Indian Feast From the Pantry

This morning when we talked about dinner we decided that we'd do something Indian to get rid of two chicken breasts we had in the fridge. The original plan was to use a prepackaged sauce, cook some rice, and make naan. Should have been simple. I missed a text from Sarah when I was leaving the church about our not having a sauce on hand and didn't go to the store. A quick pantry search confirmed her finding. I should have assumed she was right, I can't find anything. The naan was already rising so we had to do something. The solution was an aloo gobi type dish and a makeshift chicken tikka. The chicken came out perfectly, the aloo gobi didn't taste quite right, but it's good. Everything tastes inspired by the subcontinent. 

We ended up using evaporated milk instead of either yogurt or cream and incorporated other pantry staples like green chile sauce from New Mexico chiles. I'm pretty impressed that the entire meal was made from things we almost always have on hand. Served with homemade naan and jasmine rice with raisins it made the perfect meal.

Chicken Tikka

Chicken

• 3tbs butter
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
  
• 2 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

Marinade

• 3tbs lemon juice
• 2tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup milk

Sauce

• 3tbs green chile sauce
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 3 tsp paprika
• 8oz pureed tomato
  
• 1 cup evaporated milk

Grind cumin seeds and add to other marinade ingredients. Cover chicken with marinade in a plastic bag or a bowl. We only marinated the chicken for 30 minutes, but it should probably marinate for two hours. Grind coriander and combine with other sauce ingredients, set aside until the chicken is done marinating. Drain marinade from chicken into sauce ingredients (this may not be necessary, but I did to offset the short marinade time). Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic until slightly translucent and add chicken. Cook chicken. Add sauce ingredients, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Aloo Gobi

• 3tbs vegetable oil
• 1/4tsp mustard seed
• 1/4tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp ground turmeric
• 3 chopped tomatoes (from a 28oz can)
• 2tbs minced fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove
  
• 1/2tsp white sugar
• 1tsp salt
• 2 potato, cubed (we used cubed hash browns)
  
• 1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 1/2 cup peas
  

Combine turmeric, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, sugar and salt in a bowl. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a dutch oven until shimmery. Add mustard and cumin seeds (whole), swirl them in the oil as they pop being careful not to burn them. Add onion, potatoes and cook (if using large potatoes this may take awhile, the hash browns cooked very quickly). Add the cauliflower and spice mixture to the pan. Stir to mix well (be careful not to turn it to mush). Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until cauliflower and potatoes are soft stirring occasionally. Stir in peas and cook until warmed.

 

Sausage, Red Onion, and Sun Dried Tomato Lasagna

I'm a huge fan of lasagna, but every time I make it I like to mix things up a bit. Earlier this week I had the chance to make a quick lasagna for dinner. A quick lasagna is one that doesn't require an exceptional amount of prep work - it still takes an hour in the oven, but prior to baking is fairly fast. One of the ways to achieve this to not boil the pasta - it cooks just fine while the lasagna bakes. Another key is that all of the ingredients are purchased - no homemade pasta or sauce.

In addition to the standard ingredients I combined a finely diced red onion, a chopped head of garlic, and 3oz of sun dried tomatoes. The sweetness from the sun dried tomato and carmalized onion is quite noticeable in this dish. The garlic is strong, but not overpowering. 

Sausage, Red Onion, and Sun Dried Tomato Lasagna

• 1lb Italian sausage
• large red onion, chopped finely
• head of garlic, chopped finely
• 3oz sun dried tomatoes, chopped finely
• 1 tbs dried red pepper flakes
  
• 1 package ricotta cheese (I used light)
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella, reserve 1 cup for top of lasagna
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  
• 1 egg (apparently optional as it got left out with no ill effect)
• 1-2 jars of sauce
  

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a saute pan, brown sausage, and drain leaving enough fat in the pan for onions. Sweat onions over medium-low heat until carmalized. Add garlic, sun dried tomato, and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat until garlic is cooked. Return sausage to pan,  add 1 cup of sauce, and combine well. Remove from heat to cool slightly. Combine cheeses and egg and mix well. Pour 1 cup of sauce into the bottom of a lasagna pan and add a layer of noodles. Top noodles with sausage mixture, then cheese mixture. Repeat with additional layers of noodles. Top the last layer with noodles and cover with sauce. Bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover, add remaining mozzarella and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve. 

Prep: 35 minutes Cook: 60 minutes 

New Mexico Pulled Pork

Last night the men's group I'm in at church came over for dinner and to discuss the second half of Integrity. I made a chile rubbed pork shoulder served with beans, tortillas, guacamole, and chile sauce (both green and red). The event used up the last of our frozen stash so I had to order more (which will be here next week). I love alternative bbq uses and the New Mexican cuisine seemed like a good choice.

I started two pork butts around 10:30 on Thursday night. I ground four dried red chiles in the spice mill (two mild and two hot) then combined them with my standard bbq rub for the pork. I fired the WSM with the Minion method and cooked them at 225° until 4:30 PM. I really thought that they would have reached 190°, but they stayed in the 170° zone from 10 AM and had only gotten to 180° when I took them off the smoker (if I'd have had a bit more time they probably would have gotten to 190°). I let the butts rest wrapped in foil for 30 minutes then pulled them into a crock pot set on low.

My presentation of choice is to wrap the pork with a little bit of cheese and sour cream in a tortilla and then cover it with chile sauce Christmas style (red on one end and green on the other). Refried beans, some guacamole, and chips with the Rancho de Chimayo cheese dip finish the plate of nicely.

Paella & Croquettes

Last Saturday Sarah and I were searching for something to eat for dinner and I decided that in honor of San Fermin we should eat paella – albeit without seafood. We made a simple paella with tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, onion and chicken. The rice was cooked using chicken broth with a shrimp boullioin cube mixed into it. I have to say that I really like the flavor shrimp stock adds to the paella, but I don't really like the texture of shrimp - so this was a good solution. The lack of seafood made eating leftovers much easier too as shellfish never reheats well.

