Southwestern Turkey & Dumplings

Ingredients
3 cups diced, cooked turkey breast
7 cups chicken or turkey stock
1 1/2 cup diced Russet potatoes
3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 shallot, minced
4 oz crimini mushrooms, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon hot Mexican chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
salt
black pepper

for the dumplings:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup diced green onion (green parts only)

Directions:
Heat the butter and oil in a large pot with a lid. Add the onions, carrots, celery, poblano pepper, potato, garlic and mushrooms. Saut� until the potatoes start to soften. Add the chipotle pepper, spices and stock. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add the turkey and corn. Then whisk together the baking powder and flour in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the buttermilk, egg and green onion. Mix to combine. Scoop out 2-3 inch dumplings with a spoon or old fashioned ice cream scoop. They do not have to be particularity round and the dough will be very sticky. Carefully (to avoid splashing!) drop the dumplings one at a time into the pot. Cover and cook until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked through.

My thoughts:

I am always thinking of new ways to use up cooked turkey. While I love a turkey sandwich, there is only so many of them you can eat before collapsing of taste bud fatigue. I do occasionally freeze pre-measured amounts of cubed, cooked turkey breast for future use in soups, stews and chili but I don't mind using up some freshly cooked turkey in a new way. I've made some excellent chicken & dumplings in the past and thought I could revamp the recipe a bit to bring out the best in turkey. Turkey has a slightly stronger flavor than chicken so I decided to go for a full flavored, spicy dish.

This version of turkey and dumplings will make memories of bland chicken and dumplings completely disappear. Tons of vegetables and chiles give this a rich flavor without adding fat and leave the dish tasting fresh rather than heavy or insipid. It is just a revelation. I honestly can't wait to make it again!

Savory Savoy-Shiitake Dumplings

Ingredients:

6 oz savoy cabbage, finely diced
1 oz bean thread noodles, soaked and cut into 1/2-inch strands
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
7 re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 bunch scallions, minced
1 inch knob ginger, grated

round dumpling wrappers

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. In a wok or skillet, quickly stirfry the filling until the cabbage is just softened. Allow to cool. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper Fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape, pinching the wrapper tightly together. Make sure no filling is peaking out or they will break while cooking. Steam or boil the dumplings (I like steamed best). Serve hot. Leftovers can be refrigerated and re-steamed the next day if need be.


Excellent with my favorite dipping sauce.

Makes 35-45 dumplings.

My thoughts:

These are some tasty dumplings. The ginger, garlic and green onion add a lot of flavor that is nicely absorbed by the shiitake mushrooms. These are vegetarian (vegan, actually) dumplings but between the noodles, cabbages and the mushrooms they are pretty hardy and can almost sub as a meal.

The half moon shape is the easiest dumpling shape to master but it is still quite attractive. You can get fanicier with the crimpling but when steamed, these dumplings are stars even simply prepared. Half moon or crescent shaped dumplings are traditonal fare at Chinese New Year celebrations. While this filling isn't stictly traditional, it makes a good addition to the New Year's table.

Other recipes suitable for Chinese New Year that have been featured on Coconut & Lime include Lion's Head, Longevity Noodles and garlic chive dumplings.

Crab Pretzel

Ingredients:
for the dip:
1 small shallot, grated
8 oz fresh blue crab meat
3 oz shredded sharp cheddar
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard


for the pretzel:

3/4 oz active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar PLUS 1/8 teaspoon
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt

pretzel topping:
sea salt
water


to sprinkle: additional shredded sharp cheddar


Directions:
for the crab dip:
Before you begin, make sure you pick out any bits of shell or cartilage that might have been over looked in the crab processing process. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed. Refrigerate before use.

for the pretzels:
Dissolve yeast into water with the 1/8 teaspoon of sugar, let stand 5 minutes. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, salt and butter. Add the dissolved yeast and then pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and knead until a smooth, elastic round ball forms. Add a little more flour or water a tablespoon at a time if the dough looks too wet or dry. Alternately, knead by hand on a clean, floured flat surface. Place in an buttered bowl, cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a cool place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425. Pour the water into a shallow bowl. Stretch the dough into a long tube about 1/2 inch thick. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Fold into a pretzel shape by making a rough circle and crossing the ends inward. Brush with water and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.



Place the giant pretzel on to a parchment or silipat lined baking sheet. Allow to sit for 5 additional minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until pretzel is golden brown.




