SQUARES & BARS: THE EASY SWEET TREAT

Growing up in the heartland and child of Scandanavians, I love sweets. Not the candy bar variety as a rule, but the buttery home made delights that almost floated over the plate. One day I will photograph my Norwegian Grandmother's collection of pasty irons for you--they are works of art. Sadly they remain mostly unused since her passing in 1975. My own Mom made beautiful lefse and taught me, but I rarely make it. During the Christmas holiday season in Montana, a wonderful lefse is available at our local markets from Opheim, a small town near the Canadian border. Since lefse is habit forming and caloric the way I like it, it's a good thing the small packages are very expensive. Lefse making is a technique---the recipe ingredients are simple (like so many things). Let me know if you are interested.

Making drop cookies is time consuming. Mixing the dough is quick, so don't bother to run out and buy some commercial frozen mix. It's the standing around while baking batches. I'll mix the dough, you come over and bake it!

Some genius developed the cookie "bar" or "square", which is the delicious dough baked all at once in a sheet pan and cut into squares. I think "bar" is a heartland word, and when I heard it in my California days, I knew I had met a native.

There are at least a million varieties of the cookie square. Here are two of my favorites, one very nutty and buttery and the other a bit more "healthy" if you will, but equally delicious for date lovers. The photos show smoothing the base crust with a half round plastic gadget that I can't live without, (palm of the hand works, too), pouring the topping over a partially baked base crust, and smoothing the topping (the nuts in this example).

NUT SQUARES
Preheat oven to 350 F
Lightly butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan

Base Crust:

Place in food processor with metal blade:

1 stick butter (cut into 6 pieces)
2 cups flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon freshly grated (zest) grapefruit or orange rind (optional, but wow!)

Pulse in processor until evenly crumbly--don't over process or let it clump into a ball.

Pat into prepared pan, smooth it over so crust is even.

Bake about 20 minutes. Don't brown it--just set it.
Remove from oven and set aside until topping is ready.

Nut Mixture Topping:

3 1/2+ cups chopped nuts (Combo of hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazils, pecans, pine nuts, etc. I like at least two kinds and have used up to four--depending on what I have on hand.)

1 stick butter (can go up to 1 1/2 sticks if desired)
1/2 cup flavorful honey
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch of thyme or pinch of lavender buds if desired (optional)

Cook ingredients (except nuts) in a heavy bottom sauce pan until all butter and sugar is dissolved. As mix comes to a slight boil, remove from heat, add chopped nuts immediately, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Pour onto crust, spread evenly, and return to oven for 18 - 20 minutes. Do not over bake or the topping will caramelize (still tastes great) and very hard to cut. Cut into squares with a metal pastry cutter or sharp pizza wheel, or a kitchen knife. When cool, store in airtight plastic or tin container, separated by waxed paper or parchment. Keeps well for several days.

* I chop nuts in the food processor. Just pulse a few times until they are the size you want. For these squares, they should be fairly coarse, not dust. Your preference. Pulse with a pinch of salt to enhance flavor as this is a very sweet treat. If nuts are very oily, add a teaspoon sugar for pulsing---keeps nuts from sticking.


Divine Date Squares/Bars
Preheat oven to 350 F
Lightly butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan

Date Mixture topping:

Place in a heavy bottom sauce pan:

16 oz (1 pound) chopped dates
If you buy a commercial package of dates, they are likely sugared. If you plan to chop your own, add 3/4 cup white sugar to the sauce pan.

1 cup water
1 tablespoon liquid vanilla

Cook until the water is mostly absorbed and the dates are soft and mushy. Cool to room temperature.

Base Crust:

Melt 1 cup butter (2 sticks) and set aside. (30 seconds in my microwave--cover container with plastic film or a glass cover--this splatters). Set aside to slightly cool off.

Place in food processor:

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (whole non-instant oatmeal)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter

Pulse listed dry ingredients. Add melted butter and pulse again until just mixed.

Press into 9 x 13 inch pan and smooth over (see above recipe and photo).

Top with date mixture and spread evenly.

If you desire some contrast on the dark topping, scatter over a tablespoon or two or oats before baking.

Bake in oven 20 - 25 minutes. Cut into squares as in nut recipe. This one softer and is easier to cut.

