Chinese Dumpling Soup

Once you've made the Chinese Dumplings recipe, you'll probably have some leftover pork/beef stuffing mixture, and some extra tofu.

This recipe uses those leftovers to make a hearty Chinese Dumpling soup. Actually... it should be called Chinese Dumpling and Meatball soup, but that doesn't sound as good.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

QTY	INGREDIENT
1/4 cup	fish sauce
2 Tbsp.	sushi/sashimi sauce - adjust to taste for saltiness
5-6 ea	celery stalks, chopped
1/2 ea	onion, chopped
1/2 pkg.	tofu, medium firm, diced
15	dumpling wraps
1 pkg.	snow peas
2 ea	eggs
all	leftover dumpling mixture for "Chinese Dumplings" recipe

METHOD

1. Watch the video
2. Cook
3. Eat

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Chinese Fried Rice

Another fast and easy dish to delight the palate.

This makes a great side dish for many asian entrées you might try (such as Chinese Dumplings). The real nice part, is that you do most of the little little work required right inside your rice cooker. You toss the final mixture in the wok only to blend it with the egg, mix in the fish sauce, and re-heat.

Tastes great the next day as well.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

QTY	INGREDIENT
1 cup	Jasmine rice, raw
3/4 cup	water
3/4 cup	chicken broth
1-2 cups	raisins
2 Tbsp.	soy sauce
1 ea	carrot, chopped fine
2 ea	celery stalks, chopped fine
1 ea	egg
2 Tbsp.	sesame oil
1-2 Tbsp.	fish sauce - adjust to taste for saltiness

METHOD

1. Steam the rice, water, chicken broth, and raisins at the same time in a rice cooker
2. When the rice is done, blend in the carrot, celery, and soy sauce
3. Scramble the egg and stirr fry it in the sesame oil on high heat in a wok (or deep pan)
4. Dump in the rice mixture
5. Stir fry it until you hear the rice popping, adding the fish sauce a bit at a time as you go (periodic taste testing for desired saltiness)

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Chinese Dumplings

Easy and delicious.

If you're looking for a great chinese feast, then these Chinese Dumplings are the best I've ever tasted. It's getting harder and harder to settle for take-out.

This dish is best served with something like Chinese Fried Rice.

Making this dish is a breeze. However... having said that, it gets a bit tedious making 120 dumplings. I really recommend getting some friends or family to help out. You can make a big batch in no time flat when a few people kick in and help.

If you like Chinese food, then this is a "must try".

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

QTY	INGREDIENT
2 pkgs	Chinese dumpling wraps (about 120 individual wraps)
2 lbs	pork, ground
2 lbs	beef, ground
1 ea	tofu, medium firm
1 ea	sweet potato, chopped
2 cups	shiitake mushrooms
1 ea	onion, chopped
2 cups	rice, jasmine (preferrable 1 day old)
3 ea	sweet green peppers, chopped
1 can	water chestnuts, chopped
2 Tbsp.	garlic, minced
2 Tbsp.	soy sauce
1 Tbsp.	hoisin sauce
4 Tbsp.	sesame oil (2 for mixing, 2 for frying)
1 tsp.	salt
1 tsp.	pepper
1 bottle	Sushi / Sashimi sauce (in side bowls for dipping)

METHOD

1. Mix everything in a large bowl except for the dumpling wraps and sushi sauce
2. Make the dumplings by watching the video
3. Fry them up
4. Eat them

Now wasn't that easy?

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Chicken Satay

I really enjoyed both making as well as eating this dish - as did others.

I didn't film this one (yet), but I will soon. I didn't film it because I was experimenting, and I wasn't sure it would turn out.

All in all, this would be a fairly easy dish to whip up provided you had some of the more exotic asian spices in your pantry - and that they are already pre-ground - like the type you typically buy in plastic containers on the grocery store spice rack.

However, Claudie recently bought me a collection of high-quality asian spices - still whole, and stored in cans (which apparently is the optimum method of storing spices, so I've been informed). She also bought me a nice granite mortar and pestle for me to experiment with. So, like a mad scientist, I set off to become a spice alchemist.

