Dumpling Soup - A Modest Return to Blogging

Today I attempt a return to blog land by posting about a last minute lunch that turned out to be a good surprise. I can't count the number of times I have a plan in mind for my kids lunch but don't have anything ready for myself. What started out as a lunch where I was almost ready to join in eating kid food ended in enjoying spicy dumpling soup. I had frozen potsickers in the freezer, as well as green onions, cilantro, carrots (which were all a little wilted but who cares when you are making a soup!), and Trader Joe's asian dipping sauce in the fridge. In the pantry I had chicken bullion cubes and srirhacha hot sauce. They combined to make an asian broth with notes of ginger, onion, and heat and a fresh element brought by the grated carrots and chopped cilantro. The potstickers gave the soup some substance and were flavored nicely by the broth.

Last Minute Dumpling Soup

4-6 potstickers, depending on hunger

2-3 c. prepared chicken broth or stock

1 chopped green onion

2 T chopped cilantro

1 carrot, grated

2 T asian dipping sauce (any brand is fine but use one that has ginger in it for best flavor in broth)

Srirhacha to taste

Boil potstickers in hot water according to package directions. My package said to boil until they float to the top, and this only took about 5 minutes. Remove dumplings to large soup bowl, reserving cooking water. Reserve approximate amount of water to make broth and return to boil with the bullion cube/s. (or just dump water and add your stock to pot, if you are using liquid stock). When broth is boiling, add chopped green onion, grated carrot, asian dipping sauce, and chopped cilantro. Allow to heat together for just a minute, and then pour hot broth over dumplings in bowl, making sure to get all the bits of carrot and green herbs into the bowl too. Finish with srirhacha hot sauce and enjoy.

I was not expecting much from my lunch today, but this was so tasty I would happily serve as a starter for dinner or as a lunch with a friend. It was so easy to prepare and came out tasting great!

Kid Stuff

I haven't really written before about food I cook for my kids, and that is probably, unfortunately, because it isn't that interesting. It is very gratifying to make a meal that my kids love -- but unfortunately it is often something that is either out of a box, bag, or can, and doesn't involve any real skill on my part. I get that kids like simple flavors, etc., but I wish there was more variety to their favorites, and that they liked more natural foods (other than fresh fruit, which they generally love). I have somehow trained Lucy to say, on occasion "thank you very much for the lovely dinner" which is always nice to hear -- and I would love to hear it even more, and not just when I make Spiderman Macaroni and Cheese, Sponge Bob Macaroni and Cheese, or Scooby Doo Macaroni and Cheese (current top three meals in my house).

And so, this post is going to pose a few questions for you... 1)is anyone out there actually reading this? and 2)if the answer to that question is yes, do you have any tips, as a parent or just a food lover, for meal ideas for kids, namely, a three and a half year old and 15 month old? Here are a few goals: a balanced meal, focus on natural foods as much as possible, and have it actually taste good.

If I get any responses, I'll create a master list, including some of my favorites, that I/you can bookmark and hopefully use for meal ideas.

Well, to echo the great W., “Mission Accomplished.” Last week, despite the odds I managed to cook at home every night for seven nights straight! Yes, seven! Even though I started this challenge with meals planned for Monday through Thursday, we actually cooked at home the previous Sunday night as well as the next Friday and Saturday, which is almost certainly a personal best. To be fair, Tom cooked Friday night (an awesome meal… I have asked him to write a guest post to share it, but I may have to post a picture just to show you). It felt great to cook at home all those nights in a row, and it also felt great to go out for sushi last night and get take out pizza tonight. I fell off the wagon bigtime!

