My cooking retrospective
The winners, the losers, and two new recipes 🌞
Happy Saturday evening. Normally, I wouldn’t send a newsletter out quite this late, but I have things I want to talk about, so here I am. I also have two new recipes to share, one for Spicy Ginger Chicken Dumplings and one for Frozen Clam Carbonara, both of which are at the bottom of this email. If you don’t want to scroll through, you can download print-friendly PDFs of both recipes below this paragraph.
To be quite candid, this week was a rotten week of cooking for me. While I know it may seem like I post a lot (I do), I don’t post everything I make. In most cases, I still photograph it because I’m a creature of habit, and you never know when you might need the pictures. Like tonight for example, I got to thinking about how last week was a real stinker of a week, which prompted this newsletter. Had I not had the photos, I wouldn’t be able to share my food experiences with you.
I don’t mean to sound so negative; last week’s cooking adventures weren’t all bad, but they certainly weren’t all good, either. So I thought we could do a little retrospective to show you behind the curtains, so to speak. Because it’s not all food rainbows over here in my world, despite what my Instagram feed may look like!
The Good:
(Sweet treats and beautiful cocktails)
I was going to start with the bad, but then I thought I should make this an Oreo newsletter and start with the good, transition to the bad, and end with the best so you don’t have to slough through my negative experiences first.
So, the good. I made another tiny cake! Following Mike Bakes NYC’s recipe, I made a deliciously cute red velvet cake. The only modification I made was using a teaspoon of espresso powder with the cocoa powder. It was lovely! I also macerated a ton of raspberries and piled them on top. It’s so, so good and looks so beautiful. Tomorrow, I will make another tiny cake to take to my parents. My dad asked for a strawberry cake, so I’m going to follow this strawberry cake recipe by The Spruce Eats but may try to modify it so it fits an 8” x8” pan.
I’ve been in love with these Flower Drop cocktails from the St. Germain website. This time, however, I used the resulting raspberry syrup from my macerated raspberries instead of the simple syrup in the recipe. I strained the raspberry syrup through a sieve and added it to the cocktail shaker with St. Germain, vodka, and lemon juice. It was wonderful.
The Bad:
(Or, I should have left steamed-to-hell veggies in the past where they belong)
Remember in one of my previous newsletters how I told you I’d be steaming everything in existence on account of my shiny new steamer pan? Well, I did, and because I am a woman who revels in excess, I took it too far.
Today, I made the most amazing Spicy Ginger Chicken Dumplings (recipe below), and I thought serving them with some tender-crisp steamed vegetables would be fun. I suppose I underestimated the power of the steamer pan because I only left them in there for 5 minutes. The asparagus didn’t look horrible, but it was awfully pungent when I opened the pot lid. Still, I drizzled them with a touch of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled some Maldon on top. I finished with a spritz of lemon juice, thinking a little gilding of the lilies would save this dish.
Sadly, it was all gild and no lilies. I love, love, love asparagus, but if this were my only point of reference, I don’t think I’d ever eat another spear. They were very, very mushy, with “overcooked” being the only flavor, and now my entire house smells.
If that weren’t tragic enough, my caulilini faced the same fate.
The Good-Turned-Bad-Turned-Badder
I made a quesadilla one night at 1 AM. Maybe it was the cocktail, but it was perfect. I genuinely had a moment where I thought, “Why am I not making these every single day.” Just the right amount of cheese, just the right amount of toastiness. I decided then and there that I would make chicken quesadillas the following day.
The good: The chicken was fantastic. For 3 pounds of chicken breasts and thighs, here’s what I used:
3 tablespoons avocado oil
Juice from 2 limes
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne powder; use more or less to taste
Plenty of salt
Everything went in a big casserole dish and got mixed around to coat the chicken. I marinated it for 4 hours and then seared it in a very hot skillet until cooked through. Toward the end of cooking, I added a bit of water and covered it to let it reach 165ºF.
The bad-turned-badder: I made the quesadillas, and they started off wonderfully. I used Oaxaca cheese which melts beautifully. Unfortunately, being that woman who revels in excess, I just don’t know the meaning of less is more. So I added way too much stuff to my quesadillas, and–like the disaster of the burritos last week–it just didn’t work. Everything fell out, and my toppings were also a little excessive, I found. Fortunately, I only made one chicken quesadilla (as monstrous as it was), so I had lots of chicken to work with the next day.
I made a pot of chili using the remaining chicken, and it would have been quite good if I hadn’t thought to fish out this chorizo from my freezer. Who knows how long it’s been in there (it could probably pay taxes by now…), but I insisted that my chili needed chorizo.
I will chalk this miss up to the brand of chorizo I used. It had not much of any flavor except for a ton of cinnamon. I really regretted adding it the second it landed in the pot. Have you ever had one of those moments? The minute you decide to throw some rando ingredient in, you look at your pot like:
And the worst part is being reminded of your mistake with every bite you take!
The Best:
Now for the good stuff. I mean, the really good stuff. I made steamed duck dumplings last week, and today, I decided to whip out the steamer pot once again for some chicken dumplings. They are delicious. And spicy. And gingery. I tried a new folding technique. I thought I was doing a rosebud, but I can’t help but feel that mine look more like tortellini and less like the rosebuds I saw online. Nevertheless, they were delicious; it doesn’t matter how you decide to fold them.
