Thai Mango Coconut Custard

Delicious and Refreshing!

This beautiful and refreshing dessert can be whipped up in no time!  The coconut milk adds to the tropical flavor, while keeping the custard lower in fat than those made with cream.  You will need two mangoes.  My favorites are the 'Ataulfo' or 'Manila' mangoes from Mexico.  If you are going for authentic Thia you can try to find the Asain variety, but for me, the Manila are sweet juicy and perfect for this recipe!

Mango Coconut Custard

The Chef In My Head

4 servings

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced into cubes

1 cup coconut milk, regular or lite

2 1/2 T. cornstarch

2-3 T raw sugar

3 egg yolks

optional garnish: fresh mint leaves

Set aside 3-4 T of cubed mango for garnish and place the rest in food processor (you want about 1 cup).  Add sugar and process about 20 seconds to create a smooth mango puree.  Leave this in the processor.

Pour 1/4 C. of the coconut milk into a small bowl.  Add the cornstarch and stir rapidly with a whisk to dissolve.  Add this mixture plus the egg yolks to the processor.  Process for about 10 seconds.  Set aside.

Pour remaining coconut milk into a pot over medium heat.  Bring to a light boil, stirring continually until small bubbles form and the surface is lightly steaming.  Pour this hot cocunot milk into your processor (over the mango/egg mixture).  Immediately process to combine, about 10 seconds.

To finish the custard, pour all of this back into your pot and switch heat to med-high.  Stir continuously and reduce heat to medium until mixture thickens, 7 - 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, taste for sweetness, adding a little more sugar if desired.

When thickened to your liking, pour or scoop into serving dishes or glasses.  Refrigerate until cold.  To serve, distribute reserved cubes of mango over the top of the custard.  Add sprigs of fresh mint if desired, and ENJOY!

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Quiches

I've been sitting here for about 15 minutes debating over whether or not to put pictures on this post.  They are horrible so I decided against it, also because all the folks that asked me for the recipes saw them all in person.  Seriously, very un-appetizing photos.

I prepared 6 different quiches for my daughter's baby shower and they all turned out great!  I will give you here the basis for the quiches and the list of ingredients I used.  You can change of the ingredients to your liking.  I used two different crusts.  A hash brown crust that I was afraid was going to permanently adhere to the quiche dish.  Thankfully it did not, and came out like a dream and tasted great!  The other was a plain pastry crust, I cheated and picked up the store bought variety.  Unroll it and toss it in the dish.  Normally I would prepare the crust from scratch, however I had 6 of these facing me so I took the short cut.

Hash Brown Crust

The Chef In My Head

3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Store Bought Pie Crust Preparations

The Chef In My Head

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Gently press pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and prick with fork multiple times.  Line pie crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake for 12 minutes.  remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before adding filling.

Fillings

The Chef In MY Head

Cheese/Cream/Egg Ratios:

3 Eggs

1-1/4 Cup Heavy Cream or Half-n-half  (I love heavy cream, but if you want to save on calories you can use milk)

1 to 1-1/2 Cups shredded cheese (Gruyere is my favorite, but you can use Swiss or Cheddar or any combination)

Salt/pepper/herbs of your choice

Beat eggs, cream and seasonings together.  Add shredded cheese to this mixture.  Set aside.

Flavorings/Seasonings/Meats/Vegetables Options:

The Chef In My Head

Here, just pick your favorites and toss them in!  I usually will serve a vegetarian option as well.

Fresh thyme

Fresh cilantro

Fresh basil

6 oz bacon sliced in lardoons (love jalapeno bacon and peppered bacon), saute until crisp and drain well

6 oz ham, cubed or sliced (I will quickly saute just to eliminate some of the water from the ham)

1 medium zucchini, diced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

1/2 pound mushrooms, diced (experiment with different mushrooms, shitake, button, cremini etc), sauteed before adding to pie dish

1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

1/2 cup sliced green onion, do not precook

2-3 cups fresh spinach, diced, do not precook

2-3 cups kale, diced and sauteed before adding to pie dish

1 poblano pepper, roasted and skin removed, finely diced

Red and/or yellow pepper, diced, sauteed before adding to pie dish

Avocado, peeled and sliced (a favorite of mine, spiral slices in pie dish, very rich and delicious!)

