Pan-fried pork dumplings (Potstickers)

May21

I find any food that’s comprised of dough stuffed with meat – be it a pork bun, wonton or Russian pirozhok (chewy yeast dough stuffed with minced meat and deep-fried) – irresistible. Foods like this allow you to have your protein and starch in one bite and I’m all about that efficiency. I wonder who was first to try this cooking technique because frankly, she/he deserves a monument.

Store-bought dumpling skins and a few pantry staples make this recipe a breeze. If you have kids, feel free to recruit them to help fill the potstickers.

(Yield: 30 dumplings)

Ingredients:

2 scallions, chopped

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sriracha sauce (optional)

1 garlic clove, crushed

A pinch of salt

1 lb ground pork

About 30 store-bought dumpling skins

Vegetable oil

Procedure: In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Stir and add pork. Using your hands, gently mix all the ingredients until homogenous. Do not over-mix. To form a dumpling, place skin on a flat surface and add a heaping teaspoon of filling into the center. Dip an index finger into water and moisten half of the circumference of the dumpling skin (like a half moon). Then fold over and seal edges, making sure to seal out all air from the dumpling.

Repeat with remaining ingredients.

To cook, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom. Place 6-8 dumplings into skillet at once – do not overcrowd the pan. Fry 1-2 min, until dumplings are starting to brown. Then add about 1/4 c water into skillet, reduce heat to low and cover tightly with a lid. Let steam for about 5 min. When the water is almost entirely evaporated, remove lid and turn heat back up to medium. Cook 1-2 extra minutes, until the bottoms are brown. Remove dumplings from skillet and repeat with remaining pieces. Serve immediately.

Cape Cod Pasta

Sep5

For many, the name Cape Cod is associated with long days spent at the beach, cool nights spent by a bonfire, and lavish meals of seafood consumed whilst draped in a bib. This recipe has nothing to do with any of it.

As some of you may recall, I made my first trip to Cape Cod this past July – a camping trip with my boyfriend, his family and their friends, to be exact. We ate dinner together almost every night, potluck style; at one point, there were like thirty of us! One night I made this dish to use up the ingredients we had leftover in our cooler. I cooked it on a wooden picnic table in the woods, on a tiny propane stove, with one functioning burner. Halfway through the process, I realized that the task I’d undertaken was a bit too ambitious for the given conditions, but it was too late to re-route. It felt a bit like a Top Chef Quickfire Challenge – thankfully Tom Colicchio wasn’t there to judge me. The people that did eat the pasta, however, seemed quite impressed.

Now that I made the dish at home, I changed around some of the ingredients and scaled the recipe down but the idea is still the same.

(Yield: 4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

4 Italian sausages (about 1 lb), casings removed

1/3 c dry red wine

About 12 oz canned diced tomatoes

1 tsp sugar

Salt + pepper

1 tbsp butter

A few handfuls of Parmesan cheese

1 lb rigatoni pasta

Procedure: Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Peel garlic, crush with flat side of knife and add to oil. Cook for 60 seconds and add sausage. Break up sausage with wooden spatula and cook until browned, 8-10 min. Reduce heat to medium-low and add wine. Simmer for about 4 min, stirring occasionally. Then add tomatoes, sugar, 1/2 tsp pepper and a pinch of salt. Cook for 15 min, partially covered, stirring occasionally. Re-season if necessary. Meanwhile, cook pasta al dente. Then combine pasta, ragu, butter and cheese. Stir to combine. Serve hot. Pray that one of the garlic cloves nuzzles into one of your rigatoni.

Chinese fried wontons

Apr27

Ever since I started feeling comfortable deep frying, I wanted to make wontons at home. They’re one of my favorite items to order from Chinese restaurants. Deep-fried dough pockets filled with pork? One would have to be crazy – or worse yet, a vegan – not to like these things.

The whole process turned out to be super easy (in large part thanks to THIS VIDEO). However, I would have rather served the wontons with duck sauce instead of soy sauce, but I didn’t have it in the house. Also, the pork filling seemed a bit dry to me. I’m not sure how to salvage this problem but I’m taking suggestions!

(Yield: about 30 pieces)

Ingredients:

About 30 store bought wonton wrappers

1 egg, beaten

1 lb ground pork

2 scallions, chopped

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp corn starch

¾ tsp black pepper

Frying oil

Procedure: Using your fingers, combine pork, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch and pepper in a bowl until homogenous.

Then form wontons – watch the video referenced above!

Heat about 2” of oil to medium-high heat in a wok or saucepan. Fry 6-8 wontons at a time, for 4-6 min or until golden brown, flipping as necessary. Do not overcrowd the pan. Remove wontons with slotted spoon, letting any access oil drain off, and place on paper towels. Repeat with all wontons.

Remove wontons with slotted spoon, letting any access oil drain off, and place on paper towels. Repeat with all wontons.

Hoisin pork cubes

Apr24

Hoisin sauce – that sweet, thick stuff that’s always served atop my beloved pork buns (like here and here) – is one of my favorite ingredients of all time. It takes dishes like lo mein and stir fry to a whole new level, and even works great as a sandwich condiment. I simply adore it and I assure you if you buy yourself a jar, you will too.

(Yield: 4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp veg oil

1 lb pork loin, washed, dried, cut into 1” cubes

Salt

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 heaping tbsp hoisin sauce

½-1 tsp sriracha (depending on how much heat you can handle)

¾ tsp garlic powder

Cooked white rice

Procedure: Preheat a large saucepan over high heat. Add oil. Add half of pork and season with a pinch of salt. Cook 2-3 min per side, turning once, or until well browned. Remove and set aside. Place other half of pork into pan and repeat. Then turn heat down to medium-low and return all meat to pan. Cover tightly with lid and cook 7-10 min, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and stir in remaining ingredients. Cook for 60 sec and turn heat off. Serve hot over white rice. *Feel free to garnish with sesame seeds or chopped scallion.

