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!!

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Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Perfect Pairing: Grilled dinner

Last summer I went to a food and wine festival at Lincoln Park in Chicago.  Chris gave me the tickets for my birthday and I was SO excited.  The morning of the festival I woke up feeling gnarly and not at all like going to a food festival, but I persevered because that is my mecca.  I saw demos from some of my favorite chefs like Rick Bayless and Stephanie Izard and tried lots of good food and wine.  Fortunately, I felt better as the day went on and we had a great time!

One of the best bites of food I had all day was a truffled Mexican street corn.  Holy corn Batman, it was delicious.  I may have gone back for seconds… and thirds.  It was a small piece of sweet corn rolled in some glorious mayonnaise mixture then topped with parmesan and shaved truffles.  I just can’t even describe it. 

Last summer my cousin’s wife made an extraordinarily good Mexican Street Corn dip for our annual Lake House Chef’s Challenge.  It was a serious crowd pleaser.  So, ever since the dip and the festival corn I have been wanting to try a variation on Mexican street corn.

Enter Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad!  Grilled corn and grilled scallions are mixed with pasta in a tangy sauce and then combined with cilantro, parmesan and avocado.  It is really tasty. 

If you have not grilled your scallions you are missing out.  It totally changes the flavor.  They are fantastic on tacos.

This salad is so not the typical summer pasta salad and would be a hit at any party.  There is some prep involved so I think it is paired best with a simple grilled entrée like hamburgers or brats. 

I wonder what else you can do with Mexican street corn.  Goals!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Simple Fruit Dip

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Avocado and Strawberry Toast with Feta and Honey

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Salted Peanut Bars

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Fruit Pizza Cookies

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Miso Potatoes

Perfect Pairing: Chicken Yakitori

Have you bought miso yet?  I extolled its virtues in this super simple Grilled Miso Salmon and in this Grilled Vegetable Salad with Miso Dressing and Toasted Cashews.  I can’t tell you how often I use miso in everyday cooking in salad dressings, marinades, and seasoning for roasted vegetables.  That being said, I think this potato recipe is my favorite use of miso.

Small red potatoes are boiled until they are just tender, fried in a little melted butter, and then coated in an umami bomb of miso, brown sugar, and spicy garlic paste.  They are mouthwatering.  They also smell amazing while you are pan frying them. 

I think these little beauties are great served with any grilled Asian-inspired protein.  I served them alongside Chicken Yakitori and a simple slaw.  

You will love this detour from your regularly scheduled potatoes!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Cheeseburger Soup

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Lemon Cream Pasta 

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Baked Brie Dip

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Ham, Cheese, and Asparagus Croissants

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Arugula and Pea Salad

Perfect Pairing:  That oh-so healthy time between Thanksgiving and Christmas!

I am lucky/unlucky enough to have a brother that lives in San Francisco.  The lucky part is obvious because San Francisco is one of the world’s greatest cities.  The unlucky part is that it is very far from Chicago and I miss his family.  I have two very adorable nieces that steal your heart.  As my mom always says when she leaves there after a visit, “I left part of my heart in San Francisco.”

We have gone out to San Francisco for Thanksgiving many times throughout the years and it is a blast.  This year was no different!  While in the city we tried some amazing restaurants (State Bird Provision and Michael Chiarello’s Coqueta) and did some shopping and a little hiking.  I also had my first experience with Shabu-Shabu, which is a Japanese dish that you cook at your table.  It is not often that I try something completely foreign to me, and I loved it! 

Of course we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal with way too much food.  Hence, the necessary pre-meal hike.

The day after we set off for a weekend in wine country.  We visited about 7 or 8 wineries.  It was a tough job, but we were up to the task.

I swear the sun is a different color there and it shines so bright.

We had so many amazing wines and really enjoyed meeting people at the wineries and exploring the grounds.

We will be back!

We all know that the diet goes steadily downhill after Halloween, and a fresh salad most definitely has its place during that time.  

I love this super simple Arugula and Pea salad.  It has bright herbs, crunchy peas, peppery arugula, and a super simple light dressing.  It is easy to pair with pretty much anything.  Perhaps a crisp California white wine?!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Wheat Berry Chicken Salad

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Thai Pumpkin Soup

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs

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Simple Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Perfect Pairing: Seeded cucumbers (spoon method)

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, or perhaps are just lucky to know someone with a garden who likes to share, you probably have a lot of cucumbers.  In honor of the last day of summer (waaaa!), here is a super simple cucumber salad.

I made this all summer long to serve with anything off the grill, or alongside of my favorite Tomato Pie.  I always use fresh dill, but will throw in fresh basil and mint if I have access to it.

