Summer Rolls, Steak and St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

The first time I made Tyler Florence's summer rolls it wasn't an overwhelming experience. But it's the sort of thing that you get a craving for. The dipping sauce is so savoury and the summer rolls so fresh that you just want to make them five times a week. I have yet to use rice paper to make different wraps. I know that it's popular in Asian cuisine and given that it's lighter when compared to wheat based wraps, I'm sure its versatility is beyond limits. Anywho, just google these exact words --- Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce --- and you shouldn't have a problem finding the recipe.

Without following upon any theme whatsoever, we ate steak with our summer rolls which we bought pre-crusted with montreal steak seasoning (an example recipe can be found at this link : http://www.recipezaar.com/83902). Given that the salty seasoning had been on the steak since its days on the supermarket shelves, it had been marinated to make the steak nice and tender. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, chemically speaking, but suffice it to say that montreal steak seasoning is great. One relevant story is when my uncles had killed a moose and as I took off individual muscles off the leg hanging in the garage, others in my family were cutting the meat into thin slices, cooking it in a cast iron pan and then seasoning with montreal steak spice. I guess it might be kind of morbid for all you vegan city slickers out there but for other people who aren't so detached from the nature of things, eating truly fresh meat is a rare delicacy. I can't wait till I get to go to hunt cariboo in Nunavut, slice them open and eat the flesh raw right there on the spot....they actually do that....I'm not just trying to be gross....hee hee

The final member of our buffet of eclectism was St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout which is also from Montreal (www.mcauslan.com). Similar in colour to Guinness, this stout is a tad more bitter and has strong hints of dark chocolate or espresso....at least that's what the label on the back of the bottle says ;) A good, dark beer goes well with a steak so strongly seasoned. The intensity of the flavours is what I enjoy. None of that subtle crap for me. I like my food to kick and pick a fit on my tongue. I want to taste it. But that's just me. Plus I just finished talking about dainty little summer rolls so who am I to talk.......

Crab, Pizza Pockets, Summer Rolls & Steak...All in Two Day's Work

My girlfriend works at the grocery store which means that we know about all the great bargains. And seeing as we live in the Maritimes, the great bargains often include fresh seafood. On the menu tonight, crab!

We bought the crab pre-cooked and frozen. All we had to do was throw it in some boiling, well-salted water for a few minutes and soon we were eating our way through the sweet tender flesh. In my opinion, crab is oftentimes better than lobster. It is often cheaper too because lobster is so popular these days whereas people just 60 years or so were frowned upon for eating the ugly things. People would actually hide it in their garbage so that their neighbours didn't know that had to eat lobster! And when you consider that lobster and pretty much all seafood spend their lives sifting the crap out of the sea water, you get to understand why this would have been a proper preoccupation. I wish we were back in those days. I could eat all the lobster I want on my shoestring budget.

In the background of the photo above you can see our pizza pockets. We used the leftover wonton wrappers from the day before (those we used to make briks) and stuffed them with thick slices of pepperoni, spaghetti sauce, and grated mozzarella. We then dropped them in a pan of oil till they were nice and golden. The result? A gushing little accompanying dish. Though you can't eat more than a few of these little things without getting overwhelmed by the greasyness of it all, they were delicious.

Yesterday, for supper, we had some friends over. I prepared the smoked salmon appetizers similar to the gravlax. We then prepared some summer rolls which my girlfriend is crazy about, a recipe I got off Tyler Florence's Food 911. These little rolls are really fresh and light. They go well with pretty much anything. But we didn't just pair it with anything. I marinaded some steaks in a Thai inspired marinade which I got from Christine Cushing on Food TV. The sweetness of the marinade (which we could only marinade for a few hours but should be left for something like two days) worked well with the light summer rolls. It was a refreshing twist on the old meat and potatoes.

Finally, we ended with a huge cake our friend make for my birthday. When I get the recipe I'll post it. But for now I can only tell you that it was a mound of light cake, whipped cream, and toffee pieces. Served with a cup of licorice tea, it was a great end to a great meal.

Summer Rolls with Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

1 oz Vietnamese cellophane noodles

1/2 cup bean sprouts

1/2 carrot, julienned

1 beet, julienned

1/4 fresh red chilli, cut into circles

1/2 handful fresh cilantro, hand-torn

1/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/4 lime, juiced

Mint leaves

Sea salt

1. Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Remember that the ingredients are approximative. Add or reduce any amount to personal taste or to give the rolls some extra umph.

2. Prepare rice paper according to instrustion.

3. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling near side of rice paper. Place one mint leaf on rice paper opposite to the filling. Flip sides of rice paper towards middle and then roll paper over filling and mint leaf to make a tight roll.

Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp fish sauce (or clam juice)

1/4 cup hot water

2 tbsp sugar

1 lime, juiced

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp red chilli paste

1. Mix ingredients together and serve in individual bowls since double dipping will be inevitable.

--------------------------------

Honey Thai Marinated Steak

2 oz sesame oil

8 oz honey

2 tbsp Thai spice paste

2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

2 oz orange juice concentrate

Sea salt

Pepper

Cracked coriander seeds

Light soy sauce, for dipping

1. Mix sesame oil, honey, paste, ginger, and orange juice concentrate in a large ziplock bag. Slip steaks into bag and marinate for 48 hours, flipping every 8 or 12 hours.

2. When ready to eat, preheat bbq grill.

3. Pat steaks dry, sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and coriander seeds

4. Cook steaks to desired doneness, basting with remaining marinade.

5. Serve steak whole or sliced with soy sauce on side for dipping.