Wonton Soup

This soup sparks my memory as a kid, going and getting Chinese takeout from the small hole in a wall place in my hometown. A small side of soup commonly came with my meal and I always chose wonton! Enjoying the dish, I was so distant from it’s rich history. What a lot of Americans don’t know is the common “Chinese take out” we know originated from the Cantonese people in southeastern China. Wonton soup is a traditional dish dating back to the early 1600s in the Qing dynasty. Can you believe a 10yr old American country boy was enjoying a dish with that rich of a culture? It’s quite ironic, but I’m so happy I grew up to appreciate cuisine from different cultures. 

One more history lesson that I think is important here: the origin of the dumpling. Over 2,000 years, the event occurred when Zhang Zhongjian returned to his ancestral village during the winter, after a long absence. He noticed that many of his fellow citizens were suffering from frostbite, particularly around their ears. As a way to solve this problem, Zhang cooked up a batch of mutton, chili and healing herbs and wrapped them in scraps of dough. He folded the dumplings to look like little ears, boiled them and handed them out to his afflicted neighbors. Who knows if they cured frostbite, but the villagers loved the taste of Zhang’s creation so much that they kept making the dumplings long after spring began. (History .com) 

So now that you know the historical importance of this dish, let’s get into it: to begin you will need to start the broth. 

Broth ingredients: 

2 quarts chicken stock 3 cups water 4 quarter inch slices of ginger 3 garlic cloves whole 2 spring onions cut in half1 cube of chicken bouillon 
- combine all broth ingredients in medium pot, and bring to boil, then simmer for 30mins. This is a great broth that you can have alone if you’re feeling sick, and need something to warm you up, but it’s best with wontons! 
For Wonton ingredients: 
1 pack of wonton wrappers (you can easily find these pre made in the produce section in Walmart\publix) 
.25 pounds of raw shrimp with heads and tails removed 
1/2 pound ground pork 
2 tablespoons soy sauce 
2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine (sake, mirin, or shaoxing)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black or white pepper 
1 tablespoon raw sugar (half that if you have only white sugar) 
1 tablespoon corn starch 
1 tablespoon grated garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger 
1 minced spring onion 

Directions: 
- take all shrimp and mince and chop until fully ground, then add in ground pork and the rest of the filling ingredients. Let sit and marinate for 15 mins. 
- after the 15mins, take out about 30 wonton wrappers. You will also need a little dish of water to seal the wrappers with. Each wrapper will be filled with about a teaspoon of filling (not a teaspoon you have in your drawer, the actual measurement). Then seal using this technique: 

Wet one half of wrapper and fold into a triangle
Then wet one of the bottom corners and pull them together! 
Wow look! You have an adorable wonton! 
After all of your wontons are wrapped, bring broth back up to boil, and remove all vegetable aromatics from pot. Then one by one carefully add your wontons and boil for 10 mins! Scoop up and enjoy! Optionally garnish the top with some fresh spring onion and parsley. 

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Crunchy crunchy crunchy! There isn’t fried chicken without a thick skin covering some plump juice filled meat inside. This recipe will help you achieve fried chicken above and beyond what you’re use too in fast food chains. The key to great fried chicken is TIME! This is not a recipe that you will be whipping together last minute; rather, the star of the dinner spread for a dinner party that contains your blood sweat and tears! Forget everything you know about fried chicken, put grandmas recipe away for when she comes over so you can still impress her. 

We will be integrating traditional southern buttermilk fried chicken, with a tasty umami twist. Umami is the sixth flavor our taste palate can sense. Behind salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and bitter, there is umami. The large taste buds that sit in the middle of the tounge can sense umami. It’s basically an intense savoriness that flavors the dishes we love. Cheese is a great example of umami, but instead of cheese for this recipe we will be using buttermilk. 

