May 2010 | The Ivory Hut

Monthly Archives: May 2010

Green Mango Margarita Sorbet

30 May 2010

Alternate title: Well, Now I’m Just Pushing It, Aren’t I?

Yesterday, I posted my Gin and Tonic Sorbet recipe, enticing anyone who would listen to make it, enjoy it, then inflict it on all your guests. That recipe called for a lime-infused simple syrup, and I only ended up using half of the batch that I made. Which got the wheels turning in my head, wondering what else I can make with it.

I also happened to have a green mango waiting to be used. I had been planning to make a Philippine-style green mango shake (like a slushie), which I absolutely love. Maybe it was the gin my head, or perhaps it was just homesickness, but before I knew it, my green mango shake had somehow morphed into an idea for green mango margarita sorbet.

Let me start off by saying that I don’t really get along that well with tequila. Sure, we’ve been on the dance floor once or twice before, but mostly, it’s just because I’m trying to be polite. And only for quick jigs; I can’t slow dance with tequila without the inevitable headache, after which I just want to go to bed and sleep it off.

Then I miss out on all the fun because I’m fast asleep by 7:36 p.m..

But I do love the taste of margaritas. It’s the sharp tartness of the lime, the mellow semi-sweetness of the triple sec, and the interesting contrast with the salt that really speaks to me. And … wait. You know what I love about green mango shakes? The sharp tartness of the green mango, the mellow semi-sweetness of the sugar, and the interesting contrast with the salt.

Hmmm …

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Green Mango Margarita Sorbet

1/2 cup sugar
1 large or 2 medium limes, zested and juiced
1 large green mango, peeled and roughly sliced
1/4 cup triple sec
1/4 cup tequila
lime wedge and rimming salt, to serve

In a saucepan, make simple syrup by heating 1/2 cup water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Take off heat and add lime zest and juice. Let cool.

Put green mango slices and 1/4 cup water in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add simple syrup, triple sec, and tequila. Blend again until smooth. Adjust flavors to taste. Cool in the refrigerator, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Store in a freezer-proof container in the freezer to allow it to harden some more.

Run a lime wedge around the rim of a shot glass and salt the rim. Scoop the sorbet into the shot glass and serve.

This margarita sorbet probably isn’t as “unique” as the gin and tonic sorbet, since margaritas are already sometimes served frozen and slushy. But what I love about this is the addition of the green mango, which is in itself already has both sour and sweet flavors. You can also rim the glass with jalapeno salt or any other kind of spicy salt for an interesting kick.

You can certainly use your favorite fruit as a substitute for the green mango. I think kiwi, granny smith apples, star fruit (preferably not too ripe), raspberries, or even fresh grapefruit juice (juiced, strain out the pulp) would work wonderfully. If I were in the Philippines, I’d be trying mangosteen, kamias (a very tart relative of the star fruit), or pomelo.

Actually, if I were in the Philippines where summer can be painfully hot, I’d probably be using much larger glasses too.

I’d also probably be sleeping a lot. Because tequila’s potency is geography-independent.

Trust me. I know these things.

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Gin and Tonic Sorbet (You heard me)

29 May 2010

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Alternate title: Oh, Look At What I Done Did.

Some weeks ago, Pam and Maggy of Three Many Cooks invited me and my family over for dinner. Maggy and I had been exchanging emails for some weeks, and really hit it off online. But normally, my shyness would have made me less ready to accept the invitation. More often than not, I’m perfectly happy staying in the background, letting typed-out words do the socializing for me. This time though, I said yes.

I didn’t start stressing about it until we were on the road. Then I started giving myself a pep talk. “Good grief, woman, just relax,” I’d remind myself. “Be yourself!” Then of course, the other voice started talking too. “Oh yeah? Be yourself? But yourself is a dork! A major goob!” By the time we finally pulled into their driveway, I was a mini-tangle of nerves. So nervous that when I stepped out of the car, I think part of my foot slipped out of my sandal and I almost—ALMOST—fell to the ground, still holding my camera. “Yep. I’m Dork, nice to meet you.”

Of course, I had no reason to be nervous. Maggy, Pam, and David could not have been more welcoming, and all my stress melted away. And almost as soon as we walked in the house, Pam offered us something to drink. Her recommendation: a gin and tonic.

I need to come clean here. As far as drinks go, I’m a lightweight. In fact, make that a featherweight. Airweight, if possible. Helium-weight even. You get the picture. A few sips of alcohol, and my cheeks are flushed and burning. I blame this on my dad, who gets just as red with a only few sips of anything potent. When I do have something to drink, it’s usually a beer. A light beer. And the smaller the bottle, the better.

