2013 is almost over, and that means it’s time to throw a party to welcome in the New Year! A New Year’s Eve bash isn’t complete without an array of tantalizing appetizer recipes, so here you have some Ideas of  what they serve on New Year’s Eve. Get the year off to a delicious start with these  appetizers that will keep the party going past midnight.

Stuffed avocado recipe

Ingredients

• 4-5 firm ripe avocados
• 1 lb medium sized cooked shrimp
• ½ medium red onion, diced finely
• 2 radishes, diced finely
• ½ red bell pepper, diced finely
• 2 celery stalks, diced finely
• 2 hardboiled eggs, diced
• 5 tbs cilantro aioli or regular mayonnaise with chopped cilantro
• Lime juice from 1 lime
• Salt/pepper to taste
Optional garnishes:
• Chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes and chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Chop the cooked shrimp in half, if desired keep a few whole to garnish.
2. Combine diced onions, radishes, bell pepper, celery, eggs, shrimp, ½ of the lime juice and aioli or mayonnaise in a bowl, mix well. Can be kept refrigerated until ready to use.
3. Taste and salt/pepper if necessary.
4. Cut avocados in half, remove seed and peel carefully.
5. Drizzle remaining lime juice over avocados, this help keep them from darkening too quickly.
6. Use a spoon to stuff avocados with shrimp salad filling.
7. Add any garnishes and serve immediately.

Notes

Serve with aji or hot sauce if you want to spice it up. Also, if you’re serving it as a salad and have any extra cilantro aioli you can serve this on the side as additional salad dressing.

this one is stuffed with a shrimp salad made with red onion, radish, bell pepper, celery and cilantro aioli. The first time I had a shrimp stuffed avocado was at the beach in Punta Carnero (Ecuador). It was so simple, yet delicious and refreshing,  I’m sure the shrimp were fished that same morning. There is nothing better than fresh seafood, unless you pair it avocado (of course). I was about 8 or 9 at the time, so I don’t remember every single ingredient in it, but I figure I can experiment until I achieve the perfect shrimp stuffed avocado. Nico’s improvement suggestion was to make it spicier, but since I have a two year old testing the recipe as well I served the aji or hot sauce on the side. This can be served alone as an appetizer, or with lettuce and tomatoes as a salad. The shrimp salad filling can be prepared ahead; however, the avocados should be cut and peeled right before serving to avoid darkening. The shrimp salad is also excellent on its own and also makes a great filling for sandwiches.

Recipe Of The Day! Shrimp stuffed avocado

2013 is almost over, and that means it’s time to throw a party to welcome in the New Year! A New Year’s Eve bash isn’t complete without an array of tantalizing appetizer recipes, so here are some Ideas of what to serve on New Year’s Eve. Get the year off to a delicious start with these festive appetizers that will keep the party going past midnight.

Shrimp stuffed avocado

Ingredients

• 4-5 firm ripe avocados
• 1 lb medium sized cooked shrimp
• ½ medium red onion, diced finely
• 2 radishes, diced finely
• ½ red bell pepper, diced finely
• 2 celery stalks, diced finely
• 2 hardboiled eggs, diced
• 5 tbs cilantro aioli or regular mayonnaise with chopped cilantro
• Lime juice from 1 lime
• Salt/pepper to taste
Optional garnishes:
• Chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes and chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Chop the cooked shrimp in half, if desired keep a few whole to garnish.
2. Combine diced onions, radishes, bell pepper, celery, eggs, shrimp, ½ of the lime juice and aioli or mayonnaise in a bowl, mix well. Can be kept refrigerated until ready to use.
3. Taste and salt/pepper if necessary.
4. Cut avocados in half, remove seed and peel carefully.
5. Drizzle remaining lime juice over avocados, this help keep them from darkening too quickly.
6. Use a spoon to stuff avocados with shrimp salad filling.
7. Add any garnishes and serve immediately.

Notes

Serve with aji or hot sauce if you want to spice it up. Also, if you’re serving it as a salad and have any extra cilantro aioli you can serve this on the side as additional salad dressing.

 

You Can Find All the Ingredients Here At Jimmy T's

 

Visit Us tomorrow For another delicious Recipe for new year's Appetizer!

