Chicken and Cabbage Pot Stickers

I know you have already heard about my intense love for my vegetarian steamed dumplings.  In fact, I have made them twice since I posted about them, and my family devours them.  I am a little obsessed with my bamboo steamer, and with sneaking tofu into my family's dinner.  Anyway, knowing my love for dumplings, Laura recommended another dumping recipe, this time one with meat to satisfy my carnivores.  She said they were a big hit at her house so I decided to be nice and give them a try for dinner.

Here's the thing: I just hate stuffing with raw meat.  Remember when I basically cried because I had to stuff raw pureed shrimp (we called it fish paste) into raviolis and it was the most horrible thing ever?  I had flashbacks of that tonight, when I was shoving raw ground chicken into wonton wrappers.  But anyway... I persevered and dutifully shredded cabbage, minced ginger, and sliced scallions to mix into my horrific ground chicken, and then wore gloves to stuff the dumplings (with help from Rachael since I appear to be unable to fold my dumplings correctly.

I didn't get to use my beloved bamboo steamer for this recipe, because first you sauté the pot stickers in oil (giving them their trademark "brown" marks), and then add a little water to steam them in the pan.  Also we realized where the name "pot sticker" came from... not a fun experience for my mother, who was helping me cook the dumplings!

Most of these were eaten, although I bet all of them would have gone if not for the fact that it was also sushi night here and Nick and Rachael were making sushi rolls, so there were lots of Asian foods to go around!  And they seemed to be pretty popular.  As for me, I think I prefer the vegetarian ones.  I got a rather unsatisfactory "thing" in one bite, and you just don't have to worry about things like that.  The thing is, they tasted very similar to the veggie ones: the ginger, the soy sauce, the cabbage....  So if they taste similar, why not stick with the veggies and not have to worry about biting something that needs to be spit?  With that said, in all fairness, my family loved the pot stickers, and the taste was really delicious, so if you guys aren't a total meat hater, try these out :)  Thanks for the recipe, LG!

Recipe:

chicken and cabbage pot stickers

from Meal Planning Magic

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups finely chopped green cabbage
1/2 cup water
1/2 pound ground chicken or turkey
1/3 cup minced green onions
1 tablespoon minced peeled gingerroot
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 egg white
1 garlic clove, crushed
30 won ton wrappers
2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
1 cup water, divided

Instructions:

1) Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage; cook 9 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. While cabbage cooks, add 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to keep cabbage from sticking to pan. Spoon cabbage into a medium bowl; let cool completely. Add chicken and next 6 ingredients (chicken through garlic) to bowl; stir well.

2) Working with 1 won ton wrapper at a time (cover remaining won ton wrappers to keep them from drying out), spoon about 1 tablespoon chicken mixture into the center of each wrapper.

3) Moisten edges of wrapper with water, and bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring the remaining 2 corners to center, pinching points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. Place pot stickers on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch; cover loosely with a towel to keep them from drying out.

4) Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place half of pot stickers in bottom of skillet; cook 3 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Add 1/2 cup water to skillet; cover and cook 3 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Place pot stickers on a serving platter; set aside, and keep warm.

5) Wipe skillet with a paper towel. Repeat procedure with remaining vegetable oil, remaining pot stickers, and remaining water.

Cookies 'n Cream Fudge

This was one of those recipes where I pinned it and was making it a couple hours later.  Mostly because as soon as Kenzie spotted it, she demanded that it be made that very night.  We both have an affinity for all things Oreo, and so a cookies 'n cream fudge was something that piqued both of our interests.  Add that to the fact that there were only 5 ingredients and it looked ridiculously easy, and so it was easy to try it out.

So, if you have Oreos, white chocolate chips, Fluff, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract, then you could (and maybe should) make this fudge tonight.  You basically just melt the chocolate, Fluff and milk together, add the crushed Oreos and vanilla, and you're done!  It kind of ends up tasting like Oreos with lots of the white filling (apparently in my mind Oreo filling and white chocolate are similar!).  It is sweet and soft and pretty damn good.

