Mango & Tomato

3/10/11

Bacon & Spinach Tart from Nick Malgieri's bake!

This past weekend my friend Laetitia invited me to her condo for a Rose wine tasting. Of course I said yes. But then I began feeling under the weather, not to mention that Sunday, the day of the tasting, was a non-stop rainy day. It reminded me of Seattle. I could barely see anything out of my window.

But I was looking forward to learning more about Rose wines, hanging out with friends and baking. Yes, I decided to bake something for this get together. But what? Luckily, I had Nick Malgieri's Bake! book to consult. I received this book from his PR people a while ago and have admired the gorgeous photographs and mouth watering recipes, but haven't put the book to use yet.

Flipping through the book, I settled on the Spinach & Bacon Tart recipe. Unless you are a vegan, or vegetarian, or keep Kosher, how can you resist a combination of bacon, eggs, cream, cheese and spinach? Exactly!

I did not have the time or desire to make my own crust, and also changed a few steps and ingredients in the original recipe. What follows is my adaptation of Nick's recipe.

{Side Note: I've met Nick several times when I worked as an assistant at the Sur La Table's Culinary Program. Let me just tell you, the way this man ices a cake is MAGIC.}

Bacon & Spinach Tart adapted from Nick Malgieri's bake!
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
4 bacon slices, diced
1 onion, diced
salt & pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes
10 ounces of frozen spinach defrosted and pressed (so that there is no water in it)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons pesto
1 1/2 cups light cream
3 eggs
1 pie crust

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 375F.
2. Heat a large skillet and add your bacon. Cook the bacon for about 2 minutes.
3. Add an onion, season with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Saute for about 10 minutes.
4. Add spinach and cook for a few minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool slightly.

5. Add Cheddar and pesto. Mix.

6. Pour in the light cream. {Do you like my action shot?}

7. Incorporate all ingredients together.

8. Whisk in 3 eggs and pour the whole concoction into a pie dish "lined" with a pie crust. {I used a bit of oil spray to make sure the crust will not stick to the dish.}

9. Bake the tart for about 35-40 minutes.

The tart was a big success! You can eat it almost immediately or wait until it reaches room temperature. Sorry I don't have any photos of the tart sliced.

You can give this tart your own spin: add whatever vegetables you like, take out the bacon and add ham or chicken, use another kind of cheese, and/or add nutmeg as Nick recommended.

This is a great dish to serve at brunch and is great for breakfast the next day.

What's your favorite activity on a rainy day? {Let's keep it clean, people! :)}

3/8/11

Lunch at Cava Mezze in DC

This past Saturday I happened to be at Eastern Market neighborhood with Russell and Dave (aka @DCBrit and @MrsDCBrit). We were there to visit Pound Coffee, but unfortunately there was no food (I might write more on that later). We needed food! After walking around for a bit, we decided to get lunch at Cava.

The restaurant is decorated with dark wood, family photographs and pretty silverware. Yes, all those things matter to me because they make me feel welcomed. It was a cozy place that didn't feel over the top.

As we sat deciding what to order, we received a plate with olives, olive oil and harissa with pita.

Dave ordered grilled haloumi as an appetizer and shared with the table. I really liked the charred marks on this hard and salty cheese. It was served with a bit of mint and lemon.

Russel ordered a gryo sandwich and we all oohed and aahed at the cute frying basket that came along with all of our food and held the fries.

I decided to go with lamb sliders: I love lamb! These were so good. First, the bun was fresh and toasted. Second, the lamb was tender and full of flavor, and the fries were crispy: and omg there were so many of them! {I took half of my meal home and had it next day: if you want to reheat the fries, use your cast iron skillet!}

Dave ordered regular sliders...but chose to remove lettuce and tomatoes...I'm not sure if we can be friends ;)

So if you are looking for a casual lunch or dinner place with good food and atmosphere, definitely head out to Cava in Eastern Market!

Thanks to the boys for such a fun triple date!

3/4/11

Love tea? Try a tea tasting at Zen Tara Tea

I'm sure you've all heard of wine tastings and afternoon teas. I've been to both and am quite a fan. But I've never attended a tea tasting...that is not until Nicole let me know that Zen Tara Tea in Bethesda, MD holds such events at its store. We both bought tickets and attended their Tea as Dessert this past Sunday.

So what's a tea tasting like? This particular tea tasting was held in a little room, was attended about 10 people and led by Guy, who was very knowledgeable ~~store employee (sorry, forgot his name)~~.

There were a total of six teas we've sampled while learning their origins, special brewing instructions and benefits.

Below are the teas we've sampled with some information I found most interesting and my tasting notes!

