Cool down with Avacado Shrimp Spring Rolls with Almond Butter Sauce

My way of cooling down without heating up the house this HOT SUMMER DAY.  

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Avacado

Spring Rolls are refreshing, healthy and a great way to cool off. I've made these one time before and wrapping them isn't as easy as rolling a burrito. I made almond butter dipping sauce with the ingredients I had in the refrigerator and it came out really good. 

 INGREDIENTS:

Four Spring Roll Skins

Twelve pieces of Cooked Shrimp

One Tablespoon Thai Basil - chopped

One Tablespoon Mint - chopped

One Tablespoon Green Onion - chopped

1/4 Cup Diced Cucumbers - diced

Two Tablespoon Cilantro - chopped

1/2 Avocado- sliced

1/2 Cup Shredded Cabbage - sliced

Shred with a knife your vegetables and herbs and set in bowl. Stir to combine everything but the Avocado, slice and set this aside.

Fill a large bowl or pot with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the warm water for 5 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat on clean surface. Lay in the center 3-4 shrimp and sliced avocado. Using your shredded vegetables and herbs in bowl, top shrimp and avocado with about 1/4 cup of mixture leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end. Repeat with remaining ingredients and use however much you like, its your food and you need to enjoy it!

NOTE - You can use whatever you like depending on your taste. I prefer more avocado and cucumber in mine but I'm cooking for myself.

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Almond Butter Sauce

The Almond Butter Sauce: 

1/2 Cup Almond Butter

One Tablespoon Warm Water

Two Tablespoons Sesame Dressing

Two Tablespoons Lemon Ginger Dressing 

 

Almond Butter Sauce

Stir together is same bowl and let sit before making Spring Rolls. 

Note: The remaining ingredients you can set aside and make a salad or use as a topping or side salad with your spring rolls and drizzle the Almond Butter sauce ontop.

Recipe by Chef Fenya of Russian Doll Bakery and Catering

 

 

How to make the best vinaigrette at home

FIVE EASY STEPS

Here are five easy steps for any aspiring chef who wants to create delicious, fresh tasting dressings at home. Since I have always easily made my own gourmet dressings, I forget that not everyone realizes just how easy it really is! 

Buying local and fresh to make your own custom creations beats buying a bottle from the store any day; the best part is that you can change the recipe to your taste, using what’s available in your own backyard or at local farmer's markets--fresh herbs and flavored olive oils and balsamic always delight the senses! You can also adjust the recipe to make more or less dressing, depending on the amount you need.

FIVE STEPS

1. COLLECT ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS

2. PLACE VINEGAR OR FLAVORED VINEGAR IN BOWL

3. SLOWLY WHISK EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL IN BOWL, OR USE FLAVORED OLIVE OIL

(TIP: WHEN YOU WHISK THE INGREDIENTS TOGETHER AND THE BOWLS START TO SPIN, PLACE A DISH TOWEL UNDERNEATH THE BOWL TO SECURE IT FROM SPINNING)

4. ADD YOUR HERBS, SALT, PEPPER AND GARLIC (ZESTED)

5. BLEND WELL

(TIP- YOU CAN ALWAYS USE A MASON JAR AND SHAKE IT CONTINUOUSLY  FOR 1 MINUTE AND STORE IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR)

VARIANTS:

FRESH HERBS IN SEASON (tarragon, basil, thyme, sage, parsley, oregano or marjoram )

ROASTED GARLIC

DICED GREEN ONION

EDIBLE FLOWER PETALS (rosemary flowers, lavender, dianthus,  pansies or squash flowers)

PARMESAN CHEESE

LEMON OR ORANGE ZEST

GOURMET MUSTARD

BASIC RECIPE:

½ C. BALSAMIC VINEGAR

PINCH OF SALT AND PEPPER

1 GLOVE OF GARLIC (ZESTED)

4 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL

YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE DRESSING ON JUST SALAD; IT'S ALSO GREAT ON VEGETABLES OR POTATOES...MAKE A POTATO SALAD!  BE CREATIVE AND LISTEN, AND YOUR FOOD WILL TO TALK TO YOU!  ENJOY!

