Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

May 26, 2014 by 7 Comments

I know this is totally not a Memorial Day recipe in any way. But, I’ve been seeing that mangos are starting to appear at some of the grocery stores, and a weekend or so ago, my friends and I decided to have an Asian themed potluck for our Game of Thrones night. The mains included Do It Yourself Vietnamese rolls (very easy- just prep the filling options and everyone else just will select, wrap, and eat, and it’s even pretty healthy!), and there was also an Asian Salad with optional steak. Now that the weather is heating up, this is a great idea for a potluck theme. The two wraps below use the rice paper, but you can also use lettuce wraps as well. It is easy to accommodate for vegetarians since it’s up to everyone whether to add the bbq pork (and alternately you can offer fresh tofu as an option).
Do It Yourself Vietnamese rolls Do It Yourself Vietnamese rolls Do It Yourself Vietnamese rolls

I contributed a dessert of sticky rice with mango, known in Thai as ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง.
Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

The key to making sweet sticky rice is to make sure you use the right rice- specifically, glutinous rice. You can find these at an Asian grocery store. This is the same sticky rice that you often see served with satay/meat skewers – but in that preparation you don’t use coconut milk.
Glutinous Rice
Speaking of, while you are there at the Asian grocery store, pick up a can of coconut milk too.

When you buy your mangos, make sure they are slightly softer to the touch- similar to when you check avocados. If not, when you peel/cut the mango it will still be a little green and sour, which is fine for some other Thai dishes I know but not for a dessert dish like this.
Mangos

In order to help ripen your mango, you can try a few tricks such as putting it in a paper bag and leaving it on the counter at room temperature. I hear that putting an apple or banana might also help with the ripening process. If you want to slow the ripening because it is already ready but you’re making it fresh the next day, put it in the refrigerator. A ripe mango put in the fridge might last a handful of days, so don’t wait long.

Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

Yields enough for 2, with usually each person getting 1/2 a mango.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of glutinous rice
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 3 tbsp of sugar (adjust to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1 sweet, ripe mango (preferably Thai honey mango)
  • 2 tsp of sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Directions:

  1. Take 1/2 cup of the coconut milk and add it to 1/2 cup of water. Now add the 1/2 cup of glutinous rice and let the rice soak for about 30 minutes. The rice should get fatter as it absorbs the coconut water.
    Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe
  2. After the soaking, do not drain the water. Pour the rice into a pot and simmer on low heat on the stovetop until the rice is cooked and soft. You may need to add a cup or so of water if the rice gets too dry.
  3. In another pot, mix the 1/2 cup of coconut milk with the sugar and salt on simmer until it begins to bubble/is on the verge of boiling. At this point, add it to your cooked glutinous rice and stir to mix. Cover, and let sit on the simmering heat until the rice has absorbed all the coconut milk mixture, about 30 minutes. Taste and see if you’d like to add more sugar for sweetness, or a pinch of salt to balance the sweet.
    Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe
  4. Remove from heat and let the rice cool so it is still warm but no longer hot. This is usually the time I cut the mango to place on top, and garnish with sesame seeds.
    Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

Sooo….

It turns out despite what I wrote before about making sure your mango is ripe, with everything that was going on that weekend I spaced on putting it in the paper bag when I got home, and I didn’t know F put it in the refrigerator. So when the cutting happened, the mango was still a little green. What to do?

I tried to recover my dessert by turning to the fact that green mangoes are often used in Thai cooking and in those cases, there is a spicier take on it. Particularly, Mango Salads are pretty popular. So I decided to make slightly spicy diced mango- I tried to dial back the spice as I knew I had guests who are not lovers of the spicy heat like F and I are.

Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

Spicy Diced Mango

Ingredients:

  • 3 firm mangos, diced
  • 3 small chilies, minced. If you want to dial back the heat, deseed it. Alternately, as I did, since I didn’t have any chilies I used 3 teaspoons of chili powder, or to your taste.
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
  • 3 teaspoons honey
  • 3 teaspoons of soy sauce
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Toss together all the ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  2. Let the flavors marinate/mingle for about 30 minutes before serving – if you’d like, chill it in the refrigerator
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Honey Walnut Baked Brie Recipe

May 19, 2014 by 7 Comments

There is never a wrong time for some warm, melty cheese that you scoop and put on top of bread. Especially when your freezer stops being frozen, so the Fressen half loaf of bread needs to be immediately used. Specifically, what you see below is their Vollkornbrot bread, made with Dark Rye and Whole Wheat flour with cracked rye, Sunflower, Flax and Sesame Seeds, and Salt which I picked up at one of the various Farmers Markets they have a booth at, though they are also available at a few stores. 

