LICK HER POT STICKER SOUP

Lick lick lick its so sick sick sick (as in good)!

Apply your whole tongue. Don’t be shy now. You want to start from the base and work that saliva up and down and all around the nub. You’re doing something right when there’s twitching and squirming. How else are you supposed to suck every bit of flavor our of a pot sticker soup? I’m all ears if you have a better idea. For now, we’ll just have to settle for overzealous tongue action that renders your company slaphappy and craving a cigarette even when they don’t smoke. This Thai inspired soup guide your taste organ to its happy ending.

Total time: approximately 10 minutes
Projected cost: $4
Drinking Buddy: Thai beer

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 1 can Tom Yum Soup*
2. ½ can coconut milk*
3.1 handful green onions chopped
4. 1 handful cilantro chopped
5. 2 handfuls of frozen gyoza/pot-stickers*
6. 1 wedge lime (not pictured)

*available at Asian markets

Step 1
Boil the pot-stickers in the Tom Yum soup until they soften (approx 5 min). Use a spatula to break them up in bite-sized pieces.

Step 2
Pour in the coconut milk along with the green onions, cilantro and limejuice and simmer, stirring occasionally (approx 3 min).

Serve soup up in bowls with solo or a kick ass ENTRÉE.

Ramekin Turkey Pot Pies

Yes, it is a week after Thanksgiving and we are STILL eating leftovers. We only have one more bag of turkey in the freezer and half a bowl of mashed potatoes, and that will be gone after tonight.

These were another tasty treat. You will never look at a frozen pot pie the same again after eating a freshly made one! I only had one pre-made pie crust leftover (in my attempt to circumvent my pie crust ineptitude I used one, and it shrunk so much while blind baking it that I had to throw it away and make my own. So much for pre-made being easier!). Anyways, I only had one, and we didn’t want to have to deal with leftovers of leftovers. So we dug out our little ramekins (only 3… the 4th one broke), and used those. It couldn’t have been more perfect. We decided that crust on the bottom was unnecessary, and just put a round of pie crust on top of the filling. Even Taylor, who admitted he would have vetoed this recipe had I told him about it before hand, liked them, and even said they topped last night’s Turkey Cranberry Tacos. This might be another one we’ll have to make again!

Of course, we forgot to buy peas at the store. And our sweet potatoes weren’t in any position to be eaten again. The beauty of this recipe is that if you’ve got it, throw it in. A great leftovers recipe for any time of year.

Ramekin Turkey Pot Pies

Makes 4 servings (about 6 ramekins… halve for two people). Recipe based on this one by Emeril.

INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour
2 cups Chicken Stock or canned chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half (or soy creamer)
1 cup peeled and diced red potatoes, cooked in boiling salted water until tender, 4 to 5 minutes
1 cup leftover sweet potatoes (if you have them)
1 cup diced carrots, cooked in boiling salted water until tender, 4 to 5 minutes (OR any leftover vegetables from Thanksgiving)
1 cup sweet young peas, fresh or frozen (defrost if frozen)
2 cups shredded cooked turkey, white and dark meat
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 pre-made pie crusts, room temperature

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9×9x2-inch baking pan or prepare 6 ramekins (no need to grease these).

Heat the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes to make a blond roux. Stir in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and continue to cook for another 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the potatoes, carrots, peas (or any other leftover Thanksgiving vegetables), turkey, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, and mix well.

Line the baking pan with one of the rolled-out pie crusts (if using). Pour the filling into the prepared pan or divide equally into ramekins. Place the second crust or a precut circle of dough on top of the filling. Carefully tuck the overlapping crusts into the pan, forming a thick edge. Crimp the edges, cut vents in the top crust, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown and crusty, 25 to 30 minutes (15-20 minutes if using ramekins). Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing to serve.

No Knead Bread, a Pretty Pot, & Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto

Happy early birthday, to me, to me.

Very happy indeed!

I’m easily stumped when it comes to birthdays. I get asked over and over what do I want, what do I want, when really, I don’t know. I guess it’s a good sign when you are satisfied with what you have.

Since no one close to me ever wants to buy me fonts for my birthday (yes, I’m a design nerd), I was at a loss. Until I found the now infamous recipe for No Knead Bread. You see, no knead bread requires, well, a nice pot. A heavy pot that can go into the oven. I wanted this bread, and I wanted it badly. And I had no such pot.

Needless to say, I knew what I wanted for my birthday.