Sunday I wanted to continue the Spanish theme and so I made croquetas mixtas. This was my first successful croquette cooking experience. I baked a potato in the microwave, allowed it to cool, then mashed the flesh with half-and-half, salt and parmesan cheese. In a gesture to the Spanish I even left out the black pepper (it will hurt your stomach you know). I formed loose balls with a #40 disher then stuffed them with all sorts of things we had littering the fridge: pepperoni, blue cheese, ham, mozzarella cheese, chopped jalapeño, etc. They were dipped in an egg wash then rolled in equal flour and panko bread crumbs. After a 10 minute rest into the oil they went. I probably wouldn't have rested them, but the oil wasn't up to temperature. They fried in 350° oil until golden brown and delicious.

 

Pineapple Whip Experiment 1

My first Pineapple Whip experiment went fairly well. Sarah thinks it might contain too much dairy, or too much fat in the dairy. It's tasty, about the right consistency right from the ice cream freezer, and still quite good when frozen completely. The texture isn't quite right out of the deep freeze and it is very unscoopable. I've moved it to the normal freezer to see if it is just frozen too solid.

Pineapple Whip Test 1

• 3 cups pineapple juice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup half-and-half

Combine all ingredients and mix until sugar is dissolved. Heating would probably improve both the flavor and the ease of combination, but I didn't do that this time (if you heat the mixture be sure to chill completely before freezing). Pour mixture into ice cream freezer and freeze until soft-serve consistency (it took about 40 minutes in my freezer). Try some right away -- mmm good -- freeze the rest until solid.

Washington DC: 2 Amy's Pizza

While we were in Washington we ate at 2 Amys Pizza. 2 Amys is one of the few DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) pizza restaurants in the US. What does that mean exactly? It means that 2 Amys makes pizza that meets the exacting standards for producing authentic Neopolitan Pizza. This involves a specific recipe, wood burning ovens, etc. The pizza is exceptional.

Sarah and I have been simulating this for years on a pizza stone in the charcoal grill. I think we have a cooking technique down, but still need  to work on the recipe. Monday night we attempted to recreate the DOC style pizza with fresh tomatoes, basil, etc. Reproducing this pizza is my second summer goal.

I've come to three conclusions about our experiment. First we really do need to use soft wheat flour for the dough. This will be a new experience for us as we've always used bread flour. Second fresh mozzarella makes a big difference. The shredded stuff in the bag just tastes flat in comparison. Third we need to not make the crust so thin that it won't poof at the edges.

One good note of the Monday experiments is that if you're going to drizzle olive oil on your quick cooked pizza that the quality of the oil makes a huge difference. The first pizza we oiled we just used the oil we have in the oil can on the counter, the second pizza I used a very light, fruity extra virgin oil from Spain and it was outstanding.

Pineapple Whip

In Springfield there is a snack trailer with a hula girl dancing on the top of it. This trailer serves the best frozen dessert - Pineapple Whip. It's sort of a pineapple, soft-serve ice cream. Our first year in Springfield it was very close to our house, last year it was only available at the fair, this year the trailer is near Republic and Freemont. One of my goals for the summer is to reverse engineer Pinapple Whip. I tried a batch on Sunday night and will prepare several before a taste off.

Does anybody know the official recipe?

IMBB 25: Pain Perdu Panino

As my return to IMBB with the Give Us This Day Yesterday's Bread theme I decided to try combining pain perdu (french toast) and the panini - two things I am very fond of  eating. I didn't think to let any bread go stale, so I stuck pieces in a warm oven (about 225° F) for 10 minutes then let them cool. I used a bread from Bakers Inn (which is the bread we buy for daily use). The filling is shaved, smoked ham and pepper jack cheese. This is a savory french toast. The bread is slightly crisp on the outside and custardy on the inside. The ham and melted cheese make for a nice spicy sandwich.

I should have cooked mine slightly longer, the bread was not quite as crisp as I would have liked. Also note that this might be an equipment intensive recipe. I prepared mine using the Griddler  that Sarah got me for Christmas - I used the flat plate on the bottom and the ridged plate on the top. You could also do this with some combination of a griddle, grill pan, nonstick skillet, and panini maker. 

Pain Perdu Panino (serves 2)

• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 slices of stale/dry bread
  
• 8 very thin (shaved) slices of ham
• 1  cup grated pepper jack cheese

Warm griddle/sandwich press to medium-high heat.Whisk together milk and egg to combine. Dip slices of bread on each side so they soak up a sufficient amount of the batter. Use slightly less than you would normally use for french toast as you have to move the bread around before it is fully cooked.  Cook one side of the bread to normal french toast doneness (3-4 minutes) - this is the  middle of the  sandwich. Turn and cook other side until set, but not browned(2-3 minutes) - this is the outside of the sandwich. Assemble sandwiches with the fully cooked sides of the bread inward - bread, cheese, ham, bread. Toast in panini maker until outsides of sandwich show grill marks and are fully cooked. Slice, enjoy.

Smoked Pork Chops For Lunch

I'd fired up the smoker to cook for the meat/xbox fiesta Steve Kirks and I were having on Friday night (I promise a post about this too). Sarah was going home to a bridal shower for her sister. She called on her way home from work -- she took half the day off -- and I asked her to pick up some thin pork chops. After a quick trim, and pounding them thin I seasoned them with salt and pepper and tossed them on the smoker. The chops took about 35 minutes in the 240° smoker. I'm starting to compile a list of things that are easy, quick, smokable foods for weeknight cooking. Usually the smoker involves 6 hours or more so foods that can meet the smoked meat craving in a short cook time are great.

 

Salmon Cream Cheese Spread

I really like smoked salmon cream cheese. I was horrified when Panera (St. Louis Bread) pulled it from their regular cream cheese flavor offerings. My standard  there was an asiago bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese - now I settle for the sun-dried tomato. When I got the smoker I knew that smoked salmon would be something I would have to attempt.

