Potstickers

Obviously, I've been on an Asian food kick lately!  I've had a few recipes that I wanted to try, so last week I finally got around to it.  These potstickers are amazing!  But, they're also pretty time-consuming, so just be prepared.  I didn't use the bok choy, so I can't say for sure how that would turn out.  The wonton wrappers were pretty easy to use - you can find them in the produce section usually.  Mine were square, so I ended up with triangles instead of semi-circles like in the picture.  The first night we made them, we followed this recipe, but I will say that I was very worried about the frying and steaming in the same pan - so be VERY careful if you try to do this.  We went ahead and made all of the potstickers and kept half in the fridge overnight.  The next night we didn't fry them, we just steamed them in a large pot with a steamer tray.  This seemed much safer - but of course this makes them more like dumplings and less like potstickers, but they still have the same flavor.  I found the sauce recipe on a different website and definitely recommend making it to serve with the potstickers.


Photo from: blogs.babble.com

Potstickers from: blogs.babble.com
Ingredients:
1 cup finely shredded bok choy or napa cabbage (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 lb. lean ground pork
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. soy sauce (or to taste)
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 pkg. wonton or gyoza wrappers, thawed if frozen
canola oil
chicken or veggie stock, or water

If you’re using it, toss the cabbage with salt in a medium bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Pick it up in your hand and squeeze out the excess liquid, draining it as well as you can. Add the pork, green onions, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar and sesame oil and mix it all up with your hands.

To fill wontons, place a small spoonful of filling in the middle of each wrapper; moisten the edges with water (just use your finger) and fold over, pressing the edge tightly to seal. Place seam side up on a cookie sheet, pressing lightly to flatten the bottom. Cover with a tea towel to prevent them from drying out. (Dumplings can be prepared up to this point, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen.)

When you’re ready to cook the potstickers, heat a drizzle of canola oil in a largeish skillet set over medium-high heat. Place half the dumplings at a time in the skillet and cook for a minute or two, until deep golden brown on the bottom, shaking the pan a few times to keep them from sticking. Don’t crowd the pan too much.

Pour about 1/4 cup stock or water into the pan. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes – this will allow them to steam, cooking them through.

Makes 2 – 3 dozen potstickers.

Each: 45 calories, 1 g total fat (0.2 g saturated fat, 0.4 g monounsaturated fat, 0.3 g polyunsaturated fat), 3 g protein, 5.9 g carbohydrate, 5.2 mg cholesterol, 0.4 g fiber. 20% calories from fat.

Potsticker Dipping Sauce
From: goodcheapeats.com

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh minced ginger (I buy this is a tube so I always have some)
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 Tablespoons sugar

Combine all ingredients in glass dish.  Serve with potstickers.

Glazed Pork Roast with Carrots, Parsnips & Pears

Photo from finecooking.com

Kent found this recipe on finecooking.com after we had bought a large bag of pears and were looking for a way to use them.  This was a really interesting recipe with a lot of different flavors.  My only complaint was that the parsnips were a little tougher than I would have liked.  I would advise cutting them much smaller than the carrots so that they can cook a little more.

Glazed Pork Roast with Carrots, Parsnips & Pears
Ingredients:
One 2-lb. center-cut boneless pork loin roast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 Tbs. Dijon or grainy mustard
1-1/2 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. roughly chopped fresh sage
1/2 lb. carrots (3 or 4), peeled
1/2 lb. parsnips (3 or 4), peeled
2 firm but ripe Bosc pears, quartered, cored, and stemmed
1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil; more for the pan

Directions:
Heat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil the bottom of a medium roasting pan or 15x10-inch Pyrex dish and set the pork in the center. Season the pork with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix the mustard, honey, and half of the sage; spread on the top and sides of the pork. If the carrots and parsnips are thick (about 1 inch or larger around), cut them in half or quarters lengthwise so that they’re all roughly the same thickness (about 1/2 inch thick at their thickest part). Toss the vegetables and pear wedges with the1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil and the remaining sage, season with salt and several grinds of pepper, and arrange around the pork.

Pour 1/2 cup water into the pan and roast in the center of the oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 145°F, 30 to 45 minutes. (The cooking time will vary widely depending on the thickness of the roast; start checking early, and check frequently once the temperature reaches 130°F.) Transfer the pork to a carving board. (If the vegetables and pears aren't fully tender by the time the pork is done, return them to the oven until tender, 5 to 10 minutes.) Let the pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing thinly. Serve with vegetables, pears, and pan juices.

Pork Chops with Fennel and Caper Sauce

This recipe may seem a little complicated, but it actually did not take very long to prepare. Kent and I love Mediterranean food but usually end up sticking to the same flavors. We had not cooked with fennel much before and really loved the way this dish turned out! The leftovers were great! We used 6 smaller pork chops instead of 4 large ones and cooked them for less time.