Optional Toppings

The Chef In My Head

3 oz goat cheese, crumbled on top

Poblano pepper strips (as prepared above)

Pimento strips

Fresh parsley

Layering and Baking

The Chef In My Head

Baked, cooled pie crust

meat/vegetable fillings

Pour cream/egg/cheese mixture over fillings

Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes.  Watch your crust for over-browning.  Cover with ring of foil if necessary.

Allow quiche to cool about 10 minutes and serve.

The point here is to be creative and use the ingredients and seasonings you love!

Just drop me a line if you have any questions!

Bon Appetite!

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Beer-Eyed Blackeyed Peas

For the last couple of years, we have been lucky enough to have my sister's family here for Christmas and New Year's along with my parents.  My family is completely nuts, so the fun and good times just keep coming!  My brother in law, Jeff, is an great cook!  He will stand in the kitchen for hours over a big pot of gumbo, soup or in this case an awesome pot of fresh black eyed peas sure to bring in a prosperous and happy new year.    Give him a "beverage" and sports on the kitchen TV, and he's good to go!  I think most of us eat black eyed peas, not because we actually like them, I think we eat them because we are afraid not to.  In this case, we love them!  As you will find, it is all in his technique.

Here's my Amaaaazing Brother-In-Law Jeff's Black Eyed Pea Recipe.

I don't really follow recipes ...even when I write them... so this recipe from last year's batch is still just a "suggestive course of action". - Jeff

Black Eyed Peas


2 lbs dried black eyed peas
1 medium sized ham with bone
12 12 oz beers, on ice in cooler, placed near cooktop
3-4 medium onions
3-4 green bell peppers
1 bunch of celery
3 cloves of garlic
2 jalapenos
1 tspn chili powder
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
1/2 tspn Tony Chachere's
1/4 tspn cumin


Directions:


Open 1 beer and drink half and set aside remaining beer.


Stock: Cut meat from ham and set aside. Place ham bone in large pot and cover with water. Add 1 onion, quarterd; 1 stalk celery cut into thirds, garlic and half of each spice. Bring water to boil until all remaining ham on the bone has fallen off, approximately 1-1 1/2 hours 2-3 beers.


Place black eyed peas in second large pot and add stock until roughly half inch above black eyed peas. Dice remaining onions and celery and bell peppers and jalapenos, add to pot and add remaining spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium keeping pot somewhere between a simmer and a rolling boil. Stir often until liquid reduces to level of black eyed peas, which should take approximately 30 minutes 1 beer. Slice ham that was cut from the bone into generous bite sized pieces and add to pot. Repeat the process of adding stock and reducing until black eyed peas are tender and stock thickens to liking. About half way through the cooking, add the half beer left over from the beginning. Overall, the process typically takes 3-4 hours 6-8 beers.


Control heat with additional cayenne or hot sauce of your choice. Serve in bowl over a large scoop of rice.


Open second 12 pack.

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Beer-Eyed Black-Eyed Peas featured on Craft Beer!

HAPPY 2012!!!  The follow post was originally from 2011 but so delicious it made it re-post worthy!!  These really are the very best Black-Eyed Peas I've ever had.  Special thank you to my awesome brother-in-law, they were lovingly made and enjoyed by all.


Happy New Year!  ~Leslie


PS  2011 was a fantastic year although I failed miserably at consistent blogging!  What is that saying???  Don't change your goal, just your time frame ;)


Happy New Year to all!!!   It's been crazy but it's been fun and we are really looking forward to an awesome 2011!  New Year's Resolution.....to blog on a consistent basis!

Check this out Beer-Eyed Black-Eyed Peas , my brother in law's awesome recipe I posted for the 2010 New Year was requested to post on Craft Beer's website.  I was super excited to be asked and it's fun being featured on a public website. 

Please be sure to check out the original recipe on my sidebar, they left the really good (and important) parts!!

Visualize your 2011 and go for it!

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