Spring Rolls

I didn’t realize how easy it is to make spring rolls until one of my daughters gave me a simple tutorial.  The picture above is a suggestion of the fillings, but the combinations can be endless.  The key is to use very fresh produce and cooked and chilled seafood or meat.  Make sure your vegetables are chopped finely or thinly enough so they are easy to bite into.  The spring roll wrappers are soaked in water individually, then laid out flat. Place the fillings in the center of the wrapper fold the ends over first, then the sides to form a rolled shape.  If not serving right away, cover with plastic wrap so as to keep the wrappers fresh.  Serve with your choice of any asian dipping sauce.  

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Tuna Poke Bowl

Serves 6

6 small sushi grade ahi tuna filets, cubed

1/2 head romaine lettuce thinly sliced

1 package of farrow, cooked and cooled

1/2 a cucumber, thinly sliced

2 mangos, cubed

2 avacados, cubed

1/4 cup fresh ginger, very thinly sliced

Garnish –

2 scallion stalks chopped into small rings

1 sheet nori seaweed, thinly sliced (optional)

black or white sesame seeds for garnish

Tuna Marinade –

2 tbsp. sriracha

2 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil

Prepare the tuna marinade by mixing the ingredients together.  Add the cubed tuna and set aside.

To assemble the poke bowls –

Distribute the lettuce equally among 6 bowls. Top with the cooled farrow. Arrange the remaining vegetables atop the farrow or on the sides of the bowls.  Top with the seasoned tuna.  Garnish with the sesame seeds, seaweed and scallions. Serve immediately.

 

 

Garlic Lemon Baked Tilapia

INGREDIENTS

4 tilapia

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

5 tbsp. butter, melted

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Juice and zest from 1/2 a lemon

1 lemon, sliced into rounds

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400°. Season tilapia with salt and pepper and place on a small baking sheet.
  2. Mix together butter, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and zest then pour over tilapia. Place lemon rounds on top and around tilapia. 
  3. Bake tilapia for 10-12 minutes or until fish is fork tender.

Coconut Lime Curry

Every now and again, I post great recipes that come from fellow bloggers.  This one is from Sally Quinn

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp. coconut oil, divided

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. garam masala*

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/4 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. chili powder (reduce to 1/2 tsp. for a less spicy curry)

1 14-oz. can full-fat or lite coconut milk

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. warm water

1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro

2 c. Cooked rice, for serving

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Add shrimp and cook until pink, 1 to 2 minutes per side, then remove shrimp from pan and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon coconut oil, onion, and garlic. Cook until onions are soft, 4 minutes. Stir in garam masala, salt, curry powder, and chili powder, then add coconut milk, tomato paste, and chickpeas. Stir until combined and bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch and water together, then stir into skillet. Simmer until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in cooked shrimp and simmer, 2 minutes more. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice.

*garam masala is a spice blend of cumin, curry, etc.  It should be easily found in the international section of your local grocery.  If not, it can be ordered from the link below.

Salmon Cakes*

Be sure to use very fresh salmon for this recipe. Serve with cole slaw* and a dallop of remoulade*.

Pulse 1 pound raw salmon, 2 seeded and rough chopped mini peppers, 1 seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper (optional), 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup rough chopped onion in a food processor until blended.

 

Transfer mixture to a bowl and add 2 eggs, 2 tbsp. salsa, 1/2 cup fresh corn and 1/2 cup bread crumbs (panko crumbs could be substituted here). Season with salt and pepper.  Fry golf ball sized portions into cakes until well browned on both sides.

* adapted from Pike Place Market Recipes. *Cole slaw and remoulade recipes on blog.

Stuffed Pork Roulade

This roast makes a beautiful and delicious presentation.  See below for details on how to butterfly this out for stuffing.

One boneless pork loin roast – approx. 8-10″ long butterflied out (see instructions below)

1 bag of chopped frozen spinach, thawed

1 egg

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1/3 cup unseasoned bread crumbs

salt and pepper

Prepare the roast by cutting it slowly until it can be laid out flat –

Mix together the spinach, pine nuts, cheese, egg, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper.  Spread out on the flattened roast leaving one inch on the short side.  Carefully, roll the meat up over itself, adjusting the filling as you go along.  With kitchen twine, tie the ends tightly first, then the middle.

Place the prepared roast in a roasting pan, season with salt and pepper.  Insert a meat thermometer into the center of the roast being sure to pierce just until the center of the roulade.  Cook in a 350F oven for approx. one hour or until thermometer reads 165F.  Check occasionally and baste with pan juices.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.  Transfer to a serving platter and using a sharp knife gently slice through to present serving sized pieces. 