  It makes a pretty big tray of fudge, too.  This actually ended up being a problem because Mom hates Oreos and Rach isn't a very big sweet eater, so really no one was going to eat the fudge but Kenzie and I, and we weren't making much of a dent in it.  I ended up bringing a Tupperware of it to work and leaving it in the office.  As soon as I was reminded to add a note that it was from me and not some dirty kid, it all went in under 24 hours!  The secretary even begged me for the recipe.  I am glad that it was enjoyed instead of thrown out, like many of my desserts here.  I think I might have figured out what to do with leftovers!

Recipe:

cookies 'n cream fudge
from Beyer Beware

Ingredients:
3 cups white chocolate morsels
20 Oreo cookies, crushed
7 ounces Marshmallow Fluff
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (clear is recommended but I used my regular stuff)

Instructions:

1) Melt chocolate with milk and marshmallow cream over medium-low heat.  Stir continuously until smooth.

2) Quickly stir in vanilla.  Fold in crushed cookies.  Pour in a foil-lined 13x9 baking pan.  Refrigerate 3 hours until firm.  Cut into small pieces to serve.

Neel was a big fan of licking the spoon afterwards :)

Potato Knish

Happy Easter, everyone!  It was a nice relaxing day here at home, with delicious recipes that you will just have to wait on.  In honor of Easter, I have to share a recipe that I tried out last weekend... and it just so happens to be a Jewish recipe.  Okay so it is probably not the best timing... a Jewish meal on a Christian holiday... but I am all about peace and harmony, so I am going to make it work :)

So, the great part about the fact that I made this dish is that it was one of the first things I ever pinned when I got Pinterest early last year, and my exact post was this: "potato knish... looks hard but amazing."  I have been thinking about the knishes every since.  To be honest, I had never heard of them up until then, but they looked perfect: little round balls of pastry stuffed with potato.  Pastry? Potatoes? Yes please.  But of course to make the dough, the filling, and then put the knishes together, there were a lot of steps listed, and I wasn't brave enough to tackle these guys last year.  However, last weekend, the time had come.

The blog I got the recipe from, Smitten Kitchen, was genius enough to list two different kind of knishes: the traditional, stuffed with russet potatoes and caramelized onions, and then her own crazy wonderful concoction of red bliss potatoes mashed with cream cheese, leeks and kale.  I was totally unable to choose between the two, so I decided to make a double recipe of the dough and try each kind of filling.

The dough itself had interesting ingredients like white vinegar and a whole half cup of vegetable oil.  It ends up coming out surprisingly similar to pie crust, considering the fact that the ingredients for both are pretty different.

Once the dough was made, I worked on the fillings.  They took similar amounts of time (although I really suck at caramelizing onions).  The fun part was actually putting them together.  You roll out the dough, put the filling on it, and roll it up semi-burrito-like.  Then you twist it off every now and then (like you are making sausage, although I would never), cut the pieces apart, and seal the bottoms.  Egg wash, bake, and you're done!

Doesn't it look like wrapping candy?

 Here is the interesting part: these were not the immense and giant hit that I had expected.  I made 12, and ended up throwing away probably half of them a week or so later.  I am not quite sure why, because I think they were great.  I will agree that they seemed a little dry, particularly the traditional one.  I felt like it needed a sauce of some sort.  They probably would have been good with sour cream, but we were out.  The red potato one was much better in my opinion (Rachael agreed), with the cream cheese helping to add some moisture to the filling, and the leeks and kale giving it some good texture and flavor.  However don't get me wrong - the traditional one was no black sheep.  After all, it's a carb wrapped around another carb, and really what more can a girl ask for?  But like I said, the Tucker family could only eat so many, so perhaps I am not a good little Jewish chef.  Cancel the matzoh balls.

Recipes:

potato knish, two ways

from Smitten Kitchen (you definitely want to go to the site for the how-to pictures if you try this out!)

Yield: 6 3-inch hearty knish)

traditional potato knish

Dough Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil (Joe also recommends schmaltz, or rendered chicken fat, if you’ve got some)

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 cup water 

Filling Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds (about 3 medium) russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced small

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon table salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon water

Instructions:

1) Make dough: Stir together your dry ingredients in the bottom of a medium/large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, vinegar and water. Pour it over the dry ingredients and stir them to combine. Once the mixture is a craggy, uneven mass, knead it until smooth, about a minute. Place the dough back in the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Set it aside for an hour (or in the fridge, up to 3 days) until needed.

