrimp w/ chipotle cream and salsa verde
5. poached nectarine, mascarpone cheese, roasted almonds, and carmel glass w/ sweet balsamic redux

recipes will follow after I receive pictures.

In the beginning...

Frankly, this is a spot for some good grub. Been cooking for a little and I want to leave an e-footprint. What kind of imprint will be left? I do more improvising than planning, but I like experimenting with different cuisines of the world, so it'll be a mix.

Tomato Hunger Snack

I was hungry the other day for something lite. It's hammer time... I mean summer time, and I only had a tomato, so I went with it. Added some Cabot cheddar, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper. It's my quick adaptation of a caprese salad. I didn't have mozzarella, and I actually prefer some bite to my cheese, so this worked out great.

Note: It doesn't matter how you say tomato, don't put them in the refrigerator - their texture and flavor changes for the worse. And try to buy them at farmers markets. The tomatoes in supermarkets get picked green, not ripe, then they are gassed so that they turn red. When you buy them they are not actually 'ripe'.

1 tomato, sliced
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Couple leaves of basil
Amount of cheddar or cheese you prefer diced, sliced, however
Salt
Pepper

Combine all ingredients in order. Tomato, balsamic, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, cheddar.

Eat.