Dec 14 2010

Dim Sum Holiday Party – Veggie Spring Rolls

I managed to squeeze in a cooking class the night before leaving for Vegas. I had a million things to do and a massive headache, but I was determined to learn how to make Chicken & Shitake Mushroom Potstickers, Peking Style Duck with Hoisin & Mandarin Pancakes, Vegetable Spring Rolls and Chinese BBQ Pork Buns.

Chef Dio taught the class at the co-op and it was just a reminder of how much I like his teaching style. Super laid back and very knowledgeable – but doesn’t need to prove it every second with culinary speak. Love that!

I used my iPhone, didn’t bring my new camera and wow can I tell the difference. I thought the big camera would be too distracting – trust me, I am the ONLY ONE taking photos in the class. People at my table are usually done with their samples while I’m only on my 5th or 6th shot of the dish. The life of a food blogger, LOL.

First up, Vegetable Spring Rolls –I should add “Incredible” to the title – they were so good!

Ingredients:
2 oz. Bean Thread Noodles
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Sherry
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
6 oz. Fresh Shitake Mushrooms – stems removed and thinly sliced
1 Cup Carrots – coarsely shredded
3 Cups Green Cabbage – Napa preferred – finely shredded
1 Small Yellow Onion – peeled and thinly sliced
Fresh Water Chestnuts – 2 sliced or sub with canned – 1 small can fresh water chestnuts chopped.
1 Small Can Shredded Bamboo Shoots – drained and rinsed well – Chef Dio suggested buying sliced and using a food processor
2 Cloves Garlic – finely chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
1 Package 8″ Spring Roll Wrappers – Chef Dio used Menlo brand wrappers available at most Asian markets
1/2 Bunch Washed and Dried Cilantro Sprigs – for garnish
2 Tablespoons Flour mixed with 1/4 Cup Water to seal the rolls
6 Cups Canola or Vegetable Oil – for frying
Plum Sauce, Garlic Sauce and Chinese Mustard for serving

Directions:
Soak bean thread noodles in hot water until pliable (About 15 minutes). Drain and cut in half using scissors. In a small mixing bowl combine sugar, sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sesame oil. Set aside.

Preheat a large saute pan or wok and add a little oil for stir-fry. Stir-fry mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, yellow onion, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots for 3-4 minutes until cabbage is tender. Add garlic and stir-fry one more minute. Stir in bean thread noodles. Add salt and pepper and liquid mixture from the first step and cook until sauce thickens. Taste for seasoning, remove from pan and cool to room temperature.

Assembly:
Place wrapper on work surface with a corner pointing towards you. Place 3 tablespoons of filling just below the center of the wrapper in a straight line. Fold corner nearest to you over filling and tuck it in tightly. Give the roll one tight turn, bring in the sides (so they won’t burn) and place one cilantro sprig on the inside of the roll. The wrapper becomes transulenct during the frying and you can see the cilantro sprig through the wrapper, it adds that extra touch. Continue to roll tightly and seal the remaining side with the flour/water mixture. Place seam side down on flat tray and make sure you keep rolls from touching. Roll the entire package of wrappers.

Cooking:
Heat 1/2 inch of oil in skillet to 350 degrees. Carefully place as many rolls into the pan without crowding and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with sauces.

Sauces:

Lee Kum Kee was the plum sauce used. He mixed up the hot mustard before class and gave us a recipe for the garlic sauce.

The garlic sauce was amazing! I’m definitely going to use it on vegetables and probably anything else I can think of, ha!

Garlic Sauce Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 Clove Garlic – minced
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Water
1/4 Teaspoon Cornstarch

Directions:
In a small sauce pan, combine all ingredients and mix well. Heat on medium heat until sauce has thickened, stirring frequently. Cool to room temperature before serving.

The recipe was labor intensive, but the good thing is that you can make them 2-3 weeks ahead of time. Place the finished rolls onto a plastic tray, freeze and then store in Ziploc bags. When you are ready to eat, place frozen rolls right into the hot oil. You could also fry 1 hour before company arrives – then re-warm in a 350 degree F. oven for 5-6 minutes before serving.

