Mango Avocado Salsa

More Costa Rican food! The trip is just days away and I'm so very excited!! And so the experimentation with the native cuisine continues.

This right here is mango, avocado, and other edible friends making loveliness in a bowl. But the truth is that I cannot speak to the authenticity of this dish's Costa Rican roots. I was back at my parents' house when I made this and my dad took one look before claiming it was just guacamole. True enough, when I make my super special guacamole, I throw a peach in and call it a day. I'm Mexican, so that's authentic! People think it's crazy, but then they taste it and realize how crazy delicious it is. Trust me on that point.

This is pretty much the same thing but with mango. Although it isn't mushed to bits like the Aztecan offerings from our neighbors to the south. Deconstructed guacamole, anyone?

I came across this by letting Google do all the heavy lifting again. It's merely mango, avocado, tomato, red pepper, and red onion. The recipe didn't specify if the pepper should be a sweet pepper (like bells) or a spicy pepper (like chiles). I wanted a spicy pepper, but couldn't find a red one in my parents' kitchen (that was a first!), so I opted for a shiny red bell pepper instead. People who dislike and/or fear spicy food can go the same route.

I recommend removing the inner membranes and seeds from the tomatoes. Otherwise you'll end up with a soggy mess. And no one wants a soggy guac.

Take it to your next party. It'll disappear in minutes. Trust me on that point, too.

The recipe is here.

Maraschino Cherry & Mango Brie Pizza

And we're still talking personal pizzas!

But this one won't be found on any typical pizzeria. It's a G+F kitchen specialty. A very personal specialty.

Again, I was working with what I had in the fridge. I'd cut up a mango for breakfast, so I still had some fingers. I love me some mangoes. And there was brie (a gift from the hotel I had stayed at during a recent event—it's like they did their homework!). I had discovered that this particular brie (a double cream variety) paired exceptionally well with my go-to Belgian white, Blue Moon. No orange necessary. But that's a story for another time.

(There may have been beer consumed with this meal. I can neither confirm nor deny that fact.)

Back to the ingredient list, food from the refrigerator: mango cubed, spinach, the gifted brie, Rachel's maraschino cherries, and caramelized onions. It basically was 5 of my favorite ingredients on flat bread. There was no way this could go badly.

It was delicious. The sweetness from the fruit and onions coupled with the richness of the brie married so nicely with the crispy spinach. And the cherries tended to burst in my mouth, like an explosion of happiness. Mmmm.

I will admit there were huge chunks of cheese on this pizza. I love cheese! I used nearly the entire 5 ounce wheel. You could probably scale back if you're not a rabid cheese-oholic.

print recipe

Maraschino Cherry & Mango Brie Pizza

by Paulette Fontanez September-20-2011

A delicious combination of fruits, veggies and cheese on flatbread.

Ingredients

• 1 package personal size pizza dough or 2 ounces of a dough ball
• 1 wheel double cream brie
• 1/4 cup mango, cubed
• 1/4 cup maraschino cherries
• 1/4 cup caramelized onions
• A few spinach leaves
• Olive oil for brushing on dough
• Cornmeal or flour for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Follow the directions for resting the pizza dough and preheating the oven.2. Spread the dough out to the desired thickness. Sprinkle flour or cornmeal on a baking sheet and place the dough on top.3. Brush the dough with olive oil to keep the dough from absorbing too much liquid from the ingredients.4. Cut the wheel in half and make thin slices. Use as much of the wheel as you feel is necessary.5. Top with remaining ingredients. 6. Put the pizza in the oven and bake until the cheese is bubbly and the dough is browned, about 10-15 minutes.7. Remove from the oven, pour a beer, and eat. Suggested pairing: a Belgian white like Blue Moon.

Details

Prep time: 5-20 minutes (depending on dough's resting time) Cook time: 10-15 minutes Total time: 15-35 minutesYield: 1 personal size pizza

Sun Dried Tomato & Mango Chutney

I love love love sun dried tomatoes. They remind me of happy summer days. Pair them with goat cheese, and you'll pretty much have me eating right out of your hand.

I wanted something easy for Labor Day weekend and found this wonderful Mango Chutney incorporating my beloved tomatoes and another favorite: mangoes. It sounded like a party waiting to happen.

Within 45 minutes I could have savory tomatoes and sweet mangoes ready to top any of the millions of varieties of grilled meats this weekend? Color me happy!

I followed the recipe almost exactly. But I can never leave well enough alone (and aren't recipes, like most other rules, really just suggested guidelines?). Instead of using crushed red peppers I opted for using whole dried peppers. That added another dimension of kick. And since my family is made up of Mexican, Puerto Ricans and Indians, food without spice is almost not worth serving.

Note: you can always remove the seeds from the peppers in order to lessen the heat. Or use the recommended crushed flakes.

