Shrimp and Mango Salad

Shrimp and Mango Salad on Toast

 

If you want a casual and easy to make appetizer, tasty and fresh at the same time, then the Shrimp and Mango Salad on Toast is a great option. You can pair it with drinks in a cocktail party or serve it as first course in a dinner and be sure to open appetite. Anyway you serve it, just enjoy it!

 

Ingredients

 

2 cups of cooked salad shrimp

1 cup of diced mango *you can use frozen mango, do not use mango in syrup

4 tbsp of finely chopped onion

2 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro

2 tbsp of lime juice

2 tbsp of chipotle sauce

3 tbsp of light mayo  *if you don't like mayo you can use olive oil however it won't be as creamy as in the pic.

Salt and pepper
 

 

Mix the onion, cilantro, lime juice, chipotle and mayo in a bowl. Then incorporate the shrimps and mango.Once you have all the ingredients together, salt and pepper to season. Pour the mix in the food processor  and chop it but don't blend it. This recipe is better when it has pieces of shrimp and mango in the mix and you can have a bite of them.  Put the mix in the refrigerator for at least one hour it will help the flavors to become tangy and lightly spicy. Serve it on toast, water crackers or a lettuce leaf.  

You may garnish it with a piece of mango and some cilantro leaves.



 

Almond Cookies with Apricot Preserves



 

These cookies were a hit on the Christmas table.  The recipe I used to make them comes from a Mexican cooking magazine from the 1960's.  Most of the recipes in that publication are very complicated and precise. I have tried some of them but this is the one I keep coming back to. This is the simplified version with great results.  The warm and golden color, the almond crunch when you bite and the flavor and consistency are delicious and fulfilling.

 

Ingredients

 

2 cups of flour

1 cup of sugar

2 tbsp of baking powder

2 tbsp of almond flavor

8 egg yolks

300 grams of butter at room temperature

1 cup of ground almonds *grind whole almonds in the food processor

Apricot Preserves to Garnish

 

 

The magazine's instructions recommend and incorporate the ingredients with bare hands, except for the butter, eggs and sugar which are to be mixed with a fork or a whisk. However nowadays we can use the food processor or blender to make the cookie dough. I have tried both ways the "old style" and the "modern style" and the results are pretty much the same.

First step is to mix the dry ingredients flour, ground almonds and baking powder.  Then mix the butter and the sugar and  add the yolks one by one.  When you have both mixes ready, add them together (hands or food processor) until you have a yellowish and soft dough. Make balls with the hands of about 1.5 inches  (about 3 or 4 cms) of diameter. Place them on cooking sheets, leaving a space of  2 inches between each cookie. Preheat the oven at 375 F.  Bake them for about 15 mins or until they have almost doubled their size and flattened. If they are golden on the bottom, they are ready.  Take them out of the oven and pressing a spoon in the center make some space to put the apricot jam once they have cooled down.

Let them cool and then fill the cookies with the jam in the center.  They are great as dessert or as a snack and have healty protein from the almonds.

 

 



Jamming!!

The other day the blackberries at the supermarket were on sale but sadly they aren’t a big hit with my family. They can be sour and not as mouth melting as raspberries. However I wasn’t going to let the great price of 1 dollar per box to go away.  I thought of making fruit salad, or blending them in a juice drink, but while I was strolling around the supermarket aisles I had the great idea to make a jam.  A good quality jar of jam or fruit preserve can be expensive, for example Sarabeth’s jams, this delicious New York brand sold in gourmet specialty stores such William and Sonoma costs around 11 dollars for a 18 oz jar. There is also the French brand Gran Mere which is more affordable but still more expensive than the mainstream brands, although is highly recommendable to pay the difference because of the great consistency and flavor.  Jams are great because they are very versatil,  you can use them on toast in the mornings, mix them with yogurth or oatmeal, or eat them over ice cream as a topping, or simply enjoy them from the jar with a spoon. I found them very easy to make and store.  This recipe came out too yummy that I can’t wait for the supermarket to have another fruit special to make morejars  and give them as Christmas presents.