This isn't cold-smoked, preserved salmon. It's hot smoked so it is essentially cooked in a smokey environment. I run the smoker at about 230° F. I'm using frozen salmon fillet pieces that are about 8 oz each and slightly more than 1" thick at the thickest point. Depending on the size of the piece of fish it takes about 45 minutes for them to cook thoroughly and get a nice smokey flavor. Previous experience tells me that after an hour the fish starts to dry out and get crunchy – not good.

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese

• 1 8oz piece of hot smoked salmon
• 1 package reduced fat cream cheese (you could use full fat), softened
  
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp dried dill

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a nice creamy texture. Serve on bagels, toasted french bread, heck serve it on anything you like. It's delish.

Saturday night we ate this as an appetizer on some homemade sourdough baguette slices that had been slightly toasted. A good precursor to the rest of the BBQ. 

Calzones & Pokey Sticks

We love to make pizza at home. The problem with homemade pizza is that you have to plan ahead enough to let dough rise (otherwise dinner is after 9pm). Last weekend we encountered just such a situation and discovered happily that the Breadeaux Pizza near our house will sell balls of dough for $2. We bought three balls of dough. We made numerous calzones from two and rolled one into our equivalent of the Pokey Stix served by Gumby's Pizza. If you've never had Gumby's before it's one of the crappiest, cheapest pizzas around -- they're only located in college towns and there isn't one in Springfield. They do have a cheesy, sauceless breadstick like pizza (Pokey Stix) that is outstanding though. I've tried a lot of variations on the recipe, but this is the closest I've gotten to the Gumby's experience.

Pokey Stix

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground oregeno

1/4 tsp onion powder

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese (fresh grated is best)

pizza crust 

Combine all ingredients except for the cheeses and the crust. Prepare your pizza crust on a pan or a peel (the pan works best for these though). Brush liberally with the melted butter/oil. Top generously with cheeses (Gumby's is skimpy on the cheese, but they're better with more cheese). Bake. Okay, so it's not much of a recipe, but they are pretty good cheese breadsticks.

Slow Cooker: Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

We try to cook using the Crock Pot at least once a week. These meals are easy, quick, and generally provide leftovers for later in the week (or several weeks as is the case with this recipe). To cook good food in a slow cooker generally means that you can't just dump things in and turn it on. You have build layers of flavor just as you would with any other meal.

These meatballs are great. They're relatively healthy, provide an abundance of food (either for a crowd or the freezer), and taste outstanding. They're made with pork, beef, and turkey and baked prior to putting in the slow cooker. We ate these with pasta the first night. Stay tuned for meatball extravaganza.

Slow Cooker Meatballs

1lb ground chuck

1lb ground turkey

1lb ground pork

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1 carrot

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained well

1 cup dry breadcrumbs -- you should make your own

1 egg beaten lightly

1tbsp ground oregano

salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 500°

If you're making your own breadcrumbs (and you should be) toast a few slices of bread and toss them in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until thoroughly chopped. Set aside.

Combine onion, garlic, and carrot in the bowl of your food processor and pulse until chopped. Add frozen spinach and pulse to combine. Put the meat into a large bowl and mix with all ingredients to form a solid meatball mixture -- be careful not to over mix though or your meatballs will be tough. At this point I pull out a small amount and cook it on the stove to test the flavor. It's really the only way to know if you need to add something (usually spiciness in my case).

Shape into balls (I use a #40 disher) and place on a rack rack in a half sheet pan. Be sure that you're using a sheet pan and not a cookie sheet, otherwise the fat from your meatballs will drain into your oven as opposed to the waiting pan. Bake in 500° oven for 15-20 minutes until well browned.

At this point you could stop and store the meatballs (they're cooked) or you could continue and cook them further in a tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 28oz cans whole tomatoes

1 handful fresh basil leaves

2 sprigs thyme

1tsp salt

1tsp black pepper

2tsp red pepper flakes

Sweat the onion and garlic over medium heat until softened. Combine with other ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low 8 hours.

Posted by kerner at 10:14 AM

Ice Cream of the Moment: Nata (Cream Ice Cream)

Nata is Spanish word for cream. The latest in the ongoing series of ice cream flavors is simple, unadorned cream. The sugar content is slightly higher in this recipe than in previous recipes resulting in a much softer freeze -- it is very scoopable. This ice cream is a perfect partner for any type of dessert, especially those usually served with whipped cream. You'll achieve the same flavor, but have the coolness of ice cream. Our first serving was with Alton Brown's Moo-Less Chocolate Pie.

I can't stress enough how important it is to use high quality dairy for this recipe. If you have a local dairy that you can use I strongly encourage it. For this recipe I used dairy from Memory Lane in Fordland, MO (which can be purchased at many stores in Springfield).

Nata Ice Cream

1 pint half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

Bring the dairy to 175° over medium low heat. Combine with sugar and chill overnight. Freeze according to your ice cream manufacturer's directions. This ice cream most likely will not be as firm as other recipes, it is to be expected. If you want a firmer texture reduce the sugar by 1/2 cup.

Posted by kerner at 3:10 PM

Ice Cream of the Week: Blackberry Frozen Custard

This is the first French style ice cream in the ice cream of the week series. The key difference between this recipe and the previous Philadelphia style ice creams is the addition of egg yolks to make a custard.

This recipe was inspired by the Good Eats episode about gourmet ice creams. Alton Browns formula is very similar to the one I normally use except dramatically more egg yolks. I would generally only use 3 egg yolks in this much ice cream. I decided to try the 8 yolk approach and thought the texture was a bit greasy. I also didn't strain the mixture before freezing, a step that I've added to the recipe to remove the crunchy seeds.