Served over pork. Mmmm.

Sun Dried Tomato & Mango Chutney
adapted from About.com Southern Food
Yields about 3 cups

2 cups water
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped sweet onion
2 cups coarsely chopped mango
1 cup chopped dried tomatoes
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper flakes (or as many whole/seeded dried red peppers)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons white vinegar
Preparation:

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a 3-quart saucepan; bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until tomatoes are softened.

2. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most liquid has been absorbed.

3. Cool and pack in air-tight containers. May be kept in the refrigerator 2 to 3 weeks or frozen for up to 12 months.

Enjoy at your next barbecue with grilled meat, as a burger topping, or simply as a side dish. And happy Labor Day weekend!

Caramelized Scallops on a Wonton Tostada

Today's dinner was courtesy of Food Gal's Thomas Keller "Ad Hoc at Home" preview, with some inspiration drawn from Brian Boitano's scallops with mango and avocado. Who knew Brian Boitano cooked, right?

I had no idea scallops could be caramelized. I'm always afraid of overcooking them. That happened to me once in a teppanyaki restaurant and it was so very disappointing. Rubber seafood is about as bad as it comes. Worse than rubber chicken.

Reading through Food Gal's comments I found that the original recipe of 10 total of water cups and the cup of salt could be halved, especially since I was only making a small test batch just for me. I pretty much followed the directions exactly, except for using table salt (at a ratio of 2/3 cup of table salt = 1 cup kosher salt) and only having the 4 scallops instead of a pound. I also cooked them in a cast iron skillet. They came out perfectly.

It's important to note that if you attempt this dish, you should definitely read Food Gal's post first. She does a great job explaining the entire recipe.

As for the mango/avocado/wonton piece of the puzzle, I upped the Mexican factor on this. Hence the "tostada" part of the title. Brian's recipe was a great start, but I didn't want to use coconut milk. It's super fatty and I wanted something a bit more savory. In keeping with the Mexican theme, I opted for Mexican crema, which is similar to sour cream, but more liquid-like. And instead of the recommended Sriracha, I subbed in adobo sauce. Adobo (not the brand name salt & pepper mix I also used) is the sauce that canned chipotles live in. Depending on your heat tolerance, a little goes a long way. (Both Adobo and canned chipotle are available in Hispanic markets.)

This was also my first time making clarified butter for the sear. It's readily available in southeast Asian stores, but it's so simple to make, and I only needed a small amount, that I tried my hand at it. For details on how to make it, see the Asia Recipe website.

Finally, I didn't see the point in cutting the wonton wrappers into circles, so I simply fried them as squares. Yes tostadas are circular, but that's just an unnecessary step.

The sear on the scallops was unreal. And they were perfectly cooked, no rubber!

The combined recipe below was scaled down for a single serving.

Caramelized Scallops with Mango Avocado Relish over a Wonton Tostada

1/3 cup table, plus more to taste
2 cups hot water
4 cups cold water
4 jumbo scallops, tough side muscle removed from each one
About 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) clarified butter
1/2 lemon (optional)
2 cups canola oil
4 wonton wrappers
Adobo salt & pepper mix, as needed
1/4 mango, small diced
1/4 avocado, small diced
2 tablespoons crema (Mexican sour cream)
1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce (aka chipotle sauce)
1/2 lime, juiced

1. Line a small baking sheet with paper towels. Combine the 1/3 cup salt with hot water in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve the salt. Add the cold water.

2. Add scallops to the brine and let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Drain the scallops, rinse under cold water, and arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet. Cover with more paper towels and refrigerate for 1 1/2 to 3 hours (no longer, or the quality of the scallops will be affected).

4. While scallops are resting in the fridge, work on the relish and tostadas. In a medium pot, bring 2 cups canola oil to 350 degrees F. Fry the wontons in small batches until they are brown and crispy, about 2 minutes. Drain on a plate lined with a paper towel and season each with a bit of salt.

5. In a medium bowl, combine the diced mango and avocado. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the crema, hot sauce, and lime juice, and adjust the seasoning with the salt and black pepper mix, to taste. Pour half of the creamy mixture over the mango and avocado and gently toss to coat.

6. After the 1 1/2 to 3 hour rest period, heat a generous film of clarified butter in a large cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat until it ripples and begins to smoke. Sprinkle scallops lightly with salt and add them to the pan. Cook, without moving the scallops, until bottoms are a rich golden brown, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Turn scallops and caramelize the second side.

7. To assemble, put 1 tablespoon of the mango and avocado mixture onto a fried wonton. Top with a caramelized scallop and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice (optional) and a drizzle of the crema sauce.

This looked like a LOT of food on the plate. But when I was done, I wanted more. I don't know if it was just too little food, or it was so good it left me wanting more. I'm going with the latter.