Spring rolls are a consummately refreshing, light, crispy (from the fresh vegetables) appetizer, served chilled with peanut sauce that’s appropriately spicy, depending on your tolerance for heat.

BTW, so as not to abandon all summer American traditions–we accompanied them with lots of cold beer.

Son-in-law and foodie, Brendan, took this picture! He's coming right along as a budding photographer of all things edible. He likes to eat too. Good man.

This was my second attempt at spring rolls; it was spurred by my Vietnamese friend, Beth, who recently related to me how she makes them often and even allows family members and guests to fill and roll their own rolls with whatever ingredients they choose.

Do not be afraid of working with rice papers. They are very easy to soften and roll, provided you have a gentle hand, and after rolling one or two you will understand the process. Think back to the ’70s when you rolled your own…um…cigarettes.  It was a no-brainer, wasn’t it?

This recipe is very loosely adapted from Cooks Illustrated. You can substitute chicken or pork for the shrimp, or you can make them vegetarian and add more vegetables. If you’re not a cilantro fan, try basil or mint leaves, or both. The peanut sauce recipe can be spicy or sweet: just add red chili sauce or hoisin to suit your tastes.

Rice noodles, also called rice vermicelli, and rice paper wrappers can be found at Asian markets. However, most major supermarkets now carry many Asian ingredients, and that’s where I found these. The rice paper wrappers were in the refrigerated section near the tortillas, and the rice noodles were with the Asian products.

Spring Rolls with Shrimp

8 round rice paper wrappers (8″ in diameter)
cilantro leaves, cut from stem
3 oz. thin rice noodles (rice vermicelli)
8 oz. cooked large shrimp, halved lengthwise
2 carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a grater
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (optional)
1 English cucumber, cut into very thin strips about 2″ long
Red leaf lettuce or Boston lettuce

Bring water to a boil in a medium pot and add rice vermicelli. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes just until noodles are tender but not mushy.  Drain and rinse under cold water until cool, then drain again and place in a bowl.

Lay a clean kitchen towel on the counter; fill a pie plate with very warm water. Working one at a time, immerse rice papers into water and allow to soften for between 5 and 10 seconds. Papers will not be completely soft but that’s OK.

Place rice paper on towel. Place cilantro leaves down center of paper leaving a 1/2″ space on each side, then add a small amount of shredded carrot, jalapeno, cucumber strips, a torn piece of lettuce and 2 T. of noodles. Top with shrimp. Fold the top nearest you over the ingredients , then fold in the sides. Finally, roll up to form a tight cylinder. Place under a damp towel to keep from drying out. If you refrigerate these before serving, be sure to keep the damp towel over them or wrap them in plastic wrap.

To serve, gently cut each roll in half with a serrated knife.

Makes 8 full spring rolls, or 16 halves

Peanut Sauce

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (found in Asian aisle of supermarket)
1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water
Red Chili Sauce (Sriracha, also found on Asian aisle. It comes in a plastic bottle with a green spout and a rooster on the front)

Place peanut butter and hoisin sauce in a small bowl. Slowly add warm water and gently whisk to thoroughly combine. Add Sriracha to taste. It’s spicy stuff, so be careful to add a little and then taste. If you don’t have Sriracha, you can add crushed red pepper flakes.

Many Vietnamese recipes call for fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and/or soy sauce  in their sauce. But daughter Elizabeth wanted a pure, spicy/sweet peanut sauce, and this one did the trick. It was also very quick and easy to stir together.

for one half spring roll without sauce

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Moosewood Restaurant is a famous vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, New York. They’ve been publishing cookbooks, many of them award-winning, almost since they opened their doors in 1973.

No, my version isn’t completely vegetarian–I added shrimp. Can’t leave well-enough alone.

I added shrimp and sugar snap peas at the last minute.

Rice

1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cups brown rice
1 t. salt
1/2 t. saffron, crumbled

Vegetables

2 cups finely chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 t. dried thyme (I used fresh)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 lb. asparagus, cut into 2″ pieces
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

First make the rice: drain the artichoke hearts, reserving the brine from the can. Quarter the artichoke hearts and set aside. Add water to the brine to make 2 1/2 cups liquid and combine it with the rice, salt and saffron in a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and very gently simmer until rice is tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. You may have to add a bit more water if the rice is too dry. (I cooked my rice in a Japanese rice cooker. Easy and foolproof.)