Honey Walnut Brie Recipe Honey Walnut Brie Recipe.

This serves 4… or 2 if you really just want a lot of cheese. I don’t mind eating the rind (you want to get a young, fresh brie. Older brie may have a tougher rind). If the rind bothers you, try wrapping it with crescent or puff pastry dough so you don’t see it. Ha ha.

Or if you’d really really like (though there is cheese loss this way!), you can cut the very top off, slice very thinly so you don’t lose too much cheese. Leave the rest of the rind at the bottom and sides so it can act sorta like a bowl.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Even though I didn’t chop mine, so you don’t necessarily have to if you really like walnuts
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons of honey plus 1/4 cup honey – I used Bee Local Honey.
  • 1 wheel of brie (8-9 ounce package)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix your 1/4 cup of walnuts with the 2 tablespoons of honey, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and pinch of salt. Stir well to coat. Alternately, instead of honey and cinnamon you could use maple syrup. I used 1 1/2 cups walnuts with 1/4 cup maple syrup, which is why you see so many nuts. Between the two, I like the cinnamon honey version better… though at that time I also increased the recipe because I eat these walnuts by themselves like candy.
  2. Arrange walnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer- you want them all to be flat so they all get fully toasted on the side. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, checking frequently to watch them brown and they should smell toasted. Be careful in watching them as they can very easily burn. Alternatively, you can do the same in a large dry pan on the stovetop at medium high heat, but make sure you watch them constantly and stir them. After removing them from the stovetop, lay them flat in a single layer to cool.
    Honey Walnut Brie Recipe. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix your 1/4 cup of walnuts with the 2 tablespoons of honey,1 /4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and pinch of salt. Stir well to coat. Toast in a large dry pan on the stovetop at medium high heat, but make sure you watch them constantly and stir them.
  3. Unwrap your brie cheese and place your cheese in a baking dish. I recommend putting some sort of parchment paper underneath because it’s about to get sticky messy. Drizzle the honey over the top. Alternately, rather then drizzling your cheese goodness with honey goodness, there are so many kinds of fruit compotes and preserves you could use as well! YUM!
    Honey Walnut Brie Recipe
  4. Place in the oven at 350 degrees F and bake for 10-15 minutes.
  5. Top with the toasted walnuts and serve with sliced bread. Other options would be to include sliced apples, grapes or other fruit, toasted crostini or crackers, roasted garlic…!
    Honey Walnut Brie Recipe Honey Walnut Brie Recipe.

Super simple, but so worth it. Perfect for a rainy day when watching a movie or doing a TV show marathon with a few glasses of wine! Indulgent rich warm cheese on good bread with good honey. There is no way to go wrong with this.

Honey Walnut Brie Recipe

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Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollup Recipe

May 12, 2014 by 2 Comments

Rather than laying out lasagna the traditional way across a casserole dish and then having to cut pieces, I like the idea of individual rolled pieces that this Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe calls for. it’s a great to portion out servings for a group. They are easy to make, and by roasting the vegetables it adds more flavor and is a great alternative to meat lasagna. A little red pepper adds a subtle little additional kick.
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe

It may look like this has a lot of ingredients, but it’s really based on you

Ingredients:

  • 12 long lasagna noodles- you want them to be longer and not the short ones that you put two across in a dish in order to have enough to roll them. You can use regular or whole wheat pasta if you want these healthier – I used regular.
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil, divided with 2 tablespoons for the roasted vegetables
  • 4 cups finely chopped vegetables- you can just use spinach, but since I knew some guests I was sharing this with were not a fan of cooked spinach I used a mix of frozen vegetables I had in the freezer that I had to use as my freezer was no longer freezing- carrots, peas, carrots, asparagus tips, squash… your choice! Fresh vegetables are better than frozen, but frozen is easy. Your call here too.
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped sage
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese (1 container)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tablespoon chopped oregano
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or you can use a close of minced garlic to up the garlic level!)
  • 3 1/4 cups shredded Italian cheese, such as mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, or a blend, divided into 3 cups for the filling and 1/2 cup for topping. I like using a blend as the various cheeses rather than one cheese adds more depth but just using low fat mozzarella is healthier
  • Salt ( to taste)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • At least approximately 3 1/2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of red pepper
  • Optional- Parmesan for topping

