Chinese Dumpling Potstickers

 293.  I will forever be grateful to "Use Real Butter" and Jennifer Yu's perfect family recipe for Chinese Dumpling Potstickers.
Find her recipe here:  Chinese Dumpling

It is a great challenge  to make this recipe without an experienced Potsticker Artist in your kitchen.  But with Jennifer's recipe, it feels like she is standing right next to you guiding you along.  The dough is soft and perfect to work with.

The fillings are so flavorful and when you taste the finished product the filling bursts in your mouth.

I did my absolute best to follow the directions and was concerned my little dumpling purses would open in cooking.  Only two opened slightly...Success!!

The cooking process was fun to watch when the bottoms turned crispy brown.

The finished product was one of the best Potstickers we had ever had.  Jennifer also included a tasteful, light perfect dipping sauce.  Guy Fieri would have been proud of this endeavor...Potstickers are one of his favs.

"I like that it's all hand-made.  You really put some time and energy into that.  Way more than I expected, man.  Nice job.  Nice job."

~Guy Fieri, Diner's Drive Ins and Dives, Caj-Asian Potstickers

Empanadas Galore!

272.  Empanadas!!!  The word evokes happy thoughts!!!

Recently, a group of my friends got together to make empanadas.  It was for a fund raiser.  Everyone took orders from friends and family and we set to work.  

We counted out all the orders and came to realize, we needed to make over 1000!!!  in one day!!!!

 We started at 9:00a.m. and had such a great time visiting, talking and yes...eating empanadas.

 We made three huge batches of beef filling with great spices.  It was easier for us to use pre-made empanada dough rounds.

 We also made two huge batches of chicken filling along with mixed cheese filling.

 Half way through the day, our hosts served us a beautiful meal of roast pork "Pernil" and fantastic rice and pigeon peas,  "Arroz Con Gandules" and a beautiful salad.

 Along with that...a steady flow of espresso (as you can see my little cup in this picture), to keep us going!

This was quite the experience and so enjoyable.  By 11:00p.m. we finally finished and were all throughly exhausted, but so happy to work together.  Our hosts were amazing!!!!

These empanadas we fried in hot oil.  What tasty little things they are.  I officially know all about empanadas now...but realized that day...I do not want to work in an empanada factory, I'll stick with my day job!!!

"Have a Great Empanada Day!"
~The Empanada Chef

Beef Empanadas

205. Empanadas...just the thought makes me hungry. We had an awesome Restaurant in town called "Raul's Empanada Town" that would make the most incredible Cuban Empanadas. But they closed. What a disappointment...the empanadas were fantastic. And that is not an exaggeration! If you live in New Jersey you can enjoy these wonderful little pockets of magical meat.

Without Raul's...I decided to make some of my own. Oh Raul...where have you gone?

Empanada Flour Dough

3 cups flour

3 Tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup cold water

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 egg /water

Place flour and salt in a bowl and cut in the shortening till crumbly. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the water and vinegar. Mix with a fork until the dough begins to come together. Then work with your hands and knead for a few minutes till dough is smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for one hour.

Empanada Beef Filling

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 medium onion chopped

1 green pepper chopped fine

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup tomato, chopped fine

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 packet Sazon seasoning

1 teaspoon Adobo all purpose seasoning

salt/pepper

1 cup salsa verde, opt.

1/4 cup Sofrito, Recipe Here

1/2 cup water

2 cups cheddar cheese

Saute beef, breaking up large chunks, till browned. Drain off fat drippings. Add onion, garlic and green pepper. Saute for 2 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, cayenne, Sazon, Adobo and salt and pepper. Blend into meat and saute for 2 minutes. Add tomato, Sofrito or salsa verde and water. Saute on high to tenderize the meat and cook out the moisture. Once the liquid has dissipated, transfer the meat into a bowl and cool.

Begin to roll out dough by rolling out full recipe and cutting out circles or by pinching off small portions of dough and rolling out individually. Brush water around the edge of each round. Place a tablespoon of meat onto center of round. Then top with a tablespoon of cheddar cheese.

Fold over dough and crimp with the tines of a fork. If you are deep frying the empanadas, place in hot oil and fry till the crust is light brown in color. If you are baking the empanadas, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the empanadas onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and spread with oil.