Buttermilk is such a magical ingredient; at first glance and smell, youre likely ready to throw this spoiled milk away but DONT! Use it in biscuits, chicken, and even make it into ranch as a dipping sauce. Our chicken will be maranating in it for 8-12 hours or overnight. We will be seasoning it too, to pack a punch of delicious flavor. So here’s what you’ll need: 

For the maranaide/brine you will place an entire chicken cut up into a bowl. Rub down with all dry spices and salt our buttermilk on top. This is what you will need: 

1 quart of buttermilk

4 eggs 

2 Garlic cloves minced 

1 tablespoon Himalayan salt ground 

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cayenne powder 

2 tablespoon ground paprika 

2 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1 tablespoon ground sage 

2 teaspoons oregano 

Let marinate in the fridge for Atleast 8 hours but best overnight.Now after your chicken has marinated, prepare the coating, we will be using all purpose flour as the base: 

2 cups all purpose flour 

2 teaspoons oregano 

1 tablespoon paprika 

1 teaspooon chili powder 

3 teaspoons rosemary 

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons black pepper pepper 

2 teaspoons salt 

2 teaspoons sage 

 

Mix in all spices into flour, shake excess marinade off of chicken then place in flour mixture. Press coating hard into chicken to create a nice coating. Preheat vegetable oil to 350F/176C and deep fry for 12-15 mins until golden brown. Make sure to cut into your thickest piece chicken to make sure it’s done, and turn pieces of chicken around while cooking every 3mins. Lastly, enjoy some finger licking fried chicken! Serve alongside mashed potatoes and fried okra for a good southern meal! 

 

Earl Grey Sugar Cookies

This cookie recipe was an absolute experiment, that turned out delicious! There are many recipes for earl grey cookies, but I decided to develop my own. I have read a lot of recipes that  steep the tea in milk, and then add it to the cookies, but what fun is that? I just put the tea right in! The earl grey adds a nice little texture and color to the dough that is completely unique. I used a technique from the renowned chef Samin Nostrat, to incoperate fat, salt, acid, and heat into this recipe. By adding the tea directly in, an acid element is added  from the citrus leaves. 

    It is important to include ingredients to coookies and other sweets that counteract the overpowering sweetness. A pinch of salt here, and some acid there, really creates a fantastic cookie. Because it is not so overpoweringly sweet, these cookies are even a great for an on the go breakfast that will keep you full!  I hope

you enjoy this recipe, and it comes together in no time. 

Ingredients: 

2 sticks softened salted margarine 

2 eggs 

3 cups all purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1.5 cups sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 bag of earl grey tea leaves ground into powder (I use bigelow)Pinch of cinnamon Pinch of nutmeg Pinch of salt 

Directions:  preheat oven to 350F/170C
1. Begin by taking earl grey tea out of the bag, and grinding it down to a powder. Then, combine all ingredients together in one bowl, and knead until the dough is uniform.
2. Allow cookie dough to cool in the fridge for 30mins after mixing in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to retain moisture. 
3. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and flour your worksurface. Using a rolling pin, roll cookie dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out using a 2-3 inch round cookie cutter (I personally use a small mouth mason jar for this). 
4. These cookies will not rise and spread very much so you can fit within 1/2 inch of eachother. Bake for 13-17 mins until the bottoms are golden brown. Garnish top with granulated sugar, Cool and enjoy :) 

Mountain Dew Cake

    

Don't let the name fool you, this is nothing like other soda cakes you have ever had. The mountain dew helps the cake have an airy and light center. Otherwise, the mountain dew isn't noticeable. This is my go-to-cake recipe for any kind of event that I attend. I am so excited to share this with everyone because this is the cake I would request every birthday since I was about five years old.

     Originally my Aunt is who started making this recipe a very long time ago, and my mother and I picked it up from her. I have never had another cake quite like this one, and I hope you are able to enjoy it! It is extremely simple and will come together in a snap!  A lot of these ingredients you may already have in your pantry, and it is great for something sweet on a budget that will impress everyone! As I am writing this, I have one in the oven for my sisters birthday tomorrow, and her whole family is coming over to enjoy it with brunch. The aroma of cake batter and pecans fill the air around me! Anyways, let's hop right into the recipe, it has two parts so make sure to read it completely.    