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a aluminum foil lined 13×9 pan, spread the vegetables and then spread the 2 tablespoon of olive oil so all the vegetables are coated. Now season with the salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon of chopped sage, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and roast for about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool. Now I decided to roast with those seasonings but you can get away with simple salt and pepper,  especially if using fresh vegetables.
  2. While the veggies are roasting, boil the water and then place the lasagna noodles in until al dente. Strain out the hot water and run cool water over it for 20 seconds or so until you can handle the noodles. Drain the water and distribute 1 tablespoon of olive oil among the noodles so they don’t stick together
  3. While the noodles were cooking, I made the mixture by combining the ricotta cheese, 2 cups cheese, 1 egg, parsley, and oregano in a bowl. Stir all together until well combined.
    Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe- making the ricotta mixture with ricotta and parsley and oregano, vegetarian Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe- adding the 2 cups of cheese to the ricotta and parsley/oregano mixture, vegetarian
  4. Spray the 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray. Line bottom with a little bit of the marinara sauce so that nothing will be sticking to it- this might be about 1/2 to 3/4 cup. I admit I used two baking dishes, so I did this twice to lay out 6 Noodle rolls on each.
  5. Lay out a work space- I did this with wax paper. Lay the lasagna noodles flat on this surface. Take 2 1/2 tablespoons of the ricotta filling and spread evenly over noodle. Now spread on top of the ricotta some of of the roasted vegetables and then top with 1 tablespoon of the marinara sauce. Carefully loosely roll and place seam side down into the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
    Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe
  6. Top rolled noodles with remaining sauce- make sure you cover all the lasagna noodle edges so it doesn’t dry out. Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon of red pepper over everything and then top with the remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
    Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe
  7. Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted on the top.
  8. Remove from oven let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Optionally, serve with Parmesan cheese and a grater that your guests can grate what amount they desire!

This was a great potluck dish to make for one of our Game of Thrones nights, and is a main dish that gets your vegetables in too! I had the idea to print out the various sigils of the houses, cut them out and put them on toothpicks to perhaps mark each of the various roll-ups, but never did do it but thought it could be a fun extra touch.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe

 

Have you made lasagna in these roll form before? What vegetables would you try?

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Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese

March 12, 2014 by 4 Comments

Yes, that’s right. Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks. I know you may immediately think of Green Eggs and Ham… which I was tempted to do, but since really it’s just putting pesto on an omelette, it didn’t seem quite as unique as this. This dish is served room temperature/cold, and best right away since the green will turn brownish the more contact it has with air, since the green is thanks to avocado.
Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro

This is another great recipe only slightly adapted from the Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese. I previously wrote about this awesome cookbook when I attended book release party at Cheese Bar, and also when I made the 3 Cheese Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli and Sweet Pugliese.

Book cover for Melt: the Art of Macaroni & Cheese cookbook

This was one of the recipe that when I asked F to browse through the book and pick out recipes he was interested in, I remember him pointing out. It highlights Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar cheese, which is made just next door (ok practically next door) in Seattle. At the Pike Place Market location, I always peer in watching them make their curds and trying not to get tempted by their World’s Best Mac and Cheese or their grilled cheese sandwiches (they have one with their cheese and crab) or cheese curds that I can rationalize as a snack.

So this avocado mac and cheese seems like a perfect highlight of the Pacific Northwest, as well as cheese, and it’s green for St Patrick’s Day right? The recipe call for a jalapeño pepper and green onions and cilantro and lime zest and juice, more green on top of avocado, so win! Plenty of green ingredients just going in! So therefore, Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks!
Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro

Per F’s preferences, I used skim milk but the more fat (say whole), the better. If you can’t find Beecher’s Flagship Reserve Cheddar, you want a really sharp, aged cheddar in order to stand up to let’s face it, the guacamole sauce.

Ingredients:
Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese. Plenty of green ingredients.

