This week for dinner- Gyoza's

So I decided to start a new weekly post. "This week for dinner", what do you think?  I think I'll also start a weekly treat/dessert of some kind.  We'll see if I can keep it up with my new goals, 4 kids, etc...  We live with my in laws this year and my sweet mother in law cooks on Monday and Wednesdays and then there is always at least one left over night so I only get to make dinner 3 or 4 nights a week.  So that cut's down the recipes I can post.  There are repeats often simply because I have some picky children.  Anyway...  Tonight!

Gyoza.  I fell in LOVE with these when we were living in Japan.  They are a bit time consuming simply because of the filling and folding and stuff.  But they are SO worth it.  I'd like to actually get a couple of other filling recipes, anyone have anything other than pork?  These are classic and a great recipe!

So above is uncooked, I use premade gyoza wrappers.  There is probably a way to make them, but I don't know what it is.  But they are cheap and easy to use so I'm at the "why bother" stage with that.

Gyoza
4 leaves of cabbage
½ bunch Chinese chives (or green onions)
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp potato starch
5 ½ oz ground pork
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp water
20 round Gyoza wrappers
Oil
Boil cabbage and let cool, then chop fine. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Cut chives and garlic, combine with cabbage, mix in potato starch. Combine pork, soy sauce, sesame oil and water. Add cabbage mixture. Place a tsp of filling in the center of each wrapper. Moisten half way around the edge of wrapper, fold over edge to make half moon shape.

Heat pan, add oil and lower temp. Add Gyoza, cook until bottom golden brown

Add hot water to pan to half submerge the Gyoza, cover the pan. Turn heat to high and steam until most water evaporates.

Remove lid, lower heat and cook until the pan is dry.



Dipping sauce
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
a few drops hot chili oil

To make the presentation pretty flip them over when you serve them so the pretty cooked bottom shows!  I like to use chopsticks of course, but feel free to do your best with anything else!

Hunt for the perfect Chocolate Brownie...

For August we decided to try our hand at some homemade brownies. Now I have lots of recipes for homemade brownies, that are great and I love. But this month we were going for a certain kind of chocolate brownie. The homemade version of the fudge boxed brownie mix. You know the kind, with the crinkly top, and the fudgey center... That's perfect with or in Ice Cream. This kind of brownie is the only thing I still use a box mix for. Everything else I make from scratch, so I'm looking for a "from Scratch" recipe for brownies too.

Looking around the Internet I found a similar soul trying to do just that, Alice Q. Foodie. I decided to try out her recipe first. I've cut the batch down to just one 9x13, instead of 3, and cut out the espresso (not a coffee drinker)!

Serious Brownies
makes 9x13 pans

1 lbs of bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 stick (8 Tbs) of butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/3 cups of granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoons Maldon salt or fleur de sel, lightly crushed
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 Tbs unsweetened Cocoa

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your pans with parchment or grease them well.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and Cocoa.

In a double broiler gently melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring periodically to incorporate. As soon as the mixture is melted, turn off the heat and allow to cool.

In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs with the sugar on high speed until the mixture is very pale and thick, and falls back into the bowl with a wide ribbon that folds back on itself and slowly dissolves when the beater is lifted from the surface. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.

Gently fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar, then fold in the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time.

Bake at 350 degrees until the top surface is slightly puffed and uniformly dry, and the batter no longer jiggles when you shake the pan gently - about 25-30 minutes depending on how thick they are. They will sink a bit as they cool.

Okay, so how did they taste? I have NO idea. I was suffering from a sinus infection when I made these, and while I ate one piece every day, and stretched them out over a week (my husband was out of town) hoping to be able to taste them I never could. I can say that the texture was amazing. And that the few people who tried them said good things, I can not say one way of the other. One taster said they were very dark chocolate and not too sweet, so I would like them, but would others? I will have to try them again and let you know, but at least I got these made in August...