2) Meanwhile, prepare filling: Put potatoes into a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes can be pierced easily with a knife, about 20 minutes. Drain, then transfer to a large bowl to cool.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add butter and oil and once they’re fully melted and a bit sizzly, add onions and reduce to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until deeply caramelized, about 45 minutes. Transfer to bowl with potatoes and mash together until almost smooth. (A few lumps make it taste more “traditional) Stir in salt and many grinds of black pepper and set the filling aside.

3) Assemble knish: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Divide the dough in half. On a well-floured surface, roll the first half of the dough into a very thin sheet, roughly in the shape of a 1-foot square, but really, no need to be rigid about it. Create a 2-inch thick log from half your potato filling across the bottom of your dough. Roll the filling up in the dough, but not too tight. A tiny amount of slack will keep the dough from opening in the oven. Keep rolling until the log has been wrapped twice in dough. Trim any unrolled length and add it to the second half of the dough; it can be used again. Repeat the process with the second half of your dough and second half of filling; you might have a small amount of dough leftover.

Trim the ends of the dough so that they’re even with the potato filling. Then, make indentations on the log every 3 to 3 1/2 inches (you’ll have about 3, if your log was 1 foot long) and twist the dough at these points, as if you were making sausage links. Snip the dough at each twist, then pinch one of the ends of each segment together to form a sealed knish base. Use the palm of your hand to flatten the knish a bit into a squat shape, and leave a small hole in the top.

4) Bake knish: Arrange knish on prepared baking sheet so that they don’t touch. Whisk egg yolk and water together to form a glaze and brush it over the knish dough. Bake knish for about 45 minutes, rotating your tray if needed for them to bake into an even golden brown color. Let them cool a little bit before digging in. Spicy mustard is a traditional accompaniment, but I recommend sour cream.

Red Potato Knish with Kale, Leeks and Cream Cheese

Follow the dough and assembly directions above, but replace the Russet and caramelized onion filling with this one.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds medium red potato (about 3 to 4), peeled and quartered

1 big leek (about 1/2 pound), white and light-green parts only, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced 

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 generous cup lacinato kale ribbons (about 3 ounces or 1/4 to 1/3 bundle), tough stems and ribs removed and leaves cut into strips 

1/2 teaspoon table salt

Freshly ground black pepper3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1) Cook potatoes: Put potatoes into a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook until soft, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain, then transfer to a large bowl to cool.

2) Meanwhile, prepare leeks and kale: Fill a medium bowl with very cold water and drop in leek rings. Swish them around with your fingers, letting any sandy dirt fall to the bottom. Scoop out the leeks and drain them briefly on a towel, but no need to get them fully dry. Do the same with the kale, but you can leave the leaves to nearly fully dry, patting them if necessary, on the towels while you cook the leeks.

3) Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add butter and oil and once they’re fully melted and a bit sizzly, add the leek slices. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and cook leek for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Raise heat back to medium, add the kale ribbons and cook until they wilt, about 5 minutes.

4) Transfer mixture to bowl with potatoes, add the cream cheese and mash together until combined. Stir in salt and many grinds of black pepper and set filling aside.

Ready to bake!

Creamy Southwest Pasta with Spicy Greek Yogurt Sauce

Okay so let me preface this by saying that I hate spicy foods.  I have no tolerance for heat of any kind.  That makes my decision to make creamy southwest pasta with spicy yogurt sauce a very interesting choice  I am not sure what it was about it that made me want to try it out.  Maybe it was the Greek yogurt; I get excited when sauces are made with that because it feels healthier so I can devour even more.  Maybe it was the smoked paprika; I just bought my first bottle of it recently and have been wanting to try it out.  Maybe it was the lime juice, the cherry tomatoes (it called for roma or heirloom but I used cherries), the sweet corn, the pasta itself - all things that I love.  It sounded great!  But... well....

So the bottom line is, I tried it out for dinner this week, and I have to say that I was not happy with the outcome.  After all, it is spicy, and I loathe anything that makes my nose run and my tongue tingle.  The heat comes from cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, and a can of diced green chiles.  Knowing that I hate spice, I eliminated the cayenne and halved the red pepper.  Unfortunately, this did not do enough to diminish the spiciness (can you imagine if I actually used all the spicy stuff it called for!?).   So it was way too spicy for me, and for my mom.  And I don't really think I am a huge fan of smoked paprika, either, actually - it kind of tastes like meat somehow.  So, creamy southwest pasta with spicy meat-tasting sauce.... not for me.

