Pan Roasted Baby Artichokes

Baby artichokes were on sale, so I figured I'd give them a shot. Ever since The New York Times ran this article, I've been trying to eat more unusual vegetables more often. Artichokes are actually fun and pretty tasty to eat, but I have a problem figuring out how many of the outer leaves I should remove. In this case, I didn't remove enough so some pieces were a little tough. Oh well, you cook and you learn.

HOW TO:

Wash the artichokes. Remove as many layers of tough exterior leaves as necessary. Trim the top and stem off. Quarter and let the pieces soak in a mix of lemon juice and water. Mince garlic and parsley separately, and set aside. When ready, dry the artichoke pieces and place cut side down in a large pan preheated with olive oil. Let brown before turning the pieces. Toss in the minced garlic and season well with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and garnish with parsley and lemon juice.

Wild Salmon with Fresh Corn Salsa

Salmon, although delicious, is not my favorite to cook at home. It's probably my technique, but it usually starts to feel very one-note after a few bites. Wild Alaskan salmon is in season though, and it looked too gorgeous to pass up. I thought I'd try something different and serve it with a fresh salsa as a garnish/side dish. The combination ended up being perfect. The salsa was refreshing and sweet, a great balance to the fatty fish.


HOW TO:

Broil corn until tender. When cool, cut the kernels off the cob. Dice equal parts red onion and tomato. Finely chop garlic, cilantro, and jalapeño. Toss together with lime juice, salt, and pepper. For the fish, rinse and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Add oil to a very hot pan. Sear, about 3 to 4 minutes a side, until just under cooked.

Pork and King Crab Dumplings

Dumplings are one of my family's specialties. They've always been a regular part of my diet when I was growing up. Now that I'm on my own and in a different city than my parents, it's much more of a treat. It's a challenge making them without the help of seasoned family members, and it usually takes all evening. In the end, all the hard work is worth it because nothing compares to homemade dumplings. 

A few years ago, my parents and I came up with the outstanding filling combo of pork and king crab. There's also some Taiwanese cabbage, scallion, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in there. The dough is made and rolled by hand, and each dumpling is individually folded. They're cooked in boiling water for a few quick minutes, but they can also be pan fried for potstickers. 

HOW TO:

First the dough. Work a minimal amount of water into 4 or 5 cups of flour. Seriously minimal. It should just come together and be malleable. That's it. Put the dough in a pot with a fitted lid and let rest for an hour or two. Knead well midway.

For the filling, finely mince 3 or 4 scallions and 3 thin slices of ginger. Add those, a decent amount of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and salt to the pork. Mix in and set aside to marinate. Finely chop half a head of Taiwanese cabbage. (Taiwanese cabbage looks like flattened cabbage. It's sweeter in flavor and has a crisper texture.) Mix in with the pork. Stir continuously in one direction until the meat has a sticky and firm consistency. This is really important and could take a while. Water or broth may be added if necessary. When the meat is well mixed, gently work in roughly chopped crab meat.

Roll out the dough into long snakes, and pinch off small balls. Each ball needs to be smoothed, flattened, and rolled into a thin, circular disk. A helpful boyfriend makes for a great assistant in this case.

Fill each dough disk with the filling and crimp the edges in a pleated pattern. (Next time I'll take a picture of this.) To cook, toss no more than 20 into a large pot half filled with water that is at a rolling boil. Stir gently throughout the process, adding cool water if necessary. The dumplings are done when they are puffy and float.