This festive appetizer, created by Food University instructor, celebrity chef and author Katie Chin, is great for a Fourth of July gathering or celebrating the Chinese New Year. Best part? It looks just like a firecracker! In China, firecrackers light up the sky on New Year’s Day. Prepare a day ahead and save the frying step for just after  your guests arrive.

Firecracker Shrimp
12 large shrimp, in the shell
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
4 sheets spring roll wrappers
24 carrot strips (3x 1/4inch)
1 egg, beaten

Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
3 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying

Removing the shells and leaving the tail intact, make a deep cut lengthwise down the back of each shrimp; wash out the sand vein. Place warm water in a bowl and add the salt; stir to dissolve. Place the shrimp in the salt water and swirl. Leave the shrimp in the salt water for 5 minutes, then rinse with cold water, drain, and pat dry on paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt.

Cut each spring roll wrapper into thirds, making 3 long narrow strips.

Place the carrot strips in a small bowl, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, and set aside.

Brush the egg at the top of the shrimp. Place 2 carrot strips in the slit of each shrimp. Brush each spring roll strip with egg and roll each shrimp up tightly in the spring roll strip, with the egg holding it together. The tail of the shrimp should be protruding from one end and the carrots from the other – to resemble a firecracker! Continue process until all the wrappers are folded with the shrimp and carrots.

To make the dipping sauce, in a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and hot pepper sauce. Set aside.

In a wok, heat the vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Fry the shrimp rolls until golden brown, about 2 minutes, turning 2 to 3 times. Drain on paper towels. Serve with the dipping sauce.

In a wok, heat the vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Fry the shrimp rolls until golden brown, about 2 minutes, turning 2 to 3 times. Drain on paper towels. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

Katie Chin, celebrity chef and author

Imagine if all your actions and the foods you ate on New Year’s day dictated how the rest of your year would unfold?

The Chinese believe this to be true and thus, Chinese New Year is a hugely significant holiday and time-honored tradition celebrating the sacredness of the family and representing a time of renewal. Food plays a major role in the celebration and every dish prepared holds auspicious meaning and is believed to directly affect one’s fortune for the coming year.

Every year, my family savors special New Year dishes which hold special meaning. Each dish has a name representing in some way luck, honor, longevity and riches such as “Firecracker Shrimp” (for good luck) or “Long Life Noodles” (for longevity – the longer the noodle, the longer the life). Here are some other examples of auspicious foods and their meaning:

- Lotus Seed – signifies having many male offspring
- Black Moss Seaweed – A homonym for exceeding in wealth
- Bamboo Shoots – A term which sounds like “wishing that everything will be well”
- Whole Fish – symbolizing abundance
- Whole Chicken served with feet and head – suggesting a favorable start and finish
- Uncut Noodles – represent long life

In addition to the incredible dishes, the Chinese follow some fascinating customs on Chinese New Year day, such as:

- Refrain from using foul language or bad words on New Year’s Day or they will follow you throughout the year
- Washing hair is not allowed because you will wash away your good luck for the year
- Greeting friends with oranges or tangerines during the New Year will bring abundant happiness
- No sweeping on New Year’s Day as you’ll sweep all your good luck out the door
- Stepping into new shoes on New Year’s morning to start your year off on the right foot (My personal favorite)
- Distribution of Red Envelopes (signifying Joy and Luck) filled with money to start the year with prosperity

Wishing you and your family a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!

Here’s a question you may not hear often: What’s your favorite onion? Is is White? Sweet? Red?

So Good They Bring Tears to Your Eyes

While picking favorites may be difficult, we all occasionally ponder whether we’re using the right onions when we cook. At our Food University events, we talk a lot about onions–and how they can enhance your recipes. Plus we help you tell them apart!

Onions vary slightly in flavor and color, but (here’s the good news when you’re scratching your head in the produce aisle) they can usually be substituted for one another. When you’re shopping, select the onions that are firm and  heavy in your hand. Avoid soft onions or ones that have a sharp oniony odor. They’re probably old.  Except for sweet onions, all these onions can be stored for several weeks in a cool, dark pantry or cupboard.

Here’s a quick rundown on onions:

Yellow Onions are all-purpose. (Spanish onions are yellow onions, only slightly sweeter and more delicate.)

Sweet Onions : Walla Walla and Vidalia are the most common kinds of sweet onions.

Red Onions are mostly used in salads, salsas, and other raw preparations for their color and relatively mild flavor.

