Daring Cooks June - Potstickers

I was both excited and daunted by this month's challenge. Not only because of the recipe itself but because it was chosen by the ever awesome Jen from Use Real Butter! We don't have potstickers as such in Australia, so to me these are modified dim sims. But whatever you call them they were in a word ... sensational!

The dough was a lot easier to work with than I thought. I made a double batch to cover the amount of filling and ended up with 40, half fried and half steamed. One discrepancy I noticed was that the recipe stated to use a tablespoon of filling for each one. I found just 1 teaspoon of filling per potsticker used up all the filling and dough perfectly, no leftovers.

The taste test ...

These were absolutely scrumptious! Of the 2 I preferred the potstickers over the steamed dumplings because of the contrasting textures but both were delicious. I made the dipping sauce with all the optional extras and it was the perfect accompaniment. I will definitely be making these again!

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers

pork filling:
1 lb (450g) ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced (if dried - rehydrated and rinsed carefully)
1/2 cup (75g) bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 (55g) cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch OR

shrimp filling:
1/2 lb (225g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb (225g) ground pork
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/4 cup (55g) ginger root, minced
1 cup (142g) water chestnuts, minced
1 tsp (5g) salt
3 tbsp (40g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

dough:
(double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface

dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough, Method 1:

Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Make the dough, Method 2 (my mom’s instructions):

In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.

Both dough methods:

Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders.

On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges.

Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float. To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.

To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesdays with Dorie: Parisian Apple Tartlet

Oh what a great month of TWD picks! The lovely Jessica of My Baking Heart chose the Parisian Apple Tartlet this week. It is a dessert that you can whip up in just a few minutes using ingredients you will likely already have on hand. With just puff pastry, apples, butter and brown sugar, this is definitely a case of the results being greater than the sum of its parts!

The taste test ...

You can probably already tell I was a fan of this one! Simple, elegant and truly delicious. We served ours with a scoop of french vanilla ice cream. I love having both hot and cold elements to a dessert. We will be making this again!

Thanks to Jessica for a fab choice. Make sure you check out her blog for the recipe.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cinnamon Squares

Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures choses Cinnamon Squares this week. What a great recipe to ease back into TWD after a month off! It was made and out of the oven while Oscar was sleeping.

I was a little hesitant intially at just how much cinnamon was in them. Although being called 'Cinnamon' Squares that is just what you would expect! I made them exactly as per the recipes and had no problems with it being dry as some others did.

The taste test ...

I was a little 'meh' at the first tasting although my other taste testers gave enthusiastic thumbs up. However I had a second taste the next day straight out of the fridge and loved it! Somehow all the flavours had melded and mellowed. The chocolate icing was fabulous. I do think I should have cut it into 12 or even 16 squares rather than 9 as it was incredibly rich!

Thanks for a great pick Tracey! You can find the recipe on her blog.

Daring Cooks May - Ricotta Gnocchi

"Better late than never" has become my motto recently! While I wasn't one of those people who thinks a baby would just fit right into our household without any disruption, I have been amazed at how quickly time passes now.

The hours and days are just flying by and Oscar is now 5 weeks old. At the end of each day if he is fed, clean and happy and I have had a shower and 2 decent meals then I call that a total success!

Which brings me on to my first Daring Cooks challenge which I was really excited about. While I love to bake (and eat what I've or anyone else has baked) I think I am more of a cook. It is what I do everyday and nothing makes me happier than feeding my family.

I actually managed to complete the challenge before the posting date, but then promptly forgot to post it, or anything else for that matter.

The taste test ...

(These were incredibly difficult to photograph) Amazingly for a cheese freak like myself this was a little too ... cheesy. And definitely rich! I think part of my ambivilence comes down to simply being so tired that day that I couldn't think straight (this was my first time in the kitchen post baby and probably should've gone with something I had made before).

I had absolutely no problems making these though. The texture was perfect, they cooked well and didn't fall apart despite my very rough shaping job. Hubby wasn't keen on the texture. He loves gnocchi but of the potato and flour variety where there is a little bite to each piece.

I would make these again though, perhaps with lemon rather than sage to cut through the richness. All in all a great first challenge!

Ricotta Gnocchi
Recipe from Judy Rodgers' The Zuni Café Cookbook

Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)

For the gnocchi:
1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the gnocchi sauce:
8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced
2 teaspoons water

Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi):

Preparing the ricotta. If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet.

To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi):

Making the gnocchi dough. To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.

Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture. Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.

Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Step 3: Forming the gnocchi:

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.

In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep. With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.

Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes. If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success. Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.

Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour. You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi:

Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside. In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other. Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.

Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi). When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking.

Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Daring Bakers April - Apple Crumble Cheesecake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Mmmmmm cheesecake! I'm kind of known as the cheesecake girl and am inclined to make one whenever I'm asked to bring dessert. I made this for Easter Sunday and it was the perfect finish to a lunch of gorgeous roast lamb.

Apple Crumble Cheesecake ~
Modified from Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

crust:
250g shredded wheat biscuits
125g melted butter
1 ts cinnamon

apple filling:
3 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and finely sliced
2 tbs butter
2 tbs brown sugar

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp apple juice concentrate
2 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts ground cloves
1/4 ts ground nutmeg

crumb topping:
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped roughly
1/2 cup brown sugar
100g melted butter
2 ts cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Boil a large jug of water ready to use when baking.

