Little Purses of Love

I have been on a 'Sweets Streak' recently, baking lots of sugary, chocolately, sweet treats.  And while that is fun and friends have enjoyed receiving the goods, I am ready to move on.

Last night I climbed up on my counter to get to my recipe cabinet to retrieve the Food Section from October 14, 2009, so I could once again make these:

Japanese Pork and Shrimp Pot Stickers (or Gyoza)

I had made them last fall (still have the almost full bottle of sake in my fridge) and remember absolutely loving them.  I also remembered that they were a little labor intensive, so summer is the perfect time to make them again.  But don't let that scare you... it's just the wrapper folding that takes a little practice, every other part is ridiculously easy.

The recipe I followed was from Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen and published in the Houston Chronicle on 10/14/2009.  (See link for full recipe)

The filling is incredibly easy to assemble and includes some Napa cabbage, garlic, ginger, scallions, ground pork, chopped shrimp... 

Along with a little sugar, some soy sauce, a healthy glug of sake and some good ol' S&P.

I used some already made Gyoza Wrappers.  I'm pretty adventurous, but doughs and I don't always get along and I did not want to stress about it.  Plus, theses commercial wrappers are pretty darn good, although only one of my local stores carries them.  (I stockpile them in my freezer)

Here is my setup, complete with a "how-to" cheat sheet.

About 1 tablespoon of the filling goes in the middle of each wrapper. 

After moistening the edge of the wrapper you do this pleating and pressing routine again and again and again until you you have this crescent-shaped little purse of flavor. 

And then repeat that process.

Again and again and again... until you have about 32 of these little guys.

Cooking them is super simple.  Arrange them (artfully) in your pan and cook in a mix of canola and sesame oil for about 2 minutes.

Add a little water, cover and cook another 8 minutes.  Uncover and then let them sizzle a few more minutes, until you get that lovely, flavorful brown (and slightly crunchy) bottom.

(They puff up a little bit when they steam, but they deflate as they cool)

They are fabulous when served with a simple dipping sauce made of soy sauce and seasoned rice vingar. 

Once you start eating these, you just can't stop.  They are completely worth every bit of work!

But if you don't have time for all of that fancy folding business (say, on a hectic weeknight), check out this idea for Gyoza Quesadillas.  Brilliant!

Baking Biscotti

While making peanut butter cheesecake brownies last week I stumbled upon a recipe (on the same blog) for Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Biscotti. 

I love a good biscotti in the morning with my coffee.  It incorporates easily in to my morning newspaper-reading routine.  What I hate however, is paying through the nose for pre-packaged biscotti that has an 'industrial' flavor.  In the past I have been hesitant to try to make my own biscotti at home because surely, anything that tastes that good with that kind of delicate texture has to be difficult to make.  WRONG.

This recipe could not be more simple (or delicious).  Over the past 4 days I have made it 3 times. 

Yes, THREE. 

The first attempt was at home, by myself and I followed the recipe exactly.  The 'bang for the buck' factor was off the charts!   I took some to my neighbors down the street and another friend as well.  I got good reviews from all of them and from R. 

Well, that's not entirely true.  Initially the review from R was less than stellar.  I think his comments were something along the line of "the flavor is good, but these are really dry".  I kindly informed him that biscotti is meant to be dunked.  So after trying them with a tall glass of cold milk, he was singing a different tune. 

Attempt #2 was at my mom's house yesterday.  I helped her make some granola bars and then we attacked the biscotti.  She likes to try making new things, but I think she can be overwhelmed by them sometimes, so I like to step in and help.  And I just love spending time with my momma!

Here is a quick run-down of the process:

After pre-heating the oven to 350 F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper, cream 6 T of softened butter with 1 cup of sugar for about 2 minutes, then add in 2 eggs.  Combine thoroughly.  It should look something like this:

Next add in 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup cocoa powder, 1 t of salt and 1 t of baking soda.  Mix on low until just combined.  The dough is incredibly thick.  **This is where my mom and I switched things up and added in 2 Starbucks VIA packets to achieve a mocha flavor**

Finally, gently add in 1 cup of peanut butter chips and 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips by pulsing the mixer a couple of times. 

Divide the dough in half and make two 12"x 2" logs on the prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar (this is optional) and then bake the logs for 35 minutes.

After 35 minutes, pull the pan out of the oven and let the logs cool 3 minutes.  Transfer them to a cutting board and cut each log in to 1/2 inch slices. 

Places the slices back on the baking sheet, sliced side down.  Bake for another 8 - 10 minutes.  Cool thoroughly on a wire cooling rack. 

We called our version Mocha Peanut Butter Biscotti. 

Attempt 3 was at my house this morning with a sweet friend, Shannon.  I had given her some of the biscotti from attempt #1 and she wanted to learn to make them for herself. We had an absolute blast and even got a little creative.

In addition to making the Mocha Peanut Butter version, we also made a Mocha White Chocolate version by swapping white chocolate chips out for the peanut butter chips.  So good.

Finally, we made our own Homemade Nutella by following this recipe, which we promptly used to make more Nutella Panna Cotta. 

One of our Best. Neighbors. Ever came down to taste test a little later on.  She approved... and took a few more home for later. 

While I have certainly enjoyed eating the biscotti, I think my favorite thing about it is how it has provided me with so many opportunities to spend time with people that are special to me over the last few days.

Nutella, How I Love Thee... part 2

The other day I posted this picture -

I love this stuff. 

I don't even remember the first time I tasted it, it just that it seems I have always loved it.  I don't normally buy the stuff because if it's in the pantry I feel feel this strong compulsion to eat it.  On EVERYTHING.  Or even with just a spoon!  Give me some crepes with this stuff spread on the inside and a little vanilla bean ice cream or homemade whipped cream on top and I'm in heaven.  I think I may have a problem.  Is there a support group out there for people like me?  Based on the comments I got on Facebook and yesterday's post I don't think I'm alone in my obsession. 

So just what the heck did I make that required an entire jar of this heavenly nectar? 

Nutella Panna Cotta

 

I had never made a panna cotta before, but they seemed simple enough.  Heck, there were no yolks involved like a typical custard recipe, so it couldn't be too hard.  And it wasn't!  This was probably one of the easiest desserts I have ever made.  You get a lot of bang for your buck with a panna cotta.  It's the perfect 'do-ahead' dessert for a dinner party. 

All I did was bloom a little gelatin, boil some vanilla and cream, mix the those together, pour it over a cup of nutella, whisk in a little more milk and then run it through a fine mesh sieve.  (see recipe here)  The recipe said it would take 3 hours to set, but mine was ready in about an hour and a half. 

The hardest part was toasting the almonds for the garnish.  I got a little distracted and forgot all about them...until I smelled something a little 'odd'.  Yep, I burned the heck out of them. 

Toasted Almonds Take 2:

 

Much more successful (and tasty).

 This stuff was so good. 

Incredibly sweet, maybe a little too sweet on its own, but the toasted almonds really provided a perfect balance.  I was really impressed by the silk smooth texture.  This stuff literally melts in your mouth. 

This panna cotta is what JELLO pudding wants to be when it grows up.

Two things I will do differently the next time I make this... and yes, there will be a 'next time':

1. Figure out a way to make it a little less sweet.  Maybe by adding a little extra dark chocolate or by making some homemade nutella first, using a recipe where I can control the amount of sugar in it.

2. Use a smaller container than the ramekins I chose.  Seriously, a serving about half this size would have been perfect. 

Despite these two 'flaws', I want you to notice that I ate the entire thing.  All by myself.