Un-Recipe Files - Mango with Lime and Chile Salt

Perfect Pairing: Vegetable Peeler

So there have been a few changes recently in the Lam fam!  At the end of July we moved into our new home in Bettendorf, Iowa.   We were in transition for a few months until we closed on our new home.  We absolutely loved living with my parents at the lake (AKA: my favorite place on earth).  It was great to have time to relax after moving from Chicago and before moving into a new home.  Friends, moving is stressful!  Fortunately we had an army of helpers that actually made moving fun!

Chris and I are loving our new home and neighborhood.  I miss Chicago restaurants and our friends there, but that is about it!  Moving into a new state/home may not be the biggest news for us…. We are expecting a little one in January!

We are both over the moon excited to grow our family and become parents.  Fortunately I have felt great and have really enjoyed pregnancy.  Now that we are moved in and the final box has been emptied we can focus on all things baby!  I am truly pinching myself over all our blessings.  God is good!

One of the most common questions I get is if I am having any odd food cravings or aversions.  While I haven’t been dipping pickles in Nutella there are some foods that speak to me.  In fact, they call out to me.  I am loving cereal, fruit, anything pickled and carbs in general.  The only aversion so far has been certain vegetables.  I will love them one day and detest them the next day.  The pregnant body/mind is a fascinating thing. 

In addition to green grapes and blueberries I have been eating a lot of mangos.  Fortunately they have been on sale at our local grocery store so I can feel good about adding them to the cart every trip.  My mango obsession actually started before I was pregnant.  During our vacation to Cabo this year I discovered the Mango Man.  I kept seeing people eating mangos on a stick or in a bowl with something red sprinkled on top.  My curiosity got the best of me one day when he was on the beach in front of our hotel and I ponied up the cash to try one.  

Holy smokes.  Game changer.  Mango Man would peel the mango with lightning speed, chop it with a machete, squeeze fresh lime juice on top and sprinkle with chile lime salt.  The whole thing happened in about 15 seconds.  I quite literally chased him down the beach the rest of the trip. 

I started doing my own version of this once I was back home.  Sometimes I use a chile lime salt (like this) and sometimes I use my wedding Sriracha Salt.  You can also just use a sprinkle of good kosher.  The combination of the sweet ripe mango, tangy lime and spicy salt is perfection.  The perfect pairing, my friends!  I had always scored and peeled the skin off mango in sections but after seeing Mango Man’s methods I started using my trusty veggie peeler and was amazed with the results.

Eat and enjoy!!

Tweet

Apple Tart

Perfect Pairing:  Ice Cream

I have been a married woman for 6 whole months!  Time is just flying by, and we are having such a great time.   A few random thoughts after 6 months…..

• We love Monday nights.  I teach Zumba on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and Thursday is our regular pre-weekend date night, so Monday nights tend to be a home cooked meal and some quality couch/DVR/football time.  I never thought I would love Mondays so much.
• It is super weird having someone pay all of your bills after being on your own for a decade.
• We need more closet space.
• Chris loves my cat, Molly.  This might not seem like a big deal, but it is a really big deal.  On National Cat Day (there is a day for everything) Chris posted this on Facebook.  She is officially no longer MY cat, and is OUR cat.

• We need more closet space.

In honor of six months, here is the video of my amazing husband surprising me at our reception with a dance routine.  He’s my favorite.

Thanksgiving!! Every food blogger’s favorite holiday.  

Of course you have to have pumpkin pie (and pecan pie) on your dessert table, but there is always room for something apple related, right?  

My family loves our shared apple pie recipe, but this apple tart is a fun change.  It is super simple but still really delicious and, dare I say, lighter?  It is like the thin crust version of deep dish pizza, but… pie. 

I used my favorite press, no-mess, pie crust recipe for the base.  It is so simple and honestly better than any roll-out crust I have tried.  

The crust is topped simply with Granny Smith apple slices, sugar, and butter. 

After it is baked the entire dessert is brushed with apricot jam and sprinkled with cinnamon.  The jam is thinned a bit with brandy, or rum, or water if you don’t have those. 

I would most definitely pair this with ice cream.  Fantastic. 

Need some Thanksgiving recipes?  Well, let me help!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tweet

Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Perfect Pairing:  Candy corn topping

Growing up we didn’t have store bought treats in the house.  When my brothers or I were offered a Little Debbie at a friend’s house, we were all over it.  