The good news, for those of you who have burned off most of your tastebuds with spicy foods, is that you might like this pasta dish.  Alex and Kenzie, who are far more adventurous than I am where it comes to heat, both liked it (Nick didn't because it had corn in it...  I know, he's a baby).  Kenz even brought it for lunch at work, and finished it off!  That made me happy, because the meal was salvageable, even if Mom and I were all set with our one helping!  So, spicy food lovers: go for it.  If you're like me, stay away!

Recipe:

creamy southwest pasta with spicy Greek yogurt sauce

from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the Greek yogurt sauce:
¼ cups Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
½ teaspoons Smoked Paprika
½ teaspoons Cumin
¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
1 pinch Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

For the pasta:
12 ounces, weight Medium-Cut Pasta
2 teaspoons Olive Oil
½ cups Yellow Onion, Diced
1 clove Garlic, Minced
2 whole Green Onions, Chopped
2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, Chopped + More For Garnish
1 cup Sweet Corn Kernels
2 pounds Tomatoes, Diced And Cored (Roma And Heirloom Mix)
1 can (4-ounce Can) Diced Green Chiles
Salt And Pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

2) In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the creamy Greek yogurt sauce until well-blended. Refrigerate for later use.

3) While the pasta is cooking heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the yellow onion, garlic, green onion, and cilantro with a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and soft. Add the corn and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and green chiles and stir combine. Cook the mixture until the tomatoes begin to break down, another 3-4 minutes.

4) Add in the creamy Greek yogurt mixture and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked pasta, along with the reserved pasta water. Mix well to combine.

5) Serve! Garnish with additional cilantro.

Spiced Lentil, Sweet Potato, and Kale Whole Wheat Pockets

You need to get excited about this meal.  I kind of get the feeling that you won't, though.  You are going to be skeptical because the ingredients might seem a little weird, and no, there's no meat.  But the bottom line is that you are basically making healthy little calzones that are amazing hot and yet weirdly more amazing room temperature.  So trust me and overlook the weird meatless ingredients and try these pockets ASAP.  I would let you try mine, but I ate them all.  Basically by myself.

Anyway, I pinned these spiced lentil, sweet potato and kale whole wheat pockets a long time ago but finally got the groceries for them last week.  With another snow day last Tuesday (that would be number 7, and no I am not yet sick of them), I ended up having more time than I expected to cook dinner, and so I tried these little babies.

Now they aren't quick, because you have to make your own pocket dough (which is basically a whole wheat pizza dough).  However you could totally use store-bought dough to save yourself some time.  You know me though - I am all about making my own doughs.  And I am glad that I did because my mom raved about the taste and consistency of the dough; it was really good!

You also have to bake sweet potatoes and give them time to cool; I recommend doing that while the dough rises, but you could always bake them a day or two before you put the pockets together to save time the day of.

Then comes the filling.  First of all, sweet potatoes are delicious all by themselves.  But on top of a smearing of the mashed potato, you add a mixture of lentils and kale spiced with cumin, cinnamon, allspice and garlic.  Totally flavorful, delicious, aromatic, fabulous - all those amazing words.  And then on top of that filling, you add some caramelized onions.  Can you imagine a more delicious mixture?

They get baked for about a half hour, and then you can devour them.  Rachael ate hers with marinara sauce, because she felt the need for a sauce, but Mom and I just ate them straight up.  And then I ate them for lunch almost every single day until they were gone.  The blog I got the recipe from claimed that the pockets taste just as good cold (the woman even freezes them, grabs them out of the freezer in the morning, and lets them defrost gradually throughout the day).  I had my doubts because I don't usually like my food cold (I am well known for this in my family), but I did try it at work one day, and honestly?  It was even better.  Not cold, mind you, but room temperature.   I don't know why, but the flavors merged and were somehow more noticeable when they weren't hot.  No clue how it worked, but trust me, it did.

So, I will definitely make these again, but I will probably make them smaller next time so they last me longer.  They are really filling the size that the recipe calls for, because they're pretty huge (yet don't get me wrong; I ate them all easily!).

