Category: Uncategorized

Mangoes in Miami!

Mango season is finally here in Miami! There is nothing like eating a fresh mango just picked from a mango tree. There are so many types of mangoes but the ones I prefer are the Haden. They are extremely flavorful and have a beautiful orangey rose color to them.

Here are a few of my favorite mango recipes. The salsa can be eaten plain, or over fish, pork or chicken. One of my very favorite recipes is mango salsa over pan sautéed fresh fish. If I had to choose one meal for my last supper, this would be it! I used to make this every year for my friend Lauren’s end-of-the-year school party for my kids. I can’t tell you how many people asked for the recipe. One particular woman never remembered my name but would call me the “Mango Salsa Lady” throughout my kids’ twelve years of schooling. You can eliminate the black beans if you choose but they are a good source of iron and protein and the salsa looks so colorful with them in it. My niece Madison prefers no beans and this recipe comes out just fine without them.

 

Black Bean and Mango Salsa
1 – 15 ounce canned Black Beans, rinsed in a colander until water runs clear
2 ripe MANGOES, cut into small diced sized pieces
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, diced into small pieces
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped,
2 green scallions, sliced and diced into small pieces
1 tablespoon of finely minced ginger root
3 tablespoons *fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon *rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon *kosher salt
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons *fresh cilantro, chopped fine
Combine the beans, MANGOES, peppers, scallions and ginger root in bowl. Combine the lime juice, rice wine vinegar, salt, cayenne and cilantro in another bowl. Whisk together and then pour over the mango mixture.
It can be served at room temperature or chilled and served plain with tortilla chips.
Serving size: About 4 cups

Mango Sorbet
4 cups *mango puree (about 6 MANGOES, pureed in the blender)
1 cup *diced mango
*1 small 4 ounce can of frozen limeade
Pour all ingredients into ice cream maker and churn until it gets slushy and semi-frozen. Put into Tupperware and freeze until solid.
For a simple but classy dessert, put sorbet into individual glasses and then top with an amaretto cookie or any other shortbread cookie you may have on hand.

Chicken Breast and Mango Skewers
2 chicken breasts marinated in ½ cup lime juice, ¼ cup oil, salt and pepper
1 large semi-ripe mango cut into 1 inch pieces, making sure they will be able to withstand the heat of the grill without falling apart.
Cut chick breasts into 1’ sized pieces.. Thread skewers with one piece of chicken and one piece of mango. Put on grill until the chicken starts turning brown and is cooked. Serve over rice, ditalini or orzo pasta.IMG_0456Mango and Black Bean Salsa

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Mango Sorbet

 

Crunchy Dog Bones

These high-quality dog treats are easy to make.  They don’t look like dog treats, unless you use a dog bone cookie cutter.  One year I gave them to my doctor’s wife for her dog and the doctor thought they were for him and he ate one.  He said they were delicious!

2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup of rolled oats
½ cup of nonfat milk powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup of crunchy peanut butter
¼ cup honey
2 eggs
½ cup water

Combine the flour, oats, nonfat milk powder and salt in large bowl, stir to combine. Add peanut butter, honey and eggs. Beat to combine, gradually adding ¼ cup of water to make the dough come together. Put dough onto a 13 x 18” cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper. Roll out dough into ½” thick rectangle. Chill for an hour.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut dough into 3 x 1 ½ “ squares or use a dog shaped cookie cutter. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 45-55 minutes or until firm and golden brown.

Makes about 20-25 dog treats.

 

I made these today for my dog Chino’s 11th Birthday!

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Tomato Soup

Whenever it’s tomato season in Florida I make this delicious soup. There are quite a few tomato fields around and I enjoy picking them right off the vine. There is nothing like a fresh, ripe tomato, especially when you are using them on a BLT.    The plum tomatoes are the best to use when cooking.  They are the ones that are more oblong in shape.   This recipe freezes well so you can enjoy some now and freeze the rest.  I recommend the Tuttorosso brand of canned Italian tomatoes  but you can use whatever brand you like. You can also omit the cream if you would like to keep it healthy.

 

(2) Large Onions, chopped and diced into 1/4″ pieces

(4) Garlic cloves, crushed

(2) Teaspoons of flour

(2) 28 ounce cans of  Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes

(7) Fresh, ripe plum tomatoes , blanched, seeded and peeled, and cut into 1/2″ pieces

(1-2) teaspoons of fresh thyme

(3)  14.5 ounce cans of beef or vegetable broth

(2) Tablespoons of sugar

(1) Bunch of Basil, loosely chopped

(1/2)  Pint  of cream, optional

 

Pour enough olive oil in the bottom of a large saucepan to cover the bottom.  Saute onions until they are translucent.  Add crushed garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.  Add the flour and cook for additional 2 minutes.  Add all of the tomatoes ,thyme, beef or vegetable broth and  sugar.   Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and let it simmer for an hour, stirring often.  Add chopped basil and add the cream, is desired.    After an hour, using either an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the soup in batches to make it smooth.

