Asian Dumplings

Thank you to everyone at the Asian Dumpling class Monday night.  We really heated up the kitchen and had a great time, making and sharing dumplings...and the coconut ice cream wasn't bad either.   Dumplings are the perfect party food--the fillings and dipping sauces can be prepared ahead of time, they take minutes to steam and are the perfect finger food.  Constructing the dumplings is an excellent group activity, a good way to get everyone involved, and they are so simple to do age and ability is not really a factor.  SO...I challenge you all to throw a Dumpling Party, even if it is just for your immediate family.  Please let me know when you do, I would love to post your comments and photos.

Turkey Pot Stickers

 

Thai Vegetable Dumplings

2 TB. canola oil

1 tsp. garlic, minced

1 TB. ginger, freshly grated

1 tsp. chile paste

3 scallions (green onions), sliced

1 c. zucchini, grated

1 c. broccoli slaw mix

½ c. red pepper, finely diced

juice from one half lime

¼ c. cilantro, chopped

14-18 won-ton wrappers

Film the bottom of a sauté pan and set on med. high heat.  Add the garlic, ginger, chile paste and cook one min.  Add the green onion and cook another min.  Add the zucchini, slaw mix and red pepper and cook 3-4 min.  Remove from the heat and add the lime juice, cilantro and stir to mix.  Let mixture cool.

To make dumplings place one teaspoon of mixture in the center of a won-ton square, moisten the edges with water and fold into a triangle or pull opposing corners together and pinch at the top and then pull in the remaining corners to the center (the seams will form an “x”) and pinch the seams.  Keep dumplings covered until you are ready to cook.

Place dumplings into a lined steamer basket closely together but not touching.  (You can line the basket with parchment paper or cabbage leaves.)  

 Steam for 10-15 minutes.  Remove dumplings and serve immediately.  

Dipping Sauce

¼ c. rice vinegar

¼ c. soy sauce

½ t. ginger, freshly grated

1 scant t. brown sugar

1 scallion, sliced

dash of granulated garlic

pinch of red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients and serve in small shallow bowls.

Pot Stickers

(Recipe makes 14 dumplings)

½ lb. ground turkey

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. granulated garlic

1 t. soy sauce

½ t. ginger, freshly grated

5 drops sesame oil

5 sprigs cilantro, minced

1 scallion (green onion), minced

1 egg, mixed

14 won-ton wrappers

chicken stock

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Make dumplings by spooning 1 teaspoon of mixture into a won ton square.  Moisten the edges by brushing with water and then fold into a triangle and pinch the seams together or pull opposing corners together and pinch at the top and then pull in the remaining corners to the center (the seams will form an “x”) and pinch the seams.  Keep dumplings covered until you are ready to cook.

Heat a nonstick pan on high to med. high and film the bottom of the pan with canola oil.  Place as many dumplings in the pan as possible with out the dumplings touching.  “Fry” the dumplings for 4-5 min., checking after 4 min. so that the bottoms do not burn.  After 4 or 5 min., add ½ cup chicken stock and cover the pan to let the pot stickers steam for 3 min.

Remove from pan immediately.  If you have more dumplings to cook, use a wad of paper towels to wipe the pan out and repeat the process.

Dumplings

Dumplings are divine!  Steamy and tender dumplings are little pillows of deliciousness,  a mouthful of flavor.  They are delicate and powerful, extravagant and yet simple.  I love dumplings and I love to make dumplings.  Like ravioli, a dumpling can be filled with almost anything and accented with a dipping sauce--sweet and savory or hot and spicy.  Dumplings are not complicated to make but do involve a bit of hand labor so they are a perfect group activity--a great way to involve your friends and family.

So... come make dumplings with me.  We will make three types of dumplings:  Shrimp Shumai, Thai Vegetable Dumplings and Chicken Pot Stickers.

Monday, February 27
7 - 9 pm
Meridian Center
$15 per person

Panic Meals

 

Okay, it has not been a great day, work sucked, the kids are cranky, everyone is starving, you are so late getting home and the supper fairy did not leave anything to eat!!

No worries--you open a nice bottle of wine and pour out a good measure, you pour one for your partner too.  Setting out the goat cheese and crackers, some smoked almonds and dried cherries you pour the kids some juice. Taking a deep breath, you restore yourself with a bit of wine and tell everyone to relax, dinner will be ready in less than thirty minutes.