Colt and I messed around until we had ground all the whole spices (that you can see listed below) into a fine powder. I never realized just how much more aroma and flavor you get when you crush the spices yourself - it really makes a significant difference. It also takes a bit of work.

However, I read that the process of grinding any spice exposes it's volatile oils to oxidization and evaporation, which is supposedly a bad thing. This is why some of the spices we buy off the typical grocery store spice rack have already lost a great deal of their flavor. Apparently, by only grinding them just before you use them, they deliver far more potency then the pre-ground spices I've been using up to now. Turned out to be true when put to the test.

Learn something every day.

Anyway, here is the recipe. It was a hit at our house, so I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it too (provided you don't have peanut allergies).

THE RECIPE

PRIMARY INGREDIENTS

QTY	INGREDIENT
4 each	Chicken breasts, cut into long thin strips about 1" wide - I sliced the breasts in half horizontally first, since they are too thick. I personally don't like grilling cubes - the strips are much easier to control.
12	wooden skewers, soaked in water for 24 hours

SATAY MARINADE INGREDIENTS

QTY	INGREDIENT
1 Tbsp.	lemongrass, paste
½ ea	onion, chopped fine
1 Tbsp.	garlic, paste
1 tsp.	red chilies, crushed (or cayenne pepper) - adjust to your desired spice level
1 Tbsp.	ginger, crushed
1 Tbsp.	coriander, crushed
1 tsp.	cumin, crushed
1 tsp.	white pepper, crushed
1 tsp.	cardamon, crushed
1 ea	lime leaf, crushed
3 Tbsp.	soy sauce
4 Tbsp.	fish sauce
3 Tbsp.	brown sugar
2 Tbsp.	sesame oil

PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE INGREDIENTS

QTY	INGREDIENT
1 ½ cups	peanut butter
1 cup	coconut milk
3 Tbsp.	water
3 Tbsp.	lime juice
3 Tbsp.	soy sauce
1 Tbsp.	fish sauce
1 Tbsp.	ginger, minced
1 Tbsp.	garlic, minced

METHOD

STAGE 1 - Preparing the skewers

1. Submerge wooden skewers in water for 24 hours before making this dish - this is critical, as this keeps them from burning while you're grilling.
2. If you are using a stovetop grilling skillet, trim your skewers down-to-size with a pair of scissors so that they can easily fit and lie flat inside the skillet.

STAGE 2 - Preparing the meat

1. Cut chicken into thin strips and place in a bowl.
2. Place all marinade ingredients in a food processor or chopper. Process well.
3. Pour the marinade over the meat and coat evenly.
4. Allow at least 2-24 hours for marinating.

STAGE 3 - Making the Peanut Dipping Sauce

1. In a sauce pan, blend the PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE ingredients.
2. Bring to a light boil while stirring frequently to create a smooth, creamy sauce.
3. Take off stove and set aside.

STAGE 4 - Grilling the meat

1. Weave the strips of meat onto the skewers (like a wave). Typically 2 strips per skewer.
2. Fill up top ⅔ of the skewer, leaving the lower ⅓ empty as a "handle" for turning.
3. Grill the satay on your BBQ or on a stovetop grilling skillet.
4. While grilling, baste meat with leftover marinade.
5. Grill all sides, approx. 2-3 minutes per side.

I recommend serving this dish with Jasmine rice, and adding some lime slices as a useful garnish.

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Talapia Española

A spanish style dish that serves a tangy sauce to compliment the fairly bland taste of Talapia. Turned out pretty good actually. I definitely wouldn't want to eat Talapia everyday without some tasty sauce like this.

Recipe

Qty	Ingredient
2 Pieces	stuffed talapia
1 cup	celery
1 ea	shallot
3 cloves	black chinese garlic
2 ea	roasted red peppers
1 Tbsp.	sugar
1 Tbsp.	balsamic vinegar
1 Cup	orange juice (sweetened)
1 Cup	dry white white
1 Sprig	tarragon
1 ea	shallot
3 cloves	black chinese garlic
2 ea	roasted red peppers
1 Tbsp.	sugar
1 Tbsp.	balsamic vinegar
1 Cup	orange juice (sweetened)
1 Cup	dry white white
1 Sprig	tarragon
2-3 Cups	vegetable broth
2 Tbsp.	capers for garnish
	salt and pepper to taste

Method


Realistically, the video was filmed while I was inventing. Now that I've worked it out, the process is actually simpler than the video.

