New Year's Eve Fun

  

Over the course of the holidays the hills around Ellicottville changed from green to white, then back to green under driving rain, and now we’re back to 6” of snow! While the weather roller coaster made winter sports a bit more challenging, it couldn’t stop the fun over New Year’s Eve at our cabin.  We had a great gang who were up for anything:  hiking, snowboarding, and a whole array of board games:  Anomia, Boggle, Cranium and Settlers of Catan among the favourites.

Samantha and I were here ahead of the masses and prepared a platter of smoked salmon and Grilled Shrimp Summer Rolls.   With help from Reid and Jannell we had a very simple dinner including Lemon Rosemary Grilled Crown Roast of Lamb.  We continue to enjoy the shortcut of using flavoured oils and vinegars in our preparation.  This week lemon infused olive oil was the secret ingredient in both dishes.  

Grilled Shrimp Summer Rolls

Ordinarily we would also include some rice vermicelli in these rolls, but since we couldn’t find any at the small nearby grocery store we just used more lettuce, and the results were light and tasty. 

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons lemon infused olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 red pepper, cut into thin strips

1 cucumber, cut into thin strips

1 mango, cut into thin strips

1 small bunch green onions, cut into thin strips

mixed baby greens

¼ cup finely chopped cashews

3 tablespoons each chopped cilantro and mint

½ cup hoisin sauce

rice papers

for the dipping sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil

½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon sambel olek

  

Preheat the barbecue on MEDIUM HIGH for 10 minutes.  Rinse and pat dry the shrimp.  Toss them in a medium bowl with the lemon oil, salt and pepper.  Reduce the heat and set the shrimp on the grids.  Cook for 1 ½- 2 minutes per side.  When cool enough to handle, cut the shrimp in half lengthwise.

Fill a large pie plate with very hot water.  Soak 1 rice paper at a time until soft and pliable, then transfer it to a cutting board.  Arrange 3 shrimp halves in the centre, then cover with a small handful of lettuce.  Spoon some hosin sauce over the lettuce, then layer with a small bundle of pepper, cucumber, mango, and green onion.  Sprinkle with cashews and herbs, then roll them up as follows:  fold in the sides, then fold up the bottom, pressing down to condense the fillings and continue rolling up into a cylinder.  Place the rolls on a platter lined with a damp kitchen towel and repeat until all the ingredients are used up.  Then cut each roll on the diagonal, arrange on a platter and serve with the dipping sauce. 

Lemon Rosemary Grilled Crown Roast of Lamb

Cooking the lamb over indirect heat means less tending, and less chance of flare-ups. 

4 racks of lamb, frenched

3 tablespoons lemon infused olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, combine the oil, herbs and spices.  Rub the mixture on all sides of the lamb racks.  With the help of an extra set of hands, bend 2 racks together to form a crown, and tie them with butchers twine toward the base of the meat.  Repeat with the other 2 racks.  Let stand at room temperature for ½ hour.

Preheat the barbecue on MEDIUM HIGH for 10 minutes.  Turn off the centre burner, and reduce the setting on the outside burners to MEDIUM LOW.  Set the lamb over the unlit burners and grill for 45 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before carving.