Pierogi

I made baozi for the first time yesterday with leftover "semi-Asian-fusion-sorta-Thai-maybe" pork ribs I'd made over the weekend. I cooked down some finely chopped onion, and mixed in the shredded meat off of the ribs to let it warm up. The I put in a sauce of soy, sesame oil, cornstarch and dry Sherry. Let that thicken and reduce, and cool. The dough was yeast, sugar, oil and water, then mix in flour and salt. Kneaded it in my KA, and let it rise for about an hour and a half. Rolled it out, filled it, and let it rise again for about 1/2 an hour. The results....a solid B (with an "A" for effort). The filling tasted great. The dough tasted GREAT. The texture of the dough was spot on. I need to work on my rolling & shaping technique. I had waaaaayyy too much dough on the bottom of the baozi, and not enough on the top. I also didn't have a bamboo steamer, and tried to use one of those metal folding "petal" style steamers in a large saucepan. I didn't realize how much the buns would grow during steaming, so I ended up with pretty much one giant baozi. Neither of the recipes I was referencing was clear about if they were put in the steamer "nude" or if they went in with their little aluminum foil diapers (mental note, read the eG thread before attempting something new....), so I also had some serious stickage problems as well. Although they sure weren't pretty after I pried them off the steamer and apart, I was still pretty proud of how they turned out. As I said, taste and texture was right there. And they really were pretty easy....I will absolutely make them again, *after* I buy a bamboo steamer insert for my wok.

Get a chuck roast, not pre-cut "stew meat". Cut the roast into about 3/4 to 1-inch cubes, trimming the excessive fat, and trimming around any connective tissue or tendons that may run through the roast. Leave some fat, though, to enrich the sauce. Season the meat cubes and flour them lightly. Brown them in batches in hot olive oil, in a Dutch oven or Le Cruset-type pan, and remove as they brown. Brown them really, really well. Toss in your mire poix, and saute, scraping up the fond. Add some garlic, and saute until it's fragrent. Deglaze with red wine and bring to a boil. Toss in a bouquet garni (thyme sprigs, bay leaf, parsley, maybe rosemary). Put the meat back into the pan, add beef stock/canned broth to cover, and either simmer slowly on the stove top, or put into a 300-325° oven for about an hour and a half or so. Add potatoes, I usually like Yukon Golds or Russets, peeled and cut into cubes about the same size as the meat. Add chunks of peeled carrots, also about 1-inch. Add more stock/broth if needed, return to the simmer or the oven until the meat and veg are tender, about one hour more. Remove the pan from the oven, add frozen pearl onions and frozen peas (no need to defrost). Cover and let the frozen veg heat through (maybe another 15-20 minutes). Or you can put in fresh onion wedges when you add the carrots and potatoes. If you want to thicken the sauce, stir in some beurre manie and blend well. You could add some quartered mushrooms, that have been sauteed in butter, at the same time you add the pearl onions and peas if you want. Cut some good, crusty bread, pour some more of the red wine, and enjoy. Pure comfort food.

I made a clementine clafouti a while back that was very, very good. It was a Mark Bittman recipe, I'd bet you could find it on the web. The tartness of the clementines played really well with the creaminess of the custard/cake.

*THERE'S some excellent logic !

The nan is hard to describe. It doesn't taste like Indian nan, nor does it taste like a flour tortilla.... Shelby, Indian naan is, I think, best described as a cross between as you call it a "fluffy tortilla" and pita bread. Its softer than pita, and thicker than a tortilla, with a poof in the middle between the top and bottom layers. The taste is similar to pita, unless you mix spices or garlic into the dough, which is very common. It's very easy to make, as is pita.

Second the green beans, and add stringing snap or snow peas. That job just truly sucks.

OK. Now *those* words together are just magic-sounding. Crazy, but magical....

