NuM NuM

Since I've officially been cooking for the past couple years now, I've realized my favorite season to cook is during the winter months. Ohhhh, how I miss the days of rich and hearty soups, stews, and fall off the bone short ribs that have been simmering away in the oven for hours on end. Alas, summer is here and I do not want to turn on the oven whatsoever. Summer food is so blah since meals need to be healthy and light due to bikini season. Gone are the days of thick sweaters and baggy clothes that could disguise the extra insulation needed to keep warm during the cold winter days. Woe is me.

BUT, have no fear! These spring rolls will put the "spring" back in your step and dinner will be on the table without you even breaking a sweat. Lobster made these outstanding spring rolls the other night and they were so good we've eaten them twice in the last three days. I've never worked with rice paper before and it was so fun rolling up these little creations. The fillings are limitless so use your imagination and stuff them with whatever you like. We used a mixture of cabbage, carrots, beansprouts and shrimp flavored with ginger and garlic. We also made two different dipping sauces with hoisin and peanut butter which were the perfect accompaniment to the spring rolls. Try making these next time it's blazing hot outside and hopefully summer cooking will be fun again :)


Spring Rolls
Loosely adapted from here
SERVES: 4 as an appetizer, 2 as the main course

1 medium carrot
1 cup each green and red cabbage, thinly sliced
8 shiitake mushrooms
1 cup of thinly sliced green onions
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup ginger, minced
1/4 lb of shrimp, crab, or tofu
Olive oil
Rice paper

Directions
Cut carrot in thirds. Cut each third into matchstick size pieces. Place in bowl. Thinly slice red and green cabbage and place in same bowl as carrots. Remove stems from mushrooms and discard. Next, roughly chop mushrooms and set aside. Mince garlic and ginger. Grab a medium sized saute pan and a large saute pan and place pans on stove over medium high heat and add a bit of oil. Place half the garlic and half the ginger in each pan and saute until fragrant. Add shrimp to smaller pan and season with salt and pepper and cook until shrimp are cooked through. Add the bowl with cabbage into large saute pan and saute until carrots are just tender. You don't want to cook the vegetables all the way through since you still want them to retain their crunch. Halfway through cooking cabbage add the mushrooms until soft and browned. Season veggies with S&P. Turn off heat and cool mixture. Chop shrimp into smaller then bite size pieces and set aside. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dampen a paper towel and place on top of a plate. Take one rice paper and dip into bowl and swirl around until it's just pliable. Place rice paper on top of damp paper towel and lay flat. Next take small mixture of veggies and place in the middle of the rice paper. Next add a small amount of shrimp on top of veggies. Take sides of paper and fold in over the mixture. Take bottom half of paper and fold over the mixture and roll it tight so mixture is securely trapped inside paper then keep rolling until you reach the top of the paper and place on serving plate seam side down. Basically how you would roll up an egg roll. Serve with hoisin sauce or peanut dipping sauce. These are best served right away. If you have leftover mixture do not make rolls ahead of time and keep in fridge because the rice paper will dry out. Enjoy!

I love BIG, BOLD flavored food and this Jerk Chicken delivered! Lobster made dinner and I couldn't stop devouring my chicken even though it was massively large. I kid you not, it was probably about the size of my face and I practically ate the whole thing. It was nice and charred from the grill and you know everything tastes better when it's grilled outside. Each bite had tremendous complex flavor from the different spices in the marinade and it was just mmmmmm. I'm gettin' hungry just thinking about it! It's so fun experimenting with new and different cuisines from all around the world in the comfort of your own home - especially when it tastes GOOD! I highly suggest making this for your special someone - they will love it!


Jamaican Grilled Jerk Chicken
Adapted from Jamaican Food
2 servings

* 1 tsp Caribbean spice rub
* 3-5 scallions, chopped
* 4-6 large garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 jalapeno, seeded or 4-5 scotch bonnet or 1 habanero chile, stemmed and seeded
* 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
* 1/2 cup white vinegar
* 1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
* 2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
* 2 teaspoons ground allspice
* 2 teaspoons black pepper
* 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

INGREDIENTS – CHICKEN

* 2 chicken breast halves with skin and bones (1.5 lb)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Sprinkle Caribbean spice rub on chicken
2. Make marinade by blending all marinade ingredients in a blender until smooth.
3. Place fingers under skin of chicken and separate skin from chicken careful not to rip skin from chicken. Spread a lot of marinade under skin of chicken then place in plastic sealable bag and put rest of marinade in bag covering chicken. Seal bags, pressing out excess air, then turn bags over several times to distribute marinade. Put bags of chicken in a shallow pan and marinate, chilled, turning once or twice for at least 1 1/2 hours and up to overnight. Let chicken stand at room temperature 1 hour before cooking.

Using a Charcoal Grill:
Open vents on bottom of grill and on lid. Light a large chimney of charcoal briquettes (about 100) and pour them evenly over 1 side of bottom rack (you will have a double or triple layer of charcoal).

