Tribeca Yummy Mummy

Lime Chicken Summer Rolls with a Peanut Dipping Sauce

08 June 2010 Filed In: Appetizers, chicken, Dairy-free, Fall, Gluten-free, rolls, Snacks, Spring, Summer, summer rolls, Winter

Every family needs a great party food to trot out and feed a crowd, and mini-chefs, of course, need to be able to get in on the preparations. Making summer rolls together as a family affair is a great way to get everyone excited about the food that they are making and the warm season ahead of them.

Summer roll wrappers, which start out as rice paper, transform into slippery, soft, fillable, rollable things once you dip them into water and swish them around. Just like magic.

Our mini-chefs filled their summer rolls with lime chicken, some cool veggies, and tasty cilantro and peanuts. And, man, did they ever fill! It may take a few rounds of rolling for them to figure out that a little of the filling goes a long way… but, in our case, I think that that lent to the appeal of the beautiful platter we made together.

Lime Chicken Summer Rolls

*2 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts

*the juice of a lime

*2 t. paprika

*2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

*1 t. salt

*ground pepper, to taste

*3 handfuls of fresh cilantro, washed and stemmed

*50 summer roll wrappers

*1 c. peanuts, roasted and chopped

*2 avocados, cut into 1/4-inch chunks

*2 c. cucumber, shredded or cut into matchsticks

*2 c. carrots, shredded or cut into matchsticks

*3 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped

For the Peanut Dipping Sauce:

*1/2 c. natural peanut butter

*1 t. brown sugar

*1 T. canola oil

*1 T. soy sauce

*1 T. ginger, minced

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. With your mini-chef, pour the lime juice and the paprika, salt, and pepper into a large baking dish. Tuck the garlic cloves up under the chicken skin.

Big Person: place the chicken breasts into the baking dish and coat the entire outside of the chicken with the lime juice and spices. Place the dish in the oven and bake the chicken for 45-65 minutes or until the juices run clear. Take the chicken out of the oven and let cool to room temperature. Then shred the chicken and place it into a bowl to use when you assemble the summer rolls.

Together Again: Combine all of the dipping sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk with a fork till completely combined. Set it in the middle of a big platter.

Place all of the ingredients into individual bowls. Also fill a wide shallow bowl with warm (but not hot) water.

Have your mini-chef take one summer roll wrapper and dip it into the bowl of water till it becomes completely translucent. Help them place the wrapper onto a dinner plate and spread out any wrinkles. If there are big holes, just use two wrappers.

Fill the wrappers with a little bit of each ingredient. You will be making a long tube of filling- or should I say attempting making a long tube of filling. Fold the circle wrapper in half to enclose the filling. then fold the top and bottom edges toward the center and roll along the plate to finish. As you can see above, there are many expressions of these instructions. They all taste delicious.

Once you have finished one of the summer rolls, place it on a platter, around the dipping sauce, while you finish rolling the rest.

From Where I’m Sitting

02 June 2010 Filed In: corner view

From where I am sitting, and I have been doing a lot of sitting and observing during these last couple of weeks, things are very beautiful.

Since my daughter’s ballet school is on the serious side, they do not have an end-of-the-year recital like most of the other schools around the City. Instead, they had this wonderful day where all the parents got to come and watch a class and see what they have been working on this semester. I can report back lots of twirls, leaps, interpretive moves, and, of course, cuteness.

It has been a little sad for Mira to see her friends who attend neighborhood dance studios showing off their fairy, butterfly, princess tutus and their special dances. Every time she looks a little wistful, I remind her that she can perform in “The Nutcracker” when she is a big girl and that her ballet school is one of the only ones to do a production of that special show.

Then Mira will say, in a voice faintly tinted with a British accent, “Oh. Well, I do so LOVE ‘The Nutcracker’!” And off she’ll move, grand jeteing down the street and a happy ballerina again.

What’s going on around your corner? Get a few peeks into what they’re seeing:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola, vanessa, britta, april, b , kyndale, samantha, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille , cris, ibb , jodi , gillian, travelingmama

athena, pienduzz, kelleyn, demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza, juliette, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne, rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie, tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl, emily, marcie, annabel, andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle, latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow, debra, linnea and emily, barbara, emily, maryline, tally, therese, nadine, matilda

Welcome, June!