I have a confession.....it's time to come clean.... Hello. My name is Pierogi. For the last (censored) years, I have been a winter squash hater. Loathed the things. Loudly and frequently declaimed to all who would listen that I hated winter squash. Then....then. After months of searching for one, I joined a CSA, and swore to the food Gods that I would use and try to enjoy everything I got in my biweekly share. Which, of course, for the last 3 months, have included WINTER vegetables. Including, far too often, the dreaded winter squash. Sigh. Thanks to the wonder that is EatYourBooks, I found the following today in a book I've probably had for 15 or 20 years, and have never cooked out of. It was likely a gift, since it's a vegetarian cookbook, and I am most definitely not. Make this soup. Make it soon, then make it again. It rocked me out of my socks, off of my foundations, shifted my world. My name is Pierogi, and with this soup, I LOVE WINTER SQUASH !!!! Adapted from "The Greens Cook Book" by Deborah Madison with Edward Espe Brown Winter Squash Soup with Red Chili and Mint Serves 4-6 Make the veggie stock: The seeds and inner fibers of 2&1/2 pounds winter squash 2 celery stalks, diced 1 onion, roughly chopped or sliced 1 bay leaf 5 sprigs parsley ½ tsp. dried sage leaves 1 tsp. salt 8C cold water Cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds & strings, and put in a deep sauce pan with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, simmer 25-35 minutes, strain, press on solids, and reserve. For the soup: 2&1/2 pounds winter squash (butternut, Perfection, Sugar pumpkin or other) 1 red bell pepper OR the equivalent amount of jarred piquillo peppers OR the equivalent amount of plain jarred roasted red peppers (I used piquillos....yum) 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (or 1 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded & diced), drained and juice reserved 1 dried ancho chili or 1-2 Tblsp. New Mexican chili powder 1 Tblsp. butter 1 Tblsp. EVOO 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp. salt 6-7C veggie stock (above) 1 Tblsp. parsley, chopped 1 Tblsp. fresh mint, chopped Cut the squash into smaller pieces and peel. If using butternut, this is easily done with a vegetable peeler. Save the peelings and toss them into the simmering stock. Cut the squash into about 1/2-inch pieces. If using a fresh red pepper, roast over a live flame or under a broiler until skin is charred. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam for about 10 minutes or until soft. Peel off skin, remove stem, seeds and veins and cut into roughly 1/4-inch dice. If using jarred piquillos or jarred red peppers, skip this step. If using fresh tomatoes, char them in the same manner as the red pepper, then skin, seed and dice. For canned tomatoes, just drain and reserve juice. Remove the stem, seeds and veins from the ancho and cover with boiling water. Soak for about 20 minutes to soften, then blend with enough water to make a loose puree. Heat the butter and oil in a deep pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook over med-low heat until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, half of the chili puree (or half of the powder), and the salt, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the squash, red peppers, reserved tomato juice and 6C of the veggie stock. Simmer until the squash has softened and almost collapsed, about 25-40 minutes. Either mash the squash with a large spoon or a potato masher. Alternatively, you could use an immersion blender if you wanted a more smooth puree, but I left it a bit chunky. Thin with more stock or water if needed, adjust seasoning with salt, and add more chili puree or powder if desired. Sprinkle each serving with mint and parsley right before serving. (DO NOT skip the mint…it totally makes the soup.)

Unfortunately, since RA is a systemic, autoimmune disease, the NSAIDs do a lot more than just control pain for me. They're also critical in controlling the inflammation in the synovial fluid that eventually erodes the cartiledge and joints and causes the characteristic RA deformaties. They are, also unfortunately, a necessary evil. The TENS type thing also would be of limited use, since I never know which joint is going to bother me when. It can vary from day to day, or from morning to afternoon. Believe me, I am well aware of the dangers of long-term NSAID use; my Mom had RA for most of my life, and almost died from a perferated ulcer from them. Hopefully the PPI drugs will control the acidity enough to keep that in check for me.

Happy New Year, Erin ! This has been so much fun already, I can't wait to see what you're going to give us the rest of the week. Unfortunately, my Diana Kennedy excursion yesterday wasn't so hot....it was one of those recipes where, as you're putting the final steps together, the BIG VOICE OF DOOM in your head goes...."this is really not going to work". But I ate it anyway, fortunately it was just me, so no one else had to know how badly it sucked ! Tomorrow is my experiment with baozi. My first time making them. I'll let you know how it goes.