Remove from the oven. Top with a generous amount of crab dip. Sprinkle with cheddar then stick the pretzel back into the oven for 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve hot. I suggest placing it on a cutting board and allowing people to slice off chunks with a bread knife to eat off of an individual plate.



Yield: 1 giant crab pretzel (serves many as an appetizer)

My thoughts:

Coming back from an Eastern Shore vacation where not a day went by when blue crab didn't pass my lips, I still hunger for crab.

The crab pretzel is dish that is found on many menus throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Basically an extremely large soft pretzel covered in a Old Bay-spiked crab dip, the crab pretzel's origins are unclear although several restaurants (perhaps most adamantly, the Silver Spring Mining Company) claim to have invented it. Soft pretzels are extremely common and popular in the Mid-Atlantic and up to New York and crab dip is particularly Baltimore and Maryland favorite, though both have found national fans, so perhaps it isn't surprising some enterprising soul brought them together. I know the pairing of the two sounds unlikely but it totally works-the soft, saltiness of the pretzel complements the creaminess of the dip and is a nice alternative to crackers or chips. Some places cover the dip with a large amount of cheddar but for my homemade version I added just a sprinkle to avoid overpowering the crab. This homemade version is a bit lighter and fresher tasting than many of the crab pretzels sold in restaurants and I think, even more delicious.

I know some people find working with yeast daunting but this is really a great, soft and easy to handle dough. Practically fool-proof yet very impressive. Who makes homemade pretzels anymore much less one covered in crab?

If crab pretzels are not quite your thing the pretzel recipe is perfect for making plain soft pretzels (divide it into 4 more normal sized pretzels if you'd like) and the dip is delightful on its own. Crab dip is normally served hot so I'd spoon it into ramekins or a small baking dish, sprinkle it with cheese and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes before serving.


A note about the crab meat:
Some restaurants boast that the crab meat on the crab pretzel is "jumbo lump" which is lovely stuff but very expensive (too expensive to make dip with in my opinion) and some times hard to find outside of the region. I find that backfin/generic "lump" crab meat works just as well and frankly is what many restaurants use in their crabcakes and crab pretzels even if they do claim to use jumbo lump-they just hope you don't notice.




Interested in trying out some other Mid-Atlantic regional recipes?
Check out my recipe for Baltimore-style Sour Beef & Dumplings or the local variation on cheesecake, Smearcase. Or if you want something super simple, try lemon sticks, another Baltimore classic.

Baltimore-Style Sour Beef and Dumplings (Sauerbraten)

Ingredients:

for the sauce/marinade:
1 3/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 onions, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3 whole cloves
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt


for the dumplings:
4 cups plain well-mashed potatoes made from peeled red potatoes
flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
salt


other:
3 1/2 lb beef round, cut into 1 1/2 in thick slices or left whole (see notes)
1 tablespoon canola oil
8 gingersnaps, broken into pieces

Directions:
WARNING: This part has to be done the day before you want to serve. Stir together all of the marinade ingredients in a nonreactive bowl. Place the roast in a nonreactive container (or large ziplock bag) and marinate overnight. The day before is also a good time to make the gingersnaps if, like me, you are using homemade.

The next day: Remove the meat and pour the marinade in the slow cooker. In a large skillet, quickly brown all sides of the meat in the canola oil. Add the meat into the slow cooker and turn on low for 6 hours.

During the last hour or so of cooking time: Start to make the dumplings. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. In a large bowl, combine the cooled mashed potatoes and salt and the egg. Stir in the baking powder and add the flour in 1/2 cup increments until the it resembles a dough and the mixture holds its shape when molded (roughly 3 cups). Form into 2 to 4 inch balls. They should be able to hold their shape but not be too floury. Drop them into the water. They should sink, then rise to the surface when cooked through. Set aside.

During the last 1/2 hour of cooking time: Skim off any visible fat that may have risen to the top then add the gingersnaps and turn the heat to high.

After the time is up, shred the meat a bit with a fork or break it into pieces. Serve hot, with dumplings on the side.

My thoughts:

My grandpop loves sour beef and in turn so do I. Baltimore has strong German roots and some of the old food traditions continue today.

As a child my mother and I would sweet talk the ticket takers at the yearly German festival at Carroll Park to let us in (for free) just long enough to pick up a large order from our favorite stand to take home. Now you can buy bottles of Mrs. Minnicks' sauce at the grocery store but freshly made is always best. Until I made this, I had never made sour beef before but after a year of watching beef prices* I finally found a good deal on some meat suitable for cooking for a long time and decided to take the plunge.

