Monday, August 31, 2009

Jim Lauret, TV Super-Recipe Star!

I'm so proud of my daddy! Today he was featured on Channel 2 News at noon for his Southwestern Sushi Roll recipe. He is contestant #5 in this recipe competition involving Utah's Own ingredients. With $1000.00 awarded to the winner in mid-September, you better believe his sushi roll can compete against the other submissions. His recipe is altogether unique, crowd- pleasing, and scrumptious. The roll is already a winner because even Steve goes back for thirds.

You can help him win by downloading his recipe from 2 news website. The top 2 downloaded recipes will be sent to the state fair, where they'll be judged. Go and download now: http://connect2utah.com/content/recipes/story?cid=48292
The following is an edited copy of his recipe (the original submission had a few errors in it):

Utah’s Own #5: Southwestern Sushi Roll

Components:

4 Cups cilantro lime rice (recipe below)

12 roasted Jalapeno peppers skinned and seeded

1 zucchini

1 avocado

1 turkey breast (Norbest) seasoned with 1tsp each Grandma’s Hickory Smoke Salt, taco seasoning, and chili powder

4 Large Flour Burrito size Tortillas(Don Julio), edges trimmed to make the tortilla 6" square

Tempura batter (recipe below)

Oil for deep frying


Dipping Sauce

6-8 oz plain or key lime yogurt(Meadow Gold)

Cilantro

Juice and zest of 2 limes

½ cup honey(Miller’s Honey)

½ cup olive oil

½ tsp salt


Tempura Batter

12 oz. Apple beer (Apple Beer)

2 cups flour (Lehi Roller Mills)

½ tsp. garlic powder (Grandma’s)

½ tsp. onion powder (Grandma’s)

1 tsp. ginger powder (Grandma’s)


In a bowl mix flour, garlic, onion, and ginger powders, and 12 oz of Apple Beer. Refrigerate until ready to use. You can add ice to the batter to make it cold quickly. If this is done, add a little more flour as the ice melts to keep the batter at the same consistency. The greater the heat contrast between the batter and the oil, the fluffier the tempura coating.


Cilantro Lime Rice

2 Cups sushi rice (can be Calrose, Pearl, or any short-grain variety)

2 cups water

2 tsp. chicken bouillon

Zest and juice of 1-2 limes, depending on size

¼ bunch of cilantro, finely chopped


Wash rice. Add water and cook (cover, bring to boil, reduce heat to low and let cook for 15 minutes covered without checking, remove from heat and let sit another 5 minutes covered). Sprinkle bouillon on top or rice, add cilantro, finely chopped lime zest and lime juice. Mix rice thoroughly.


Dipping Sauce

Roast jalapenos, peel and seed. Slice six into thin strips for sushi and set aside. Place 6 of the jalapenos into a food processor, ¼ bunch of cilantro, the juice and zest of two limes, ½ cup honey, salt and yogurt. Turn on the food processor. After about 15-30 seconds, slowly add the olive oil while still processing.


Sushi Preparation

  1. Season turkey breast and grill until just done and cut into ¼" strips.
  2. Heat oil for deep frying. Slice zucchini in ¼” square spears. Spears should be about 6” long (the width of the tortillas). Dip in tempura batter and fry in oil. Drain on paper towels.
  3. Peel and slice avocado.
  4. Cut tortillas into 6" squares.
  5. Place a tortilla on a sushi mat (Tip: place sushi mat in a gallon sized ziplock back for easier cleanup). Spread ¼ of the rice evenly on 2/3-3/4 of the tortilla leaving the far edge free from any rice (Tip: have a bowl of water available to dip your fingers into, wet hands make spreading the rice easier. You may also use a little water to wet the riceless edge of the tortilla to help it stick to itself after you roll it). In the middle of the rice, place a strip of turkey, a piece of zucchini, avocado slices, and roasted jalapenos strips from edge to edge of the rice on the tortilla. Create a sushi roll by folding the rice edge of the tortilla over the turkey and other ingredients using the turkey as the axis to roll around. Using the mat you can make a firm roll by putting pressure on the entire roll at once. After making the four rolls, dip each roll in the tempura batter and deep fry for 2- 3 minutes. Cut each roll in ¾-wide pieces and serve with the dipping sauce.


When the news came on, I had my camera ready and I tried to snap as many photos as I could of the little teasers preceding the segments of his actual cooking demonstration. In case you missed it on TV, here are the photos. Be sure to scroll to the bottom to find the video of his cooking segments.Look at that smile! Chef Wooley obviously likes dad's recipe the best.
Work it dad! You're a recipe rockstar!

Sweet knife skills! I like the Santoku.
(Warning: may cause enhanced cravings and excessive saliva production. View at your own risk.) Also, please excuse any background noises and comments from the peanut gallery. I was video taping it live, while trying to keep the kids quiet enough to hear the TV and fending off the wicked remote that has tendencies to randomly flip channels. Sit back and enjoy the segments.
As a side note, the news station also posts the video (better quality) and unedited recipe; go to: http://connect2utah.com/content/recipes/story?cid=48292

Segment 1 (first 1/2):

Segment 1 (second 1/2):

Segment 2:
Because the last video is larger than the maximum MB allowed for a blogger video, you'll have to watch the 2nd half on the 2 news website, follow the link then click where it says "click here to watch part 2." Go now: http://connect2utah.com/content/recipes/story?cid=48292

Monday, August 17, 2009

Our house grew!

Before we left for our 3 week excursion to Utah Valley, that was near the end of July, here's what our constuction looked like (front view):


I went over to meet the electrician this morning, and I brought my camera along to snap a few photos. Here's the house now:

Lily and Amara have fun whenever we visit the construction site. Yesterday at church, Lily told me about the picture she drew, "Look mom! I drew our new house and the big land." I'm happy with the progress of our home and it's fun to be a part of the process.