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This is a fabulous dessert to make for the summer. First of all there isn’t that much cooking involved and it is super easy to make.

Full disclosure, I didn’t make this one. My sister in law brought it to the barbecue we were having. She was in charge of the dessert. I had shared the Thai theme with her and she told me she will try her best to come up with something suitable.

Well, this combination was great. She tweaked a Ina Garten recipe and came up with her own. She added coconut milk to yogurt and cream. I love the addition of yogurt, it makes the dessert very light and creamy. The coconut milk gives it the Thai flavor I was looking for. You can substitute low fat yogurt and light coconut milk if you want to reduce the calories- the taste will be the same.

To top the panna cotta, she made a delicious mango lime sauce. Mango is a perfect choice since it is season and abundantly available. She used canned pulp but fresh mango can be pureed and used as well. I would use 2 to 3 mangoes instead of the pulp. The sauce was a perfect complement to the coconut vanilla dessert. It wasn’t too sweet- just right. It was a delicious end to a wonderful meal.

Try the vanilla coconut panna cotta for dessert this long weekend…
Click here for the recipe… »

I am all for making things from scratch but I do like to use all the conveniences I can find at the store. For this recipe I bought packaged, shredded cabbage, carrots and broccoli slaw. It saved me a ton of time and made everything a lot easier.

To complete a well-balanced menu, I was going to make a coleslaw dish with the Thai style burgers and potato salad. The recent Bon Appetit issue had a whole article on tamarind and it’s virtues. I am quite familiar with tamarind as I use it for all different things including using it in drinks, dressings and as a condiment.

They talked about pairing yogurt with tamarind concentrate to make a delicious, tangy dressing. I added my own twist by adding roasted cumin to the creamy dressing which gave the dish a nice nutty flavor. Overall, the dish went well with the burger and the potato salad.

What else do you need? Yes, I know what you are thinking- where is the dessert??? Stay tuned for tomorrow and you will have a great recipe for a dessert as well…
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Thai theme is continued for this side dish as well. I have to serve potatoes for a barbecue especially when burgers are involved. I usually prefer fries but I went with a potato salad.

I wanted to come up with a delicious recipe that is easy to make and also can be made ahead of time- that to me, is the key to a successful party. I need to be a stress free hostess and in order for me to be completely relaxed, I have to be able to do everything in advance. For this barbecue, I made sure everything was ready to go. The only thing my husband had to grill were the burgers and the corn. The rest was all laid out on the table, ready to go.

This salad was easy to make- there was a bit of chopping involved and then just a matter of mixing all the components. The two main ingredients in this dish are the peanut butter and coconut milk. The dressing mimics the typical Thai flavors. It is sweet, savory, tangy and spicy.

The potato salad went really well with the Thai style burgers- definitely try this for your fourth of July meal…
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I originally thought I should cook a steak marinated in Thai style ingredients but I just couldn’t think of making anything else but a burger- I just had to. So, I did a bit of research and came up with this recipe. These burgers are absolutely delicious. I had to make quite a few patties so ended up buying about three pounds of meat. You can cut the recipe in half and make bigger patties- I like to make small, thin ones and so for me a little meat goes a long way. You can also make extra and freeze the patties for another day.

I started with ground turkey, although ground chicken will be delicious as well. I added sweet, savory, spicy and tangy components to the meat including some ground peanuts. Almost like a chicken satay…

I bought brioche rolls for the burgers as they have a bit of sweetness to them which went perfectly well with the spicy, savory patties. For condiments we had sliced tomatoes, onions and some wild arugula.

For the best part of the burger- the mango pineapple chutney- it is a great addition to this dish. The chutney is cooked with shallots, canned pineapple, fresh mangoes, ginger, garlic, and lots of other delicious ingredients. This fresh condiment really took the burgers to a whole new level. I would encourage you to make this chutney with any kind of burgers you end up serving for this holiday.

Overall, the Thai style burgers were a huge success- make these for the fourth of July weekend…
Click here for the recipe… »

It is time to talk about fourth of July recipes. I can’t believe it is that time already. It feels like yesterday when we were complaining about the cold and wet weather and couldn’t wait for summer to begin. Well here it is and it is time to plan a delicious yet easy meal for your family and loved ones.

I came upon a Thai theme for this holiday. I find it a lot easier  to come up with recipes if I have a central theme established. For this theme, mangoes came to mind. Usually for an appetizer, I like to do a salsa and chips. It is easy and delicious and not too filling. It also goes well with beer, wine and any other mixed drinks you may be serving.

I decided to make a Thai style salsa- what does that mean? Well,  you essentially add Thai ingredients including fish sauce, sweet chili sauce, cilantro, lemon juice and you have a Thai style mango salsa! I served it with rice chips I purchased from Trader Joes.

Try it for the upcoming fourth of July holiday….
Click here for the recipe… »