Ladies and gentlemen, clean out the pantry cabinets 2011 continues. It’s not sexy, glamorous or all that exciting, but I know it’s a dilemma you face, too. After Ryan and I came home from the farmers’ market this afternoon and carefully tucked away the largest, most fragrant bunch of cilantro I have ever laid eyes on, I took stock of what lurked in the back corners of the freezer and pantry. A forlorn frozen chicken breast and unlabeled package of rice noodles seemed the perfect palate to create a light dinner involving plenty of cilantro.

After only a few minutes of meticulous chopping and a quick stir fry of chicken, ginger, garlic and mushrooms, these little guys were ready to roll.  Spring roll wrappers are a marvelous thing — they can be deep fried, or become mailable after a 20 second soak in hot tap water.  Like plastic wrap, the rolls like sticking to themselves, so any qualms about the rolls falling apart mid bite are quickly quelled.

Truth be told, I haven’t cooked dinner at home in over a week, as errands and socializing have taken me away from my tiny kitchen again and again.  I still can’t muster the strength to turn on the oven even though the weather has been unexpectedly cool but after a perfect morning walking the stalls of the market and dreaming of bigger kitchens with fancy appliances I came home and felt perfectly at home in my own kitchen.  We made quick work of these spring rolls, any hope I had of taking the leftovers into work tomorrow vanished after the first bite.  But, I can see this spring roll recipe serving as the base for other clean out the fridge late nights — extra cooked meat and bits of chopped vegetables make a surprisingly satisfying meal once wrapped tight in a clear sheet of tapioca flour.  Wonders never cease.

chicken and vegetable spring rolls
adapted from Chinese Food Made Easy and Quick and Easy Thai, plus what was in my refrigerator
yields 12 small rolls

8 ounces dried skinny rice or mung bean noodles
vegetable or peanut oil
7oz (give or take) chicken breast, cut into very thin slices
4 dried mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then drained and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, half sliced into matchsticks and half finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
12 large spring roll wrappers
1 small bunch mint, leaves plucked
1 small bunch basil, leaves plucked
1 small bunch cilantro, leaves removed
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, seeds removed and thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, very thinly sliced (optional)
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 green onions, thinly sliced lengthwise

Boil a medium saucepan of water and add the rice noodles. Remove from the heat and let soak for 8 minutes. Drain, rinse and let come to room temperature. Set aside.

In a medium to large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat. When the oil is almost smoking add the chicken, mushrooms, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the heat and add the soy sauce and five spice powder. Stir until the spice evenly coats the chicken. Let the chicken cool for about 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle.

Fill a large, shallow bowl or plate with very hot tap water. Dip the spring roll wrappers in the water one at a time in the water until softened, about 20 seconds.

Spread the wrapper out flat on a clear surface. In the center of the wrapper add several leaves of the mint, basil and cilantro, then a few pieces of the chicken mixture, then a few of each of the vegetables. Fold in two sides of the wrapper to the middle, then starting at one of the other ends, roll the wrapper the other direction (just like folding a burrito). Repeat until all of the spring rolls are filled. Serve immediately.

When one’s plate is a little fuller than usual (say getting engaged, starting a new job, contemplating foot surgery and taking on being a first time home buyer in the span of three months — just as a hypothetical, of course), that plate should be filled with ice cream.  If you really want to do it up right, that ice cream should be swapped out every once and awhile with homemade crème fraîche sorbet.

Reader, are you familiar with this wonderful thing known as crème fraîche?  If not, let me introduce you.  Crème fraîche is a soured cream that can best be described as something akin to cream cheese, mascarpone, sour cream and Greek yogurt.  It can be dolloped atop a bowl of pureed soup, or added just before serving to a pan sauce.  But here, dear reader, it is turned into ice cream.  Crème fraîche ice cream isn’t too far fetched an idea since it is, well, just cream but, adding plenty of sweetness cut by a healthy dose of lemon juice tastes like sunlight in a bowl.

Making your own ice cream or sorbet at home does require (in most cases) the bulky addition of an ice cream machine, but (as I have made the case for in the past) a worthwhile investment of both cash and space.  Crème fraîche sorbet is another example of a frozen confection that you simply whisk together in a bowl, pour into the frozen core of the ice cream machine and turn it on.  Two to three hours later, after a setup period in the freezer, you have about a quart to savor for the next several days.  Plenty for anyone, both those sane individuals enjoying their summers by the pool, or those that like to try and squeeze in as many life changes as possible in the span of three months.

crème fraîche sorbet
adapted from Bon Appètit, August 2009
yields about 4 cups

2 cups chilled crème fraîche*
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

Whisk the crème fraîche, corn syrup, lemon juice, sugar and salt in large bowl. Make the sorbet in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to container, cover, and freeze.

This sorbet may be made up to 3 days ahead. Keep frozen. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes to soften slightly before serving.

