Projects

Not much of a post.  I’m anxious waiting to hear about a job, so I spent a couple of hours today wrapping lots and lots of wontons and putting them in the freezer for quick meals in the future.  Working with my hands helps to keep me calm!   I’ll include my recipe for my favorite wonton filling, pork & shrimp.

Pork & Shrimp Wonton Filling

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 cup shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped in small pieces (but not minced)
• 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• white pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup minced shiitake mushrooms (rehydrated, if using dried) – optional

This filling will make around 60 wontons.

When freezing wontons, lay them out so they’re not touching each other on a baking sheet and stick in the freezer for 20 minutes.  Then you can move them into a zipbloc bag (otherwise, they will stick together if you don’t freeze them separately first).  I love having these in the freezer for a quick meal or snack in a moment’s notice!

TWD (Molasses Spice Cookies) and More

Life has been a flurry of activity lately.  We had a dear friend visiting; someone whose presence I started to miss the minute we dropped him back off at the airport after a couple of days together.  I baked this apple pie for him, and felt for the first time that I got my all-butter crust absolutely perfect – and I didn’t follow a recipe for the pie, just instincts and kept it very basic (granny smith apples tossed w/ cinnamon and sugar, a sprinkling of panko on the bottom crust to minimize sogginess).

And then there were these awesome scones for brunch – bacon, cheddar and scallion scones, which I will write about soon and share the recipe – they were so, so good and perfect as part of a special brunch spread.

After the weekend, I was absolutely drained.  But I thought I was still up for baking Dorie’s Molasses Spice Cookies.  I’ve made them before and they were perfect.  I knew they were easy, and sure enough, the dough came together in minutes.  I stuck it in the fridge for a few hours, rolled them out in little balls, tossed them into a bowl of sugar, and flattened them with my palm on a baking sheet.  They looked perfect going into the oven.

Tuesdays with Dorie – Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte

This is the first Tuesdays with Dorie recipe that I changed somewhat dramatically.  The recipe called for a thick cherry-accented brownie base topped with a mascarpone/cream cheese mousse after baking.  I followed the brownie recipe almost exactly, but instead of baking it and then topping it with the mousse, I altered the mousse recipe to make a cheesecake layer for the brownie, swirled it lightly, and then baked it all together.

Tuesdays with Dorie – Sweet Potato Biscuits

I absolutely love sweet potatoes, so I was excited about this week’s TWD project!  I made these as part of our Sunday morning brunch spread (along with an apple crisp and bacon – a strange brunch, to say the least!).  I halved the recipe and found it to be a very easy dough to work with.  I always freeze my butter for about 30 minutes before I make biscuits, and I didn’t think I overworked the dough, but  my biscuits didn’t rise as high as I would have liked.  A few other people mentioned this over at the P&Q page for this week so I’m glad I wasn’t alone.  Perhaps it was my own fault for spending the last five minutes of baking time staring at the biscuits through the oven door hoping they would rise more!  Perhaps a watched biscuit doesn’t rise? 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Quick post today!  I made this recipe from Everyday Food except in cupcake form.  I used bittersweet chocolate, baked them for 21 minutes and came out with 20 lovely little pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes that were a huge hit.  Make these!!  They’re quick, easy and so good.    And your home will smell like fall as they’re baking.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Tuesdays with Dorie – Allspice Crumb Cake (Muffins)

As you can see, I didn’t feel like putting crumbs on individual muffins, so I just plopped all the batter into an 8 x 8 pan, spread all the crumb topping over the top, and baked it for 36 minutes – it was perfect!  These went straight to a gathering, but I saved this lone square so that I could take a few pictures the next day.  I didn’t eaten any of it, but it smelled amazing coming out of the oven and they were a big hit.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve always loved fall, even when it was time to start school again.  It has always felt refreshing, like a new beginning and a time to reorganize.  I love stepping outside for a run and feeling crisp, cool air in my lungs and I love bundling up in sweaters and blankets at home.  This fall, we live somewhere new and are making new friends, and I’ll (hopefully) be starting a new job in not too long, and I feel mostly excited about what’s to come.  Though I also feel homesick a lot these days, but not for a particular place, since my family and friends are so spread out.  I’m most homesick for my parents, as I haven’t seen them for over a year, and am counting down the days until I visit them in California in December.  Often, when I feel a bit sad and homesick, the best remedy is to cook and bake familiar foods.  I’ve been cooking a lot of homestyle Chinese dishes that remind me of my mother, and then there are these cookies.  Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies have always been a favorite of mine, but I’m extremely particular about them.  I don’t like ones that are big and flat, and like them to be chock full of oatmeal.  These are my perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  They hold their round shape when baking, have a crisp exterior, only a cup of flour to the three cups of oats, and they’re tiny – two or three bites, big enough to satisfy a sweet craving under 100 calories, but not so big as to send you into a sugar high after one.

Tuesdays with Dorie – Split Level Pudding

We’re really not fans of pudding around here, so for this week’s TWD, I doctored the recipe to make just a single serving so that I could still participate.  Though it’s usually not my style to make something lowfat (as I can usually just send the decadent sweets away for others to consume), I used organic lowfat milk and reduced the sugar drastically, so that I could actually eat it.  I’ve only had a bite and it’s still very good – nice and pure vanilla flavor with that bit of chocolate swirled in.  I’ll enjoy it as an afternoon snack later today. 

For more pudding, please visit the Tuesdays with Dorie page and for this week’s recipe, visit this week’s host, Garrett of Flavor of Vanilla.

Vietnamese Braised Pork with Eggs

I have to admit that I’ve never been one to stray away from braised stew-like dishes during the summer.  I will make Boeuf Bourguignon in the heat of summer, and never hesitate to turn on my oven to bake, no matter how hot it is out.  I have to admit, this is probably because I’ve always been spoiled with well-ventilated living spaces, as well as air-conditioning.  In any case, I’m thrilled that the cool weather of fall is setting in, and decided to cook something warming and appropriate for the season.

Tuesdays with Dorie – Chocolate Crunched Caramel Tart

It felt great to get back into the TWD routine after a few weeks off with my ankle injury.  I was excited about making this tart – the pictures looked great in the book and it didn’t seem too complicated.  We’ve made a few tarts since I joined TWD more than a year ago, so I’ve had a lot of practice with the sweet tart dough.  I’m proud to say that I made it without even looking at the recipe and that it came out perfectly – making tart pastry used to really intimidate me, but being “forced” to do it a few times with TWD has taken away my anxiety.