Spicy Mango Orange Grilled Shrimp

Some leftover Mango Orange Salad Dressing was the inspiration for these very tasty grilled shrimp. I added some extra crushed chili paste to give it a great little spicy kick too.

1 cup diced ripe mango
pinch salt
pinch white pepper
pinch Chinese five spice powder
1 tsp ground chili paste (optional for those not fond of heat)
1/2 tsp finely minced garlic
orange juice

Puree all ingredients except orange juice in a blender or food processor and puree until very smooth. Slowly add enough orange juice until the puree reaches the consistency of salad dressing.Set a little aside as a dipping sauce if you prefer.

Marinate uncooked shelled shrimp in the mango orange mixture for only about 20 minutes before grilling them over medium heat for only a minute or two per side, depending on the size of your shrimp.

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Chocolate Souffle Cake

Today's recipe is a study in pure chocolate indulgence. Calorie counters should run screaming from this amazing chocolate cake. I hadn't made this one in a while and was happily reminded of just how delicious it is when I made it for a dinner party a couple of nights ago. It is a flourless cake and therefore one that I make for friends with gluten allergies but that doesn't mean that it is, by any measure, inferior to a normal chocolate cake. Many folks will actually prefer this one for the deep rich chocolate flavour and the absolute melt-in-your mouth texture.

A note on baking this cake. It will rise like a souffle and you will be able to use the toothpick test to see if it is fully baked but it will fall and shrink as it cools. Don't freak out, this is perfectly okay and to be expected.

The cake is pictured here with sliced strawberries that have been mascerated in just a few tablespoons of sugar and some vanilla whipped cream. For an alternative serving suggestion, try serving it with Bailey's Whipped Cream and Caramel Sauce. See that suggestion here: http://rockrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/12/chocolate-souffle-cake-with-irish-cream.html

Chocolate Souffle Cake
1 pound dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup unsalted butter
10 extra large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp fine salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup cocoa

Grease two 9 inch cake pans and dust with cocoa.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler just until melted, set aside to cool almost to room temperature. Stir in the cocoa, vanilla and salt until smooth.

Separate the eggs and beat the whites to soft peaks. Slowly beat in the sugar to form a meringue. Beat the egg yolks and fold into the meringue along with the chocolate mixture. Divide the batter equally into the cake pans and bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before turning the cake out onto a wire rck to cool completely.

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Mango Orange Dressing on Prosciutto Apple Salad

A regular reader of this blog recently wrote to thank me for the suggestion of using fruit salsa as an accompaniment to a salad instead of using a calorie-rich, oil based dressing. ( Just like here in a Low-Fat Chicken Taco Salad with Mango Salsa )

With that in mind, I attempted to make an oil free dressing for one of my favorite salads a couple of weeks back and this was the very successful result. The salad shown is my version of one that I recently had at a restaurant while on vacation and which I enjoyed very much. It really is a very balanced plate, incorporating the sweetness of the dressing, the saltiness of the prosciutto, the slightly bitter edge of the endive, the slightly sour tartness of a Granny Smith Apple and the pungent flavour of good Parmesan. Just delicious.

Mango Orange Salad Dressing

Makes about 1 cup

1 cup diced ripe mango
pinch salt
pinch white pepper
pinch Chinese five spice powder
1/2 tsp ground chili paste (optional for those not fond of heat)
1/2 tsp finely minced garlic
orange juice

Puree all ingredients except orange juice in a blender or food processor and puree until very smooth. Slowly add enough orange juice until the puree reaches the consistency of salad dressing. Serve over your favorite salad.

Prosciutto Apple Salad

Layer the components of the salad on the plate before drizzling with the Mango Orange Dressing.

Boston lettuce leaves
endive
shaved prosciutto
thinly sliced Granny Smith apple
Parmesan cheese curls
cracked black pepper

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