therealdesign

Tomorrow I am headed to New York City on a local food safari with my buddy Brian. Having lived in the city off and on over the years, I still feel like a virtual stranger when I go to Manhattan. It's a culinary world that morphs from day to day. Restaurants go hot, super hot then cold, the immerging food truck trend keeps growing and ethnic cuisine reigns.

Breakfast is still big and getting bigger and the best bagels in the world come from New York City. There is a breakfast food trend that seems to be exploding..donuts. Yes Dunkin locations are on every street corner and local bakeries are thriving but there is one breakfast bakery, in my eyes, that stands apart from the rest. The Doughnut Plant. The Doughnut Plant has two locations in New york City and several in Japan. Their oversized yeast raised and cake donuts use the highest qulaity of ingredients including Valrhona chocolate and freshly made jelly and jams. My favorite is their square shaped huge peanut butter and jelly donut, filled with freshly made preserves dipped in a sweet glaze and rolled in chopped peanuts. Check out the pic above and notice the complex flavors combinations.  This place is the Ben and Jerry's of Donuts. For more information, phone numbers and New York City locations, go to www.doughnuttplant.com

Great handmade Chinese Dumplings stuffed from ground fresh pork, diced waterchesnuts, shredded cabbage, grated fresh ginger, soy sauce, a hint of teriyaki, minced scallions and lightly dusted with cornstarch.  

I used a handy dumpling maker to stuff and shape the dumplings. You can find one here by copying and pasting this address: 

http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/27477-Stainless-Steel-Ravioli-Pierogi-Dumpling-Maker-Large.aspx?sourcecode=CW4GG4036&;gclid=COKUoOvV57ECFcfb4Aod5zkA3w

Tonight, I'll steam them single layered in my bamboo steamer or in a double boiler sprayed with non stick vegetable spray.

Here is a rough recipe for the dumpling stuffing

8 oz ground pork

3 scallion whites, minced

1/2 garlic clove. minced

8 water chesnuts, small dice

1 cup finely shredded Napa or bok choy

1 tsp grated ginger 2 T soy sauce

2 T teriyaki sauce (optional)

Mix the ingredients together and refrigerate for a few hours Moisten round wonton wrappers with water, place a small spoonful of the mix in the center and fold over- refrigerate.  Use cornstarch to keep the dumplings from sticking to one another (sprinkle some under the dumplings. I love the gadget  that I used to shape the dumplings. See the link above.

Brian

The Italian to English translation of pesto is to crush or a sauce of crushed ingredients. Basil pesto is one of the cleanest most delicious and healthiest sauces you can make in less than 5 minutes. This time of year, fresh basil practically grows like a weed and it’s a good time to buy quantity while the price is right. I just purchased 6 fresh plants and made 2 quarts of sauce for my own personal use. If you haven’t made your own basil pesto sauce, you really should give it a try. Prepared pesto is typically made with citric acid and other stabilizers, which take way from the clean pure taste of a good freshly, made sauce. After pulling the leaves off the stem of 6 full basil plants, I soaked the basil in lots of cold water in a prep sink. I like to give the water a good stir, dropping much of the soil that might have collected under the leaves to the bottom of the sink. I move pretty quickly because fresh basil isn’t exactly tolerant of sitting around in a hot kitchen. In a food processor, I combine ? cup of a good virgin unfiltered olive oil. I just love the taste of unfiltered green oil. To the oil, I add 6 cloves of fresh peeled garlic and pulse for 15 seconds or until the garlic is macerated into the oil. Next I start piling the basil leaves into the food processor and turn on the machine until the leaves turn into a stiff puree. I add one cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 1 tablespoon of sea salt, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and nuts. Classic pesto features pignolis or pine nuts, the actual seeds found inside of certain varieties of pinecones. I use walnuts or sometimes macadamia depending on what flavor profile I am gong for. Walnuts are certainly the most affordable to use and provide a good full buttery flavor. Once the pesto is blended, I bottle it and top it with more olive oil to keep it from oxidizing. Not only is pesto delicious served at room temperature over pasta, but also it’s a great marinade or finish for grilled meats or fish. It is bustling with flavor and a classic Italian sauce.