He Cooks, She Cooks

This is why my friends and I don’t go out to eat often.

It’s because we make dinners like this. And we can make four of them for the price a restaurant might charge for one.

Of course, if my kitchen were a restaurant, last night’s special might have read as so:

Ahi Tuna Tostada Salad

Spice encrusted ahi tuna seared and served with mango-jicama slaw on a crisp corn tortilla and a bed of romaine tossed in cilantro-lime vinaigrette

I don’t have much else to say about this, but I think you’ll like the warm, earthy spices on the rare fish. The jicama slaw is a balance of sweet and sour, soft and crisp, and the leftovers make a good side dish the next day. The whole thing is filling, but you can easily feel good about it afterward.

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Mango is such a rich, almost creamy fruit that works incredibly with hot chili peppers. Mango salsa, mango chutney, Trader Joe’s Chili-Spiced Dried Mangoes… I’m a big fan of all of these so pairing mangoes and habaneros in ice cream didn’t seem too crazy.

I found a simple recipe for mango sherbet in a South American cookbook. I liked the idea of sherbet (fruit puree with some cream) because I try to avoid making custard for time and fat reasons, but sorbet wouldn’t have had any cream to counter the heat of the habs. Sherbet was the perfect solution.

The candied habaneros are good, but I prefer my ice cream without interruption, ie. crunchy bits. If you like toppings, go with the candied pepper pieces. Personally I liked the sherbet better with the spicy syrup that was left over from making the candy.

Either way, habaneros are plenty spicy, but they have a fruity flavor that is nice with mango. The heat hits after the initial cool of the sherbet, so the best remedy is another bite of creamy, icy mango. Continue reading »

Back in February, Michael, my friend Gwen and I competed in the university Iron Chef competition, where we had a few days to plan a two course menu involving various rices. We all love Indian food so that’s the route we went. Then we had one hour and two burners to prepare the dishes for four judges with the help of campus chef Jeremy Elmore. We wished we placed better than third, but we were very proud of the food we made and think you’d like it, too. The menu:

• Vegetable and Brown Basmati Fritter with Three Sauces: Curry-Lime Yogurt, Coconut-Mango Chutney and Chili-Garlic Tomato Paste
• Gulf Shrimp in Coconut-Tamarind Curry Sauce with Red Himalayan Rice Pilaf and Cucumber Raita

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