You can learn a lot more about onions by reading this terrific article here and by attending Food University events. To us, onions are a key ingredient, and we make them fun. (How many people can say that?!) Renowned chef and Food University star instructor Curtis Aikens will be talking onions, tomatoes, great recipes and a whole lot more when he hosts Food University events at the IKEA store in the Detroit area today (Saturday, October 23) and at IKEA in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area tomorrow (Sunday, October 24). See you there!

s

In advance of this weekend’s Food U shows in the Detroit (Saturday) and Minneapolis (Sunday) areas, here’s a quick, easy and healthy pesto sauce recipe prepared by Food University star instructor Karl Benko.

PESTO SAUCE

INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups packed basil leaves, rinsed
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1/2, cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Process basil, garlic and pine nuts in a work bowl of a food processor until finely chopped.
With a processor running, slowly add oil through top of processor. Process for one
minute until smooth. Remove to non-reactive storage container and stir in Parmesan
cheese and salt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

You can see this and many more recipes and cooking tips as celebrity chef Curtis Aikens hosts Food University events this weekend. On Saturday, join us from 2-4pm at the IKEA at 41640 Ford Rd in Canton, MI near Detroit. On Sunday from 2pm-4pm, we’re at the IKEA at 8000 IKEA Way, Bloomington, MN, near Minneapolis-St. Paul.

How nervous would you be if you were serving a brand new recipe to one of the world’s most famous chefs? Food University star instructor Curtis Aikens found out when he prepared pickled melons for Julia Child years ago. Pickled melons? As Curtis explains in the Skype interview (below), the dish turned into a big hit!

Curtis says it’s a great time of year to prepare pickled melons. We’ve posted the recipe below. Let us know how it turns out for you. If you’d like to witness Curtis’ cooking passion firsthand, he’s going to be at two big Food University events this weekend. You can catch him Saturday from 2-4pm at the IKEA at 41640 Ford Rd, in Canton, MI, near Detroit. On Sunday, Curtis will be at the IKEA at 8000 IKEA Way, in Bloomington, MN, in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. See you there!

Fresh Pickled Melons

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Melons cut into bite size piece (mixture of watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew)
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 / 4 cup white wine
• 1 / 4 cup vinegar
• 1 teaspoon each fresh dill, tarragon, and mint finely chopped

Directions:

In a large bowl combine wine and vinegar. Add sugar and herbs mix until sugar dissolves. Add melons; turn to coat with herb and vinegar mixture. Chill and serve.

Here’s a quick, easy and healthy recipe we’re proud of. This Three Bean Caprese Salad takes mere minutes to make but tastes like you’ve been working on it all day. If you’re in the Salt Lake City area, and want to lean more about this and many other great recipes, head to IKEA on Saturday, October 16, 2010. Celebrity chefs Caprial and John Pence will be hosting a Food University event from 2-4pm.

THREE BEAN CAPRESE SALAD

INGREDIENTS

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:

• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup loosely packed basil
• 1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 can (15 oz.) of red kidney beans drained and rinsed
· 1 can (15 oz.) of small white beans drained and rinsed

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the dressing in a medium bowl. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.
While whisking, add oil in a thin stream until blended. Set aside. To prepare the salad, heat
a medium sized pot of water to boiling. Add green beans and cook for four minutes or until
crispy or tender, Drain and rinse with cold water. Tear the basil into bite-sized pieces. In a
large bowl, toss the basil, green beans, tomatoes, mozzarella, and kidney and white beans.
Whisk the dressing. and then drizzle over the salad. Toss gently to coat and serve.

Caprial and John Pence will be talking about salt and a whole lot more during their appearance this Saturday, October 16 at the Salt Lake City-area IKEA store. The Food University star instructors will be sharing key kitchen tips from 2-4pm local time. The Draper Journal has all the details about a show you don’t want to miss!

Check out this interview with Food University Exec. Producer Rich Gore and Star Instructor Marc Silverstein. They were on the At Home with Victoria Show, talking this weekend’s live events at the IKEA in Portland, OR on Saturday, October 9 and at the IKEA in Seattle on Sunday, October 10th. And don’t forget, you can watch the Sunday event right here at www.myfoodu.com.

Listen to the show here

Food University Star Instructors Caprial and John Pence share some delicious details about their upcoming appearance at the Italian Festival in Seattle, WA on September 25, 2010. The chefs plan to satisfy your Italian palette with mouth watering recipes made simple. The most important aspect of an Italian meal? Romance!