Recipes

[stoney321]

Have tried all of these, YUM.

Yum Woon Sen (my favorite Thai noodle dish)

7 oz. bean thread noodles (glass noodles, mung bean noodles or can sub. with rice vermicelli)
cooked shrimp (tradition adds shredded cooked pork, too. I grill 2 thin chops and dice)
2 large carrots, matchstick style (1 C)
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced (1/2 C)
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 C green onions, chopped
1/2 C cilantro, chopped
torn lettuce (on the plate)
1 tsp. chili flakes

Dressing:
7 TBSP fish sauce
7 TBSP lime juice (this was three limes for me)
5 tsp brown sugar
3 Thai chiles minced, or a tsp. of chili flakes <-- went that route

Soak noodles in warm water, 15 minutes. Cook the shrimp, chop veggies. Pour water off noodles, then cover with boiling water for 5 min. (I used the water I boiled the shrimp in) Drain, rinse with cold water, let stand until ready.

Mix dressing, pour over noodles and shrimp (and pork if you've added) toss. Line plates with the torn lettuce leaves. Add remaining veggies to the noodles, toss, serve.

SO FRESH. We added a touch more fish sauce and red flakes (to spare the kids the heat) after it was plated. Gets better a day later.


Crab Wonton Wraps with Dipping Sauce

Wraps:
4 oz. crab meat
2 oz. cooked and shelled shrimp, chopped
4 canned water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 small fresh chile, seeded and finely chopped (I used a jalapeno. Because I'm in Texas)
1 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
1 TBSP light soy
20 3 1/2 in round wonton wrappers
toasted sesame seeds to sprinkle
bamboo steamer

Soy and Ginger Dipping sauce:
3 TBSP light soy
3 TBSP rice wine (dry sherry, if you don't have)
1/2 in fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Mix first 8 ingredients together in bowl. Brush the edges of a wonton wrapper with water. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Draw up the edges and press together. Fill remaining wrappers. Cover until ready to cook.

Line the steamer with parchment paper (I didn't do this for my bamboo steamer. IF you don't have one, you'll need to do this) Make sure they aren't touching in the steamer. Steam for 5 minutes over boiling water. (Cooked these in batches of 6) Mix the sauce, sprinkle wontons with sesame seeds and serve.


Eggplant Rolls

(Um, these are on my list for appetizers to bring. YUM.)

1 large eggplant
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 C fresh basil leaves (I added more. Because come on: BASIL)
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
4 half-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (I added a heaping handful of sun-dried tomatoes. Half-dried? WTF?)
1/3 C pine nuts, toasted
freshly ground black pepper

Trim the stalk off the eggplant, cut lengthwise into 8 think slices about 1/4 in thick. Grill on ridged grill pan (I took them outside to the actual grill) after brushing with olive oil. (2 minutes per side is almost too long, for the record. You want them soft enough to roll.) Set aside to cool.

Shred the basil leaves and toss feta, tomatoes, basil and all but 1 TBSP of the pine nuts together and season with black pepper.

Pile a spoonful of the mix on the end third of each eggplant slice and add a few slivers of red onion. Roll up and place seam side down on a serving plate. Serve sprinkled with the remaining pine nuts and reserved basil nuts. (If using as an app. pierce each with a toothpick.)



Lemon Orzo with Roasted Asparagus

Note: I doubled this, thinking I'd need that much for a hungry family of 5. We have enough for one meal and leftovers for four.

1 C orzo
1 TBSP grated lemon zest (I just zested 1 whole lemon. SHEESH that's a lot of zest!)
1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice (just less than one large lemon)
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 TBSP olive oil
8 roasted asparagus spears (I used the whole bunch. Mmmm.)
1/4 C chopped parsley
2 TBSP pine nuts, toasted.

Note: toast the pine nuts (350 degree) for 6 minutes, set aside to cool. Crank up oven to 450, roast asparagus for 6 minutes, set aside to cool, then cut into pieces)
Note 2: I grilled two chicken breasts and chopped to add to my doubled recipe. That's a part of why it made so much, but it was really tasty.

