WEDNESDAY

Pork & Scallion Potstickers  |   Scallion Dipping Sauce  |  Ginger-Lime Sodas  |  Green Tea Fortune Cookies

 

Sometimes, you just need to lighten things up a bit.  This family has been on a steady, familiar journey lately and today we arrived at the intersection of stressed & grumpy.  As I have mentioned before here, May is always a bit of a handful.  For a month whose name sounds so warm and peaceful, May always seems to deliver a powerful punch.  The end of the school year is in sight which translates into a frenzy of final projects, papers & exams that must be tackled by children whose minds have arrived at summer’s front door while their bodies remain planted at a desk.  To make matters worse, both Max & Mallory have had to endure the always-dreaded standardized testing which has been taking place both last week and this week at school, while Madison juggles her high school schedule with finals in her college classes and studying for the SAT taking place on June 1st!  Suffice it to say…there is a little less spring in everyone’s step around here these days.

This dinner is my attempt to end the day on a fun note.  You might remember that I changed my menu last week shortly after publishing it, adding the potstickers upon discovering these little gems at Smitten Kitchen.  Mallory, especially, was really looking forward to these {one of her favorite foods} so I decided to move them up a day on the menu.  I have never made potstickers before and I was surprised by how easily these came together.  I prepared the dumpling filling earlier in the day and stored in the fridge.  When we got home, all that needed to be done was stuff the wrappers and cook.  Now, stuffing and crimping these little purses is not hard but you might begin to think that the pile of empty wrappers keeps replenishing itself and never goes down or there seems to be a bottomless bowl of filling or you start to think that, while making the 30th potsticker, ordering out for pizza might be a good idea it can be a bit time consuming.  This task actually turned into one of the highlights of our evening as the children and I gathered around the kitchen island sharing stories of our days and laughing at these silly little purses.  NOTE:  the cornstarch & water is a definite MUST DO in order to properly seal those little things {thanks for the tip Deb!}.

Pork & Scallion Potstickers {adapted from Food & Wine, as well as the Smitten Kitchen}

Filling:

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 cups finely chopped lacinato kale
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 4 large)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more for dipping
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

To assemble:

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ cup water
• 1 package round potsticker wrappers {36}

To cook:

• ¼ cup grapeseed oil
• 1 cup water

1. In a bowl, mix the pork with the kale, scallions, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and white pepper. Set aside.
2. Whisk the cornstarch and water in a small bowl.  Set aside.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. On a work surface, brush the edges of 4 wrappers with some of the cornstarch/water mixture. Place a heaping teaspoon of the pork filling in the center of each wrapper. Bring the edges of each wrapper together over the filling; press and pleat to seal. Lift each pot sticker by the pleated edge, transfer to the baking sheet and press down lightly to flatten the bottom. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
4. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the grapeseed oil until shimmering. Arrange half of the pot stickers in the skillet, pleated rims facing up and cook over high heat until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add ½ cup of the water to the skillet, cover and simmer until the pork filling is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until the water has evaporated and the pot stickers are well browned on the bottom, about 1 minute; transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining oil, pot stickers and water. Serve with Scallion Dipping Sauce {click for recipe}.

Our dinner plate {better than takeout & a lot more fun!}…

The Ginger-Lime Concentrate that I made last week was turned into sodas for the children, just by adding a little sparkling water…

And a surprise dessert…homemade Green Tea Fortune Cookies {complete with paper fortune’s inside!}

I first made these this past New Year’s Eve and they were a hit!  Simple ingredients and they cook up super fast.  I made the batter before I left for school pick up and tucked it away in the fridge.  I hand wrote some silly fortunes while I sat at the barn during Mallory’s riding lesson and Michael helped me quickly cook up a batch while the children were busy doing homework in their rooms after dinner.  Click here for the recipe.

Truly a fun evening!