What we did have at home were amazing homemade desserts every so often, and those most definitely trumped any Little Debbie treat.  One of my all-time favorites were Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes. 

Oh gracious, are these fantastic.  My mom got the recipe from a cookbook created by a Sunday school class at our church, called the Circuit Rider’s Cookbook.  

As a little background, a Circuit Rider was a Methodist minister that would ride on horseback from rural church to rural church to preach the good news. 

Well if you know anything about church ladies, you know they can cook, so this little well-loved cookbook has some real gems in it.  You know you have a jackpot recipe when there are stains all over it!

So what we have here are scrumptious from scratch chocolate cupcakes that are piped full of creamy deliciousness and then iced with chocolate fudge icing.  Little Debbie would be ashamed to stand next to them. 

We always seem to make them in the fall and top them off with a candy corn. 

They are a surefire family favorite!  

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Sloppy Joe Dip

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Pumpkin Crisp

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Halloween Candy Bark

Tweet

Simple Fruit Dip

Perfect Pairing:  Summer Fruit

This recipe came to be because of a cooking accident.  I liked it so much that I repeated the accident many times!  It started because I had a surplus of Ina Garten’s Stewed Rhubarb and Red Berries.  Her recipe says it serves 6, but I found that it had 12 or more servings, so I was looking for a new way to use some of the delicious stewed fruit.  I decided to try a trifle with angel food cake.  I layered cake cubes, the fruit, and a luscious white concoction I came up with, then repeat.  It was a scrumptious dessert!

The angel food cake was small, and of course I didn’t have a full batch of fruit, so when I finished the trifle I had a surplus of this delicious creamy concoction.  What to do?  I tried dipping fruit in it and decided that this trifle component was actually pretty amazing on its own. 

It is embarrassingly simple with just three ingredients.

  

Whisk them up and you have an incredible fruit dip that makes a fruit platter really special. 

 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Special, Special K Bars

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: World's Best Chocolate Layer Cake

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grandma Marge's Fruit Dessert

Tweet

Peaches and Cream Dessert

Perfect Pairing:  Bowl and spoon

Each summer my best friend makes the journey to the lake with her sweet family for our yearly get together.  They are the best guests, always jumping up to help, bringing food, etc.  Last summer I asked Jill to bring a dessert and she said her husband requested her sopapilla cheesecake.  Oh goodness, was this thing delicious.  It was a super simple dessert of crescent rolls, cheesecake filling and a topping of cinnamon and sugar.  All good things.

Around the same time my parents received a large delivery of peaches.  I was using peaches in everything…. Peach salsa, peach cobbler, on cereal, in yogurt, etc.  I decided to try adding them to the sopapilla cheesecake.  It ended up being a very good idea!  I made a few other alterations to the recipe like reducing the butter and sugar in the topping. 

The original version served up nicely in perfect pieces, the peach version did not.  It was more of a bowl and spoon situation.  It was almost like a peach cobbler, but with a creamy cheesecake-y filling.  Yum.  Perfect summer dessert.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Key Lime Pie with Pretzel Studded Crust and Coconut Whipped Cream

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Quinoa Produce Salad

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Father's Day Recipes

Tweet

Impossibly Light Pineapple Whip

Perfect Pairing:  Favorite frozen fruit

I am an adult Disney fan and proud of it.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t wear Mickey ears (I may proudly wear a vintage Mickey t-shirt to bed) and I don’t wait in lines to meet characters, but I unabashedly love Disney World.  Every time I am there I truly feel like I am in the happiest place on earth.  They just do everything right!  It is magical.

I was lucky enough to go to Disney twice in 2014.  No complaints here!  The first trip was with my parents in March inspired by a free hotel stay. Then in July I had an incredible trip with my parents, brother and his family (including two little girls), and his in-laws.  I wrote about that trip in this post. 

I have some must-dos at each park, especially at Magic Kingdom.  I run a tight schedule.  I wore my parents out!  My fitbit told me I was averaging about 25,000 steps per day.  Most of the requirements are the attractions like Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Small World, etc. but there are also some mandatory food stops.  While I am on the subject, the dining at Disney is pretty incredible.  One of the best meals I have ever had was at Canada at Epcot.  Back to the Magic Kingdom and required snacks.  One is a Mickey shaped rice krispy treat with the ears dipped in chocolate.  They make me so happy.  The other one is the Dole Pineapple Whip sold at Aloha Isle in Adventureland.

