I’m a big summer roll fan.  No lie, I’ll take it over a deep fried spring or egg roll any day of the week.  They’re light and super refreshing, and I enjoyed how, once you get over the intimidation factor, how incredibly simple they are to make and customize to your liking.

This is a recipe I was addicted to the summer after graduation, but I hadn’t really made since.  That’s probably because I, along with my team of parental sous chefs, prepped over 100 of these alone for mine and V’s college grad party, and there definitely can be too much of a good thing.  It’s based off of Tyler Florence’s recipe, but I’ve changed it up over the years.  What I like most about Tyler’s spin on the summer roll is that it’s got the classic Thai elements, like cilantro and cellophane noodles and peanuts, and then some fresh Vietnamese ingredients, such as mint and mung bean sprouts, and also few delicious surprises, like the beets.  So anywho, Jared and Robin’s oscar party seemed like the perfect opportunity to dust off that old recipe and give it an update.  It’s a bit time consuming, prepping the veggies and rolling each individual roll, but man, it’s so worth the effort.

Thai Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Peanut Dipping Sauce
Makes about a dozen rolls

2 carrots, julienned
1 large beet, julienned
2 handfuls fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 bunch mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups pea sprouts, cut in half (or bean sprouts if you can’t find the pea ones)
1 cup shredded napa cabbage
1 package baked tofu, cut into 24 long, skinny portions
1 package enoki mushrooms, roots trimmed and  mushrooms seperated
3 oz Vietnamese cellophane noodles, cooked according to package instructions
4 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 cup roasted and unsalted peanuts, chopped
The juice of 2 limes
2 tsp sesame oil
1- 12oz package 8-inch round rice paper wrappers

Start by prepping your veggies and noodles and putting a kettle of water on to boil for the rice paper wrappers.  Here’s some glamour shots of the chopped veggies:  (ps arn’t these lightbox pictures pretty rad?)

Combine the carrots, beets, cilantro, mint, sprouts, enoki, cabbage, scallions and peanuts in a large bowl.  Add the sesame oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Keep the tofu and noodles to the side, so they keep their bright white color.

Pour 3 cups of hot water into a wide, shallow bowl (keep extra hot water around because this will inevitably cool off as you’re working).  Immerse the wrappers one at a time for about 15 seconds to soften.  To form the rolls, lay the rice paper on a flat surface.  Put a small amount of the filling (about 1/4 cup) on the top 1/3 of the wrapper.  Top with 2 sticks of tofu and a small portion of the noodles.  Be careful not to overstuff the wrapper or it will tear.  Fold down the top of the wrapper to cover the filling.  Fold in the right and left sides, then roll from the top down, being careful to keep the sides tucked in.  Cover the finished rolls with a damp towel to keep from drying out while you finish the other rolls.  Serve as soon as possible with the dipping sauce.

For a speedier alternative, serve the filling as a salad along with butter lettuce leaves and allow people to build their own lettuce wraps.

For the Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/3 cup hot water
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp white sugar
The juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup thai sweet chili sauce, such as Mae Ploy
2 tsp red chili paste, such as sambal

Combine peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, and lime juice into a bowl.  Slowly whisk in the hot water until the sauce reaches a smooth consistency.  You may not need all of it.  Add in the sweet chili sauce and sambal and whisk to combine.  Serve with Thai Summer Rolls.

For me, being on serious overtime means surviving on catering and never, ever, ever getting to cook. But never fear, for the time after a movie is done (called “unemployment”, or as I prefer “extended vacation”) means lots of cooking and experimenting with new recipes! Now, so far some have been, uh, lackluster. I’m looking at you, rock hard homemade rice crackers. But others have been lovely. Like these nice Prosciutto, Dijon, and Gruyere Puffs:

Om nom nom.

Now, I gleefully stole this recipe from the lovely blog Joy the Baker. I strayed from her recipe in a few minor ways, but the changes are so slight that I’ll just put a little link here to her instead. Ze Puffs! Credit where credit is due! These mofos are soft, flavorful, and so very easy to make. Seriously. If you’ve ever used Play-doh or assembled a sandwich, you’re good to go.

My changes are as follows: I am not terribly fond of the double roll style of pastry that she used, so I just did a single roll. The double roll stuff tends to fall apart as I eat it, so I stuck with a more compact formation. The picture makes the finished rolls look huge, but they’re really quite small, less than palm sized. As a result, I went with less of the filling than the original recipe called for, fearing that the flavor would be too intense. And boy am I glad I did. I went about half on the Prosciutto and Gruyere, and used a little less than a tablespoon of Dijon. The dijon can be a little overwhelming, so use less if you’re not crazy about it.