But I took a sip of that gin and tonic, and loved it. It was so refreshing and light, and the way Pam made it was just right for me. And yes, it might have taken me the entire evening into night to finish my one drink, but let me tell you, I enjoyed it.

Now, if you know me and my current ice cream craze, it was only a matter of time before the idea of a gin and tonic sorbet crept into my brain. And once it got there, it wouldn’t budge.

I ran the idea by Maggy, who told me I should totally go for it. So I did. I think it’s great for an outdoor party, either served in between courses to cleanse your palate, or even as a refreshing appetizer. Better yet, even if you happen to leave it unattended, you don’t just end up with semi-melted sorbet; you end up with a nice cold shot of gin and tonic, albeit slightly sweet.

It took me a couple of tries to get just the right mix I wanted, and here is my recipe. I’m know I’m not much of a drinker, but if you’re thinking of making this a more potent sorbet by adding significantly more gin, you might end up with slush rather than sorbet. (Unless slush is what you’re going for, in which case, pour away!) Remember that alcohol won’t freeze, which is why you can store a bottle of vodka or gin in the freezer without any problems.

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Gin and Tonic Sorbet

1/2 cup sugar
1 large or 2 medium limes, zested and juiced
2 1/2 cups tonic water
3 fl. oz. shot gin

In a saucepan, make simple syrup by heating 1/2 cup water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Take off heat and add lime zest and juice. Let cool. Once cooled, add tonic water and gin. Taste it and make any adjustments according to taste. Let everything cool in the refrigerator, then strain into the bowl of your ice cream machine. Follow your machine’s directions to freeze the sorbet. Store in a freezer-proof container in the freezer to allow it to harden some more.

Serve in pretty little glasses garnished with more lime zest, thin little slices of lime, or rim the glass with lime sugar (a mix of lime zest and sugar pulsed together in the food processor).

Make this sorbet, keep it in the freezer, and the next time you have a cookout, surprise your guests with this. It’s absolutely refreshing, and a great way to cool down on a hot day.

In the meantime, take some out in the morning and tell everyone that you’re shooting photos for your blog.

Then “accidentally” leave it to melt.

And then do this.

And then just go back to bed because that’s it, there’s no way your day can get any better.

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Mini Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

26 May 2010

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Do you know what happens when you fail to keep up with your commitment to having a healthy breakfast every morning? Not only does your metabolism start slowing down again, but you end up letting too much time pass in between posts.

I have clinical studies to back that up. (Okay. Study. Clinical study.)

But I refuse to take full responsibility for it. After all, I had every intention of sticking to it. I scheduled a few hours every weekend when I would make myself a batch each of my new favorite granola, biscotti, and these mini whole wheat pumpkin muffins. All of them are from Pam Anderson’s book The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great, and I’m mildly obsessed with them. And okay, I threw the “mildly” in there just to make myself look good.

So here was my great plan: that batch of 24 muffins, two loaves of biscotti, and granola? They’re supposed to be more than enough for the entire week. I figured any time I felt the need for a little treat, I’d always have a stash of these healthy options available. And every weekend, I’d replenish my stash.

Here’s the problem: they’re good. Too good. But no, it’s not that I can’t stop myself from snacking. Because I can. But the boys in my house? You’d think my entire refrigerator was empty and the only edible food in the house lived in that little corner of the microwave table where my snack stash sat, looking all delicious and vulnerable and oblivious to its impending demolition.

Poor little things. They never stood a chance.

The first week it happened, I thought it was charming. “Oh look,” I said, “my boys are eating healthy snacks. How wonderful!” So I didn’t mind it so much when Thursday came and I was all out of nibbles. The next week, everything was gone by Wednesday. “Well, at least they’re not going to waste. And look at them enjoy the whole wheat treats!”

The following weekend, I made double batches. That means 2 trays of granola, 48 mini muffins, and four—yes, FOUR—huge biscotti loaves, that had to go into three of my largest airtight containers once they were all done and sliced up. “Ah, NOW I’m really set for the entire week!”

Everything was gone by Tuesday. Not Thursday, not Wednesday—TUESDAY. And that was when, in protest, I decided not to make any the past weekend. I was hoping to get them hooked on something else, like kale or okra, so they’d leave my stash alone. Except I don’t think it’s working, because I get asked almost every night after dinner if I have any more of those healthy snacks lying around.

Like I said, they’re good. Which is a problem.

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Mini Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
Recipe from The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great by Pam Anderson

1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup neutral-tasting oil (I used canola)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 24-cup mini muffin tray with cooking spray.

In a skillet, heat the pumpkin and spices over medium heat for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and add brown sugar, whisking to combine. Add the oil, then slowly add the eggs.

In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients (dry ingredients). Whisk in the pumpkin mixture, just until combined.

Portion out the batter into the muffin cups, about 2 tablespoons each. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then finish cooling them on a rack. Store in an airtight container.

