Bok Choi and Wonton Soup

I had a great, long spring break which I spent in San Francisco and at home. Chris was gallivanting around California. It was fun.

Then Chris got sick. He blames changing weather and too much time on airplanes. He's been miserable all week and he hasn't had much of an appetite. I figured it was about time I learned to make soup. Carpe Diem and all that.

I've got 2 main internet sources for recipes: foodtv.com and epicurious.com. FoodTV is the website of the Food Network, and it has all the recipes from the programs it shows, as well as viewer submitted recipes and some stuff from their test kitchens. Epicurious is the home of Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines, so it has all of those recipes, as well as reader submitted stuff.

Both of these have a few very important features: reader reviews, photos, and test kitchens. It's very comforting to know that some of the recipes have been tested and tweaked by people who know what they're doing. The photos are useful reference points for how things are supposed to look, and the reader reviews save me the trouble of making bad recipes. Usually, readers will offer some very good tweaks of their own, and more importantly, if there's a mistake in the recipe, readers will generally catch it and add corrections in the comments section.

I generally use FoodTV the way I use Joy of Cooking. I'll find a recipe to use as a base, and I can be confident that it will turn out fairly well, although it won't be spectacular without a bit of experimentation.

Epicurious recipes are usually a bit more complicated with more ingredients and frills and I've found that they take longer, but I don't have to be too creative.

My soup recipe came from a combination of both this time. The stock and bok choi instructions started out here, and I used this pot sticker recipe as a base for my wontons. Both recipes were heavily modified, so the end result bears only slim resemblance to the original. I had no patience for an 8 hour stock, and I had the pot stickers on hand already. The trick with the pot stickers is that 1 recipe will make 40 or 50 dumplings and they freeze well. So some can be dumplings and some can be wontons and it all works out really conveniently.

Ingredients:

6 cups reduced sodium stock (I used chicken, but I think you could use just about anything)
6 cups water
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, chopped
soy sauce to taste
1 head bok choi, cleaned and chopped
30 pot stickers (henceforth known as wontons in this recipe)

Simmer the stock, water, garlic, scallions, ginger, and soy sauce for about an hour. Use this time to prepare the bok choy. Add the bok choy and let boil for 3 to 4 minutes, until "crisp tender". Add the pot stickers and let cook for another 3 minutes, until filling is done. Cut a wonton open and check, especially if using frozen wontons.

Serve hot.

Arsenal: Skillet Popcorn

It could be argued that this is a bad topic for the Arsenal. Most of the people who would propose that view are people who have never had good skillet popcorn and until a few days ago, I was one of those people. However, I've been converted and I'm bringing my message to the masses.

You will need:

popcorn kernels
canola/vegetable oil
skillet with tight fitting lid, preferably glass

optional seasonings:

salt
butter*
cayenne pepper
garlic powder
grated cheese
anything in your spice rack or pantry

I didn't list amounts of any of this because it's all in direct relation to the size of your pan. You need enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and enough kernels to cover the bottom of the skillet in 1 layer.

Add the oil to the skillet, and put 5 to 10 test kernels in there with it. You'll be using these kernels to indicate when the oil is hot enough for the popcorn. Put the lid on and then turn the burner on high. Now, wait for the test kernels to pop. If you've got a glass lid, this is where you'll appreciate it. Otherwise, just listen. Once the kernels start to pop, lift up the lid in front of you so that it's between you and the pan. This way, the lid will act as a shield and protect you from stray kernels. Add the rest of the popcorn, replace the lid, and agitate the pan. You should hear popping soon. If you're using glass, you'll notice your kernels starting to brown. This is normal. Continue to agitate the skillet until the popping has slowed to 5 seconds between pops. Remove from heat and put the popcorn into your serving bowl.

If you want to season, now is the time. Salt is usually a good start, followed by whatever else you want to add. I generally add salt, cayenne, grated parmesan, and garlic powder. Butter can also be added at this stage, although I've found it doesn't add much.

*I don't actually like butter on my skillet popcorn. Oil and salt add enough flavor for me, and the butter just adds grease.

Bread.

I have a lot of posts to catch up on, so there will be a bunch in quick succession this weekend.

I've mentioned before that most of the time I prefer home cooking to restaurant food, and this sentiment was strengthened last night when I remembered just how terrible bad take out can be. However, I've generally been content to buy some things premade from the grocery store. I look upon these as staples, and I keep them in my pantry with the flour and the sugar. They include things like pasta sauce and granola bars and until recently, bread.

I've never been much of a bread connoisseur. I tend to buy the artisan stuff from the bakery section, but it's not great bread and I know that and I don't care. It just needs to go with pasta and maybe support some garlic.