What?!!  You don’t have any wine or goat cheese or smoked almonds or stuff that magically transforms into meals in your pantry!  Oh honey, join me next Monday night and I will give you a shopping list of things you must have in the cupboard and recipes for quick and easy panic meals that you can prepare in under thirty minutes.

Monday, Jan. 30

7 pm.

Meridian Center

$15 per person

To register please email me at jasabinart@aol.com.

"As a Complement to Wine"

Risotto

First of all a huge thank you to everyone that joined me for my initial series of cooking classes. Grazie, grazie, mille grazie! I am sorry to have to call a brief hiatus but if you continue to cook with me through this blog I think I can be helpful and keep you inspired. As we move deeper and deeper into the farming season I have less and less time in the kitchen but we still need to eat and I keep a bountiful garden so I will post new ideas and recipes. As always I am posting the recipes from our risotto class.

The "pasta mafia", my adopted Italian mammas would roll their eyes and cover their heads with their aprons if they ever read this recipe! They would scold and tut, and cry"mamma mia" until they tried it and then, even though it breaks with all tradition I think they would love it. It is simple and delicious and I have never met an Italian yet that wasted anything, so I think they would appreciate the economy of time and effort. Whip up a batch of this risotto and while it is in the oven finishing you can enjoy a glass of wine with your loved ones--now that's Italian!

Baked Mushroom Risotto

2 Tbs EVOO

1 sm. Onion, finely diced

1 c. Arborio rice

½ c. dry white wine

2 ½ c. chicken stock, warmed to the boiling point

½ c. cream

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs EVOO

8 oz. assorted mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

Pinch of thyme

1 bay leaf

¼ - ½ c. dry white wine

1 Tbs truffle oil (truffle oil is totally optional)

½ c. Parmesan, freshly grated

2-3 Tbs Italian parsley, freshly minced

Preheat oven 425.

Film the bottom of a large stock pot with a tight fitting lid with EVOO. Sauté the onion until it is soft and translucent, taking care not to let it brown. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains with oil, keep cooking and stirring until the grains become translucent. Add the wine and stir, cook until the wine is almost completely absorbed. Add 2 c. of the stock and stir, heat to the boiling point. At this point cover the pot and slip it into the oven. Bake for 12-15 min.

While the rice is cooking film the bottom of a large sauté pan with 2 Tbs EVOO and 1 Tbs of the butter. Add the mushrooms and a bit of salt and sauté over med. high heat. When the mushrooms have softened and browned a bit add the thyme and bay leaf, cook a bit more and deglaze the pan with ¼ c. wine. Continue cooking until the wine is nearly absorbed then add the stock. Heat the pan just to a high simmer lowering the heat just before the boiling point. Add the truffle oil and hold this pan at a low, low simmer.

Check the rice, it should be “al dente”, soft but with a firm middle. When it is al dente remove the stock pot from the oven. Add the warm mushroom mixture, 1 Tbs butter, cream and Parmesan and stir, adjusting the liquid level as needed. (Risotto is perfect when the rice is al dente nestled in a silky sauce.) Serve immediately in warm bowl finished with fresh parsley.

Since we were exploring the Italian side of rice I opened class with some grown-up rice crispy treats. (Actually I have been dying to make this recipe but was afraid to have an entire batch in the house for very long--they are lethal!) Another classic Italian recipe transforming simple ingredients into a rich and exciting treat--that's Italian, no?

Browned Butter Rice Crispy Treats

1 stick butter

10 oz. marshmallows

1/4 t. coarse salt

6 cups crispy rice cereal

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Melt the butter in a large heavy bottomed pan over medium low heat. The butter will foam and bubble and then start to turn brown and smell nutty. (This is the only tricky part, do not leave the stove, butter can burn quickly and then you must start over.) Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the butter. As soon as it is golden and fragrant turn off the heat and add the marshmallows. When the marshmallows are melted gradually stir in the cereal, sprinkling in a bit of salt and a few chocolate chips with each turn of the spoon until everything is incorporated.

Press into the bottom of a 9 in. x 13 in. pan, let cool and then BEWARE! This is so good.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We first traveled to Ireland in 1990 and so enchanted with the place we took a year off and lived there in 1994. We rented a bungalow just off Bantry Bay, County Cork in a small town called Glengarriff, just across the harbor from Maureen O'Hara's, you know, the movie star...John Wayne, "The Quiet Man", "McCintock".