Here in Baltimore, it is traditional to make the sour beef with gingersnaps. I know some people sneer at the use of cookies, and I admit it is a little retro sounding but they really add some flavor and thicken up the gravy without having to add cornstarch or flour. Plus I found an old German recipe (as opposed to just German-American) that calls for lebkuchen, a spicy cookie somewhat similar to American gingersnaps so I feel some what vindicated in my decision. It is also very "Baltimore" to serve sauerbraten with very large, fluffy potato dumplings. Many restaurants that serve the dish offer extra dumplings as a side along with sweet and sour cabbage.

Some notes:
I bought the traditional beef roast but cut it into large (roughly 2 inch wide) chunks/thick slices so the marinade would penetrate better and more quickly. In deference to the extremely hot weather we are having, I used the slow cooker but you could also follow the same instructions but use a dutch oven and roast it for about 4 hours at 350 or until thoroughly cooked and fork tender. While I only marinated the meat overnight (or more accurately, about 20 hours) you can marinate it up to 3 days if you would rather use the whole roast. Also, some people add juniper berries to their sour beef but I sort of think I am allergic to them so I left them out. I also don't think they are entirely necessary, flavor-wise, at least not for the kind of sour beef we eat here in Charm City.


*I just can't bring myself to pay $13 (or more!) per pound for meat that is going to cook for hours. When did cheap cuts of meat get so expensive? Doesn't anyone make stew anymore?

Pork & Shrimp Potstickers

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 bunch scallion, chopped finely
3 dried shiitake mushroom rehydrated in hot water and minced
2 heads Shanghai cabbage*, chopped finely
1 cup pork broth
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp, chopped finely
3 tablespoons black sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons grated garlic
1 teaspoon white pepper

dumpling wrappers


Directions:

In a large bowl thoroughly mix all of the filling ingredients to form a uniform mixture. Place a small teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape, pinching the wrapper tightly together. Press the "fold" side gently down on the plate so it can stand alone, seam side up. Make sure no filling is peaking out or they will break while cooking. Heat oil in a large saucepan, place pot stickers flat side down and cook until the bottom is browned. Add 1 cup of broth, cover immediately. Allow dumplings to steam. Once the dumplings are fully cooked the stock will evaporate and the bottoms will be crisp. Excellent with my favorite dipping sauce.


*or substitute 2 heads baby bok choy

Yield: about 50 potstickers




Quick tip: Before filling the wrappers, fry up a bit of the filling mixture to taste for seasoning. The filling should stay together in a solid mass, if not, you might want to add a tiny bit more cornstarch.

My thoughts:

These are so good! I love when you can just mix together a bunch of ingredients you just happen to have on hand and it turns out to be one of the best things you've had in ages. We had sort of a dumpling orgy and just had loads of dumplings for lunch and nothing else but they also make great appetizers.

Wonton Soup

Ingredients:
wonton filling:
1/2 lb ground pork
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons shaoxing
1 1/2 inch knob ginger, minced
1 small bunch green onions, minced

wonton wrappers

soup:
8 cups chicken, pork, mushroom or shrimp stock
1 2 inch knob ginger, sliced
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons shaoxing
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, halved


to serve:
diced green onions
sliced char siu
1 bunch green onions

Directions:
Mix all of the wonton filling ingredients together. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each wrapper. Moisten the edges. Fold the ends together to form a triangle. Fold the two sides together. Repeat. Place finished dumplings on a plate and cover with a clean, dry towel. Meanwhile, bring all of the soup ingredients to a boil. Drain out the solids, return to stove. Add the dumplings, the now rehydrated mushrooms and char siu to the broth. Discard the rest of the solids. Cook until the dumplings float and are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Ladle into individual bowls, sprinkle with green onions.

Yield: 2-4 servings

My thoughts:

Matt's been wanting to make homemade wonton soup for a while now, and since I like especially like making homemade versions of takeout favorites it sounded like a good project to me. I picked up a package of frozen wonton wrappers during my most recent trip to H Mart so (for once!) we didn't have to make the wrappers from scratch. That really cut down on the work it took to make the wontons. Now the soup does require a bit of work: making the char siu, making the wontons but none of the work is particularly time consuming and quite a bit of it can be done the day before. I made some wonderful homemade stock the day before, so all I had to do was add some additional flavors to compliment the wontons when it was time to make the soup. It would be even easier if you used store bought broth. The char siu needs to be marinated overnight, so to make the soup Matt just had to cook and slice it. The dumplings came together in a matter of minutes using the premade wrappers. We only needed to make 25-30 dumplings to have enough for a really wonton filled soup. All in all, it didn't take much more than half an hour to make delicious homemade wonton soup. We had a large bowl of it as a meal (with lots of pork and wontons) but it would also make a great appetizer soup.

