Jamaican Beef Dumplings

2009-05-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today at work I had a performance review in which my boss told me everything I already know. My attendance is bad, sure, I'm unmotivated and unenthusiastic, and I need to improve my work relationships with better attendance and not complaining about how bored I am. I sound like a terrible employee but actually I'm really good at my job. I get my shit done fast and thoroughly and I help my coworkers when I'm done and bored. But it's retail. It's mind-numbing work. But I guess I should put a little more effort into at least pretending like I care.

Because today consisted of a retelling of what I know, I decided to make something I know nothing about - what Gourmet calls Jamaican Beef Dumplings. Two trips back and fourth to the store (ugh) to get what I needed and I was ready.

Despite my painstaking effort of filling and folding each dumpling carefully and individually (I made about 30 I suppose, cooked about 10 and froze the rest), I didn't like these much. Maybe it's the curry, which I've never had. Or the greasiness of the beef which I should have drained. Either way I won't be making these again. But I am emboldened to experiment with dumpling wrappers and other fillings.

Jamaican Beef Dumplings
Makes about 30 dumplings
As Seen In Gourmet Magazine, May 2009

1/2 cup finely chopped scallion
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
4 cups vegetable oil, divided
1/2 lb ground beef
2 tbsp fine dry bread crumbs
Hot sauce (preferably Jamaican)
About 30 dumpling or wonton wrappers

Cook scallion, onion, curry powder, and thyme in 1 1/2 tbsp. oil with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in beef and bread crumbs and cook until meat is just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season with hot sauce (I only went to Trader Joe's and just found their brand of Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce - apparently Joe doesn't trade with the Caribbean.)

Put a rounded tsp filling in center of a wrapper. Lightly brush edge of wrapper with water, then fold in half (diagonally if square) and press to seal. Form remaining dumplings.

Heat 1 inch oil to 350ºF in a 12-inch skillet. Fry dumplings in 3 batches, turning once or twice, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per batch (My oil was only about 300º and the dumplings took much less time to turn golden-brown and crispy.)

Lemony Risotto with Shrimp and Asparagus

2009-05-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

My usual lunch hour consists of me, a sandwich or Lean Cuisine, and a dozen or so blogs about cooking, fashion, gadgets and geekery, entertainment, sex...you name it. It's a little strange that my bookmarks haven't inspired me to start a blog of my very own. Sure I've kept a livejournal since I was about 16 where I whine about my family or my job or my daily itinerary, but blogging to me is different. It has purpose and drive. It has subject matter that people actually want to read. It has poignant, hilarious, satisfactory, disastrous, truthful stories about my adventures in the kitchen.

I haven't been at this cooking thing for very long. My boyfriend and I moved into our apartment only a year and a half ago. I had failures with pork chops and successes as I turned my mom's few recipes into my own delicious creations. But it's only recently that I've gotten courage enough to experiment. I try things I read in other blogs, and I just subscribed to Gourmet magazine. I hope this is the start of a long, beautiful relationship with healthy and scrumptious cooking.

I found this risotto (my first!) to be very delicious. The lemon compliments the shrimp and asparagus well and the whole thing comes together in a creamy, satisfying party in my mouth.

Lemony Risotto With Asparagus and Shrimp
Serves: 4 Time Taken: About 45 minutes
As Seen In Gourmet Magazine, May 2009.

3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
3/4 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Bring broth and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add asparagus and simmer, uncovered, until just tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to stop cooking, then drain. Keep broth at a bare simmer, covered.

Cook onion in 2 tbsp. butter with 1/4 tsp. salt in a heavy 4-qt saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until absorbed.

Stir in 1/2 cup broth mixture and briskly simmer, stirring frequently, until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is creamy and tender but still al dente, about 18 minutes (I found that this took more near 20-25 minutes, and I had to make another batch of 2 cups broth and 1 cup water to get it to the consistency I liked.)

Stir in shrimp and cook until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in asparagus, zest, remaining 2 tbsp butter, parmesan, parley, and pepper to taste. Thin risotto with some of remaining broth if necessary.

A Culinary Cabaret

Jamaican Beef Dumplings

Lemony Risotto with Shrimp and Asparagus