Hospicio de Huerfanos San Jose

For our staff Christmas Party this year, instead of bringing heaps of liquor, we decided to have everybody bring a gift for a child in need. GREAT IDEA, HUH!?! By the end of our party, we had a pile of presents and we decided that we wanted to make it count this Christmas. There are many local causes in Jaco and Herradura, but we really wanted to focus on the kids this year so we decided on an Orphanage in San Jose. On Wednesday, December 25th, Stephanie (aka Jimmy's Bride-to-be) drove up to deliver our gifts to the Hospicio de Huerfanos de San Jose. Unfortunately, no one else from the crew was able to attend as we have had caterings all week, and they do not allow anyone to photograph the children for obvious reasons, so we don't have photos. But Stephanie said that the response was very special and she felt extremely happy and grateful to be able to help out in even the smallest way. Our presents brought smiles to many kids' faces on Christmas. So, a special thanks to everyone who made a contribution.

Stephanie also said that the Orphanage houses around 15 babies at this time. That means they go through a lot of diapers and milk. So if you are feeling like making a charitable contribution to some worthy organization this year please contact us for more information on how you can help. On Christmas, they were housing 92 kids. Of course, this changes all the time as kids are hopefully being placed with family members once their cases have been processed. And this particular Orphanage only houses children up until the age of 13, after which they are transferred to a home for older kids. As we all know, kids need a lot of love. The administrators of the Orphanage have said that we are more than welcome to come back and visit the kids and spend some quality time. We would love to organize a group of people to take to visit the kids. Maybe we could even make it a monthly trip.
 

Again, a special thanks to everyone who attended our Christmas Party and brought something for the kids. Let's continue to spread the love on into the next year and don't forget to care about the kids!

To see more, check out the Fundacion de Huerfanos de San Jose FACEBOOK PAGE!

Recipe of the Day: Breakfast Casserole

This dish is one of my favorite things about the Holidays. It's the kind of comfort food that mom always makes when you're a kid. There are literally dozens of variations to this recipe. But I always love to put my own stamp on these kind of things...

Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

1 package crescent rolls or white bread
1 lb mild sausage, browned and drained
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
(add potatoes/hashbrowns, spinach, mushrooms, basil, tomatoes if desired)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Take a 9 x 13 inch pan and spray it with Pam or line with butter.

Take crescent rolls or pieces of bread and line the bottom of the pan for the crust layer.

Top with an even layer of browned and drained sausage.

(Here's where you'd add a layer of potatoes or hashrowns if you like.)

Pour beaten and seasoned eggs over top. (Remember to add any extra ingredients like spinach or basil to the eggs for a great flavor.)

Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


And there's a super quick and easy breakfast, perfect for the Holidays!

Recipe Of The Day

 Horseradish-Crusted Beef Tenderloin

 

Its a really easy and Delicious Recipe!

 

Luxurious beef tenderloin shines when treated to a simple horseradish-mustard rub and roasted for a nicely seared and flavorful crust. Add 5 to 10 minutes to the roasting time for well done.

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 pounds trimmed beef tenderloin, preferably center-cut (see Note)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• Creamy Horseradish Sauce (recipe follows)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Combine horseradish, oil and mustard in a small bowl. Rub tenderloin with salt and pepper; coat with the horseradish mixture. Tie with kitchen string in 3 places. Transfer to a small roasting pan.
3. Roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the tenderloin registers 140°F for medium-rare, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; let rest for 5 minutes. Remove the string. Slice and serve with Creamy Horseradish Sauce.

Creamy Horseradish Sauce

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/3 cup prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Combine sour cream, horseradish, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Equipment: Kitchen string

• Note: You'll need 2 pounds of trimmed tenderloin for this recipe. Ask your butcher to remove the extra fat, silver skin and the chain (a lumpy, fat-covered piece of meat that runs along the tenderloin). If you buy untrimmed tenderloin, start with about 2 1/2 pounds, then use a sharp knife to trim the silver skin, fat and chain.

Recipe of the day: Watermelon Feta Salad

The best thing about living in Costa Rica definitely has to be the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. A lot of us probably have some type of fruit growing on a tree in our front yard and there's always something in season. This past week I sent my boyfriend on a produce run and he comes back a little later with (I swear) an 18lb watermelon. What am I going to do with an 8 kilo watermelon? So I started thinking about all the things that I could make: smoothies of course, sangria definitely.... but the one thing that really had me drooling was this recipe for a WATERMELON FETA SALAD that I had seen on Pinterest a couple months back. It's the perfect combination of sweet and savory with an amazing fresh quality!