When the rice has simmered for about 25 minutes, start the vegetables. Saute the onions, celery and garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the thyme, bell pepper and asparagus; cover and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the peas, tomatoes and reserved artichoke hearts. Stir gently, cover and continue to simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. I added a good splash of Frank’s Original Hot Sauce. You could also sprinkle on some crushed red pepper flakes.

To serve the paella, spread the rice on a large platter or bowl and top with the vegetables and their juices.

As pictured, you can add about 1/2 lb. of shrimp to this. Lay the shrimp atop the vegetables during the last few minutes of cooking time to steam them.

Serves: 6

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Everything cooks together in one big Dutch oven.

The moment Spain won the World Cup on Sunday I got a text from my friend Laura that read, “You have to put a paella recipe on the blog to honor Spain.” Laura, you are a woman of good taste and exceptional timing.

Paella is considered by many to be the national dish of Spain; if you travel around the country you will get different versions of the dish everywhere you go. Most include rice and some sort of seafood and/or meat. This recipe, adapted from Cooks Illustrated, contains some of both.

Paella is seasoned with saffron, the world’s most expensive spice (because it comes from the hand-picked stigmas of saffron crocus flowers). So far as I know, there is no substitute for the taste of saffron, but you can use turmeric to get the same yellow color. If you decide to splurge on a tiny bit of saffron, which is how it’s sold, it will keep in a tightly sealed jar for at least two years. Hey, you only live once. Take a risk, but for the taste-faint-of-heart, I warn you, saffron has a unique, albeit fabulous, taste.

I suggest that you make this dish your own. It can easily be altered to cater to your taste preferences without any changes in the cooking times. For instance, we like foods spicy so we add either Tabasco or Frank’s Original Hot Sauce to our paella.

If you’d prefer to forego the seafood or the sausage, by all means do so. I’ve even made completely vegetarian paellas that were delicious and chock-full of vegetables, including artichoke hearts and sugar snap peas. The main thing is to cook the rice together with the other ingredients in the oven so that the flavors meld. This recipe is made with brown rice, which takes a bit longer to cook but has a wonderful texture.

My mother used to make a huge pan of paella whenever she had a crowd over for dinner. (She also made a killer jambalaya.) It’s perfect for entertaining because people can serve themselves what they want right from the pot.

OK, so this is a bit labor-intensive by American microwave-and-eat standards, but it goes together quickly and once it’s in the oven it’s a no-brainer. Whining is not allowed on hungry poodle.

Serve the paella sprinkled with parsley and lemon wedges. All you need is a great salad and some Spanish wine.

1 lb. shrimp (21/25 count), peeled and deveined
6 garlic colves, minced
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and halved crosswise
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut lengthwise into 1/2″ wide strips
8 oz. Spanish chorizo or linguica, sliced 1/2″ thick on the bias
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained, minced, and drained again
2 cups long-grain brown rice
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1 bay leaf
1 dozen mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
Chopped parsley
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss shrimp with 1/4 t. salt, black pepper and 1 t. of the minced garlic. Set aside. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 t. of oil in a large Dutch oven an add red bell peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until their skins begin to blister and turn black. Transfer peppers to a small plate.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the pot and add the chicken pieces. Brown on both sides. Transfer to a bowl and add the chorizo to the now-empty pot. Cook until well-browned. Place in the bowl with the chicken.

Add the onion to the pot and cook until softened; stir in the remaining garlic. Stir in the tomatoes and cook about 3 minutes. Add the rice and coat it well with the tomato mixture. Stir in the chicken broth, wine, saffron, bay leaf and 1/2 t. salt. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and place in the oven.

Cook for 30 minutes. Remove the pot and add the chicken and chorizo, pushing them down into the rice mixture. Replace lid and transfer to oven. Cook another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add the shrimp. Insert the mussels into the rice hinged-side down so that they stand upright; arrange the red bell peppers in a pinwheel pattern and scatter peas over top. Cover and return to oven and cook until shrimp are opaque and mussels have opened, about 12 minutes.

