Ready to Roll?

Last year, in an effort to add more variety to my cooking repertoire, I took a cooking class focused on preparing various Asian dishes. One of the best recipes I learned in this class was for Summer Rolls. I made the rolls multiple times last summer as an appetizer for parties but also as a light side dish to accompany a main course. Not only do the Summer Rolls make a pretty presentation as an appetizer but they are loaded with vegetables which is great if you are attempting to eat healthy without sacrificing taste for less calories.

This is a recipe that much like my Timeless Tart as you can make it feel new each time you prepare it by varying the filling.  I've made Summer Rolls with a variety of different vegetables and have even added shrimp or rice noodles to make the rolls more hearty. Since we like things spicy at my house, I occasionally add jalapeno as well.

I marinated the vegetables in sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce and lime. A little goes a long way with these ingredients! You can make your own dipping sauce or even buy some sweet chili sauce in the store and it is a great compliment to the Summer Rolls. For the filling, I used a red and orange bell pepper, green onions and shitake mushrooms. I julienned the peppers so they would be approximately the same size as the mushrooms. I bought the mushrooms pre-sliced and with their narrow cut, they worked perfectly with the peppers. I used rice paper to wrap the vegetables.  All you need to do is submerge the paper in warm water for 10 seconds and then you are ready to roll.  Literally!

Since it is tricky to explain how to roll the Summer Rolls, I enlisted my husband to take a quick video of me preparing the Summer Rolls. Please don't mind the dishes in the sink or the background noises from our son!

Enjoy this versatile recipe and definitely experiment with your favorite filling. One last thing: be sure to place the Summer Rolls on damp paper towel and cover with damp paper towel as well before serving to make sure they retain their moisture.

C's Summer Rolls (makes approximately 20-25 rolls)


Ingredients
Rice paper
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 package of pre-sliced shitake mushrooms
Green onions
1 lime, squeezed
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons ginger (I bought the kind you squeeze from a tube)



Details
*Slice the peppers into matchstick slices and place in a small bowl with the mushrooms and sliced green onion.
*In a small bowl whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice and ginger.
*Pour the sauce over the vegetables and mix well.
*Begin assembling the Summer Rolls (see video above) by placing the rice paper in warm water for 10 seconds. Remove the paper from the water, pat with a towel and then fill with the ingredients and roll. Be sure to place the rolls on damp paper towel and cover with damp paper towel until ready to serve.

Guacamole I Cannot Live Without (and a preview of what I am cooking this weekend)

I've been traveling this week for work so I've had less time to cook than I would like. Tomorrow, we are headed to dinner at Rosa Mexicano, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and a sentimental favorite as it is where we had our rehearsal dinner (those who attended remember the pomegranate margaritas for sure!!). My husband and I adore Rosa's guacamole too and we hope our son might enjoy a little tomorrow night.

Click here to try the Rosa Mexicano guacamole recipe. It is just too good! I think the only way to eat guacamole is having it made fresh with ripe avocados, fresh cilantro and a good squeeze of lime juice. This recipe is by far the best.

But, be sure to stop by on Sunday for a new recipe for Summer Rolls. They are light, veggie-heavy and an impressive little appetizer for summer barbecues or even as a light accompaniment to dinner on a hot night.

Putting Your Margarita Glasses to Good Use (with something other than margaritas)

When I got married in 2006, one of the most enjoyable parts of the engagement process outside of the fun of planning our future and wedding was registering for items to fill our new home. And I embraced it with passion. In fact, as a resident of a two bedroom apartment, we registered for far more items than we could possibly keep in our apartment. My theory was register for the house we will have one day, not the dwelling where we currently lived. As someone who loves to entertain and cook, I had a little too much fun with this process. Hence, we ended up with glassware galore and more platters than anyone could ever really need.

Which brings me to the inspiration for the recipe I cooked this weekend, gazpacho. When we unpacked 10 margarita glasses out of a gift box, my husband rolled his eyes. And, rightfully so given that our apartment can hold about four people for dinner and that is a tight squeeze! I decided if we were going to keep the glasses and not return them (we did return four of the 10 as I reasoned we could maybe squeeze in six people for a party), I needed to find multiple uses for the glasses rather than just using them for margaritas. A few summers ago, we had a small group for dinner and as I looked at the margarita glasses, I decided to use them to serve gazpacho and garnish each glass with a lemon so that it looked like a cocktail. It definitely made a traditional summer dish more visually appealing and was a special touch for dinner guests. Since that summer night, this has become one of my favorite recipes.

The recipe I used is from Tyler Florence. I omitted a couple ingredients including cucumbers and parsley as I don't care for either. In the past, I have also added jalapenos to increase the heat of the dish. Feel free to personalize the dish. It is delicious with shrimp or scallops if you want to turn it into a main course. Additionally, you can enjoy the leftovers for several days and the gazpacho gets even better each day the longer it sits.

Don't hesitate to make this recipe even though tomatoes are not in season right now. I suggest looking for the vine-ripened tomatoes at your local grocery store which tend to be flavorful and not too watery.

