Chinese New Year Chicken Potstickers

Warning:  this food is ugly.  But very tasty.  Honestly, I haven't ever seen much Chinese food that is terribly visually appealing, so I suppose this fits right in.  My oldest daughter is in a Chinese Immersion program at school, meaning that half of her school day is taught entirely in Chinese.  She is loving it, and has picked up on stuff amazingly fast.  Tomorrow is Chinese New Year, so we celebrated a day early and I gave potstickers a try for the first time.  They came out quite well, though I will have to tinker with my gas stove and how fast it heats the oil up.

 First, I sauteed diced chicken and mushrooms in a little olive oil (to be more authentic, I should have used sesame oil but I didn't have any on hand).  Then I added in some freshly grated ginger root, minced garlic, and seasoned it with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, a bit of brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste.  Then I transferred the mixture to my new zippy little food processor (Christmas gift - hooray!).

 A few quick pulses and it was finely chopped, perfect for filling the potstickers.  I like chunks and discernable veggies in my egg rolls, but not potstickers.  They need to be smooth.

Use small round wrappers, found with the egg roll wrappers, usually in the produce section.  Lay out 8-10 on a work surface.  Meanwhile, in a large lidded skillet, heat up a thin layer of vegetable oil.

 Plop a scant tablespoon full of filling in the center of each one.  Dip your fingers into a little bowl of water and moisten the wrapper half way around the rim.

 Pinch each closed, squeezing excess air out.  Now you're ready to cook!

 I took a picture of my first batch, which turned out to brown a bit too quickly.  I still haven't gotten used to the remarkable power of a gas range.  I had it at medium for these, and it was too hot - they browned within seconds of being put into the oil.  I cooked the rest of them much closer to low.  Anyway, fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned, then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan.  I learned the hard way that it spatters like CRAZY.  I suggest having the lid nearly in place, and just sneak the water in and immediately close the lid the rest of the way.  Allow them to steam until all of the water evaporates, about 5-6 minutes, and remove to a serving plate.

 Yep, ugly.  But delicious.  I like the soft-but-chewy-in-places exterior, and the savory, flavorful filling.  I dipped some of mine in orange sauce, but mostly just enjoyed them plain.  These got universal thumbs up from the peanut gallery except for my 3 1/2 year old who was suspicious of the filling.

Chinese New Year Chicken Potstickers


1 raw chicken breast, diced into 1/2" chunks
6 large mushrooms, quartered
1 T. olive oil (or sesame oil)
1 t. freshly grated ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. low sodium soy sauce
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Potsticker wrappers
canola oil

In a medium skillet, saute the chicken and mushrooms over medium heat until the juices run clear from the chicken.  Stir in the remaining ingredients down to the salt and pepper and saute for another 2-3 minutes until the flavors are well mixed.  Scoop the mixture into a food processor and pulse a few times until everything is finely chopped.

Lay out 8-10 potsticker wrappers on a work surface.  Meanwhile, pour a thin layer of oil in a large lidded skillet and let it heat up over medium low heat.  Scoop a scant tablespoon of filling onto each wrapper, moisten half way around with your finger dipped in water, and pinch to close, squeezing out the excess air.  Lay the potstickers down in an even layer in the hot oil and let them cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly golden.

Then, position the pan lid so that it's almost closed and pour 1/4 cup water in.  Immediately close the lid the rest of the way and let the potstickers steam for 5-6 minutes, until all of the water has evaporated.  Remove with tongs.  You may allow them to drain some of the oil off on a paper towel, then serve immediately either plain or with your favorite dipping sauce.  This will yield about 24.

PW's Baba Ghanoush

PW's Baba Ghanoush recipe caught my eye. I enjoy middle eastern food, and am unafraid to try new things, even things with eggplant as the starring ingredient. I have only tried to cook eggplant one other time during a pregnancy induced vegetarian kick and it didn't come out very well. That was two babies and a few years ago, so I figured it was time to give it another chance.

It's such a pretty vegetable, after all. How can you resist that smooth, richly colored, gorgeously plump exterior? First things first - I pricked them all over as instructed, then popped them under the broiler turned on high.