Then, last weekend, I really screwed up. I was baking a loaf of bread, and also trying to get ready for a fondue party we were having. I was in the middle of cleaning the house when I started the sponge, so I wasn't paying attention when I used wheat flour instead of bread flour. Then, I didn't pay attention to the timing very well and I ended up spending some of the party kneading bread and bench proofing and baking in an already quite cluttered kitchen, because I was also making 2 types of fondue.

I baked the bread in a pyrex pan. I didn't have anything else. I didn't have a pan of warm water in the oven during the baking, because normally I use my pyrex pan for that, and I needed it to hold the actual loaf of bread.

In the end, the pan wasn't big enough for the bread, and one side was square-ish. This was the least of my concerns when I took the bread out of the oven. I don't know what happened, but my normal baking time was far too long. The bread came out scorched. Almost blackened in some parts. And then it stuck to the pyrex and I ripped off half the bottom trying to get it out. The crust was so dried out that it was almost impossible to cut. It was a total disaster from a baking perspective. But it was still better than all the store-bought stuff.

Basic Wheat Bread (adapted from Alton Brown's Very Basic Bread)

Ingredients
5 oz wheat flour
11 oz bread flour, plus extra for shaping
1 tsp rapid rise yeast
2 tsp honey
10 oz bottled/filtered water
2 tsp kosher salt
hot water for rising
vegetable oil or cooking spray for greasing the rising container
a dusting of cornmeal, for bench proofing
1/3 c water
1 Tbsp cornstarch

For the sponge: Combine wheat flour, 1/4 tsp yeast, all bottled water, and the honey. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours. This develops the flavor of the bread.

Mix the sponge, bread flour, remaining yeast, and salt. If you have a stand mixer, knead with the dough hook on low for 2 or 3 minutes until dough comes together. If you're doing this by hand, do it by hand. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Knead the dough until it can be pulled into a sheet thin enough that light can pass through it. If you're kneading by hand, continue kneading for a few minutes after that. Until it feels good, I guess. The dough will be somewhat sticky.

Put hot water in a shallow pan in the oven. Grease a large container and place the dough inside. Allow to rise in the oven until doubled in size. This will happen after 1 or 2 hours.

Punch down the dough twice, cover with a kitchen towel, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Shape the dough into a ball and turn over. Squeeze the bottom of the dough ball so that the surface is smooth. Roll the dough between your hands to shape. Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and place the dough ball on top. Cover and bench proof for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine cornstarch and 1/3 c water and lightly brush the top of the dough ball. Slash the top of the dough in a few places, 1/3 to 1/2 inch deep. Add more water to the shallow pan in the oven if needed. It will stay in the oven during the cooking process. Cook for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to sit 30 minutes before slicing.

Truffle Update

I forgot to add that the extra 4 oz of chocolate made everything better. I confronted the ganache while the soup was simmering. This time it was plenty stiff enough to scoop. So stiff that it bent the melon baller and didn't want to ball.

I scooped out ball sized chunks, coated them with cocoa powder, and shaped them with my hands. They turned out fine.

Ingredients
15 oz dark chocolate
6 oz heavy cream
3 tbsp caramel syrup (Joy of Cooking)
1/4c very very strong coffee
cocoa powder, for coating

Finely chop the chocolate and put in a heat resistant mixing bowl. Add the coffee and caramel. Over low heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer and pour over the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is fully melted. Refrigerate until firm.

Scoop 2 tsp of ganache and coat with cocoa. Roll between hands to shape into a ball. The cocoa should keep the chocolate from melting to your hands. Store at cool room temperature in an airtight container.

Soup!

I don't have a photo for this one, which is a shame because it was amazing. But even if I did, you wouldn't be able to smell it so it's a moot point.

Until now, I've always done grocery shopping in a very planned and methodical way. I'd figure out what I wanted to eat for the week, and then I'd buy exactly those components I needed. Generally, I didn't have anything left over, which was ok because chances were it wouldn't get used.

This philosophy does not work with potatoes. They come in 5 lb bags, and who in their right mind is going to use 5 pounds of potatoes in one meal? Or even in a week? That's a lot of potatoes.

I had a few left over and it was cold last night, and I wanted soup. I really love potato soup. It's one of my favorite soups, but I've never made it. I started looking up recipes, and mostly I found potato leek soup. I'm sure it's incredible, but I didn't have any leeks. I had scallions though. And cheese. And garlic.

Ingredients
2-3 potatoes thinly sliced (not baking potatoes and not new potatoes. The ones that fall in the middle of those)
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbsp butter
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 - 3/4c shredded cheddar cheese
salt to taste
ground pepper to taste
2/3c heavy cream, half and half, or something lighter (I used heavy cream because I had some lying around)
3c of some combination of water and low sodium chicken broth. I used 2 1/3 c water, and 2/3c chicken broth. More broth means less salt later, so adjust accordingly.

