Vietnamese-style summer rolls

OK, I will not claim that these are authentic Vietnamese Summer rolls.

But they were good. And, other than the chopping, they were easy to make.

Vietnamese-style Summer rolls

1 medium carrot - julienned

1 small cucumber - peeled, seeds removed and julienned

1/2 cup bean sprouts

4 to 5 green onions - julienned

1 bunch cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon soy sauce or Ponzu sauce

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)

1 package thin rice noodles - optional - (I used mee krob type)
Cook about a handful of these according to package directions and let cool.

8 (8-inch) rice sheets (plus more in case some tear)

Warm water, for soaking rice sheets

So here, we go... a little picture show on making summer rolls.

First get all your veggies cut up and ready to go.

As I pointed out in the previous post, I find this ceramic blade slicer very handy.

I sliced the veggies thin, then used a chef's knife to cut the julienne strips.

Thin, thin, thin.
This did not work for the green onions though. I just used the knife for that.

Once all the veggies are chopped, combine the carrots, cucumbers, green onion and bean sprouts. Toss with soy or Ponzu sauce.

Assembly goes pretty fast, so you want to have all your ingredients on hand.
Have veggies, noodles and cilantro ready.

The rice sheets are dry and stiff and must be reconstituted in warm water.
I used a small sautee pan of warm water, just from the tap. No need for boiling. You will be working with your hands in this, so it should not be too hot.

Soak one sheet at a time in the water until the sheet is soft and pliable. If there are any large holes or tears, discard and start with a new sheet.

Carefully remove sheet to a work surface and spread it out as flat as possible.
This is where you need to work somewhat quickly so the sheet does not get too dry and stick to the surface.

In the center of the sheet, sprinkle some cilantro leaves.

Add a small portion of the noodles on top of that, then top with some of the veggie mix.

Fold one end then the other over, like above. Then fold a third side all the way over the veggie mixture. From here, roll it up tight like a little burrito. The last side should basically stick to the outside of the roll and seal itself.

To serve, I cut them in half and served with a few things: peanut sauce, hot mustard, red chili sauce and Ponzu mixed with a little honey.

These were vegetarian (no fish sauce in mine), but I think they would be good with some cold, cooked shrimp in there.

This was an experiment, but it was a fun one that turned out to be a tasty one, too. Use what you like, basically.
These were great as a starter. And with the leftover ingredients, I was able to quickly assemble a couple for my lunch the next day after diving.

OK. That's all I got for today.

Gadget: Ceramic blade slicer

For a while now I have been wanting to post some entries about some of the handy little kitchen tools I love and use on a regular basis.

I am a big believer in really getting my hands into making a dish, but sometimes the right tool really is a help in the kitchen.

One of my favorite tools is a ceramic blade slicer.

I got this several years ago at Williams-Sonoma.

The brand is Kyocera. Yeah, the same Kyocera that makes cell phones.

Go figure.

I like this took because it makes super thin slices of pretty much any veggie you want.

I used it to make thin carrot slices that I then julienned for summer rolls.

I use it a lot to slice onions for just about anything.

I like the thin, thin, thin slices. They add flavor to a dish without big chunks of onion.

I really don't like biting into something and ending up with a mouth full of onion.

It makes great slices of potato for chips.

It makes great slices of zucchini and mushrooms for the grilled pizzas I like.

The veggies cook very fast this way.

I have used it to slice apples to make a filo-apple tart.

It's not like I couldn't do all these things with just a knife, but this makes it easy and fast to get nice, uniform slices that are thinner than the blade of my chef's knife.

Jerk-spiced grilled mahi mahi with avocado-melon salsa

Spicy, tangy, crispy, creamy and sweet.
These all describe the grilled fish I made last night.

After a four-store hunt for mahi mahi, it finally came together.
The result was a light and tasty fish dish that also was super, SUPER easy.

Jerk-spiced grilled mahi mahi
with avocado-melon salsa

salsa

1 small avocado, ripe but not mushy, peeled and diced
1 cup cantaloupe, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp lime zest

salt and pepper to taste

Gently toss all ingredients to blend. Season to taste.
Keep in fridge until ready to use.

Now for the fish...
You can use any jerk seasoning you like, whether you make it or buy it.

I made mine this way:

jerk seasoning

2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 6-ounce mahi mahi fillets

Heat grill on high.
I used a solid cast-iron grill pan on my gas grill for this. This way I could flip with no worry about the fish falling through the grill.

In a small bowl, stir together the oregano, allspice, ground black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt. Add oil and mix to make paste then rub seasoning onto fish, coating completely.

Once grill is very hot, put fish on the grill.
Cook about 4 minutes and flip.
DO NOT mess with the fish until it is ready to flip. This will help reduce breakage.

