Recipies to Rival – My First Challenge

Way back in one of my previous lifetimes I worked in a grocery store deli that included a Chinese food take-out area. For several months I was assigned to Chinese take-out duty, meaning that I stood over the deli cases full of Chinese food for eight hours a day. Which did two things. First, it introduced me to some dishes that I might not have tried otherwise, like Kung Pao Chicken and Pot Stickers; and second, it made my hair smell like chow mein. (As a date once told me…boy, did he know how to sweep a girl off her feet!)

I never developed much of a taste for the Kung Pao Chicken, however, I love pot stickers with their soft, chewy dough and wonderful savory meat filling. Mmmmm…

Now, I’m comfortable enough in the kitchen that I don’t shy away from much. Yeast breads of any type? Been making them for years. Totally from-scratch homemade pizza? Almost weekly. Expensive Rib Roast? Every Christmas. But pot stickers? I never even thought about even trying to make them at home!

Pot stickers are one of those things that you just get out , along with Fried Onion “Flowers” and Fajitas. Why pot stickers? Well, first of all, they look so labor intensive. And secondly, they look REALLY labor intensive! C’mon, all those teeny tiny little pleats – really? Who has the time. And how much better could homemade really be? I had no interest in finding out for myself. They could remain a mystery to me.

Until a couple of weeks ago, that is. That’s when I joined a blog group known as Recipes 2 Rival. The R2R group each month takes on a recipe and collectively posts their experiences making it. When I saw that my first challenge recipe was pot stickers, I had mixed feelings of interest and dread. C’mon, all those teeny tiny little pleats! And then, reading further, I saw the real challenge…the dough must be made from scratch! Pleats and rolling a dough I’ve never worked with paper thin? This was going to be interesting.

But it was what it was. And I determined to face the challenge head-on. Pleats, dough and all. Figuring I would make a party out of it, I called my sister Anna (you might remember her from our Curry adventure) and we found a mutually acceptable date for a Chinese Dinner feast.

Armed with the R2R pot sticker recipe and a bag full of ingredients, we headed over to Anna’s. The menu was fabulous. Hot & Sour Soup, Peanut Noodles, Chinese BBQ Pork and of course, Pot Stickers.

The dough came together perfect. I used the Kitchen Aid to mix it up, and after letting it sit for about an hour, it was easy-peasy to work with. The filling was also quick and easy to mix together, though after thinking that it seemed wetter than I expected, I looked closer at my recipe and realized I had added some of the ingredients for the dipping sauce into the filling. Not much to do about it at that point, I’d just have to go with it & hope it was good.

So I rolled and Anna pleated and Sean steamed and fried. And it was good.

If I had read all the comments from my fellow R2R-ers, I would have realized that we shouldn’t have steamed the dumplings before putting them in the frying pan. It made for pot stickers that, well, stuck to the pot and fell apart. But they were delicious! Everyone agreed, even all five kids!

Which may be a first for that group!

For the recipes, go here, and to see what everyone else did, go here.

Ryan’s Birthday Wish

One thing that really has me puzzled is how my children can keep having birthdays and getting older while I really don’t think I’ve gotten older. The pages on the calendar keep turning and I guess I celebrate my birthday once a year like they do, but they seem to be growing older (and taller) much, much quicker than I do. I don’t feel like I could possibly be 11 years older than I was when my youngest child was born!

This week was Ryan’s 11th birthday so of course he got to choose his meal and his cake. His meal was homemade pizza which Nick and I have down to a science at this point. Nick makes the dough and sauce and gets all the toppings ready before I get home from work, and I spend the next 2 hours making pizza for everyone.

The cake, though, took a little bit more work. About 5 years ago, Austin “designed” his own cake (which you’ll have to wait until March to find out about), and that cake is known in our house as “Austin’s Chocolate Cake.” Ever since then, Ryan has wanted to have a “Ryan Cake” and has challenged me to make a cookie cake. Not a cookie that we put candles in, but a chocolate chip cookie and a chocolate cake merged deliciously together.