Tums was my best friend while I was working (in a very high stress field), and I was the office source for it. Anyone needing a Tums knew to come to my desk, I had the industrial size container. My co-workers, staff and I used to laugh that coffee and Tums was the official meal of the department. About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and as part of the treatment take a handful of nasty anti-inflammatory pills every day. They are notorious for eating your stomach up. I went on the proton-pump inhibitor treatment (lik FG, whichever the insurance would cover at the moment). I got good results from the OTC Prilosec, but now am on Nexxium. As soon as I went on the PPI treatment, I stopped needing Tums. I'm sure their stock took a hit from the loss of revenue.

I have been trying to slog my way through "Stand Facing The Stove", which is the biography of Irma Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, the mother/daughter team who gave us "The Joy Of Cooking". It has taken me 4 weeks to get to page 60. Today I had a doctor's appointment and took another (admittedly brain-candy) book with me. I got up to page 68 before I saw the doctor. "Stand Facing The Stove" is going back to the library unreaad, I'm afraid. And I rarely just totally bail on a book....

Right on. That's it absolutely. My two fuzzy little floor cleaners. And maybe my Mom's "Treasured Recipes for Polish-Americans" cookbook, published by the Polonie Club of Minneapolis in 1949. But the fuzzballs would get rescued first, hands down.

If I've been frying, or doing anything else mega-splattery, I clean after I'm done, when I'm putting away stuff and putting dishes in the dishwasher. If I haven't been making heavy-duty grease slicks, then I hit it once every couple of weeks, or when I notice it looks scuzzy. I alternate between using Lysol All Purpose Cleaner spray and a paper towel, or a Lysol or Clorox wipe. Both cut through the grease really well, it just depends on which one clicks into my brain on a given day. About once every couple of months, I run the drip pans and grates through the dishwasher, and give the rest of the top and back a good cleaning with the Lysol AP and several rags. I may even break out a brush to get into the nasty little grooves. Who the hell thought grooves on a range was a good decorative feature? Clearly no one who cooks.....

Stirring roux and watching (and smelling) it darken.

I'm another huge fan of TJ's frozen fish. It's a much wider variety than I can find in the megamarts, it's usually always wild-caught, and the types I've tried have all been excellent quality. The stuff I've tried have all been IQF/flash frozen, and not treated. They do list the ingredients, the ones I buy are just the fish. No added salt or tripolyphosphates that make them wet and mushy. Both the fin fish and the shellfish I've used from them have been frankly, far superior to the fish I can get in the local supers. I've used, liked, and will buy again, their cod, snapper, mahi, tuna, halibut, shrimp and scallops.

I subscribe to a ton....Fine Cooking, Cuisine at Home, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Saveur, Cook's Country (the sister publication to Cook's Illustrated) and I'm almost ashamed to say Food Network magazine (which is surprisingly good) and Everyday Food from Martha. I used to take Gourmet (snifffffff) and Cook's Illustrated. I now buy CI off the newstand when it interests me. The only one I religiously saved was/is CI. I will occassionally save a special issue (I can think of a couple of Saveurs and Gourmets) that are dedicated to a topic I am particularly fond of, or if the edition has so many interest recipes that I end up wanting essentially the whole thing. But usually I'm like Nakji, I take out what I want, and pass them along to other food-centric friends for them to read and use. I do prefer a paper magazine and a paper newspaper and paper recipes, but I'd be on one of those hoarding shows if I kept it all. There comes a time you have to draw the line.

Andie, what a great idea to cook sausage patties that way. I routinely do it for links (both with casings and without), but never thought to do the patties that way. From now on, I will. Thanks !

