Author Archives: Renate Valencia

Salmon mousse rolls

Salmon mousse and scallop spring rolls

Salmon mousse and scallop spring rolls

I had them in a frenzy over salmon mousse and scallop spring rolls.  I took a recipe from chef Ming Tsai and modified it over time.  He does a salmon mousse (Tea Spiced Smoked Salmon Mousse) that contains crushed lapsong souchong tea leaves and chipotle powder.  Frankly, I think the recipe is better without both, because they overpower the delicacy of the mousse.  I leave out the five spice power, as well, but that’s just me.  Here is a simplified version of the recipe:  Process in your food processor with the large blade until barely chunky:  1 pound of smoked salmon (lox), 1 minced shallot, the juice of one lemon, 1 cup heavy cream and a couple of crank’s worth of black pepper.  Add 1 cup of heavy cream (this makes a total of 2 cups of heavy cream) and process until very smooth.  Transfer mass to some kind of covered container and pop in the fridge for a couple of hours.  Eat as-is with toast points, or use as a filling, with scallops, for spring rolls.  To make the spring rolls, you need: 1 and 1/4 pounds of fresh sea scallops, 12 rice paper wrappers and one batch of salmon mousse as above, give or take.  The dried rice paper wrappers look like round parchment circles and are available in Asian markets.  Soften them in warm water for a couple of minutes and then layer them in damp-to-wet paper towels.  Slice the scallops into thirds so you have numerous thick, circular scallop pieces .  Do not cut them so you end up with non-circles!  Lay out a wrapper on a cutting board, being careful not to tear it.  Smear about 1/24 of the mousse in the middle in a line about 3″ long, keeping well away from the edges.  Line scallop slices on top so you have enough for the other 11 wrappers.  Top scallop slices with another 1/24th of the mousse.  Roll up like a tight burrito, folding both sides in first and then rolling toward yourself.  They’ll wind up flat no matter how good you are at this, but you want them as tight as you can get them.  Place on a flat surface, folded side down.  Make the other 11 spring rolls.  In a large, non-stick pan of some kind, heat about 1/4 cup or so of Canola oil.  When the oil is hot, but not burning hot, lay in as many of the spring rolls as you can – folded side down – without crowding.  Reduce the flame to low and let them brown.  Turn over gently with a spatula and allow to brown on side two.  Do not overcook!  Do not overcook! Move to a paper towel base to drain.  Repeat until they are all done.  I serve these spring rolls by slicing in half at an angle with a sharp knife, and garnish with some chopped chives or green onion.  They are good; the mousse becomes fluffy when cooked.

salmon mousse and scaollop spring rolls in saute pan

Maine trip

jon sitting on rocky beach in maine in 2008

I noticed that Matt uploaded some pix from his August trip to Maine.  Every year, he goes with Jon and company to Cushing, Maine, to spend a couple of weeks with Jon’s grandparents to hang out at the shore and boil lobsters and all the other things New Englanders do for a good time.  He took some lovely photos — I’ll post a couple here.  It’s nice to get to swim in a lake compared to wading around in the shallow part of the icy Pacific Ocean, where it’s still not really safe.

one empty rowboat on lake in cushing maine

Costco rotisserie chickens smaller

Costco chicken issues.  Have you been following the story with Costco and its rotisserie chickens?  Over the past year, the cost went up from $4.99, which it had been for years, for a huge bird weighing in excess of four pounds, sometimes, to $6.99.  About a month ago I noticed that the chickens had lost quite a bit of weight.  I always select my chicken for color and size, picking many of them up and doing a full inspection.  All of the chickens were small, and the price was still $6.99, making this not such a great deal anymore.  I thought this might be fluke, like they happened to receive a batch of scrawny birds that week, but the problem persisted the next week.  I’ll bet they got complaints, because when I went to Costco today the chickens were down to $5.99.  Granted, they were still smaller – by a good pound, pound and a half – but at least they had the good sense to realize that you can’t raise the price and reduce the size so dramatically and abruptly.  I called to find out if this has something to do with stopping “plumping.”  Hope so.  Hope to hear back.

Grammy Elaine and NY strips

Warm potato salad in stainless steel bowl

Gramma Elaine is here so we grilled New York strips.  My Mom’s friend, Rita, joined in, as well as Jon, who is spending the weekend, so it was a hoot.  Accompanied by seared fig halves with walnut vinaigrette and warm potato salad a la Chef Erwin Pirolt (one of my cooking school instructors and arguably the most ornery) were the steaks grilled rare by Renate, Sr.  The backyard is a problem, though, in that we just cannot block the sun.  This is a by-product of having a corner house without a real backyard.  We have a couple of market umbrellas rigged up, but to no avail.  I love the space this house has to offer, but I miss my beautiful landscaping at the old Albany house!  We would have been able to eat this meal there in style. 

searing halved  figs in skillet

Searing halved figs in skillet

To make the seared figs, just buy Mission figs, gently wash and dry, cut lengthwise and sear in a hot non-stick pan until browned, but not mushy.  Place them on a platter, cut side up.  Prepare a vinaigrette with 1/3 part orange juice, 2/3 part walnut oil, a splash of lemon juice, a dash each of ground rosemary and onion powder and salt and pepper.  Pour over figs.  Shave a bit of hard Italian cheese, like Asiago, on top, if you like.  Note that I include here photos of the warm potato salad in its first phase of construction, and when it has had time to marinate.  If I were you, I would allow it to do the latter.  By the by, sorry about the large quantities in the recipe, but if you are able to divide, you’ll be fine.  I also show the figs in preparation for those who have not worked with figs in the past.

Renate senior and jon at BBQ in summer of 2008

Corn muffins

corn muffins on two plates side by side

Corn muffins made today.  That box of Albers yellow cornmeal was staring me in the face so I put together the recipe on the box, adding twice the quantity of sugar called for.  I made two batches — one for the heavy, dark, non-stick muffin pan and the other for the blue silicone pan.  The heavy pan browned better, but both versions were fine.  These silicone pans (even the smooth ones) stick when you make cornbread or pound cake-type recipes, I don’t care what anyone says.  I always rub a little oil in them first.  The last time I made cupcakes in those individual, ridged silicone cupcake pans, fuggedaboutit — they really stuck and were a mess to clean up.  Berry took it upon himself to oversee the corn muffin process and then kept an eye on them, as you can see in the photo.

Find the dog watching corn muffins being made

Find the dog watching corn muffins being made