Pork Tacos with Mango Salsa

I have recently fallen in love with mangos. A good mango, with smooth texture and just the right amount of sweet, is a little piece of heaven! The salsa below makes quite a bit, perfect for enjoying the next day for lunch with chips or nachos.

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Pork Tacos with Mango Salsa

Source: The America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook
Serves 4

2 mangos, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 small red onion, chopped fine
1/2 c minced fresh cilantro
2 T lime juice
salt and pepper
2 teas vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs ground pork (or other pork, sliced)
2 teas minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
2 oz (1/2 c) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Combine mangos, half of onion, 1/4 c cilantro, 1 T lime juice, 1/4 teas salt, and 1/4 teas pepper in bowl.

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add ground pork, chipotle, and remaining onion and cook, breaking up pork with wooden spoon, until pork is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in Monterey Jack, remaining 1/4 c cilantro, and remaining 1 T lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, stack tortillas on plate, cover, and microwave until warm and soft, about 2 minutes. Serve pork taco filling with warm tortillas and mango salsa.

Note from Betsy: I use just 1 teas chipotle, as it can be quite hot. This recipe would work with leftover cooked pork, too, instead of ground. It's quite flexible. I served it recently with avocado slices and the Monterey Jack cheese on the side.

Smashed Potatoes

I love the combination of cream cheese and chives in these potatoes. And there's something satisfying about the variety of textures, not fully mashed potatoes mixed with buttery softness. You will note that I have labeled this as a non-vegetable side; technically potatoes are vegetables but in meals I view them as starches.

I topped this batch with scallions, instead of chives.

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Smashed Potatoes

Source: Cook's Illustrated
Serves 4-6

2 lbs red potatoes about 2 inches in diameter (if bigger, increase cooking time by about 10 minutes)
salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
4 T unsalted butter, melted and warm
1/2 c cream cheese (4 oz), softened
3 T chopped fresh chives or chopped scallions, optional

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with 1 inch cold water; add 1 teas salt and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently until paring knife can be inserted into potatoes with no resistance, 35 to 45 minutes. Reserve 1/2 c cooking water, then drain potatoes. Return potatoes to pot, discard bay, and allow potatoes to stand in pot, uncovered, until surfaces are dry, about 5 minutes.

While potatoes dry, whisk melted butter and softened cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth and fully incorporated. Add 1/4 c of reserved cooking water, 1/2 teas pepper, chives, and 1/2 teas salt. Using rubber spatula or back of wooden spoon, smash potatoes just enough to break skins. Fold in butter/cream cheese mixture until most of the liquid has been absorbed and chunks of potatoes remain. Add more cooking water 1 T at a time as needed, until potatoes are slightly looser than desired, as they will thicken slightly as they sit. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper; serve immediately.

Beets with Lemon and Almonds

This is a recent discovery; several variations came out in Cook's Illustrated a couple of months ago. And they are yummy. Using beets in a variety of colors will make the final dish rather beautiful.

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Beets with Lemon and Almonds

Source: Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Serves 4-6

1 1/2 pounds beets, trimmed and halved horizontally
1 1/4 c water
salt and pepper
3 T light brown sugar, packed
1 shallot, sliced thin
1 teas grated lemon zest
1/2 c whole almonds, toasted and chopped
2 T chopped fresh mint
1 teas chopped fresh thyme 

Place beets, cut side down, in a single layer in an 11-inch saute pan or dutch oven. Add water and 1/4 teas salt; bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce to low; cover and simmer until beets are tender, 45-50 minutes.

Transfer beets to a cutting board. Increase the heat to medium-high and reduce cooking liquid, stirring occasionally, until pan is almost dry. Add vinegar and sugar; return to a boil and cook stirring constantly with heat resistant spatula until almost dry, 5-6 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar; return to a boil; and cook, stirring constantly with spatula until it leaves a wide trail when dragged through the glaze, 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

When beets are cool enough to handle, rub off skins with paper towel or dish towel and cut into 1/2 inch wedges. Add beets, shallot, lemon zest, 1/2 teas salt and 1/4 teas pepper to glaze and toss to coat. Transfer beets to serving dish and sprinkle with herbs and almonds and serve.

