A Second Helping of Life 2020

A Virtual Gala to Benefit SHARE Cancer Support for Women

September 21, 2020

SHARE’s Virtual Gala Recipes 2020

SHARE's Virtual Gala, A Second Helping of Life, is celebrating its seventeenth year on Monday, September 21, 2020. This year, attendees will join the gala virtually from the comfort of their own home for a fun and meaningful evening.

The funds raised by A Second Helping of Life enable SHARE to provide free support services and education programs to thousands of women and their families. For over four decades, SHARE has provided dedicated, experienced support, and last year, we touched over 225,000 people with our programs.

BUY TICKETS NOW

For our cooking demonstrations with Melba Wilson, Founder of Melba's Restaurant, and Barbara Sibley, Chef & Owner, La Palapa, here are the ingredients and instructions you will need to cook up their delicious dishes:

Ingredients:

Shrimp
- 2lbs of peeled and deveined shrimp
- 2tbsp cajun spice blend
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2tb canola or vegetable oil
- 2tbsp of unsalted butter

Grits
- 1 cup grits (Old Fashioned or Stone Ground)
- 2 cups of water
- 2 cups of milk
- 2tbsp of unsalted butter
- kosher salt
- course ground black pepper (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Heat the 2 cups of milk and water along with the butter in your sauce pan just until simmering
  2. Add your grits to the simmering milk and water mixture. Cook, stirring often until grits get tender to the bite and thickened to the consistency of thick oatmeal. Note as grits thicken, you'll need to stir them more often to keep them from sticking and scorching. You may need to add additional water throughout the cooking process to hydrate your grits until they are fully cooked.Regular grits take about 20 minutes but stone ground grits require an hour or more to cook and once again you'll need additional milk and water throughout the cooking process.
  3. Season grits generously with salt and butter.

Tamales de Pollo 

Chicken and Corn Masa Steamed in a Corn Husk with Salsa Verde and Salsa Guajillo. Makes 25 tamales, enough for 6 people with some to freeze for later.

Chicken:
- 2 large Chicken Breasts on the bone, will equal 3 cups shredded chicken
- 4 Cups Water
- 1 small onion
- 1 Bay leaf
- 6 Black pepper corns
- 1 tablespoon Salt
- 25-30 Corn Husks; the best ones are thin and flexible with an intact “navel” or cicle where the leaf was attached to the corn cob.
- Hot water for soaking

Masa Cocida para Tamales

Cooked Masa for Tamales

- 2 cups Masa Maseca for Tamales, this is a coarser grind, regular Maseca can also be used
- ¼ cup shortening or lard
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2-3 cups of water
- Plastic Wrap or a Plastic bag

Salsa Guajillo ** 

Salsa Verde Cocida **

Steamer with basket

  1. Prepare Salsas and chicken ahead of time and have on hand.
  2. In a large stock pot place the chicken breasts, onion, bay leaf, pepper corns and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and simmer for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices are clear near the bones. 
  3. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool. Shred the chicken and set aside. Reserve the chicken broth to add to the salsas if necessary.
  4. Presoak corn husks covered in hot water for one hour. Rinse well and wash corn silk off. Cover with a damp towel and set aside
  5. In a large stock pot mix Maseca, shortening, salt, baking powder and water. Mix well using your hands or a wooden spoon. The mixture should have a liquid consistency like that of heavy cream.
  6. Place the stock pot over a medium to low flame and cook stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Be sure to scrape the sides of the pot so that the mixture does not stick. Lumps will work themselves out as the masa cooks so there is no need to break them up in this early mixing.
  7. Cook for about 15 minutes. At this point the lumps will have thinned out and masa will no longer stick to the side of the pot. The masa will acquire a shiny and almost translucent appearance.
  8. Turn off the burner and leave the pot on the stove, covered.