1. Purée everything in a food processor except the tarragon, the Talapia, and the vegetable broth.
2. Boil the purée mixture, adding the tarragon while boiling
3. Reduce to a simmer and put it aside until the Talapia is almost done
4. Put the Talapia and vegetable broth in a dutch over and bake for 40 minutes at 350°F
5. Just before the 40 minutes is up, warm up the sauce again
6. Plate the fish, drizzle the sauce over or around the fish, sprinkle some capers over the Talapia as a garnish

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Pineapple Curry Shrimp

The Pineapple Curry Shrimp is on the right side of the dish. This will only cover the recipe for this portion.

For the "Chicken French" on the left, follow this link to Foodwishes.com

The avocado is simply 1/2 and avocado filled with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil emulsion.

This recipe requires at least a couple of hours. Most of the work is in the preparation, so be prepared for the time required. However, the finished product is worth every minute spent.

Here is a picture of the Pineapple Curry Shrimp served by itself.

This video was a bit of a rush job to get something together for Claudie's birthday, so I apologize in advance for some missing scenes that I'll just  be talking you through.

Here is the recipe:

Qty	Ingredient
1 big bag	raw jumbo shrimp (about 25 pieces - peeled)
6 cups	cups cooked rice, preferably a couple days old (Tip: if fresh, leave for an hour or more in the refrigerator uncovered to dry it out a bit)
2 Tbsp.	vegetable stock for stir-frying
1	large shallots, chopped
2 cups	mushrooms, sliced thin
2 tbsp.	garlic, minced
1	egg
2 cups	snow peas
1	carrot, sliced wafer thin
½ cup	raisins (soaked in water for 20 minutes)
½ cup	cup salted cashews
1	large lemon
3 Tbsp.	sesame oil (for frying)
3 Tbsp.	sesame oil (for coating your cooked rice in advance)
	Lime juice (only for an emergency recovery from too much saltiness)

Stir-fry Sauce

Qty	Ingredient
4 Tbsp.	fish sauce
6 Tsp.	soy sauce
1 Tbsp.	curry powder
1 Tsp.	dried coriander

METHOD


STAGE 1

• Cook your rice in advance and let cool completely, and preferably dry out a bit
• Use a few tablespoons of Sesame oil and massage into the cooked rice with your fingers. You want break down any clumps of rice so the kernels don't stick to each other.

STAGE 2

• Premix your Stir-fry Sauce ingredients, it should be thick but still runny

STAGE 3

• Pan fry your shrimp in a separate pan with bit of olive oil and the juice of 1 large lemon
• Sit them aside

STAGE 4

• Heat up a Wok to medium-high with some sesame oil
• Sauté the mushrooms and garlic
• Toss in the egg and shallots, scramble until cooked (then push of to the side - away from direct bottom heat)
• Add carrots, snow peas, raisins, cashews, and vegetable stock
• Cook the veggies in the stock until most of the stock has reduced away
• Add pineapple
  

STAGE 5

• Add rice and shrimp
• Drizzle ½ the Stir-fry Sauce over the rice and blend everything again
• Gently stir-fry until the rice "dances" (begins to make popping sounds)
• Taste it and test for saltiness. If it's still a bit too bland, add more sauce and repeat
• If you accidentally make it too salty, add a bit of lime juice

Serve

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Coq au Vin

Coq au Vin is the quintessential French dish. However, I'm not one that necessarily sticks to tradition. I'm usually interested in enhancing some tastes over others.

So I changed up this recipe by using a Cordon Bleu for the chicken. I also added some Filet Mignon tips that I had left over.

In the end, everything turned out quite nicely. A very hardy meal. What surprised me more than anything were the pearl onions. They absorbed lots of the delicious sauce and turned out to be a significantly tasty element in the dish.

Bon Appétit

Cheers, Randy

Leftover Western Mash

Things were piling up in the fridge, so Claudie threatened to starting tossing things out if I didn't use them up.

So I got busy and just grabbed whatever looked interesting and tried something from scratch. It worked out pretty good actually.

Here's the video.