This recipe follows many of the same steps as the duck dumplings, but they are certainly less work than roasting a whole duck!
Spicy Ginger Chicken Dumplings
Makes: 36–38 dumplings | Cook time: 2 hours
Dumplings:
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 Thai chili peppers, trimmed and minced
3 scallions, trimmed and minced
1 pound ground chicken
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons honey, maple syrup, or use sweet chili sauce, optional
Pinch of white pepper
Salt, to taste if needed
2 tablespoons water
36–38 dumpling wrappers, thawed if frozen
Fresh scallions, optional, for serving
Sauce:
⅓ cup black vinegar
1–2 teaspoons chili oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Prepare the filling:
Combine the ginger, garlic, chili peppers, and scallions in a bowl. Add the ground chicken and season lightly with salt. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, and honey if using. Sprinkle in the white pepper and mix well with a spoon. Add the water and stir to combine.
Fry or microwave a tiny piece of the mixture until cooked through. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
Fold the dumplings:
First, get a small bowl of water and place it on your workstation.
Next, place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the middle of the dumpling wrapper.
Wet the edges with water and fold the dumpling in half. Pinch the edges to seal the dumpling closed into a half-moon shape.
Steam, pan-fry, or deep-fry the dumplings:
To steam: Fill your steamer pot with water and place the rack on top. Place a liner on top. Bring the water to a boil and arrange the dumplings on top. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and steam for 10 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken has reached 165ºF.
To pan-fry: Dip the bottoms of the dumplings into the water to coat the bottom, then dip into a bowl of sesame seeds to evenly coat the bottom. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high. Add the dumplings, sesame seed side down, and cook without moving for 1 minute. Pour in ¼ cup water and cover immediately. Cook for 3–4 minutes. Remove the lid and fry for an additional minute or so.
To deep-fry: Heat a few inches of oil in a large pot until the oil reaches 330ºF. Add dumplings in batches and deep-fry for 3–4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
To serve:
Make the sauce by whisking together the black vinegar, chili oil, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Place the sauce in a small bowl in the middle of a serving platter. Arrange the dumplings around the sauce and garnish with sliced scallions. Enjoy
Another win: clam pasta! A few weeks ago, I went to Wegmans and, for some reason, bought a giant bag of frozen clams. Actually, my petty self will tell you exactly why I bought them. I used to visit this restaurant, and always, always, always ordered the clam pasta. I loved it. One time, though, I deviated and ordered the burger. Long story short, I had a really bad and unhygienic experience, so I haven’t been back. I still craved the pasta and have almost caved on a few occasions. When I saw frozen clams, I knew what I had to do.
While their clam pasta is a standard white wine pasta, I decided to make more of a clam carbonara situation. It was divine. So lush, so good! My tip? Don’t pour the egg mixture back in the pot as you’re more likely to get scrambled eggs…particularly if you cook in a cast iron pot as it retains so much heat. Instead, use a warm bowl. Rick Martinez likes to drain the hot water into the bowl, but I keep mine (a metal bowl!) on an unused burner closest to the one I’m cooking on, which keeps it nice and toasty. Whichever technique works for you will be just fine.
Use canned and drained or frozen clams for this recipe. No need to unthaw the frozen clams first.
Frozen Clam Carbonara
Serves: 4 | Cook time: 45 minutes
16 ounces bucatini or spaghetti
1 egg, plus 4 egg yolks
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for serving*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
2 anchovy fillets packed in oil, plus 1 teaspoon of oil from the tin
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, more or less to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups frozen chopped clams
1 lemon, juiced
½ cup loosely packed parsley, minced, plus more for serving
Salt and pepper to taste
Warm the bowl:
Place a very large metal bowl on an unused burner on the stove.
Boil the pasta:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt and add the bucatini. Scoop out 1 cup of water before draining the pasta.
Prepare the egg mixture:
Whisk together the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl until a thick paste forms. Add a big pinch of black pepper and set aside.
Cook the sauce aromatics:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6–7 minutes until just softened.
Add the anchovy fillets and the anchovy oil. Mash the anchovy into the onions until they break apart into a paste.
Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Cook the clams:
Add the butter, clams, lemon juice, and parsley to the pot of aromatics. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook until the clams are warmed about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Finish the sauce:
Carefully add half the hot pasta water to the warm metal bowl. Add the egg and cheese mixture and whisk until smooth.
Quickly add the cooked pasta and stir in the clam mixture last. Toss together with tongs until completely coated, adding the remaining pasta water as needed to loosen up the sauce.
Continue tossing everything together until the sauce is glossy and thick. Taste and season.
To serve:
Divide the sauced pasta between bowls. Garnish with more parsley and more grated cheese. Enjoy!
*Note: Use the small holes on your box grater for the best results. This side of the grater will create a grated cheese that is almost powdery and will melt quickly into the smoothest sauce possible.
I hope you all enjoyed this look back into my wacky world of cooking the past week. Please do eat something delicious tomorrow. You can always visit my website for lots of recipe ideas should you need inspiration.
OH, and I’m on PTO until the 26th, so I’ll have a new meal plan coming. So if you haven’t upgraded your subscription, do so by clicking the “upgrade” button in the top right corner of this page!
-kylie