Blackberry Frozen Custard

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups half and half

1 cup sugar

8 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup finely chopped up blackberries (and juice from chopping)

Combine the dairy and bring to 175° over medium low heat. While heating the dairy whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color then slowly add the sugar. Whisk eggs and sugar until a ribbon forms on the surface of the mixture and the color is light yellow. Add the dairy slowly (1 cup at a time, whisking constantly) to temper the egg yolks. When you've added about half of the dairy to the eggs combine both back in the sauce pan and return to low heat. Bring the mixture to 170° or until nape (thickened). Pour into an airtight container, add vanilla and blackberries. Chill overnight in the fridge. Strain the mixture to remove seeds. Freeze according to your ice cream freezer's instructions.

Posted by kerner at 7:23 AM

Ice Cream of the Week/IMBB: Peach Tea Ice Cream

This week I'm combining the 17th IMBB topic hosted by Clement at A La Cuisine! This is the third IMBB I've done. I often plan items for the themes, but I never seem to write them up for the blog. The theme for July is tasteTea and I'm blending it with my weekly summer ice cream.

I'm huge tea fan and am equally likely to order tea as coffee at the Mud House. Lately I've been a huge fan of rooibos teas, but I generally drink black tea. This recipe was inspired by a flavored tea that I greatly enjoy -- an Indian black tea flavored with peaches and some outstanding peaches from the farmers market.

The main flavor of this ice cream is the black tea. The peach flavor is very clear, but it is secondary to the tea. This ice cream makes the perfect afternoon snack. The color leaves a bit to be desired (similar to a very light chai), but the taste more than makes up for what it lacks in appearance. The best way to describe it would be ice cream, sweet tea, and fresh peaches all in one dessert -- what could be better.

Peach Tea Ice Cream

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups half and half

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons peach tea (although I think any quality black tea should work)

1 peach chopped finely (almost a paste)

Combine the dairy and the tea leaves. The tea should be measured as if you were making cups of tea, with a teaspoon and the whatever leaves cling to it. Bring the dairy/tea to 175° over medium low heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea and combine with the peach and the sugar. Chill the base until well chilled in the refridgerator. Freeze according to your ice cream freezer's instructions.

Posted by kerner at 9:46 PM

Ice Cream of the Week: Basic Vanilla (with Splenda)

Welcome to week two of the Ice Cream of the Week. This week we're modifying last week's recipe to make a lower calorie version by using Splenda instead of sugar. I generally don't go for stuff like this, but I wanted to try cooking with Splenda and this seemed like a good challenge.

This ice cream tastes very good for a sugar free ice cream. The texture is good, but not perfect. It freezes in a bit grainer, crystalline form. The base against the edges of the freezer canister froze so solidly that the only way to get it out was to melt if (fill the canister with cool water and let it rest until melted). There is a slight aftertaste from the sucralose, it's not bad, but it is noticable. I'm going to have to try baking something with Splenda to see if it is there as well. Overall if you want to make sugar free ice cream Splenda is an acceptable sweetner.

Philadelphia Style Vanilla Ice Cream (with Splenda)

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup Splenda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp table salt

The process of making this ice cream is identical to last week's ice cream (although with Splenda). Combine the half-and-half and the cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer (approx 175° F) then remove from the heat. Scalding the dairy changes the texture of the finished ice cream -- making a smoother product. Combine the all of the ingredients into a container that can be stored in the fridge (with a good lid or plastic wrap covering). Ice cream base that is cold makes better ice cream. Aging the base also makes for a richer flavor. After aging the base (4 hours up to 24 hours) freeze according to your freezers directions. Mine takes about 30 minutes. Ice cream can then be transferred to a container to harden in the freezer or served immediately (although it is quite soft at this stage). This ice cream will freeze much more harder than ice cream made with sugar.

Posted by kerner at 8:00 AM | Comments (1)

Ice Cream of the Week: Basic Vanilla

There are two schools of ice cream thought in the US -- Philadelphia style and French style. The difference between the two being whether or not the base is a custard (using eggs) or not. This being the first Ice Cream of the Week post I thought I would go with a very simple, traditional Philadelphia style ice cream.

I'm using a Cusinart Ice Cream Maker that makes 1.5 quarts of dessert, so most recipes will be sized accordingly. Before you begin make sure the freezer part of your ice cream maker is well frozen.

Philadelphia Style Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp table salt

The process of making this ice cream is fairly easy, but there are several steps that are important. Combine the half-and-half and the cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer (approx 175° F) then remove from the heat. Scalding the dairy changes the texture of the finished ice cream -- making a smoother product. Combine the all of the ingredients into a container that can be stored in the fridge (with a good lid or plastic wrap covering). Ice cream base that is cold makes better ice cream. Aging the base also makes for a richer flavor. After aging the base (4 hours up to 24 hours) freeze according to your freezers directions. Mine takes about 30 minutes. Ice cream can then be transferred to a container to harden in the freezer or served immediately (although it is quite soft at this stage).

Quality ingredients make a difference here because there are only 5 ingredients. Simplicity is the key.

Posted by kerner at 8:00 AM

Trader Joe's General Tso Chicken Sauce

I'm a huge fan of General Tso Chicken. I've found that most places in Springfield don't make it to my tastes though. It's either way too sweet, not sweet at all, and/or usually not spicy at all. While we were in St. Louis last month we made the obligatory visit to Trader Joe's (which I'd love to see in Springfield, MO) and one of our purchases was a bottle of General Tso sauce for use in stir fry.

The stir fry was fairly simple (we didin't deep fry the chicken as is traditional). It consisted of chicken, red and green pepper, carrot, sweet onion, and then steamed broccoli at the end. All in all quite good. The sauce wasn't quite spicy enough so I added some hot pepper flakes while cooking the chicken and it came out quite well. I did have to add a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce up a bit.

I've decided that one of my new cooking goals is going to be making oriental food. Got any cookbook suggestions?

Garbanzo Potato Curry

Originally the Indian food last night was just supposed to be a simple pork curry using a premade sauce. Then I decided I wanted to make naan which gave me time for another curry. We also filled some of the naan with potatos and onions which was quite good (see the Naan recipe on this site for more info).

