Framed Friday: Easy Spring Rolls.

I have to say that spring rolls were something that I never thought I would make, and I’m still not sure what possessed me. But one day I just woke up with a burning desire to make these, and I have to say that they were:

1. Delicious!!!
2. Super-easy to make.
3. Probably the best way to use up leftovers that I have ever run into.

Honestly, the hardest part of the whole thing is finding these.

These are technically called rice noodle wrappers, and when I say they are hard to find I actually don’t mean hard at all – they were in the first market I walked into. And if worst comes to worst, I know you can absolutely find them on Amazon, which is my go-to source for pretty much anything that I have trouble finding out in the real world. Anyway, the key to making these is to have all your ingredients organized before you start out. Any combination of things that feels good to you is fair game, but just to get you started, here are the combinations I went with: shredded cooked chicken, fresh parsley, shredded carrot and chopped mango. Chopped cooked shrimp, mint leaves and shredded carrot. Sliced avocado, basil leaves, cucumber cut into tiny strips, and shredded carrot.

So!  Fill up a wide bowl with cold water,  take one of the rice wrappers, and dunk it in the water until it is pliable (this will take less than a minute). Take it out and lay it on your work surface and then cover the bottom third with your choice of filling, leaving about a one inch border on the edge. Fold that bottom edge over the filling and roll it over once. Tuck in the sides and finish rolling until you have a nice tight roll.  That’s it – you have made spring rolls!!

These are fabulous with whatever dipping sauce you like best – soy sauce, chili sauce, or make a wonderful peanut sauce by mixing up peanut butter, a little warm water and a little lime juice until you have the right consistency for dipping. Perfect for weekend snacking!!

~ Kate, Framed

Framed Friday: Cheese-Filled Tomato Salad.

I am holding onto the last warm days of the season with all my might… I am in Complete Denial that the last day of summer recently came and went. And one of the ways I keep my little delusion going is by continuing to buy those big juicy locally grown tomatoes at our friendly neighborhood farmer’s market. I figure as long as the nights are still frost-free and the tomatoes are still around, Summer Still Lives!!

I came across this fabulous recipe while trolling through the Dining section of The New York Times, and was sucked in by the name of his original recipe: Robiola-Stuffed Tomatoes. Huh?  As it turns out, robiola is the name of a delicious cheese that I had never heard of or tasted before, and they actually had it at my local wonderful supermarket. It seems like it is a pretty close cousin to Brie and Camembert – soft and creamily scrumptious – and so if you can’t track it down either one of those would be a perfectly fine substitute. So here’s the deal: you cut the top off of a couple of perfect tomatoes, scoop out the insides, sprinkle them with salt and turn them over a paper towel to drain while you do the rest.

The rest is this: mash up some robiola or brie with some gorgonzola cheese and some butter. (No, this is not your typical dietetic tomato salad recipe.) Toss in some paprika and a little vodka. Go back to the tomato insides that you scooped out and chopped them up and mix them in too. Now, this is where the original recipe for the filling ends, and it was perfectly fine that way. HOWEVER…  you can take this an awesome step further by mixing in any of the following: Cooked orzo. Toasted homemade bread crumbs. Cooked white rice. Etc.  Because life is better with carbs. Now turn your tomato shells right side up, stuff them with the filling, and sprinkle the whole thing with chopped parsley and a little fresh ground pepper. You are now looking at the world’s best tomato salad… it makes a lovely weekend lunch, or a great, dramatic side dish for those last grilled chicken or steak dinners of the early fall season.

Cheese-Filled Tomato Salad

adapted from Recipes From an Italian Summer, by the editors of Phaidon Press
original New York Times article here

4 large ripe tomatoes
Kosher salt to taste
3½ ounces robiola, Brie or Camembert cheese, rind removed, diced
2 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon mild paprika
4 chives, finely diced
2 tablespoons vodka
1 cup orzo, rice or toasted bread crumbs, optional

1. Halve the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds and some of the flesh. Sprinkle the shells with kosher salt and turn them upside down on paper towels to drain for 30 minutes.

2. Place the cheeses and butter in a bowl, season sparingly with salt and aggressively with pepper, and beat until smooth.

3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

4. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture. Place on serving dish until ready to serve. Serves 4.

– Kate, Framed