Allow paella to stand, covered, for several minutes. Discard any mussels that don’t open and remove bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce.

Serves: 6

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A single serving of tuna noodle casserole.

It has been a brutally cold and dismal winter in the American Midwest. I have survived by taking daily doses of Vitamin D in the morning, followed by equally medicinal doses of wine at night. It’s worked, but just barely. I don’t remember another time when I have felt so “blah” for so long.

My mood has affected my cooking, which brings me to the recipe at hand. When my friend Kaye came over this morning to do the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle (we finished it in three hours), she expressed her surprise that I had resorted to so pedestrian a dish.

I told her that if you grew up Catholic in the 1950′s and 60′s you’d recognize this Friday night dinner staple. And when I recently came upon the recipe, I suddenly craved the familiar taste from my childhood (which was spent in California, where winters were never this cold!)

Tuna noodle casserole became popular after the Campbell Soup folks introduced their revolutionary Cream of Mushroom Soup in 1934. (Imagine if the Internet had been around when Cream of Mushroom Soup first appeared. I envision all kinds of condensed soup/recipe blogs.)

My mom made her tuna noodle casserole in a round tube pan and then unmolded it onto a large platter and served it with peas in the middle hole. I’m certain she got the idea from Lady’s Home Journal, the housewife’s entertaining bible back then. And yes, my mom proudly served this to guests!

Here is a Weight Watcher-friendly version that will take you back (without setting you back too many calories).

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 T. unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
1 cup 2% milk
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can condensed reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
6 oz. (uncooked) egg noodles (buy a 12-oz. package and use half)
1 1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 T. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t. dried thyme
2 (6-oz.) cans tuna packed in water, drained
1 (2-oz.) jar diced pimentos, drained
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Boil noodles in a medium saucepan and drain in a colander. In the same pan, melt the butter and saute onion until soft. Whisk in milk and soup and cook about 3 minutes. Add the cooked noodles, peas, lemon juice, salt, pepper, thyme, tuna and pimento and pour into a 2-quart casserole that’s been sprayed with nonstick spray.

Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves: 4

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.

But I persist. I am convinced that there are recipes out there that will convert me. Last night this one made the cut. It’s very, very simple, which makes the whole salmon buying/cooking/eating experience that much less onerous. And it tasted, dare I say it, good!

If you like salmon AND teriyaki, this is your lucky day!

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 (1 1/2 to 2 lb.) salmon filet

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place rack in the upper third of the oven.

In a small saucepan bring soy sauce and maple syrup to a gentle boil and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes, until reduced to about 1/3 cup.

Place salmon skin-side down on a foil-lined pan. Reserve about 1 1/2 T. of the soy sauce mixture in a small bowl for when you serve. Brush the salmon generously with the remaining glaze and let it sit for a few minutes. Brush with the glaze again.

Place in the hot oven and roast for 10 minutes. Then turn on the broiler, brush the salmon with the glaze again and place under the broiler (4 to 5 inches from heat) for about 3 to 5 minutes, until just cooked through. Watch it carefully, as the sweet glaze can burn easily.

Cut the salmon into serving pieces and drizzle with the reserved glaze. (I served it with baby broccoli and brown rice with a few chopped roasted nuts tossed in.)

Serves 4 to 6

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1 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
One 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
One 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried thyme
pinch cayenne pepper (more if you like spicy)
1 pound shrimp, peeled
3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
6 cups cooked brown rice

1. In a large nonstick skillet heat the oil and add the onion, garlic, celery and bell
   peppers. Cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, thyme and
   cayenne. Simmer until sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the shrimp and zucchini. Cover and simmer on low heat until shrimp are
   pink, 5-7 minutes. Serve with brown rice.

Serves 6

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Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet, and add the onion, pepper and garlic. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the flour, curry powder, ginger and salt; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Slowly add the broth, stirring constantly, and cook until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Add more broth if it’s too thick.
Add the shrimp and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve with the brown rice.

Serves: 4

I serve this with mango chutney and sometimes with sliced bananas. Other optional condiments are: chopped peanuts, grated hard-boiled eggs, sliced green onions. My mother served this with all of the above.

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