Over very low heat, melt the butter and saute the garlic until it just starts to brown. Add the chicken broth, water, and potatoes. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until tender. Joy of Cooking says this should be about 30 minutes, but mine were ready to go after 15.

Puree the soup in a blender. Do not over blend, or you will have glue. If you want a chunkier soup, you could probably hand mash the potatoes here. Return soup to a low heat. Add scallions, cheese, and cream. Stir until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Advanced: Fry up some bacon and garnish with bacon chunks.

Don't Try This At Home

This post, and the previous entry about my failed potato spoon bread, have been something of a departure from the traditional food blog format. For some reason, people feel that anything less than perfect isn't worth blogging about. They don't make mention of their mistakes or of how many times they had to make the same recipe before they got it right. And I get it. No one really wants to cook a recipe that almost works. What's the point, when generally, much better, more reliable versions are available at blog down the street?

But it's false advertising. Cooking takes work, and blogging takes work, and if I have to cook everything 3 or 4 times before I get a blog entry out of it, I'm going to waste a lot of time, money, and food. I'll revisit recipes that didn't work the first time, but I'm not going to spend the weekend making 5 loaves of bread so that on Monday morning, I can claim perfection. For now, "almost" is just fine with me.

This almost worked. It was a great plan in theory. Make a savory pate a choux, fill with sandwich stuff, and have cute little tea sandwiches for dinner. "Almost" covers a lot of ground. I almost got the pate a choux right. But then they didn't puff in the oven, and they didn't have the big pocket in the center that characterizes a good pate a choux. I almost came up with a great marinated beef sandwich filling. Then I grilled it a bit too long and it dried out. I almost had some amazing grilled marinated veggies to go along with the beef, but I ran out of room on the grill, threw them in a pan on the stove, and watched them drown in their own moisture as they steamed to death, instead of picking up the proper char I was looking for. I almost had a really great sandwich concept, but the pate a choux dough, which I've never had before, has some serious egg overtones that I hadn't counted on.

But the principle is sound.

On the off chance that you've neglected your pastry studies, pate a choux is a very strange pastry dough that starts out by being boiled, and turns into cream puffs, eclairs, and theoretically some savory dishes of which I've only heard rumors (I've heard rumors that savory dishes with pate a choux exist. I have no idea what they actually might be.). This dough is characterized by its texture: instead of having small bubbles dispersed throughout, it ends up with one big center bubble, which is usually filled with stuff of your choice. It also has no yeast or baking soda. The size increase is due solely to the expansion of water vapor that occurs during cooking.

I wanted to try pate a choux because it's the only pastry I've ever heard of that is piped through an icing bag. I did my research here, at the repository of "Good Eats" transcripts, where there is a whole show devoted to pate a choux. I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, except I mixed by hand instead of with a stand mixer. Also, the recipe doesn't mention it, but when you're piping out the dough, I think you're supposed to use the circular non-froufrou tip that you might or might not own. And failing that, I believe the next best thing is piping without a tip entirely and not using the widest florette tip you have. The florette tip doesn't allow enough dough throughput. I theorize that the ratio of dough volume to cookie sheet surface area is important. My cream puffs, which were taller than my eclairs, seemed to turn out really well, where as the eclair shells remained mostly flat.

I'm not really going to talk about the filling much, because I know where that all went wrong. No big mystery there. Moving on.

Like I said, this recipe almost works, from a perfectionist food blog perspective. In practice, it was a really good dinner. Also, in practice, the pate a choux tastes a lot better as a pumpkin mousse-filled cream puff.

Grilled Beef and Vegetable Pate a Choux Pockets

Ingredients:
4 savory pate a choux shells, recipe here
1/2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 lb beef steak, for braising, cut into strips
--
Marinade: makes 3 cups
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. dry mustard
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. freshly ground pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients, and blend or whisk vigorously until thoroughly incorporated. Divide the marinade in half. Marinate beef strips as long as you can, in half the marinade. Ideally, 4 hours is a good number. In practice, if you can only do 30 minutes, it will still work out. Just baste the beef with extra marinade during cooking. About 30 minutes before cooking, drop the veggies in the other half of the marinade.

If you've got a grill, now would be a good time to pull it out. I use a counter top model with no temperature settings, so I can't give cooking instructions. If you're in the same boat, cook the beef and veggies for about 5 minutes. You might go a bit longer with the beef if you want well done. Or, sear the vegetables on the stove over high heat until they char a bit.

If you are actually looking for practical sandwich advice, cut the pate a choux shells lengthwise like a hoagie roll. If you want cute tea sandwiches, cut them widthwise. Fill with beef and vegetables. Serve hot.