Filling and Assembling the Tamales

  1. Using an 8 quart steamer or stock pot with a well-fitting lid with a steamer basket. Place water in the bottom of the steamer so that it does not rise above the “floor” of the steamer. Tamales will be placed in steamer before it is put on the stove.
  2. Set out the corn husks, salsas, chicken and masa.
  3. To assemble the tamales place a large corn husk in the palm of your hand. The base or “navel” of the leaf should be level with your wrist. In the hollow of the leaf place, in this order:
    1. One tablespoon of salsa
    2. 2 tablespoons of masa
    3. 1 tablespoon of salsa
    4. 1 tablespoon of shredded chicken
  4. Fold the sides of the corn husk in to the center and overlap to seal and create a seam.  Then fold over the thin part of the leaf towards you over the seam.
  5. Place in the steamer standing vertically with the husk fold facing down. This will prevent the masa from spilling out as it cooks. At the same time, the space allowed by the “navel” side will allow the masa to expand as it cooks. A perfect example of form and function!
  6. Continue the assembly process until the steamer is filled.
  7. Top the tamales with plastic wrap or a plastic bag to help seal in the steam and cover the pot.
  8. Steam, covered, for about one hour.

** See Salsa recipes below

Salsa Roja de Chile Guajillo

- 1qt of salsa
- 8 chile guajillo, wiped clean and deveined,  save seeds to use as chili flakes etc.
- 2 chile de arbol
- 6 plum tomatoes, chopped
- ½ cup white onion, chopped
- 3 peeled garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon cumin, ground in spice grinder
- 4 whole cloves, ground in a spice grinder
- 2 cups of water
- 2 Tablespoons corn oil
- Salt
- White pepper

  1. Lightly roast the chiles guajillos and arbol on the griddle or in the oven being careful to brown them without scorching then soak in the water for about 15 minutes. Using a blender blend the chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic and spices. Blend until the chiles in the salsa are pureed. Transfer to a deep sauté pan or 2 quart stock pot with the corn oil and cook until tomatoes are fully cooked. Salsa will change to a deeper color. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Use as a table salsa or add shredded chicken to use as a stuffing for tamales.
  2. Cook’s Note: Guajillo chiles are milder when deveined. For a spicier salsa add more chile de arbol. For a very mild salsa omit the chile de arbol.

Salsa Verde de Tomatillos

- 1 quart of salsa
- 8 tomatillos, peeled and rinsed
- 4 jalapeños, rinsed and stem removed
- ½ cup white onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 peeled garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon cumin, ground in spice grinder
- 4 whole cloves, ground in a spice grinder
- 2 cups of water
- 2 Tablespoons corn oil
- 1 cup of chopped cilantro
- Salt
- White pepper
- 1 teaspoon of sugar if necessary to balance acidity in tomatillos

In a 2 qt stock pot place the tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeños, cumin, cloves, sugar, salt and pepper. When the tomatillos begin to change color from bright green to olive green remove from the heat. Allow to cool and place in a blender and purée until smooth. Add the cilantro and continue blending until the salsa is liquefied. In the same stock pot add corn oil and place back on a medium flame. Fry for ten more minutes and adjust seasonings and add sugar if necessary.

Mole Negro de Chile Mulato

Black Mulato Chile Mole 

Yield: 1 gallon

- 2 Quarts Chicken or Vegetable Stock
- 6-7 Mulato Chiles
- 5 Guajillo Chiles
- 4 Pasilla Chiles
- 4   Ancho Chiles
- 3-4 Chipotles (you may use canned Chipotles)
       All chiles are stemmed, seeded and deveined. Seeds are kept and used in the        recipe
- 1 quartered Yellow Onion
- 1/2 head of garlic, cloves separated
- 4 T whole almonds
- 2 T peanuts, raw
- 1 stick  or 1/2 stick if Mex. chocolate used Cinnamon,
- 5 black peppercorns
- 5 cloves
- 3 T raisins
- 1 thick slice egg bread or gluten free bread
- 1 peeled cut in 1/2” slices sweet plantain
- ½  cup sesame seeds
- 5 pecan halves
- 6 plum tomatoes,  quartered
- 6 tomatillos, quartered
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 t dried Mexican oregano
- 5 T lard or vegetable shortening
- 4.5 ounces Mexican Chocolate or Bittersweet Chocolate (see note on Cinnamon)
- 2 dry avocado leaves, toasted and ground (or substitute ½ tsp of ground fennel seeds)
- 1 Tbsp. and to taste Salt

