Mr. Hawthorne Tries His Hand At Sushi.

Mr. Hawthorne was delighted to receive a Sushi Making Kit

from Dixie for Christmas. So, for Saturday lunch with the XmasKaties, he prepared sushi and spring rolls.

First he sprinkled a bit of the sushi vinegar over his short-grain, sticky rice.

Then he spread his rice evenly over a dried seaweed sheet, the shiny side of which he briefly toasted over a flame.

Wasabi paste and cucumber strips went down the middle.

Then he rolled it up using the bamboo mat.

Ta daaaaa!

And here's Mr. Hawthorne's first attempt at sushi rolls.

Mr. Hawthorne's second sushi roll attempt.

The pink inside is pickled ginger.

Next, he started on his spring rolls. That's a nifty little mini-mandoline in the background which he uses for slicing his carrots.

Here's a tip for cooking shrimp to keep them from curling up on you. Skewer them lengthwise.

Perfectly cooked skewered, straight shrimp and free, curly shrimp. The curly shrimp I chopped up and used in my Shrimp and Lobster Bisque.

Mr. Hawthorne softened his tapioca sheet in a plate of water and sushi vinegar.

Then he added his veggie strips.

Spring roll. After first trying to roll it with the bamboo mat, he decided it was better to just use his hands for this.

Lastly, he garnished each roll with a butterflied shrimp.

And here's lunch for the Hawthornes and the XmasKaties.

I made several different dipping sauces: On the left is a Tamari/sesame oil/toasted sesame seed/ rice vinegar sauce.

On the right is a sweet hot mustard/Tamari/rice vinegar sauce and a Tamari/garlic/ginger/vinegar sauce.

And here's Katie, Dixie's cousin.

And here's poor Dixie, wondering when the hell all these other dogs are getting out of her house. All in all, I would say this was a pretty excellent lunch.