Cook on the other side until fish is opaque in the middle, about 4 more minutes.

Serve with salsa.

The lime juice in the salsa is a good acid for this.
The fish is spicy and a little crisp.
The salsa adds sweet with the melon, creamy with the avocado.

It was a fabulous combination.

I would try this seasoning and salsa on chicken and expect it to be good.
It even sounds like something that would be good on steak, especially a nice thin carne asada type.

Chicken stuffed with spinach, prosciutto and Boursin cheese

Oh.My.Goodness.

I wanted to make something rich and lush and satisfying and this was exactly the right thing.

I was afraid the cheese would totally melt away in this, but there was still some present in the chicken. And what did melt away was there in the sauce, giving it some creaminess.

The spinach gave it good color and a little texture. The prosciutto just sent it to another level for me. I love prosciutto.

I would guess you can use sliced ham instead of prosciutto. I also think I may try this again and substitute mushrooms for the spinach. That might give it an earthier flavor. Or some asparagus spears to give it a brighter flavor.

But for last night, this was perfect.

chicken stuffed with spinach, prosciutto and Boursin

4 servings

5 ounce bag of baby spinach
4 thin chicken cutlets (6-8 ounce each piece)
(I bought thin-cut chicken breast steaks and pounded them into thin cutlets)
Sea salt and fresh black pepper
dill - minced fresh or dried flake
(I used dried here since my market was out of fresh. Fresh is my preference)
8 thin slices about prosciutto
(I bought about 1/3 pound and it was just enough)
5 ounce package Boursin or similar cheese, cut into five pieces
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water

Heat large oven-safe skillet and cook spinach about 1 minute or until wilted.
Save this skillet, the chicken will cook in this.

Put spinach in colander and rinse with cold water until cool.
Squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Set aside.




If using thicker pieces of chicken, pound them into thin pieces.
I put the chicken between sheets of plastic wrap. This way I can see them, but the mess is contained.

Heat oven to 425.

Season cutlets with salt and pepper then sprinkle with the dill.
Layer prosciutto evenly over chicken.
Layer spinach evenly over that.
Crumble Boursin over that. Reserve the 5th piece to be used in the sauce later.

Roll cutlets and secure with toothpicks in 2-3 places.
My toothpicks were sticking out a lot so that it would make it difficult to turn them to cook.
So I cut them off to be more flush with the top of the chicken. They can be removed before serving.

Season outside with salt and pepper and then dust with flour, shaking off excess.

Wipe any moisture out of skillet then heat olive oil on high heat.
Add chicken, seam side down.
Cook until browned on bottom, about 4-5 minutes, then turn chicken.
Cook about 2-3 more minutes or until browned.

Turn so they are seam side down again and add the wine and broth.

Cover and bake in the oven for 12 more minutes, until chicken is done.

Remove from oven and transfer chicken to a platter. Remove toothpicks and cover with foil.

Transfer skillet to the cooktop and heat on high.
Add the cornstarch mixture and whisk until it starts to thicken.
Add remaining piece of Boursin and whisk until blended.
Salt and pepper to taste.

To serve this I cut the chicken down the middle and poured the sauce down into it.

I served this with roasted shoestring potatoes with rosemary and lemons.
For veggies, keep it simple with steamed green veggie like broccoli or asparagus.
The sauce is rich. The sides can be much more simple.

This would be excellent dinner party food. You can get the chicken assembled up to just before you dust them with flour and keep them in the fridge.
When you want to cook them, remove from the fridge and let stand about 10 minutes.
Dust them with flour and cook according to the recipe.

This is how I did it and they were perfect.

shoestring potatoes with rosemary & lemon

I served this as a side dish to a rich, creamy chicken dish.

The simple, crisp flavors of rosemary and lemon were a great balance to the chicken stuffed with prosciutto, spinach and boursin.

It was easy, with the most time-consuming part being cutting the potatoes and then soaking and rinsing them several times to remove the starch. Removing the starch helps them crisp up more.

shoestring potatoes with rosemary & lemon

four servings

3 medium russet or Idaho potatoes (total about 1 1/4 pounds)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1 tbsp lemon zest, finely grated

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 sea salt or kosher salt plus more to taste

1/4 tsp fresh black pepper

heat oven to 450

Clean potato skins thoroughly, but leave skin on.

Slice potatoes into 3/8-inch thick slices.

Cut slices into 3/8-inch think sticks.

Alternate rinsing and soaking potato slices in cold water until water runs clear.

Let potatoes rest in cold water for 5 minutes.

Drain completely and spread potatoes on towels or paper towels.

Cover with another towel or some paper towels and let dry.