When it wasn't raining it was glorious--wild crashing waves, deep green oak woods, charming cottages, darling pubs within crawling distance and warm friendly people. Unfortunately Ireland was experiencing the wettest year on record, I felt like Mrs. Noah after forty days and nights of "pissing" rain (that's an Irish expression I adopted). I completely understand why the birth rate and alcoholism rate is so high! But we made the best of it and enjoyed fantastic beer, the best tea, butter and cream ever and amazing salmon and mussels caught daily in the bay. We were befriended by amazing people, many who were very good in the kitchen. I helped out at a friend's B&B and gathered her best recipes. You have never had brown bread, as soda bread is called there, or true Irish scones until you have visited the west of Ireland.

As my bit of Irish cheer I share this recipe for soda bread collected from a very dear woman, who was both mother and friend. It is best eaten as soon as it is cool enough to cut, but will be lovely all day. Naturally it is very nice the second day, especially toasted, but mind the toasting as it is quite crumbly. Put any left over loaves in plastic bags and pop them into the freezer.

Irish Soda Bread

3 c. whole wheat flour

½ c. cracked wheat (if you do not have this, substitute whole wheat flour)

1 ½ c. flour

½ c. rolled oats (oatmeal)

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

3 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450

Mix dry ingredients well. Add buttermilk and stir until a sticky dough is formed. Put it out on a floured surface and knead a bit. Shape into 3 loaves, cutting a cross on each. Place loaves on an oiled baking sheet or into loaf pans.

Bake 15 min. at 450. Reduce oven temperature to 375 and bake another 15 min., or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.

Cooking Classes--Session III

“As a Complement to Wine”

Risotto

Please mark you calendars for the third class in our cooking series, Thursday, March 24, 7 pm. We will make risotto. If you have never had risotto it is a real treat made from Italian short grain rice. This dish is creamy and rich and super easy to make. I will demonstrate two different versions—Creamy Mushroom Risotto, traditionally rich in butter and cream and can also be finished with truffle oil. Risotto Primavera, a lighter fresher spring risotto features asparagus, zucchini, peas and spinach.

Asparagus, zucchini, peas, spinach and chives--fresh tasting and green--Risotto Primavera

Cooking Classes--Session II

"As a Complement to Wine"

Second Class: Wine Sauces

A simple sauce provides contrast that enhances flavor or adds flavors a food lacks. A complex sauce, like a good wine, can fill the mouth and nose with sensations and provide a rich background into which the flavor of the food itself blends.

Sauces can be used on meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, pasta, rice and potatoes. I use sauces to tie a few ingredients together to create a meal. When the garden is producing I consider what is most abundant and then build from there. We often have an abundance of greens and peas in the early part of summer so I make pasta dishes. Using a short pasta like shells, farfalla or rotini cook them to within two minutes of “al dente” and then add freshly shelled peas and greens that have been washed and roughly chopped—these vegetables will cook very quickly. Drain the pasta an veggies and put them into a large warm bowl. Add a recipe of the basic wine sauce. Stir in freshly grated parmigiano, sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately! A fast fresh healthy meal made for pennies.

Basic Wine Sauce

2 TB EVOO (or butter)

2 garlic cloves, minced finely

1 sm. Shallot, minced finely or a small onion

½ c. white wine

½ c. chicken stock

2 TB butter

3 TB fresh Italian parsley, minced

In a sauté pan over med. heat, warm the oil, add the shallots and cook for a few minutes until they start to turn translucent. Add the garlic and as soon as it is fragrant (30 sec. or so) add the wine. Raise the heat and cook until the wine has reduced a bit. Add the stock and cook until reduced by half, or until the desired flavor and consistency is reached. Remove from the heat and add the butter, just swirling the pan to combine. This will thicken the sauce somewhat. After the butter has melted add the herbs. Taste and adjust for salt.

This is one if my secret weapons--I always have the ingredients on hand so I can whip this up in less than 15 minutes for unexpected company. On nights that I am exhausted but hungry this is my go-to meal. This recipe can be really elevated by using fresh basil, when in season, and fresh clams in the shell!

Clam Pesto

2 TB EVOO

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

½ c. white wine

2 cans minced clams and their juice

1 TB dried basil

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 tsp black pepper

2 TB butter

¼ c. fresh Italian parsley, coarsely minced

1 TB salt

1 lb angel hair pasta

Bring a large pot of water to the boil.

