Office by Alex Penny
I am so excited to tell all of you in the cyber world that I am heading off to Italy for my honeymoon and a culinary experience of a lifetime!!! I will be traveling through Italy for an entire month with no real plan. The only plan I have is to go where the wine and food take me. I am very fortunate to be the chef at Cucina Biazzi which has been selling Italian wines for 20 years. I will be going to some of the wineries to meet the wine makers and taste their cellars. I also will be learning some authentic techniques from Italian chefs!!! Stay tuned while I am gone. I will be posting throughout my trip.
Ciao,
Chef Chandra
And the festivities begin
This is my most popular holiday drink recipe. This will guarantee Holiday Cheer for all your family and friends. It taste so good you don’t realize how many you have had… so be careful.
Stir the following ingredients into a pan on low heat and simmer until all is well melted and combined
1 lb butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 lb brown sugar
Once you have completed that add 1 quart Vanilla Bean ice cream ( I use Umpqua)
After all is combined well then add
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice (this is my secret and it seals the deal)
After you have made the mix you are ready to go. Boil some water and grab your mugs and rum (I use Captain Morgans Spiced Rum or Bacardi Dark Rum). In your glass add desired amount of rum, then fill up with boiling water, and lastly add a big spoon of the mix. Taste and add as much mix as your as your sweet tooth desires. Store left over mix in freezer, it will be ready to go as is next time you pull it out of the freezer.
Yesterday I didn’t have time to make the dough, so I went over to our local pizza place and bought dough balls. I bought two eight inch dough balls for the kids and four 14 inch dough balls for the grownups. The sauce was the perfect amount.
1 box Pomi Strained Tomatoes
1 Tbl Italian herb mix ( I use Penzeys Spices, you can use oregano)
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix the ingredients in a small bowl.
Cut all of your toppings ahead of time (saves you time if you are having guests). When the dough is rolled (in flour) you will be ready to go. You can put whatever you want on your pie. We had mushrooms, sausage, pepperoni, yellow peppers, olives, pepperoncinis, and of course cheese.
Will post the second potsticker video soon. Dinner was busy.
This potsticker recipe is awesome. I have put a lot of smiles on my friends, customers and families faces, and they keep coming back for more. Side note: I am making these for a catering tonight so the recipe is for 88 potstickers. Cut it in half if you are cooking for 10-12, but if I was cooking for my 4 brother in-laws at the ranch in Texas I would make the same amount because they would house them :)
Throw all of the following ingredients into a bowl
2 cups ground pork
1 1/2 cup whole peeled deveined shrimp (then chop shrimp up fine)
1 cup shredded napa cabbage
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
4 whites of green onions thinly sliced
1/2 tsp of white pepper
2 Tbsp of sheri
A dash of sesame oil
A dash of soy sauce
A couple pinches of salt
1 egg
2 packages of Mandarin Gyoza Wraps
Once all in a bowl, take your rings off and get down and dirty till ingredients are mixed well.
Grab a sheet pan and sprinkle a little cornstarch on it to get ready to roll the potstickers. You will again need to sprinkle corn starch on the top of the potstickers before you freeze them (it keeps everything from sticking).
You will need 1 egg white in a separate bowl. With a pastry brush you will put a thin coat on the wrapper to ensure a nice seal. Below you will see a video on how to roll the potstickers. Once rolled throw in freezer till frozen then cook.
To cook add a generous amount of oil (preferably peanut) to a hot saute pan. Put the potstickers in, then quickly add enough water to go a third of the way up, cover pan, when water is gone fry till potstickers are golden brown on one side. Then enjoy. I will add a video of me cooking the potstickers when dinner service is over tonight.
How to roll potstickers
This is a great way to start the day and for the picky eaters in your family a great way to sneak healthy things in (I have one of those at my house).
2 bananas
1 1/2 cups R.W. Knudsen Family Simply Nutritious Morning Blend Juice
2 Tbsp MaraNatha Organic Peanut Butter
1 cup frozen organic blueberries
1/4 cup almonds
2 Tbsp flax seed
1 cup Brown Cow maple yougurt
Throw ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth. (It is best with a vitamix!!)