Chocolate Hazelnut... Homemade Nutella

This was from our July Chocolate Therapy Challenge. I've finally got around to posting it. We found 2 different recipes for homemade nutella. I tried one and Duff ABC's tried the other. They were both short and easy, using whole Hazelnuts that you grind yourself. And there is the issue I had with the recipe. Not the grinding, that was easy, but my at home food processor just couldn't get the nuts ground enough! The end product was just a bit too grainy. By other than the texture (a big deal for me, but not my Husband) the taste was amazing. If I could find a way to grind it better, and create a smoother finish I'd never buy Nutella at the store again.

Homemade Nutella
3/4 C (90 grams) powdered sugar
2/3 C (100 grams) ground hazelnuts
1/3 C (70 grams) butter
3.5 oz (100 grams) dark chocolate
1/2 C (1 deciliter) milk

Combine sugar and hazelnuts.
Melt chopped chocolate with butter in double broiler. Add hazelnuts with sugar in it and stir it.
Pour milk in the hot chocolate mix and stir it, until it becomes smooth (it takes about one minute).
Pour into a container and refrigerate it.

Using weight works more accurately than C's. But I did my best to get the measurement accurate. I included the original grams just in case...)

Chocolate Peeps

So our Chocolate Therapy challenge for the month was Peeps, but not just homemade peeps, CHOCOLATE homemade peeps. Of course after I rolled them in powdered sugar you can't tell they are chocolate... I should have taken a picture BEFORE I rolled them in sugar. BUT my camera died, and I couldn't wait any longer to roll them. I did half granulated sugar and half powdered sugar. I liked the granulated sugar ones better, a little bit of crunch to them. I was going to roll them in the dutch cocoa, but they weren't quite as sweet as I'd hoped and they needed a bit of sugar, not more bitterness.

Chocolate Marshmallows

2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups water, divided
4 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/3 C cocoa
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 C water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Using a Candy theremometer bring the mixture to the hard-ball stage, 250 to 260 degrees.

While the sugar mixture is heating, place 1/2 C water in a metal bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Place the bowl over simmering water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture becomes liquid.

Dissolve the cocoa in the last 1/2 C water, then add to the gelatin. Keep this gelatin mixture warm until the sugar comes to the proper temperature. When the sugar mixture reaches the hard-ball stage and you remove it from heat, carefully whisk in the gelatin mixture. Meanwhile, use an electric mixer to whip the egg whites into soft peaks.

Once the peaks have formed, set the electric mixer to medium-speed and slowly pour the sugar mixture into the bowl of whipped egg whites. When pouring the sugar mixture into the mixing bowl, keep the stream small and slow. Once all of the sugar has been incorporated into the egg whites, add the vanilla extract and continue mixing at a medium-speed until the mixture cannot become any fluffier.

At this point you can do 2 things. First you can pour it into a pan (coated with butter and sugar). Once it's cool you coat a knife with butter and sugar and cut the marshmallow into squares (re-sugaring the knife after every slice).

OR you can make Peeps!!!

Line a flat surface with waxed paper and sprinkle it with sugar. Use a large pastry bag with at least a 1/2-inch opening or tip. Carefully spoon the sticky marshmallow fluff into the bag and twist the top closed. Pipe the body of the chick shape first by making a thick line on the paper. When the body is long enough, pipe backwards on top of the body, and then make a little head. To coat the marshmallow chicks completely, let them set for 30 minutes before rolling them in bowls full of colored sugar.

The first bag full was too soft, and the peeps fell flat, the next 2 bags were perfect, and the last bag I couldn't even squeeze out! I had to cut the bag open and chop up the marshmallow! I made a double batch, and it was just too much for one person to get all the peeps made before the mixture got to stiff. So next time either a single batch or double the hands...

Gyro's

I LOVE Greek food, and I especially enjoy a good Gyro. SO when I found a recipe online for homemade Gyro and Tzatziki sauce I just HAD to try it. Add some home made pita's, some tomatoes, sliced onion and TONS of feta and you have a GREAT Gyro.
The Gyro meat itself is basically a meatloaf. You can roast it or cook it in the oven. Since the Oven was the only thing available to me that is what I used. It turned out great. The only thing that would have made it better was if I had a food processor to grind up the meatloaf better.

Gyro Meat


1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground lamb
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper



Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.
Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.
To cook in the oven as a meatloaf, proceed as follows: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve

The Pita bread is quite simple, and yet time consuming, like most breads...

