Sweet and Tangy Mango Baby Back Ribs with Cilantro Yogurt Dipping Sauce

If you thought there is no way that I would have kept at cooking and blogging for over three years, I probably would have said you were right.

To be honest, I didn’t think I would do it for so long. I’ve always dabbled in different hobbies, so I didn’t really thing this one would stick. But I really like writing. And I REALLY like cooking. I may even say LOVE.

But when I started cooking and writing about it, I had a lot less responsibility. In life and at work. I had the time to have a drunken dinner party every Tuesday. I could make dinner no matter what work task came my way that day.

I’ve been blessed to be in a more valuable roll than I’ve ever been in, but it definitely cuts into my kitchen time.

Thank goodness I have an awesome mom who will do some shopping, prep work and photography when I’m running late at work. Just so I can come home and dirty her beautiful kitchen while I do what I love. And she barely complains when I spill things ALL OVER the kitchen.

She was gracious enough to get some ribs in the oven for me the other night. But the magic of the sauce was alllllllll me.

You will need…

2 racks baby back ribs

¼ cup ground coriander

½ teaspoon Chinese fire-spice

¼ cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

1 ripe mango, chopped

2 tablespoons palm sugar

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup packed cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

½ cup Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the coriander and five spice. Season well with salt and pepper.

Place the ribs in a roasting dish and rub the spice mixture all over both sides. 

Add in the vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce to the pan and cover it with foil.

Roast the ribs for 1 hour, until tender.

While the ribs are roasting. Combine the mango, Worcestershire sauce, sugar lemon juice, honey, red pepper and remaining fish sauce in a blender or food processor. 

Blend until smooth and set the glaze aside.

Rinse the blender or processor and then fill it with the cilantro, yogurt and lime juice and blend till smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

When the ribs have roasted for an hour, remove them from the oven and turn the oven to broil.

Pour any excess liquid from the roasting pan and brush half of the glaze onto the less meaty side of the ribs.

Broil for 5 minutes until they are browning.

Remove the ribs from the heat once again and brush the remaining glaze on the fatty side of the ribs.

Continue to broil for an additional five minutes until golden and sizzling.

Allow the ribs to cool slightly, slice and serve with cilantro dipping sauce.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Sweet Mango Baby Back Ribs with Cilantro Yogurt Dipping Sauce

2 racks baby back ribs

¼ cup ground coriander

½ teaspoon Chinese fire-spice

¼ cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

1 ripe mango, chopped

2 tablespoons palm sugar

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup packed cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

½ cup Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the coriander and five spice. Season well with salt and pepper.

Place the ribs in a roasting dish and rub the spice mixture all over both sides. Add in the vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce to the pan and cover it with foil.

Roast the ribs for 1 hour, until tender. While the ribs are roasting. Combine the mango, Worcestershire sauce, sugar lemon juice, honey, red pepper and remaining fish sauce in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and set the glaze aside.

Rinse the blender or processor and then fill it with the cilantro, yogurt and lime juice and blend till smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

When the ribs have roasted for an hour, remove them from the oven and turn the oven to broil.

Pour any excess liquid from the roasting pan and brush half of the glaze onto the less meaty side of the ribs.

Broil for 5 minutes until they are browning.

Remove the ribs from the heat once again and brush the remaining glaze on the fatty side of the ribs.

Continue to broil for an additional five minutes until golden and sizzling.

Allow the ribs to cool slightly, slice and serve with cilantro dipping sauce. 

Curried Chicken Salad Sandwiches

When you introduce your significant other to your family, you hope they get along. But even more than that, you hope they bond.

Luckily for me, Wesley and my brothers were able to bond quickly over a shared love. Their shared love is not of me. Yes they all love me, but I think they love Gushers fruit snacks even more.

Wesley loves Gushers so much that he actually spent some time this evening Googling them, their factory and reviews on them.

No, I am not making this up.

He stumbled across a negative review. The only negative review he could find.

What he found was so ridiculous that I had to share it. I don’t know anything about the woman that wrote it or her son. If he did indeed pass away, my heart goes out to her and I want her to know (in the off chance that she somehow reads this) that her and her son are hero’s and that I am in no way trying to mock her.

I am just really impressed at her ability to find parallels between Shrek Gushers and the war in Iraq. Very impressive.

To Whom It May Concern,

In 2004 my son died fighting an unjust war sold to the American people on lies. In 2006 I purchased a box of Shrek Fruit Gushers with "natural" Fruitomic Punch flavor. I have several issues with your Shrek Fruit Gushers and these are closely linked to the sadness I feel every Mother's Day when I realize that there will be no card or phone call from Casey. Your Fruit Gushers (Fruitomic or conventional) are waxy fruit candies full of juice that promise "an explosion of flavor", just like the IED explosion that killed my son, Casey. Very offensive.

