Mango Chutney (or Peach)

Truth be told I developed this recipe to reverse engineer my most favorite brand of prepared Mango Chutney and very difficult to source.  This recipe is an amalgam of different flavor profiles to make the best Mango Chutney to throw into any dish at the last moment without much additional preparation.  This is terrific on any pan seared or poached white fish,or as a glaze on roasted lamb or your favorite pork ribs.  Even drizzled on a basic cheese pizza can bring sheer joy and delight to your taste buds with this sweet and acidic exotic elixir. I am truly proud to bring you this TALLBlonde Mango Chutney recipe.  Get a clean quart-sized jar ready as you will only need to make this recipe once a year. While this may seem laborious on its surface I would like to think it is so good you will make an effort to make it twice a year to replenish your well used and well enjoyed supply. When you consider $8 for an 8 oz. jar this is so worth making.

Shirley Temple's Crab Cakes

Last night I was watching a 1-hour documentary from NBC News Bay Area series "Revelations". It is an ongoing beautifully scripted series on the various histories of California's Bay Area successful industries, celebrities, geography, tragedies, and historical news events.  Sports to earthquakes to wine and much more are covered.  As a real Homer, born and raised here I have watched every episode in the series even on topics of little interest to me such as surfing and every time I watch I learn something wonderful.

The most recent airing told the story of how the Bay Area contributed to the space race and the formation of NASA Ames Research facility.  BUT- as I Iove to cook a tiny little story appeared about Shirley Temple-Black's well guarded recipe for wonderful crab cakes, and here we go with Ms. Temple-Black's recipe in her own hand:

Sweet Hot Mango Prawns

Here is another TALLBlonde 'Shelter-In-Place Food' recipe that I likely would not have tried without being shackled to the homestead.  Adapted from Jaime Oliver 5 Ingredients - Quick and Easy Sticky Mango Prawns.  That guy is a genius!

Salsa Noodles

Perfect for a meal on a hot day, and you may already have the recipe.

I was inspired, (more curious really) to take a mango-corn salsa recipe among my growing collection of favorites and decided to mix it into cold Asian noodles for a refreshing pasta salad and it worked. My noodles were sweet, sour, crunchy and spicy, a  wonderful combination.  Here is the ingredient list in case you don't already have a recipe of your own.

Mango Salsa

Colorful, crunchy, sweet, spicy

ADOBO - Quick & Dirty

 

I have been cooking for so long and mastered nearly all the basics that I find myself branching out to dishes and cuisines that are outside of my comfort or familiarity zone. I have simplified a classic adobo recipe compared to the traditional but still offers complex flavors. To add to this recipes' simplicity I used regular cubed stew beef instead of a more classic flank steak.

Note: there is spicy heat.

Adobo weather it is Mexican or Filipino is generally served as a sauce with chicken or pork. For all you red blooded eaters out there this recipe features beef. This recipe leans towards Mexican cuisine and while a great adobo takes hours of preparation and dozens of warm toasty ingredients you can make a great tasting  adobo with fewer ingredients and prep. steps.  I also prefer to use my crockpot for my long slow braise dishes rather than the oven. The oven simply over heats one's small apartment and clean up is so much easier. Serves 6.

Duck Tales

Duck a L'Orange in 50 minutes. Make a quick orange sauce (below), score the fat throughout, salt/pepper both sides and place fat-side down on a dry skillet at medium-high heat to render the fat. Turn over after about 10 minutes and cook until 130-degrees for medium rare. Take off the skillet and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve with Brussel Sprouts sauteed in the rendered duck fat.

Fruity Chewy Granola

 

Granola is a very personal thing. Everyone has their personal idea of the "perfect" granola mix. This recipe is super easy. There is a basic process to follow and flavor balance is up to you. Below is the basic oats preparation, dried fruits, nuts are added after baking to prevent burning in the oven.