Sausage-stuffed baked potatoes

Sep25

Boy, do I love sausage (Sure. Giggle, you gutter-minded reader…)

Seasoned ground pork stuffed into a synthetic casing – what’s not to love?

(Yield: 6 servings)

Ingredients:

Adapted from this Giada de Laurentiis recipe

1 lb Italian sausage (your choice of spicy or mild)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 c marinara sauce (about 1/2 jar)

1 c roughly chopped spinach leaves

1 tbsp cream cheese

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

6 russet potatoes

Chopped parsley for garnish

Procedure for sauce: Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Take sausage out of casings and add to skillet. Break up with a wooden spatula. Cook for 6-8 min, until browned and cooked through, stirring occasionally. Turn heat down to low. Add spinach and marinara. Cook for 3-4 min, until leaves are wilted. Stir in cream cheese and Parmesan. Cook 1 min. Turn heat off.

Procedure for potatoes: Diligently wash and scrub potatoes, and dry with paper towels. Pierce all over with fork. Working with 2 at a time, wrap in damp paper towel and place on microwave-safe dish. Cook for 6 1/2 min on High. Repeat with others. When cool enough to handle, cut 2/3 way into potato and push sides in to make space to filling.

Assembly: Spoon filling into potatoes and top with parsley.

Pork ragout

Apr25

I was trying to figure out what to serve with a risotto (the recipe for which will be shared later in the week) and this is what I came up with.

(Yield: 4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb pork loin

1 tsp dried thyme

1 medium carrot, peeled, finely diced

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

2 large vine tomatoes, diced

1 tsp tomato paste

Chopped parsley for garnish

Salt/freshly ground black pepper

Thinly slice the pork into small pieces and set aside. Heat oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 3 min. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add pork, season with salt, pepper and thyme, raise heat to high and cook for about 8 min, stirring occasionally, until browned. Then add carrot and pepper and cook for about 3 min. Turn heat down to low, add tomatoes and paste, stir and cover tightly with lid. Cook for 25 min, stirring frequently. Re-season if necessary, garnish and serve.

Italian sausage and vegetable stew

Mar31

Allow me to preface this recipe by expressing how happy I am that Richard Blais won Top Chef Masters! I was rooting for him all season. His passion is so inspiring. What did you guys think of the finale?

Now the recipe: as mentioned in previous posts, I’ve become quite the fan of Italian sausage (dirty jokes aside, please), so I’m trying to think of interesting ways to prepare it. Like most stews, this dish is clearly quite heavy, and also like most stews, it tastes better the next day.

(Yield: 4 servings [for 4 very hungry people])

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

6 sweet Italian sausages

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

10 oz baby bella mushrooms, quartered

3/4 tsp paprika

1 pinch of cumin

3/4 tsp salt/ 1/2 tsp pepper

1 tomato, chopped

1 tsp all-purpose flour

1 c low-sodium beef stock

Heat the oil on high heat in a heavy pot. Fry sausage links on all sides until crispy, about 4 min. Remove from pot, set aside, and turn heat down to medium. Add onion, garlic, carrot, bell pepper, mushrooms and seasonings. Cook for 10 min, stirring frequently. (Meanwhile, cut the sausages diagonally, into 1/2″-thick pieces). Add flour, stir to combine. Add tomato, sausage pieces and stock, and stir. Bring stock to a boil, turn heat down to low, cover with lid, and simmer for 35 min, stirring occasionally. Then cook uncovered for another 5 min. Serve hot, with crusty bread.

Asian-Style Pork Noodle Soup

Jan14

Here is my newest soup recipe. The ingredients and preparation are really simple, and the result is delicious, healthy and filling.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb pork loin

1 yellow onion (whole) + 1/2 onion (sliced)

1 carrot

1 celery stick

1 tbsp salt

1/2 box spaghetti, broken in half*

2 c baby spinach leaves

1 tbsp soy sauce

*Egg noodles will work too.

Place the pork in a soup pot and fill with just enough water to cover the meat. Bring to boil and spill water out. Replace with new water (about 5 cups) and add the whole onion, carrot, celery and salt to pot. Bring to boil again, then turn heat down and simmer for 40 minutes with a cracked lid.

Discard the onion, carrot and celery, and remove meat from pot. When cool enough to handle, shred the pork by hand or with fork. Set aside.

While the broth is boiling, add the pasta, stir and cook until al dente, about 6 min. Then add soy sauce, sliced onion, pork and spinach. Stir and cook until spinach is wilted, about 1 min. Re-season if necessary.

The Russian Pork Chop.

Sep1

Pork chops come in all different styles: bone-in/boneless, smothered, stuffed, glazed, breaded, grilled, broiled, wrapped in God-knows-what, etc. This recipe is my mommy’s and is more or less the classic Russian pork chop recipe.

The uncomplicated flavor of these pork chops is where their beauty lies. Atop a heap of creamy mashed potatoes, they are one of my favorite comfort foods.

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless pork loin chops, at room temp.

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 egg

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt/coarsely ground black pepper

Pound the pork with a meat mallet until 1/3” thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside. Place the flour in a shallow dish. Beat the egg with 1 tbsp of water and a pinch of salt in another shallow dish.

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dredge chops first in flour, then in egg. Shake off any excess. Fry about 4 min on each side, until golden brown. Serve immediately.