About 30 minutes later, with many flips with tongs, this is how they came out. Kinda ugly. But I'm not worried. Roasted stuff always looks a little funky, but with the funk comes excellent flavor.

My mom was in town and helping me with this particular experiment, and when I split open the skins to expose the slimy stringy innards with little seeds, she expressed her skepticism.

But I'm pleased to report that when mixed with the right things, it turns into quite a tasty concoction! The texture is similar to guacamole, the flavor quite close to hummus. It's the perfect accompaniment to pita chips, and I also made a vegetable sandwich on toasted sourdough with a thick layer of baba ghanoush slathered on it - very tasty. I nibbled on some more of it today, and noticed that the garlic flavor is gaining more potency, so I'd suggest that if you're not going to eat it all at once, to ease off on the garlic.

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Baba Ghanoush

3 whole medium eggplants (or 2 large)

4 T. tahini (sesame paste)

3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced

kosher salt to taste

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Prick the surface of each eggplant several times with a fork. On the grill or under the broiler (set to high), blacken/char the eggplants for 25 minutes or so, rotating frequently, until the skin is completely shriveled and dark and the eggplant is fall apart tender. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the other ingredients.

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When cool enough to handle, peel off the skin enough to get a spoon into each eggplant and scrape out the flesh into a bowl, seeds and all. Mash the eggplant with a fork (I used a pastry blender) until you achieve a relatively smooth texture without being totally pureed. Add in all the other ingredients, stirring well and tasting before adjusting seasonings or other ingredients.

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Be cautious with the salt if you are using table salt as it is easier to over do it than with kosher or sea salt. Serve at room temperature or cool with chips, pita wedges, crusty baguette slices, etc.

Goin' Greek!

I just spent a week at home. Home home. Where I grew up. Every time I head that way, I start salivating, and since I was driving solo this time and had to actually stay awake in the car, I had plenty of time to think. We ate very, very well and by the end of the week I had an extra 4 pounds of flab to show for it. But I don't regret one single bite - it was all delicious! I made a rockin' batch of pesto that was so good that my nephew requested to have it again for his birthday dinner today. What 9 year old craves pesto?? A very smart one, in my book. Leigh Anne and Emily's super good chewy chocolate chip cookies disappeared very fast, even though we doubled the batch. A late night gathering with creme brulee (torch your own sugar is always a draw) was quite a hit, and the last night I was there I had a sudden hankering for homemade butterscotch sauce. So I headed to the grocery store at 9:00 p.m. to get the necessary ingredients. Did I mention that this trip was not good for my waistline?

So the point of this post is to share some lovely Greek food that my mom made for us one evening. I have to confess to not being super duper impressed by most Greek that I've eaten, but this dinner really rocked my socks. Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients - much of this can be prepared earlier in the day and it's definitely not complicated. The layers of flavor in the pita pockets were just amazing. My mom makes her own pitas. I've done it once. They're a tad tricky and tend to fry oven elements like many of the other breads I bake at high heat, but they're several notches above storebought ones in quality. Case in point, mom took some of this dinner to share with an elderly woman in the neighborhood. This woman had earlier expressed her dislike for "Mormon bread" (translation: whole wheat), so mom grabbed some "white man" (our family's term) pitas at the store for her. The woman is blind, and my mom was horrified to notice as the first bite was headed for her mouth that the pita had mold all over it! Nasty! Yet another example of why homemade is best.

On with the recipes. The souvlaki and tzatziki sauce came from Allrecipes.

Chicken Souvlaki Gyro Style

Souvlaki marinade:
3/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
3 T. lemon juice
1 T. dried oregano
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Mix the marinade ingredients in a large ziploc bag. Add the chicken, seal and refrigerate for at least one hour. Preheat a grill to high heat, remove chicken from marinade (discard remaining marinade) and grill on both sides for about 8 minutes each until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Let chicken stand for about 10 minutes before slicing into thin strips.

Meanwhile, make tzatziki sauce.