The first year I tried to incorporate cookies into the cake itself by dropping cookie dough into the cake batter and baking. That was just weird. The cookie dough pieces sunk to the bottom of the pan (of course) and it really didn’t look or taste very good. So last year I tried making a giant cookie and putting it between the layers. The problem with that was the cookie was too hard and I couldn’t cut through it. Not pretty.

So this year, I made a bigger cookie and cut out a circle the size of the cake, thereby avoiding the hard edges of the cookie. Then I cut it in wedges before putting it between the cake layers.

This time it worked! Beautifully! I don’t think I needed to pre-cut the cookie into wedges, I just need to make sure it’s not over cooked.

And I think the quest for Ryan’s cake is complete. It was interesting to have the cookie in the middle like that, but it really made for a very rich cake (so cut small pieces).

Happy Birthday, Ryan! Made for you with love, I present…
“Ryan’s Chocolate Cookie Cake”

Cake Memories

Jen was one of the three interviewers that interrogated me during my second interview for my job. The questions I remember her asking were along the lines of “Do you have a problem sharing an office? Can you focus with distractions going on?” And I walked away feeling good about the interview, and pretty sure that Jen would be my new office-mate. I was right.

Jen was a great office-mate. Her kids are younger than mine, but she’s as proud of them as I am of mine. And she has a wonderful sense of humor with just the right amount of sarcasm thrown in.

Several months ago, she brought her leftover birthday cake in for the office staff to finish off. It was a fluffy, very light pink concoction. And it was then that I heard her sorrowful missed cake opportunity story.

The story takes place back when Jen was young…kindergarten or first grade. Back in the days when hopscotch and jacks mattered and holding hands with a boy was a serious commitment. Her family was attending the annual school fair. Little Jen was running with delight from one game to the next, giggling with her school mates and trying with all her heart to win a “cool” prize in the beanbag throw.

And then she saw IT. The ultimate cake. The cake that would haunt her far into her adult life.

It was fluffy and pink and a little lopsided and…and…and perfect! She had to have it.

Little Jen tried with all her heart to win the cake walk. Round and round and round she went, eyes never leaving that cake. But, alas, it was not meant to be. Right before her eyes, the cake was chosen by someone else, and through a misty veil of tears (did I mention that we also share a love for Anne of Green Gables?), she saw her dream vanish.

Fast-forward to 2008. She’s now happily married with two wonderful boys and a fantastic office-mate. But the image of that cake has never left her. Her loving husband tries every year to find someone who can re-create the cake. But every year, there’s something just not quite right. This year, it’s not quite pink enough, and the icing isn’t swirly and fluffy enough.

As I listen to this story and her description of her cake, a memory starts to form in my mind. A memory of birthday cakes made by my Mom and covered with what we referred to as “marshmallow frosting.” It was my brother Eric’s favorite frosting and what he always requested on his birthday cakes. I resolved to test my theory for her next birthday.

But, alas, Jen is moving on to another job. There will not be an upcoming birthday cake opportunity. So I decided I had to move, and move fast if I wanted to test my frosting theory. I decided to make her farewell cake.

Since she never saw the inside of the cake, it was really open to interpretation. Her interpretation was a white cake with a “yummy” filling. But it had to be a really yummy filling. So between the layers of the cake, I filled it with some of my homemade 3 Berry Jam. After all, homemade jam is yummy. Right?

Then I made the frosting. It’s really very easy to make. It’s just a meringue with corn syrup added. And to make it pink, I added grenadine which added a wonderful flavor. The most difficult part of the whole procedure was transporting the cake. I don’t have one of those cake carrier things (probably should put it on my Christmas list), and the frosting is REALLY sticky. But with ingenuity and a combination of skewers and plastic wrap I managed to wrap it well enough for transport. And off to work we went, the cake and I.