First you will start by baking the cake, and after it is done you will pour a clear glaze on it while fresh out of the oven. 

Cake: 

1 Betty Crocker yellow moist cake mix (I have tried many this is the best)

1 Vanilla JELL-O pudding mix

4 eggs at room temperature

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup mountain dew soda

1 cup pecans 

Glaze:

1 stick of a good quality butter 

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup mountain dew soda 

Directions:

1. Begin by pre-heating oven to 350F/177C 

2. Grease a bunt cake pan well (I personally use Pam baking and it is a life saver)

3. Roughly chop pecans and place in bottom of empty bunt pan

4. In a clean bowl, combine all cake batter ingredients and mix until uniform

5. Place all of batter into pecan lined bunt pan

6. Bake for 45- 50mins until a toothpick can be stuck into the cake and come out clean.

7. 5 mins before cake is done, combine butter, sugar, and mountain dew soda into a saucepan on stovetop. Boil until bubbles are smooth and glossy. By this time, the cake should be coming out of the oven, while still in bunt pan, pour the entire pot of glaze into bunt pan. Allow ten minuets for glaze to absorb and flip cake onto a serving dish to enjoy!

Southern Style White Sausage Gravy Recipe

    

This is southern USA breakfast at its finest! Entering any breakfast buffet or cafeteria line in the southern United States, you are bound to find this southern delicacy. Hot, buttery, smooth, and delicious over some of mama's fresh made biscuits, it doesn't get any better than that folks! My mom use to make this gravy for me as a kid, and it was usually an instant formula from a packet, but it is just as easy to make from scratch. 

    

This is nostalgia for me in one recipe; I would make this recipe for my boy scout troop and I on a cold morning to warm up our bellies after a cold night. It would bring us all such happiness, and I never went a winter campout without this being made. The key to this recipe, is preventing lumps and maintaining a consistency that is not watery. Follow my steps and you will be making some delicious southern style white sausage gravy for your loved ones!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons bacon fat (may replace with an additional 2 tablespoons butter) 

2 tablespoons salted butter 

3 tablespoons all purpose flour 

1 cup warm whole milk 

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound cooked ground breakfast sausage of choice 

Directions:

1. Begin by melting bacon fat and butter in the bottom of a 9inch skillet over low-med heat. After melted, add flour to pan and whisk together to make a rue. 

2. KEEP WHISKING and add milk slowly until incorporated, if your milk is cold it will cause lumps so make sure to warm in the microwave for 45 seconds. Do not stop whisking until gravy is smooth and uniform. 

3. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time if gravy is too thick, or until desired consistency. If you mess up do not worry, add more flour to thicken.

4. Add cooked sausage and ENJOY! Serve over country fried steak, biscuits, fried chicken, and more!!

Making Osmania Biscuits in the USA Recipe

    Can you tell how much I love Indian milk sweets? This biscuit recipe has become a staple in my household. This sweet, traditionally is served aside masala chai for a quick morning breakfast, or for a great afternoon tea time. Osmonia biscuits are unlike anything I have had growing up in the United States; making this recipe for the first time a few moths ago, it challenged me to use new ingredients that I had never used in a bakery item. When making them for the first time, I had discovered what an excellent paring saffron made. Saffron has become my most recent obsession in the kitchen, but at a pretty cost: One small dish of saffron is around $7 at my local grocery store. 

   

 I wanted to create this recipe for people at home during this quarantine that may not have access to the traditional ingredients for Osmania biscuits. All of my ingredients were bought at Publix, but can also be found at Kroger or Ingles. I was so excited to see that an Asian-Indian grocery store has recently opened up in downtown Tallahassee, so I will be able to finally have access to traditional ingredients. However, I realize this is not the reality for most people in rural areas and small cities. 

