Spring Rolls

Fresh spring rolls are a popular item in many Vietnamese restaurants. Vegetables, shrimp and chicken are wrapped in delicate rice paper rolls. The dipping sauce was delicious, a light sweet and spicy sauce complemented the flavor of the rolls. Here is a recipe from epicuious for the dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons fermented fish sauce (nam pla)*
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced jalapeño chili with seeds

Pan Seared Sea Scallops

“Let’s stay the night in Vegas.”

This was the suggestion from my husband, on the plane from Chicago to Portland. We were about to have a one hour layover in Vegas, and he wanted to make it 24 hours. Once we landed, we had 45 mintues to make it happen. He was online finding a hotel on the strip, I went to the ticket agent to change our tickets. A few swipes of the credit card later, and we were in a taxi on the way to the hotel.

Las Vegas Blvd is hot and crowded on a Saturday evening in August. Our destination for the eveing was to go to the Belagio for dinner. The first restaurant we looked at had Pan Seared Sea Scallops, and that is what I had my heart set on. The menu out side of the door listed scallops at $22. We decided that was a reasonable price for Vegas. Inside, as I opened the menu, the same scallops had the price of $45 for two scallops. I changed the desire of my heart for the night to pizza, but still had scallops on my mind.

Back in Portland, still craving seafood, I found these Gi-normous scallops at safeway for $7.99/lb. Compared to $45 for two, this was a good deal.

I seared them with Old Bay Seasoning.

Pan Seared Sea Scallops

2-3 large scallops per person.
Rinse and pat dry scallops.
Season both sides with salt and pepper
Sprinkle one teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning on each side

Heat a stainless steel pan over high heat until very hot. Add a teaspoon of olive oil. Place scallops on pan. Do not move. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until bottom is golden brown. Turn with spatula and sear the other side. Remove and serve with salad.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Once every three or four months, my husband travels to Southeast Asia for work. Sometimes he will bring a culinary item back for me to add to my collection at home. I now have 12 sets of chopsticks and this adorable condement holder. I decided it was time to use the chopsticks and the sauce dish, so chicken lettuce wraps it was.

I shredded a rotisserie chicken, shredded a carrot and cucumber, and placed it with a half of an iceburg head. Soy sauce, sweet and sour, and peanut sauce filled the condement cups. Rice and Edamame complemented our wraps.

Peanut Sauce was the best part of this dinner. I have never been satisfied with store bought peanut sauce, so tonight I made my own. This recipe is from Amy, and it is a spoonful of heaven. Here is the recipe:

Perfect Peanut Sauce
From Cooking with Amy

1/4 cup peanut butter (natural, no sugar added kind)
2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup coconut milk (lite is fine, if you prefer or substitute water)
1/4 cup water
red chili flake to taste
chili garlic sauce to taste or 1 clove crushed garlic

Optional:
sesame oil
curry paste
rice wine vinegar
fish sauce
grated ginger
shallots sauteed till brown in oil
Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients with a whisk in a small bowl, adding the water last. Pour into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until sauce begins to bubble and thicken. Experiment with this sauce adding a teaspoon at a time of one the optional additions and tasting as you go. Serve hot or cold.

I didn’t use any of the optional ingredients, and it was still divine.

Let me know if you like it too.

BLT Wedge Salad

I have had a fascination with wedge salads ever since they became mainstream a few years ago. Perhaps it is the unique dimension of the perfect, crisp, iceberg quarter standing tall that makes me feel like I have created a masterpiece. Every other salad is a mound of stuff, this salad is a masterpiece.

This was my thinking yesterday as I started to create my masterpiece. The wedge salad starts with a crisp head of iceberg lettuce, cut into quarters. The quarters stand on end in the middle of the plate and the dressing (blue cheese) is drizzled on top. The decorations are sprinkled on and stay beautifully in place.

I did not have that experience.

Avocados, crumbled bacon, and tomatoes are my toppings today, and they did not stay on top as they should. As a result, a new wedge was created. I cut out an inch of the center and placed the ingredients in the heart of the wedge. Only a slight drizzle of dressing was needed, and the BLT wedge was ready. I used a fork and knife to eat my salad. My husband picked it up and ate it like a taco. I would like to know your opinion:

Should this salad be consumed with utensils or with your hands?

BLT Wedge Salad

1 head of Iceberg lettuce, cut into quarters
4 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
blue cheese dressing
pepper

Place one Iceberg wedge on each plate, outer edge down. Slice one inch from the center of the wedge. Drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle tomato, bacon, and avocado slices on each wedge. Finish with a few grinds of pepper. Eat with a fork and knife, or with hands.