1. Peach Blossom White (from China) {I took pictures of lose tea in its dry form and brewed}

turns out that when using white or green tea, you can brew the tea more than once: quite economical. Of course the first time you brew the tea, the flavor will be the strongest

best white teas come from China

this tea included citrus notes and a bit of floral scent on top of peach flavor

My thoughts: the taste was slightly bitter and did not have a natural sweetness I'd expect from a peach tea

2. Tropical Coconut Oolong (from Taiwan)

this tea "marries the lively taste of tropical coconut with the warm base note of roasted lemongrass"

My thoughts: interestingly I did not get any coconut flavor at all; the tea also had a creamy taste and almost coated your mouth...reminded me of sake

3. Tropical Green Tea (from India)

this is a combination of organic lemon verbena, orange peel, pineapple and passion fruit flavors with green tea

green teas are high in antioxidants

you increase the healthful benefits of green teas by pairing them with citrus

My thoughts: this tea blend smelled amazing: it'd be a great scent for a candle, but the taste did not measure up. My favorite part was an apricot pastry that accompanied this tea.

4. Cinnamon Vanilla Rooibos (from South Africa)

"this tea offers a great flavor kick without the caffeine"

1 teaspoon of this tea = 28 mg of calcium, almost 1 mg of iron, and over a gram of fiber, + vitamins C and K

cinnamon is used for digestive ailments, to moderate blood sugar levels and as a mild anti-inflammatory

My thoughts: without a doubt the cinnamon flavor came through. In fact, Nicole hit it on the head: it tasted like Big Red!

Quick note: while all of us tasted tea from plastic cups, one lucky participant got to experience drinking tea from real cups. I asked to borrow a few of them for the sake of photos: they are so pretty!

5. Apple Torte Black Tea (from India)

this tea pairs apple flavor with cinnamon and vanilla

My thoughts: sorry to say, but I did not like this at all. You'd think the apple flavor would really come through. But in this case it just did not. I'd rather eat a fresh apple....or even better an apple pie or cake!

6. Chocolate Chip Cream (from India)

the blend includes organic black tea, actual chocolate pieces and both chocolate and vanilla flavors

My thoughts: the tea smelled great: chocolaty and sweet, but the taste was bitter. Sugar anyone?

Despite the fact that I wasn't a big fan of any of the teas, I had a great time! I learned about different origins of teas and flavor combinations and realized that the teas I already drink and like are the ones I should stick to (at least for now): my favorite ones are fruit teas, mint tea and the Reconfortant one from Aveda.

The most valuable thing I learned from this tasting: when brewing tea, allow the boiled water to sit 4-5 minutes before adding your tea leaves.

Your turn: 1) have you gone to a tea tasting? What are your thoughts? 2) What are your favorite teas?

3/2/11

What on Earth is Puerto Rican Lasagna?

Right around the time I was planning my trip to Puerto Rico, Stacey Viera mentioned Puerto Rican lasagna to me. What on Earth is Puerto Rican lasagna!? Well, it's a combination of sweet plantains, ground beef, olives, raisins, onions and peppers. I absolutely love sweet plantains, so my interest was definitely piqued.

Once in Puerto Rico, I mentioned this dish to my friend Laura, but unfortunately we did not have a chance to make it at her home: there's just never enough time on vacations to eat at as many restaurants as you want or to make as many dishes in the kitchen as you want. Instead, Laura sent me this recipe when I said I'll try to make it in my own kitchen.

Of course I decided to make a few changes:

1. Sweet plantains are incredibly sweet as is, so I decided not to add raisins.
2. I also decided to use red peppers instead of green ones because they just looked really pretty in the store.
3. I decreased the amount of plantains used and made twice as much meat mixture (half of which I froze to be used at a later date).
4. Even though this is not your typical lasagna, I wanted to add cheese.
5. Finally, I decided to eliminate 3 tablespoons of melted butter.

See how all these changes worked out ;)

Puerto Rican Lasagna (serves 4-6 people)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
meat mixture
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
1 cup sliced olives (I used the green ones stuffed with Pepper Jack cheese)
4 tablespoons white wine

the rest of the ingredients
1 pound ground beef
canola oil
4 ripe plantains, peeled, sliced into 1/4 inch thickness lengthwise
salt
1 cup shredded Queso Blanco cheese {Note: turns out this cheese doesn't melt...pretty much at all. So I'd recommend using Mozzarella or Cheddar}
2 eggs, beaten

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add all of the ingredients from "meat mixture" and saute for five minutes.