                Anyways, lets get right into the recipe: 

Ingredients: 

1.5 cups of Milk powder ( I use carnation instant milk powder)

2/3 cup All Purpose flour 

3 Tablespoons custard powder (I used an instant flan powder) 

3 room temperature tablespoons butter 

Pinch of cardamom (cinnimon and nutmeg if you have it instead)

2/3 cup powdered sugar 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 cup milk

10 saffron threads 

Directions: Preheat oven to 330 F/165.5 C

1. Begin by placing 1/2 cup milk into the microwave and bring milk to about 110 F/43.4 C, then place saffron threads in to soak while we being to start the dough. Let sit on counter until needed in the last step.

2.  In a bowl, combine butter and sift powdered sugar in and mix until homogenous with no lumps. 

3. Sift the flour, milk powder, custard powder, cardamom, and baking powder into the butter/sugar mixture. Knead dough until smooth, may take up to ten minuets. Add milk into dough one tablespoon at a time if dough is dry and crumbly, I usually have to add about 2-4 tablespoons to dough. Allow dough to rest for five minuets and cover with a damp kitchen towel.   

4. After resting, roll dough out on a floured work surface. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out with a three inch biscuit cutter and place on a light colored cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

5. Take saffron milk mixture and brush each top of cookie liberally. Bake for 10-13 minuets until tops are golden brown. Cool and Enjoy! 

Galub Jamun (गुलाब जामुन) Indian Milk Sweet Recipe

Three years ago, I ventured into a Diwali festival on my college campus. I entered the main tent, and my nose was immediately filled with many delicious, but unfamiliar smells. My pallet wasn’t equipped for what I was about to endure. I quickly ventured over to what seemed to be the dessert table, and a Professor of mine scooped up these little dough balls soaked in some sort of syrup. She asked me to try one, and as I tried it, the dessert overflowed my mouth with an amount of deliciousness I had never experienced. I devoured many other things that day that I will never remember! 

Fast forward three years, and I started fooling around in the kitchen. Gathering my knowledge and experience, I was on a hunt for this dessert but had no idea where to start. Thankfully one day I happened to tune into the great British baking show, and found the name of this decentacy. I looked up a recipe and went at it!! There are a few differences in this recipe verses the traditional because access to these ingredients are impossible to find in rural Tallahassee. 

Out of all the difficult things to find in this recipe, I was actually able to find saffron at Publix. It’s sold in a little container for around $6.  Every ingredient in this recipe can be found at Publix and most of them are at Walmart for a bit cheaper. Please enjoy this recipe! 

Recipe Galub Jamu

Ingredients:

Dough: 

2 cups Milk Powder
3/4 cup all purpose flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder 1

 tablespoon lemon juice or yogurt 

1 tablespoon oil or melted Ghee 

~ 7 tablespoons milk 
Syrup: 3 cup sugar 5 cups water 10 saffron threads Pinch of Cinnamon & Nutmeg (or a pinch of cardamom but this is hard to get in the USA 

Oil of choice to fry with

Syrup:

3 cup sugar

5 cup water

10 saffron threads

A pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg ( this is to replace cardamom because it is less available in the US but feel free to use either)

Directions

 1. Sift together the flour, milk powder, and baking powder into a bowl. 

2. Add lemon juice with oil and add to dry ingredients with half of the milk. 

3. Knead mixture until smooth and homogeneous. Gradually add the rest of the milk one tablespoon at a time until dough is combined and not sticky. More or less milk might need to be added depending on the humidity of your kitchen.   

4. Roll out dough into 1.5in balls and roll until ball has no cracks and is completely smooth.

5. Prepare syrup by combining ingredients in a separate pot and boil until shiny and thicker. 

6. Set oil low to med heat and deep fry dough balls for 1-2mins or until golden brown. 

7. Pat balls with paper towels to remove excess oil and set in syrup for 2 or more hours. 

Enjoy!