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain, set aside. While it's cooking, mix the dressing: Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in oil until well blended. Add to pasta and toss to coat. Cool to room temp. Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Stir in parsley, asparagus and pine nuts. Reg. recipe makes 5 servings.

This gets better the next day after sitting the fridge. (We added a dash more of salt and pepper to get the balance right. Emily thought it was too lemony otherwise.)



Red, White and Blue Slaw

1 head red cabbage, shredded
2 large jicama, peeled and cut into matchstick size pieces
3 pints blueberries, washed
1 C cooked crumbled bacon (omitted for my BFF - vegatarian. Tasted great.)
1 C walnuts, chopped (we used pecans)
1 C store bought vinaigrette dressing (I'm going to make my own next time to balance the salt. Mmm, maybe with the raspberry chipotle vinaigrette?)

In a clear bowl, layer ingredients, beginning with cabbage. Top with jicama. Add blueberries, top with bacon and walnuts (pecans) then the dressing. Cover, chill until ready to eat. Toss and serve. 8-10 servings.


Very pretty dish - hard to get the kids to eat the cabbage. Because they're kids. And it's cabbage. I liked this, though, and it's freaking simple as hell.

Dammit, I lost my lemoncello granita recipe... I need to find a new one.

And a random song for you to groove to: Roller Skating Jam - De La Soul. Man, I want to strap on some skates and boogie in the park. *whips you around the corner* I need a roller skate icon, stat! Ooooh, and I had a funny idea for an icon of Homer tucking in to a plate of pork products, his face all blissed out with the words "That'll do, Pig" on it. Ahahahaha. *cough*

Comments

[brandil.livejournal.com]

YUMMY!

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I'm going to make the Orzo dish again this weekend but substitute the lemon for lime and see how that changes things. Lime = AWESOME.

(And we're having those corncakes and avocado tonight for din with some tomatoes from the garden. MMmmmm. Thanks for that recipe - and your notes on how you changed it!)

[brandil.livejournal.com]

Lime = awesome, indeed. Let me know if you enjoy it!

[thepiratequeen.livejournal.com]

Yum! These all look great. Sadly the first two would send me to the hospital because of the shellfish but I fully intend on trying out the Eggplant rolls.

Do you think the Yum Woon Sen would work with chicken instead of shrimp?

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

You don't have to put in shrimp in either of them (or crab in the second) You could have pork and leeks and black mushrooms in the wontons? Mmmmmm.

You could totally sub. shrimp for chicken, or just keep the pork in there. I'm going to experiment with some fish, too. I'll let you know how that turns out, if you're interested?

[thepiratequeen.livejournal.com]

Good point. I wasn't sure how important the crab was to the flavor or the texture of the wontons. I feel like such a party pooper when it comes to most seafood recipes. because I know you can do some amazing things with shellfish but I can barely touch a plate that has shrimp on it without breaking out.

I'd love to hear how your substitutions go.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I dated a Coonass from the Bayou that got Iodine poisoning at a shellfish eating contest when he was 18, and couldn't touch the stuff without risking his life. He still lives in Louisiana, and you want to talk about being a party pooper... Try living in the Bayou and not being able to eat any fish!

I will let you know! *hugs*

Must find a good food icon.

[southernbangel.livejournal.com]

Ooo, the wontons sound heavenly and I think the raspberry chipotle vinaigrette would be perfect in the red, while and blue slaw. It'd give the slaw a touch of sweetness and kick. YUM.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Oooh, good point with the sweet/fire!!! I think I'll make that tomorrow with some grilled fish, in fact. HOLY YUM. I'll let you know how that turns out.

HI LEE. ILU.

[marenfic.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmmm. I want to come eat at your house.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

COme on, then! Dinner's at 7. We're having this, and a salad.

Side note, that icon never fails to crack me the hell up.

[marenfic.livejournal.com]

YUM.

