Apple Passion Mango Champagne Punch

This past weekend I had the most wonderful time co-hosting a baby shower with two of my best friends for our friend Kate. She is due with a baby girl in early June, so we planned a springy yellow and gray themed shower. We spent some time together brainstorming and found that each one of us could take the lead on one thing, but we all worked so well together to execute it.  

I was finally able to do the dessert bar I've been wanting to do for a shower, and it was a big hit! I'll be posting some of the recipes in the future, but most are on the blog already. What I am going to post is the amazing punch recipe we kind of just made up as we went along. I've made plenty of champagne punches, and my general mix is a bottle of champagne, a concentrate, club soda and ginger ale. The other two co-hosts and I went grocery shopping the night before the shower and decided to just see what the store had. We were intrigued by an Apple Passion Mango concentrate, so we went with it. This was far and away the best punch I've ever had, refreshing, sweet, and full of flavor! It was simple to make, and makes a ton! 

Apple Passion Mango Champagne Punch

a Veggie by Season original

2 cans of Old Orchard Apple Passion Mango concentrate 

3 bottles of extra dry champagne (cheap stuff!)

1 2 liter of ginger ale

1 2 liter of club soda

1-2 packages of frozen mango chunks (may want to start with one, refresh with another later on)

Chill all liquid ingredients, mix together in a large punch bowl.

Float frozen mango chunks on top, serve over ice.

Tropical Chunk Cookies

A few months ago, I bought a package of mixed, dried tropical fruit on a whim. Then it was a random Sunday night, and I was hosting book club Monday. I decided a baked good was in order to pair with the quiches I made, and the bag of dried fruit was calling my name. I began pulling ingredients out and found half-used bags of dried coconut and macadamia nuts, these tropical cookies pretty much made themselves. My book club friends really liked them, and my husband absolutely loved them. 

When it comes to the actual recipe, I winged it a bit today compared to last time. I've baked enough batches of cookies in my day to know a proper ratio, and I like to try to use up what I have. I know the consistency of dough I want to get the cookie I desire (chewy and thick, no crisp/pancake cookies here!). 

Tropical Chunk Cookies

1 1/2 sticks salted butter, softened (12 tbsp. or 3/4 c.)

1 c. granulated sugar (or 1 c. packed brown sugar, omit molasses)

2 tbsp. molasses 

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. almond extract (vanilla is ok too!)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

2 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 c. packed shredded, sweetened coconut

1 1/2 c. dried mixed tropical fruit (papaya, pineapple, mango)

1 c. chopped macadamia nuts

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter, sugar and molasses.

Beat until fluffy and pale yellow.

With the mixer on low speed, add eggs one at a time.

Add almond extract.

Turn mixer off and scrape down the sides. 

Sift together baking soda, powder, wheat and all purpose flours, add to mixing bowl.

Turn mixer on low until flours are moistened into butter mixture, turn off.

Add coconut, fruit and nuts, turn mixer on and mix until distributed evenly and all flour is absorbed. 

Use a spatula to scrape down blade and make sure dough is mixed well.

Place in the refrigerator and chill dough while oven preheats.

Preheat oven to 350*

Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

Spoon heaping tablespoons full onto baking sheet, press cookies down a bit, spacing 3-4" apart. 

Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes, until golden brown and puffed.

Remove from the oven, rest on the cookie sheet for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Repeat with remaining dough, recipe yields about 2 dozen cookies, depending on size. 

Pumpkin-Mango Casserole with Macadamia Crumble

Along with the Chestnuts, I received a pound of raw Macadamia nuts from Oh! Nuts. I chose these because they're my husband's favorite nut, and I thought he'd appreciate a few dinners featuring them. If you saw my post from last week, you know I am now the proud owner of a freezer full of pumpkin puree, courtesy of my green thumb (and yes, that is dripping with sarcasm... the pumpkins are pretty much the only garden success I've had). 

Mangoes were $.50/each this week, and go naturally with Macadamia nuts, so I thought a Thanksgiving-esque casserole with a crunchy Macadamia crust sounded great. We ate this casserole with dinner, but it could easily be a delicious breakfast! It's a bit eclectic, but suited our tastes.

Pumpkin-Mango Casserole with Macadamia Crumble

2 c. pumpkin puree

1 mango, peeled, pitted and finely diced

1 egg white

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp. packed brown sugar

crumble:

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. roughly chopped raw Macadamia nuts

2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

pinch of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400*

In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg white to a froth.

Add pumpkin, mango, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar.

Gently whisk to combine.

Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray (I used 2 small ramekins for individual servings).

Add the pumpkin mixture.

In a small dish, toss crumble ingredients together.

Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture in casserole dish.

Place in the oven, bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and crumble has browned.

Mango Slaw

I've proclaimed my love for Smitten Kitchen and her countless slaw recipes before, but I think this one takes the cake. I can't get enough mango lately, so this recipe was perfect for me. As I've said, my husband is not exactly a slaw hater, but pretty close. Because this slaw had cashews, mango, and used Napa Cabbage, he was less reluctant to eat a sizable bowl for dinner. 

I tried to find harder mangoes at the store, but as luck would have it, they were all pretty ripe. I wasn't able to shred or slice it too thinly without it disintegrating, so my slaw was a little chunkier than SK's. I will definitely be making this, or versions of it in the future. I have visions of adding shredded carrot, a bit of cilantro, some shredded snow peas, and even Macadamia nuts rather than cashews. The possibilities are endless for this perfect-for-summer mayo-free slaw! 

Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint

from Smitten Kitchen

2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and julienned

1 1/4 lbs. Napa cabbage, halved and sliced thin

1 red pepper, julienned

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 c. rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp. canola oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/4 c. sliced mint leaves

1/4 c. toasted cashews, coarsely chopped (I left a few whole for garnish)

In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt and red pepper flakes.

Add mangoes, cabbage, pepper and onion to the bowl, toss to coat.

Refrigerate for an hour, before serving toss with mint and cashews.

Mango Chutney and an Easy Indian Dinner

Last week we had friends from Indiana come visit for the long July 4th weekend. We often went to ethnic restaurants, and enjoyed the diversified food served in Bloomington. So naturally I decided to cook something with a little ethnic flair. I had been craving Indian food, and rarely make it at home, so took this opportunity to create an Indian dinner. Though I've made naan from scratch, it's a bit of work and I didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen while they were here. I found two varieties at Whole Foods, whole wheat and garlic and herb. 

I have noticed that when you grill, everyone seems to congregate around the grill, so you can cook but not be anti-social in the kitchen. I figured I'd have JJ and John man the grill outside while I did a bit of prep inside. I made tofu and chicken with a simple curry rub. Then I skewered some veggies for the grill as well (and made extra to put in a quiche for the next morning), and made a curry sauce (coconut milk, curry paste and lime juice) and the mango chutney. I also served plain Greek yogurt as a third condiment. 

I used to buy Mango Chutney from Trader Joe's, but now I'm so far from TJ's! I looked at a few jars at Whole Foods and Publix, but they were running $6-10, which is pretty expensive for a simple condiment. It finally hit me, why don't I just make it? Mangoes are in season and on sale right now, and since the rest of dinner was pretty low-key, making mango chutney was no sweat. 

I looked up a few recipes and found Alton Brown's was highly recommended. My only issue was it made massive quantities, and I only wanted a cup or two. I scaled it back quite a bit, and I also omitted the raisins because Vickie doesn't like them. This chutney was fantastic! I definitely would make the full amount next time and freeze small portions or jar it for future use.

Mango Chutney

adapted from Alton Brown

2 mangoes, peeled and diced

1 tsp. EVOO

1/2 tsp. red chile flakes

1/2 small red onion, minced

1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger

1/4 red bell pepper, minced

1/4 c. cider vinegar

2 tbsp. brown sugar

Kosher salt and white pepper

Add EVOO to a small stock pot over medium heat.

Add mango, chile flakes, onion and bell pepper. 

Sauté' for about 10 minutes, until softened and beginning to caramelize.

Add ginger, vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper, stir well to combine (if using raisins, add here).

Turn heat to low, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat, serve at room temperature or refrigerate until using.

Fruity Spinach Salad with Creamy Poppy Dressing

I made this spinach salad as a side dish to the casserole. I was originally going to make a veggie filled spinach salad and amaretto baked peaches, but I could not find peaches anywhere! So I decided to add lots of fruit to the spinach salad, and make a poppy seed dressing, common on fruit and spinach salads. It was light, flavorful, and perfect with the creamy, rich casserole.

Fruity Spinach Salad with Creamy Poppy Dressing

1 large sack of triple washed baby spinach

1 mango, cubed

2 grapefruits, segmented

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. pecan halves

1/2 c. plain greek yogurt

2 tbsp. EVOO

2 tbsp. champage vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. poppy seeds

salt

In a small dish, whisk together dressing ingredients.

Add spinach to a bowl, toss with half the dressing.

Top with remaining ingredients.

Serve leftover dressing in a dish with the salad.

POM-Mango Compound Butter

For dinner tonight, I am cooking with POM Wonderful. I was contacted about a month ago by a representative and received a few bottles. Luckily, I was about to start my SuperFood month, and Pomegranates are a SuperFood. Fresh pomegranates aren't in season right now, so POM Wonderful is a great sub as it's 100% juice.

I decided to incorporate the juice into 3 recipes, the first being this compound butter. I knew I wanted to make a BBQ sauce for chicken with mango and pomegranate, so I thought I'd make a compound butter to top some sweet potatoes. JJ and I love sweet potatoes with BBQ chicken.

I love making compund butters because you can really stretch out the butter by incorporating other ingredients. It also dresses up a simple baked sweet potato but is very simple to make!

POM-Mango Compund Butter

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter at room temp.

2 tbsp. POM Wonderful

1/2 mango, diced

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides a few times. It won't fully combine, but it should whip together pretty well. Serve right away, or store in tupperware in the fridge for up to a week.

A Year Ago: Herb Citrus Turkey Dinner, Italian Flag Mac and Cheese

Dippers Trio

I wanted to have a few dipper options for the party, keeping with the tex-mex bbq theme, so I did Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and Mango Tomatillo Salsa.
I made my standard Guacamole and Mango Salsa, but I switched up the pico a bit by grilled the veggies.

Guacamole

4 haas avocados
2 lime, juiced
2 tsp. salt
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp. ground cumin

Chop the garlic and sprinkle with salt, paste it together. Dice the avocado, add to a bowl, squeeze lime juice over, add garlic paste and cumin, stir and cover with plastic to keep from browning.

Mango Tomatillo Salsa

1 mango, peeled and coarsely chopped

6 tomatillos, husked and chopped, and pureed in a food processor

2 tbsp. minced grilled red onion

1 tbsp. minced grilled jalapeno

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp. honey

Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors develop

Grilled Pico de Gallo

2 cups tomatoes, diced
¼ cup grilled red onion, diced
2 tbsp. cilantro, minced
½ lime, juiced
1 jalapeno, grilled and minced
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate to let flavors combine.