Now, the thought of chopping all the vegetables could be slightly daunting if you are pressed for time but luckily, nothing needs to be chopped perfectly. I prefer to use a more 'rustic' chop (read: various shapes and sizes and utilizing none of the learned skills from my knife skills class). Once everything is chopped, deposit it in the food processor with bread crumbs. If you do not have a large food processor, you may need to puree in batches. The original recipe calls for using day-old bread but the bread crumbs are much easier. Once the puree is complete, you add paprika, sugar, salt and pepper, olive oil, tomato juice, fresh lemon juice and olive oil.

You are left with a fantastic and refreshing summer dish. And, another use for those margarita glasses that sit on the shelves between crazy margarita parties. Oh wait, we've never really had those so good thing I came up with the gazpacho idea!

Margarita Glass Gazpacho

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
*2 lbs tomatoes, chopped
*1 red bell pepper, chopped
*1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
*1 medium onion, chopped
*2 teaspoons minced garlic
*Salt and pepper to taste
*1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
*1 tablespoon sugar
*1 tablespoon paprika
*1/4 cup sherry wine vinegar
*1/2 cup olive oil
*2 cups tomato juice
*1 lemon, squeezed

Details

*In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, onion, garlic and breadcrumbs. Puree until almost smooth. Transfer to a large bowl.

*Add to the vegetable mixture salt and pepper to taste, sugar, paprika, sherry wine vinegar, olive oil and tomato juice. Squeeze juice of one fresh lemon into the gazpacho.

*Pour into a margarita glass or bowl and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Recipe Adapted from Tyler Florence Gazpacho Recipe

The Perfect Appetizer

Besides spending time with my family over a holiday weekend, I also look forward to the long weekends to enjoy more time to cook. Today, we had an impromptu barbecue. Not wanting to go empty-handed, I looked in my cupboard and realized I had the ingredients for one of my favorite appetizers: Italian Hummus. I first found this recipe in a Giada de Laurentiis cookbook but have adapted it to my preferences including eliminating parsley and adding more oregano instead.

If you have a barbecue to attend this weekend, suprise your host and bring this fantastic appetizer along.

Rather than chickpeas, I turn to Northern Beans or Cannellini Beans for this recipe. I like the flavor of the Northern Beans for this appetizer. They have a nice, mild flavor and are creamy. I've always enjoyed the Middle Eastern version of hummus but this is certainly a nice change and beats the pre-packaged hummus found in the grocery store.

The ingredient list is rather simple and therefore, can be prepared at the last minute to take along to a spur of the moment barbecue. All you need is a 15 oz can of Northern Beans, garlic, olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and a pack of pitas. The lemon juice gives the hummus a fresh, tangy flavor and the oregano adds depth that it's boring and bitter fellow green herb parsley just can't do. I do use dried oregano which works just fine but if you have fresh on-hand, even better. Also, nothing can compare to fresh lemon juice versus the bottled version. Combine the ingredients above (minus the pita) in a food processor and puree a bit and you've got a gorgeous hummus to take to a party.

While you could serve this with plain pita or store-bought pita chips, nothing compares to making your own pita chips. I purchased a pack of pitas (I used whole wheat) and cut each pita into eight triangles. I arranged the triangles on a baking sheet and brushed each with olive oil and then sprinkled with kosher salt. I put the pita under the broiler until they began to get crisp on top, then removed the pita from the oven and flipped each over to brown the other side. The entire process takes less than 5 minutes and the result is crunchy, salty, warm goodness that when dipped in the hummus will make you sigh with happiness. Really, I promise!

The pita chips are not only a hit with the adults but also with little ones. My 10 month-old son could not get enough of the pita chips! For a teething baby, these chips turned out to be nirvana with the crispy outside and soft middle.

As for the presentation, I always think presentation helps a dish taste even better. If it's appealing to the eye, it's much more attractive to the potential tasters. I like to put the hummus in a pretty glass bowl and set it on a small platter and then arrange the pita chips around the bowl. I also like to sprinkle a bit of oregano on top of the hummus and then add a dash of olive oil on top as well.

I'll be posting more recipes this weekend but this was a nice start to the holiday weekend. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Italian Hummus and Pita Chips

*1 15 oz can Northern or Cannellini Beans, rinsed

*1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons

*2 teaspoons minced garlic (feel free to use more if you prefer a more garlicky taste)

*2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

*1.5 tablespoons oregano

*Salt and pepper to taste

*6 pitas

*Kosher salt

Details:

*Rinse can of beans and place in bowl of a food processor along with 1/3 cup olive oil, garlic, oregano and lemon juice. Puree until almost smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into bowl. Sprinkle hummus in the bowl with a bit of oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.

*Turn on broiler (high) on your oven.

*Cut pita into 8 triangles and place on a cookie sheet.

*Using remaining olive oil, brush each pita triangle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

*Place cookie sheet under the broiler. Once crisp, remove from oven, flip over each triangle and broil for a few more minutes until crisp. The entire process should take less than five minutes.

*Arrange pita on a platter around the bowl of hummus.

Recipe inspired by Giada de Laurentiis