Pita
makes 6 pitas

2 C bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 oz yeast
2/3 C lukewarm water
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix the yeast with the water then stir in the olive oil. Gradually beat the flour and salt into the mixture. Turn out on floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth. cover and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.
Punch down and divide into 6 pieces and let rest for 5 mins. Roll out into ovals about 1/4 in thick. let rise 23-30 mins.
Bake at 450 on pizza stone for 4-6 mins until puffed up.

The Tzatziki sauce needs to be started the day before, simply because the yogurt has to strain overnight. I was shocked at just how much juice drained from the yogurt overnight. And I read that the longer you let it drain the better the flavor. Next time I'll let it drain for a full 24 hours, not just overnight.

Tzatziki Sauce
makes 1 1/2 C

16 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

I actually wanted mine a bit smoother and I ran it through my blender before serving. My husband and kids and I loved it. But I added too much garlic. I tend to go overboard with garlic because most recipes don't have enough for me. I learned my lesson though and I'll stick to the recommended amount for my first trial for now on.

Madeline's

So for this Month's Chocolate Therapy challenge My friend over at Duff ABC's picked Madeline's. Of course had to make CHOCOLATE Madelaine's, but I made both. I have to say I've never eaten Madeline's and now I know why. They taste great, but when I'm going to make something these would be pretty low on my list. I liked them, but they just didn't stand out, they are cake-y cookies, and I'd rather have a cake, or cookies. I'll try them again, but these won't be common cookies for me. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: If I'm going to eat a dessert I want it to be sensational. These just weren't worth the calories for me, I'd rather enjoy a rich chocolate cheesecake, or Ice Cream, or, Brownies, or... You get the idea. BUT that said they had a great flavor and if your into slightly sweet, light desserts these are probably for you. A bit of a crunch the first day, but simply soft after that.

Madeline's

makes 2-3 dozen regular size

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (6 ounces)

3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

a pinch fine-grain sea salt

2/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the 1 1/2 sticks of butter in a small pot over medium heat until it's brown and gives off a deliciously nutty aroma, roughly 20 minutes. Strain (using a paper towel over a mesh strainer) - you want to leave the solids behind. Cool the butter to room temperature.

Put the eggs with the salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until thick - you are looking for the eggs to roughly double or triple in volume - approximately 3 minutes. Continuing to mix on high speed, slowly add the sugar in a steady stream. Whip for 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and ribbony.

Sprinkle the flour on top of the egg batter, and gently fold in. Now fold in the butter mixture. Only stirring enough to bring everything together.
Spoon the batter into the molds, bake the Madelaine's for 12 - 14 minutes (7-10 minutes for smaller cookies), or until the edges of the Madelaine's are golden brown. Remove from oven and un-mold immediately.

Chocolate version

pour strained cooked butter over 6 oz broken up bittersweet chocolate, stir until smooth

I do have to say I LOVE my Madeline pan, and I've been trying to think of another cookie I could put in it. The shape is cute, and the pan is amazing! I used baking spray on the first batch, but didn't need to my Wilton non-stick pan worked! It was incredible.
The flavor of the cooked butter was a nice twist, and delicious. AND very easy and quick, but with a fancy end result. Maybe it's a good recipe to keep around for it's looks alone, an easy way to look impressive... If your into people thinking your amazing...
I think the fact was that it wasn't hearty/filling enough for me I want my cookies to be cookies, not bite size cake with no frosting... Maybe if I dipped them in chocolate, Mmmmmm... Now that could work, like mini cakes, with my thick chocolate fudge frosting on one side... Of course what isn't made better my dipping it in chocolate?
And a quick word of caution, MAKE SURE you use the paper towel and strainer for the cooked butter, look what was left in the pan after 20 mins of cooking?

Oreo "truffle" Balls

Okay, this was a recipe we picked as part of our Monthly Chocolate Therapy Challenges. Now, they we're quite what I expected, simply because I wouldn't call them truffles. They are Oreo balls. Don't get me wrong, they taste good, are super easy and look good. But truffles? No, not in a million years. So I rename them Oreo Balls. Very good, a repeat.