Garbanzo Potato Curry

1/2 onion diced

2 medium potatos diced

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

1 tbsp curry powder (it's better if you make your own, but I often use prepared)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp salt

1 cup water

1/2 cup peas

Sweat onions in a skillet then add potatoes and continue to cook over low heat. Add garbanzos and spices and stir to combine. Stir in water and cover and simmer over low heat until the garbanzos are soft. Stir in the peas and let cook until warm. Serve with rice and naan and enjoy.

Posted by kerner at 7:05 AM

IMBB 13: Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

Every time I see an IMBB I intend to participate then I always miss the deadline (or slack off). This time I planned ahead and actually made cupcakes.

Sarah's birthday was on Sunday and we had a party on Saturday night. Birthday parties require cake of some sort and I figured that cupcakes would be perfect. Sarah wasn't so sure about the cupcakes, but I let her pick what kind they would be so she acquiesced. I think that she thought I would give up when she suggested Nutella flavored cupcakes, but I thought it would be perfect.

The recipe is a modification of my Baking is Science cake recipe (which I didn't post because I'd only made it once). I'm able to post it now though. I didn't write the recipe all that well which did cause some problems with the cupcakes, but the recipe is now great. I had intended to replace a bit of the cake flour with hazelnut flour, but I couldn't find any hazelnuts to grind into flour. We needed more than 12 cupcakes, so I made the recipe twice -- the short baking time was perfect for mixing up the second batch.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

200g cake flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

25g cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

70g sugar

2 eggs and 3 yolks

1/2 cup buttermilk (low fat, not no fat)

1/3 cup oil

1 tbsp hazelnut liquor

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together the dry ingredients -- remember, sugar is wet. Cream butter and sugar. Combine with other wet ingredients and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix to combine.

These can be baked as 12 cupcakes or a 9" cake. Bake for 15-20 minutes as cupcakes or 35-40 minutes for a cake.

Frosting

1 container of chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella), melted

2 tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup milk

powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency

The original plan was to just frost the cupcakes with the spread, but it was too thick and tore the cupcakes. The inital melting idea didn't work well either (it got grainy). The solution was to take the melted spread and combine with melted butter, milk, and powdered sugar to make a glaze for dipping the cupcakes.

We trimmed the cupcakes and made cake crumbs with the trimmings. The crumbs were sprinkled on the cupcakes before they were dusted with powdered sugar to provide some texture. I'm pleased with the outcome. The cake isn't very sweet, but the glaze is very sweet and made for a nice balance.

Posted by kerner at 9:30 PM | Comments (2)

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

Last night for dinner we grilled some chicken breasts with wing sauce. It's not really wings (or my preference chicken strips in wing sauce), but it is a lot healthier with the grilling rather than the frying. We also had oven fries and some veggies. The best part though was the blue cheese dressing, made from scratch.

Blue Cheese Dressing

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 tsp prepared horseradish

1 tsp spicy brown mustard

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

a few grinds of black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients except for the vinegar and stir well. Make sure you get the blue cheese well distributed. Slowly add vinegar until you reach the desired consistency.

Posted by kerner at 10:31 AM

Spinich, Mushroom & Chicken Manicotti

Monday night for dinner we made fresh pasta. It's something we should do more often given how easy it is. We've had the pasta roller for a couple of years and only made pasta a handful of times. Manicotti is actually easier than I thought it would be, you roll the sheets out and cut the squares then fill and roll.

Pasta dough: I use the a recipe from Food Network that works very well in the food processor. We have the pasta roller attachment for our Kitchen Aid mixer -- no cranking. I rolled the pasta to number 5 for this recipe.

Sauce: I made a simple bechamel sauce and added cheese.

6tbsp butter

1/3 cup flour

4 cups milk (it's better with whole, but I used skim)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp white pepper

2 grates of fresh nutmeg

Melt butter, add flour to make a roux and cook for several minutes (this is a blonde roux). Add milk and stir well. Add cheese, pepper, nutmeg. Cook until thickened.

Filling: This filling could be pretty much anything you want with the exception of the ricotta which is required.

15oz ricotta cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup cooked spinach, chopped

1/2 cup cooked, chopped mushrooms

2 poached chicken breasts, cubed

salt, pepper, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil to taste

Mix the cheeses together. Squeeze as much moisture as possible from the spinach/mushrooms then stir in the remainder of the ingredients. Season to taste.

Assembly: Preheat oven to 350° Butter a 9x13" baking dish and put a small layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish. Cut the pasta sheets (rolled to number 5, full width) into squares (approximately 5" square). Place 3tbs of filling along one edge of the pasta and roll. Place rolled pasta into the baking dish in a single layer. Repeat with remainder of pasta/filling. Pour a layer of the sauce onto the pasta, sprinkle with a bit of cheese. Bake covered for 15 minutes then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes.

Posted by kerner at 2:36 PM

Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bars

It's kind of funny that the first granola making of the year happened on a day when it was 70° outside and we'd opened the windows of the house, but I've been meaning to make granola for quite some time and I had the time to do it today. Instead of the normal crumbly granola I decided to try making bars. I'm pleased with the results although I let them cook a bit too long and the edges burnt.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bars

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1/2 tsp salt

350g rolled oats (approx. 4 cups)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° Toast oats on a half sheet pan for 10 minutes. Combine all of the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl (butter, sugar, vanilla, egg, peanut butter) and combine well. Mix in the salt. Add the toasted oats and mix to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Line a sheet pan with a baking mat or parchment paper and spread granola mixture into an even layer (slightly less than 1/2" thick). If you want both sides of the bars to be flat you could roll it or use another sheet pan and parchment to push it flat -- I just left the top rough.

Bake for 15-20 minutes turning once. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert granola onto a cutting board and remove the baking mat/parchment. Carefully cut into bars and move to a cooling rack. When cool store in an airtight container.