I remember cooking an Asian dinner for friends back when I was with Ace. I think we ended up eating around 10:00 p.m. – definitely takes some planning to get the timing right.

Have you ever made your own spring rolls?

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=2733

Dec 08 2010

Cranberry Salsa

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was spent at my girlfriend Michelle’s house for dinner (Cheesesteaks) and salsa making. She had gone to The Turtle Bay Taqueria in Monterey, CA and they had a cranberry salsa at the bar. She thought about the salsa for days after her dining experience and set out to recreate it in her own kitchen. She tried a test batch on us the week before and it was awesome. We had ordered take out Mexican and she brought the salsa and chips – I could not stop eating it. I liked the salsa and chips better than my taco and taquitos.

The Ingredients:
5 Roma Tomatoes – seeded and diced
1 Yellow Onion – diced – I used just over 1/2
8-10 oz. Dried Cranberries – chopped – Michelle got hers out of the bin, I used Craisins
A few pinches of Kosher Salt

Directions:
Dice the onion – I ended up using a little over 1/2 the large onion.

Slice the Roma tomatoes.

Use your finger or a small knife to remove the seeds before dicing. Once diced, add the tomatoes to the onions in a medium sized bowl.

Add kosher salt to the tomato and onions to flavor and bring out the juices.

Chop the cranberries to open them up so they have a better chance of absorbing the liquid and flavors from the onion and tomatoes.

Mix the cranberries with the onion and tomato mixture.

I wish I had thought to borrow a pretty serving bowl or to take photos with the chips.

The salsa lasts for days. It tastes great from the minute it’s done and it is just as good a few days later. My family loved it. I’ve now tasted it with thin tortilla chips, thick tortilla chips, organic chips with flax seed and Tostitos – it worked with all four. I can’t explain how addicting this stuff is. The ingredients are so simple, give it a try and let me know what you think.

Thanks Michelle for continuing to be my inspiration for getting creative in the kitchen. Now hurry up and start your own blog. 🙂

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=2707

Dec 07 2010

Sweet Potato, Mint and Feta Patties

I went back to my cheap Perfect Vegetarian cookbook and decided it was time for some substance beyond chicken soup. I was craving veggies and the thought of meat sounded very unappealing. I’m still recovering from being sick – hope I get my appetite back soon. These certainly helped… they were delicious and I can’t wait to make them again. Next time I will half the recipe – it’s not Dan’s thing, so I had a lot of waste and I think they are best eaten immediately. Crispy and warm, straight out of the oven.

The Ingredients:
1 lb. Sweet Potatoes – I used two white and 1 orange sweet potato – peeled and grated
1 Egg – lightly beaten
1/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour
2.5 oz. Butter – melted
3.5 oz. Feta Cheese – crumbled
3 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Mint
Salt and Pepper
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
4 Tablespoons Sour Cream

The Directions:
Peel and grate the sweet potatoes.

Chop the mint…

Add the sweet potato shreds with the flour, melted butter, feta and mint.

Lightly beat the egg.

Add the egg to the mixture and season with salt and pepper and mix.

Left handed pours while holding the bigger camera in my right hand have proved to be a bit of a challenge. Still learning…

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Form your patties – I just grabbed a clump and made them like I would burgers. I flattened them a bit before adding them to the pan.

I did 4 at a time and made 3 batches – that only used about 3/4 of the mixture. Cook on both sides until golden brown.

Slide the patties onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes until crisp. Mine took about 20 minutes.

Top with sour cream and garnish with more chopped mint.

Pure heaven on a plate. I gobbled them up and will for sure be making them again. The sweetness of the potato combined with the feta and mint was a perfect blend of sweet and savory. I never in a million years thought the combo would taste as good as it did.

Now I’m hungry, guessing that’s a good sign.

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=2683