In a large sauté pan warm the EVOO over med. heat. Add the garlic and cook about 30 sec., or until fragrant. Add the wine, raise the heat and reduce a bit. Add the clams and their juice, basil, pepper flakes and black pepper. Simmer until reduced to the desired consistency.

As soon as you add the clams to the sauce, add the salt to the large pot of boiling water and add the pasta. Stir it to circulate the pasta and set the timer for 4 min.

When clam sauce has reduced, add the butter and lower the heat. As soon as the pasta is “al dente” pull it out with tongs and add it directly into the simmering sauce. Stir to combine and remove from the heat. Add the parsley and slip the pasta into a large warm bowl. Dress with parmigiano cheese and a drizzle of EVOO. Serve immediately into warmed bowls. Buon appetito!

Tangy Mustard Sauce

2 TB EVOO

2 cloves garlic, minced finely

½ c. white wine

½ c. chicken stock

2 TB Dijon mustard

2 TB maple syrup

1 tsp rosemary, minced finely

½ tsp pepper

In a sauté pan over med. heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic and cook for 30 sec., or until fragrant. Add the wine and reduce a bit, and add the stock, Dijon and syrup. Whisk it until smooth and then let sauce reduce to desired consistency. Remove from heat and add the rosemary and pepper. Taste and adjust for salt.

Excellent on fish, tilapia, salmon, trout, shrimp, salmon or crab cakes, chicken, pasta and rice. Imagine this sauce with asparagus, steamed greens, zucchini or green beans.

Piccata Caper Sauce

2 TB EVOO

2 cloves garlic, minced finely

½ c. white wine

½ c. chicken stock

Juice from one large lemon half

2 tsp capers

2 TB butter

3 TB fresh Italian parsley, minced

In a sauté pan warm the EVOO over med. heat. Add the garlic and cook about 30 sec., or until fragrant. Add the wine, raise the heat and reduce a bit. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice and continue to reduce until the desired consistency is reached. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the butter and capers. As soon as the butter is melted add the parsley, taste and adjust for salt.

This is delicious on pasta alone—but when served over veal or chicken it is a classic. We love it on fish, especially with steamed greens.

Mushroom Marsala Sauce

2 TB EVOO

1 shallot or onion, finely diced

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

½ c. white wine

½ c. marsala wine

½ c. chicken stock

2 TB butter

2 TB fresh Italian parsley, finely minced

In a sauté pan warm the EVOO over med. heat. Add the onion/shallot and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender and starting to brown. Add the garlic, cooking until fragrant and then add the wine and the Marsala. Raise the heat and reduce a bit. Add the chicken stock and continue to reduce until the desired consistency is reached. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the butter. As soon as the butter is melted add the parsley, taste and adjust for salt.

This recipe is perfect on pasta alone, but for the carnivore in your home, sauté a pound of assorted mushrooms and serve this sauce over pasta—they will never miss the meat! Served with veal or chicken this is also a classic dish. This delicious rich sauce is beautiful over rice and with potatoes.

Variation: Follow the recipe above but add the 2 TB of butter just after adding the garlic. As soon as the butter is melted add 2 TB of flour. Stir the flour into the butter and vegetables and cook it until all the flour has been incorporated and then add the wine. Immediately add 1 c. chicken stock and stir to make a thick sauce. Add just enough cream or half and half to suit your needs and you will never use another can of cream of mushroom soup!

Cooking Classes--Session I

"As a Complement to Wine"

cooking classes

First Class: Italian Baking 101


After deciding to teach cooking classes I realized I needed students so I shamelessly did some self promoting using the products themselves. The afternoon before a tasting at our local wine store I baked big batches of biscotti and grissini. My nerves steeled, I walked in with enough goodies for about forty people and found the place packed! There were over sixty folks--what else are you supposed to do on a frigid January night in Blackfoot! I hid my baskets under our table and started tasting. As the evening unfolded and the wine did its magic I started circulating in a very small way and offered my baked goods to people I knew and recognized. Like in story of the fishes and the loaves, people started sharing and soon the entire room was buzzing! I made a small announcement about maybe teaching some cooking classes and advised folks to check out the Wine Garden Newsletter for more information. Then one simple blurb in the newsletter and within days I had a full class.

The day before class I made a Tiramisu for tasting, plenty for sixteen. By that afternoon my class had outgrown the tiramisu and I was in a fix because I had only enough lady fingers for my demonstration. Living in the rural west one learns to be creative so I made my own. They turned out beautiful and were far superior to anything I had ever used before!