*Crème fraîche is a french dairy product that can be found in many grocery stores.  If you cannot find it, try making it at home.  Mix two cups heavy whipping cream (pasturized, not ultra pasturized, if you can find it) and 2 tablespoons buttermilk or lemon juice.  Pour into an airtight container and let sit at room tempearture for 8 to 24 hours, depending on the heat of your kitchen and how think you would like the final product.  Refrigerate.  The crème fraîche will store for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Who doesn’t want a tartlet after dinner? Or as a decadent breakfast? Or snacked on happily in the afternoon? Well, the answer is me apparently because I have eaten these darn tartlets for all of the above. I am captivated, and hungry.

The hunger originates from a great week, but a week filled with so much activity that I came home each evening exhausted from mental fatigue. My desire to cook, bake and be creative has taken a back burner to everything new related to planning our wedding, starting a new job and temperatures reaching 100 degrees ore more. Despite all of my hangups (and complaining…poor Ryan) I woke up a few days ago READY TO BAKE. It was about time.

Let’s not discuss the exact hour, for it was early, but it allowed me enough time to use the pate brise in my refrigerator to make eight adorable little tarts. Making free form tarts, or galettes, is as easy as rolling out an imperfect circle of dough, piling up fresh fruit mixed with sweetener and starch (to soak up some of the juices), rolling up the edges of the dough and baking. Baking can be so satisfying: you follow a recipe, let the oven do its work and viola! Instant gratification. Something I needed this week as much as I needed a flaky, raspberry rhubarb tartlet.

mini rhubarb and raspberry galettes
adapted from Martha Stewart’s New Pies and Tarts
yields 8 mini galettes

1 recipe pate brisee (recipe below)
1-1/2 pounds trimmed rhubarb, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8 ounces fresh raspberries
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups granulated sugar
coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Divide the pate brisee dough into eight equal pieces. Roll out each piece, on a lightly floured surface, to form a 7-inch round.  Prepare two rimmed baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.  Transfer the rolled dough to the prepared baking sheets, arranging each several inches apart.

In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, raspberries, cornstarch and sugar tossing gently to distribute the ingredients.

Measure 1/2 cup of filling and place in the center of one of the rounds, leaving at least a 1-inch border.  Repeat for the other seven tartlets.  Fold the edges over the filling, leaving an opening in the center.  To help the dough stick to itself, brush the insides of the folds with water and press together gently.  Refrigerate or freeze until firm, abut 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Brush the edges of the dough with water and sprinkle with the sanding sugar, if using.  Bake until the crusts are golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 375 and bake until the juices bubble and start to run out from the centers of the tarts, about 15 minutes more.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

pate brisee
adapted from Martha Stewart’s New Pies and Tarts
yields enough for two 9-inch single-crust pies or 8 mini tarts

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor pulse the flour, salt and sugar. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with some larger pieces remaining. Drizzle 1/4 cup water over the mixture. Pulse until the mixture just begins to hold together (it may look too dry — that’s alright). If dough looks very dry, add more water one tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to take shape.

Place a long piece of plastic wrap on a work surface and dump out the dough from the food processor bowl. Use the wrap to shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to three months.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have terrific news: my hunt for the quintessential potato salad is over.  I finally have a straightforward, unfussy potato salad recipe that makes my heart swoon (indeed, my heart is palpating from the mayo levels).  You probably had no idea that this was an important quest of mine but let me tell you, this search has been going on for quite some time.

I wanted a potato salad that had an ingredient list that was both short and uncomplicated and I wanted a potato salad that with one bite would transport me to a hot summer afternoon with wafts of grilled meat floating past my sunburned nose.  Luckily, last Saturday my friends hosted a day in the ‘burbs complete with a trip to a brewery, a dip in the pool, a barbecue and a potluck.  Upon my invitation I bought a two-pound bag of the smallest red potatoes I could find, put them on to boil and promptly forgot about them as I busied myself around my un-air conditioned house.  The skins burst, but the flesh was not too worse for the wear due to my inattention and the rest of the potato salad came together as the spuds cooled.

After everything was mixed together I put the finished salad into the refrigerator to cool (room temperature mayonnaise doesn’t usually do it for me) and waited anxiously to take my first bite.  About an hour later I pulled out the speckled salad and removed the plastic wrap to reveal one of the most perfectly balanced potato salads I had ever tasted.  The dressing to potato ratio is spot on, and the scallions and caraway seeds give some added crunch and texture.  At the barbecue potluck, everyone was so hot, tired and hungry that we all ate in silence, but I felt like victory was mine.  My version of the perfect potato salad had been found.

burg’s potato salad
adapted from A Homemade Life
yields about 8 servings

2 pounds red, waxy potatoes (as small as you can find them)
1 bunch scallions (about 8 green onions), thinly sliced
4 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped/crumbled
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 prepared ranch dressing
2 teaspoons whole caraway seeds, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

Scrub the potatoes and add to a large pot of salted, boiling water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and release easily when the tip of a knife is inserted. Drain the potatoes and let cool. When cool enough to handle, cut the potatoes into even cubes.

Meanwhile, in the bottom of a large serving bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, ranch dressing, caraway seeds and fresh dill. Taste for seasonings. Add the cooled potatoes, scallions and egg. Stir to coat the salad ingredients with the dressing. Serve at room temperature or chilled.