Nicole Is Cooking

As the title suggests, this post is dedicated to the rest of you that cook.

First, if you do not read my entries directly from my website, please stop by and take a look at the Blogroll (the list down the left). I have recently updated it with more food blogs! I read all of those blogs as they are updated and they provide a lot of ideas and inspiration for cooking. I like them more than cooking shows. If you are looking for some things to read regularly or just need some food inspiration, give some of those a click and see what you turn up.

Now, for some cooking closer to “home”…

Magnio dropped me an email from Norway to follow up on her comment on the beet write up. She made some beets for the holidays from the recipe I sent her and they were a great success!

Fantôme Chocolat and I recently went to a fabulous wine and cheese party at the home of our friends, Nam and Chris. Nam, our fabulous hostess and also a regular reader here, made mascarpone stuffed dates sprinkled with fleur de sal. Wow! Fantôme Chocolat always knew when I was eating one because of the faces I was making. They were roasted in the oven so the date caramelized. They had a fabulous texture and were a wonderful balance of sweet and salty. Nam shared the recipe with me so keep an eye out for that coming soon!

And last, but most certainly not least, my dear friend Katja in London was feeling inspired by a few different recipes one cold winter night and came up with a recipe she is letting me share with everyone. So I leave you with “Katja’s Mango Tango”. Enjoy!

Katja’s Mango Tango

Slice up some Mangoes. Put on a tray. Sprinkle some light brown sugar on them, a couple of small flakes of butter and some lemon juice. Mix.

Pop in the oven at 350 degrees to heat them.

In the meantime, toast some coconut flakes in a pan until golden brown.

Once the mango mix is nicely heated through arrange on plates, pop a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Sprinkle coconut flakes and pop a basil leaf on top.

Seriously delicious and classy to look at.

And, of course, here is a picture for you!