Bánh Bột Lọc (Vietnamese Clear Shrimp Tapioca Dumplings)

One of the first dishes I ever tried making for Brent was these super-chewy tapioca dumplings.  The result was a clogged sink drain. So here are a few tips to avoid.  If during the boiling process, the dumplings should fall apart and become jellied liquid/paste, do not pour it down the drain.  The liquid/paste will eventually congeal, becoming a gooey solid.  Pouring hot boiling water down the drain will not fix the situation.  I've learned my lesson; hopefully you won't follow in my mistake.

This may be one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes.

Bánh Bột Lọc (Vietnamese Clear Shrimp Tapioca Dumplings)

Makes about 15-20 dumplings

Recipe from Ravenous Couple (same recipe my mom follows)

Ingredients: Dough

1 package of banh bot loc mix (or tapioca flour)

1.5 cups of boiling water (plus a little extra made after transfer for extra measure)

A bit of all purpose flour to prevent dough from sticking

Cold water bath

Ingredients: Stuffing

1/4 lb shrimp cleaned, deveined, and chopped into small chunks

1/4 lb shrimp cleaned, deveined (not chopped)

2 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs black pepper

1/2 tbs sugar

1 tbs minced shallots

Ingredients: Fried onion/Onion oil

1/4 cup chopped onions

8 tbs olive oil

****Nước mắm pha sauce is needed.  See recipe under sauces.****

Directions:

1. Marinate the shrimp with fish sauce, shallots, sugar and pepper for about 1/2 hr.
2. In a greased skillet, cook the shrimp along with marinade. Set aside.
3. In another skillet, fry onions in oil until golden brown and drain/separate. Save onion infused oil and set aside.
4. Now you're ready to make the dough. Making the dough the proper consistency is the hardest part of this dish. Add flour package to mixing bowl. Do not follow instructions on back of package.
5. Bring 1.5 cups of water to boil and add mixing bowl.
6. Heat a bit more water for safe measure, use if need in Step 7.
7. IMMEDIATELY begin stirring with spatula. After about 1 minute when the water is less hot, use your hands to knead and mix the flour well. The dough should be a bit pliable, sort of the consistency of play dough. Add a bit more water if it is too dry, but do so cautiously.
8. Pinch a ball of dough about the size of a quarter and flatten to make into a small circle. Make sure the center of the dough is slightly thicker then the edges. The dough will puff a bit once cooked and is super chewy, so try to keep the dough thin.  Be careful; the dough needs to be thin but still thick enough to hold the shrimp pieces during the boiling process.
9. Add a few chopped pieces of shrimp to the center and fold over, pinching the edges together. Use a fork to crimp the edges for a nice decorative touch. Keep hands dusted with a bit of flour for easier handling of dough.
10. Bring a large dutch-oven 2/3 full of water to a roaring boil. Add the dumplings and continue boil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The dumplings will float to the top.
11. Prepare cold water bath.
12. Strain and place in a cold water bath about 2-3 minutes. Drain well in colander and place in container.
13. Add about 3 tbs of onion infused oil and generous amounts of fried onions and cooked whole shrimp, and gently mix well. This will keep the dumplings from sticking together.
14. Drain excess oil before serving.
15. Ready to be served with nước mắm pha.

Nước Mắm Pha (Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dip)

Nước Mắm Pha (Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dip)

Recipe from Ravenous Couple

1/2 cup of water

1 tablespoon rice or plain vinegar (optional)

2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 Thai chile or Jalapeno

3 clove of garlic, use more or less according to taste

~1/8 cup fish sauce, adjust to taste

Rooster brand chili garlic sauce (to taste)

1. Add water and sugar to mix well to dissolve. You can heat the water up before hand to make it dissolve quickly.
2. Add lime juice and vinegar (optional). It should taste like a very very bland lime-ade.
3. If you have a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and chilies (if not, finely mince them) together and add to the mixture.
4. Slowly add the fish sauce a few tablespoons at a time instead of all at once. Taste frequently and stop when you feel it's just right. It's much easier to adjust the flavor of the dipping sauce by adding the fish sauce at the end bit by bit, adjusting to your personal taste.
5. For a deeper red color, add some chile garlic sauce.

Note: This sauce has a strong fish odor and keeps for a long while.  I store my sauce in old plastic peanut butter jars.  Any jar with a twist on/off lid would work.  I prefer plastic since glass is easier to break.  I also wrap and tie the jar inside a produce bag (the bags you get in the produce section of your local grocery store). Last thing you want to deal with is a fish sauce leak. 

Hands-Down Best-Ever King Cake

UPDATE: Thanks Adrienne! I've deleted the cinnamon from the glaze section.

And you don't even have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.Funny story about king cakes arriving in the mail. Three years ago, my sister sent me a king cake from New Orleans. Only problem was that she sent it both UPS ground and next-day air (how is that possible I do not know).Weeks go by and the cake never arrives. When I was in New York City visiting friends, Brent calls me to say the cake finally showed up. Too bad we didn't have iphones back then; I would have liked to see what the moldy cake looked like. Never again.

The Saints (football team) are in the playoffs.  Playing against Arizona today, and currently winning 21 to 14. Woohoo!  I'm watching this on Tivo. So if any of you more avid NFL fans are questioning the timing of this post with the actual air play, your question is answered.

