Now that spring's finally here, strawberries are back in season with a bang. I took advantage of the grocery store's strawberry sale and bought two pounds.
Meanwhile, Paul and I have been gearing up for our Europe trip by trying different wines about three or four times a week. This usually results in a half-drunk bottle of wine sitting in the refrigerator, asking for some attention. What to do with all this fruit and wine? Make sangria, of course!
Sangria's I've had range from the cloyingly sweet to the delightfully fruity to the dryer than a martini. I tend to prefer red wine sangrias over white wine sangrias because of their body, but the last time I tried making one, I used a white zinfandel. I figured that fruity rose wine would lend itself well to a sangria, and I was not disappointed this time.
My basic sangria recipe:
1 bottle wine
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
2 oranges, sliced
1 lb strawberries, sliced
2 apples, sliced
fizzy water or soda, if needed
Large pitcher
Wash all the fruit thoroughly. Remove bruised or mushy parts. Boil 2 cups water in a 2-quart saucepan. Add sugar and stir until clear. Add sliced fruit and simmer for 2-5 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool. Empty bottle of wine into a pitcher and add fruit mixture. Stir thoroughly. Chill until cold. Serve over ice cubes with a sprig of mint and a splash of fizzy water or soda.
I haven't tried many variations yet. Some ideas I have are to add some mint or cinnamon to the sugar syrup step, use rose water, halve the sugar syrup amount and replace it with fizzy water or soda, and try steeping the fruit in the wine without sugar syrup.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Gyoza + Pierogi == Gyogi
In a fit of laziness the day after cooking class, Paul and I decided to try making the pierogi filling recipe with gyoza wrappers instead of handmaking pierogi dough. Not that pierogi dough isn't worth making, but more that we wanted to save time.
Gyoza wrappers really are quite brilliant. You can fill them with just about anything, and cooking them is as simple as boiling them in a pot of water or steaming them in a pan. For the record, won ton wrappers are the same dough, just cut into squares instead of circles.
The first incarnation of the gyogi follows.
1-2 packages gyoza wrappers, defrosted
Filling:
1 cup sauerkraut, well drained and washed
1/2 to 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sour cream (vegan sour cream works perfectly fine)
1 tsp sugar or a dash of Angostura bitters
herbs to taste (basil, oregano, thyme, etc.)
salt and pepper to taste
Heat a pan over medium heat. Add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan (non-stick cooking spray also works). Saute mushrooms until tender. Add sauerkraut and stir until heated through. Lower heat to medium-low and add sour cream, sugar (or bitters) and herbs. Stir until heated through. Sour cream should be bubbling around the edges. Correct the seasoning, remove from heat, and let cool.
When filling is cool enough to handle, begin filling gyoza wrappers.
To fill:
Peel off a wrapper from the stack. Wet your finger with some cold water and trace the edge of the gyoza wrapper. Place approximately 2 tsp of filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold one side of the wrapper to the other like a taco and press firmly. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Proceed until desired number of gyogi are made or until you're sick of making more.
I like to cook my gyogi two different ways. If making soup, just have a boiling pot of water or stock ready and dump them in after you're done folding all of them. They're done when they float to the top, which takes perhaps two minutes. Pan-frying and then steaming them takes about five minutes from start to finish per batch. First, find a pan with a cover. Heat it (nonstick is MUCH easier to clean afterwards) over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil to the pan (nonstick cooking spray will also work, but the gyogi tend to stick more with less oil in the pan). Arrange as many gyogi in the pan as will fit without them touching each other. Pan-fry until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup water to the pan and immediately cover. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook until all the water is evaporated. Serve hot.
Gyoza wrappers really are quite brilliant. You can fill them with just about anything, and cooking them is as simple as boiling them in a pot of water or steaming them in a pan. For the record, won ton wrappers are the same dough, just cut into squares instead of circles.
The first incarnation of the gyogi follows.
1-2 packages gyoza wrappers, defrosted
Filling:
1 cup sauerkraut, well drained and washed
1/2 to 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sour cream (vegan sour cream works perfectly fine)
1 tsp sugar or a dash of Angostura bitters
herbs to taste (basil, oregano, thyme, etc.)
salt and pepper to taste
Heat a pan over medium heat. Add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan (non-stick cooking spray also works). Saute mushrooms until tender. Add sauerkraut and stir until heated through. Lower heat to medium-low and add sour cream, sugar (or bitters) and herbs. Stir until heated through. Sour cream should be bubbling around the edges. Correct the seasoning, remove from heat, and let cool.
When filling is cool enough to handle, begin filling gyoza wrappers.
To fill:
Peel off a wrapper from the stack. Wet your finger with some cold water and trace the edge of the gyoza wrapper. Place approximately 2 tsp of filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold one side of the wrapper to the other like a taco and press firmly. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Proceed until desired number of gyogi are made or until you're sick of making more.
I like to cook my gyogi two different ways. If making soup, just have a boiling pot of water or stock ready and dump them in after you're done folding all of them. They're done when they float to the top, which takes perhaps two minutes. Pan-frying and then steaming them takes about five minutes from start to finish per batch. First, find a pan with a cover. Heat it (nonstick is MUCH easier to clean afterwards) over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil to the pan (nonstick cooking spray will also work, but the gyogi tend to stick more with less oil in the pan). Arrange as many gyogi in the pan as will fit without them touching each other. Pan-fry until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup water to the pan and immediately cover. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook until all the water is evaporated. Serve hot.
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