Cilantro Lime Dressing & Marinade

Every year I host book club for an absolutely fabulous group of ladies. They are sweet, genuine and most of all fun. I love them and am so lucky to be part of this special group. At first book club was a series of appetizers, but it has progressed into a dinner party and I was up this month.

Last year I had a bit of a debacle. I hosted in February and to complement the blustery weather I made Ina Garten's Roasted Tomato Soup with Truffle Butter & White Cheddar Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Sounds easy enough - wrong. I toasted the sandwiches before the guests arrived and put them in a 200 degree oven to stay warm. Well...after a couple glasses of wine and by the time I got around to serving dinner, they were no longer sandwiches, but croutons. I was so embarrassed. These lovely ladies still told me dinner was amazing (see why I love them!) and although I was mortified, the wine eased the pain.

So, this year, I was not going to make the same mistake again. I opted for two entree salads - one Southwest inspired version with a Cilantro Lime Dressing and another Italian Chopped Salad with a Creamy Balsamic Dressing. Along with some bread, which was accompanied by a white truffle oil, thyme & cracked black pepper compound butter, some desserts and wine (of course) I figured this was a more fool proof plan.

I will blog about some of the other recipes later, but I wanted to share my recipe for the Southwest entree salad with cilantro-lime marinated prawns. The salad was easy enough - just lots of veggies and items you would find in a typical southwest salad. I didn't use a recipe, but rather chopped up a bunch of the following and threw it in a bowl. The salad included: romaine lettuce, fresh corn kernels, black beans, tomatoes, shredded pepper jack cheese, orange peppers, crumbled blue corn tortilla chips and fresh cilantro. What made the salad was the dressing and the prawns. I actually used half of the dressing to marinate the prawns, which was not only easy, but delicious and some of the rest to dress the salad. I did have extra dressing leftover, which you may or may not have depending on how much dressing you like on your salad. If you want to use the dressing to marinate the prawns (chicken would be dynamite also) just add the marinade to peeled & deveined prawns 30 minutes before roasting or barbecuing. I roasted the prawns on a roasting rack in my oven for 5-7 minutes at 375 degrees. They turned out moist & delicious. For chicken, I would marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour. Since there is citrus in the marinade, be careful not to marinade your protein for too long, otherwise it will begin to cook.

I have to admit that I was actually drinking this dressing, it is that good. I have never done that, but trust me, it is amazing.

Cilantro Lime Dressing/Marinade
adapted slightly from All Recipes

Ingredients

2 small jalapeno peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped (or 1 medium

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. black pepper, or to taste

Directions

Place the jalapeno pepper, garlic clove, and ginger into a food processor or blender; pulse until the jalapeno and garlic are finely chopped. Pour in the lime juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, and salt, add the cilantro leaves; pulse a few times to blend. Turn the food processor or blender on, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until incorporated into the dressing. Season to taste with salt & pepper before serving.