I wanted to share the favorite meal of the week, which was lemon chicken thighs with parmesan roasted broccoli. The lemon chicken is from American Masala by Chef Suvir Saran. I got this book last year from Tom, and while many of the recipes in the book have an Indian bend, this one does not. This recipe is not only one of my favorite recipes tried from the book, but is one of the best ways I have ever cooked chicken at home. I was compelled to cook it from the picture accompanying the recipe, so I hope my picture here might do the same. Chicken thighs are my favorite cut of chicken, especially bone-in and skin-on. This chicken is really unique tasting – it has a lot of acidity from the lemon and balsamic vinegar, but the addition of sugar and butter rounds that out, adds sweetness, and makes for a really balanced flavor. I have a real weakness for lemon, I just love it in pretty much everything, and the lemon flavor stands out a lot in this one.

The parmesan roasted broccoli is new to me – it is from Ina Garten’s latest cookbook Back to Basics. Surprise, surprise, it also features a considerable amount of lemon zest and lemon juice. I actually thought the dishes worked together despite the major lemon action… and Tom says he agrees (I was holding a chef’s knife at the time we discussed this issue, however). The broccoli is really outstanding, also one of the best preparations of broccoli I have ever made at home.

Lemon Chicken Thighs

8 chicken thighs
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 lemons, zested, 1 juiced, and the other cut into wedges
1 T plus one tsp. kosher salt
2-½ tsp. ground pepper
2 T sugar
2 T canola oil
4 T unsalted butter

Prick the chicken pieces all over with a fork and set aside. Whisk the balsamic vinegar with half of the lemon zest, salt, and 2 tsp. of the ground pepper. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 20 minutes up to overnight. Mix the sugar with the remaining lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Heat the oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 2 minutes. Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter, and place chicken skin-side-down in the pan along with the remaining marinade. Cook until the chicken is browned on one side, 3 to 4 minutes, and then flip each piece over and cook 1 minute more. Sprinkle some of the lemon sugar and remaining ½ tsp. of ground pepper over the chicken and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until chicken is completely cooked through and a thermometer interested into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F, about 25 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven and scatter the butter pieces and lemon juice over it. Serve once the butter is melted, with some of the pan sauce drizzled over the chicken and rice, with lemon wedges on the side.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

4 to 5 pounds broccoli

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Good olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

The chicken recipe actually calls for the chicken to be roasted at 400 degrees, but given that I was cooking the chicken at the same time as the broccoli I adjust the temp and cooked both dishes at 425. I prepared jasmine rice to serve as an accompaniment, and it was a perfect side for the chicken, since the rice soaked up some of the delicious pan juices of the chicken… that sauce is just awesome.

Pasta e Fagioli with Simple Green Salad

Soup, salad, and bread. Is this the Olive Garden? Not exactly but it was pretty tasty (Full disclosure: I am not ashamed to admit, I love Olive Garden. Its one of my favorite chains.) Anyway for dinner Monday night, I went fairly simple with a soup that I put together on Sunday afternoon, served with a simple green salad and some tasty french bread. The soup is actually from a package - one of those bagged numbers in the same section as the dried beans that comes with a spice packet and recipe on the back. All I had to do was add some other components: chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic; a can of tomatoes; broth and water. The spice packet had a bunch of dried Italian spices plus dehydrated spinach. It was obviously simple to use but it really wouldn't have been much harder to add my own spices. It was nice to get all the different kinds of beans in one bag and not have to buy all of them. My mom makes a really good lentil soup from a package like this and she usually adds italian sausage to it to make it even heartier. That would have worked well here too. The beans and small noodles, plus a lot of veggies and good seasoning, was a nice, hearty combination that was filling and comforting.

For the salad, I stayed very simple also and just mixed a half a chopped avocado with some red leaf lettuce and romaine that I had in the crisper. I used leftover caesar dressing from Ina Garten's recipe that I already had in the fridge from another day. Here is the recipe for that:

1 extra-large egg yolk at room temperature*
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
8 to 10 anchovy fillets (optional)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good mild olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place the egg yolks, mustard, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until smooth. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube (as though you were making mayonnaise), until thick. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and pulse 3 times.