Posted by kerner at 3:25 PM

Holiday Dinner Party

Last night Sarah and I hosted a dinner party for two couples (Steve & Tammy and Matt & Meredith). We've never really done a small dinner party before and I was very pleased with the outcome. It gave us an excuse to use our china and for me to try out some new recipes. Over the course of about 4 hours there was much eating and conversation. You can read Steve's post for a review of the evening.

The Menu:

Crostini with olive tapanade

Spinach salad with Maytag blue cheese

Braised pork loin with honey lemon glazed carrots and garlic mashed potatoes

Cheese course

Lemon Crème Brûlée

All of the bread throughout the meal was pretty much my standard bread recipe (see other posts on this site) with a mixture of bread, unbleached white, and semolina flours. I also used about a tablespoon of barley malt as a sweetener with more depth than sugar.

Crostini

Manzanilla Olives

Kalamata Olives

Sun-dried tomatoes

Garlic

Capers

Anchovy oil (from a jar of anchovies)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine. Let rest for a few hours then spread on lightly toasted bread.

Spinach salad with Maytag blue cheese

This is a basic salad of fresh spinach leaves, Maytag blue cheese, candied pecans, bacon, homemade croutons and a lemon vinaigrette.

Braised pork loin with honey lemon glazed carrots and garlic mashed potatoes

4 oz pork medallions cut from a pork tenderloin

1tbsp oil

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

14 oz can diced tomato

whole green olives

thyme

bay leaf

1 1/2 cups red wine (I used a shiraz)

Set the oven to 250° F. Add the oil to a heavy dutch oven (with a tight fitting lid) and brown the pork medallions on all sides. Remove the pork and sweat the onion and garlic. After 3-5 minutes add the tomatoes being sure to scrape up all of the fond that developed during the pork/onion cooking. Add the thyme, bay leaf, and wine then bring to a simmer. Return the pork to the pan, cover, and place in the oven for 90 minutes.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes peeled, chopped roughly

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup olive oil

Simmer garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes, discard garlic. Boil potatoes and mash with cream and oil.

Honey Lemon Glazed Carrots

1lb ready to eat carrots in half diagonally

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp butter

1/4 cup water

1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in water

Boil carrots for 15 minutes. Combine honey, sugar, butter, water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir carrots into glaze and simmer for 3 minutes. Add cornstarch slurry to thicken. Place in a covered baking dish and bake at 200° F for 45 minutes.

Cheese Course

Maytag blue, 12 month aged Manchego, a triple creme brie. I forgot to write down the name of the brie -- although I think Steve did, can you help me out Steve?

Lemon Crème Brûlée

3 cups cream

zest from 2 lemons

7 egg yolks

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp lemon juice

sugar for crusting

Combine cream and lemon zest and bring to a simmer over medium low heat. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Slowly add the cream to the egg mixture whisking constantly. Strain the custard through cheese cloth to remove the lemon zest and stir in the vanilla and lemon juice. Pour into 6 custard cups and bake in a water bath (roasting pan filled with hot water half way up the sides of the ramekins) at 300° for 30-40 minutes until the custard is the consistency of soft set eggs. Chill uncovered for 4 hours. Sprinkle with additional sugar and melt using a blow torch (you could also use the broiler, but the torch is more fun).

Posted by kerner at 8:23 AM | Comments (3)

Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato

In the frenzy of summer foods nothing is quite as good as fresh, homemade ice cream. Earlier this week we broke out the ice cream maker for the first time this year. The freezer portion will now remain in the freezer until sometime this fall in order to have ice cream on demand.

The first ice cream of the year was a fresh mint gelato with mini chocolate chips. It's easy to make, and captures the joy of fresh mint.

Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato

• 4 cups whole milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 bunch fresh mint leaves roughly chopped
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine milk, mint and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow to steep covered for 5 minutes. Mix sugar and egg yolks until light in color. Slowly add the milk to the egg mixture being careful to temper the yolks. Chill the mixture thoroughly (you could allow it to age overnight) then strain into the freezer bowl of your ice cream freezer. Freeze according to your freezer's instructions. Fold in chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of freezing. Harden in the freezer for at least two hours.

Note: This ice cream will not be green, it will be a custardy yellow. It will be very minty though. If you must have green mint ice cream feel free to add food color to your heart's content.

Is My Blog Burning? Paella

This is the fourth edition of Is My Blog Burning and is hosted by pim. It is also the first edition that I am able to join. The theme for this edition is rice. I thought a lot about what I could do for a rice IMBB and the answer was obvious. Paella.

It's been a while since I've actually cooked it because our paellera is about 20" in diameter. It makes a lot of food. We're planning on having a paella party a bit later on this summer.

Paella is one of Spain's most famous foods. From what I understand there aren't really any hard rules for the ingredients other than the rice, saffron, and perhaps tomatoes. Paella originated in Valencia although it is spreading across Spain as a kind of Sunday dinner dish. There is a key distinction from traditional paella and what we like to call tourist paella (which often times uses tumeric rather than saffron). The paella Sarah had in Valencia was rabbit and chicken. It also had turned a strange green color because of the bean they used. Paella is also a festival food. During a sports day at the University of Navarra they prepared paella for anybody on campus who wanted it. Paella is traditionally cooked outside, over an open fire. This is a necessity for festival sized paellas. The paellera used on the campus was over 10 feet in diameter.

I don't really have a recipe for paella, which seems to be fairly common among Spaniards who make it. I first made it under the guidance of Sara Nso (who Sarah met while studying in Pamplona and who later studied at MU here in Columbia). Sara grew up in Murcia (near Valencia). We actually called her mother, at what was probably a horribly late time in Spain, for advice. Despite being called in the middle of the night her mom was happy to help, and quite chatty as the long distance bill would later reveal.

Our paella includes chicken and seafood. Our landlord would probably get mad if I built an open fire in the yard for cooking, so we resort to using the grill and I toss in unsoaked wood chips to provide the appropriate fire/smoke flavor. It actually works out quite well given the 20" paellera on the 22" Weber.