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Tuscany Garlic Chicken with Fettuccine

Delicious

The chicken is crispy on the outside, and the Fettuccine is made with red and orange peppers, spinach, Romano cheese, and Rosemary.

The cherry tomatoes are fried in Worcestershire sauce and olive oil.

INGREDIENTS

QTY	Ingredient
1 pack	Fettuccine
3 ea	Chicken Breasts
2 cups	Flour, to dredge chicken
2 cups	Heavy Cream
1 ea	Entire garlic bud, Minced
2 cups	White Wine, to cook with
1 glass	White wine, to drink while cooking
1 tbsp.	Flour, to thicken the sauce
2 ea	Red Pepper, julienned
1 ea	Orange Pepper, julienned
1 bunch	Spinach
2 sprigs	Rosemary
1.5 cups	Romano cheese, grated
8-10	Cherry Tomatoes
2 tbsp.	Worcestershire sauce
	Salt and Pepper on just about everything

METHOD
STAGE 1

1. Make your fettuccine ahead of time and set aside

STAGE 2

1. Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper
2. Dredge your chicken breasts in flour
3. Pan sear them in olive oil until crispy on the outside
4. Transfer them into a dish that is designed to go into an oven
5. Bake them in the oven at 350 until 165°F internal temp.
6. Take them out and let them sit for about 10 minutes before cutting them

STAGE 3
While the chicken is baking:

1. Set a small frying pan to medium heat
2. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and salt the face
3. Place face down in olive oil
4. Drizzle with Worcestershire sauce
5. Let them simmer until you've finished STAGE 4

STAGE 4

1. Set a very large frying pan (12") to medium high
2. Sweat down all the garlic in olive oil
3. Add 1 cup of the white wine and reduce by 75%
4. Add the second cup of white wine and reduce by 50%
5. Add the peppers and sear al dente
6. Add the spinach and reduce
7. Set temperature to simmer
8. Season mixture with salt and pepper
9. Add the 1 tbsp. flour and mix thoroughly
10. Add the heavy cream and mix
11. Add the Romano cheese and mix
12. Add the fettuccine into the pan and mix to rewarm the fettuccine

STAGE 5

1. Slice the chicken breasts on the diagonal
2. Plate the fettuccine
3. Layout the chicken slices over top
4. Place the tomatoes around so it looks nice
5. Serve

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Hazelnut Scallop Salad with Orange Dressing

A nice light and warm appetizer.

No video with this one. We were too hungry, so I zipped this up to keep the mob at bay.

INGREDIENTS

QTY	Ingredient
20 ea	Scallops
1 cup	Flour, for dredging
1 ea	Egg, for dredging
1 cup	Hazelnuts, minced into powder
1 cup	Orange Juice
1 tbsp.	Lime Juice
2 tbsp.	Yellow Roasted Pepper Purée
1 tbsp.	Lemon Grass Purée
1 tbsp.	Chilli Pepper Paste
3-4 tbsp.	Brown Sugar, sweeten to taste
2 ea	Butter Lettuce Heads

METHOD

1. Dredge the scallops in the egg and flour/hazelnut batter
2. Freeze them for 60 minutes
3. Deep fry them for about 3-4 minutes (mak sure your suace is ready before you do this)
4. Mix together everything else in a sauce pan
5. Simmer on medium low heat for 30 minutes to reduce
6. Serve everything warm
7. Plate scallops over the butter lettuce
8. Drizzle the sauce, don't overwhelm with sauce

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Oriental Pork Buns

Trying out some Asian recipes. I love oriental food, so I thought I'd better learn to cook them instead of just ordering takeout all the time. After watching enough YouTubes, I figured I'd give it a try. Turned out well. I always liked the Oriental Pork Buns, so I thought I'd start here (other than the Orange Chicken, which was to die for).

This time however, I thought I'd actually record "how" I made them, and try to use iMovie on the Mac to create the video. I used my iPhone 4 to shoot the video, so it's a bit shaky here and there (sorry for the quality control problem). But, all-in-all, it turned out to be a fun project. My son Colt helped me on a number of shots where I needed (or should I say kneaded) a helping hand. I must say, iMovie on the Mac rocks. The stabilization feature helped clean up a lot of the hand-held shaking problems.

