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…

• 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1 packet unflavored gelatin powder
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 cup evaporated cane sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced length-wise and seeds taken out
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 (8 oz) ramekins

In a small bowl dissolve the gelatin in the cold water. Keep aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt, coconut milk, vanilla extract and seeds from vanilla bean.
In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream and sugar on medium heat until just simmering. Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture. Add the cream mixture into the cold yogurt mixture.
Pour into the ramekins and chill thoroughly- at least 6 hours if not over night. Dip bottoms of cups into hot water and invert into a serving plate. Serve with mango lime sauce.

Mango Lime Sauce

• ½ cup mango pulp
• 2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice
• Juice of ½ lime (1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 mint leaves

Combine mango pulp and sugar in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and heat over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes and turn the heat off. Add the vanilla extract and lime juice. Take the mint leaves once the sauce is cool. Serve with the panna cotta.

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…

• 1 pack 10 oz shredded green cabbage
• 1 pack 10 oz shredded carrots
• 5 persian cucumbers, 1 inch match stick pieces
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup green onions, chopped

Mix the cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and green onions in a large serving bowl. Keep aside.

Tamarind Dressing

• 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• ¼ tamarind concentrate
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 4 tablespoons honey
• Salt
• 2 teaspoons roasted cumin seeds, crushed

Mix the yogurt, tamarind, lemon juice, honey, salt and roasted cumin in a small bowl. Keep aside till ready to serve. Add the dressing to the cabbage mixture and mix well. Taste for seasonings and add more salt if needed. Serve room temperature.

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…

• 3 pounds red skinned potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut into ¼ inch cubes
• 3 sweet peppers, cut into ½ inch cubes (a mix of red and yellow or orange)

Add to a large serving bowl and keep aside.

Dressing

• 1 cup peanut butter
• ½ light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• Salt

Mix the peanut butter, coconut milk, honey, tamari, sriracha sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar and salt. Mix well and add to the potatoes. Taste for seasonings and add salt if needed.

Garnish

• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 cup salted peanuts, chopped

Top with cilantro, green onions and peanuts. Serve room temperature.

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…

Burgers (Makes about 16 to 18 patties)

• 3 pounds ground chicken (dark meat)
• 2 limes, juiced and zested
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 inches ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• 3 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 cup salted peanuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 2 serrano chilies, chopped
• 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce
• Salt

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl and divide into 16 to 18 patties, depending on the size.

Garnish

• 4 cups wild arugula
• 3 large tomatoes, sliced
• 2 small red onions, sliced
• 12 to 16 brioche rolls, sliced

Mango Pineapple Chutney

• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
• 1 big shallot, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• 1 cup mango, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup canned pineapple
• ½ cup pineapple juice
• ½ cup mango lemonade
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Salt

Heat a small frying pan. Add the olive oil, shallot, garlic and ginger. Saute on medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the mango, pineapple, pineapple juice, mango lemonade, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes covered. Turn the heat off and blend the mixture till smooth in a blender. Taste for seasonings and add salt if necessary. Take out in a bowl and let it cool before using it for the burgers.

To assemble the burgers, place a burger on the sliced brioche. Spread the chutney on one side with the arugula, slice tomatoes and onions.

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….

• 3 to 4 cups ripe mango, chopped
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Salt

Mix the mangos, cilantro, green onions, fish sauce, sweet chili sauce, lemon juice and salt in a small serving bowl. Let sit for half an hour before serving.
Serve with rice chips (any kind of Asian crackers will do).