Pot Stickers

A friend of my family's shared this recipe with me (something not often done). There aren't many solid measurements in this recipe. It simply takes a lot of practice, which she certainly has.  She makes these in large quantities, and then freezes them in order to pull them out for hungry football watchers. I made these one year for a potluck, and nobody ever let me forget it. Very time consuming, but extremely worth it.

Dough:

Flour
Boiling Water --- Finish with Cold Water

Pour water over flour until moist. Mix and knead until a dough forms. Set aside and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Filling:

A mixture of Ground Pork and Turkey
Cabbage

The ratio of cabbage to meat will be 2 :: 1. So if you have 2 pounds of meat, you will need 4 pounds of cabbage.

1 Bunch Green Onion, chopped fine
2 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger, chopped fine
Shitake Mushrooms (7-10) soaked for 1-2 hours, chopped finely
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Sesame Oil
1-2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Sugar
Dash of Salt

Take cabbage and chop fine, either by hand or with a food processor. Place cabbage in a collander and squeeze out excess water. Blend cabbage with salt. Mix meat with all ingredients (except cabbage), and mix well. Add cabbage just before you're ready to cook the potstickers, and mix well. Take the dough and separate it into equal parts. Take each part and roll into long skinny cylindars, with a width slightly larger than that of a quarter. Slice the cylindars into half inch pieces. Take each piece and roll into 2 inch disks. Take a teaspoon of the filling and place in the middle of each disk. Fold each disk in half and press to seal. Pinch the ends as well and crease to seal. To cook them (remember, the filling inside is raw) place them in a large pan of canola oil. Cook for 15 minutes, or until golden brown on the outside. These also freeze well. When you cook them from frozen, place in a pan of water. Boil until dough is soft. Remove just long enough to oil the pan, and return potstickers to pan. Cook until brown on each side

Dipping Sauce:

1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger, chopped finely
5-8 Cloves Garlic, chopped finely
2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, chopped finely
1/2-3/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup White Vinegar (or less, if you prefer)
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4-1/2 Cup Sesame Oil
1 heaping Tablespoon Korean Chile Powder

Mix all ingredients in a medium size bowl, and serve with potstickers. This sauce is also excellent to marinate chicken in or to make fried rice with.

If you have leftover filling (which you probably will) roll it into bite size balls. Brown in a frying pan until each side is brown, and then finish in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Serve with the above sauce. A peanut butter soy sauce is an excellent dipping sauce as well.

Beer Battered Onion Rings

If I remember correctly, I found this recipe in a magazine. Hands down, one of my favorite bar foods. Serve with ketchup, or your favorite dipping sauce. I love a fry sauce (ketchup and mayo) with a little smoky kick (as you would get from chipotle).

Batter:

1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon Melted Butter or Canola Oil
2 Egg Yolks, beaten

Add gradually, and stir constantly:

3/4 Cup Flat Beer (either an Amber or Pale Ale work well)

Allow the batter to rest in the refridgerator, covered for 3-12 hours.

Combine:

2 Walla-Walla Sweet Onions, cut into rings
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Milk

Soak onions in liquid for an hour. Lay out on paper towel to drain. Cover onions in batter. Pick up four to five rings at a time, and drain off the excess batter before frying. Fry in a deep fat fryer, with the oil (Canola), heated to 365 degrees,  filling about a third of the fryer. Fry until onion rings are golden brown. Take out and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper while still hot, and serve.

Artichoke Dip

This is a very versatile recipe. This is the original.

1 (8 ounce) can Artichoke Hearts, water packed (not marinated)
1 (7 ounce) can Green Chiles, chopped
1 Cup Mayo
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

Mix all ingredients and put into a shallow baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until golden brown around the edges, and bubbling. Serve warm with tortilla chips or crackers.

I've tweaked this recipe serveral time to make it my own. Adding a pre-made pesto is excellent, as are some sundried tomatoes, or, my personal favorite, roasted garlic.

Cheese Ball

Here's the quintessential holiday cheeseball.

2 Large Packages Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 Jar Kraft Bleu Cheese
1 Jar Kraft Sharp Cheddar
1 teaspoon Onion, minced
Chopped Walnuts

Rub a chilled bowl with garlic. Mix all ingredients well. Chill until able to roll into a ball (chilling the bowl before hand will help this process). Roll ball in chopped walnuts and serve with crackers.

Cheese and Olive Spread

I'm not sure where this recipe came from, but it's delicious. The spread is even good cold on baguette. 

1 Can Chopped Olives
3-4 Green Onions, chopped finely
1/2-3/4 Cup of Mayo
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 Loaf of French or Italian Baguette

Mix all ingredients together and spread onto baguette slices. Toast under broiler until cheese is melted and golden brown around the edges.

White Bean and Bacon Dip with Rosemary Pita Chips

I found this recipe in a cooking magazine. Delicious!!