Oreo Balls

Makes 40-50 depending on ball size

1 Pkg crushed Oreo's

8 oz softened cream cheese

Mix well, refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Make balls and dip in Chocolate (white, milk or dark all work) or roll in sugar. Viola!

That's it! Super easy, tasty and much cheaper that real truffles, so a good one for kids and snack-y husbands. (I really don't want to share my REAL and expensive truffles with anyone who doesn't REALLY appreciate them)

Caramel Dark Chocolate Truffle

So this was my second recipe for the month. I made it about 2 mins after I finished the first batch. This one was a bit more involved, but still super easy. And who doesn't like Caramel and Chocolate? I bought some Fleur De Sel last week for a Caramel cheesecake I'm hoping to try soon, so I had everything on hand.

Caramel Dark Chocolate

makes about 30

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

2/3 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon Fleur De Sel

Melt chocolate in double boiler, stir until chocolate is smooth. Remove chocolate from over water.
Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth. Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon Fleur De Sel into melted chocolate. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.
Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Chill overnight.
Optional: Line 13x9x2-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 12 ounces chocolate in Double Boiler. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional Fleur De Sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

I was disappointed that there wasn't a stronger Caramel taste, in fact I don't think there was one at ALL. Knowing that Caramel went INTO the truffle I really tried to taste it, but to no avail. And no one else who tried it could taste it either. And these truffles were much softer/squishier than the other batch. So I'm wondering if I should have left it on low for longer, hoping that it the Caramel mixture would thicken up a bit and become more flavorful. I'm willing to try again at the hopes that it will. Also I didn't bother with the last/optional step. I didn't want the two truffles to get confused so I rolled these in Christmas colored extra large sprinkles. I have to say I LOVED the crunch. In hindsight the crunch would have been better with the other truffles and the cocoa would have been better with these. Next time... Also as an aside. I won't bother with melting the chocolate, I'll chop the chocolate up more and use the "rest for 5 mins" trick that the last recipe used.

Dark Chocolate Truffles

So this month Duff's ABC and I chose to learn how to make Truffles. I started my experimenting by reading about truffles. The kind most people feel safe making is with a cream cheese base, but the classic truffle (that you spend lots of money for at a store) is a ganache base. Here was one description I thought said it well. "Chocolate and small amounts of liquids do not mix well - the chocolate clumps up in what is called seizing. However, when a substantial amount of liquid is added to the chocolate, we can make chocolate syrup. A ganache is simply a syrup of chocolate and cream that does not contain enough cream to be liquid at room temperature. Once this mixture cools, it will form a hard ganache that can be molded into shapes." It turns out that the ganache is really quite easy, but now I know why they cost SO much. It takes lots of chocolate, and we know how expensive lots of good chocolate can be. I tried 2 recipes and liked them both, but neither one was FANTASTIC. I'll keep looking.

Dark chocolate truffles
makes 40-50 depending on size of balls

1 pound (455 g) of dark chocolate, a flavor you enjoy

1 cup (235 mL) heavy whipping cream

Cut the chocolate into pieces. Pour all the pieces into a medium heat proof bowl.
Bring the cup of heavy whipping cream just to a boil. (This is called scalding)
Pour the scalded heavy cream onto the chocolate and allow it to sit for five minutes
Stir the now melted chocolate with the cream. Stir until the chocolate melts and the ganache is smooth.
Let the ganache cool down and chill for about an hour in the refrigerator to harden. Using a melon baller or small ice cream scoop (such as a #70), scoop out balls of hard ganache and roll each ganache ball in the cocoa powder to coat.

It really could not have been simpler. I did a half batch and it turned out just fine. Actually the shaping of the balls was much more time consuming than making the ganache! And much messier too. I tried using a melon baller, but the ganache didn't come out very well. In the end I used a spoon, and shaped them with my hands, quickly. they weren't perfect balls, but I guess they looked homemade! They were nice and dense. And tasted just like the Dove Dark Chocolate bars I used in Truffle form! I think I'll use a different dark chocolate that's less creamy next time to see if I like it better. Or maybe add a bit of flavoring... Or roll in crushed Candy Cane (I love this time of year)