Chocolate Covered Banana Martinis

This recipe comes courtesy of my martini-lovin' big sis, Marnee. Although she doesn't have quite as many martini-drinking days now that she has a wee one, I've still never had a chocolate martini as good as the ones that Marn could whip up. This is a bit of a twist on the original, and it sure was yummy. I didn't have any half-and-half on hand, so I substituted 1 shot of milk and 2 shots of whipping cream. Either works; just use what you have on hand.

Ingredients

3 shots half-and-half

1/2 shot of banana liquor

2 shot of chocolate liquor

1/2 to 1 shot of vanilla vodka

1/2 shot of Kahlua

1/2 shot of Godiva liquor

Directions
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake well until fully combined and frothy. Decant into a chilled martini glass. Enjoy!

Grilled Honey-Soy Glazed Tofu with Toasted Coconut and Mango Salsa

Could be the longest name for a food, ever. But it deserves each and every adjective, as they all combine to make this dish a sweet-savory wonder! If you're vegan, you can swap out the honey with light corn syrup or any type of sugar you prefer (add some water, if necessary). The mango salsa that I used for my shrimp this past weekend went with this tofu so perfectly, I had to repeat it for this recipe. The original blog about the salsa is here.

Ingredients
firm tofu, cut into strips
1 T. sesame oil
2 t. soy sauce
2 t. honey
salt, to taste (kosher if you've got it)
coconut (about 1/4 of a bag)
mango salsa

Directions
Mix the sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, and salt, adjusting the amounts until it takes sweet and/or salty enough for you. I like all of my food on the salty side and am therefore a poor judge, but you probably want to at least add a light coat of salt to the tofu prior to grilling them. Coat you indoor grill pan with cooking spray, turn it on medium-high, and let it heat up until a drop of water sizzles off within three seconds. Toss the tofu on in there, being sure to have only one layer of tofu onthe grill at a time so the tofu gets a bit of a char on it. While the tofu is grilling, glaze it liberally with the honey-soy glaze.

After all of the tofu is grilled, spread the coconut in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and toast them up for 7-9 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Place them on a plate, and layer the tofu on top of them. Serve with mango salsa on the side. Here's a photo of my plate, but the photo does not do the dish justice. I'll be sure to get my camera out before I start eating the food next time!