Salmon Gyoza, Two Ways

I had these two 8 oz salmon steaks in the fridge that needed to be cooked, but I was not in the mood for the reish* flavor of a full salmon steak. So I got crazy with the wonton wrappers.

Ingredients for the Gyoza, Variation 1:
- 8 oz salmon steak, chopped finely
- 3 large asparagus stalks, chopped finely, green parts only
- chives, chopped finely, to taste
- 1 egg white
- salt and pepper, to taste
- about 20 wonton wrappers
- 1 tsp vegetable oil, plus more for frying
- water

Ingredients for the Gyoza, Variation 2 (aka Crab Rangoon meets NY Jew):
- 8 oz salmon steak, chopped finely
- chives, chopped finely, to taste
- whipped cream cheese (I think I used about 1/4 cup?)
- about 20 wonton wrappers
- vegetable oil for frying
- water

Ingredients for the low-fat creamy lemon dill sauce:
- 1/4 cup low-fat mayo
- about 3/8 cup fat-free sour cream
- lemon juice, to taste
- chopped fresh dill, to taste
- 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
- pepper, to taste
- chives, to taste

To make the gyoza:

1) Combine all ingredients in a bowl except the wrappers. Let chill for 10 minutes

2) Now, I personally could give two shits about correct gyoza stuffing. If you're a traditionalist, you can google the pleating process etc. I just took as much as I could shove into each rectangle, wet the edges, folded into triangles, and pinched the edges until they stayed closed.

3) Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan to fully cover the surface. Turn the burner to high. When the oil is hot -- you know, it sputters, a drop of water bounces around, etc -- you're in business. Reduce heat to medium. Place a few gyoza in the pan, without over-crowding. My pan fit about 9 comfortably. Fry for 2-3 minutes, or until you get a nice browning on the bottom.

4) Pour about 1/2-cup of water into the pan and reduce heat to low-medium. Cover the pan and let the dumplings steam until the dough is fully cooked. This varies, but I'd guess about 10 min. You can tell when it's done because the dough gets all bubbly and clingy onto the filling.

5) Drain the dumplings on papertowels.



To Make the Dipping Sauce for Variation 1:
Combine and chill. That's it, seriously. Should last about 4 days in the fridge.


I like variation 1 served cold, but I think most people like 'em hot. Variation 2 is good with soy sauce.

Enjoy, kiddies.




*Reish, spelling estimated, is a Caribbean word (I think Crucian) that describes the fishy flavor of fish. There isn't a better word for it in English.

Tangy Summer Salad

The very persuasive pickle salesman at the farmers' market last weekend said the magic words -- "These would be great in a dirty martini!" -- and thus talked me into a significant purchase of pickled green tomatoes. Now I like a proper cocktail as much as the next urban twenty-something, but a working woman of 5'2" can only handle so many martinis per week. And so the Tangy Summer Salad above was born.

Ingredients, to taste:
- watermelon chopped to bite-sized cubes
- crumbled feta (on the mild side if possible)
- diced pickled green tomatoes
- blackberries
- balsamic vinegar
- sea salt
- fresh-ish thyme.

Spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

I just made a very tasty soup! Pardon me while I record the recipe for reference.

1 Butternut squash (2.75 lbs unpeeled)
1 White onion, diced finely
1 Granny smith apple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2" Piece of ginger, minced
2 tsp. Vegetable oil
1-1/3 tsp. Curry powder
Allspice, to taste (generous sprinkle)
Cinnamon, to taste (generous sprinkle)
2 Cups chicken broth
Cider vinegar, to taste (about 1 tsp?)
Brown sugar, to taste (about 2 tsp?)
Black pepper, to taste
Water

Stab the squash several times with a fork and microwave over a paper towel for about 10 min. Allow to cool and cut in half. Scrape out seeds and fibers. Peel and cut into 2" pieces. Continue to microwave until soft enough to cut easily, about 10-15 additional minutes.

Heat oil in a dutch oven. Stirring often, saute onions, ginger and apples for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add curry powder, allspice and cinnamon. Stir to coat evenly. Stir in butternut squash. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Puree. Add cider vinegar, brown sugar* and black pepper to taste. If necessary, gradually stir in a little water to thin consistency. Garnish with a dollop of creme friache, Greek yogurt or sour cream. Bon apetit!

*Note: If pureeing in a blender (as opposed to with a stick blender), be sure to add the brown sugar while the soup is hot.

Yogurt Blueberry Tartlet

Impromptu brunch!

The recipe, from my iffy memory:

1 pkg puff pastry shells (6 shells)
2 large eggs
3/8 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
vanilla extract
1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
1/8 cup flour
1/2 pint blueberries

Makes 6, plus extra filling.
(I bet if you used two packages of puff pastry, you could make a full dozen.)
Approximately 250 calories per tartlet.

Roll out thawed puff pastry shells to 1/8 inch thickness. Pat into muffin tins, ensuring that there is no air trapped between the pastry dough and the tins. Cover the puff pastry in a layer of foil, and fill with uncooked rice, uncooked beans or pie weights. Bake at 350 for just under 20 min.

Meanwhile, beat 2 eggs with about 3/8 cup sugar for a few minutes, until light in color. Add the zest of one lemon and a few drops of vanilla extract. Fold in 1 cup of fat-free Greek yogurt. Gradually add flour, as needed, to thicken (I think I used about 1/8 cup).

Remove the puff pastry from the oven. Remove the weights and tinfoil. You should allow it to cool, but I sure didn't and it turned out just fine. Fill the puff pastry cups about halfway with the yogurt mixture. Push the blueberries (about half a pint) into the yogurt goo until the cups are completely full. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Bon apetit!

You will have yogurt mixture leftover. I put my leftovers into a small pyrex baking dish, filled with blueberries, and baked for about 35 min. I chilled it for a crustless, cold dessert.

Midnight Snack

microwave cake, via Alice's Restaurant (but, in truth, via my craving-induced google search):

http://aliceaudrey.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/microwave-cake/

I topped mine with peach preserves and confectioner's sugar. Tasty as it was, I cannot recommend this topping; I accidentally inhaled the powdered sugar, waking my roommate at 1:30 am with a coughing fit more cacophonous than the 4th ave street noise.

In case anyone was wondering, I survived.

It's a pretty terrible cake. But when you sleeplessly thrash until the birds sing, overwhelmed by the seeming impossibility of launching a career in this economic climate, and you have nothing sweet to eat because you're convinced you will lose the 10ish pounds you've gained and that shelling out a few bucks for something you can make at home is foolish, it hits the spot.

100 points to someone who can offer me a superior microwave cake recipe (using a mix and/or chocolate doesn't count, because I don't keep those on hand).

200 points to anyone who prevents someone with a superior microwave cake recipe from telling me about it, so I stand a chance at losing said weight without my wallet-crunching gym membership.