I told Jen the cake was in the kitchen, and made sure she understood that I would not be offended to hear if it wasn’t right. After all, I was just making an attempt. But when she came back from seeing it in the kitchen, there was joy in her voice and a smile on her face. It was incredibly close to her memory. It wasn’t tall enough – one more layer would have done it, and there weren’t enough peaks in the frosting. But otherwise, Wow!

But the satisfaction is bittersweet. I’m thrilled that I got so close to that distant cake memory, but Jen, I’m going to miss you around the office. We made a great team. Good luck with your new job, and I’ll be sure to say hi when we bump into each other in the grocery store (or casino!)

Marshmallow Frosting
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c corn syrup
flavoring (vanilla, grenadine, your choice)

Beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.
Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form.
With beaters still running, slowly add corn syrup and flavoring.

Why Have Fish for Dinner? For the Halibut!

I know, dumb joke. But I say it every single time I buy, cook or eat halibut. My family expects it now. And it makes ME laugh!

We’ve actually had this halibut (snicker) in our freezer for a while. A neighbor gave it to us several months ago, and I just have never done anything with it. When I pulled it out to thaw yesterday, I figured I’d go to my fall-back fish cooking method…butter, lemon, and pepper. But the closer I got to cooking time, the less I wanted the same-old, same-old. So, once again, the internet. (How did people cook without it?) I found a couple of recipes for rubs and I took bits and pieces from them and finished up with this beautiful (just look at that color!) rub.

And the flavor! KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF! I just wish I had only put the rub on the top of the fillet because it completely overshadowed the fish – very bold flavor. But good.

And it’ll make a delicious lunch tomorrow with a salad!

Spicy Fish Rub
Mix together:
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T salt
1 T garam masala
2 T chili powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper
3 T paprika
2 tsp allspice
1 T black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin

Coat top of fish fillet with mixture. Place on baking sheet & let rest for 20-30 minutes.
Cook at 425 until cooked through.

It’s All Greek To Me

Now I’m sure that this is not an old Greek family recipe, lovingly passed down from one generation to the next. And it’s probably not one you’ll ever find on the menu in a Greek restaurant, but it should be. I would totally order it all the time.

Farmer Paul’s new job has him working the swing shift which means he leaves for work about 1 hour after I get home. Crappy timing if I’m going to insist on still having a family dinner. But, the good news is that we’re done with dinner so much earlier that I can spend my evenings getting ready for tomorrow’s dinner. (OK, maybe not such good news!) And luckily I’ve got capable children and a helpful mother who get things going before I walk in the door.

When I pulled these chicken leg quarters out of the freezer, I intended to cook them teriyaki, but when it came time to assemble in the crock pot this morning, I just wasn’t in a teriyaki state of mind. A quick internet search, and I found this recipe (I modified it a bit from the original.) It took about 20 minutes this morning to throw it all in the crock pot before I left for work. When the boys came home, they switched the crock pot off and by the time I walked in the door, I just had to do a couple of side dish things and dinner was set!

This is definitely going in my recipe rotation. Everyone, except Ryan, loved it. But he doesn’t like much lately…except grilled cheese. I’ll give credit to Farmer Paul and the junior farmers of the family for the great chicken I had to start with, but as for the recipe execution, the credit is mine…all mine!

Greek Crock Pot Chicken
8 bone-in chicken legs and/or thighs
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 large carrots, cut in 1″ pieces
1 large onion, cut in 8 pieces
1/4 cup crushed tomatoes (you could use tomato paste if you had it.)
1/2 c dry sherry
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (c’mon! buy a real lemon! don’t use the bottled fake stuff)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 clove garlic, crushed

Brown chicken in a large pan in olive oil, turning to brown all sides. Place chicken in crock pot.
Dump remaining ingredients in crock pot. Stir to combine.
Cook on low for 6 – 6 1/2 hours.

I served this with orzo pasta that I tossed with butter, lemon juice, oregano, salt & pepper. The juice from the chicken, drizzled over the orzo was perfect. It was good. Very, very good.