Mango Salsa - versatile and delicious

New York Strip with Mango Salsa

One of my favorite things to make when we will be having dinner company is Mango Salsa.  Its so versatile and delicious that you can serve it with anything and it would be a great accompaniment to your dinner.

A few weeks ago my friend Katherine was visiting from Seattle.  I said that I would be making dinner, as I had a marinating flank steak in the fridge.  So the menu for the evening was Marinated Flank Steak, Mango Salsa, Dirty Rice and a fresh leaf lettuce salad with cucumbers from the garden.  I want to give the lowdown for the Salsa.

So here goes:  Mango Salsa


Mango Salsa



The trick to a good fresh salsa is a mix of crunchy and savory ingredients and you have to cut all of the ingredients really small.  So you will be spending more time at the cutting board.  But it's ok, you have an awesome salsa to add to dinner.

So I started with two mangoes; a half of a large seedless cucumber; red onion, a half of a unripe pear, half of a red pepper and a large bunch of parsley.  You can use flat leaf, italian, curly leaf or even cilantro.  Whatever your taste is, work with that.

Dice everything really small, with the exception of the mangoes, make then twice as large as the rest of the ingredients and add to a mixing bowl.

Add your additional ingredients which are Balsamic Vinegar, about two tablespoons, Kosher salt (please don't forget the salt!), about a teaspoon, coarse ground pepper, Olive Oil, about two tablespoons and a dash of soy sauce.  At this point, I wold encourage you to not use measuring implements.  Instead, use the a little bit less that you think would be enough and taste it.  If its not enough, add more and taste.  You have to make it to your liking, because you are the one who will be eating it!

Mix everything to coat and you can let this marinade in the fridge, or you can serve it right away with your grilled chicken, flank steak, tuna steak or pork tenderloin!

Most important, enjoy what you made!

Grilled Tuna Steak on a bed of Mango Salsa

I love Aprons

I love aprons.  Frilly ones, fancy ones, plain ones, big ones and little ones.  A lunch lady apron or a diner waitress apron, they come in so many different shapes and cuts, its impossible to not think they are fun and cool.

I remember cooking when I was five.  I distinctly remember dragging a chair over to the stove, getting my tiny, one egg frying pan with the wood handle and making an egg.  I really remember that I was unsupervised and I was all jazzed that I could use the gas stove all my self.  I also remember rummaging through the napkins, dish towels and kitchen towels to find an apron when I wanted to make some breakfast for myself.

My dad has always cooked, for the family and just for fun, so my mom liked to buy him aprons.  But he never liked them.  They would go in the pantry and I would find them and wear them.  There was one apron that I really liked and I always wore it.  It was a Tobasco apron with the big McIlheny Tobasco symble on the front. 

The real reason that this has come to mind is my mom bought me super cool apron while she was in Califorina and I totally love it.  Not only is it a black and white print, but it has a ruffle at the bottom and it makes me feel like a 1950's housewife.  Except with better appliances.

Grilled Rubens - Not just Diner Fare

A Ruben is a sandwich that I will always order in a Diner because I don't make them at home.  I also don't make club sandwiches at home.  I rarely have square white bread and cooked bacon readily on hand in my kitchen, so this is another that I will order in a Diner.

So back to Rubens - a simple sandwich with complicated set of ingredients, but put them all together and you have the best thing ever.  Here's the list of what you need to make a great grilled Ruben.

Corned Beef.  You can make your own. Its easy, but you will need about 2 weeks to really make it good.  This is a Brisket that's been cured for 7 - 10 days in a  mixture of cureing salt, brown sugar, bay leaves and whole pepper corns and then simmered on the stove for three hours.  Cool and cut and you have your own corned beef.

Rye Bread - Just buy some.  Really, its easier and unless you have plenty of time on your hands or a dad that makes rye bread for a living.

Sauerkraut - Buy some and make it the bagged stuff.  Not the stuff in the cans.  When you buy the bagged stuff and you are all ready to assemble the sandwich, open and empty the bag into a colander or strainer and wash the juice off.  Then let it drain a little bit so you don't make a soggy sandwich.

Swiss Cheese - Get good stuff, its OK of you pay a little bit per pound for it.

Thousand Island dressing - you can make your own: ketchup, Mayonnaise and relish.  Or you can buy it, its your preference.

Butter - for the grilling part

A grill - I mean it, a grill.  You will have to work fast, but it'll be really good.

Now, for the assembly.

Butter both sides of the bread, as if you were going to make a grilled Cheese Sandwich in a frying pan.  Take all of your ingredients out to the grill.  Make sure your grill heat is set as low as possible and place both pieces of bread, butter side down on the grill. 

Now time to layer.  Cheese on both, then on one slice; generous corned beef slices, then a sauerkraut layer (make sure everything is even), then Thousand Island Dressing.  Then place your other piece of bread on top and squish everything down.  At this point, if you can, flip the sandwich, and flatten. 

Lastly, cut in half and enjoy!

Just as a side note, I cooked and cooked a lot this weekend.  I think I cooked for 12 people in two different shifts.  I made all sorts of different and fun stuff and I forgot to take a picture of ANYTHING!  I was so involved with filling everyone's bellies that I forgot to grab the camera and snap away.

I will do better next time and remember to take pictures to decorate my entries.

As always, love your kitchen, it'll love you back!