I usually cut this recipe in half when I make it for just "every day" use, i.e. not for a big dinner party or anything. It makes a lot. It is a pretty awesome recipe though - has a ton of flavor, very lemony and creamy.

*I actually make it with mayo now instead of the egg yolk (one T of mayo in place of the egg yolk). That way I am comfortable with it keeping in the fridge for a week or so without going bad on me.

I think the key, at least for me, to having success with eating at home regularly is to usually rely on menus that are fairly simple, and to not be afraid to use things like a soup mix, rather than making everything from scratch. So... day one, done. Tonight its pad thai (from a box mix, I am afraid... but it is a really good box.) Stay tuned, reader(s). All three of you.

Ambitious Week

One of the more rewarding things I do as a stay at home mom is to plan the week's meals ahead of time, and then actually follow through with the plan. For various reasons (cravings for other things, laziness, and/or "I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids") this goal is not always met. I had a great idea that if I blog about my meal plan, and then have to report on whether it actually happens, I might have more success. So this morning, I will fill you in on the plan for the next four nightly meals (nothing planned for Friday), and then will report on whether those meals are actually made. They are mostly designed for Tom and I, but the kids will eat some component of them. So here are the four meals:

Monday: Pasta e Fagioli soup and french bread with green salad

Tuesday: Pad Thai with ground pork and chicken potstickers

Wednesday: Balsamic-Lemon Chicken Thighs and roasted brocolli

Thursday: Tacos de Carnitas with rice and beans

So here goes! More to follow...

Fish Fry, hey

On Friday night, we attempted to recreate a classic Wisconsin fish fry from home. Minneapolis is a strange strange land and, like our forbearers who settled in America from distant places and brought with them the foodways of their home, it brings one great comfort to eat the foods of the motherland. (I jest… they’re not very different of course, and most Americans probably believe Minneapolis is a city in Wisconsin, or vice versa, or don’t know the two exist at all. And furthermore, Minnesota is known for a damn fine fish fry in its own right.) But a Wisconsin fish fry has some unique attributes that set it apart. For me it signifies so much… a great start to a weekend -- a crowded bar, a reasonable and tasty meal, good conversation and energy. But more than that, it is a meal that is so grounded in the place where I am… it is really “home” in the best sense of the word.

To begin, a cocktail. The classic cocktail to drink before a Wisconsin fish fry has to be an Old Fashioned. I think this is pretty much a regional drink – although I know it has been around forever and is served all over the country. For you time travelers and Bravo fans, I hear it is the cocktail of choice for Don Draper of Mad Men. This drink is a standard order in Wisconsin bars, certainly in Sheboygan County. I think the typical preparation is brandy, but it is also prepared with whiskey or bourbon. In our house we go whiskey, Kessler’s of course (my dad tells me my grandfathers would be proud – both loyal to Kessler’s themselves). In our house, it’s also prepared with 1-2 people under the age of four grabbing at your pants leg and demanding something usually unreasonable, but this is not typical of most Wisconsin taverns. Then for your mixer you can choose from either sweet, sour, or press. Sweet is mixed with a sprite/7-up soda, and sour is with sour mix, something like Squirt. Press is a mix of the two sodas. Tom and I prefer a Whiskey Old Fashioned Sweet. Tonight’s fish fry featured old fashioneds made from scratch… although I have always been guilty of making them with bottled mix in the past. This, I recently learned, is,a la My Cousin Vinny, sort of like a southerner making instant grits. Thank you, Mandi, for the old fashioned recipe (which I am sorry I had to slightly modify based on ingredients in my fridge):

For each drink…

In the bottom of a tub, muddle:

1 tsp sugar

1 maraschino cherry (I confess I did not have)

1 orange slice (dangit I don’t have this either, so I’ll use lemon)

3-4 shakes of bitters (ok, at least I have this)

Then add:

Da booze. (one or two shots)

Mix again, then add ice; then add your mixer(s), about 4-6 oz depending on how aggressive you want to be. Garnish with… cherry, or orange, or olives, or pickled mushrooms.

