a simple man's love for food, life & star wars

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Exotic Asian Fruit Salad with a twist.....yummers!

This is my mom's fruit salad which I grew up on. What's great about this salad, aside from it's sweet unusual flavors, is it's mixtures of consistencies. You have crisp fruits that pop when you bite them, like grapes, mandarin oranges and apples, but then you have baby sugar palms which are like natures jelly bellies.  Throw in some walnuts for crunch and jack fruit for a nice firm texture...and you get an explosion of textures in your mouth that tastes sinfully sweet.

I was a slacker and did not bring my camera, so I have put up a stock photo of what this fruit salad sort of looks like.


Disclaimer: If you do not have an Asian Market near you..you can't make this salad!

Recipe is for 5-6 people...generally 3-4 people will eat this because everyone always has 2 servings!
1 Tbsp Sweetened Condesnsed Milk
1 Jar / 12 oz Macapunos' Sweet Coconut Strings
2 Bunches of Green Grapes
1 10-12 oz Jar of Mandarin Oranges
1 Can of Lychee Fruit in Syrup
1 Jar / 120-12 oz of Kaong's Sugar Palm Fruit
Cool Whip, 1 tub
1/2 Finely Chopped  Walnuts,

3 Red Apples cut small sqaures
4 Bananas, sliced

Keep all fruit in the fridge for a few hours at the minimum before making this salad. It's meant to be served nice and cold.  Combine all the fruit and then strain for 4-5 minutes to assure all excess sweet juices are gone. Mix in a large bowl with 1 tub of Lite Cool Whip and 1 Tbsp of condensed milk. Then add the crushed / chopped walnuts and place in fridge for 30 minutes before serving,

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Filo Wrapped Baked Brie n Apples

This is a great party dish. It takes 10 minutes to make, 20 minutes to cook..and feeds 6-12 people depending on the size of the Brie wheel you buy. So without further ado..here it is!

Filo Wrapped Baked Brie n Apples:


1 Large Bri (Ours is 34oz / 2lbs 2oz / about 12" diameter)
2 Large Apples
1 Stick of Butter (melted)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup of your favorite jam ( this is an alternate addition to add)
1 cup chopped Walnuts or Pecans


     Pre heat oven to 350. Get out your sheet pan and butter it then trim off the wax / crust from the entire Brie. Trim the top of the Brie  to make sure it is flat. Flip the Brie over...now this flattened top will now be the bottom.

     Place 4 layers of  filo  on your buttered sheet pan. Brush some of the melted butter on, in between each sheet. Then place the Brie on the layers of Brie. If you choose to use your favorite jam, take 1 cup of it and spread it over the top of the Brie. Take the 4 bottom layers of Brie and fold it up the sides of the Brie. Then lay 4 more layers, each with melted butter on it, on top of the Brie. Fold the sides down.

     Slice your apples into this slices and layer it in a circle on the top of the Brie pastry, then sprinkle the brown sugar of the top. If you have any pecans or walnuts, sprinkle these over the top as the last ingredient. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until filo is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes  (in our case, we set it outside in the freezing cold for 10 minutes!) and then slice and serve with water crackers.