Recipe of the Month

Since it is almost Chinese New Year, I am posting a Chinese recipe and because it is on Valentines day , i will post a valentine recipe.

Pot Stickers (Chinese Dumplings)

Prep Time:
50 MinCook Time:
12 MinReady In:
1 Hr 2 Min

Ingredients
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 pounds ground beef
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 shallot, minced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 leaves napa cabbage, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil
salt and white pepper to taste
1 pinch white sugar
1 (10 ounce) package round gyoza/potsticker wrappers
vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
Directions
1.Place the shrimp in the work bowl of a food processor, and process until the shrimp are finely ground. Set aside in a large bowl. Working in batches, process the ground beef to a fine grind, and set aside with the shrimp. Combine the shrimp and ground beef with ginger, shallot, green onions, napa cabbage, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper, and white sugar, and mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined.
2.To fill the pot stickers, place a wrapper on a work surface in front of you, and place a scant teaspoon of filling in the center. With a wet finger, dampen the edges of the wrapper. Fold the dough into a half-moon shape, enclosing the filling, and press and seal to remove extra air and tightly seal the edges together. It's nice to fold several small pleats in the top half of the wrapper for a traditional look before you seal in the filling. Refrigerate the filled wrappers on a parchment-lined baking sheet while you finish filling and sealing the pot stickers.
3.Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet with a lid over medium heat. Place pot stickers into the hot oil, flat sides down, without crowding, and let fry until the bottoms are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the dumplings over, and pour the water over them. Cover the pan with a lid and let the dumplings steam until the water has nearly evaporated and the dumplings have begun to fry in oil again, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover the skillet, and let the pot stickers cook until all the water is evaporated and the wrapper has shrunk down tightly onto the filling, another 2 to 3 minutes.
Footnotes

This recipe makes a large batch of filling, enough for several packages of dumpling wrappers. You can freeze filled, uncooked pot stickers by placing them on parchment-lined baking sheets without touching, letting them freeze solid, then placing the individually-frozen pot stickers into plastic bags for storage.

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Ultimate Valentine's Day Chocolate Truffle

2 servings

Ingredients
4 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 egg yolk
4 ounces sifted confectioners' sugar
3 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liqueur
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
powdered gold leaf

Directions
1.Melt 4.5 ounces of the semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler until just fluid. Using a whisk, incorporate softened butter, then egg yolk, sifted sugar and cream into the melted chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
2.Pour chocolate mixture in heart molds or any other molds (an egg poacher works well as a mold), and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.
3.Melt remaining 4 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler until just fluid.
4.Unmold chocolate truffles and dip them in the melted chocolate, shake off excess chocolate and leave to set on parchment paper. Trim excess chocolate.
5.In a small bowl, combine liqueur and gold dust to achieve a paint-like consistency. Using brushes, decorate hearts with gold "paint" A simple "I love You" is quite effective, or better still use an original romantic quote. If you are very artistic, birds, or a floral motif along the edges complete the effect.