Garden cucumbers often have a thick, sometimes bitter, skin and lots of seeds.  I like to peel the cucumber, slice it lengthwise and scrape out the seeds using a teaspoon.  If you are feeling motivated and have the time you can salt the cucumbers in a strainer for 30-45 minutes to drain off excess water before making the salad, but this is not necessary.

Soak up the last day of summer!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Strawberry and Prosciutto Grilled Bread

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: 7-Up Biscuits

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Candied Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grandma Rosie’s Ice Cream Dessert

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Caesar Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Vegetables

Perfect Pairing: Yogurt based Caesar dressing

Pasta salads can be so bad.  Rarely, rarely do I like pasta salads from restaurants or grocery store delis.  They all have the same odd taste and are just not worth the calories.  There ARE good pasta salads out there though!  I don’t want to pat myself on the back, but this one is really good.  I think I just did it anyway.

Grape tomatoes, whole button mushrooms, and sweet onions are grilled then tossed with pasta, arugula, and a super simple dressing.

The dressing is made with store-bought Caesar dressing.  I used this yogurt variety so it was a little lower in calories and fat.  The dressing is whisked with pesto and fresh lemon juice.  If you happen to have an abundance of homemade pesto stocked in your freezer (I’m so jealous) use that, but feel free to use store-bought pesto here.

We ate this while it was still slightly warm.  YUM.  It was also great leftover chilled.  It would be fantastic with grilled chicken or steak for a full meal. 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Avocado and Strawberry Toast with Feta and Honey

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Thai Peanut Pasta Salad

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grapefruit Margaritas

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#LamsInLove

Today is the day!  Today is the day I marry the man of my dreams.  I have said this before, but if 10 years ago when I moved to Chicago someone told me I would get married but it would not be for a decade.... well I would not have been thrilled.  Turns out God had incredible plans for me.  Better than I could have ever, ever imagined in a million years.  I’ll save the rest of the sappy stuff for our husband and wife speech!

From the start of wedding planning it was important to us that our wedding reflect our style, lives, etc.  We tried to leave our mark wherever possible.  Since I write a cooking blog I wanted to do something cooking related, but I was definitely not cooking dinner for ALL of our family and friends.  My sister-in-law came up with the idea of salt and pepper as a favor.  Done!  No ordinary salt and pepper will do.  

Tonight when our guests arrive at the reception they will pick up their escort card which doubles as their favor.  

Inside are jars of Sriracha Salt and Citrus Pepper that were made with love.

Made with love, and lots of sheet pans and parchment paper.  It was quite the process.

Kosher salt was mixed with lots of sriracha and then dried.

The citrus pepper was made with 28 pounds of citrus fruit that we zested, and zested, and zested.  I was so thankful to have help!

In case you were curious, 28 pounds of citrus equals about 3 cups of dried zest.

We got everyone involved at Easter!

It was important to me to give some ideas to our guests on how to use the Sriracha Salt and Citrus Pepper.  I have been using the Sriracha Salt almost anytime I would season with kosher salt.  There is a bit of a kick, but it is not super spicy.  I really like it on scrambled eggs or on hard boiled eggs at breakfast.  Both are great on popcorn, steamed or roasted vegetables, grilled fish, and anything with avocado.

I love Pioneer Woman’s rosemary rolls and the last time I made them, I swapped out the regular kosher salt for the Sriracha Salt.  Divine!

Another Pioneer Woman recipe that I absolutely love are her Crash Hot Potatoes. 

These are such a delicious and easy side dish.  I just swapped out the kosher salt for Sriracha Salt and the pepper for Citrus Pepper.  

My favorite dish was a roasted chicken. 

 

The chicken is cut down the back and rubbed with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and Sriracha Salt and Citrus Pepper.  

The full recipe is below.  It was so easy.  Make sure you serve it with the juices on the pan!

I truly hope our guests enjoy their favors.  Please share how you used them!

Chris and I really do go together like salt and pepper.  I can’t wait to share more wedding details on Perfecting the Pairing!

Mrs. Lam, signing off!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Grilled Chili Lime Sweet Potatoes - Perfect with Citrus Pepper

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Spiced Up Edamame - These would be great with Sriracha Salt and/or Citrus Pepper

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Simple Lemon Green Beans - Also would be perfect with both Sriracha Salt and Citrus Pepper

Sriracha Salt and Citrus Pepper Roasted Chicken

Lindsay at Perfecting the Pairing

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1, 4-5 lb roaster chicken
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 3 Tb lemon juice
• 5 or 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp Sriracha Salt
• 1 tsp Citrus Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare the chicken by removing the innards, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels.  Cut the chicken down the back with kitchen shears  or a sharp knife.  Open the chicken and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet.  Rub the olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped garlic all over the chicken.  Sprinkle the Sriracha Salt and Citrus Pepper all over the bird.  Roast in the oven for 45-60 minutes, until the interior temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

All the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into it.  Serve with the juice that collected in the pan.

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