While potatoes are drying, combine olive oil, mustard, zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Whisk until totally blended.

Add potatoes to bowl and toss/mix gently until each piece is coated.

Spread potatoes in single layer on baking sheet. I used two baking sheets.

Bake until browned on the bottom, about 10-15 minutes, then turn.

Bake in single layer until the other side is as brown and crispy as you want them, turning every 5 minutes.

I like mine crispy, so I baked them at least another 10-15 minutes, turning them a couple times.

Remove from oven (they will keep cooking if you leave them on the hot baking sheet)

Sprinkle with more salt to taste.

Serve immediately.

Grilled tri tip with smoked paprika mayo

Can it possibly be that I have not cooked anything since July 23, the date of the last post?

Well, no. Not exactly.

I have cooked, just nothing too exotic or new.

Plus there was that little matter of being gone on vacation for a bit longer than a week.

But I am back.

And I have cooked.

And I shall cook again.

I am thinking Monday will be a good day to really break out with something new since I am off work and can spend some time thinking about it.

But for now, I give you a recipe that I made once before going on vacation and once since being home: grilled tri tip with smoked paprika mayo.

I adapted this from another recipe, as I so often do.

The original recipe, which used tenderloin instead of tri tip was in the July 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine.

I used tri tip because it was waaaaaaaay less expensive than the tenderloin.

So, let's grill.

for beef:

2 large garlic cloves

1 1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp smoked paprika (there IS a difference between this and regular paprika. get the smoked)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tri tip, trimmed of excess fat

Mince garlic and then mash with salt. I use a mortar and pestle, you also can use the back of a spoon.

Stir in smoked paprika, cumin, pepper and oil.

Pat tri tip dry and rub with garlic-paprika mixture to coat.

You can cook it right away or let it sit. I let mine sit at least a couple hours.

Heat grill on high.

Cook meat on one side to get a nice sear and coating then flip it over to sear the other side.

Lower heat to medium and cook until done.

Meat should have a center temperature of 125-130 degrees with a meat thermometer.

This should give you a meat cooked to medium in the center. The ends will be more well done.

Remove meat from grill and let rest while you make the mayo.

Reserve any juices to use in the mayo.

for mayo:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 large garlic clove, finely minced

Stir together all ingredients and then add in reserved juice from the meat if you want it.

I did one with the juice and one without when I cooked this.

Both times it was really tasty.

And the mayo will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks.

I used some of the leftovers on grilled portabello mushroom sandwiches. It was excellent.

to serve:

Slice the meat thinly and on an angle.

Serve warm or at room temperature with the mayo.

Leftovers of this are yummy and would make excellent sandwiches.

The second time I made it I used the leftover meat, chopped up, to make carne asada tacos.

pots of gold (or grilled camenbert or brie)

This was quite yummy. I made just one to share and had bread and apple slices for dipping/spreading.
You can probably use whatever you like. It called for a tomato and basil salad thing. I skipped that and just made a simple salad. I will include that in the recipe.


Here is my modified version that served two.


I got the grill heating before I started the salad, since the salad was so fast.



Salad


2 cups of your favorite salad greens (I used romaine and arugula)
red onion to your liking - sliced as thinly as possible into slivers
sea salt
ground pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2-3 teaspoons olive oil


Mix lemon juice and olive oil. Toss with greens and onions. Salt and pepper to taste.
Set aside.



Pots of Gold


enough of your favorite bread for two people, cut into chunks or small pieces
1 small green apple, cut into slices
1 small round of camenbert or brie. It MUST be totally incased in the rind.
olive oil


special equipment:

grill pan (Mine is a big, flat cast iron plate with grill ridges on one side and flat on the other. In the small pictures on that link it is on the right, in the middle.)


to make:
Put grill pan on barbecue rack and heat barbecue to high.


Rub all sides of the cheese round with olive oil to coat.


Place cheese on hot grill pan and let cook for about 5 minutes.

Using a flat spatula, carefully flip cheese over.


Grill about 5 more minutes on the second side or until cheese starts to feel soft and runny when you squeeze it with tongs.

This is where I was overly cautious. I ended up with mostly soft cheese, but it could have gone a little longer.

I was worried about it getting too soft and breaking open.
So I took it off a little too soon. My fix? I nuked it for less than a minute with the rind still intact.



To serve, cut open the top of the rind and dip!

I especially liked the apples. I think it would be good with slightly steamed then cooled asparagus spears, too. And of course, the bread was good.



The salad was not for dipping. It did provide a nice bright flavor in contrast to the creamy, creamy cheese.


I made this for two. But as an appetizer it probably would work for four depending on the size of the cheese round.

I would be leery of doing a round that is too large since it may take too long to melt before the rind starts to break down on the grill.