Tiramisu

8 oz. marscapone, or cream cheese at room temperature

5 tsp icing sugar

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

½ pt cream, lightly whipped

2 egg yolks

1 c. strong coffee or espresso

1 oz. marsala wine

2 oz. brandy or Kahlua

24 sponge biscuits, lady fingers

Your favorite dark chocolate bar

Beat egg whites until quite stiff. Whip the cream until it holds its shape.

Beat cheese and sugar until combined and smooth. Add the egg yolks and mix until smooth and creamy. Add the whipped cream and combine until smooth and creamy. Using a clean spatula, gently fold in the egg whites until both mixtures are combined. Set aside in fridge.

Mix the coffee, wine and brandy. Stir until combined and taste. Gently soak a lady finger biscuit in this mixture, let it drain and then lay in the bottom of an 8 in. x 8 in. pan. Repeat with enough biscuits to cover the bottom of the pan.

Pour half of the cream and cheese mixture over the biscuits and spread it out evenly.

Dip and layer the rest of the biscuits to form a second layer of lady fingers. Pour the remaining cream mixture on top and smooth it out. Cover the pan taking care not to let the cover rest in the cream mixture and refrigerate for 24 hrs.

Before serving grate enough of the chocolate bar to cover the top of the tiramisu. Cut with a sharp knife into smallish squares and serve on chilled plates with a small glass of marsala wine, coffee or espresso.

Biscotti

¾ c. toasted almonds, chopped

½ c. butter

¾ c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tbs amaretto

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

2 c. flour

Preheat oven 325. Oil a large cookie sheet or use parchment paper.

Biscotti are double baked cookies. In Italian bis means twice and cotta is baked, therefore biscotti are baked twice. (The Italian for grandma is nonna and great grandma is bisnonna.)

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well blended. Add liquor and vanilla and mix. Combine all dry ingredients and stir. Gradually fold dry ingredients into egg mixture. Mix only until blended smooth. Fold in nuts. Dust you working surface and hands with flour and place dough on your working surface. (On a warm day you may wish to rest your dough in the fridge, letting it cool for 30 min.) Gently divide dough into two equal parts and roll each part into a long log—a thinner longer log will make smaller biscotti. Place the logs onto you cookie sheet allowing room for the dough to expand as it cooks. Bake for 25 min. Remove baking sheet from oven and let cool for 15 min. Cut the logs into biscotti—I usually cut it into ½ in. widths. Tip them onto their sides and arrange them on the baking sheet evenly. Return to oven and bake 20-25 min. more. Cool on a rack and store in airtight containers.

Variations: Drizzle melted chocolate over the biscotti or dip one end in the chocolate.

For wine biscotti: Substitute the zest from one orange for the almonds and add 1 tbs. of finely cracked black pepper to the mix. Substitute Grand Marnier for the amaretto. Excellent with red wine!

Parmesan and Cracked Pepper Grissini

1 pkg dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

1 c warm water (110 degrees)

3 c flour

1 ¼ tsp salt

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

½ c grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1 tbs cracked black pepper

Cooking spray

Parchment paper

Dissolve yeast in warm water, let stand 5 min.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup, level with knife. Place all but ¼ c. flour into a mixing bowl with the salt. Mix to stir. Gradually add the yeast/water while mixing on lowest speed. Mix until dough forms a ball. (If you do not have a mixer put the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast/water and stir until dough forms.) Add the rest of the flour if needed to form a nice dough, not too sticky or wet.

Scoop the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and silky. (About 8 min.) Put the dough into a well oiled covered bowl and let rest until doubled—45 min to an hour. (Gently press 2 fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)

Cover two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Punch dough down. Cover and let rest 5 min. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle about 1 in. thick.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (If you have a baking stone place it in the oven before preheating.)

Add a teaspoon of water to the beaten egg. Using a pastry brush, cover the surface of the dough. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper. Lightly coat the dough with the cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and gently press the toppings into the dough, remove the plastic wrap.

Cut the rectangle of dough into 1 in. strips. Working with one strip at a time roll each into a long thin rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut it to length and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is rolled. Spray grissini lightly with cooking spray. Lightly cover the sheets with clean tea towels and let grissini rise for 20 min.

Uncover dough and bake at 450 for 6 min. with one pan on an upper rack and one on the lower rack. Rotate pans and cook for an additional 6 min. until grissini are golden brown. Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.

Variations: Substitute coarse sea salt or fresh minced rosemary for black pepper.