I don't really have amounts for the ingredients. I also generally only make paella for 10-12 people. I have made it in a 12" skillet for two though.

Here is a rundown of the basic ingriedients:

• olive oil
  
• diced tomatoes -- I've used both fresh and canned with good success
  
• diced onion
  
• diced garlic
  
• diced bell pepper -- we use both red and green
  
• chicken cut into pieces -- I like to use boneless, skinless thighs
  
• shrimp
  
• calimari tubes sliced into rings
  
• short grain (valencia) rice -- although risotto rice would probably work
  
• chicken stock
  
• saffron -- I know saffron is expensive, but you don't want to skimp on it.
  
• mussels
  
• peas
  

Start a fire on the grill (or warm up a nonstick pan). You should also crumble the saffron threads into some stock in a small saucepan. I usually put the saffron in about 2 cups of stock. It takes a total of about 10 cups for our pan.

The rest of the dish is made in stages. You cook most of the incredients individually and then combine them later. The ingredient list above is in the order you will need each item. As you cook the oil takes on the flavors of each item. Once the fire on the grill has calmed down put on the paellera and add oil.

Sweat the vegetables one at a time and remove from the heat. I usually just put them all into the same bowl once they've been cooked. Cook the chicken and when it is almost finished add the shrimp then the calamari rings. Once the rings begin to tighten pour in the rice (it should cover the bottom of the pan) and the vegetables. Stir until the rice is lightly toasted and then add the saffron infused stock. Add additional stock to cover and bring to a boil. Add the mussels. At this point everything but the peas and some of the stock should be in the pan. Stir well to combine.

The stock will cook down and be absorbed by the rice. If the pan gets dry before the rice is cooked add more stock about a cup at a time. When the rice is almost cooked and about a cup of liquid remains stir in the peas. Now put your spoon someplace you won't be tempted to use it. You don't need it any more. If you stir the paella you won't get a good layer of crunchy brown rice crust on the bottom of the pan. You do need to be careful though, if the fire is too hot the rice will burn.

When the last of the stock has been absorbed or cooked off your paella is ready. Serve with crusty bread and a salad.

Naan: Indian flatbread

It was Indian night at the Kerner household. We made chicken tikka masala and a cauliflower, garbanzo, potato curry. We cheated on the tikka masala using a prepared sauce, but the other curry was made from scratch.

This post is really about the naan though. Naan is an Indian flatbread that is fairly easy to make at home with a pizza stone.

This is a variation of a recipe I found online, using some of the techniques from Cookwise for breads. This recipe over does the yeast in order to give a faster rise. If you've got time I would certainly use 1/2 tsp less yeast and give a longer rise. The next time I make this I will substitute yogurt for some of the water to give it a bit of tanginess. I was also lazy and used regular butter rather than ghee (clarified butter), but it was still good.

Naan

1 tbsp active dry yeast

2/3 cup water (could be partially replaced with plain yogurt)

1/2 cup milk

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp melted butter (+ additional for brushing)

500 g bread flour

Mix the yeast, water, sugar, and milk together in the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the salt, melted butter and half of the flour. Mix together well to incorporate air, then add the remaining flour and knead for 4 minutes with the dough hook (I use a Kitchen Aid mixer on speed 4). Getting air into the dough will allow the yeast bubbles to expand - it also distributes the yeast more evenly to mix prior to adding all of the flour. Adding salt prior to the kneading will enhance the gluten development in the bread. The dough should easily form a ball after kneading. Preheat an oven with a baking stone at the bottom to 425°. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes (it didn't need oiling because of the butter). Divide the dough into pieces and roll thinly with a rolling pin. Toss the flat pices of dough onto the stone and bake for 2-3 minutes a side. Brush very lightly with melted butter and enjoy.

Posted by kerner at 9:43 PM

BBQ Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt)

For our New Year's party we had people over to watch MU in the Independence Bowl against Arkansas. The game was pitiful, but the food and company was good. The menu consisted of:

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Horseradish Cole Slaw

Baked Beans

Snacks and dessert provided by our guests

For midnight we had a sparkling wine from Jepson in the Mendocino Valley that came very highly recommended, and I couldn't argue with the $12 price tag.

The smoking took about 13 hours in the Weber kettle. I didn't get it started early enough so it was a late night on Tuesday. It's worth it for the BBQ. Read on for recipes and techniques.

This recipe includes four stages: the brine, the rub, the smoke, the sandwich.

The only ingredient not listed below is the pork shoulder. I used an eight pound piece of meat. It should be noted that this entire process takes about 18 hours of prep time and 12-15 hours of cooking time depending on the size of your shoulder. I didn't start quite early enough and it was 3 am before it was all done.

The Brine
I'm a big fan of brining meats before cooking, especially with pork given that it can be very dry. Dryness is not much of a problem with a shoulder (it has some fat in it), but a brine also provides a lot of flavor.

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup pickling salt

1/4 cup molassas

2 tbsp honey

Water (enough to cover the shoulder, about 2 qts)

Ice (for chilling)

Combine all of the ingredients and bring to a boil, either on the stove or in a microwave safe container. Either chill the brine in the fridge or add ice for a rapid chill as seen below.

When the brine is chilled place the shoulder into a container that can be covered, will fit in your fridge, and will hold the brine. We used a stock pot as it was the only thing large enough in our kitchen.

Pour the brine over the pork and refrigerate for 12 hours.

The Rub
There are two keys to good barbecue. One is the rub, the other is this smoke. My rub is a mix of herbs/spices that is equally good on ribs as it is on the shoulder. Without sauce you end up with a Memphis style dry bbq.

I'm not including amounts for the rub ingredients, partially because you'll want to adjust it to your own tastes, but also because it's the secret of the bbq.

brown sugar

white sugar

paprika

ancho chile

chipotle chile

cumin seed

fennel seed

black peppercorns

onion powder

garlic powder

chili powder

ground cayenne

Toast the cumin and fennel seed in a dry pan and then grind with the chiles and black peppercorn in a spice grinder. Mix well with the remaining ingredients and put into a container for storage. I made enough for several uses.