2. Stir in ground beef and cook till it has browned. Don't over cook it so that it gets dry. {Note: you will only use 1/2 of this mixture in this recipe. The rest you can eat with rice and beans or freeze and use at a later date.}
3. Preheat the oven to 350. Heat canola oil in a separate skillet (I used cast iron), and brown plantains on both sides. Immediately season them with a bit of salt.

4. Using a baking dish sprayed with PAM, layer your lasagna. My layers were: plantains/meat/cheese, repeated twice.

5. Pour the beaten eggs on top and bake your lasagna for about 30 minutes.

6. Let lasagna stand for a few minutes before you cut into it.

My thoughts:
1. This was relatively simple to do.
2. I absolutely LOVED the ground beef with peppers, onions and olives.
3. I'm so glad I did not add raisins: the plantains were sweet enough.
4. Definitely will use a melt-able cheese next time.
5. This is definitely not a lasagna in the "normal" sense of a word: it reminded me more of a Shepard's pie.
6. Don't make too much of this: after eating it four times, I'm getting a bit tired of it :)

Still, I'm really glad I tried a new-to-me recipe!
Oh, and those 3 tablespoons of butter I decided to leave out: DON'T!

2/28/11

Cream cheese pancakes with fruit salad

Last week Rachael, aka FujiMama, tweeted that it was a pancake week, which made me think of a recipe for Mascarpone Pancakes that I've made last year. Those pancakes were fluffy, slightly sweet, and super easy to make.

I usually don't make pancakes from scratch: a boxed mix with a few additions does the trick for me, but those Mascarpone pancakes were definitely worth the time it took to measure a few ingredients. I decided to recreate the recipe, but use cream cheese instead: less expensive, more affordable, and whatever was left could easily be spread on a bagel.

But first, instead of a syrup to pour on top of the pancakes, I decided to make a fruit salad from champagne mangoes, watermelon and grapes. Special thanks to Stacey Viera for taking me to Food Star grocery store on Friday where I bought these mangoes and also a bunch of Latin food. {Look out for a post about Puerto Rican Lasagna on Wednesday.}

And now time to make the pancakes!

Cream Cheese Pancakes
Printable Recipe

{Note: this is something new I'm trying: you will now be able to print recipes on Mango & Tomato. Huge thanks to Food Bloggers Unite & Closet Cooking}

Ingredients (enough for 2 people)
1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
3/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions
1. In a bowl whip the cream cheese with a hand blender. Add the egg, vanilla, and milk and blend together. Using a hand blender really helps to get rid off as many lumps as possible.

2. Sift together flour, sugar and baking powder and add to the wet ingredients. Incorporate well. Let the mixture sit for at least 5 minutes.
3. Heat a bit of canola oil in a cast iron skillet and using a rounded tablespoon pour the pancakes mixture into the skillet. Brown for a few minutes on each side.
4. Serve with the fruit salad.

These weren't nearly as luxurious as the Mascarpone pancakes, but they were still fluffy and delicious. The recipe made about 10 pancakes: you can share them with someone or refrigerate and reheat them the next day. Of course they aren't going to taste as good as when you've just made them.

What's your favorite pacake recipe? What do you like to add to yours? Whipped cream? Syrup? Jam? Chocolate syrup?

Here are a few other pancakes recipes to try:
Pancakes with peaches and chocolate chips
POM & Cherry pancakes
and if you are in the mood for something savory, Broccoli pancakes

2/26/11

What to serve for an Oscars party

Sunday is a big day for movie lovers: Oscars!!! Are you going to be watching? Do you care more about the outfits, who the stars bring along as their dates or who actually wins the Golden Statue?

Regardless, what to serve for an Oscars party must be a question on your minds!

Recently I was contacted by Nevin Martell who writes for Express and asked if they could use my Eggplant & Tomato Dip recipe for a feature about what food to serve during an Oscars party. Of course I said yes! Below is that feature: I'm in good company: the other recipes are by Chef Jeff Trunks of Acadianarestaurant.com and Chef Nora Pouillon of Noras.com. Of course my recipe has the least number of ingredients and steps...but I'm sure you would have guessed that. {Make sure to scroll down for a what I hope you'll find a fun pairing of Best Picture nominated films with food!}

Surely, the eggplant dip would not be enough. To make this a bit more fun, I decided to pair up my suggestions with the Best Picture nominees. Let me know what you think ;)

Black Swan: Black & White Chili: because you know, one swan is black and another one is white, and plus chili is a great one-pot meal to have when you have company! Don't forget to make cornbread! {Loved this movie!}

The Fighter: Fighting makes me think of bruises, which are blue, so why not make Blueberry & Coconut Scones? That'd be an incredibly easy and tasty dessert. {Great movie!}

Inception: This was quite a confusing (in a good way) movie, with many twists and turns, which might make your head spin...so why not have a Pama & Berry drink?

