Last night I had some friends over for a fun mango themed fiesta.

My friend Rachel works for Whole Foods (Hi Rach!) and recently turned me on to the Ataulfo mangos that are currently in season. I was so excited because luck would have it that last Friday they were on super sale so I scooped up 15 mangos and started planning my fun fiesta menu.

Some fun facts about Ataulfo mangos: they are sweet, creamy in texture and free of stringy fibers. They are great for blending into drinks, sauces or desserts- perfect for a spring fiesta. They can be found throughout the year, but peak availability is from March to June when they are grown in Mexico.

For our mango fiesta we enjoyed mango margaritas, mango guacamole and salsa, tilapia fish tacos with mango salsa and rice pilaf. It was fun, it was tasty, it was mango filled!

 

The Mangorita everyone! It was my first time making a mango margarita and I will say- a few of these are gonna get ya!

 

Mango guacamole, salsa and my favorite fiesta chips- Julio’s.

 

Fresh mango salsa for the tacos.

Mangorita:

About 3/4 cup silver tequila, juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbsp agave nectar, 4 cups fresh mango- peeled, and ice.

In a blender add your tequila, 1/2 mango serving, agave, and lemon. Blend a bit to puree the mango then add about 1 cup of ice. Add more mango and more ice until it is the consistency you like.

Mango Guacamole:

2-3 Medium sized avocado, 1/2 fresh jalapeño- deseeded and chopped, 2 scallions-minced, 1 tbsp chile powder, 3 tbsp cilantro chopped, 1 cup peeled and diced fresh mango, and juice of about 4 limes, 4 tbsp (I fresh squeezed limes, but you could also get some lime juice from whole foods to use)

In a mixing bowl add diced jalapeño, scallions, and mango.

In a separate bowl add lime juice, then dice avocado into the bowl- tossing in juice as you go. (tip: be generous with the lime juice to prevent the avocados from browning- you really can’t add too much.) Lightly mash the avocado leaving a few small chunks, then fold in your other bowl of ingredients. Season with salt, cilantro and chile powder and serve with some tortilla chips.

Mango Salsa:

I-2 cups mango- chopped, 2 tbsp diced red onion, 1/2 fresh jalapeño- deseeded and chopped, 2 tbsp cilantro chopped, juice of 1 fresh lime (1-2 tbsp)

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl and hold in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Rice Pilaf:

2 tbsp butter, 1 cup orzo, 1/2 cup diced onion, 2 cloves garlic minced, 2 cups chicken broth (or water)

Melt the butter in a pot over medium-low heat. Stir in orzo pasta until golden brown. Stir in onion and cook until onion becomes translucent, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Tilapia Fish Tacos:

1 lb tilapia fish filets (about 1 filet for each person) 1/2 cup flour, 6 tbsp fresh sliced kale, 2 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp chile powder, 3 tbsp safflower oil, corn tortillas.

In a shallow dish add the flower, salt and chile powder. Dip tilapia filets in the flour lightly coating all sides. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat and add fish. Cook fish about 3 minutes on each side or until outside is lightly brown and fish is flaky. Heat corn tortillas for 20 seconds in the microwave or wrapped in foil in the oven. Fill each tortilla with rice, 2 to 3 strips of tilapia, mango salsa and kale.

 

It was so fun having friends over for a mango filled fiesta! I hope you have fun making some or all of these recipes for your own mango filled party.

Happy eating!

Happy Spring! I am so happy Spring has finally sprung- it’s perfect weather in Austin to sit on a patio with friends enjoying a few brews, or taking a long run outside. One thing that definitely happens when Spring comes around is my craving for light salads kicks in.

Fresh gulf shrimp, bright leafy greens, and creamy cannellini beans are the stars today.

Besides being tasty, this salad is also super quick and healthy.

A little tip: don’t forget to devein the shrimp to clean out the shrimp’s… eh… never mind just trust me on this one.

Ingredients: makes 1 serving so add as needed

1 1⁄2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic

6 large shrimp, cleaned and deveined

4 cups arugula and spinach mix

1 tbsp sliced red onion

1⁄2 cup cooked cannellini beans

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tsp pine nuts

Directions

In a bowl, whisk 2 teaspoons of the olive oil with garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Add the shrimp and toss to coat well.