The food is good. Not really that difficult. I originally thought that this dish should be served with other side dishes... but after eating a couple of these pork buns I felt full. No comparison to the salmon dish, but one could see how this could be a decent staple.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Bon Appétit

Cheers, Randy

Garlic Ginger Salmon in under 5 minutes - MISSION POSSIBLE

No words can describe it.

So let's watch the video instead.

INGREDIENTS

• 3-4 ea Salmon Filet 8(oz) (make sure they are room temp. before cooking)
• 8 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Rice Vinegar
• 2 tbsp. Chili Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Ginger Puree
• 2 tbsp. Garlic Puree
• 2 tsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 ½ cups Water
• 1 bit finely chopped Fresh Dill
• 1 bit finely chopped Basil (optional)
• 1 tbsp. Cornstarch mixed with a bit of cold water
• 6-8 tbsp. Sesame Oil

METHOD

1. Heat up a sauté pan on low heat
2. Blend all ingredients in the sauté pan (except Dill, Basil, Cornstarch, Salmon, and Sesame Oil)
3. Bring to boil, then reduce to a very low heat while grilling salmon
4. Bring up a separate "grilling" pan to high heat (about 7 or 8) with sesame oil (don't spare the oil - it helps to build a wonderful nutty crust)
5. Salt the salmon on topside only with kosher salt
6. Place salmon topside down in grill AND DON'T TOUCH IT
7. Let it grill until you see the colour on the side of the fish changing about 1/3 the way up the side
8. Flip each piece AND THEN DON'T TOUCH IT AGAIN
9. Let it grill until the colour has changed about 1/3 the way up the opposite side
10. While this is going on, mix cornstarch with about 1 tbsp. of cold water in a small dish
11. Whisk cornstarch mixture into the sauce
12. Bring the sauce back to a boil again for 1 minute then take it off the heat and let it thicken.
13. Remove salmon from grill and plate it
14. Provide a healthy glaze coating over the salmon so it leaves extra on the dish (trust me, they will want more)
15. Sprinkle a bit of fresh dill (and basil if you wish) on top. It's not just a garnish, the dill really adds a little something extra.

Thanks to Chef John at foodwishes.com for this gem.

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Pork Calypso

Pork medallions in dark rum and cinnamon sauce

Roasted Yellow Pepper Omelet with Cheese

Just a nice little breakfast on a cold snowy day.

Corned Beef Hash Heaven

Got the recipe from Chef John over at foodwishes.com

Glazed Beef Filet with Pomegranate Sauce & Gremolata

A modified version of Gordon Ramsey's recipe

Orange Chicken - one of my favorites

This is delicious and simple.

Make sure to blend your sauce ingredients in advance.

RECIPE

1 cup	Orange Juice
1 cup	Water
2 tbsp.	Soy Sauce
2 tbsp.	Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tbsp.	Minced Garlic
½ cup	Chopped Onion
1 cup	Brown Sugar
1 tbsp.	Corn Starch, mix with a bit of water
3-4 ea	Chicken Breasts
1 cup	Flour
	Salt & Pepper for seasoning

METHOD

• Season the chicken with salt & pepper
• Dredge chicken in flour - shake off the excess
• Fry in a bit of sesame oil until golden brown - don't cook all the way through
• Set aside
• Pan fry the onions and garlic in sesame oil until caramelized
• Set aside

SAUCE

• Combine OJ, Soy, Rice Wine Vinegar, Onion, Brown Sugar, and Water in sauce pan
• Boil (5 minutes)
• Reduce by 50%
• Turn heat down to simmer
• Add the onions back into the sauce
• Add chicken to simmering sauce
• Add the cornstarch
• Sauté chicken in sauce for 5 minutes to complete the cooking and thicken sauce
• Plate, and drizzle with additional sauce

Bon Appétit
Cheers, Randy

Poached egg with hollandaise & blackberries

Chef John over at foodwishes.com demonstrates a fast method for Hollandaise. He also has a great way to fix a broken Hollandaise.

Here's another version, but this uses a bit of dill and a squeeze of lemon. Gives it completely different taste.

The bread used for both is homemade French baguette that took me considerable time to master. It's not the type you would find in your typical North American grocery store.

Claudie made me add this.