If you're thinking of decorating the cake with your prized Mardi Gras bead collection, DON'T. Those beads have a lovely residue of germs, vomit, urine, aka Bourbon St. "flavor." No one wants that on his/her cake.

HANDS-DOWN BEST-EVER KING CAKE
My own personal recipe
Prep Time: 2½ - 3 Hours
Yields: 10 Servings


Ingredients for Cake Dough:

½ cup warm water
8 oz. sour cream (fat free)
2 packages active dry yeast
½ cup + 2 teaspoons sugar
5 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon rind
½ cup butter (1 stick), unsalted
2 eggs
(Next time I might add some vanilla extract to the mix)

Cake Dough Method:

Combine the warm water, yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside to a warm place for about 10 minutes. Cook butter, sour cream, ½ cup sugar and salt over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts. Cool mixture to 100 to 110 degrees. Combine nutmeg, eggs, lemon rind, butter mixture and yeast mixture. Beat until smooth. Gradually stir in flour to make a soft-but-sticky dough. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Place the dough in a well-greased bowl. Turn once so greased surface is on top. Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).

Ingredients for Glaze:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp almond extract
¾ cup water
3 tbsps freshly ground cinnamon  (NO CINNAMON)

Glaze Method:

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and salt. Place in an electric mixer. Slowly pour in almond extract and water while mixing on low speed. Blend until glaze is smooth. Set aside.

Ingredients for colored sugars:

Green: ½ cup sugar + 5 drops green food coloring
Yellow: ½ cup sugar + 5 drops yellow food coloring
Purple: ½ cup sugar + (5 blue + 5 red food coloring mixture)

Place ½ cup sugar and 5 drops of green food coloring in a jar or zip-top plastic bag seal. Shake vigorously to evenly mix color with sugar. Repeat procedure with ½ cup sugar and yellow food coloring. For purple, combine by shaking 5 red and 5 blue drops food coloring into the plastic bag or jar BEFORE adding to remaining ½ cup sugar.

Ingredients for Assembly:

¼ cup melted butter (unsalted)
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp freshly ground cinnamon
Eggwash (½ cup milk, 2 eggs, beaten)

Assembly Method:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. After dough has proofed, roll out on a well-floured surface into an 18" x 12" rectangle. Brush top of dough with melted butter then sprinkle with mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Cut dough vertically into two even strips. Fold each strip vertically in half and pinch seam (make sure you pinch the seam well to seal in the cinnamon mixture). Twist into a "braid" then shape into a circle and pinch ends. Brush the entire cake with eggwash. Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. **Time depends on how thick your cake is. Plus, I took the cake out too early so had to continue the cooking after the slices were cut.  If I were you I would just keep an eye on the cake.** Drizzle glaze over the entire cake and sprinkle with purple, green, and gold sugars.

Brent's Prime Rib Roast - Christmas Tradition

Brent is quite proud of this Christmas roast, enough to have him urge me to post this recipe (and photo) for all to see and know. 

BRENT'S PRIME RIB ROAST - CHRISTMAS TRADITION

  **Martha Stewart's Prime Rib Roast 101**

Ingredients:

*(1) 3-rib prime rib roast, first cut, trimmed and tied, room temperature (ours came trimmed and tied, you can have the butcher do this if it is not already prepared so).

* 2 tablespoons kosher salt

* 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

* 1 1/2 cups dry red wine

Directions:

1. Bring roast to room temperature (about 2 hours before cooking) so it cooks evenly.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a rack on the lowest level.  Rub the roast all over with the salt and pepper.  To season the roast, rub the meat all over, evenly, with salt and pepper. An even layer applied to the fat will make the roast more beautiful.
   
3. Transfer to a heavy 13"x16" metal roasting pan (do not grease).  Arrange the meat, fat-side up. Insert an instant-read thermometer in the thick end of the roast (not touching a bone)
4. Cook 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F, and continue cooking until thermometer reaches 115 degrees F, about 1 hour 25 minutes. If it is not done, return to oven; check the temperature at 10-minute intervals.
5. Transfer the roast to a platter; set aside in a warm place. Let the roast rest for at least 30 minutes before carving to allow the meat juices to redistribute themselves back through the roast. (As the roast rests, the temperature will increase by about 10 degrees F, to 125 degrees F (rare).) Do not tent or cover the roast, or the crust will get soggy.
6. Pour the fat and drippings into a fat separator or a glass measuring cup; set aside (this is if you're making yorkshire pudding; otherwise, you can just discard the fat drippings).
7. Plasce the roasing pan over medium-high heat. Pour the red wine into the pan; scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon, loosening any cooked-on bits to deglaze pan.  Cook until reduced by half, about 6 minutes. Place a fine sieve in a medium heat-proof bowl. Strain the sauce into the bowl. Keep warm to serve with roast.

Apple Pie

I can't quite remember how I made this pie...it was quite the working progress. Enjoy the photos!

Thanksgiving 2009 - Dinner for Four

Our Dessert Stand

On a somewhat food-related topic, Brent and I painted our own dessert stand the other weekend.  It takes a week for the company to glaze and fire, so we just got it back on Sunday.  Wow! We did such a terrible job; one side is red and the other pink (because we didn't put enough coats).  To our defense, we were working with some child-proof paints and brushes, we worked on the same piece together, and we were a bit rushed because my mentee was with us and was getting bored fairly quickly once she finished her project and we still had half more to paint.  At any rate, we had fun and it will be a part of our holiday tables for years to come.