Off The Market

Well, I am officially a married woman!

My man & I tied the knot this weekend and it was a wonderful day, wonderful everything.

After much planning and spending, the evening was a huge success.

Top Chef Las Vegas

Wooo!

Top Chef Las Vegas is slated to start on August 26th and I am DAMN excited.

I like Top Chef Masters for the amazing cooking & creations, but it just doesn't have the drama of the regular series.

Crepes with Blueberry Compote

so I made crepes this morning with my new crepe pan - it works like a dream!

Here's the crepe recipe that I used (thanks Alton!):

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• Butter, for coating the pan

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

*Savory Variation Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes to the egg mixture.

*Sweet Variation Add 21/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture.

I made kind of the sweet version - I added 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. These came out really wonderful!

Here's the easy blueberry compote recipe I used:

• 2 cups blueberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 12 crepes, room temperature

In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup blueberries, sugar and water. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Many berries will begin to burst and syrup should thicken. Add remaining cup of berries and allow them to heat through.

Spoon warm compote into crepes.

This was really delicious, but it wasn't quite as thick as I'd like it to be - next time I'll try 1/8 cup water and see if that helps!

Enjoy!

Which Top Chef Judge are You?

Love it!

I took this quiz and I am PADMA.

I rule.

Which Top Chef are You?

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

I'm on a roll here, so please don't stop me!

Just reviewing things that I haven't posted, but should.

If you love eggs as much as I do, then you'll appreciate a perfectly boiled egg - which is not really boiled at all.

This may take you a few times to get it right, but trust me - it's worth it; perfectly hard-cooked eggs, without the rubbery white or the gray-coated yellow center!

Place eggs in a single layer in a sauce pan using an appropriate sized sauce pan - use the smallest pan you can for the amount of eggs you're cooking while still being able to keep them in a single layer.

Cover with cold water until about an inch over the eggs.

Place over medium heat, uncovered.

You want to bring them to a boil within about 10 minutes - this is where the practice comes in!
As the eggs warm up, it's good to increase the heat a bit, to medium high.

As soon as the eggs start to reach a rolling boil, shut off the heat, let stand & set your timer for 10 minutes.

Now, if it took longer than 10 minutes to get the water to a boil, deduct the extra time from the sitting time.

When 10 minutes have passed, run immediately under cold water for 3-5 minutes, to stop the cooking process. Let the eggs sit in the cold water until completely cool to the touch.

It's best to peel the eggs immediately, but I often don't have time for this and still find they are easy to peel.

Give this method a shot and I'll bet you'll find that great hard cooked eggs are easier than you think!

Top Chef Masters

Wooooooo...are you excited?

They're doing a Top Chef Masters starting June 10th.

I cannot WAIT!

Bring it.

Steamed Pork Dumplings with Dipping Sauce

See how good I am? I'm totally posting my dumpling recipe, just like I said I would!

You're gonna love me for these - I promise!

Dumplings

1 Pkg won-ton wrappers (If memory serves, it's about 64)
1 lb ground pork
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
2 Tbsp. thinly sliced, then roughly chopped green onion
3 Medium cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
1 Large egg, beaten
2 1/2 Cups finely shredded and chopped Napa cabbage

Flour for dusting.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients EXCEPT FLOUR well.

Refrigerate for 1/2 hour to an hour to let the flavors meld a bit.

In the meantime, make the dipping sauce:

Asian Dipping Sauce

1/3 Cup light soy sauce
1 Green onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp. sesame oil

Combine all ingredients well.

Now back to the dumplings:

Dust a sheet pan or your clean counter with flour - otherwise your dumplings may stick and you'll be very upset after all the work you've gone to making them.

Have a small bowl or ramekin of water handy, and a pastry or marinade brush for brushing. Lay out your first won ton wrapper and brush the edges with water. Honestly - I just brushed the whole dumpling and mine came out great! Then, using a spoon, place a teaspoon of your pork mixture into the center of the dumpling, fold one half over the other and press the edges together to form a tight seal. Place on floured surface and continue through the rest of the wrappers and pork.

Now please hear me out - I know this sounds like a lot of work, when you can order these at your corner Chinese restaurant and have them delivered. But these are so fresh and flavorful, and much less doughy than the ones that you can order for take out.

Here's what they look like before going into the steamer:


When you've got them all ready to go, just place in your steaming apparatus (stove-top, electric, whatever), then steam for 20 minutes.

Serve with dipping sauce. (duh)

Hint: I didn't cook all of mine the first night - I just laid on the floured tray, covered tightly with plastic wrap (try to lay the plastic right on top of the dumplings, so the wrappers don't dry out) and cooked the second batch the next night.

You can also lay the tray in the freezer until fully frozen and then wrap up and toss back in the freezer for future use. This makes them an easy and impressive appetizer to pop out when time is short and friends come calling.

Not bad, huh?

Enjoy!