We learned about making Gougères.
We learned about making Fettucine.
We learned about making Kim's World Famous You Ain't in Alabama Anymore Sushi Roll**.
Ingredients
1 cup slow roasted pulled pork in the best possible BBQ sauce available
(Kim's World Famous BBQ Sauce comes to mind)
½ cup Carolina Slaw (recipe follows)
2 cups Sushi Rice (recipe follows thanks to Martha Stewart)
Mamenori Soy Bean Wrappers (There are many online sources for this product.)
Sushi bamboo rolling mat wrapped in plastic wrap
A bowl of water large enough to wet your palms
Endless Patience (thank or curse your parents)
Procedure
1. Place a half slice of the wrapper lengthwise on your rolling mat.
2. Wet your hands with water so the rice won't stick to them and scoop up a palm full of rice.
3. Spread the rice along the wrapper, to the edges.
4. Place a couple of tablespoons of the pulled pork (mixed with BBQ sauce) horizontally across the lower center of the rice, distributing it evenly.
5. Place a forkful of slaw on top of the pork
6. Begin rolling the sushi, rolling away from your body, using the mat to pull the wrapper and rice over itself. You may find that you're wrapping up the bamboo mat and, if so, stop that.
7. When the sushi is completely rolled, use the mat to squeeze the sushi gently but firmly into shape.
8. Cut into slices and enjoy.
And we might have learned about making Soufflés but, well, they so often come at the end of a meal and we didn't so much care about learning by then.
Carolina Cole Slaw
½ cup apple cider vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2.5 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 medium white or purple cabbage finely shredded
1 large sweet Vidalia, thinly sliced
1 large green red pepper, thinly sliced
1. Combine vinegar, sugar, oil, mustard and celery seeds in a small nonreactive saucepan.
2. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and dressing comes to boil.
3. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and cool completely.
4. Combine cabbage, onion and bell pepper in large bowl and toss with dressing.
5. Can be made one to two days ahead.
Sushi Rice
1.5 cups Sushi Rice
3 T rice wine vinegar
2 t sugar
2 t Mirin (Japanese rice wine)
2 t Sake or water
1.5 t kosher salt
1. Place rice and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the water has absorbed, 12 to 16 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, sugar, Mirin, sake and salt in a small saucepan. Warm the mixture over medium-low heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Transfer the cooked rice to a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the vinegar mixture to the warm cooked rice, folding as you would egg whites into a soufflé, until all of the vinegar mixture is incorporated into the rice. Cool completely.
*Thanks to Robyn Bomar for these photographs.
**Thanks to Chef Eric Levine for this inspiration.