2. Combine crust ingredients in a food processor and process and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Saute the apples, butter and brown sugar together over medium heat until tender and caramelised, approx 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

4. Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. It should be rough and lumpy. If it is too smooth leave in the fridge until you are ready to use and then roughly break up the pieces.

5. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, spices and apple juice concentrate and blend until smooth and creamy.

5. Pour half the batter into prepared crust and top with the apple slices. Pour over the remaining cheesecake batter and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

6. Bake for 20 minutes then remove from the oven and sprinkle over the crumble topping. Return to the oven and bake for a further 25-35 minutes until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge. The crumble topping will be firm and golden brown but there will still be a jiggle in the cheesecake underneath. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

The taste test ...

YUM!!! This was a near perfect cheesecake experience. My only gripe would be that the ratio of creamy cheesecakey goodness to crust/topping was a little off. Next time I would make this in a smaller, deeper pan so each piece was a little more balanced.

Thanks to Jenny for a fun and easy bake this month!

Our new arrival

We are thrilled to announce the birth of our healthy son Oscar Theodore on Monday 20th April at 10.20am - 3.6kg/7lbs 9oz, 51cm/20 in. More details to come but here is one of my favourite pics, taken at 5 days old ...

Blogging may be a little sparse for the next few weeks but I will be back!

Tuesdays with Dorie: 4 Star Chocolate Bread Pudding

This week's pick made me very happy as I love bread pudding! I hadn't tried a chocolate version before so was curious to taste the results.

As it was around Easter I decided to replace the challah/brioche with leftover hot cross buns. I made a smaller version than the recipe using 4 buns each sliced into 9 rough cubes which fit perfectly into the dish. I also figured this would add enough dried fruit and spice so I left out the raisins.

The taste test ...

I think I must be a bread & butter pudding purist, because while I liked this I didn't love it. We actually had a little piece leftover that ended up in the rubbish. That NEVER happens in this house! I think the chocolate flavour overwhelmed it. Maybe it was using hot cross buns rather than plain brioche. But then chocolate hot cross buns are fabulous. I just don't know!

Thanks to Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle for this week's pick. You can find the recipe on her blog!

No TWD this week

Apologies to Holly from Phe/MOM/enon who chose the 15 Minute Magic Chocolate Amaretti Torte - I just didn't get around to it and am totally chocolated out after Easter!

Make sure you visit her blog for the recipe. Sounds like it was a winner!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Banana Cream Pie

As an Aussie, to me a Banana Cream Pie conjures images of 1950s America. However like lots of recipes while it may be retro, it is definitely delicious!

I decided to make minis using my brand new baby tart tins purchased on a whim a few weeks ago. Because they are so shallow, I knew I wouldn't be able to layer the pastry cream and banana and decided instead to combine the two. By mashing the banana and folding it through I ended up with the most luscious banana custard you can imagine. Sure it looks like baby food but I would eat this straight out of the bowl any day!

I'm sure you can guess what happened though - the mashed banana really affected the consistency of the pastry cream and it oozed everywhere when I cut it. Bummer.

I then simply piped the whipped cream on top (I actually forgot I needed sour cream for this so mine was plain cream). I really need to work on my piping skills but a sprinkle of cinnamon and a banana slice for decoration makes all the difference!

The taste test ...

Fabulous! I loved the contrast between the crisp buttery crust, sweet spiced custard and smooth cream. Even a mini was a bit too much for one serve but I gave it a good go. These were pure comfort food and incredibly easy to make. I can see this becoming a real family favourite.

Thank you to Amy of Sing for Your Supper for this week's pick. We loved it! You can find the recipe on Amy's blog.

Oops

For the first time ever I completely forgot about TWD. And I mean completely!

Jayne of the Barefoot Kitchen Witch chose Coconut Butter Thins this week and they sound delicious. Nothing too fancy but golden, buttery, some nice flavours. I think I would have liked them. Oh well. Make sure you visit her blog for the recipe!

What I have been doing this week is some menu planning. The aim being to eat a fairly varied diet over the next few weeks and also to build up our frozen meal supplies for the babymoon:

Monday 30th - Apricot Chicken with Herbed Couscous

Tuesday 31st - Macaroni and Cheese with Sautéed Mushrooms and Bacon (Doubled for Freezer)

Wednesday 1st - Tomato Soup with Toast

Thursday 2nd - Hamburgers with the lot

Friday 3rd - Roast Chicken with Vegetables

Saturday 4th - Homemade Curry (Doubled for Freezer)

Sunday 5th - Tacos

Monday 6th - Fish and Chips

Tuesday 7th - Chicken and Sweet Potato Casserole (Doubled for Freezer)

Wednesday 8th - Lamb Steaks with Greek Salad

Thursday 9th - Tuna and Caper Pasta Salad

Friday 10th - Steak and Guiness Pie (Doubled for Freezer)

We also did minor bathroom renovations this weekend because I couldn't stand the 70s yellow walls anymore and I organised my baking cupboard.

Just on that issue, I have 16 muffin trays. Why would any sane person need so many muffin trays? Sure there are minis, regulars and texas sized pans, some have 12 holes (and therefore don't even fit in our oven here) and some only have 6. But still. I hardly ever make muffins. I shall have to remedy that.