1/2 cup seeded, shredded cucumber
1 t. kosher salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 T. rice vinegar
1 t. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. chopped fresh dill
1/2 t. Greek seasoning
kosher salt and coarse pepper to taste

Toss the shredded cucumber with 1 t. kosher salt and allow to sit at least 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix the yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, rice vinegar and olive oil. Season with garlic, fresh dill and Greek seasoning. Squeeze the cucumber to remove any excess water, and stir into sauce. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Now you can't leave out the other players. It's the condiments that really make this great! We whipped up a quick batch of homemade hummus first.

1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1-2 cloves garlic
1-2 T. lemon juice
1-2 T. olive oil
kosher salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor (preferred) or a blender (but be prepared to be scraping and fussing with it to get it all to process) and pulse on low until ingredients are pureed and well incorporated. Adjust liquid and salt to taste.

We also made a batch of Greek vinaigrette dressing:

1 cup olive oil
3 t. garlic powder
3 t. dried oregano
3 t. dried basil
2 t. pepper
2 t. salt
2 t. onion powder
2 t. Dijon mustard
1 1/3 cups red wine vinegar

Mix together all ingredients except the vinegar until well incorporated. Pour in the vinegar and mix vigorously until well blended.

The other players:

Pita pockets, cut in half
Kalamata olives (pitted)
Feta cheese crumbles
Diced fresh tomatoes
Shredded romaine lettuce
Pepperoncinis or tangy marinated red peppers (pictured above)
Red onion, thinly sliced

Lay all the goodies out and let everyone make their own gyro to suit their taste. Me, I like all of it! The pita wasn't big enough :). This would be a great luncheon buffet, in my opinion, and like I already said, most of this can be prepared well in advance and would be easy to pull out at the last minute.

Quick Tagine Style Chicken (Rachael Ray's recipe)

This is a mellow, flavorful dish. The sort of ethnic dish that appeals to even unadventurous palates, though it is a bit ugly :). I found it to be quick to put together and my kids even liked it. Here you go:

Ingredients:

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, smashed

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large bite sized pieces (I used 3 breasts)

1 medium yellow skinned onion, quartered and sliced

10 pitted prunes, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins

2 cups chicken stock

Spice blend:

1 1/2 t. each cumin and sweet paprika

1/2 t. each ground coriander and turmeric

1/8 t. cinnamon

Couscous:

1 1/2 cups chicken stock (I actually just dumped the whole can in, and it came out fine)

1 1/2 cups couscous

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 scallions, finely chopped (I used the whole thing, and wish I would have just used the green part)

Condiments:

Chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsely

Finely chopped scallions

Mango chutney

Directions:

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and add smashed garlic. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper and scatter the chicken around the pan in an even layer. Cook chicken pieces 2 minutes on each side to brown, then add the onions, prunes, raisins and stock. Mix spices in a small dish and scatter over the pot. Cover and reduce to moderate heat. Cook for 7-8 minutes, remove the lid and stir.

To prepare the couscous, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the couscous, olive oil and scallions, and remove the couscous from the stove immediately. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Uncover the chicken and cook anotehr 2-3 minutes to thicken slightly. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve chicken on a bed of couscous with desired garnishes.

Peshwari Naan (Indian flat bread loaded with yummy stuff)

Just like the Tikka Masala, this takes a little planning ahead. But it's so worth it. The dough is best if allowed to rise for several hours, so I usually put the meat marinade together around noon while the yeast is proofing for this, then finish up the dough and let it rest until 5 or so when I'm ready to put it the rest of the way together. Here's the dough recipe:

Peshwari Naan

2 c. flour mixed with 1 t. baking powder
½ cup warm water
½ cup warm milk
½ t. sugar
¾ t. yeast
½ t. salt
¼ t. cardamom
1 ½ T. plain yogurt
1 ½ T. oil
Additional flour for kneading, 1-2 cups

Mix milk, water and yeast in a bowl and set aside for 15-20 minutes. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the yogurt and oil. Gradually stir in the milk mixture, and you will have a nice soupy mess. Stir in additional flour until a soft dough forms. Knead well, adding small amounts of flour as necessary to prevent sticking, and place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Set in a warm place and allow it to rise for 4-6 hours until about double.
Here's the filling. 1/2 cup cashews, 1/2 cup golden raisins and 1/2 cup coconut all chopped finely. If I had a food processer I'd toss it all in there, but alas I am stuck with an old fashioned knife and cutting board. I actually like the filling to be a bit coarser.

