Contest Entry #2

Yesterday I skipped out on making supper, and decided to stuff my face full of pancakes at church instead. But tonight's recipe comes from my friend Jackie (one of two recipes she sent me!) Jackie and I met at one of my Epicure parties a couple years ago, and thankfully she told me about her tea business that was just starting up. Since then, we have bonded over our love of good food and tea by hosting Epicure/Tea parties together, swapping cookbooks, sharing recipes, and planning a girls' night so we can finally sit down and watch "Julie & Julia" together!

Jackie always amazes me with her baking skills (I mean, honestly, who whips up their own sourdough breadbowl as if it's no big deal? Jackie does!) so I was a little worried she might send me something complicated. Instead, she sent me a tasty Asian salad recipe that looks delicious.

GRILLED PORK AND RICE NOODLE SALAD (I would have followed the recipe exactly, but I forgot a few ingredients, so here's what I did)

2/3 c. boiling water

1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. fresh lime juice

3 tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 tsp. garlic paste

2 tsp. Szechwan sauce (from Superstore)

1/2 lb. rice noodles

2 c. lettuce, chopped

2 c. cucumber, julienne-cut (like matchsticks)

1 1/2 c. carrot, julienne-cut

1/2 c. fresh mint, chopped

1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped

7 Hoisin-Marinated Pork Chops, thinly sliced

1/4 c. peanuts, chopped (I left these out, but I would have added them if I had any peanuts in the house)

Dissolve sugar in boiling water and mix in lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and Szechwan sauce. Place rice noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drain and toss together with vegetables and herbs. Pour liquid overtop and mix well.

To serve as a salad: Toss porkchops into the salad and serve.

To serve as fresh rolls: Soak a rice paper wrapper in warm water until it's soft. Lay on a plate and put about 1/2 c. of salad mixture in the middle. Place a few pieces of porkchop on top (you could put some shrimp too if you like.) Fold the top and bottom in, then fold one side over, tucking it in slightly under the salad mixture to keep things contained. Then roll towards the other side to seal it up.I've made fresh rolls before and I love them. This recipe was awesome, and makes a huge batch. You could easily leave out the meat and make this a vegetarian dish (although what fun would that be?!!) My daughter loved the fresh rolls, but my son would only eat the meat and the cucumbers out of the salad. This was really no surprise. I think I'm going to make the rest of the salad into fresh rolls later on, so they are handy little snacks/lunches.

Thanks for a great recipe, Jackie!