Orzo Salad

I'm a little embarrassed to post this recipe because it comes from Food Network celebrity chef Giada de Laurentis. I watch only Alton Brown if I watch Food Network so I'm not sure how I came upon this recipe. Although......one October about 10 years ago I got the flu before flu shots were available. I was so sick I couldn't even read. I remember that I watched Food Network since television offers little else of interest. Maybe that is when I was introduced to this recipe. Even though I shudder at the thoughts of celebrity chef recipes in general, I have found this salad to be a favorite whenever I serve it.

As you can see, the pasta is NOT orzo, but farfalline, the smallest pasta I had on hand when I made this, proof that substitutions can be made successfully. I advise going with a small pasta, however.

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Orzo Salad

Adapted from a recipe by Giada de Laurentis
Serves 5-6

4 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c orzo (rice shaped pasta)
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 c red and yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 c finely chopped red onion
1/2 c chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 c chopped fresh mint leaves
About 2/3 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Stir together the orzo and the broth in a saucepan. Cover the pan and bring the to a boil over medium-high heat. Leaving lid slightly open, simmer until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently. Drain the orzo. Transfer the orzo to a large bowl and stir until the orzo cools slightly. Allow to cool completely.

Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.

Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 teas honey
1 teas salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Notes:

I find that small yellow pear tomatoes are uniformly lacking in flavor. If you can find a yellow cherry or grape tomato it will taste better. The salad can be made, however, with any smaller tomato, or even chopped tomatoes.

If you think you'll have leftovers, separate what you'll be serving out and add tomatoes only to that portion. In my experience tomatoes get soggy after sitting in the fridge.

The vinaigrette makes a great dressing for any salad, so save the left overs.

Oven Pancake

This oven pancake recipe is in the same vein as Tom's Dutch Baby and others for German pancakes. However, this is the one I grew up on. I associate it with security and happy times. The lemon juice topping is fairly unique--I love it, but my little boys don't. I think they'd do better with syrup or something unabashedly sweet.

My mom reports that she found this recipe in a Better Home and Gardens Cooking for Two cookbook, one of her first two cookbooks in her married life. As we grew, she expanded the recipe to a 9x13 pan, and that's the version I've listed. 

The pancake puffs as it bakes.

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Oven Pancake

Combine the following and mix well:

6 eggs
1 c flour
1/2 teas salt
1 c milk
2 T melted butter

Bake in an oiled 9x13 pan at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until browned and puffy. Remove from oven and quickly sprinkle with 1/4 c sugar and 1/4 c sliced almonds. Combine 4 T melted butter with 1/4 c fresh lemon juice and drizzle over the top. Serve immediately.

With the lemon juice topping.

Lemon Basil Chicken

Now that I have fresh basil again...

...I can make lemon basil chicken. A family favorite when I was a teenager, this dish hasn't lost its appeal. My mom can't remember the exact source: probably a newspaper clipping. And this is fast, as long as you think ahead a bit to marinate for at least one hour. 

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Lemon Basil Chicken

Marinate 4 chicken breast halves for at least 1 hour in the following:

1/8 c olive oil
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
2 T white wine vinegar
1/2 T minced garlic
1 T chopped basil (although I never this anymore, I just chop a bunch)
1/2 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper

Grill or saute.

Arroz con Tomate (Spanish Rice)

This comes from one of my mom's first two cookbooks when she was married. 

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Arroz con Tomate (Spanish Rice)

1/2 c chopped green bell pepper
1/4 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teas dried basil, crushed
1/2 teas dried rosemary, crushed
2 T olive oil
1 c long grain rice
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1 teas salt
1 teas pepper
1 1/2 c water

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet, and cook green pepper, onion, garlic, basil, and rosemary in hot oil until vegetables are tender. Stir in rice, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and water. Cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes until rice is done.