Unfortunately Mr. Maren is a pain in the ass to feed. He would never eat any of your recipes here. Now I want those corn cakes and I will never get them. The closest I'll come is grilled corn on the cob because my husband is so freaking picky. (And my favorite is when he complains that we eat the same things all the time-- um, when you don't like anything that is used in recipes that's what happens jackass.)

Yes, I'm bitter. My mom is coming on Thursday and i think I will try some new things and make Mr. Maren eat grilled cheese or something.

*uses icon again for your hilarity*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

You just tell Mr Maren that he sounds like my first husband, who I divorced for being an asshole. YOU JUST TELL HIM THAT. Man, that guy... Our first "married" meal I made for us was fried chicken (we had been living out of state and wanted some 'home cookin' That was the best friend chicken I've ever made and before he even took a bite, he slathered it with KETCHUP. *cries*

I say make what you want for your mother - he can PB&J it. (And will probably be happy, right? MEN.)

[slasheuse.livejournal.com]

How d'you get on with sundried tomatoes? Do you buy organic? I only ask because the very worst case of food poisoning IN MY LIFE was caused by sun-dried tomatoes. Apparently if you buy non-organic/get unlucky with your supplier (*fist of eating-at-really-cheap-pub SOLIDARITY*) you're practically guaranteed to get food-poisoning: the cheaper the tomato, the more pesticides that have been lobbed at it, and in a cheaper sundrying process, those pesticides just get COOKED and INTENSIFIED, not diluted as in a lot of other cooking processes.

Obviously, you are great cook of bounty and discernment, and not teenager skiving off lectures and eating awful bruschetta in pub where Bill Clinton did-not-inhale. I just wondered what you did/where you got them.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

HI!!! *squishes you* Um... I get a cello-pack of dried sun dried tomatoes and reconsitute them in hot water. I just get them from my local grocer, honestly. (I don't pay attention to "organic" foods because most of what we get in the US comes from China, and they have zero to no regulations.)

I am so sorry you got so ill!! I think I pay... 3 -4 US dollars for a cello pack? I've been doing that for years (if we don't make them ourselves) and have yet to be sick... Watch that change this week. :D

[ladycat777.livejournal.com]

Crab wantons *WANTS*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

ME, TOO. (And I just ate them, two days ago.) I LOVE FOOD, omg.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

You bet! I get tons of terrific recipes from my LJ buddies!

Re: Icon, eh?

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

*claps hands!*

Ooooh! Thanks, Beff! Also, I NEED to talk to you - you around/available later? (I need to shed the cheerins first)

Re: Icon, eh?

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I LOVE THAT WITH ALL MY HEART.

Also, just got off the phone with Dad - gave him an ass chewing. He's all better, apparently. SHEEEEEESH.

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, the Thai noodles!

And yum to the eggplant rolls and orzo, glaaaahhhhhhh *drooling noise*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I ate the last of the Orzo for lunch and it was SO GROOD. *cold and lemony and refreshing in my mouf*

I want to make horse noises now: flwompflwompflwompflwomp

Are you gonna make banana bread? Will it have nuts? (Ooooh, maybe you could make banana-oatmeal WAFFLES! Note: I always pronounce it waf-lays for Frahnch fun. Hee!)

[violethamster.livejournal.com]

Arrgglllhhhh *Homer Simpsonesque drooling*

[copykween.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm, these all look SO TASTY! I'll definitely have to try...ALL of them!

Although I'm wondering, for the recipes that call for lime or lemon/zest, do those flavors (at those quantities, at least) tend to over-power the dish?

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, and they are SO tasty. I'll say this: you can tell there's lemon/lime. (I used half the zest, because I'm lazy) But it's not like, "Whoops! Forgot some other seasonings!" Especially with the Yum Woon Sen: the lime and the fish sauce amounts are perfect.

[copykween.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I'll definitely give the Yum Woon Sen and WonTon!

[copykween.livejournal.com]

DUR....give them a shot.