I spoke to Hugo Chavez and he assured me that he supported my effort to bring our troops home and to receive a complete refund from your Shrek Fruit Gushers. Why do you only have two flavors in the Fruit Gusher pouch? I'm stricken with grief at the thought that even one more soldier will return home wounded from Iraq, buy a box of Shrek Fruit Gushers, and receive only two flavors.

I accuse you of false and deceptive advertising. There is a picture of Shrek on the box, yet the Fruit Gushers themselves vaguely resemble gems. What do gems have to do with Shrek? I have a t-shirt with Casey's face on it and I have a lot to do with my son. Maybe your Fruit Gushers taste like Shrek. I wouldn't know for sure, but what I do know is that they taste like lies. The same sort of lies Colin Powell told to the United Nations that got us into this tragic war. Flavor lies.

While I was visiting Cuba a few days ago I noticed that they did not sell Fruit Gushers anywhere in Cuba, yet Cuba has never launched a preemptive war based on faulty intelligence. Are the two connected? You tell me, Herr Crocker!!! I find that now when I place a Shrek Fruit Gusher in my mouth and bite down, rather than the explosion of flavor promised I find only the bittersweet burst of gooey forlorn hope. Hope for our nation's future and hope that our children and their children can live in a world of peace and refunds for unsatisfactory products.

Israel may support Shrek Fruit Gushers, but was that Zionist flavor explosion worth the life of my son?

Let me tell you, Betdolph Crockler, at a rally in New York City, Jesse Jackson spoke to over 5,000 veterans, Gold Star Mothers and friends and family of our troops and pledged to take up the fight to guarantee me a refund for these inferior Fruit Gushers. He insisted that I receive a full refund and not just coupons for more Betty Crocker products. It's what Casey would have wanted.

I want you to know right now I am crying. If I ever wore makeup it would be running down my cheeks. My tears are falling on this page so if some of the ink is running that is why. They accuse us of supporting cut and run, but I would rather support a new direction and a new refund. I cry for the loss of my son and the loss we all feel whenever we taste your terrible Shrek Fruit Gushers.

This is the only warning we are going to be giving. You know our demands and until those demands are met, myself and all Gold Stars Mothers (that star means their children died for a false war and bad Fruit Gushers) Against Shrek Fruit Gushers will be speaking to the media about your actions.

If these demands still are not met, we will begin camping outside your Fruit Gushers factory in Guadalajara, Mexico. I already have a suitcase fully packed with candles, card stock and markers as well as a whole notebook full of rhyming slogans we can yell.

Writing this letter because Casey can't,

Cindy Sheehan

On that note, I am going to leave you with something I hope is much less disappointing than Shrek Gushers. And much less controversial.

You will need…

4 small chicken breasts

¾ cup mango chutney

¾ cup Greek yogurt

1 lime, juiced

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

2 green onions, thinly sliced

½ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

1 cup arugula

4 large rolls (your favorite kind)

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Add the chicken until it is cooked through. About 20 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked, remove from the water and allow to cool.

As soon as the chicken has cooled enough to handle. Use 2 forks to pull apart the chicken until it is shredded.

Toss the chicken in a bowl with the chutney, lime juice, curry, scallions, cilantro and season it well with salt and pepper.

Toast the rolls and top them with arugula and ½ cup of chicken salad.

 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela  

Curried Chicken Salad Sandwiches

4 small chicken breasts

¾ cup mango chutney

¾ cup Greek yogurt

1 lime, juiced

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

2 green onions, thinly sliced

½ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

1 cup arugula

4 large rolls (your favorite kind)

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Add the chicken until it is cooked through. About 20 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked, remove from the water and allow to cool.

As soon as the chicken has cooled enough to handle. Use 2 forks to pull apart the chicken until it is shredded.

Toss the chicken in a bowl with the chutney, lime juice, curry, scallions, cilantro and season it well with salt and pepper.

Toast the rolls and top them with arugula and ½ cup of chicken salad.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mango Chutney

Once a year, without fail, I come up on a stretch of a few months where my life becomes a hectic, crazy, beautiful, mess.

It just keeps happening that my friends are scheduling things like getting married, reunions, babies and trips all in a row. Creating a whirlwind of time where everything becomes a blur of travel, special events and rocking good times.

At the end of it I will be exhausted and won’t remember half of what happened, but I will be left with a string of wonderful memories.