Recipes:

Spiced Lentil, Sweet Potato, and Kale Whole Wheat Pockets
from The Kitchn

Makes 6 pockets

Instructions:

For the dough:

1 cup warm water (not hot or boiling)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

For the filling:
3 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing
1 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup French green (Puy) lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 cups water
1/2 bunch kale, tough ribs and stems removed
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1) Combine the warm water and yeast in a small bowl and let sit until the yeast dissolves. Meanwhile, combine the two flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on low speed. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, followed by the dissolved yeast mixture and mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Knead for 7-10 minutes until dough is smooth. Lightly grease a large bowl with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

2) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick the sweet potatoes in several places with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very soft to the touch. Set aside to cool.

3) Cut the onion in half. Thinly slice one half and set aside. Dice the other half. Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and saute the diced onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add the cumin, cinnamon and allspice and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Cut the kale into bite-size pieces. Add kale and salt to the lentils. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes more, until lentils are soft but not mushy. Taste and adjust seasoning. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lentil and kale mixture to a bowl, leaving most of the cooking liquid in the pot.

4) Meanwhile, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet over low heat. Add the thinly sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized, about 20-25 minutes.

5) Increase the oven heat to 450°F. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and let rest for 20 minutes, loosely covered with plastic wrap. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks. Mash with a fork until smooth and add a sprinkle of salt, if needed.

6) On a well-floured cutting board, roll a piece of the dough into an 8- or 9-inch oval. (If it starts to shrink back, set it aside to rest for 5 minutes and try again.) Spread about 1/4 cup mashed sweet potato over bottom half the dough, leaving room at the edges to seal the pocket closed. Cover with about 1/3 cup of the lentils and kale. Top with a small amount of caramelized onions. Fold top half of the dough over, and pinch and fold edges to seal shut securely. Use a spatula to transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush top with olive oil and cut 2 or 3 small slits to let steam escape as it bakes. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

7) Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until browned. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. To freeze, let cool in the baking sheet and place the entire baking sheet in the freezer. Once pockets are completely frozen, wrap individually in foil or plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe container. Thaw and reheat in the microwave or oven, or eat at room temperature.

Almond Lemon Madeleines

I don't know why  it took me so long so try out my new madeleine pan that I got for Christmas, but for some reason, it took me three months.  Now I'm wondering what I was waiting for, because madeleines are awesome.

To back the story up a bit, I did ask my parents for a madeleine pan for Christmas, because as I have said before, although pans or machines that serve only one use might be a waste of kitchen space, it upsets me if I feel like the lack of an item is prohibiting me from trying out a recipe.  Hence my linzer cookie cutters, doughnut pan, bamboo steamer, mini whoopie pie pan - you get the idea.  So I absolutely needed a madeleine pan.  Madeleines are little cookies, usually made with ground nuts and citrus flavor of some sort, and to be truly madeleines, they must be small and shaped like a shell.  Without a pan with small shell-shaped molds, you are just making lemony nutty cookies.

So a couple weeks ago I decided the time had come to make these cookies.  The first step is to grind almonds with sugar, which gives the cookies a great nutty taste.  They are also very lemony due to lemon zest and lemon juice.  They are sweet, buttery, nutty and lemony - can you think of  a better cookie?

I will confess that my first batch of cookies weren't so pretty.  I overfilled the molds and they rose up to look more like misshapen baby fists than shells!  You don't want to pile the batter into the molds; just barely fill the molds and they will come out perfect.

This is actually the recipe that came on the pan packaging.  I see no reason to search for another one, because these are excellent.  Mom said they were the best cookies I have made, and lots of them were devoured that afternoon!  Good thing the recipe makes 72 little cookies!

Recipe:

almond lemon madeleines
from the packaging from Norpro's madeleine pan

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds
1 cup sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon rind
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray madeleine pan molds with nonstick spray.

2)  Using chopper or food processor, grind the almonds with the sugar until very fine in texture.

3) Cream butter.  Continue beating butter, adding almond and sugar mixture gradually.  Beat until mixture is light and fluffy. 

4)  Add in eggs one at a time, beating until completely combined with other ingredients.

5) Add and beat in lemon rind.

6) In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternating gradually with lemon juice.  Begin and end with flour mixture, mixing well after each addition.

7) Spread batter into the molds of the madeleine pan, removing any excess from edges of pan.  Bake in lower third of the oven for 8 minutes, or until golden brown around edges.  Turn madeleines onto a cooling rack.  Wash and dry the pan, and repeat the process.