I have to say – they were damned good and I don’t know that we really missed the cherry. It was sweet enough and had good color.

Next, appetizers. For this we turned to a Benson family favorite, Grandma Dip. The origins of grandma dip are from Tom’s Grandma B, who apparently acquired this recipe from her Elkhart Lake bridge group. Other people in Elkhart also call it Grandma dip, or I think Bridge dip, depending on who your grandma is. In Tom's family, it is typically eaten while the group huddles in the kitchen around the bowl it was actually made in – since it didn’t last long enough to make it out of the kitchen or into any sort of serving bowl. Someone usually ends up cleaning the sides of the bowl with a chip or their finger, if there aren’t any chips left.

Grandma Dip

one package cream cheese, softened (8 oz)

one beef boullion cube, dissolved in as little water as possible

1-2 tsp. grated onion

worcestershire sauce, 4-5 shakes

potato chips or cut veggies for serving

Bring cream cheese to room temperature for best mixing. Add boullion to cream cheese until mixture stirs easily and is soft - you may not need to add all the liquid. Add grated onion and worcestershire sauce and taste. Adjust seasonings by adding more onion, worcestershire or boullion as necessary.

And now, onto the main event. A Wisconsin fish fry is always served with certain accompaniments: a potato – fries, baked, broasted, or potato pancakes (in Milwaukee potato pancakes are usually offered, but they are not standard in other parts of the state), coleslaw, bread (usually dark rye or a soft roll), and often applesauce.

As for the fish, typical options are usually cod, haddock, perch, bluegill, or walleye. You can usually have it battered and deep fried or breaded/seasoned and pan fried. I think restaurants usually also offer it baked or broiled but I honestly never pay much attention to that. Tonight we had walleye, coated in a flour based seasoning and pan fried, with potato pancakes, applesauce, and coleslaw. I elected not to make my own coating, but instead bought a store bought seasoning/coating.

Pan-fried Walleye (serves 2)

2 walleye fillets, washed under cold water and patted dry

1 egg, beaten and mixed with ½ c. water

½ c. store bought fish coating, or ½ c. flour seasoned to your liking with: salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, onion powder and/or garlic powder

Olive oil and butter for frying

Dip fish fillets in egg wash, and then roll/coat in fish seasoning. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes to allow for coating to adhere to fish.

Four enough vegetable oil into a heavy skilled to cover ¼ of fillet while frying and heat oil and butter to medium heat (350-360 degrees). Fry until golden brown – about 3-5 inutes each side. Turn fish only once. Drain on paper towel before serving.

Potato Pancakes

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, shredded/grated and salted to drain

½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

1 T milk

3-4 T milk

Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste (watch out to not over salt because you will have salted the potatoes to dry them out)

Olive oil and butter for frying

Mix all ingredients above from potatoes to salt until well incorporated. Heat butter and oil together in a frying pan over medium heat until just smoking. Add batter to pan to fry three to four cakes at a time (about 2-3 inches around). Cook 3-4 minutes a side and transfer to cookie sheet to keep warm in the oven while you cook the second batch. Made about 7-8 potato pancakes, probably enough for 4 servings.

Coleslaw

10 oz package shredded coleslaw mix

½ c. mayo

1 T greek yogurt

1 T dijon mustard

2 T white wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

½ ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least one hour before serving.

Tartar sauce

¼ c. mayo

Juice of one half lemon

2 small dill pickles, finely chopped

1 tsp chopped dill

1 T pickle juice

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least ½ hour before serving.

This meal was a real pleasure -- and really not hard to make when you take a few shortcuts for convenience. We especially loved the potato pancakes, they were crispy without being too greasy and had a nice density to them. It was fun to make and a joy to eat, which is what cooking is really supposed to be all about.

"That was a pretty. good. day. ... Why couldn't I have that day over and over and over?"