Put your chopped nuts and fruit into a bowl and stir in enough honey to stick it all together nicely, 4-5 tablespoons, and a healthy dash of cardamom. The cardamom really makes this awesome. Now snitch a little bit (it's irresistable), and set it aside for a minute.

Turn your dough out on a well floured surface and divide into fourths. Take a healthy scoop of filling and plop it into the center of one of your dough chunks.

Pinch the dough closed around it.

Then roll it out as flat as you can. It's ok if some of the bits of nut poke through, but you want to keep it as intact as possible.

In the past, I baked these in my oven with it set to the hottest temperature possible. I managed to fry two elements and a thermostat doing it. I recently discovered the wonders of grilled pizza, thanks to Our Best Bites, and decided to try naan on the grill. It worked great! I brushed the them with butter, then flipped them butter side down on the grill for a couple of minutes until they had nice char lines and were golden brown. Then I brushed butter on the uncooked side and flipped them over for another minute or two. Beware - they cook very fast! Especially on the bottom rack. I have also just thrown these on the grill dry and buttered them afterward with good results. When making a bulk batch, I found that if I floured the dough rounds well, then stacked them with wax paper between, I could have a dozen ready at a time to go on the grill. Once you pull them off, cover them with a towel to retain the heat, and the loaves will soften a bit as they stand, especially after you slather butter on.

These are just a tad more done than I'd like, but still very tasty. Immediately after removing them from the grill, brush them with a little more butter and drizzle each one with a tablespoon or so of honey. Spread around the sweetness, then cut into wedges. I could subsist on a diet consisting solely of this for many days and be a happy woman. My kids love it too.

Chicken Tikka Masala (also known as how to make my hubby very, very happy)

This is a favorite at our house. I don't make it real often because a) it's time consuming and requires a fair amount of forethought and b) the sauce is half cream and totally doesn't work with half n' half (I've tried). But it's sooooo good. We love ethnic food, and this is one dish that Alan always orders when we go out for Indian, so after a fair amount of tweaking I've come up with a version he deems tasty. Don't freak out over the list of spices. It's not hard to make, just takes time because you have to marinate the meat. I also always make peshwari naan to go with it, a wonderful flat bread stuffed with nuts, raisins and cardamom, so the real trick is in getting your groove down to have the masala timed to be done at the same time as the bread. On the fifth or sixth time, I finally got it down pat.Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. cumin
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. cayenne
1 t. black pepper
1 T. minced fresh ginger
2 t. salt
½ t. curry powder
1 t. garam masala
1/2 t. turmeric (optional)
pinch of cloves
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

Mix all ingredients together in a gallon plastic bag and allow to marinate for 2-4 hours. It looks kind of nasty. Just don't think about it too much. Then thread chicken on either metal skewers or wooden skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes. Grill until no longer pink, and the edges are lightly charred. Meanwhile, begin your sauce:


1 T. butter
1 large annaheim pepper, diced (if you like more heat, use a jalapeno instead)
1-2 shallots, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t. cumin
1 t. paprika
½ t. cardamom
2 t. garam masala
pinch cloves
16 oz. can tomato sauce
2 cups cream
¼ chopped fresh cilantro

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the peppers, shallots, and garlic for a few minutes until the peppers begin to soften. Add the spices and sauté for another minute.

Reduce the heat to medium low and add the tomato sauce and cream, stirring until well combined. It'll look wimpy, thin and pale orange like this:

Simmer the sauce for 10-15 minutes until it begins to thicken and deepen in color. Then grab your chicken. See how nice the chicken looks?

Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer for another 15 or so minutes until the color is vibrant and the sauce is the consistency of gravy. Stir in the cilantro at the very end, just prior to serving.

Serve on a bed of basmati rice with wedges of peshwari naan on the side. The sweetness of the bread filling is the perfect counterpoint to the savory and spicy masala.