Mango mousse with strawberries and lime zest

Mango mousse with strawberries and lime zest on Flickr by beFOODled.

This is the recipe for the rich and delicious mango mousse that Em brought to our party. She chilled the mousse in a bowl and then piped it into wanton soup spoons at our place. We then topped them with slivers of strawberry and mango and a sprinkling of lime zest. DV did all of the zesting, and exquisitely, too ;)

Mango Mousse

Half a can of mango pulp (10 oz)
1 small package of mango, lemon or orange Jello
1 1/2 package gelatin
2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup whipped cream
1 cup milk or soy milk

Boil water. Put gelatin in a cup, add three tablespoons of hot water and stir to fully melt the gelatin. Stir in gelatin, Jello and sugar into the hot water. Add the remaining ingredients after the Jello has melted. Chill in a pan, wine glasses, etc. Serve when set.

You can cut back on the sugar by using less, or eliminate it completely and add more mango pulp.

Mango cheesecake with a basil lemon syrup

Mango cheesecake with lemon basil glaze on Flickr by beFOODled.

How did the Transformer tapas party go? It was so fun, let me tell you the story starting with dessert. Pictured above is S's birthday cake, which Em and I made the night before the party. As you can see, we decorated it with transformers Arcee and Decepticon Rumble, meant to represent S and I as we battle through life for the fate of the universe.

The cake was so delicious. It's a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that you can find here. I cut it into 16 pieces and drizzled the lemon basil syrup over each slice. Em found mango puree that already had sugar in it, so we only used 1/4 cup of sugar instead of the 3/4 cup in the original recipe. I also found some nice orange and pistachio biscotti for the crust.

It turned out really well considering this was my first time making cheesecake. I just have to figure out how to wrap the foil more tightly around the base. The crust got a little soggy and I wasn't able to pick it up very well. Of course, by that time I had had a lot of wine and so had everyone else, so I don't think anyone noticed ;)

Poached pears with ginger and port

Poached pears with ginger and port on Flickr by beFOODled.

Squeaky and Calimochi brought an Epicurious recipe, poached pears with ginger and port, to our pairing night. It was a harmonious ending to an unplanned fruity evening of appley appetizers and pear-perfect desserts. The booze they used was Harvey's Orange Apertif from the makers of Harvey's Bristol Cream.