The Kids Are All Right: I absolutely hated this movie. I thought it was high on stereotypes and there was a lot of unnecessary s*x! But since it dealt partially with kids, how about egg in a hole? Who doesn't like those?

The King's Speech: I've got to watch this movie: heard so many good things about it. So, what's fit for a king or a queen? Nothing but red caviar, of course!

127 Hours: 127 hours is a very long time! It's enough time to make your own phyllo dough for these mushroom & ricotta filled phyllo triangles. Of course you can also simply buy phyllo at your local grocery store.

The Social Network: Facebook is all about reconnecting with old friends, right? Or is it to look up your frenemies and ex boyfriends!? :) I'd like to share with you a great party dip by my friend Jenny: Chicken dip with mayonnaise, cheese, salsa, etc. It's seriously good!

Toy Story 3: This is another movie I did not watch, but it looks colorful and fun! How about mini fritatas with broccoli and sun dried tomatoes? Plus, since these are individually made fritatas, you can customize them for each guest and they should be a hit with your kids!

True Grit: I did not see this movie either. But it has the word "grit" in the title, so you must go with polenta with mushrooms, bacon & onions. Before you start commenting, I know polenta is not exactly grits, but both are made from corn: close enough! Feel free to add shredded beef, pork or chicken to this dish.

Winter's Bone: I had to look up what this movie is about: poverty (at least partially). So what can you make on the cheap that will be a big hit? How about white bean & chipotle dip, hummus, or pickled red onions?

How are you planning on watching the Oscars? What food will you be serving? What movies are you rooting for?

2/24/11

What do Puerto Ricans Eat?

Have you ever wondered what Puerto Ricans eat? Well, food, of course! But each country has its own specialties, and of course the cuisine differs from region to region, with each restaurant and family adding its own flavor to well known dishes.

Over the Presidents' Day weekend, I made my third trip to Puerto Rico. My friend Jenny and I left the winter weather of DC and New York to fly and spend 5 days with our friend Laura, her husband and their 2 adorable boys. {Laura, Jenny and I started work within a week of one another and were Three Musketeers for a while until Laura left to Florida and then Puerto Rico and Jenny moved to New York City. But we still get together when Jenny and I visit Laura and her family wherever they are: that's what friends are for!}

Lets get back to food! The first night in Puerto Rico, Laura's mom made us a true Puerto Rican meal: rice and beans, fried plantains, beef, salad and big wedges of avocado. It was so lovely to sit together at a table, eat, drink red wine, and catch up.

A few days later, Laura and Jenny drove to a local bakery to pick up breakfast: potato croquettes stuffed with ham, rolls stuffed with ground beef and cheese rolls (the long ones). I wish you could smell this!

The rolls stuffed with ground beef were my favorite. I don't know what it is about ground beef, but I love it.

We had to leave and go see Carlos Manuel play his last soccer game of the season, so these were left behind. Alas, I did not get to try the cheese roll because it's really not good as leftovers.

Another day we had mofongo. Mofongo is sort of like a Sheppard's pie: it's either made from yucca or sweet plantains, or a combination of each and is stuffed with chicken (or beef or seafood) and vegetables. It's filling, comforting and smells amazing.

Of course with two little boys and running around and touring Caves and Bio Bay we also ate things like take out pizza, take out Argentinian steak (which was surprisingly cooked to medium rare and oh so good!) and even stopped at Burger King drive-through for a mid-night whopper!!!

Before the trip was over, Laura took us to visit her parents' "finca," which means farm. This wasn't a farm in the sense that it had animals, it was more like an awesome house in the country surrounded by fruit trees (including mangoes!) and orchid plants. Check out my other blog where I'll post some non-food photos soon.

On the way to "finca" we stopped by at Piratas Del Toro Al Diente restaurant, which is shaped like an old ship! This was really popular with families and kids and there was a line to get in.

While we waited for our names to be called, Laura's mom bought Jenny and me piraguas: it's shaved ice flavored with sugary liquid (I say sugary liquid because I really don't think it was juice).

Below is my friend Jenny holding her coconut drink and my lime/strawberry one.

Other than these drinks, there was also an abundance of candy!

And then it was finally time to eat! Check out the decor of the restaurant:

We ordered quite a bit of food to share: hot wings, fried calamari, rice and then a big platter filled with fries, shrimp wrapped in bacon, chicken and skirt steak: all on skewers!