Apparently the Dole whip is only sold at Disney and at the Dole pineapple plantation in Hawaii.  Honeymoon stop??  It is a pineapple flavored ice cream concoction that you can eat solo, mixed with vanilla soft serve, or topped with pineapple juice.  It is unbelievably tasty.  When I was at Disney in March I was pretty darn bummed that the line was REALLY long and I didn’t have enough time to wait.  Remember, I was on a tight schedule.  I made it a priority when I was back in July.  It did not disappoint!

When I got home I was determined to try to make something similar.  I finally came up with an incredible substitute.  Not only is it light and delicious it is ridiculously easy and healthy. 

A bag of frozen pineapple chunks are whirred in a food processor until broken down into tiny pieces.  This will make a REALLY loud noise and will rock the processor violently.  Stick with it and it will settle down.  Then you add a single egg white and some honey for sweetness and it turns into this unbelievably light pineapple whip.

Of course, I have to add a disclaimer about raw egg whites.  Be sure to use pasteurized eggs and if you are squeamish about it, avoid the recipe.   I will let you do your own research on the egg white issue.

I have also done this same method using mixed berries and it was equally delicious. 

Guilt free, refreshing, and so so tasty. 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Slow Cooker Calico Bean Bake

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Turkey Meatball Sandwiches

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Thai Chicken Pasta

Tweet

Thanksgiving Menu

I can hardly believe it has already been a month since I got engaged!  The month has been full of fun wedding planning.  We have our date, church, reception venue, band, photographer, rehearsal dinner venue, my dress, and my bridesmaid dresses.  I call that a success!  Next up is the food.  You KNOW I am looking forward to that part!

Now let’s focus on the ultimate food holiday, Thanksgiving.  Last year I shared a few of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes.  They absolutely must be on our table every single year.  If you are looking for some new recipes for your Thanksgiving table, look no further!

Sausage and Dried Cherry Stuffing

This is my favorite part of the meal. You will never want to make another stuffing.  The tart cherries and savory sausage make it the most delicious stuffing ever.  We always make it outside of the bird so the top has a little crunch.

Sweet Potato Casserole

No marshmallows here!  Instead it is topped with a pecan streusel.  The best.

Corn Casserole

This shows up at every major family meal.  It will be the easiest thing you make at Thanksgiving and probably the most popular.  Always a crowd pleaser!

Those three are our staples.  Every year we change up the other dishes.  Here are some great options!

Citrus and Herbs de Provence Rotisserie Turkey Breast

This is a great recipe for a small group since it is not an entire bird.  Using the rotisserie on the grill is a great way to free up the oven for the all-important side dishes!

Citrus and Sherry Cranberry Sauce

Love the combination of sherry and citrus.

Pecan Pie Bars

I might like these more than traditional pecan pie.  Amazing.

Pumpkin Roll

A fun alternative for your dessert table!

Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread

It combines the traditional pumpkin pie and pecan pie in one tasty bite!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I know I am personally overwhelmed with blessings and I can't wait to celebrate with my loved ones.

Tweet

Coconut Cream Pie

Perfect Pairing:  Chilled bowl and beater

 

Let me just start by saying this is not your standard coconut cream pie made with a box of pudding.  No no no, this is a very special version. 

 

It is so special that people were eating it straight out of the pie plate.

 

This is the kind of pie that got people talking, they were telling friends and family about it.  Ok, so maybe it was my mom telling my cousin…. But still, people were talking.

 

The pre-baked crust (you should use my favorite tried and true press, no-mess crust) is filled with a homemade pastry cream then topped with freshly whipped cream and toasted coconut.  Here is a tip from my mom, chill your mixing bowl and beaters before making the whipped cream.  It will help increase the volume of the whipped cream, and it will whip faster.  Another tip?  Don’t over mix whipped cream…. It will turn to butter. 

 

We found that this pie was even better the day after you make it.  I would suggest keeping it in the refrigerator for a day before serving it. 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  7-Up Biscuits

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Bread

 

Tweet