Spray a pan pan with nonstick cooking spray and set it over medium heat. When the pan is hot, grill the shrimp for 2 minutes on each side, just until they are a light pink color. Don’t overcook them or they will become rubbery. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In a large salad bowl, combine the arugula, onion, and cannellini beans, then add the shrimp.

In a mini food processor, blend the lime juice, the remaining olive oil, and the parsley. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat all the ingredients.

Happy eating!

I don’t know about you but I love to cook long elaborate meals, but during the week there is nothing better than a homemade meal that is quick and easy. Last night’s quick and easy meal was shrimp with couscous and sun-dried tomato pesto en papillote. En papillote simply transfers to “in parchment,” which is a steaming method in a pouch. If you haven’t ever cooked with parchment, go ahead and give this a go.

What you’ll need:

Pesto: 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil, 1 Tbsp slivered almonds, 1/2 cup fresh basil, pinch S&P, 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan.

Shrimp and couscous: 1/2 pound shrimp, 1/2 cup slivered onion, 1/2 cup red bell pepper, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/3 cup uncooked couscous, 1/2 cup chicken broth.

To start the pesto, in a food processor add the sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, basil and S&P and pulse until pesto like consistency.

Then in a bowl mix in the parmesan cheese and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Warm the chicken broth and then add the couscous, cover and remove from the heat. Let the couscous sit covered for 5 minutes. While this sets slice your onion and bell pepper. Then in a mixing bowl combine couscous, bell pepper, onion, salt and pepper and mix well.

Then take your parchment paper and cut into two pieces. Fold each piece in half to make a crease and then unfold and place couscous mixture on one side of each sheet. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer over the couscous mixture and top with pesto.

Fold and tightly seal the edges with narrow folds, place them on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes you can cut open the packages and serve ’em right up!

Happy eating!

One of my favorite restaurants in Nashville is Tavern, it’s very hip and has amazing food. One of my favorite dishes they serve is this Kale salad. It’s sweet and savory and perfect. While I lived in Nashville I frequented Tavern quite often… quite often. I love this salad so much, it was my last meal in Nashville and the leftovers made the 14 hour trek to Houston. That road trip story is for another day..

Anyway, I find myself craving this salad quite often and have come up with my own version to satisfy my cravings when I wish I could be at Tavern.

What you’ll need: Filet of Salmon, Bunch of Kale, (I like to use a fresh bunch of dinosaur kale, but my grocery was out so I used the prepackaged kind. Whatever you have works) 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, 1/4 cup Slivered Almonds, 2 Tbs Olive Oil, Juice of 1 lemon, and 1/4 cup whatever dried cranberry mixture you have (I used a mixture of cranberries, currants, and raisins) 

Serves 2

First, set your oven on broil to prep for the salmon. Then, in a food processor pulse down ALL of the Kale. I used one entire container and it ended up being enough for 2 servings.

After you have pulsed down all of the Kale, reserve it in a large mixing bowl. You want the kale to be pulsed very fine. If you don’t have a food processor you can finely mince with a knife.

I like my almonds toasted a little bit in a skillet, if you like them raw you can do that too. Paint a little outside the lines, no one will tell on you.

Once the almonds are done we are going to assemble our salad. Add the almonds to the mixing bowl, along with the parmesan cheese, dried fruit and lemon juice. Fold all of the ingredients together lightly. Season with a touch of salt and pepper.

Cover the salad and keep in the fridge for a bit and we’ll move onto the salmon. You can prep the salmon and make the salad while it cooks, but I like to let the flavors marry a little bit before serving.

When I went to the grocery store I saw that they had unveiled the fall beers so I had to grab a Blue Moon Pumpkin brew to go along with my cookin’. Sometimes a gal gets thirsty in the kitchen.

Once your oven is heated fully on the broil setting we’ll get that salmon in the oven. There are MANY MANY ways to prepare salmon, this way is just my favorite. It’s easy and fast and keeps the moisture nicely in the fish. The key is the magic salmon seasoning. My cousin introduced me a few years back and I’ve been hooked ever since.

You can also just use some salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne.

I let my salmon cook for about 8-12 minutes, depending on how “done” you like your salmon. Once it’s done cooking pull the salad out of the fridge and plate her up.

This definitely satisfies my Tavern cravings! Enjoy!