01 June 2010 Filed In: all the rest

When New York empties out during the summer weekends and during holidays, there is so much more room to stretch our legs and spread our wings. We spent our holiday in the City yesterday playing and doing some special projects that I will share with you here in the near future.

With Summer Vacation just a hop, skip and jump away, we are welcoming June with open arms. For now, lots of loose threads to tie, schools to finish, and warm days to enjoy (finally, finally!) outside.

Emu Egg Frittata

27 May 2010 Filed In: Dairy-free, egg, emu, Fall, frittata, greenmarket, herbs, Main Dish, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, Winter

Sometimes being Tribeca Yummy Mummy really has its perks. For instance, when the Greenmarket asked me to represent at this year’s Taste of Tribeca, I jumped at the chance. At first it was just going to be a planting gig, helping plant some herbs and talk to some of the locals about how fabulous it is to have a greenmarket so close by.

But, then of course, I asked if I could do some cooking, give everyone a recipe in which they can use all those fresh herbs that they would be planting and growing. And, well, after perusing all the springtime goods, the recipe turned into cooking an emu frittata. Al fresco. On a camp stove.

Seriously? I live for this sort of thing. Without proper implements (like, say, a power drill), I had to whack open that big green egg on the edge of a bowl. That takes real woman power by the way. Then, with a bunch of minis and big people gathered around, we poked and prodded at the gigantic pale yellow yolk, large as a saucer with the consistency of lemon curd. After throwing in a few aromatic herbs, spring onions, and garlic, we bravely cooked our frittata with great gusts of wind whooshing off the Hudson River and putting out our little flame periodically. In the end, though, the emu frittata was a hit. Creamier than a chicken egg but with a completely pleasant flavor.

One small word about using these exotic eggs. Make sure that you either have a large family or that you have sent out a brunch invite to a few friends because you will have such a large serving on your hands that you will feel overwhelmed. If you absolutely cannot find an emu egg at your local greenmarket, then substitute 10-12 chicken eggs and cut out the 1/2 cup of water from your ingredient list.

We served our frittata appetizer-style atop a beautiful little bruschetta. Thank you and a huge shout out to Roaming Acres/So Fun Farms for that impressive green egg and to Stokes Farm, Inc. for the beautiful herbs and for the flavorful green onions and garlic.

Emu Egg Frittata

*an emu egg

*1/2 c. water

*1 T. rosemary, chopped

*2 T. thyme, chopped + more for a garnish

*1 T. chives, chopped

*2 cloves garlic, minced

*1/2 cup finely chopped onion (green, leeks, red, etc.)

*one confit duck leg, chopped, optional

*salt and pepper, to taste

*1 T. rendered duck fat or 1 T. butter

Bruschetta:

*One baguette, cut width-wise into 1/4 inch slices

*1/4 c. olive oil

Big Person: Turn your broiler on high. With your mini chef, place the baguette slices on two baking sheets. Put under the broiler for a couple of minutes, turn the bread with some tongs, and cook another couple of minutes so that both sides are golden. Note: your mini chef should never ever come near the oven or the hot pan!

Remove the toasts to a cooling rack.

Together: Using a pastry brush, brush a bit of olive oil onto one side of the toasts. Once the toasts are cool and brushed with the oil, place them on a big serving platter.

In a large bowl, crack open that large green egg. If some of the shell makes it into the bowl, take the time to pick out the bits. Crunchy is not tasty in this frittata! Add the herbs, water, garlic, and confit duck meat and whisk together.

Big Person: Warm the butter or duck fat over medium-low heat in an 8-10-inch skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring every once in a while, till onions are translucent. Turn the heat down to very low and add the emu egg mixture. Cook till the sides are set, about 12-15 minutes.

Place the pan in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes, till the frittata is cooked all the way through and the top is puffs up and browns.

Remove your frittata from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Cut it into small pieces, a little smaller than your bruschetta pieces. Place the frittata pieces on top of the bruschetta. Top with a tiny piece of thyme. Serve warm.

At the End of Our Street

26 May 2010 Filed In: corner view

At the end of our street and around the corner and down to the meeting place, we glide. There, we can park and enjoy a treat and a little quality time with our favorite uncle.