More Raviolis!

The pasta making continues!

A couple weeks ago, I decided to make ravioli again (and some spaghetti for Christy, the birthday girl!).  Since I had to pasta maker out anyway, I thought it would be a good night to try some different ravioli recipes. I made pasta for the first time late February and had so much fun.  I made two different types of ravioli that night, three cheese and spinach and ricotta. They were both totally amazing, but I wanted to try something new.  Unfortunately, I let my mom recommend one new idea: meat.  Are you surprised?  I utterly refused to do sausage like she asked for, but I thought maybe I could give shrimp a try.  A quick search on the internet, and I came up with shrimp and chive ravioli.  Sure, soumds good, right?  Then to balance it out, I decided to make four cheese ravioli so that I would have something to eat!  Kenzie made tomato sauce again and left me to the pasta making.

Sadly, the pasta making itself was not the fun, happy experience it had been the first time.  Something was wonky with my pasta machine; the lever kept sticking and required way too much effort to turn the handle (Alex has since fixed it, thank god!).  But here's the worst part: making the shrimp and chive ravioli was probably the grossest experience I have ever had.  Because, I already have grown to hate working with shrimp.  Even the ones that are already deveined still need work (unless you enjoy eating spinal columns...  which I do not... so I have to take those out).  And these ones also had to be peeled too.   So I was already cranky.  Then I finished reading the recipe: you don't cook the shrimp.  You stuff your raviolis with raw shrimp, and they cook while the pasta boils.  Whatever, that's really weird, but fine.  That wasn't even the most upsetting part for me.  The most horrific thing was that you have to chop the filling in a food processor.  That means that basil, chives, egg white, and raw shrimp gets all chopped up into the most horrifying paste you could ever imagine.  I mean, really.  Raw shrimp paste?!?  UGH.  It didn't help that Kenzie kept singing "fishy fish paaaaaste" to the tune of the McDonald's "fishy fishyyyyyy" commercial.  I was practically brought to tears spooning that repulsive mass of raw seafood into my ravioli mold. 

When it was actually time to eat them, I was unable to give them a fair chance.  The preparation had soured me towards these raviolis.  Kenzie and my mom both insisted that they liked them (and Mom even froze the leftovers to eat again) but I was too upset and nauseous from the fish paste experience, so I can't give you a good explanation of their flavors.  I will say that the original recipe calls for a grape tomato sauce, which I did not make.  However, the sauce does not make or break this recipe.  The fact that you end up working with fish paste means that the Tucker house has seen its last shrimp and chive ravioli.

Luckily, the four cheese ravioli went a whole lot better.  The cheeses are ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, and parmesan.  They're also flavored with garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, and salt and pepper, so there's a lot going on in these little pockets.  They are really, really good raviolis; I am not sure I will ever be able to  happily eat frozen ones again after this!

Final notes: shrimp raviolis are not for the faint of heart, but four cheese raviolis are incredible.

Recipes:

shrimp and chive ravioli
from Food Network.com

Ingredients:

1 pound medium-size raw shrimp, cleaned and shelled

1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish

1/2 bunch fresh, chervil plus more for garnish (I did not use this because I couldn't find it!)

1/2 bunch fresh chives, plus more for garnish

1 large egg white

8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Instructions:

 

1)  In the bowl of a food processor, add the shrimp, 1/2 bunch basil leaves, 1/2 bunch chives, 1/2 bunch chervil, egg white, and 2 tablespoons olive oil; season this with salt and pepper. Pulse until it is finely chopped but not pureed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

2) When ready, stuff the raviolis with the filling.  Boil for 4 minutes in salted water, or until they float to the top.  Do not overcrowd the pot.  Makes 24 raviolis.


four cheese ravioli
from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
½ cup part-skim ricotta
½ cup shredded mozzarella
½ cup shredded fontina
½ cup shredded parmesan
1 clove garlic, finely minced
¼ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. dried basil
¼ tsp. dried parsley
¼ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
 Marinara sauce, for serving

Directions:

1) In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, garlic, and spices. Mix well to blend.

2)  Fill raviolis.

3) Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the ravioli until al dente, about 5 minutes. Serve in warmed bowls with marinara sauce.