  • 1 jalapeño pepper
  • 1 lime- we will be using the zest and all the juice. You may want additional limes cut into wedges for garnish and for diners to squeeze another splash of lime juice
  • 2 green onions chopped
  • 2 minced cloves of garlic
  • 3 avocados, pits and skin removed
  • 10 ounces medium shell pasta
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 10 ounces Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar, shredded
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

  1. Cook the pasta in salted water as normal, until al dente, drain in a colander and set aside- you may want to toss with a teaspoon of olive oil so the pasta doesn’t stick.
  2. While the water is boiling before you cook your pasta (or as it is cooking), remove the jalapeño stem and cut in half. You can kept the seeds in if you want the heat (I did) or remove them. Process the jalapeño with the lime zest and lime juice, the chopped green onions, garlic, and 2 of the 3 avocados until it becomes a smooth paste.
    Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, avocado, jalapeno, green onion, lime
  3. Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. When it begins to steam/bubble form around the edges remove from heat and set aside- you just want to use heated milk for the mornay sauce you don’t need to boil it! In a medium saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, and then add the 3 tablespoons flour and cook until the roux is light brown (a few minutes), continually stirring to prevent burning. Then slowly add the heated milk and continue to stir to prevent scorching until the sauce thickens. Drawing a line on the back of the spoon should stay a clean line.
  4. Remove the mornay sauce from heat and add the salt, pepper, and fold in the cheese, letting it melt as you add it in handfuls. When all the cheese is incorporated, add the paste from step 2 and stir until the sauce is smooth. You may choose to add more salt or pepper to taste.
    Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, melting in the Beecher's Flagship (or other sharp, reserve) Cheddar before adding in the avocado sauce
  5. Add the pasta and cilantro and stir into the smooth sauce. Dice the last avocado and toss lightly into your completed Green Mac and Cheese, aka Beecher’s Flagship Cheese with avocado, lime, and shell pasta!
    Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, folding in the avocado cheddar sauce Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro

And there you go, something vegetarian AND green. Also, goes great with beer!
Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro

You must get this book and add it to your cookbook collection: I gave up bookmaking recipes that I wanted to make because it would be ALL of them. The 75 recipes in the book span from the ones emerging bubbly from the oven to stovetop to cold mac and cheese takes on pasta salads and even dessert versions!

 

 

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St Patrick’s Day and St. Norbert College’s Cheese Broccoli

March 10, 2014 by 3 Comments

This is the first of two St Patrick’s Day recipes I thought I would share for the upcoming holiday. I will confess now that besides being green, they both involve cheese.

I clipped this recipe for St. Norbert College’s Cheese Broccoli  from the Chicago Tribune back when I lived in Chicago- which apparently, printed this in an issue in 2006. Wow. I guess I’ve had this on my to do recipe binder for a while!

It was a reader submitted recipe which she received herself from the chef at cafeteria of her college, St Norbert College. I love the fact that she remembered and loved this dish from her college cafeteria enough to pursue the chef for the recipe and make it part of her family tradition.

I can’t say I recall anything specifically in my memories of my school cafeteria days, at least food wise, except for the fact I thought the mac and cheese looked disgusting, and so I never had it until I was in college! Think about all the times I passed on mac and cheese in my entire childhood!

When I made this dish, the story of this recipe continued to charm me as I dug into this very simple, homey vegetarian side dish. The better your blue cheese, the better your dish will taste, and the 1 1/2 ounces is a very small amount just to add a little bit of tang, so don’t be scared of it. If you love blue cheese, you can obviously also up the amount of cheese.

It’s easy to put together as a side dish while making the main, and yields a huge 10 servings but can easily just be servings for four. The fact this is called cheese broccoli versus broccoli with cheese is sort of telling.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 5 ounces cream cheese (or neufchatel, or tofu of course), softened to room temperature
  • 1 1/2 ounces blue cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 packages (16 ounces each) chopped frozen broccoli (or chop fresh one to get this amount)
  • Crumbs from 25 buttery-style crackers, such as Ritz

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Once the butter is melted, you are going to make your roux; stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly; cook until thickened.
  3. Add cream cheese, blue cheese and salt. Stir until cheeses are melted. Remove from heat.
  4. Stir the broccoli into the cheese mixture; place into greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Bake until browned and bubbly, 30 minutes.

Can you ever go wrong by adding cheese to a vegetable? I think not, what about you?

 

The next St Patrick’s Day dish has multiple green in it, and IS mac and cheese! Check it out on Wednesday!

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