Posted by community member jfield:

Vietnamese Summer Rolls – (gỏi cuốn)

Makes 8 rolls – Serves 6-8 as appetizer

Ingredients:

8 – 8½ inch Rice Paper Wrappers (I suggest getting a few extras for breakage)

1  Seedless Cucumber – Julienne cut

1  Avocado – peeled and sectioned into 16 thin wedges

8 oz carrot – Extra fine julienne cut

3 heads bib lettuce

16 large fresh Thai basil leaves – cut in half lengthwise

1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves (can use cilantro if preferred)

2 oz cellophane noodles (can use thin spaghetti if preferred)

4 Scallions – thin sliced and cut into 4-inch sections

Sriracha  hot chili sauce

Directions:

Soak cellophane noodles in hot lightly salted water until tender (about 20-30 mins).  Drain and cut noodles into 3-inch sections using a knife or kitchen shears and set aside.

Set aside enough bib lettuce leaves to cover your serving tray.

Lay a large damp kitchen towel down on your work surface and then place your ingredients, in separate bowls, within reach.

Fill a large mixing bowl with warm water and place it on the back of your towel.

Dip one wrapper into the bowl of water for 20 to 30 seconds and then lay it flat on your towel.

Leaving 1-inch open on each end of the rice paper, layer the following ingredients evenly down the middle of the wrapper; 3 tbsp cellophane noodles, a few scallions, some cucumber, some carrots, some mints leaves, some lettuce and 2 pieces of avocado.

Fold the two ends in and roll the bottom around the ingredients.  Before closing the top and finishing the roll, place two basil leaves inside the seam and run one squirt of Sriracha inside the length of the wrapper.  Complete by rolling towards the top.

If serving immediately, place the rolls onto a cutting board and cut in half with an angled slice.  Cover your serving tray with the extra bib lettuce leaves and place the cut rolls onto the tray.  Serve with Mae Ploy (Sweet Chili Sauce) and/or Peanut Dipping Sauce.

If serving later, do not cut rolls until served and store refrigerated in a container large enough that rolls do not touch and place a damp paper towel under them to keep them from drying out.

chimmichurri

Posted by community member Robert:

My buddy Sergio Di Sappio owns a great restaurant in Chicago called Tango Sur. He introduced me to chimmichurri, which the Argentines use to grill everything.  Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

• 5 cups of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cups of Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 cup of fresh lime juice
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 pound of parsley
• 2 tablespoons of Red Pepper Flakes

Directions

Chop the garlic and the parsley.  Add the chopped magic to the Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar and Lime juice mixture.  Add the Red Pepper Flakes and stir.  Here are my suggested marinating times for different things:

Fish and Shellfish 30 minutes to 1 hour

Chicken 1 to 2 hours

Pork 1 to 2 hours

Beef & Lamb 2 to 3 hours

You can grill, bake or pan fry anything with this marinade… I think it’s great.  And as my friend Jeff Dattilo would say, “Just Enjoy!”

Posted by community member Robert:

First we had vodka, and it all pretty much tasted the same.  Then we were introduced to “Premium” vodka through massive marketing campaigns that brought us brands like Absolut, which tasted like your basic Smirnoff, but came in a different bottle format.  The next phase in the market brought us product that was distilled multiple times to smooth out the rough ends of the spirit, and gave us high end brands such as Grey Goose, Belvedere and the “Ultra Premium” Ciroc… which is actually made from grapes. And now, behold the “Luxury” designation of vodka found only in Double Cross™.

In a market already saturated with dozens of choices, why would the makers of the new Double Cross™ Vodka even consider taking on the massive advertising budgets of global liquor giants Diageo and Allied Domecq?  I guess they wanted to make a better beverage, and to be brutally honest, I think they have succeeded.

Double Cross™ is distilled in Slovakia, half of the former Czechoslovakia, from 100% organic winter wheat using pure spring water from nearby Tatra Mountain.  It is distilled seven times and then filtered another seven times using limestone, active charcoal and micro diamond dust… yes I said it, it is filtered with diamonds.  Since diamonds are a girl’s best friend, you shouldn’t have a problem paying $50 retail for a bottle!  That is of course if you can find it… it’s so new it’s not available everywhere… yet.

In a very short time, this vodka has already received a Four Star rating from spirits expert Paul Pacult, the Gold Medal for vodka at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and an Outstanding Rating of 91 points from Anthony Dias Blue in Tasting Panel Magazine.  Even the unusual, yet stunningly beautiful bottle design won the Gold in San Francisco, making it the first vodka to win for both taste and package design.  The bottle is so interesting to me that I have it displayed in my house along with my collection of modern art… you have to see it to truly appreciate it.

And what of the taste?  Smooth, yes, but more importantly complex.  There is a clear hint of citrus, a touch of pepper and a slight mineral finish.  While it is easily mixed in cocktails, a true epicure will want to drink it on the rocks… perhaps with a lemon twist to bring out the natural flavors.  In a martini you’ll want it dry, so dry that you’ll need to ask for Double Cross™ chilled and straight up with a twist.  I don’t think you’ll want to sully this spectacular beverage with any dry vermouth.

To be successful in business, you don’t have to do anything extraordinary… just do something ordinary extraordinarily well.  This is what the makers of Double Cross™ vodka have done.  I hope to see it at every bar and lounge that I frequent, because Double Cross™ is now my call of choice!

For more information, please visit: Doublecrossvodka.com