When charcoal turns grayish white and you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds, sear chicken in batches on lightly oiled rack over coals until well browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per batch. Move chicken as seared to side of grill with no coals underneath, then cook, covered with lid, until cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes more.

Using a Gas Grill:
Preheat burners on high, then adjust heat to moderate. Cook chicken until well browned on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Adjust heat to low and cook chicken, covered with lid, until cooked through, about 25 minutes more.

Soooooo...I've decided to make a new "label" on my blog for family and friends who like to make guest appearances on the NuM NuM. I'll file their recipes under "Guests of the Num Num" so they can feel like they have their own mini blog. Secretly, I know they really wish they had their own, but I don't mind sharing :) I've created a Num Num phenomenon and it's sweeping across the nation. Okay maybe not the nation, but a small microscopic pocket of Los Angeles.

Tonight's post is about the Genius White Man's slammin' Grilled Rack of Lamb. He coated the lamb with fresh herbs which consisted of oregano, thyme, and rosemary, then finished them off with his homemade sop. We cut them off the rack, ate them like lollipops, and they were finger-lickin' good! We rounded out the meal with sister-in-law's tasty Caesar Salad and scalloped potatoes gratin. Such a fancy meal they threw together for little old us.

After dinner however it was SHOW TIME! C.G.W.M and I had an "Ice Cream Throwdown!" In one corner we had his "Chocolate Mint" versus my "Salted Butter Almond Ice Cream" in the other corner. I learned after this throwdown that ice cream is very subjective. I'm not a fan of mint chip or any chocolate flavored ice cream so obviously I was biased. We designated the rug rats as the judges and by default they chose C.G.W.M.'s as the winner. I think it was rigged! In my defense I must say: 1. they are two and three years old. 2. They are his offspring, and 3. They are under three feet tall so they're taste buds are not refined enough to enjoy my sophisticated salty, sweet ice cream :) It's okay - they'll learn. However sister-in-law did say my ice cream was phenomenal and the MIL enjoyed it as well. Therefore...we'll call it a tie - I guess :\ And since this is my blog and I'm the person writing this post, we'll just say, "I WON!" :D


Grilled Rack of Lamb
Recipe and photo from The Firepit and Grilling Guru

* Rack of lamb - Cut off any excess fat, leaving a fairly lean rack. One rack will serve only about two as a main course (or less if you are really hungry!) so make more if you are serving more.

* Dry white wine - You only need a cup or so.

* Mixed fresh Provençal herbs - You can use whichever combo you want but I used a roughly equal mix of rosemary, thyme and oregano. Chop them finely together. You will need a few tablespoons for each rack of lamb you make.

* Garlic - About 3 or 4 cloves, finely minced, per rack of lamb.

* Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make the grilled rack of lamb recipe:

1. After trimming your rack of lamb and chopping the herbs and garlic, rub coarse salt and black pepper into all the surfaces of the meat. You can season to taste but this rack of lamb recipe is quite good with ample salt, if you like that kind of thing.

2. Next, put the herbs and garlic in a small bowl and add enough dry white wine to make a slurry or paste. Rub this garlic/herb mixture thickly over all the exposed surfaces of meat on the rack of lamb. Place it in a shallow dish or bowl, pour over the remaining bit of wine and cover. Marinate about 2 to 4 hours.

3. After building a fire in your grill, push the embers to one side or to two sides so that you can cook with indirect heat.

4. Allow the meat to come up to room temperature prior to cooking. Season the meat additionally if you prefer and lightly brush off any excess herb mixture from the surface. However, it should stay well coated with herbs and garlic.

5. Throw the rack on your grill over the coals with high direct heat. You want to sear the surface briefly, just enough to get a bit of a dark brown crust forming but not to burn it. When one side is seared, flip it and allow the other side to sear as well.

6. Once seared on all sides, move the rack of lamb away from direct heat so that it is not over hot coals. You can baste a bit with additional wine and/or olive oil to help keep it moist and to help it develop a nice crusty surface.

7. Cover with your grill lid and let cook on indirect heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until done to your desired doneness. It should be a bit pink in the middle still when finished.

8. Remove from the grill and let rest in a warm place under foil for at least 10 minutes. Then slice into either individual ribs or double servings, two ribs per piece.

9. Serve and enjoy! I have served this with either mint or rosemary jelly and both are excellent accompaniments to this grilled rack of lamb recipe, although the rack is great on its own as well.


Rack of Lamb Sop
Recipe by Genius W.M.

- Butter
- White wine
- Porterhouse Seasoning
- A bit of honey
- Olive Oil
- Leftover herb mixture from the lamb
- Balsamic vinegar
- Dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Clearly he is one of those cooks that eyeballs everything. When you ask him for the recipe he says things like, "a little bit of this, with a dash of that," so this is more of a method then an actual recipe. Sorry.