And there you have it. Fast-disappearing muffins that are just too good not to share. Even if you’re not quite willing to.

Do yourself a favor. Make these, and then hide a couple in a bag somewhere. Pick a place the boys are least likely to go. Like in the broom closet. Or the laundry room. Trust me. Measures must be taken.

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Kalbi Beef Salad

19 May 2010

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One disadvantage of being the only female in the house is that it’s quite difficult to campaign for main dish salads as dinner fare. It’s not that it’s impossible, because I’ve done it before. But there’s always the chance that the salad just wasn’t filling enough, and then they end up having cheese-and-hot-sauce sandwiches for dessert. (It’s happened.)

But Tom just re-built our grill, and was excited to use it. So I figured this was my chance to plan a main dish salad with something grilled. In my mind, I imagined a nice Asian salmon salad, and figured I could serve it with some sushi rice on the side to help boost the full-ness factor.

Then I walked into Costco and saw packages of gorgeous slabs of beef short ribs, minus the bone. And of course, I instantly thought of kalbi. I am, after all, the daughter of a former Philippine military attache assigned to South Korea. One look at how Tom gazed longingly at the beautifully marbled beef, and I decided to ditch the salmon plans and concoct a kalbi beef salad instead.

Kalbi beef is ridiculously easy to make. I made it for a family dinner in the Philippines during my last visit, unfazed by the prospect of having to make 25 pounds of it. All I’ll say is that I never saw meat disappear that quickly. The few latecomers never had a chance.

My plan was to make kalbi on the grill two ways: thinly sliced on a skewer and left whole. We also marinated some baby bella mushrooms with the same kalbi marinade, and grilled those as well. The dressing? My favorite Asian-style dressing, which is simply fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, sweet Thai chili sauce, and some water. I’ll sometimes add a touch of salad oil to it, but really, you can use it without the oil, which makes it a tad healthier than regular vinaigrettes. Sometimes I’ll throw in a bit of grated carrots and a touch of garlic and/or hot pepper for some bite.

When Tom was done grilling, we plated the salad while letting the meat rest. Spring greens on the bottom, then julienned vegetables that were tossed in the dressing along with chopped cilantro. Kalbi beef and mushrooms on top, a handful of salted roasted peanuts and fried onions for some crunch, and I added a few slivers of jackfruit for some sweetness. (You can use mangoes instead of jackfruit.)

How good was this salad? All I’ll say is that we had it three dinners in a row. We had the skewered version the first night, and the sliced-from-whole version the following nights. I much preferred the sliced-from-whole version. I love how flavorful the fish sauce dressing is, which means you also don’t need much of it on the salad. Tim didn’t care much for the Asian dressing, so he used a simple balsamic drizzle. You can certainly use your favorite dressing for this.

Kalbi Beef Salad
Serves 4 to 6

For the Asian-style dressing:
2 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons finely grated carrots (optional)
1 to 2 tablespoons salad oil or light olive oil (optional)
just a little bit of finely grated garlic, to taste (optional)
minced hot pepper, to taste (optional)

For the marinade (adapted from Cook’s Illustrated):
1 pear, peeled and diced (it’s going into the blender, so no need to be precise)
1/2 cup soy sauce
8 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 cup scallions
1 whole Thai bird pepper (optional, only if you like it spicy)
1 knob ginger (about 3/4″ in length), sliced into coins so you don’t get long fibers
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

For the salad:
3 pieces beef short rib meat, boneless (around 2 pounds)
10 ounces baby bella mushrooms, washed and cleaned (optional)
3 small bell pepper, preferably different colors, julienned
1 small zucchini, julienned
1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 small cucumber, sliced into thin coins
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salad greens
1/2 cup canned jackfruit, drained and julienned (or fresh ripe mangoes)
roasted salted peanuts
fried onions (optional)
Korean hot bean paste (optional)

Mix all the dressing ingredients together. Add water to taste, and set aside.

Blend the marinade ingredients together until smooth. Marinate the beef for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. If using mushrooms, marinate mushrooms as well 1 hour before grilling.

Mix the julienned and sliced vegetables together in a bowl. Dress lightly with some of the dressing and the chopped cilantro. Set aside.

Grill the beef and mushrooms to desired doneness. Plate the salads while letting the meat rest. Put a generous amount of salad greens in each plate. Top with the dressed vegetables. Garnish with jackfruit, peanuts, and fried onions. Top with beef and mushrooms. You can add a small amount of hot bean paste on top if desired.

The great thing about this salad is that you can skip the salad greens and serve this with the dressed vegetables on a bed of rice instead. The meat is absolutely tender and packed with flavor. If you want to make this completely vegetarian, skip the beef and double up on the mushrooms. The kalbi marinade really makes the mushrooms taste even meatier. (Oh, and if you’re making this vegetarian, don’t forget to skip the fish sauce and use salt or soy sauce instead.)

