Project Lumpia: The Post-Thankgiving Edition

While trying to come up with different ideas for utilizing Turkey Day leftovers, my mind kept going back to lumpia.   Maybe it's because I hadn't had any in a while, but I was thinking it might be another way to use up the remaining turkey and spare veggies not used for the holiday stock or stuffing/dressing.

I had my first taste of the crispy fried spring rolls as a child when my Filipina stepmom made a huge batch for a family get-together.  I've loved them ever since but only recently have I attempted to make my own (I would normally depend on the kindness of a good friend for my local lumpia fix).  As you'll soon see, my lumpia rolling technique needs a lot of work, but I plan to get more practice in over the next few weeks.

As a reference point, I turned to a recipe for Lumpiang Shanghai from one of my favorite food blogs, Burnt Lumpia.   I made a few changes for this Turkey/Shrimp version (I decided not to add ginger and opted for slightly less garlic).  For this recipe, I used roasted turkey thigh meat.  I'm usually more of a "white meat" gal, but for this recipe the higher fat content of the thigh meat makes it more ideal.   I also decided to throw some shrimp into the mix as well-just because.  In retrospect, I think I should have followed Marvin's instructions and made them a bit smaller (he suggests cutting each lumpia wrapper in half-I think I'll do that next time).  The lumpia I'm used to are usually the size of cigars-don't ask me why I decided to make them larger!  This recipe yielded 10 large lumpia and should yield about 20-25 smaller ones.  Recipe follows after the jump...

Game Day (Or Any Day) Munchies: Zesty Ancho Chile Glazed Wings

 

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and by now you probably have all of your game day munchies prepared and ready to go.  I thought I'd share a recipe that you might want to stick in you back pocket for future game day celebrations (March Madness is just around the corner) or just for general everyday snacking.  I came up with this a while back, just messing around and trying to come up with an alternative to generic run-of-the-mill buffalo wings.  These wings are coated liberally with lemon pepper and ancho chile powder (I love this stuff), baked until skin is golden brown and crisp, then brushed with a sweet, spicy glaze.  I think these wings have a bit of a kick to them, but feel free to add a thai chile to the glaze if you require a little more heat.

Celebrating Bacon!

A couple of recipes to celebrate International Bacon Day.  Here's one I found while searching for hors d'oeuvre recipes for a New Year's Eve party I threw with friends.  These Bacon Cheese Puffs were a big hit with our guests and ridiculously easy to make-you'll find the recipe here.

Note: I would toast the pumpernickel slices a little bit before topping with the bacon/cheese mixture.  I also used Dijon mustard with this recipe.

Here's one of my "go to" brunch recipes.   This is pretty rich, but I find that using the heavy cream works best for me.  You can substitute half & half for the heavy cream but I wouldn't use milk.

 Bacon & Sweet Onion Quiche

1 pie crust for 9 inch pie or quiche pan
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Havarti cheese, shredded
6 slices of thick-sliced bacon, diced
1/3 cup of Vidalia (or other sweet variety) onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt

Unfold pie crust and press into a 9 inch pie or quiche pan.  Blind bake the crust and set aside.

In a skillet, cook the diced bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan, drain on a paper towel and set aside.  Reserve some of the bacon drippings in the skillet to use for sauteeing the onion.  Saute the onion in the bacon drippings until soft/translucent.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until frothy.  Stir in cream & salt.  Line the bottom of the prebaked pie shell with the sauteed onion/shredded cheeses/bacon, then pour the custard mixture over this.  Bake in a 350°F oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of quiche comes out clean.  Serve warm and enjoy!