Thanks for tuning in! Happy cooking!

KGC

A Bit 'o the Green: Seedlings Started

We enjoyed a record breaking 72 degrees F on St. Patrick's Day. So, the momentum to get those little seedlings started was irresistible. A winter storm warning for TOMORROW doesn't stop us. It won't last now because the ground is warming up.

See the strawberry plants peeking through last year's dead foliage--they are truly evergreens.

I begin tomatoes in the house in my recycled yogurt cartons. I purchase Sweet 100 plants, however, as they are plentiful at local nurseries. My more unusual varieties did very well last year in our hot, short season. I am also a cucumber lover and start those inside. Zucchini is easy to grow and doesn't transplant very well for me, so I put them right in the big patio tubs as soon as it's warm enough (Memorial Day, unless covered outside). We have been raising veggies in a few patio tubs for the last two seasons and find it works very well--can move them around and cover easily if weather changes.

Tomato varieties: Pomodoro San Marzano Nano (Roma sauce type), Master F1 (beef steak variety), Black Master TM 34, Amana Orange (I love orange globe tomatoes--used to plant "taxi" but seeds aren't as available.) Orange and yellow tomatoes are generally low acid. We make lots of plain tomato sauce to freeze with any over runs.

Cucumbers include Asian burpless for their beauty, and "Marketmore 76" for slicers.

I use tons of parsley, curly and flat leaf, so we have one tub of each. Greek oregano--it's a perennial, but never have enough to dry! And summer savory is another favorite to dry.

And finally some small globe eggplants (Baluori EP 06) which have been hard for me to germinate, but I'm trying again. They require a longer season than we usually have, but let us hope this summer will be a long one. Eggplant flower buds are beautiful.

Thyme, Tarragon, various mints, lemon balm, and culinary sage are strong perennials and will miraculously provide for us on their own.

Seed starting tips:

I buy a new 1.5 cubic foot bag of Miracle Grow Garden Soil every season. About half is used for seed starts and the rest goes outside to augment patio pots, etc. Since we start seeds in the house, I never bring in outdoor soil--bugs, mold, etc., could be introduced.

My recycled cartons were cleaned at the end of last season. They have 3-4 slashes cut in their bottoms for drainage (use a scissor or small knife). For tomatoes, I fill half full with the dirt, and as the young plants grow and get "leggy" I just add more dirt to support them. 4 seeds planted per carton---then I know just how many germinated. In 6-8 weeks, depending on their size, I'll split the carton into two cartons and re-establish for a couple of weeks before transplanting to the garden. We'll show that process when time is right. Don't forget to LABEL the cartons.

Seeds need to be moist, but not wet. We will be out of town for a few days, so I mist them with a spray bottle of water, and cover with plastic to keep them warm and moist in the living room. They don't need sun until they germinate. Keep your fingers crossed!

I show the patio pots because we just turned over the soil after winter--it will improve with fresh air and sun and be ready for next month. All winter we dump our used tea leaves in these pots kept by the back door. Montana soil in this region is very basic (alkaline) and tea improves acidity.

Try some seedlings! Kids love to watch them sprout and grow.

1 POTATO, 2 POTATO, 3 POTATO....

It's a good weekend to finish off a 20 pound bag of potatoes! Sunny, but still only in the 40s.
We'll be thinking about St. Patrick's Day and corned beef soon.

The potato is a native tuber-bearing plant of South America. It was introduced to northern Europe in the mid-1500s. The chemist Antoine August Parmentier declared the potato "safe and edible" for France in 1773. The bistro style preparation of "Potatoes Parmentier" is still popular today: cut peeled raw potatoes into half inch cubes, fry in butter, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve with roast meats. We all love the versatile potato.

Two classics and a low cal fast cooking variation will be discussed today. Pommes de terre a la dauphinoise (American scalloped potatoes) and Pommes de terre a la savoyarde (scalloped with broth instead of cream) and the ubiquitous "oven fry".

OK--they're all simple to make. Let's dive in.

