Vietnamese Spring Rolls

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by Megan on September 2, 2010

Last weekend I got to play a Chef at the farmers market. Every Saturday, Healthy Shasta has a local chef  demonstrate a healthy recipe using fresh produce from the farmer’s market.     

Healthy Shasta

Healthy Shasta Booth

And I got to do my very first food demo ever!   

 AND,   

  I’m on a roll. I’m doing another food demo at the Wine and Beer Festival in downtown Redding on September 18Th. If your going to be in or around Redding, be sure to get your tickets for that!!!  I’m going to do Bacon Wrapped Appetizers.

It’s going to be a good time!   

Farmer's Market Demo    

My pick for this demonstration was Vietnemeise Spring Rolls and a Hoisin Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce.    

 Spring Rolls     

Stuffed with lettuce, herbs, and a variety of veggies, these were the perfect pick. You can use anything you like, zucchini, celery, sprouts, or rice noodles.  I used carrots, bell peppers, and cucumbers. And I added a little spear of mango to give it just a little sweet bite.  It went perfect with the dipping sauce.  

Spring Rolls  

I showed them how to use rice paper and how to roll them up burrito style. People were very interested in the rice paper and where I got it. You can get them at Asian markets, World Market, or larger grocery stores.      

 Farmer's Market Demo   

 Although the weather is usually in the 90s this time of year, we had a little rain. But it didn’t put a damper on things, we were under cover and we had a great turn out!   

 I made up samples the day before at work. I kept them between wet sheets of paper towels in a sealed Tupperware container. I was worried they would dry out but I was lucky. They were fine and everyone loved them.     

Spring Roll Samples 
  

I didn’t get a good picture of the cut ones but you can see in the middle here, sort of. ;)  

These are delicious as a lunch, an appetiser, or a healthy little snack,   

More Spring Roll Recipes 

Rasamalaysia’s Vietnamese Spring Rolls 

Use Real Butter’s Spring Rolls 

White On Rice’s Spring Rolls 

The Perfect Pantry’s Fresh Vietnamese Salad Rolls

  

  Spring Rolls    

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Rolls

12 sheets of Rice paper
12 fresh lettuce leaves or leafy greens
Handful of fresh  herbs (basil, mint, cilantro)
 Cut into matchstick size pieces.
bell pepper     
carrots,
cucumbers
mango      

In bowl of warm water, dip each rice paper wrapper for about 3-5 seconds (depending on rice paper thickness). Do not over soak your rice paper wrapper! Place on work service and allow rice paper to become gelatinous and pliable (about 30 seconds to 1 minute, again, depending on the thickness rice paper).
On top 1/3 side closest to you, lay lettuce on the bottom. Then place vegetables, herbs, and mango slice on bottom 1/3. Roll up spring roll about 1/3 way through, then fold in the sides and continue to roll.
Serve with dipping sauce      

Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce Recipe

From White On Rice Couple  

Recipe found at Rasamalaysia      

8 oz (1 Cup) hoisin sauce (if sauce is thick, add  1/4 cup warm water to reach desired consistency)
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbs rice vinegar
2 garlic, crushed
1  thai chili, minced (or more for desired spiciness) 

Mix all ingredients together. (I used a stick blender to make a smooth sauce.)   

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Columbia Crest Wine Pairing Dinner

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by Megan on August 29, 2010

 Columbia Crest is making party planning a whole lot easier by taking the guess work out of wine pairing.  They have paired up with Chef Bobby Flay for exclusive menus, with simple wine pairing recommendations, and easy entertainment tips.  You can check out all the menus and tips at  Cork and Fork . And get Bobby Flay’s menus, recipes, and shopping lists in the palm of your hand. Cork and Fork is Mobile! They have an app for the phone!

How cool is that???

And now, Columbia Crest andFoodbuzz have also paired up, and I was one of the lucky Featured Publishers who was selected to host a Columbia Crest Cork & Fork Party.
And I had the perfect theme.

 Seafood & Wine Dinner

A four course, beach-side, seafood dinner, paired with the great wines of Columbia Crest on the beach of Bodega Bay!

Before The Hubby’s family came up for Our Big Portuguese Bash, we had a week of R&R with some friends at Doran Beach.

We stayed in our 5th wheel down by the jetty, #104.

It’s referred to as ”The Honeymoon Suit”!

Bodega Bay

 The campsite opens up to the beach and you can see the sea lions playing in the bay.

We have to make reservations a year in advance to get this premo site. But it’s so worth it!

Wine Dinner Tablescape

With coastal weather being uncertain, I waited for the perfect day to host my party!

The wind had died down to a soft sea breeze and patches of blue  littered the sky.

I felt very lucky having the perfect seaside weather because I have been there before, when they have had very strong winds.

Bodega Bay Golf Course

After spending the day golfing, our famished guys returned to camp, presented with their very own little cheese platter.

Cheese Plate

How cute are these?