Wow. Another slice of a completely different life than mine. I'm excited about this as well, since it so far removed from everyday life in the US. I'm cracking Diana Kennedy this week for the first time, as well. I've read through the book several times, but haven't made anything from it. I'm doing a casserole of Swiss chard and macaroni that's on page 130 of "The Art of Mexican Cooking". It sounds like a Mexican-spiced mac & cheese that has shredded & sauteed chard mixed into the bechamel. The chard was in my CSA box last week, and I'm flailing about trying to find new uses for it, since it's been in EVERY CSA box I've gotten since mid-December. I've also got chiles rellenos on the agenda, using a hybrid of Diana Kennedy's (from the same book) and one I found on the web. *AND*, I had some pseudo-sorta-Asiany-fusion pork ribs for dinner tonight, and I have some left over, so I was planning on trying to make bao latter in the week to use up the meat. I know it won't be true char sui bao, but...well, it's in the interest of using leftovers. So your blog is timely for me, for sure. Loved the pix from the markets, and I've never seen bamboo shoots "on the hoof", as it were before. Only seen 'em in cans, and I bet the fresh ones are way tastier. Do they have to be cooked before you use them in your ultimate dish, or do they go in raw? Edit to add---Yes, Jim Lahey's recipe rocks ! I make that bread about once a month, and though I make other, more complex bread recipes as well, that one is one of my favorites.

It was grand fun living vicariously through you three. THanks for inviting us in.

First point - agree for the mega brands. Trader Joe's extra virgin olive oil spray is not nearly as noxious nor sticky. Second point - probably, but sometimes, like when I'm doing frozen French fries or tots, I want to spray some oil over the top of something to help with browning. Third point - couldn't agree more. I've sent 2 of those pieces of junk to recycling Heaven. Won't be trying again. I've got better things to throw money away on. Fourth point - See First Point....TJ's stuff doesn't seem to polymerize as much as the mega brands. Probably because it's better oil. The mega brands are also a bear to get off of anything that gets hit with the overspray, even if it doesn't get heated. I've patched out on a kitchen floor that had Pam residue on it....

Hmmmmmmm. Well, it does, as Mitch says, get confusing in the Eastern European nomenclature and melding of traditions and cuisines. My only real experience is Polish on my Mom's side. And at that, in doing some amateur geneology, some of the immigration records for my grandfather say he came from Russia (!) even though he and the rest of the family claimed Poland. I also have to admit, I am not an expert on Polish cuisine. What I've learned, I've pretty much learned on my own. My grandparents died either right after I was born, or when I was very young. My Mom didn't really care to learn about cooking until after she married the second time, which was after Grandma had passed. So, admittedly, there's none of the "at Granny's knee" sort of tradition going on with me. My grandmother did everything by memory, as did most of the old time cooks, so I have none of her recipes. The one old Polish cookbook I have of my Mom's doesn't make mention of either verenekes or kreplach. But then it also doesn't mention uszka, either. More contemporary books I've found only talk about pierogies, and in all of the recipes I've seen, they can be stuffed with anything and still be called pierogies, so long as they're half-moon shaped, with the egg-based dough. Kreplach I've always thought were Eastern European Jewish goodies. Maybe the difference is that Mom's family was Polish Catholic?

Oh holy cats ! How can I have forgotten Cajun/Creole???? Yeah, add that in too. Just made some killer jambalaya this week. And that certainly was never a cuisine that entered into Chez Pierogi when I was a kid.

I'm with Mr. Sapidus...Indian probably first by a hair, then Southeast Asian, well, actually ALL Asian and Mexican. Throw real Italian into the mix too, not just Italian-American. Even though I grew up mostly in Southern California, by breeding, birth and culinary tastes, we were Midwest farmers all the way. Italian was spaghetti and meatballs with Ragu sauce and green can cheese. Chinese was "pepper steak" with soy sauce, flank steak and bell peppers. On Minute rice. No Mexican, it was far too scary, I didn't taste an avocado until I was about 18, and it was an epiphany. Once I got old enough to start going out on my own, and got exposed to co-workers, friends, fellow students, etc. of different cultures, my mind was blown and my palate eternally grateful. I probably do one of each cuisine a week, along with the good old, solid American classics. Isn't it fabulous to have a choice?

Eureka ! Ain't the interwebs grand.....? They be USZKA !!