Ingredients

• 1 7-8 lb. seedless watermelon, chilled
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 limes, juiced
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup fresh chopped mint leaves
• 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese (goat or sheep milk feta is best)

Total Time: 20 Minutes

Servings: 8 servings

*Add arugula or cucumbers if desired.  

Directions

Cut rind from watermelon and chop into small chunks. Place chunks in a colander to drain. 

Dressing: mix together the olive oil, lime or lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. (I've seen recipes where they also add Tabasco if you like that extra tang!)

Place watermelon in a large bowl. Mix in dressing and chopped mint and lightly toss. 

Pour the crumbled feta into the bowl and mix gently. Best served fresh.

All ingredients can easily be found at Jimmy T's. 

Gluten Free is One Way to Be

Let's talk about Gluten. WHAT IS GLUTEN? Everybody is always talking about it. Some might even say people are obsessed with talking about gluten these days. It's probably one of society's biggest food trends right now; a gluten free diet. Turns out it may not just be trendy but something everyone should follow. Gluten is a substance that is present in cereal grains, especially wheat. It is a mixture of two different proteins: gliadin & glutenin... and it is responsible for the elastic texture of dough.

Many people do not have a problem eating food containing gluten, but for people with celiac disease ingesting gluten can make you very ill. Celiac disease is the most common form of gluten intolerance, affecting 1 in every 140 people in the US these days. When someone with celiac disease consumes gluten, it triggers an immune response that damages their intestines, preventing them from absorbing vital nutrients. And that's not all... more than 55 diseases have been linked to gluten. And 99% of people who have either celiac disease or gluten intolerance are never diagnosed. Now research reveals that proteins in wheat may be detrimental to all humans. As the gluten free diet has become more of a fad and people who don't necessarily have sensitivities to gluten are giving up bread, etc. there have been cases where they have eliminated other ailments. Google search provides millions of results for gluten-free websites with incredible testimonials of miraculous improvements following the adoption of a gluten-free diet in a wide range of medical issues including migraines, joint paint, skin disorders, epilepsy, depression, insomnia, and ADHD to list a few.

So what does it all mean? Being gluten free means that you cannot eat ANY bread, crackers, cookies, cakes, crusts, bagels, things breaded and fried, pancakes, waffles, brownies, even gravy in which they use a gluten based flour to thicken it... the list goes on and on. (Unless these things are made with a gluten free flour). Now, what happens to people who are gluten intolerant and still eat gluten? Well, a few symptoms may be gas, bloating, chronic fatigue, brain fog or feeling very tired after eating a meal containing gluten, migraine headaches, diagnosis of an autoimmune disease such as Rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation, swelling or pain in joints.

What CAN I eat, you may be asking yourself. Well, think about it this way... If your body were a car, would you put gas in it that you knew might be bad for your car? A gluten free diet consists of mainly of fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains (that do not contain gluten), and meat (if you eat that stuff).

Working at Jimmy T's, I have realized that many days the average Costa Rican breakfast consists of white bread with cream cheese or some type of sweet bread, cake, or muffins. If only everyone woke up one morning and realized how damaging bread and therefore gluten can be for us all. Goodbye to the days of surviving solely off of bread.

At Jimmy T's we are working on having more gluten free options for people. As we all know, Costa Rica can be fairly limiting on specialty items, especially gluten free items so far. If you or someone you know suffers from celiac disease or gluten intolerance, feel free to contact Jimmy T's to see how we can make your life easier.

Thanks for reading.

December is here!

2013 is nearing it's end as we are rapidly approaching the Christmas countdown. Things are picking up around Jimmy T's and the Los Suenos Marina. We've had several caterings this week for some larger groups and some amazing meals have been had. Italian night was a great success! The menu was "molto delizioso" as we served a caprese salad, spaghetti and meatballs, beef tenderloin with onions, freshly caught mahi mahi baked with pesto and tomatoes. Also, on the menu for catering this week we had some homemade pizza, peanut satay chicken skewers, chicken sausages stuffed with spinach, coconut rice, the works! 

 Also, at Jimmy T's over the past few months you may have noticed some new faces... but don't worry, they're friendly! We pride ourselves on our intelligent, hard-working crew and we will always do our best to provide the best service for our customers.