Author Archives: Nancy

MARBLE COOKIES

Posted on by
1

I found these vintage marbles at an estate sale:The big one is a “shooter.”  I can see why marbles, with their bright colors and swirling patterns, are popular to collect.

I think we’re all pretty much losing our marbles these days thanks to the isolation, fear, and uncertainty related to the coronavirus.  But I’m not letting it get in the way of celebrating the 4th of July.  Inspired by the marbles, I made Marble Cookies (also known as Chinese Marble Cookies, although I don’t know why).  They’re not difficult to make, and they will definitely brighten up your holiday.

Print
MARBLE COOKIES
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on cookies
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cream of tartar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 2 cups flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place the butter, sugar, and egg in a large bowl, and using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and almond extract. Stir in flour, mixing until thoroughly combined.
  3. Divide the dough into 3 portions. Color 1 portion blue, 1 portion red, and leave the third portion plain. (You can vary the number of colors as desired.) Be sure to mix the food coloring in thoroughly, and use enough to get a deep color.
  4. Roll each portion of dough between two sheets of parchment paper or wax paper. Remove paper and stack the portions together. (To do this, remove one sheet of paper from each portion. Stack one color on top of another, dough side down, peel off paper from top color, and repeat with third color. Leave paper on top and lightly roll the stack to ensure that the colors adhere to each other, then remove top paper.)
  5. Using the paper on the bottom as an aid, start from one side of the stack and roll the dough inwards to make a log. Slice the log into ¼" slices, and using your hands, lightly roll each slice into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet. Place about a ½ cup of sugar in a small bowl, and dip the bottom of a drinking glass in the sugar, then lightly flatten the cookies with the glass. Sprinkle cookies lightly with sugar.
  6. Bake for 8 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown. Allow to cool briefly on cookie sheet then transfer to rack to cool completely.
  7. Roll out each

Rolled and ready to be stacked

Little marbles of cookie dough

Flattened, sugared, and ready for the oven

They’ll stay bright if you don’t let them brown 

Marble cookies — don’t take them for granite!

If you’re looking for inspiration for other patriotic treats, here are others featured on Tag Sale Tastes over the past 8 years:

 

 

VERMICELLI BOWLS WITH VIETNAMESE GRILLED PORK

Posted on by
4

Who’s ready to go bowling?  Vermicelli bowls, that is.  These are going to be right up your alley.  (You didn’t think I was going to spare you bad bowling puns, did you?)

OK, let’s get the ball rolling.  Start with dried vermicelli — rice or bean thread — found in the asian aisle of most grocery stores.  This bean thread one is the one we like to use:

Use one bundle for each vermicelli bowl, and perhaps throw in an extra bundle for good measure.  Place the bundles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them.  Allow the noodles to soak about 5 minutes until soft and pliable, while you prepare the other ingredients.  Transfer to a colander, rinse with cool water, and drain.

For the base, I like to mix together shredded romaine lettuce, red cabbage, Thai basil, and mint to keep it interesting and colorful.  For each serving, use about 1 cup romaine, 1/4 cup of red cabbage, and 1 tablespoon each coarsely chopped Thai basil and mint.  Place a heaping cup of the mix in each serving bowl:

Top with noodles:

Now comes the fun part, when you get to customize the bowls to your liking — you can top your bowls with julienned cucumbers, bean sprouts, lime slices, chopped salted peanuts, cilantro, green onion, sliced jalapeños — whatever tickles your fancy — and of course, the pickled carrots and daikon that you prepared.  And, don’t forget to add a protein!  The first time we made these we used boiled shrimp and it was surprisingly good.

Can’t imagine I’d strike out with grilled tofu or chicken, either.  But the protein that bowled us over is Vietnamese Grilled Pork (recipe follows).  We’ve made it both on the grill and broiled in the oven, and although the grilled one is the hands-down winner, the broiled one was still delicious and works fine for those who don’t have access to a grill.

Grilled on left, broiled on right

Serve your vermicelli bowls accompanied by a small bowl (about 1/4 cup per person) of Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce to pour over everything.

The recipe for Vietnamese Grilled Pork isn’t difficult, but does require about an hour to marinate.  If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to help keep them from burning.  Pro tip — partially freeze the pork to make it easier to thinly slice. 

I wasn’t familiar with sweet or thick soy sauce, but I was happy to find it in the asian aisle at the grocery store.  It’s thick, like molasses, and sweet, and it’s worth seeking out:

Strike while the grill is hot, get that pork marinating, and get ready to enjoy a delicious vermicelli bowl.

5 from 1 reviews
Print
VIETNAMESE GRILLED PORK
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce (preferably Three Crabs brand)
  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (also called thick soy sauce)
  • 1 pound pork tenderloin
Instructions
  1. Mix together all ingredients except pork in a large bowl. Slice pork into thin slices (easiest if partially frozen) and add to marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. Meanwhile, if using wooden skewers, soak in warm water for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat grill or broiler. Skewer the pork, and grill or broil until pork is cooked through and marinade has caramelized and is a deep brown color.

 

Skewered and ready for the grill

Grilled and ready to go bowling