There was a Lavender Swiss, a Rosemary Cheddar and a cranberry dessert like cheese. The little baguettes slices were awesome! One little toast had a Pear Paste with Blue Cheese while the other was a Quince Paste with Lavender Cheddar. An umbrella held a few rolled up slices of salami.

Of course we opened our first bottle of wine at this point! A Columbia Crest Chardonnay!

Crab Cakes

Our first course was Crab Cakes and I paired it with the recommended Chardonnay.

The recipe for the crab cakes can be found at the Cork&Fork site.

Crab Cakes

 I wanted to actually make crab cake lollipops for the appetizer, but they were to flaky and didn’t stand up to the challenge.

So I sprinkled them with some  Mediterranean Lemon Sea Salt  that were huge flakes. I love my gourmet finishing salts!

Bodega Bay Seagull

Hey, who invited you Mr. Seagull?

Salad w/Blue Cheese and Pears

Our second course was a salad of fresh greens dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette. I added sliced pears, Blue cheese, and candied almonds, and served it with an ice cold Riesling.

A perfect (pearing!) pairing!  :-)

Columbia Crest

Time to open another bottle of wine. Red this time!

Cedar Planked Salmon with Polenta and wild mushrooms

 For dinner we had Cedar Planked Salmon with Merlot Reduction and Wild Mushrooms served on a bed of Polenta Cakes. To ease things up on party day, I made the reduction sauce the day before.  I also used a mixture of dried mushrooms that I got from Marx Foods a while back. This was served with Columbia Crest Merlot.

Now,  just for the record… I know the above dish has some bad food styling going on and it’s a a bad photo to boot. You try cooking, styling, and photographing while starting on your 3rd bottle of wine. Let me tell you, this was a delicious  hard assignment.  But someone had to do it!

Molten Chocolate Cake

Now…, no dinner is complete without a little something for my sweet tooth.

We had Cabernet Spiced Chocolate Molten Cake with fresh churned Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Isn’t that a mouthful? My sweet tooth didn’t complain, or anyone else for that matter.

Served with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignion!

Seafood & Wine Dinner

Thank you Foodbuzz and Columbia Crest.
Cheers to you!

Molten Chocolate Cake 
Molten Spiced Chocolate Cabernet Cakes
Recipe by McCormick’s
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup  (1 stick)  butter
1 tablespoon Cabernet Sauvignion or other red wine
1 teaspoon vanilla Extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
6 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon  Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon  Ginger,
1/8 teaspoon  Cloves, Ground (optional)

 

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 425°F.  Butter 4 (6-ounce)  custard cups or soufflé dishes.  I sometimes use a cupcake pan to make six smaller servings. Place on baking sheet.

2.  Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute or until butter is melted.  Whisk until chocolate is completely melted.  Stir in wine, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until well blended.  Whisk in eggs and yolk.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour batter evenly into prepared custard cups.

3.  Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft.  Let stand 1 minute.  Carefully loosen edges with small knife.  Invert cakes onto serving plates.  Sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar.  Serve immediately.

Make Ahead: 
The chocolate mixture can be prepared up to 10 hours ahead of time.  Pour the batter into prepared custard cups; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.

Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

2 cups heavy whipping cream
 2cups half and half or whole milk
1cup (packed) dark brown sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 large egg yolks

  1. Combine heavy whipping cream, half and half, and 3/4 cup sugar in heavy large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in large bowl until very thick, about 2 minutes.
  3. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Do not boil.
  4. Strain custard into large bowl set over another bowl of ice and water. Cool custard completely, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Cover and chill overnight.
  5. Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
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No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

August 25, 2010
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My Portuguese Family and a Sopa Recipe!

August 17, 2010
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My hubby is the 5th and final child of a woman who belongs to a very large Portuguese family. Last weekend all the siblings and their spouses got together in Bodega Bay, to celebrate the 91st birthday of their lovely  mother, Isabel. Our first night brought us all together at the dining table for a [...]

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Flank Steak with Toasted Almond Salsa Verde

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Last weekend while on vacation, I got to go to another cooking demonstration at The Culinary Institute of America. Every year we stop in the wine country and stay in Calistoga for a few days. Just a few miles down the road is Greystone, and I’ve been lucky enough take a few  of their their cooking demonstrations [...]

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Turkey Burgers with Brie and Grilled Apples

August 6, 2010
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This months selection for Reeni’s burger club was any one of Bobby Flay’s burger recipes. I picked the Turkey Burgers with Brie and Grilled Apples because I love brie with anything!  How could it be bad in a burger? The only thing that I did different from Bobby, was to break my brie  into little [...]

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Dulce de Leche

August 2, 2010
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 Dulce de leche is the most common name for milk caramel in Spanish. It is prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that derives its taste from caramelised sugar. The most basic recipe calls for slowly simmering milk and sugar, stirring almost constantly, although other ingredients may be included to achieve special properties. [...]

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