Pork Chops with Fennel and Caper Sauce

(From Giada de Laurentiis)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
4 boneless (2-inch-thick) pork chops (about 2 pounds total)
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning meat
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning meat
2 fennel bulbs with fronds, thinly sliced (about 8 ounces or 2 cups)
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/3 cup
1/2 cup white wine
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juices
1/2 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons capers

Directions:

In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil over high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork to the pan and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes each side. Remove the pork from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and set aside.
Add the fennel, shallots, and 1/3 cup parsley to the pan and cook over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the pork back into the pan, nestling the chops between the fennel and tomatoes so they are mostly submerged in the pan juices. Cook until the fennel is tender and the pork is done, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Place the pork on a serving dish. To finish the sauce, add the lemon zest, remaining 1/3 cup parsley, capers, and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Spoon over the pork chops and serve immediately.

Hot and Sour Soup

I decided that it would be fun to have a Asian inspired theme week! So, I'll start by posting a new recipe that I tried this weekend. I will say that it was very time consuming, but also very tasty! It takes a while to make the chicken stock - so I might suggest using a store-bought stock and then heating it on the stove with the ingredients listed in "Chinese Chicken Stock" recipe that follows. Whole chickens are sometimes expensive, so if you do make your own stock look for sales in the poultry section and buy whatever is least expensive - I ended up buying a cut chicken. I also didn't have the BBQ pork, so I took out some of the chicken from the stock as soon as it was cooked through and used it in place of the pork. But if you happen to have leftover BBQ - this would be a great way to use it! This soup is very spicy and flavorful. Even though some of these ingredients are different, they are easy to find (Asian specialty section of the grocery store) and can be used in other Asian dishes.

Hot and Sour Soup
(Recipe by Tyler Florence)
4 dried Chinese fungi (about 1 ounce), such as wood ears or cloud ears (*I used shitake mushrooms)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon red chile paste, such as sambal oelek
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
1/4 pound barbecued pork, shredded
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch sugar
2 quarts Chinese Chicken Stock, recipe follows
1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Chopped green onions and cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions
Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.
Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Chinese Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.

Chinese Chicken Stock:
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
1 bunch green onions, halved
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3-inch piece fresh ginger, whacked open with the flat side of a knife
1 onion, halved
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
About 3 quarts cold water

Directions:
Put the chicken in a large stockpot and place over medium heat. Toss in the green onions, garlic, ginger, onion, and peppercorns. Pour about 3 quarts of cold water into the pot to cover the chicken by 1-inch. Simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, skimming off the foam on the surface periodically.
Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and pass the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the solids and excess fat. Cool the chicken stock to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, or chill it down over ice first.
Yield: About 2 quarts

Pork Roast with Jezebel Sauce

This is one of my favorite things that Kent makes. It has a great spicy sauce to put on the roast and always reminds me of Christmas time. If you need a main dish for a Holiday party, this works really well. It's very easy to double. It can also work well as an appetizer if you cut the pork into small medallions.

Pork Roast
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons hot sauce
6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 tablespoons pepper
1 (3- to 4-pound) boneless pork loin

Garnishes: paprika, fresh parsley sprigs, cracked black pepper

Method:
Stir together hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce; set aside.
Combine garlic salt and pepper.
Place pork in a lightly greased roasting pan. Brush all sides of pork loin with sauce mixture; sprinkle with garlic salt mixture.
Bake at 325° for 2 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 160°, shielding with aluminum foil the last 30 minutes. Let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Cut into slices. Serve with Jezebel Sauce; garnish if desired.

Jezebel Sauce
Ingredients:
1 (18-ounce) jar apple jelly
1 (18-ounce) jar apricot-pineapple preserves
1/4 cup dry mustard
2 tablespoons pepper
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Method:
Stir together all ingredients; serve with pork.

(This recipe comes from Southern Living.)

Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

This is one of my favorite meat dishes that Kent makes. We love to make it when we have guests over for dinner. And it is great left-over!

Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients:
1 pkg. of pork tenderloins (usually 2 come bundled together)
4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
4-6 gloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp. thyme
Olive oil

Method:
Clean silver skin and fat off of the tenderloins. Cut small slits in the tenderloins so that they can absorb more of the liquid. Rub down in balsamic vinegar (it may take more or less than the 4 tbsp. - use just enough to cover the tenderloins.) Mix the garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Then add small amounts of olive oil, stirring, until the mixture forms into a paste. Rub the paste into the tenderloins. Allow it to sit for 30-45 minutes. (You can do the marinating ahead of time and refrigerate until 20 minutes before you begin cooking.) Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees. Use a meat thermometer to determine when the tenderloins are finished - we like the thermometer to read 150-155 degrees (165 is the recommended safe temperature, but it may become dry.)

Suggested side dish - Grilled eggplant and zucchini
For 2 people use 1 large eggplant and 2 zucchini. Cut both ends off of the vegetables. Then slice lengthwise into long strips. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on a grill pan or George Foreman. When they are cooked through, drizzle with a balsamic vinaigrette. (A suggested vinaigrette can be found on the August 31st post below.) Other vegetables, like peppers or tomatoes could be used as well.