It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a MANGO!

So, I've been reading lots about the great benefits of eating mangoes. Apparently, it has been designated as an official "superfruit;" so named for its incredible health value. Mangoes are also rich in prebiotic dietary fiber, vitamin C, and other essential vitamins and minerals. (Props to Wikipedia for the mango info.)

In addition to actually being good for you, and, perhaps most importantly, mangoes are also darned tasty. I purchased my mangoes on a recent trip to the local Sam's Club. As I stared at a huge selection of mangoes, I wondered how to choose my mangoes. From previous reading, I knew that a ripe mango would be slightly soft if squeezed lightly. But I wanted to pick out six mangoes so that I could enjoy them throughout the coming week. Finally, after dithering far longer than really necessary, I selected three ripe mangoes and three that were still very firm.

After arriving home, I cleaned each mango gently (you don't want to bruise their skin, as it may create brown/black spots that can reach all the way into the fruit inside) and then set about the complicated task of slicing one. The oblong seed pod of a mango is a complicated thing...and I'm waaaaay too stubborn to buy one of those goofy mango slicers (that, as Alton Brown would point out, is a uni-tasker, and has no place in my kitchen -- unless it's a fire extignuisher). So, since this was my first whole mango, I eventually decided that a slightly messy cut was just part of the learning process. And so, accordingly, I went after the thing with my largest, sharpest, pointiest knife. Note to Self: When going after things with one's largest, sharpest, pointiest knife, one should be careful to remove one's fingers from the immediate area. And so, after some minor first aid, I had two halves of a mango laying in front of me on my board. Unfortunately, as I had feared there would be, there was still a lot of mango attached to that darned seed pod thing. And so I began (a lot more carefully this time) to slice away sections of mango until I decided there was no more that I could possibly remove with a knife. Then, just because I wanted the "whole mango experience," I gnawed on the seed a bit and ate some mango off it directly. YUM!

So, after I tossed a thoroughly gnawed seed pod thing (that's it's technical name) into the trash, I addressed the remaining halves of mango, as well as the smaller slices I had cut from the sides of the mangoes. Each slice was laid on my board and the peel carefully sliced off. Then, I sliced each chunk into smaller, bite-sized pieces. That evening I enjoyed mango for dessert. The next day I also had mango as part of my lunch at school.

As I worked my way through my six mangoes this past week, I reflected on the fact that I was really enjoying a new and novel fruit: it's texture is unlike other fruit I commonly eat and the extraction of the fruit is certainly a bigger challenge than say, an apple. However, mangoes are unqiue in that they have so many uses, both sweet and savory. Although I ate my first six mangoes straight; that is, as a fruit and not as part of a larger recipe, I plan to buy more mangoes. I foresee mango salsas, sorbets, sauces...hmm...I'm sure there's an application that doesn't start with an "s," but darned if I can think of one right now. I guess I'll just have to start with these. Stay tuned for more with mangoes.

P.S. Never write your blog while watching a Good Eats marathon -- you'll find yourself speaking like Alton Brown.

Rockin' the Moroccan: Cous Cous

So tonight I was feeling adventurous...okay, in reality I was feeling tired, but I had bought all the ingredients for cous cous, so I plowed ahead with dinner plans: Fried Chicken with green beans and cous cous. The fried chicken is made with Andy's Hot 'N' Spicy flour/batter. I highly recommend it, although I do cut the batter with a bit of all purpose flour to keep from scorching my mouth! Here's how the chicken is made:



Hot 'N' Spicy Fried Chicken



Ingredients:

1/2 cup Andy's Hot 'N' Spicy flour

1/4 cup All Purpose flour

1 egg

2-3 T. milk

4 Schwan chicken breasts -- they are excellent!!

1-2 cup classic olive oil (full flavor, this is NOT the time for extra virgin nonsense)



Directions:

Combine the Andy's flour with the all purpose flour in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg with the milk. Slice the chicken breasts into strips. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and heat over medium heat.



Dredge chicken pieces in the flour mixture and then coat with the egg/milk mixture. Dump back into the flour mixture and then lower gently into the olive oil. Tip: Take it from me, lower the strips gently. I have the burns to prove the wisdom of this. Also, employ a splatter screen of some kind. Even a metal mesh colander will work in a pinch. But use something to avoid having your stovetop (and your hands and arms) covered in small droplets of burning hot oil.



When the chicken has browned on one side (watch carefully, it varies depending on the thickness of the chicken breast pieces), flip and brown on the other side. Remove from the skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate.





I used Ina Garten's cous cous recipe from her book Barefoot in Paris. I first saw it on her Barefoot Contessa show along with chicken and forty cloves of garlic and her awesome ice cream bombe. I can't wait to try my hand at a homemade ice cream bombe...but I digress...



I was nervous about trying to make/eat cous cous. I'd never had it before, but I figured that it was basically a chicken-flavored rice with some embellishments thrown in. I like chicken, I like rice, and, separately, I like all the embellishments (shallots, pine nuts, and craisins). So I figured, what the heck?



Cous Cous:



Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup chopped shallots (3-4 shallots)

3 cups chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cup golden cous cous

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup dried currants (Note: I didn't have currants, so I used craisins)

2 Tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the shallots and cook them over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Frankly, I forgot to check on the shallots as I was also working on the fried chicken at the same time, but they didn't overcook or burn due to my inattention. =] Add the chicken stock. salt, and pepper to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat. Stir in the cous cous, cover the pan, and set aside for 10 minutes. Add the toasted pine nuts, craisins, and parsley and fluff the cous cous with a fork. Serve hot.

*Ina had a point about stirring the cous cous -- fluff gently or it will start to clump. It doesn't affect the taste, but it doesn't look as pretty.

**Another random fact about making cous cous: expect your house to smell like chicken stock and cous cous for about 48 hours. I'm still not sure if it was the brand of chicken stock I used, or simply the shallots that cooked a bit too long, but the house retained the odor of the cous cous until I went on the attack and burned some candles. I'm not sure what it is about a burning candle that neutralizes odors, but it's very effective. The candles don't even need to be scented (frankly, scent only masks odor anyway), so go ahead and use cheapo ones! =]