THE LOCATION - POP UP DINNER SERIES Riverside California

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Grilled Watermelon Salad Recipe

 

AN ELEGANT ENTREE MAKES ANY SUMMER COOK OUT COOL

 

Summer hot cooking tips feature outdoor BBQ for your desserts using watermelon.
Honey grilled watermelon salad is sweet and simple at the summer’s peak.
How to pick a good watermelon?
Visiting your local Farmers Market is the best choice, but a local supermarket is another alternative.

2 large slices of the watermelon must be cut into four triangles.
2 table spoons of olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of honey
1 pint of grape tomatoes, quartered
4 ounces of fresh mozzarella, cut in half or sliced
fresh basil leaves and balsamic glaze for drizzling


Directions
Preheat your grill to medium heat. Drizzle watermelon with olive oil and season all sides with salt and pepper. Add splash of honey over each watermelon and place them on the grill, grilling each side for about 2 minutes. Remove and add a little more honey if desired.

Assemble salads by placing two watermelon triangles on each plate, then cover with a few grape tomatoes, thin slices of mozzarella and basil leaves. Add some salt and pepper on top, then drizzle with balsamic glaze (can be purchased at your local grocery store or made at home! 

SERVE AND ENJOY

Recipe by Russian Doll Bakery and Catering

Naked Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake – made with Greek Yogurt

Get naked on Valentines Day with this dark hunk of love! This is one of my favorite cake recipes because its super chocolaty and very moist. It's perfect for birthday's or during the week. I've been holding onto it for many years, but this year I’m giving it away to my fans and followers to share the love!

 

Ingredients

2 eggs

12 ounce Greek plain or vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup room temperature “strong” coffee (I use Instant Coffee)

1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cup flour

2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Dash of salt

Toppings

Dark Chocolate Ganache
Blackberries 

Fresh Strawberries

Buttercream

Salted Caramel

Directions

1. In the bowl using an electric mixer with paddle attachment beat eggs on high then on low speed add  yogurt, oil, vanilla and coffee. 
2. In another bowl sift your ingredients of cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix until combined. 
3. Pour your dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix with paddle for 1 minute. Stop and scrap the sides of the bowl and paddle for 1-2 minutes, over mixing is ok depending if you want a thick rich cake. If you want a light cake mix until combined.
4. Pour into a greased pan either using parchment paper at the bottom of your pan or dust with flour. 
5. Bake on 350 oven for 35-45 minutes depending on your oven.  

      If you have any questions about this recipe or instruction, please send a comment. In my other post, recipes are hard to follow and especially baking, but I find this to be easy to make and so delicious!

COOKING WITHOUT A RECIPE

Have you ever heard someone say a recipe didn’t work? I have many times and people ask me for advice and this is what I tell them, “Recipes are a list of ingredients you need.  It’s not an instruction guide to show you the method they used.” This is the bread and butter of a successful recipe that works. (no pun intended) Don’t feel bad if you followed the instructions step by step and failed. This is only someone’s opinion on what they think works.

I am a professional caterer cooking for hundreds of people and that doesn’t come by a recipe it comes from skills and methods. Your recipe may call for a chopped tomato or instructions to cook under medium heat. This sure can be confusing because tomatoes come in so many different sizes and as a chef cooking in many different kitchens, all stoves are not the same and give out heat differently. Food items are natural and have different cooking times especially when we all have different pans, stoves and ovens we are not all going to get the same result. You don’t need to go to culinary school to learn to cook, all you need is to learn the cooking methods!

Many home cooks have many magazines with hundreds of recipes and look on the internet for ideas to make for their families. I know for me I can’t follow any kind of reading directions at all and didn’t go to culinary school, maybe that’s why I’m a good cook and have a successful catering business because I learned the cooking methods to preparing mouthwatering dishes for your guests.