Potato & Onion Pierogi

Ingredients:
dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon salt

filling:
1 lb russet potatoes, baked, cooled, insides scooped out*
1/2 onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon milk
1 egg

Directions:
First, saute the onions in the oil until translucent. Mash the potatoes, milk onions and egg together. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dough ingredients until a round ball forms.



If it is overly sticky, add a little bit for flour, if crumbly, add a tiny bit more water. Roll out on a clean, floured surface. Roll about to about 1/8 thick.



Use a large round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out circles.



Place 1 1/2 teaspoon of filling on one side of the round of dough leaving a 1/4 inch rim around the bottom. Fold the other side and pinch tightly shut.




Repeat until all of the rounds are filled.




Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the pierogi and boil until they float to the surface. Remove and serve or saute briefly in some butter, just to brown them, before serving. Serve hot. Yummy with sour cream and sauteed onions.

Yield: 10-12 pierogi

My thoughts:

Today I had one of those "why haven't I done this before" moments. Pierogi** is something I actually I grew up eating (albeit not homemade) unlike 90% of what I post here but for some reason it always seemed like too big of a deal to make on my own, from scratch. Then today it hit me what a silly excuse that was. We've made har gow*** which was very time consuming to make and required a special trip to the market for tapioca flour and wheat starch to make the wrappers. The humble pierogi uses only the most basic of ingredients and is much simpler to make once you get past the fact that you have to vigorously boil something that you pinched together yourself. It only took about 10-15 minutes to make the filling and the dough, roll it out and fill it. Having a stand mixer helped, but even if you couldn't mix and saute at once, it still only take about 20 minutes prep. Every culture seems to have a dumpling and pierogi (singular: pierog) is one of simplest, but also one of the most satisfying to eat-they are so filling, just a few pierogi can make a meal.

*I used baked potatoes because it eliminated a significant hands on time in making the filling. I didn't have to peel or chop the potatoes, wait for water to boil etc but you could just use plain mashed potatoes.

**Alternatively: perogi, perogy, pirohi, piroghi, pirogi, pirogen, piroshke or pyrohy.
***Shrimp dumplings with thin, translucent wrappers.

Garlic Chive Dumplings

Garlic Chive Dumplings
Ingredients:

6 oz garlic chives, finely diced
4 oz mung bean noodles, soaked and cut into 1/2-inch strands
1 cup re-hydrated black mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 inch knob ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg

dumpling wrappers

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Place a small teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper Fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape, pinching the wrapper tightly together. Make sure no filling is peaking out or they will break while cooking. In a large pot, bring 10 cups of water to boil. Add dumplings. Stir and make sure that the dumplings do not stick together or stick to the bottom. You might need to do this in batches. Remove form heat and serve. Excellent with my favorite dipping sauce.

Makes 35-45 dumplings.

My thoughts:
This was my first experience with making dumplings and they came out great! I loved the little noodles in the mixture and they had a great flavor. I was able to find garlic chives at the Chinese market but regular chives would be good too.

Pork & Ginger Dumplings

Pork and Ginger Dumplings
Ingredients:
2 cups napa cabbage, chopped
1/2 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
3 tablespoons black sesame oil
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 egg
1 cup vegetable stock


Directions:

Sprinkle cabbage with 1/2 tablespoon of salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Using a towel, squeeze out excess water. In a large bowl thoroughly mix the cabbage with the pork, ginger, sesame oil, egg, soy sauce and garlic. Place a small teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper Fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape, pinching the wrapper tightly together. Make sure no filling is peaking out or they will break while cooking. Heat oil in a large saucepan, place pot stickers flat side down and cook until the bottom is browned. Add 1 cup of stock, cover immediately. Allow dumplings to steam. Once the dumplings are fully cooked the stock will evaporate and the bottoms will be crisp. Excellent with my favorite dipping sauce.

My thoughts:
Dumplings are time consuming but tasty. This recipe made about 45 dumplings but if you buy refrigerated dumplings you could freeze any extra you might have.