Well the time is upon me my friends. Starting the week after Valentine’s Day I am headed to Vegas, New York twice, Cabo San Lucas, Rosarito, Palm Desert and Fallbrook for weddings and San Francisco. All between mid February and mid July.

That is a lot of frequent flyer miles and a lot of meals on the road.

So until the epic trip beings, I am cooking at home. A lot. And I’m making every single dish count.

And you should too.

You will need…

4 ripe mangos, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 clove minced garlic

1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced

½ cup cider vinegar

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup raisins

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and add in the onions and jalapenos when it is hot.

Cook down the onions just until they are translucent.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until the mangos have cooked down and the combination is like a jam.

Season well with salt and pepper and serve as a spread.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Mango Chutney

4 ripe mangos, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 clove minced garlic

1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced

½ cup cider vinegar

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup raisins

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and add in the onions and jalapenos when it is hot.

Cook down the onions just until they are translucent.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until the mangos have cooked down and the combination is like a jam.

Season well with salt and pepper and serve as a spread. 

Minty Mango Salsa

I’m not sure how I did it, but I’ve managed to make it twenty-six years in southern California without going to the river.

But this weekend, I’m popping my river cherry thanks to some close friends who invited me and Wesley to join them on their weekend river trip.

Beers and boats! Here we come!

Hopefully I continue my streak of NOT hurting myself.

If you are going to spend the weekend enjoying some beverages by some body of water, here is just the little snack to take along for the ride.

You will need…

1 mango, peeled and diced

½ cucumber, peeled and diced

1 small jalapeno, diced

½ red onion, diced

Juice of 1 lime

1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro

3 green onions, finely chopped

5 mint leaves, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Here comes the really hard part. Combine all your ingredients in a bowl.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Wish me luck on my river adventure!

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Minty Mango Salsa

1 mango, peeled and diced

½ cucumber, peeled and diced

1 small jalapeno, diced

½ red onion, diced

Juice of 1 lime

1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro

3 green onions, finely chopped

5 mint leaves, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Here comes the really hard part. Combine all your ingredients in a bowl.

Season with salt and pepper and serve. 

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Dipping Sauce

When I lived in Los Angeles, I got to spend a lot more time with my youngest brother. 

He and his roommates would come over once a month for a big family dinner. We would eat and drink and tell stories of college parties, undie runs and sporting events. For a couple of hours, Lish and I would feel like we were back in college.

Then we would wake up hung over and have to go to work.

Even though he’s only an hour away now, the time we get to spend together is minimal. Even worse, I almost NEVER get to see his close friends. The people that I broke bread with on a regular basis and came to know and love.

Josh’s old roommates and his good high school friend were staying with us for a couple days and it was a rare treat.

And his friend Sticks wanted to make sure he got his face time on the blog now that he goes to Berkley.

Apparently he didn’t trust me to just write about him.

Because after I went to sleep, he decided to have a little food photo shoot of his own.

I guess my delicious shrimp wasn’t enough for him.

Maybe it will be enough for you.

You will need…

For the Shrimp:

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

2 cups bread crumbs

2 cups all purpose flour

3 eggs, beaten

24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for frying (about 6 cups depending on how large your pot is)

For the Dipping Sauce

½ cup light colored jam (a marmalade or jelly would work)

1 mango, diced

2 tablespoons dark rum

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combing the mango and the rum in a small sauce pan and cooking it over high heat until the alcohol has cooked out. About 2 minutes. 

Add in the jam or jelly and reduce the heat to medium. 

Cook the dipping sauce until all the jelly has completely melted into a sauce. About ten minutes. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste and removed it to a serving bowl. Cover with aluminum foil and let it cool. 

Then, in a large bowl, combine the coconut and bread crumbs. 

Then place the eggs, flour and coconut and bread crumb mixture on 3 different plates. 

Add some salt and pepper to the flour and combine well. 

Dredge (dunk) the shrimp into the flour mixture and shake off the excess. 

Then dip the shrimp in the egg so that it is lightly coated. 

Dip the shrimp thoroughly with the bread crumb coconut mixture and la the shrimp out so that they don't touch until it's time to fry. 

When all the shrimp are coated, heat several inches of oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Heat the oil until it is at 350 degrees F. I put my burner on medium high heat but every stove is different. 

Fry the shrimp in batches (do not crowd the pot) until the shrimp is golden brown and cooked through. About 3 to 4 minutes. 

Remove the shrimp and drain on a paper towel. 

Serve with the dipping sauce. 

And make sure you get your fill so you don't have to do this...

Love and Beer Floats

Angela