The classic: Potatoes a la dauphinoise (gratineed or browned crisply in oven)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Prepare the milk covering liquid:
Put all ingredients into a small sauce pan, over low heat:

1 cup whole milk (add more if needed)
2-3 large cloves garlic, peeled and flattened
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg (about ten gratings of whole nutmeg give the most taste)

Next:

Peel and slice into rounds 3# baking potatoes (do not rinse after slicing--surface starch is needed)
Arrange overlapping slices in a lightly buttered oven proof dish (about 9 x 13 for this amount)
(see photo)
Bring milk to a boil and pour over potatoes. Shake pan slightly to distribute liquid.
Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in oven until most of milk is absorbed (15-20 minutes).
Heat 1 1/2 cups heavy cream in the same saucepan.
Remove potatoes from oven, uncover, and pour over potatoes. Dot with 3 tablespoons butter and return to oven.
Bake uncovered another 20 - 25 minutes or until potatoes and cream topping have turned golden brown (see photo). Turn dish if your oven heats unevenly. You'll be able to tell.

When done, let sit for 5 minutes and then cut into wedges and serve. Goes well with grilled meats and fish, or as a main course with green salad and a glass of wine. Great leftover.

The Bistro Style (a la savoyarde)
This style is much lower fat, and can be eaten more often!

Follow the same procedure as above, but use your "white" broth instead of milk and cream. Also omit nutmeg, which is a flavoring touch used for white cream sauces only. Chicken stock, veal stock, vegetarian stock will be excellent choices. Adjust salt as needed.

Use any potatoes you wish--varietals, waxy, russet bakers, etc.
Use about 2 1/2 cups boiling broth (don't forget the garlic)
Add several springs of fresh chopped parsley
Add some thyme, herbes de Provence, etc., if desired.
After first baking under foil, remove from oven, uncover, and sprinkle with grated cheese
(Swiss, Parmesan, or your choice).
Return to oven and bake until edges of potatoes are brown and crusty (up to 40 minutes in all)

Oven Fries

Use any kind of raw potato, including sweet potatoes or yams. Experiment with root vegetables!
Preheat oven to 450 F
Line a cookie sheet or baking plaque with aluminum foil and place in oven to heat while you are working.

Peel (optional) and slice raw potatoes into wedges or French fry sized sticks (see photo)
Toss slices in 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil, salt, and any herbs you desire (I used rosemary and black pepper for the wedges, and paprika and bits of dried onion for the sticks. Any herbal combination you like is fine. Balance with what you are serving. Don't use too much oil--they'll be lower cal and stay crisper.

Carefully remove hot baking sheet from the oven and quickly scatter slices over the surface. The pre-heating gives them a fast start.

Lower heat to 400 F and bake about 20 minutes, until done. Test one. Turn once if needed for more browning, but if the oven is hot enough it probably won't be.

Eat immediately! If you are preparing oven fries for a dinner menu, you can prepare slices ahead and bake at the very last minute. They do not hold well.

In an emergency, leave in the oven with heat turned off until you can serve them.

Enjoy.

KGC

ASIAN DUMPLINGS & WRAPPERS

It's melting! Spring is on the way. March is coming in like a lamb. So far.

As promised today we will discuss the versatile Asian dumpling. These little packages are delicious, easy to make, and contain just about any filling you can imagine. We will stick with basic Japanese and Chinese seasonings, but please expand your repertoire to all of Southeast Asia and the Pacific as well!

Making your own allows you the freedom of complete control over ingredients--- hot, salty, or not, and flexibility in shapes and cooking methods. You may make your own wrappers, too. They are made from flour, salt, tapioca or cornstarch, and sometimes eggs. However, getting them rolled and "right" is another story. Supermarket wraps work very well. If you can't find the shape you want, rounds, for example, simply cut them from the squares with biscuit cutters or pizza cutters (see photo).

Basic shapes include the pillow (looks like a raviola), the envelope pouch with twist variations, the crescent, and the roll (for spring roll type).

Cooking techniques depend on your plans for use. Boiled dumpling packets are added to soups and require a more secure wrap so they don't open during cooking. Open top styles contain fillings that finish best with steaming. Crescents or pot stickers are fried in a skillet. Rolls are usually deep fried in oil. Decide ahead if your little packages will be eaten with fingers or as soup, or a main course.