Chips:

1/2 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/8 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
3 (6-inch) Pitas, cut into 8 Wedges
Cooking Spray

Dip:

2 Slices Bacon, cooked and chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/3 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Can (19 ounce) Cannelini Beans, drained
1/4 Cup (1/2 Bunch) Green Onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
Dash of Tabasco Sauce
Dash of Salt
Dash of Paprika

Preheat oven to 350. To prepare chips, combine spices listed above. Oil wedges slightly so seasoning will stick. Arrange wedges on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with the seasoning mixture. Bake for 20 minutes, or until wedges are golden brown. To prepare dip, cook bacon until crisp. Add garlic to drippings in pan after removing bacon. Cook for one minute, stirring frequently, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add broth and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Combine bean mixture, onion and remaining ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Spoon mixture into a serving bowl. Stir in one strip of crumbled bacon. Sprinkle with remaining bacon and serve with the pita chips.

Hush Puppies

I found this recipe in a cookbook called "Dinner and a Movie", a cookbook inspired by a TV bit on TBS years ago.

1 1/2 Cups Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Dash of Tabasco
1/2 Bunch Green Onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
 1 Egg, beaten
1 Cup Buttermilk
8 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Can Whole Corn
Vegetable Oil for Frying

Cook bacon until crisp. Cool and crumble. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, including cheese. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients, adding the bacon and green onion. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir together until well incorporated. Mixture will be thick, like pancake batter. Add water if it's too thick. Take large spoonfuls and drop into hot oil. Fry until both sides are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Finally, take the hot hush puppies and roll in Parmesan cheese.

Stuffed Mushrooms

This is one of our family favorites. Most often, this is a one of our holiday appetizers.

1 Pound Fresh Mushrooms
1 Bunch Green Onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon Basil
Dash of Salt and Pepper
Splash of Dry White Wine

Take the stems out of the mushrooms and chopped finely. Saute with green onion and garlic in butter over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until cheese is melted and ingredients are well incorporated. Spoon mixture into mushroom caps. Place in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, until caps are slightly soft. Serve hot.

Cancun Fiesta Dip

This is always a hit at football parties, or any party for that matter. I found this recipe on the back of a bag of tortilla chips. It was so good, that I've kept it in my arsenal. Once youi've cooked everything and put it together, you can put it in a crockpot and turn it on low and let it cook until you're ready to serve. This is an alternative to baking it. I've tried it both ways, and both are great.

*3/4 Pound Chorizo, or Turkey Sausage
2 Cans Black or Pinto Beans
1-8 Ounce can Tomato Sauce
2 Cans Black Olives, sliced
2 Tablespoons Taco Sauce
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Bunch Green Onions, chopped fine
3/4 Cup Onion, chopped fine

Brown sausage, and drain on paper towels. Cook beans and white onion, uncovered, for 5 minutes, until bubbling. Add sausage, tomato and taco sauces. Combine, cheese, olives, and green onions. Add half the mixture to the bean mixture. Pour into a one quart baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Once it's out of the oven, top with remaining cheese mixture and serve with chips. The leftovers make excellent burrito fillers as well.

*A note about the sausage: I buy the large chorizo link. The casing is easy to take off. Just take a knife and run it lengthwise down the sausage and peel the casing back.

Empanadas

This recipe is a little scary, because I actually translated it from a high school Spanish text book. I can't quite remember why I did this. It may have been an assignment, but I can't remember. But these are delicious, so I must have done something right.

Start by making the dough:

2 Cups Flour
Dash of Salt
1 Cup Shortning
1/4 Cup Water

Mix all ingredients well. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. Using your hands, roll the dough into small balls, and then with your hand, or a small lid, flatten the dough balls into 5 inch disks.

Filling:

1 Pound Ground Beef
1 Large Onion, diced
5 Eggs, Hard-Boiled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 Cup Olives, chipped
1 teaspoon Cumin
Salt and Pepper

Cook meat and drain off excess fat. Add onion and cook until tender (about one minute) Add paprika, cumin, olives, salt and pepper and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes. Take off the heat and let the filling cool down. Add about a teaspoon of filling to each disk. Add the eggs on top of the filling. Brush edge of dough with water. Close and seal them using your fingers or a fork.

You can either:

Place empanadas in a frying pan with Canola oil. Cook for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

-OR-

Bake at 375-degrees for 25 minutes.

Intro

So for those who know me, you know that I love food as much, if not more, than I love movies. So these entries are recipes that have been used over and over again in my family, and some of my own creation. I love to cook and experiment with new things, and try new methods, so every once and awhile, I'll post a new recipe that I've tried. I'll also throw in some tips (if I have anything valuable to share, that is) I have a hand-written cookbook that I've been writing stuff in for a long time, so I'll start by posting those recipes. Feel free to steal these recipes and try to pass them off as your own. As always, I love comments, so feel free to post a comment about a recipe you found on my blog, or a suggestion for a recipe. Finally, I love having people over to cook for. So if you're brave enough when I feel the urge to try something new, you're welcome to come over and be my guinea pigs.