Cornish Game Hens with Fresh Herbs

This recipe is designed for two game hens.  I like to figure one per person if I am entertaining since they make such a lovely presentation.  However, when cooking for my family we usually split them.

Two Cornish games hens, rinsed and patted dry

2 lemons

6 – 8 cloves of garlic

several springs of fresh rosemary, thyme and sage

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, slightly softened

salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 400F.  Season the inside of the game hens with the salt and pepper.  Cut the ends off the lemons and cut into large pieces.  Stuff each hen with 2 cloves of garlic and equal amounts of the lemon chunks and fresh herbs.  Be generous with the herbs.

Loosen the skin slightly on the breast side and stuff 3 tbsp. of the butter under the skin on each hen.  Cross the drumsticks over each other and tie with kitchen twine.  Fold the wings as shown, by folding the shorter wing tip back and under.

Place the hens in a roasting pan.  Scatter the remaining garlic cloves and any remaining herbs and lemon around the hens. Season with salt.  Place in hot oven and roast for 20 minutes.  Turn oven down to 325F and continue to roast another 20 minutes.  Carefully turn the hens over and roast another 20 minutes. Turn back to breast side up and spoon pan juices over.  Continue to roast until golden in color and drumetts wiggle freely – or thermometer test reads 165.  Remove to a platter and spoon some of the remaining juices over.

Breakfast Strata

We are a skiing family. All of us are out on the mountain early every saturday and sunday the entire winter. Sometimes it can be a challenge to get everyone fed and out by 8:00am, because I go out as well.  All that activity requires some serious morning fuel before we head out into the cold.  I like to have many breakfast staples on hand to fix a warm and healthy meal to my skiers.  Pancakes and oatmeal (recipe on blog) are always good choices, as are warm muffins straight out of the oven.  Here is a recipe that I’m sure you’ve heard of and everyone has a version, some call it an egg-bake, some a strata.  I like to serve this because it can be assembled the night before and just slid into a pre-heated oven in the morning.  Very stick-to-ribs!

About 8 slices of day old bread

1 8 oz pkgs grated cheddar cheese

5 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup chopped onion

4 cooked breakfast sausages – cut up*

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the bread into large cubes. Set aside. In a large bowl combine the eggs and milk and beat well, add all the remaining ingredients.  Stir in the bread.  Pour into a greased 9-inch square baking pan.  Cover and let stand several hours in refrigerator or overnight.  Bake at 325F for 1 hour or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Braised Pork Short Ribs

1-2 lbs. pork short ribs

1 cup of flour (for dredging)

salt and pepper

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tsp. fresh thyme

1 tbsp. fresh rosemary

2 cups sliced mini Portobello mushrooms

1/2 medium green pepper, chopped

1/2 large sweet onion chopped

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

Place flour in a large bowl, sprinkle in about 1/2 tsp. salt and generous grinds of fresh ground black pepper. In a large cast iron pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Dredge the ribs through the flour to coat.  Place, a few at a time in the dutch oven and sear on both sides.  You can add a little more oil if needed.  Turn the heat down to medium and add all the vegetables except the tomatoes.  Stir in with the meat to brown and cook slightly, about 10 minutes. Cover and stir occasionally.  Add the tomatoes.  Cover and turn heat to low or medium/low and allow to simmer for approx. 1 hour.  Remove the ribs and place on platter.  Stir the vegetables, serve over the meat.  Enjoy!

Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes (from Food and Wine Magazine)

In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best: This crab cake from F&W contributor Andrew Zimmern has been the most popular recipe on foodandwine.com since it went live in 2012. The reason is simple: It’s the best. Period. Zimmern explains why: “It doesn’t have a lot of filler, has no minced red pepper, no parsley—none of the usual crap that chefs typically ruin a good crab cake with.” This recipe originated with Zimmern’s best friend’s wife (a native of Baltimore), who calls this her “secret country club recipe.”

That is the intro from Food and Wine.  The picture above is my own.  I served these on a bed of Asian slaw and curry mayonnaise, instead of the more traditional, remoulade.

In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce until smooth.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, lightly toss the crabmeat with the cracker crumbs. Gently fold in the mayonnaise mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 3

Scoop the crab mixture into eight 1/3-cup mounds; lightly pack into 8 patties, about 1 1/2 inches thick. In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the crab cakes and cook over moderately high heat until deeply golden and heated through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the crab cakes to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Make Ahead

The crab cakes can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated overnight.