The Smoke
I like to smoke with hickory. I think it provides good flavor and isn't as overpowering as mesquite can be at times. The wood will smoke better if it is soaked in water prior to the smoking. I don't have a smoker so I have to make due with the Weber kettle grill. It worked out pretty well both with the pork chops last week and the shoulder last night. I place all of the coals in a tray to one side of the grill and the meat on the other side above a 9x13 pan full of water. The lid vents go above the meat and have a probe thermometer dangled through the opening to measure the temperature near the meat.

Get 16 pieces of charcoal blazing hot (I use a blow dryer once it's lit -- do so at your own risk). Add 6 pieces of unlit charcoal and 2-3 pieces of soaked hickory. Cover the grill and let it come to temperature. I try to keep it steady at about 220 before I open it and put in the meat. Once the meat is in place you shouldn't fully open the grill for 10 hours. You can add additional charcoal and hickory by sliding the lid to expose the coal tray (my grill grate has easy access flaps) leaving the meat covered to retain heat. This method allows me to add fuel and not dramatically alter the temperature around the meat (about 10° change). You'll need to monitor the temperature and adjust accordingly, but I was able to keep a steady temperature with 3 pieces of unlit charcoal and 1 piece of hickory every 30-45 minutes. A second probe thermometer would make knowing when the meat was done fairly easy, I had to open the grill and use an instant read thermometer to check it. It will also fall apart fairly easily.

When the meat is fully cooked (at least 160° -- although the FDA says 180°) remove it from the grill, cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Pull with a fork or chop depending on your preference. The meat can now be refrigerated or served. Ours will warm in a crock pot prior to the party.

The Sandwich
Serve the pork as a sandwich with cole slaw and beans. Sauce is your own choice. We really like Blues Hog. If you like a Carolina style vinegar sauce the rub can be used quite well.

Carolina Style Vinegar Sauce
Combine the following, bring to a boil, cool, and serve.

2 tbsp rub

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup white sugar

Posted by kerner at 8:07 PM | Comments (3)

New Pants == Good Bread

I have to admit that I am a bread snob. My obsession with bread lead to a nasty baking habit. For almost 6 months I didn't buy any type of bread, just a lot of flour and yeast. Thankfully I've overcome the desire to bake all my bread myself.

After hundreds of loaves I think I've finally overcome my main bread making flaw. My bread almost always breaks at the seams. The key seems to be the second rise. I'm usually too impatient to wait for it -- I let the dough double in size, punch it down, shape it, let it rise briefely and bake.

One of Sarah's goals for the holiday weekend was to solve my sorry wardrobe/laundry situation through the addition of more casual pants (jeans, chinos, etc). A trip to the mall mid bread making required punching the dough down then leaving it to rise again.

After a successful visit to the Gap the dough had once again doubled in size. I removed it from the work bowl and shaped it into 16 dinner rolls. I let it rise while the oven warmed up. At the end of the baking, perfect honey-wheat dinner rolls. Yum.

I could just eat fresh bread for dinner, but I don't think Sarah would tolerate it. We made potato soup it's a very easy recipe (see below)

Easy Potato Soup

1 medium onion
1 tsp chopped chives
1/4 cup butter
2lbs frozen hash browns (cube style, thawed)
2 cups half and half
2 cups skim milk
2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup
Salt and peper to taste

Garnish:
Shredded cheese
Chopped chives

Sweat the onions and chives in the butter in a dutch oven until translucent. Add 1/2 of the hash browns and brown slightly. Add remaining hash browns, dairy, and soup. Bring to a simmer for 15 minutes stirring regularly. Serve with shredded cheese, additional chives, and bread.

Steamed Buns

For dinner tonight we're having Chinese steamed buns and possibly a noodle or rice dish. I'm going to try both a bbq pork and a sweet/sour chicken filling. Sarah's sister is visiting tonight and she's a fan of dim sum, so we figured we'd try this out on her.

A local radio station (BXR) had a music therapy station at Les Bourgeois (a nearby, albeit mediocre winery). But who are we to say no to free food and drink. We also won two CDs -- a Jack Johnson and a Pseudopod. By the time we got home nobody really wanted the chicken so we just did the pork.

Overall it was a good experiment. The sauce is a bit too western -- I think adding some sugar and possibly some ginger would solve it though. Read on for recipes.

Bun Dough
3 cups of flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp active yeast
1 tsp sugar

Combine the water and milk in a small bowl. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water/milk mixture and allow the yeast to proof for 10 minutes. Combine flour and yeast mixture in the bowl of a food processor and process for 1 minute. Additional flour or water may be needed to make the dough come together. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled in volume (about 90 minutes). Punch down the dough and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. This dough should keep in the fridge for a few days or frozen for about a month (although I haven't tried it yet).

BBQ Pork Filling
2 boneless country style pork ribs
2 tbls Hoisin sauce
3 tbls BBQ sauce (I recommend Blues Hog)
1 tsp chili paste
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder

Combine all of the ingredients except for the ribs to make a marinade. Marinade the ribs for 2 hours. Roast in a 350° oven for 30 minutes or until the pork registers 160° on an instant read thermometer. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes. Reserve any juices for use later. Chop the pork into small pieces and mix with reserved juices to achieve the desired consistency. Chill until ready to use. Make another batch of the marinade to mix with the chopped meat as a sauce.

Assembly
Cut the dough into even pieces (about 24 -- although our filling only filled 20 YMMV). Roll each piece into a small ball and flatten with an indentation in the center. Place one tablespoon of filling into the center and wrap the dough around to close. Be sure to leave an opening in the top for the steam to escape.

Cooking
Place the buns on cabbage leaves in a steamer over boiling water. Cook for 20-30 minutes until they are no longer doughy. Enjoy!