Oh man are these good! I forsee an entire summer of rolled puff pasty awesomes and delights! Spinach and mushroom! Olive tapenade! Who knows what else!

On tap for this summer’s food blogging assuming I get off my lazy ass and do it:

- Cookbook reviews, including “The Japanese Kitchen”!
- Restaurant reviews, like Shinsengumi Ramen and La Provence!
- Tips, tricks, and product reviews, none of which come to mind at the moment!
- My favorite Southern dishes, aka, a thinly veiled excuse to eat tasty things when I go home this summer!
- Recipes, assuming I can get the rice crackers to come out right this time!

I’ll see you mofos later.

Delicious, speedy appetizer for entertaining? Count me in.Firat’s artsy photo composition and framing?  Even better.

This is a simple dip or spread to serve with crackers, crostini, or crudité. I used it as a vegan alternative to cheese and crackers. It’s very easy to multiply for larger crowds and works as a nice alternative to your everyday go-to vegetarian-friendly hummus.

1 whole bulb of garlic
1 can canellini beans, drained and rinsed

3 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, preferably the oil used for roasting the garlic.

Juice of half a lemon

2 tsp white balsamic vinegar (cider vin. or more lemon juice would work too)

1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the top 1/2 inch of the garlic bulb off, revealing as many cloves as possible. Place in an oven-safe dish and drizzle with the 3 TBSP of oil.  Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes, or until cloves area soft, lightly browned, and easy to cut with a sharp knife.  (I always make extra bulbs at the same time, they’re good to use for a week if kept in the fridge in oil.)  If you’re short on time, I would mince up about 5 large cloves and saute gently in the olive oil over medium heat, just to take the raw taste out of it.  Be careful not to overbrown it with this method.

Now that your garlic is done, you’re ready to make the dip.  TRUE STORY.

Add all the ingrediants to a food processor or blender.  That’s right, everybody in the pool except the salt and pepper.  Pulse first, then blend until smooth.  The parsley turns the dip a lovely pale green color.  If you prefer the white color, then simply fold in  minced parlsey after blending, or be a punk and leave it out entirely.  As for salt, I recommend using a good quality finishing salt, such as maldon or gray salt.  Be sure to taste pre-salting.  Those bean canners can sometimes go overboard on the sodium.

So that’s it.  Garnish, serve, and lavish in the praise of your guests, you domestic yum goddess, you.

You will need:

-4 cups old fashioned oats (not the instant or quick cooking kind), also called rolled oats
-1 cup nuts (I used almonds and walnuts here)
-1 cup dried fruit (I used a mixed berry blend from Trader Joes)
-1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
-1/4 cup honey
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Step The First:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take the oil, sugar, honey, and vanilla extract and put it in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until the sugar and honey dissolve.

Step the Second:

Take the oats and nuts, put them in a large ovensafe glass pan or baking sheet, and mix them all around.

Step the Third:

Take your nice melty sugary mixture and pour it over the oats and nuts. Action shot!

Mix that all up until the oats and nuts are evenly coated.

Step the (pictureless) Fourth:

Stick that mofo in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. Go play Mario Kart. Come back, stir. Repeat for another 15 minutes. After that, if the granola is nice and goldeny, take it out, if not, another 15 minutes.

Step the Last:

Spread out some wax paper or foil on a counter and pour the granola onto that. Let cool until touching it doesn’t burn you ALIVE, then mix in the dried fruit. Allow to cool completely, break up any large chunks, and store in an airtight container. Then eat it!

The awesome thing about granola is you can adjust it to your tastes. Need it more sweet than this recipe? Up the sugar content. I hate both maple syrup and coconut flakes (granola staples), so I’ve left them out. You like them? Add them back in! A few granola flavor ideas:

- pumpkin seeds and cherries
- cashews, raspberries, and chocolate
- pecans, apples, and blueberries

Variety is the spice of life. Now go make some. Do eeeet!

P.S. – A note about honey

If at all humanly, physically, and spiritually possible, get yourself to a farmers market to buy honey. I thought I hated honey because I’d only ever had the SueBee stuff from the grocery store. The farmers market stuff tastes so much more awesome and generally they’ll give you a taste before you buy. In a pinch Whole Foods carries some decent honeys. Also, check out different varieties. It’s listed on the label, like Orange Blossom or Wildflower, depending on what the bees collected the pollen from. My personal favorite is Sage honey. Mmmmmmm….