What a special city we live in with all of the pockets of incredible cultural neighborhoods and of course, food! I’ll focus just on the food for today:) Below are some recipes from a few of the classes we have done that showcase a few of these neighborhoods – everything from Irish to Greek, Asian to Italian, Polish and more! At the bottom of the page is a shortlist of local markets (I say shortlist because there are truly so many, if there is one you think I should visit, or include on this list, please let me know!) that I recommend visiting and for sourcing your ingredients. Many of these ingredients can be found in your local grocery store, however, when possible I prefer to support the local markets, and truly their prices and quality greatly surpass that of the big box stores.
Bubble Tea Bar
Recipe Card
Steamed Dumplings
Filling
Dipping Sauce
Instructions
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Filling
For the Filling, heat vegetable oil on medium heat. Add the green onions and saute for 1 minute. Add all remaining ingredients. Continue to move the ingredients around for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are completely wilted. Set aside and let cool.
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Dipping Sauce
Add all ingredients to bowl and whisk. Taste and adjust seasoning.
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Making Dumplings
Careful not to add too much filling (it will just cause the dumplings to overflow or open up when cooking) place about a tablespoon onto the wonton, a bit off center. Whether your dumpling wrappers are round or square, you will want to have a small bowl of cold water on hand – dip your fingertip into the water and run a bit of water on 2 sides of your square wonton, or along the edges of half of the circle. This creates a bit of a paste. Now you can seal the edges of your wonton, making sure to really press the sides together. You can leave it as is or have fun with an accordian fold, tortellini fold etc.
These are now ready to steam or pan fry. You can line a bamboo or vegetable steamer with parchment paper, or cabbage leaves to create a nice nonstick barrier. These will steam for about 12 minutes and are ready to serve. Alternately, you can heat upa few tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium heat (careful not to have it to high, as these can easily burn) and pan fry for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe Card
Filo Wrapped Feta Bites
Ingredients
Instructions
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Take 1 strip of filo dough and brush lightly with olive oil. Place a square of feta at one end in the center of the strip and wrap it like a present. Take both sides and bring it to the center, then roll up. Place onto a parchment lined baking tray and repeat with all the rest. Give the very top of them all a little brush with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes. Scoop them onto a serving tray and drizzle with honey. So easy and SO good. Enjoy!
Recipe Card
Pizza Dough
Ingredients
Instructions
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Make sure to use water that is just warm to the touch and not hot. Hot water can kill the yeast. Yeast does love sugar and a warm environment though, so lets go ahead and gently whisk the sugar and yeast into the warm water. Set this aside. Using your paddle attachment (or hand whisk), very quickly mix the flour and salt together. Pour in your liquid, making sure to scrape out the container well, so as to not leave any yeast behind. Blend for about a minute on low with the paddle (or hand mix) until combined. Switch to your dough hook and add the olive oil. knead on medium speed for 4-6 minutes. If it is a bit wet, add flour 1 Tbsp at a time until it comes together, likewise if it is dry, add 1 Tbsp of water at a time until it comes together. Remove from the mixer, add a bit of olive oil to a bowl, your dough, and cover with a clean towel. Let rest about 45 minutes, or until it doubles in size. It is ready to use, enjoy!
Recipe Card
Bread Pudding
Ingredients
Instructions
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This is such an easy and delicious treat! Your kitchen will smell like a dream in the process! Traditionally a dish to use up old bread and pastries, needing only kitchen staples to finish the job. You truly can use whatever bread you have on hand, as well as other add ins – in the photo I whisked some ricotta cheese & orange zest into the milk and egg mixture & topped with chocolate chips for a cannoli bread pudding. Use up that half pint of strawberries that won’t make it much longer, add spices, citrus zest, raisins, nuts, apples, blueberries etc. The beauty of bread pudding is that it can be whatever you want or need it to be. And pro tip – it can also be a baked french toast that you serve with syrup on a sunday morning!
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Simply add the bread and add to a large bowl – if you have more bread, no problem, just up your liquid amounts as well.
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In a separate bowl, whisk all the other ingredients, then fold the 2 together. If your bread is not completely coated in the liquid – add a bit more milk and an extra egg, we dont want this too dry. I generally go for about a 1/2 cup of excess liquid once everything is folded together, so that there is a nice custard surrounding the bread. Since each bread will absorb liquid at a different rate, especially stale vs fresh, its nice to know what you’re looking for!
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You’ll want to grease a 9 x 13 pan and pour your mixture in – this may be a bit much for this size, again depending on bread – you can always add a loaf pan as well! Bake uncovered at 350 for 45-55 minutes. Check at around 35 minutes and if it is browning more than you would like, you can cover with some foil to prevent further browning. For breakfast, serve with syrup. For dessert, serve with whipped cream! Enjoy!
Markets:
- Westside Market
- Nee How Asian Market
- Jaworski’s Meat
- Mediterranean Market
- Athens Foods
- Gallucci’s
- Asia Town