Mix the egg with water in a separate bowl and brush the top of each empanada with the egg wash. Prick tops with a fork to vent.

Bake for 16 minutes.

Serve hot or cold along with seasoned rice and a crisp salad.

Sofrito Sour Cream Sauce

2 cups sour cream

1/4 cup Sofrito, Recipe Here

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 packet Sazon seasoning

Mix all together and serve chilled with empanadas.

Delicious!

Thanks to Krystal at In Fine Fettle for sharing her Beef Empanada recipe.

"You know how I feel about empanadas.

It's the only food shaped like a smile. A beef smile."

~Danielle Sanchez-Witzel

Pizza Toppings

181. We've been experimenting with a variety of pizza toppings. Although I love to order pizza or go to a pizzeria, homemade pizza is just as delicious.

When we make pizza at home, I usually make my dough from "scratch". Yes, flour, yeast, water. You can find my recipe here. You could also purchase a pre-made pizza dough from your local pizza shop, find dough in the freezer section of your grocery store or shop Trader Joes Market in the prepared food coolers for pizza dough.

We tried two different toppings, broccoli and tomato.

Broccoli Topping for Pizza

2 cups chopped, fresh broccoli

2 cloves garlic crushed

olive oil

salt/pepper

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

pizza dough

Saute the broccoli in olive oil till bright green, add garlic and seasoning. Set aside to cool. Spread broccoli on prepared pizza dough and sprinkle parmesan cheese over broccoli evenly. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake in a 450 degree oven till cheese is browning lightly.

Stewed Rosemary Tomato Topping for Pizza

4 fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, remove rosemary leaves from stem

salt/pepper

olive oil

mozzarella cheese

pizza dough

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil for approximately 3 minutes, add tomatoes and seasoning. Saute till tomatoes begin to break down but color is bright. Set aside to cool. Spread stewed tomato on prepared pizza dough and sprinkle rosemary leaves evenly over. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake in a 450 degree oven till cheese is browning lightly.

The type of cheese you use is important. Whole milk mozzarella will give you a better overall covering and will add flavor to your pizza. Finding a cheese mix with mozzarella, provolone and parmesan is a great combination as well.

For a large pizza I will use 2 to 3 cups of cheese.

I made this pizza in my Pampered Chef bar pan.

Once the pizza was done I sprinkled whole fresh basil leaves over the top.

This was scrumptious!!! We really like using the stewed tomato topping on grilled pizza and crusty bread slices also.

"I am always doing that which I cannot do,

in order that I may learn how to do it. "

~Pablo Picasso

"Take risks: if you win, you will be happy;

if you lose, you will be wise."

~Author Unknown

Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Pizza

137. Have you tried a recipe with Broccoli Rabe yet? Here is another suggestion to enjoy this wonderful green, Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Pizza. This is my own recipe and it is so delicious. You can use it as a main meal with a salad or veggies and dip on the side, or use this pizza as an appetizer. Just cut it into small squares or long skinny slices.

If you want to read about the healthy benefits of Broccoli Rabe and how to make another delicious recipe just click here.

Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Pizza

4 cups of washed, trimmed and chopped Broccoli Rabe. Discard stems

large pot of boiling salted water

1 recipe for pizza dough (See my own recipe here)

1 pound of sweet Italian sausage, out of casings

1 small onion, roughly chopped

olive oil, or use infused olive oil with garlic & Italian spices

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 Tblsp parmesan or Romano cheese

salt and pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes, optional

Drop all the chopped Broccoli Rabe into the boiling water and boil for about 1 minute. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a frying pan add olive oil and heat. Crumble Italian sausage into hot oil and break up larger pieces. Brown the meat and stir. Add the chopped onion, salt and pepper. Continue to saute on medium till meat browns. Place a lid over pan and turn heat to low allowing the sausage to tenderize and the onions to virtually disappear and dissolve, about 25 minutes.

Prepare your pizza dough and shape into a pan, onto a stone or cookie sheet.

Set the prepared dough aside for about 15 minutes.

Once the sausage is tender, stir in the cooled broccoli rabe and pepper flakes. Spread the meat over the prepared dough almost to the edge.

Sprinkle with the Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Then cover the pie with mozzarella cheese.

Heat your oven to 450 degrees. Bake till the crust is light brown and cheese is browning on top. Yum...it's so good!
"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six. "

~Yogi Berra