Makes enough for 8-10 large size bowls.img_2217

Dim Sum in NYC

IMG_2282New York does have the best restaurants.  Recently we dined on the best Dim Sum in a place called Tim Ho Wan.  It’s not a large restaurant and it can be hard to get a table but the food was just incredible.  They have counter space too if you want to get something quickly.  My son Daniel eats here quite a bit.  His favorite is the BBQ pork buns and the steamed shrimp dumplings.  When you get to the table there is an order form and you check off everything you want to order. The waiters are very helpful about how much to order and are very accommodating, they bring out the dishes one at a time so the table can enjoy them.  The sticky rice in the lotus leaf was one of our favorites as was steamed shrimp dumplings.  Their address is :  85 4th Avenue, New York, NY (212)228-2800

Tomato and Onion Tart

This tomato tart is easy and delicious.  It works great on a buffet table for a brunch item or can be served as a side dish with dinner.
2 large onions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 Pillsbury, rolled and ready made pie crust, found in the Dairy section
1 cup of shredded Gruyere cheese
1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
4 plum tomatos,  cut into ½ inch wedges
4 medium yellow tomatos, cut into ½ inch wedges
¼ cup of Kalamata olives
1.  In a heavy skillet, cook onions  in oil, until softened about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden.  Remove from heat and let cool.
2.  Preheat oven 375 degrees.
3.  On a lightly floured board with a floured rolling pin, roll out dough into a 14-inch round about 1/8 inch thick.  Fold the round in half and then transfer to a 12-inch tart pan with a removeable bottom, or a 12-inch quiche dish.  Unfold the dough and put into the tart pan or quiche dish, leaving a ¾ inch overhang.  Press dough into sides and bottom of dish.  Spread onion mixture over dough and top with the cheese.  Arrange tomato wedges in cocentric circles over cheese, you can alternate between the red tomatos and yellow or put one row of each.  Arrange olives on top of tomatos and season with salt and pepper.
4.  Bake tart in middle of the over for an hour or until pastry is golden.  Cool on rack and remove the rim of the tart pan.
5.  The tart can be served warm or at room temperature.
Serves 10-12.

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Flaming Cheese Ball

It just isn’t party if there isn’t a flaming cheese ball!  This is one of the most requested recipes.  My sister Tracey has been making this for years and it is always a hit that is super-easy to make.

(1) Loaf of round bread, usually found in the Bakery Dept. at your local grocery store

(1) 8 ounce bag of Shredded Italian Cheese, the 6-cheese blend works best

(1) 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1 cup of mayonnaise

  1. Blend together the shredded cheese, cream cheese and mayonnaise in a medium sized bowl and mix well until are ingredients are combined.
  2. Cut a large hole in the top of the bread, being careful not to cut through to the bottom of the bread.  Cut the large piece of the bread that was cut out of the bread bowl into 1 inch pieces.
  3. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the bread.
  4. Put onto a cookie sheet  with the bread pieces.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the cheese mixture is lightly brown.

The entire bread bowl can be eaten, making for an easy clean-up.

 

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Vanilla Walnuts

Each year around Christmastime I make these vanilla walnuts to have on hand to give as gifts, eat plain or to use in a salad or on top of ice cream.  They are super easy to make.  My friend Janis gave me the recipe years ago and I always call her when I am making them.

 

2 pounds of walnuts, shelled  in halves, not pieces

1 cup of sugar

2/3 cup of coconut oil

2 tablespoons of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 teaspoon of coriander

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Blanch the walnuts for one minute in the water after it starts to boil.   Drain the walnuts and spread them evenly on the cookie sheets.  Mix the coconut oil and sugar in a bowl  and spread it evenly on the blanched walnuts. Mix the walnuts on the cookie sheets so they are covered with the vanilla and sugar mixture. Let them stand for 10 minutes so the oil can saturate into the walnuts.

Put walnuts into the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets and stirring the walnuts every 10 minutes until they are light brown in color.  Mix all of the spices together into a small bowl.  Take walnuts out of oven and sprinkle spice mixture evenly over the walnuts.  Enjoy!

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Tortellini Soup

Tired of Thanksgiving leftovers but you have some turkey that you want to use up?  This tortellini soup is perfect for that.  It’s quick and easy and makes a great weeknight meal.  You can also make it without the turkey or chicken if you would like,  and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth if you want to make it a vegetarian meal.

 

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 medium onion, chopped into small 1″ pieces

3 cloves of garlic, minced fine

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into small rounds

1  48-ounce box of chicken broth, you can use unsalted if you would like

3 cups of water

1 cup of cooked, shredded turkey or chicken, this is optional

1 14.5 ounce of canned, diced tomatoes

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp pepper

1 9 ounce package of fresh  three cheese tortellini, found in the refrigerated section, I like the Buitoni brand

3 cups of fresh spinach, chopped into small pieces, they will shrink when they are added to the soup

3 Tbsps. shredded  parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and add the chopped onions, garlic and carrots, cook until the onion is tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil, add the chicken or turkey,  tomatoes, sugar, pepper and spinach leaves and tortellini and bring the pot back to a boil again.  Add the parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

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