  1. Toast chiles in cast-iron pan until plump then soak them in hot water for 30 minutes. Puree them in blender with a little of the soaking water. Strain the puree.
  2. Grill onion and garlic in same pan until darkened but not burned. Set aside
  3. Toast almonds, peanuts, cinnamon, peppercorns & cloves in same pan. Grind in spice grinder.
  4. Toast Chile seeds until blackened in same pan then soak them in enough cold water to cover for about 10 minutes. Grind them and add to the chile paste.
  5. Heat 3 T lard or vegetable shortening in cast iron pan. Add raisins and fry until plump; remove raisins and add bread until golden-brown. Remove bread and add plantain until well browned; drain oil from pan remove and toast sesame seeds and pecans in the dry pan until brown. Let everything cool and grind in small batches in spice grinder.
  6. Wipe pan and fry tomatoes, tomatillos, thyme and oregano until juices render and reduce to almost nothing. Make a paste in blender.
  7. Put nut mixture, raisins, sesame and bread mixture and onions and garlic in blender until consistency of smooth peanut butter, using a little bit of stock (up to 1 C).
  8. Heat 2 T lard or vegetable shortening in non-reactive 4 quart stock pot until smoking and fry chile paste over medium heat until dry, stirring constantly (about 15-20 minutes). Add tomato puree and fry until dry, stirring constantly. Add all other ground ingredients and stir until well blended together. Add 1 C stock, stir and simmer until almost dry, stirring occasionally. Add another cup of stock and the chocolate, stirring until it melts. Add toasted avocado leaves and salt to taste. Let simmer and cook for another hour, adding more stock as needed (up to 4-5 more cups). Color will deepen to a dark almost chocolate color and the mole will thicken.
  9. Note: Mole scorches very easily and must be stirred often with a wooden spoon.

Plátanos

Sweet Plantains

Yield: 30 pc

- 2 Sweet Plantains
- ½ cup Canola oil for frying
- 1 cup Mexican Crema
- 1 cup Queso Fresco, finely crumbled
- 3 T Toasted Sesame Seeds

  1. Ripen Plantains at room temperature in a well ventilated area until skin is uniformly black and looks dry.
  2. Peel plantains by making a slit with a paring knife and sliding skin off. Plantains may be quite sticky.
  3. Slice plantains in ¼ “thick oval slices cut on the bias. Arrange on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper without overlapping.
  4. In a deep fryer or large shallow stock pot or pan with 1”of oil heat over medium flame until the oil reaches 374 degrees or a plantain placed in the oil bubbles vigorously. 
  5. Fry the plantains in batches so that they are not crowded in the oil and don’t stick together. The plantains should fry until golden brown. A few dark brown areas are ok.
  6.  Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon. 
  7. Place them on a sheet pan lined with paper towels or parchment to drain.
  8. Place in hotel pans to keep warm in a chafing dish during service.
  9. Garnish with Mole Negro, Crema Mexicana, Queso Fresco and sesame seeds.
  10. Cook’s note: For tamales slice cooked plantains into ½” strips.

Rajas Poblanas

- 1 qt Poblanos
- 2 cups poblano chiles, sliced in 1/4 “ thin strips
- 1 cup medium white onions, sliced in 1/4 “ thin strips
- ¼  cups epazote, chopped
- 1 T salt and to taste

  1. Sauté the onion and chiles in corn oil. When they begin to sweat add the epazote.
  2. Salt to taste.

Talk to Her - Llama Inn NYC

Ingredients:

- 1 oz brewed Hibiscus Tea such as Tazo "Passion tea" or any hibiscus tea
- 1oz Pomegranate juice OR 2oz Red Verjus
- 1.5 oz Seedlip Spice 94
- .75 oz Pineapple Juice
- .5 oz Cinnamon Syrup

*Garnish with frozen grapes, sliced apples, pears, or stone fruit

National Helpline:
844-ASK-SHARE