Ever hear someone say, “It was my grandmas recipe”? Our grandmas back in the days didn’t measure ingredients they just threw stuff together of what they had available to make a historic meal we drool over. Your grandma knew the cooking methods and added her ingredients on the fly. This is the key to cooking without a recipe. Recipes have always been a epic fail for me and overwhelming when I was young. It's ok to look at recipes and get inspired but look at the variety of ingredients that are being used and use what you have in your kitchen. If a recipe asks for honey and you don’t have it, use sugar or anything that has the similar flavor they are asking for but most importantly learn the cooking methods and make it like our Grandma’s recipe!

Learn these basics of how heat is transferred to food and you will be able to cook without recipes

Heat Transfers:

•         Direct Heat 
•         Indirect Heat

How Heat Effects Food: 

•          Gelatinization of Starches
•          Coagulation of Proteins
•          Evaporation of Moisture
•          Caramelization of Sugars

Sauté Method:

1.        Make sure your pan is HOT
2.        Add your protein with a small amount of fat
3.        Heat your protein 75% one side 20% on the other (rest will cook off the heat)
4.        Check with a thermometer to make sure you reached your safe temperature zone
5.        Remove protein to plate
6.        Add your vegetables or any kind of aromas to your pan until they sweat
7.        Deglaze with liquid to stop the heat
8.        Add your butter, cheese or cream and melt in the liquid
9.        Return Protein to liquid or pour on top of plated protein for final dish with garnish

Sauce Making:

 Basic Roux – butter and flour

o   White

o   Blond

o   Brown

Interested in Cooking Lesson?

Call us today to schedule a fun filled class with no pressure!

(951) 660-2893

2015 Food Trend

It's a New Year and having a fresh mind can be challenging because we need to get out of our OLD MIND SET is the key. Focusing on fresh and organic produce is one of 2015 trends this year, if you haven't noticed. Most of us shop by convenience and not freshness. Our goal at Russian Doll Bakery and Catering is to give clients what they want and we hope to serve from farm to table this year by also supporting our local Farmers Markets.

Pancakes or Blini's ?

Pancakes are a trend for 2015! Not the breakfast kind, we are talking about Blini’s (small thin pancake) for those Gluten Free folks. Now we have something fancy for you to eat that has fabulous toppings that anyone could eat. Get creative and think of a Blini as a crepe, toast, tortilla shell or a plate. What will you put on your next Blini?

Bad economy forces Riverside resident to start her own catering business

June 27, 2014 Chef Fenya started her business two years ago after a career change from the corporate world.
Going on the limb after suffering minor hardships while looking for employment, Chef Fenya decided she wanted a career.
Most of her friends suggested starting her own business adding that “she makes the best pastries and her food was always fancy why not do what she loves”.
The support was a foreshadowing of her business becoming identified as a flourishing business.  Fenya started Russian Doll Bakery and saw it evolve to a catering business in response to the demand in her area.
While Chef Fenya continued to look for guidance on how to make her business a success, she stopped local networking while focusing on her clients and started to look at herself-taking advantage of her skills focusing on what made her business different from others.
Chef Fenya gets her best ingredients from local farmers markets. This aspect about her dedication to getting the best ingredients separates her from other catering businesses in riverside. She allows her clientele and food evolve together. What makes Fenya’s business so exciting is that it is new and ever changing.  Her ability to make an online presents through social media further credits her conquest to provide the public with original and tasty foods.
 By being discovering at a private dinner party in Newport Beach Chef Fenya’s doors started opening for her to travel internationally to learn new cultures of food and enjoy what she loves to do. She took the path destiny had paved for her also finding her natural gift to make amazing wedding cakes. Her long-term goal is to open an international catering center to host events with traveling chefs and train young adults cooking and baking to grow their confidence with food. Finally, she found her local second kitchen through perfect timing, which has given her the complete control of a catering kitchen in Riverside and has found a home for her business to grow. Now her passion lies with the joy in her interactions with clients.