Lucky for me, we have a Le Creuset store downtown (next to Whole Foods, nonetheless!). And so Taylor and I made the treck to the hoity-toity shopping center. I was entirely planning to make the final purchase online, where I could surely get a better deal. Maybe it was the pushy salesman or the enticing shade of turquoise… either way, we left carrying (or, rather, Taylor was carrying) a lovely 5 1/2 quart Le Creuset, in Caribbean blue.

I’m in love (with a pot, yes, but with the boy who bought it for me too!).

And let me tell you, this bread is worth it!!

Of course, we couldn’t JUST eat bread for dinner. I recently saw this recipe for Vanilla Bean and Butternut Squash risotto over at Erin Cooks… and with my stash of ebay vanilla beans I am always looking for new ways to use them. While it might seem like an odd combination, the subtle sweetness of the vanilla is a perfect compliment to the squash and creamy risotto. Plus the tiny speckles are a sight to be seen.

Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto

Makes 4 regular or 6 side dish servings.
Recipe from Giada.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups vegetable broth
1 large vanilla bean
3 cups peeled cubed (1-inch wide) butternut squash, about 12 ounces
2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon
3/4 cups finely chopped onion (from 1 onion)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, warm the broth over medium-high heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add them, and the bean, to the broth. When the broth comes to a simmer reduce the heat to low. Add the butternut squash to the simmering broth and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the butternut squash to a side dish. Turn the heat on the broth down to very low and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition to of the broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Discard the vanilla bean. Turn off the heat. Gently stir in the butternut squash, Parmesan, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and salt. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

Ginger-Chocolate Pot de Creme

As a chef, desserts aren’t my thing. Most chefs will tell you the job of the pastry chef is too exact. Ingredients are weighed out and measured very precisely, temperatures are controlled very stringently, to be honest, it seems more like science class than actual cooking. When it comes to defection, you see many more pastry chefs crossing the line to the savory side, and being successful, than savory chefs walking around with a sugar thermometer in their sleeve pocket.

That being said, it is of the utmost importance that savory chefs have a couple of slam dunk desserts in their back pocket for any given emergency. If that means physically carrying around a recipe with you just in case, then so be it, at least you are prepared.

Ingredients for Ginger-Chocolate Pot de Creme

This Ginger-Chocolate Pot de Creme is one of my slam dunks. I think the reason I am so fond of it stems from my days as a kid eating chocolate pudding by the pint after school. That, along with heaping bowls of Stove Top stuffing, were my first culinary accomplishemnts. Yeah, they both came from a box, but the satisfaction of knowing I made them myself, of taking out the electric mixer or moms beat up old stock pot, made them that much better.

When I was working with Sean Kelly at his Aubergine Cafe in the mid 90’s (the same summer as the OJ trial), Sean did a very simple and traditional Pot de Creme. Its one of those desserts you can riff off of, throw different flavors into, but the Ginger Chocolate always stuck with me. After trying a combination of chocolate and chili and being amazed at the juxtaposition of the spicy, sweet and creamy, I wanted to find something as strong but still somewhat exotic. My wife, a pastry chef by trade, who trained in Germany is not a big fan of this dish, the flavors are very subtle and not everyone gets it, but if you do like I do, you’ll be making it often.

Ingredients:

In a large mixing bowl, place the sugar, eggs, and egg yolks and mix well.

• 8 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate (I like the Scharffen Berger 62% cacao) broken or chopped up into small pieces
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 7 egg yolks
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 oz. grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Place the chocolate in a large bowl and set aside.
   

   Pour ¾ of the milk mixture over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted.

3. In a large mixing bowl, place the sugar, eggs, and egg yolks and mix well.
4. Place the milk, ginger and cream in a heavy bottom saucepot and scald.
5. Pour ¾ of the milk mixture over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted.
6. Temper the egg mixture with the remaining hot milk.
7. Combine both the eggs and the chocolate mixture and mix well.
8. Add the salt.
9. Strain the pot de crème batter through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.
10. Fill 8 8 oz. ramekins with 5 oz. batter.
    

    Grate ginger on the small holes of a box grater.

11. Place ramekins in a baking pan and fill with room temperature water halfway up the side of the ramekins.
12. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the center ripples but does not jiggle.
13. Remove from the oven.
14. Carefully remove the ramekins from the water and allow to cool to room temperature.
15. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
16. These Pot de Crème be made 3 days in advance of serving.

Fill each 8 ramekins with 5 oz. batter.