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Last Friday I saw "My Week With Marilyn," a good movie with great acting that made me feel just, melancholy
:(
(sigh)
So I was craving some comfort food, and yes, this usually includes massive amounts of pasta, But I went for the biggest bowl of won ton soup from PF Changs instead.
And while this is a fine establishment, I was quite dissapointed-the won tons were not fully cooked and the broth was tasteless.
And so, I decided this week to make some seriously satisfying Won Ton Soup.
I had planned on spending the evening in the kitchen Monday, but when I opened the package of ground veal for the won tons, a rank odor filled the kitchen and I quickly dumped the whole rotten thing.
And so, Tuesday was my day to create!
I started to make a bubbling broth of chicken bouillon, onion bouillon, and bay leaves.
Then I grated ginger and garlic
While the flavors came together, I mixed ground beef with soy sauce, lemon juice, rice vinegar, garlic powder, ground ginger, and an egg
And started making triangular parcels of meat with won ton wrappers
Every once in a while I added more ingredients to the soup-
Oyster mushrooms,
Baby Bok Choy (courtesy of the asian market in upper darby, H Mart, thanks for the introduction, Beardface)
Then I added about 25 won tons to the soup and some scallions too
I seasoned the broth a bit with soy sauce
And it became a gorgeous, rich soup with tons of flavor and fulfilling components.
And then...I realized I had made far too many won tons!
I took the remaining 20 and greased 'em up too good with oil and threw them in the oven, baking them to a near burnt crisp!
Luckily, for the photo's sake, only one side was charred-
I made a dipping sauce of rice vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil, sriracha, garlic and ginger powder.
Despite some of the "burnies," it was still a quality side dish!
Mostly because the sauce was tangy and spicy and suited my palate perfectly.
Excellent meal for a rainy, gloomy Tuesday!
What a disaster experience
The dish nearly became "no-cchi"
When I first came home from India, I found myself a little lost in the culinary arts
I was so excited to finally be able to freely enjoy the kitchen after 2 months of being shooed away by Aachie, my Indian Grannie
(I did manage to get an ingredient list for her famous banana pancakes and also pongal, more to come on that at a later date...)
My first real attempt was a spicy indian eggplant parm-i forgot stewed tomatoes and I by accidently poured half the bottle of tumeric in there and then it was so thin so I added flour and my goodness-I somehow managed to save it, and it turned out pretty excellent actually-but i didnt take my new tolerance for spice into account-and my mama could barely eat it unless there was a huge glob of cheese along with each bite!
I found my stride however with a spicy roasted tomato soup with sharp chedder grilled cheese-
I finally felt at home
So when we had a Fakesgiving the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I was so excited to spend the whole day in the kitchen-
(and of course spend quality time with my fam, shout out to the bocks/madieros/robbins!)
I made carmelized onions and a bernaise sauce to go with the filet my padj brilliantly grilled on the Big Green Egg
Madj made crisp green beans with persimmon and green onion (sauteed in the oil from the carmelized onions, so sweet and light)
But my main project was Wheat, Sweet Potato Gnocchi
It started out smooth and enjoyable-
Peeled the sweet potatoes, boiled them 'till tender
Then mixed together with whole milk ricotta cheese and a dash of cinnamon, salt, and pepper
1/2 cup by 1/2 cup I added the wheat flour until the consistency was manageable
Made many small, palm-full, balls of dough
Then rolled out each ball
sliced the dough into 1 inch pillows
then rolled a fork over them to complete the process
This portion: the rolling, slicing, and forking-took forever
FOREVERR
I mean, it took Michelangelo quicker to complete the Sistine Chapel
(Not a true statement, but I'm getting my point across here)
When I had done this whole business, I placed them in a big blue bowl to be transferred to a boiling pot of salted water to cook for 5 ish minutes-
And when I went to place my first batch inside, Tragedy Struck!
All the little dumplings had melded together into one!
SO MUCH TIME WASTED
And if you know me at all, I am efficient with my time.
UHHH
So I started over
But not before I managed to pluck a few lucky gnocchis to start cooking, maybe a third of the whole batch
I took a break from the whole rolling and slicing, for the second time, after about 5 minutes to taste a gnocchi
It was horrendous
Slimy
Definately not ready
10 minutes passed-but it was even slimier! Gross!
But after 15 and there was no change, I took out this first batch and put 'em in a strainer because they were gushy and weird
And then all them stuck together into one big blob!
Tragedy Number Two!
It was repulsive, I wanted to dump them immediately
But I cant stand wasting food,
So I kept them out, no real goal in mind-
Other than mourning all the time and ingredients I had wasted
(sad face)
But then from there, and with the addition of more flour
The rest turned out well
(very happy face)
And then I made a brown butter sage sauce
(butter and sage, then I added a bit of cinnamon, salt and pepper)
And WOW
How did I manage to salvage this meal? I will never understand
But it was a hit
And I'm being modest-
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and eat the leftovers for a nutricious and filling breakfast.
