Food on Friday – Avocado-Mango Salsa

Scallops were on sale last week so Chip came home from shopping with both a pound of scallops and a pound of shrimp.  Next was to find a recipe that would use both.  Nothing in the cookbooks so I did my usual and went to the Bon Appetit website, did a search for scallops and shrimp and found their Mexican Seafood Saute with Avocado-Mango Salsa.   Since we only had two pounds of shellfish, we also did the Mexican Pepper Casserole from the Moosewood Cookbook and Popovers.  But to pull this off we needed all hands on deck.

Vash prepared the star of this post – the Avocado-Mango Salsa.  What I love is the simplicity of this dish combined with the great flavor punch it gives to the meal.  It is simple in its ingredients.

Can I just say that I LOVE that you can buy pre-sliced mango.  I used to mangle mine trying to get the fruit off the pit.  Buying the slices made this recipe a breeze.  As you can see, all you need is sliced mango, ripe avocados, a shallot, a jalapeno pepper and some limes for their wonderful juice.  We gave everything to Vash and he got to work.

First he diced the mango (we used the entire package).

Then he halved each avocado (we used two), twisting it to remove the pit.

Next, he took his knife and cut slices into the avocado – then cutting across the slices to cut chunks in the avocado.  They came out a little small – we will make fatter slices next time.

Then he diced the shallot – again, first cutting slices and then cutting them cross-wise for the smaller pieces.

Then he diced the jalapeno – being VERY CAREFUL not to rub his eyes after his hands touched the pepper.

And finally he juiced two limes and added the juice to the remaining ingredients.

That was it.  Avocado Mango Salsa.

While that was being made, Chip had made the marinade for the saute (we left out the tequila and just used water, and I hate cumin so that was left out too).  After getting the scallops in the marinade, he and Jesse started working on peeling the shrimp (which was thankfully deveined prior to purchase.)

Let me jump in here to say that the crazy messy kitchen and life I have are part of why this is a family life blog and not a food blog.  Food blogs have pictures taken in beautiful clean kitchens with white countertops and food in pretty china bowls.  In my house you see the dog chewed cabinets (leftovers from our puppy fostering days), the boxes on the table that were dropped there from unloading the car, wrappers on the counters because we don’t clean up until after we are done cooking, and all the rest of the mess that goes with having a houseful of kids and dogs and four businesses all working out of one space.  So yes, here you get real family life – though just once I would like to have a food blogger’s kitchen.  But that is for another day.  Back to this day – which was Tuesday by the way.

My job for this meal, besides handing out cooking assignments, was the Mexican Pepper Casserole.  While I usually love the recipes from Moosewood Cookbook, this one came out  a little too greasy/oily when it was done so I am not including it in the blog.   It is basically sauteed onions and peppers layered with slices of cheddar cheese, topped with a sour cream/egg custard sprinkled with paprika.  Here it is just before coming out of the oven.

The boys liked the paprika.

Markus’s job was to both help Chip and to make the popovers.  Now, popovers are not exactly mexican, but I needed something bready that I could make quick that would go into a 375 degree oven and they were the first thing I found.  He did a good job.

They came in handy to sop up the sauce from the saute.

I am not going to list the full process of making the saute.  It is in the recipe that is linked above.  However, after the shrimp and the scallops were sauteed, the marinade is added back to the pan to make a sauce that is out of this world good!!.

Next time I think I will make rice so that I have something to really absorb that sauce because we were all taking our popovers and wiping the pan when we were done.

So here it all is for that short period of time before it was all gone

Reviews were that the Mexican Pepper Casserole is not to be repeated.  It just did not work.  Everyone loved the salsa EXCEPT for Vash, who found the heat of the jalapenos just tooooo spicy.  The Seafood Saute was a HUGE hit with everyone and the popovers all went quick too.

The boys are very happy that the Food on Friday blogs are back.  They love showing you what they cook.  Markus has been busy photographing alot of his baking but is finding that he is doing that same thing that I tend to do – forgetting to photograph the end results and then eating his work before he remembers – so we have to wait until we buy more strawberries for him to show you his strawberry, almond, chocolate chip muffins.

Have a great weekend everyone.  I have a new project to show you on Monday.  Can’t wait.

Onward and Upward.