Mango Lime Pie

Mango Lime Pie

adapted recipe courtesy of Rick Bayless

For the crust:
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter
4 ounces (about 32) Mexican “Maria” cookies (or 16 Graham crackers)
3 tablespoons sugar

For the filling and topping:
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 1/3 cup cold water
A big pinch of salt
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup fresh lime juice, plus the finely grated zest of 1 large lime
3 tablespoons butter
A big pinch of salt

For the topping:
*due to time constraints, I used whipped topping instead*
4 egg whites (you should have about ½ cup)
1 cup sugar
1 large ripe mango, peeled, flesh cut from the pit and cut into ¼-inch dice
Sprigs of mint, for garnish

1. The crust. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, letting it brown slightly. Break the cookies (or crackers) into a food processor and pulse until pulverized. Add the 3 tablespoons of sugar and melted butter, then continue to pulse until the mixture begins to clump slightly. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the crumb mixture to use as a garnish for the tart. Press the remainder evenly over the bottom and sides of 8-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. ( In an effort to save time on a weeknight, I used a prepared graham cracker crust.)

2. The filling. In a medium (3-quart) heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk together the 1 cup of sugar, cornstarch, water and salt. Set over medium heat and whisk until the mixture begins to boil (it will be quite thick), 3 or 4 minutes. Add the egg yolks to the hot mixture and immediately whisk vigorously until thoroughly incorporated. Lastly, whisk in the lime juice, zest and butter. Continue whisking until the mixture returns to a boil. Remove from the heat and pour into the crust. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until the filling is chilled and nicely set. (The tart can made 24 hours ahead up to this point.)

3. Finishing the pie. In the metal bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the egg whites and remaining 1 cup of sugar over a pan of simmering water until the egg whites are very warm to the touch. Remove from the heat and beat with the electric mixer until cool, about 5 minutes; the meringue should be thick and fluffy and hold glossy stiff peaks. (The meringue may be prepared up to 24 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

Shortly before serving, preheat the oven to 500 degrees or set out a propane or butane torch. Scoop the meringue into a ring around the outside edge of the tart (an ice cream scoop works well), then use the back of a spoon or a small spatula to form dramatic peaks in it. Place in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes, until the meringue is evenly browned, or brown the meringue with the torch, moving it back and forth over the surface until browned. Fill the center with the chopped mango, sprinkle with the reserved crumbs and decorate with mint, if you wish.

A little mango sauce (pureed mango, sugar, a dash of water and a little orange liqueur) or chopped strawberries (or whole raspberries) make a beautiful plate with wedges of Mango-Lime Tart.

Salads Get No Respect

This weekend was pretty full of good food, but I feel like my body needs to go into detox. I didn’t splurge much at all with the dinner events I hosted over the weekend but I was craving some fresh veggies. So today for lunch, I made a salad.

Don’t you hate the rep salads get? Some folks think salads are lame, boring and too healthy to taste good. I’ll admit, I had that same thinking until I started being creative with salads. They are a blank canvas to capture flavors, textures, colors… only healthier!

Today my salad consisted of a baked boneless, skinless chicken breast that was marinated in southwest seasoning. I also made a quick mango salsa (fresh mangoes, chopped bell pepper, garlic, red onion, salt & pepper, green onion) to offset the spicy chicken with some sweetness. For texture, I added some slivered almonds. Lastly, all my salads involve a little bit of cheese so I added a pinch of gorgonzola for a bit of tang.

Love and embrace salads… they’re good for you!

Tropical Sangria

The following recipe was made and shared at my Tapas party. You can read about the event and view links to the other recipes shared HERE.

Tropical Sangria

1 bottle of reisling wine (750 mL)
2 cups guava juice
1 cup diced mango
1 cup pineapple tidbits
1 cup sliced strawberries
1-2 shots of coconut rum

Mix all of the ingredients together and serve well-chilled or over ice.
Top with additional diced fruit.
(With my various sangria, I chopped up a few different fruits that my guests could add to their glass including diced pear, apple, orange, lime, and peaches.)

Mango Sticky Rice

The following recipe was featured for my Thai Cooking Class. You can read and view other recipes from the class HERE.

Mango Sticky Rice
Joelen’s recipe

2 cups Thai sticky rice
water for cooking rice
1 can coconut milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can lychee in syrup, with syrup reserved
2 large, ripe mangos, chopped

Prepare rice as directed.

When rice is cooked, place in large bowl.
Add coconut milk, sugar, can of lychee fruit and 1/4 cup of reserved lychee syrup; stir until sugar is dissolved.
To serve, place sticky rice on platter and garnish with sliced chopped fresh mango.

Mango & Lychee Sitting in a Tree

One of my favorite flavors of boba tea (aka bubble teas, flavored drinks with large tapioca pearls) is mango lychee. Since I’ve been having fun concocting ice cream flavors, I figured boba flavors would work just as well in ice cream form.

To make my mango lychee ice cream, I used a common base of heavy cream and whole milk. Using the light syrup that the lychees were packed in added the subtle sweetness and a touch of mango extract added a hint of color and enhanced the flavor of the mango I used.

I’m also submitting this recipe to Meeta’s Mango Mania blogging event! Be sure to check out the round up later this month on her site that will be full of recipes using mango, one of my favorite fruits.

Mango Lychee Ice Cream:

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 can lychee fruit, drained w/syrup reserved
1 1/2 cup mango, cubed
3 drops mango extract (about 1/8 teaspoon)

In a blender, process syrup and mango until pureed.
On low, add lychee fruit and pulse – do not over process.
In a bowl, whisk milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
Add fruit puree mixture and cream.
Combine until fully incorporated.
Stir in extract until color is unified.
Place in ice cream maker and process per manufacturers directions.
Freeze mixture in freezer-proof containers for 2 hours to “ripen”.

S is for Salad & Salsa.

I came home early today because I’m not feeling too well… and after a 3 hour nap, I decided to get some culinary therapy. There were quite a bit of random fruits, veggies, cheeses and misc foodstuff to be used – all of which were in varying proportions. So I decided to put my Iron Chef thinking cap on to create 2 things – salad and salsa.Here is my recipe for a Mediterranean Inspired Orzo Salad:

1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
water for boiling
1 teapsoon olive oil
1cup baby grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup sliced black olives
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
crumbled feta cheese to your preference
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Boil water in pot and cook orzo.
Drain orzo and place in large boil with 1 teaspoon olive oil; stir.
Add remaining ingredients and fold in.
Here is my recipe for Spicy Mango Peach Salsa, which I will be using later tonight with dinner:

1 ripe mango, diced
2 ripe peaches, diced
1 roma tomato, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 lime

Combine the above ingredients; chill.

Watermelon to the rescue!

So in an effort to cool down, I made a refreshing watermelon smoothie with a hint of strawberry, lemon and mango. It’s wonderful both pureed and strained or with little bits of watermelon. You can adjust it to your own tastes if you prefer it more tart or sweet too!Here’s my versatile recipe for Watermelon Smoothies:

6 cups chopped seedless watermelon
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup mango, chopped
1 cup water
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a blender.
Blend until your desired consistency.
You can strain it or leave with bits of watermelon.
Chill or serve over ice.