Celebrate May With Honey!
Vibrant music, exciting chatter and incredible food are all characteristics of a great party. The month of May is full of celebrations with Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and graduation, just to name a few.The National Honey Board and event planner and CEO of Zikei Event Design, Coral Bosch, have developed mini indulgences with honey that are sure to be a hit at your next party. Honey highlights the overall flavor of all these delectable combinations, going beyond its role as a natural sweetener. It plays a key role in enhancing simple snacks like the Caramelized Nuts with Chile Piquín and even seafood like the Mini Tostadas with Honey-Soy Marinated Tuna. “It’s fascinating how well honey can complement such a wide variety of ingredients; each recipe is so different, but they all share the distinct flavor and special touch of honey,” says Coral. Kick off your May celebrations by treating your loved ones and guests to these mouthwatering bites that will take your party to the next level. You can even make a family activity out of putting each recipe together… but you may want to make a few batches of each since they’re sure to go fast!
Honey Cups with Brie, Walnuts and Cranberries
(makes 30 pastries, serves 8)
In a small saucepan, lightly heat the honey and mix it with the chipotle paste, salt and pepper. Add the walnuts and cranberries and stir. Remove saucepan from fire.
Cut the brie cheese into ½-inch cubes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the phyllo cups onto a baking sheet and fill them evenly with the cubed brie. Top them evenly with the honey mixture and bake them in the oven for 5 - 7 minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve them hot.
For the chipotle paste: Clean the chipotles peppers and remove all the seeds. Put them in a blender with the water or chicken stock. Blend until perfectly mixed. It can keep for weeks in the refrigerator and is a good base for preparing chipotle sauce or for flavoring other dishes.
Mini Tostadas with Honey-Soy Marinated Tuna (makes 8 servings)
Cut the tuna fillets into thin slices, approximately ½ cm thick. In a medium-sized bowl, combine honey with soy sauce and lemon juice. Place tuna slices inside the mix and leave them marinating for 3 - 4 hours in the refrigerator.
In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, chives, a tablespoon of chipotle paste and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Cut the white portion of the leeks into thin strips and heat in a frying pan with the olive oil. Fry leeks in small quantities until browned and crispy. Place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Spread the mayonnaise mix on each mini tostada and top with the marinated tuna slices. Cut avocados in thin slices and distribute them evenly onto tostadas. Garnish with a bit of fried leeks and serve.
For the chipotle paste: Clean the chipotles peppers and remove all the seeds. Put them in a blender with the water or chicken stock. Blend until perfectly mixed. It can keep for weeks in the refrigerator and is a good base for preparing chipotle sauce or for flavoring other dishes.
If you are unable to find packaged mini tostadas, use 8 tortillas and cut each one using a round cookie cutter, focusing on the center of the tortilla to obtain a mini tortilla. Preheat oven to 350°F and place all the mini tortillas on a baking sheet in one single layer. Lightly spray each mini tortilla with olive oil. Bake for 7 minutes. Turn the baking sheet and bake for another 7 minutes or until they look crunchy. Let cool before serving.
Printer Friendly Version - Mini Tostadas with Honey-Soy Marinated Tuna Chicken Nachos with Honey, Zucchini and Jalapeño Salsa (makes 8 servings) 
In a small bowl, mix one tablespoon of honey, the lemon juice, one teaspoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place the mixture into a resalable freezer bag and add the chicken breasts. Seal the bag tightly and gently shake it to cover the chicken breasts. Let marinade for 2 hours.
Boil the chicken breasts in a saucepan. Once cooked, wait for them to cool. Finely chop the garlic, red onion and jalapeño peppers. Cut the zucchini into small cubes. Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix them with 5 teaspoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 250°F. Spread vegetables onto a baking dish and cook them in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking, cut the chicken breasts into small cubes and place them in a large bowl. Finely chop the cilantro and mix it into the bowl with the chicken. Once the zucchini cubes have lightly browned, remove vegetables from oven and wait for them to cool. When cool, add them into the bowl with the chicken cubes and the cilantro, and mix them with 2 tablespoons of honey, the juice of 4 lemons, 6 teaspoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours. Serve over tortilla chips.
Printer Friendly Version - Chicken Nachos with Honey, Zucchini and Jalapeno Salsa Shrimp- Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Honey Vinaigrette (makes 12 peppers) 
Using a small, sharp knife, cut each pepper horizontally near the stem and then vertically lengthwise to form a T. Open the pepper with care so that it won’t come apart and remove all the seeds and veins using the point of a knife or a very small spoon (even a baby spoon). Rinse each de-veined pepper to get rid of the remaining seeds.
In a large saucepan, boil enough water to cover all the peppers, adding 1 teaspoon of salt for every 4 cups of water. Try a pepper; if you find it tastes too hot, add a teaspoon of honey and ¼ cup of apple vinegar to the water. Place all the peppers in the saucepan, leaving them to boil for one or two minutes. Make sure they are cooked, yet firm and crunchy. You don’t want them to lose their texture. Place them in an ice water bath (approximately 2 cups) to stop the cooking process and drain.
For the shrimp stuffing: Cut the shrimps into small cubes. Place them in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. Chop the garlic cloves, red onion, cilantro and tomato. Add one tablespoon of olive oil into a medium-sized saucepan. Place half the red onion and all the garlic into the pan and cook over a medium-low flame. Once the onion becomes translucent, add the tomato and the shrimp.
As soon as the shrimp become orange in color, add in the cilantro and allow to boil. Add pepper and salt to taste. Cook the shrimp for another five minutes. Remove from fire and allow them to cool. Stir in the cream cheese. Preheat oven to 350°F and stuff the peppers evenly with the shrimp mixture. Bake the peppers for 8 - 10 minutes in order to heat and brown slightly. Remove from oven and let cool. Drizzle the honey vinaigrette over the peppers and serve.
For the honey vinaigrette: Put the remaining red onion into a saucepan and fry lightly with one tablespoon of olive oil until translucent. Add the remaining vinegar and the remaining honey, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Add the ¼ cup of water and let the mixture simmer a few minutes to thicken the vinaigrette.
Caramelized Nuts with Honey and Chile Piquin (makes 8 servings) 
Heat honey and butter in a pot over low flame, stirring with a spatula until blended. Add the chile piquín and the salt. For best results, use a thick-based pot so that the heat distributes evenly.
Add nuts into pot, stirring every so often to make sure that the honey covers them completely. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure to leave enough space between them so that they don’t stick together. Let stand until cool.
Heat the oven to 250°F and bake the nuts for 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand until cool and serve.
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Monday, May 6, 2013
May 2013 Honey Recipes from Honey Feast Recipe Newsletter from honey.com
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