Ah. Kalbi. It’s one of the reasons I will be forever grateful that my dad’s final assignment was in Korea, and that I was old enough to truly appreciate the introduction to such a wonderful world cuisine.

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Lunch at Khun Thai

13 May 2010

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Lunch with mom has always been a treat I’ve enjoyed since my early college years in the Philippines. And by “early” I mean as early as the first of my three majors. (Just call me Ms. Decisive.) I still remember one of the first places we frequented on our Wednesday lunch dates: Cosa Nostra in Manila, which at that time was a tiny restaurant with only a handful of tables, where I had some of the best puttanesca ever.

Then we moved to the New York area, and suddenly, it was like an invitation to the big league. So many different restaurants, celebrity chefs, dinner-and-a-show packages … my mom was soaking it all in, and I was right there with her. Alas, much as I enjoyed being my mom’s date as she explored what the big city had to offer, I eventually had to give up the student life and join the working class. (In other words, I realized how old I was and stopped mooching off my mama.) And, as one of our many family mottos goes, work got in the way of having a good time.

One thing, though, has never changed. We still try to have lunch together at least once a week, or every other week if our schedules are tight. Because I’m an only girl, our “girls only” lunches have mostly been just me and my mom.

But now I have a sister-in-law, and she doesn’t live in a different state. In fact, her office is only about 20 minutes away from my house. Yay! So we’ve started a lunch club, and a few weeks ago, the three of us enjoyed lunch at Khun Thai.

I was perfectly fine ordering off the lunch menu (in the top photo), which was surprisingly very affordable. But my mom was hungry and the very reasonable prices on the lunch menu concerned her; she figured the portions would be tiny and there might not be enough food. So she asked for the dinner menu as well.

When she’s feeding others, not having enough food is a VERY BIG DEAL to my mom.

My mom had the Green Papaya Salad ($8) from the dinner menu, and I had the Tom Ka Gai ($4). The salad was fresh and crisp, with a lovely Asian dressing that tasted of fish sauce, lime, and sugar. My soup was absolutely delicious, and came in a large bowl. So much for tiny portions.

My sister-in-law had the Rare Tuna Spring Rolls ($8), also from the lunch menu. It came with a seaweed salad, and was almost a light meal in itself.

For her entree, my mom ordered Pan Fried Salmon Fillet ($18.50) from the dinner menu. It came with a green curry sauce, with the salmon resting on roasted eggplant. It was wonderful, and the salmon was moist and full of flavor.

My sister-in-law ordered from the dinner menu as well. She had the Khun Shrimp ($19.50) on the left, with massaman curry, tomatoes, and avocado. It was delicious too, especially with the avocado.

And me? I had the Garlic Shrimp with Rice (seen above, on the right) from the lunch menu, and it was—ready for this?—all of $10. They were huge shrimp, sauteed in a faintly sweet sauce with white pepper and garlic. It was my favorite of all the dishes, and I’m not just saying that because I ordered it. I’m already looking forward to having it again.

Then came dessert. No meal with my mom is complete without dessert. In my family, sometimes meals are an excuse to have dessert after.

My sister-in-law and I ordered the same thing: the Chocolate Grand Marnier Souffle ($7). It was really a no-brainer for us. My mom, on the other hand, ordered the Apple Tart Tatin ($6), which had caramelized apples on a crispy wonton skin, topped with vanilla ice cream and berries.

This is how my mom ended up ordering the Apple Tart Tatin:

Mom: Excuse me, do you have fried bananas?

Server: I’m sorry, we don’t.

Mom: Are you sure? Nothing with bananas? I like bananas.

Server: I’m very sorry, ma’am. We don’t have any desserts with bananas.

Mom: Oh. Okay. (Scans menu one more time.) In that case, I think I’ll have the bananas.

Server: (confused, pained silence)

Mom: Or maybe I’ll try the Apple Tart Tatin. But only if you don’t have any bananas.

You can see where I get my incredible maturity.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, the food. Let’s talk about the souffle, shall we? Because you may think the souffle above looks nice enough, but oh, by the time they were done with it, it looked both unceremoniously demolished and irresistibly … irresistible.

Yes, please. More, please.

And even though I’m the kind of person who likes her plate clean and orderly, that most definitely doesn’t apply where chocolate is involved.

Yep. I definitely had no problems cleaning up this mess.

If you’re in the Short Hills, NJ area and want to treat yourself to an amazing lunch, I highly recommend Khun Thai.

But whatever you do, please don’t try to order bananas. I don’t think the poor server can take another round of that.

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