Fillings for Asian style dumplings are typically a combination of PROTEIN + VEGETABLE + SEASONINGS. Proteins may include pork, chicken, shellfish, beef, and tofu. Vegetables may include onion, scallion, leek, mushroom, bean sprout, bok choi, shredded carrot, shredded cabbage, daikon, etc. Seasonings include ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powders, cilantro, parsley, drops of sesame oil, etc. Classics are shrimp and ginger, pork and garlic, tofu with ginger and scallion. Again, experiment with your favorites and use what's in the refrigerator (or soon the garden) to make wonderful dishes from ingredients at hand.

Dipping sauces may be commercially purchased (chili pastes, for example) or simply made combinations of soy with ginger, wasabi powder or paste, and citrus juices. Sweetened rice vinegar with finely diced red onion or scallion is also popular. Use spicier dipping sauces with a mild filling, and a milder dipping sauce with spicy fillings to achieve balance in your meal.

Prepare your wrappers. See photos for ideas. Pillows are made from two squares (usually 3" squares, with a teaspoon (or more) of filling in between. Wet the area around the filling with your finger and the two pieces will stick together. Make a triangle shape by folding a square over a teaspoon of filling and seal. Make a wonton by folding a square (with filling) into a triangle and bringing the opposite tips of the dough together and sealing with water. Crescents are made with rounds (cut from 6" squares with cookie or biscuit cutters if you can't find rounds in the store), filled and sealed. Critical: be sure to neatly apply filling to wrapper, and seal well or filling will escape during cooking. Vary the size according to use as a meal course, or a finger food. My personal favorites use as little wrapper dough as possible--I don't roll and twist into the "candy wrapper" style--too much extra dough. I love pillows and crescents. Fancy restaurants often serve one large dumpling in a sauce or broth--it will have bigger filling and extra dough. See photo of large triangle with centered filling. Cut fancy shapes after filling if desired.

Basic Dumpling Filling (For about 20 dumplings)

Put into a food processor:

4 ounces boneless pork (a chop), trimmed of all fat and cubed
4 medium to large shrimp, cut in pieces
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1/4 bunch of cilantro, stems removed
Couple of Napa cabbage leaves, cut up before adding
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Pulse until well mixed and texture of meatloaf. If large ingredients are cut into cubes or chunks before processing, you will not over process. Don't make puree.

Scoop out into a smaller bowl for easier access.
Work station set up: Prepared wrapper shapes covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying (dry dough won't stick together), flat plate or plastic cutting board for filling and rolling, small bowl cold water for sticking dough together, teaspoon for measuring filling, another plate (lightly oiled to prevent dough from sticking to plate) for holding finished pieces, plastic wrap to cover finished pieces as you work so they don't dry out. Don't worry about perfection. You'll get the hang of it.

Now we cook. For boiled dumplings (won tons) to serve with your Dashi and other broths, bring a sauce pan of salted water to boil, gently drop in dumplings and simmer for about 12 minutes, depending on size. Test one by biting a corner of the dough to see if it is done (al dente). They will float like little clouds when done.

For steamed dumplings, the ideal is a wok and Chinese steamer, but you can make one with any large sauce pan and a vegetable steamer basket. Holding a round of dough in your hand, cup it like a little tulip and fill. If you can dry these first in cupcake tin or little molds, they hold together better. Bring water to a boil, place a couple of cabbage or lettuce leaves in the basket and set the "tulips" on top (provides support). Set steamer or rack over boiling water, cover, and steam for 12-15 minutes. If they collapse, roll them over onto themselves with a chopstick or soft spatula, and continue. They will taste fine.

For pan fried dumplings (pot stickers) use a two part method. First heat 2 tablespoons peanut or other vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in non-stick try pan until hot. Add the crescents. Fry uncovered until they are nice and brown on first side. Adjust heat so they don't burn. Remove from heat momentarily, turn over with a plastic spatula, add 1/2 cup water and cover. Return to heat and cook another 2-3 minutes. Second side will not be browned. Remove from liquid and serve with your favorite dipping sauce (not catsup, please).

My favorite dipping sauce for pot stickers: 1/3 soy sauce, 2/3 citrus juice (usually lemon, but can be a combination of grapefruit, lemon, orange). Sweetened rice vinegar also delicious. Adjust proportions to your taste.

Can't wait to hear your results!

KGC

THE BOOK on far eastern cooking culture is Corinne Trang's "Essentials of Asian Cuisine: Fundamentals and Favorite Recipes" (2003). Take a look.