Mariquitas & Mojo (Plantain Chips & Sauce) by Eddie Rodriguez - from "Cooking at Homeplate with the Arizona Diamondbacks" (2003)

 

RECIPE

MARIQUITAS - Mariquitas is the Cuban name for a crisp-fried green plaintain chip.

4 cups vegetable oil

2 large green plaintains

salt or garlic salt

Peel the plaintains with a sharp knife, slash the skin of each plantain once lengthwise. On each side of the plantain, take the skin off by opening it away from the center as if you were taking off a coat.

Once the plantains are peeled, slice lengthwise as thinly as possible on to a plate. Add sliced plantains to hot oil.

Use a deep skillet. Pour oil and heat to 350 degrees.

Fry the strips until golden brown, turning them. Drain the strips on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt or garlic salt and serve. (They are at their best when just fried.)

4 Servings.

MOJO - Mojo is a Cuban marinating sauce. Can be used for meats and vegetables alike. Mojo is Cuba's national table sauce.

1/3 cup vegetable oil

5 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced or minced

1/2 cup sour orange juice or lime juice

salt and ground black pepper, to taste

In a saucepan add vegetable oil,  garlic, sour orange juice or lime juice, salt and black ground pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil.

Serve warm. 

Makes 1 cup.

Add the Mojo to the Mariquitas to your liking.

Cuban-born Eddie Rodriguez is a long-time coach who has travelled many roads.  After playing as a shortstop in the minor-league systems of Baltimore and California, he went on to coach for the Angels, Blue Jays, the U.S. Olympic Team, the Diamondbacks, Expos and Nationals.  He managed a Mariners' minor league affiliate in 2007, and joined the Padres' coaching staff in 2016.

True to his roots, he submitted this recipe for the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2003 cookbook.  It's a quick method for frying up unripened plantains into a tasty, chippy snack.

The directions tell you to slice the plaintains "as thinly as possible" but I went with a thicker cut.  The end result was less of a crispy chip and more akin to french fries, thick and lightly browned on the outside, soft on the inside. 

The citrus-garlic sauce goes very well as a dipping sauce, bringing all kinds of flavours together: sweet and salty plantains with a hit of lime and garlic.  Fantastic! 

Florida Marlins Summer Salad by H. Wayne Huizenga - from "Munchin' With the Marlins Cookbook" (1995)

RECIPE

1 lb. torn spinach, freshly washed and drained

1 can drained mandarin oranges

1 cup alfalfa sprouts

generous sprinkle of sunflower seeds

Dressing

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

3 tsp. dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. salt

1 small onion, chopped

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup oil

Arrange salad ingredients in a large salad bowl for tossing or make individual salads.  Keep salad refrigerated until served.  Blend all ingredients in blender for 30 seconds.  Serves 6.

Born in 1993, the Florida Marlins' early days were all about optimism and teal.  Teal hats, teal pinstripes, teal on all their merchandise.

The Marlins joined the team cookbook club in 1995 with Munchin' With the Marlins, a nice collection of recipes from players and personnel.  Then-owner Wayne Huizenga offered up this recipe for a summer salad.  Huizenga came from a family of businessmen and was best known as the man behind Blockbuster Video and AutoNation.  He had a hand in three sports franchises in the Sunshine State, owning the Miami Dolphins and bringing both the Florida Panthers and Florida Marlins into existence as their first owner.

As owner of the Marlins, Huizenga assembled the club that won the 1997 World Series.  Then, like so many baseball owners, he cried poor and dismantled the championship team in a "fire sale".  The 1998 Marlins went 54-108 and were the first club to lose 100 games a year after winning a World Series.  Not long after, Huizenga sold the club.

The ingredients for this salad are easy to throw together and you won't cry poor after assembling them.  The mandarins add a burst of Florida sunshine.  Can't go wrong with this one.