On Wednesday evening, my friend Morley came over for an evening of wine, soup, Obama, and studying. It was a good night. I had a bunch of bread-ends in the freezer that needed to be used up, so I decided to make chicken dumpling soup. The basic soup started with the chicken noodle soup recipe I posted not too long ago, but I omitted the noodles in lieu of dumplings. Morley had brought some lovely farm share leeks so I chopped those up and added them to the stock, which added a lovely, subtle new dimension. I’d never made dumplings before so I kind of winged it but it turned out great! The dumplings were a perfect, slightly sweet, spiced foil for the salty soup, and they stayed together wonderfully (much to my surprise). I used this recipe as a starting point for the dumplings, but ended up changing it pretty heavily. Here’s how I did it.

Chicken Dumpling Soup

INGREDIENTS

One batch of my chicken noodle soup, omitting the noodles and adding one chopped leek at the same time you add the onions, celery, and garlic.

6 cups bread crumbs (I used the ends of a few loaves of Orowheat whole wheat bread, pulverized in the blender)
1 cup soy milk (or real milk, or cream — I used soy so Ed could eat them)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 whole egg + the yolk of another egg
Olive oil for frying (a couple tablespoons)

DIRECTIONS

1. Make chicken soup per the other recipe.
2. While the soup is boiling, whisk together bread crumbs, salt, nutmeg, thyme, turmeric, nutritional yeast, and pepper.
3. Add soymilk and mix well. Allow to soak in for a few minutes.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and egg yolk well. Add to the breadcrumb mixture and mix well. Roll into 1 1/4 inch balls and place on parchment paper. They’ll be a little mushy but don’t worry about it.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and heat it.
6. Place evenly spaced dumplings in frying pan, minding the fact that it might spatter. Don’t place the dumplings too close to each other or they’ll be difficult to turn.
7. When dumplings are dark golden brown on one side, turn them to another side and cook till it’s dark golden brown too. Repeat as many times as necessary until all sides are golden brown and crispy.
8. Keep the dumplings separate from the soup. Add them to each bowl just prior to serving. They stay together fairly well in the soup, but not much longer than the time it takes to eat it. To reheat dumplings (as serving as leftovers), microwave them for 30 seconds before adding them to hot soup.

I know, I know, Thanksgiving is a couple weeks past already. But this recipe is just too good to not share! I brought it to two Thanksgivings this year and everyone was a big fan. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart. It’s also incredibly easy to make. Thanks, Martha!

Pictured above on a post-Thanksgiving dinner midnight snack: a tiny turkey & cranberry sandwich, featuring my dad’s delicious dairy-free biscuits.

Cranberry Ginger Relish

From Martha Stewart Living, November 2008

INGREDIENTS

1 12-oz. bag cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
pinch salt

DIRECTIONS

1. If using fresh cranberries, rinse well and pick out any mushy ones.
2. In a large saucepan, bring everything except vinegar to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until most of the cranberries have “popped”, 10-15 minutes.
3. Stir in vinegar.
4. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate up to 3 days. (Personally, I find it lasts much longer than 3 days in the fridge, given the high sugar and acidity.)

Photo by Violet Blue

They did it right. Thick and sticky but still crisp–just like peanut brittle–but chockablock with delightfully crispy bacon bits instead of nuts. This stuff was perfect– and after it’d melted in the ice cream a bit, it got even better! Now I want to try my hand at it! And also go back to Nopa again while this is still on the menu. Next time, I’ll save more room for dessert. Mmm…

“The grand prize of the day (again, as decided by the people) went to Heather Lynch for her Maker’s Mark ice cream with a maple caramel swirl and bits of candied bacon, the recipe for which she generously shares on her delicious food blog Mooflyfood. The ice cream was long gone before I could get a crack at it, but I did get to taste her pecan bacon lace cookies, which were the best bites I had the whole time. Here, pecan did most of the work, with the bacon providing a pleasingly faint background note. Her delicate restraint in balancing these flavors was refreshing compared to some of the heavier handed efforts. Luckily, she posted the recipe for that one too, so we’re all winners here.”

That’s exactly what I was going for! I’m so glad that I succeeded, and that so many people got to try the results. Thanks for the write-up, Tamara!

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Okay, so this isn’t just another post about my damn ice cream…

Tonight, instead of being responsible and doing my taxes, I went out and ate:

• Muscovy Duck
• Frisee with bacon and goat cheese
• Some sort of AMAZING pork
• Spicy potatoes
• Kale with lemon and garlic
• Prosciutto wrapped asparagus (asparagus in California is incredible right now)
• Pear tart
• Chocolate pot de creme and a flourless chocolate mini-cake with strawberries
• Tiramisu
• A lovely bottle of Cigare Volant (2003?) from Bonny Doon

All from The Corner (a new small plates restaurant from the same people who brought you Weird Fish) shared with my buddies Reed, Star, and Jane. Wish I could tell you exactly what everything was seasoned with like the menu did, but from what I can tell, they don’t have a website or post their menus online (and I was too busy nomming to write it down). It was amazing, as was the service. I love it when you feel like the waiter is a friend. I’m definitely going back again. And again. And again. Just don’t tell too many people about it… ;)

Yesterday, I got to try a slice of $120/lb cured ham. No kidding! And that was marked down from $180/lb! I had no idea such a thing existed, but it does: it’s called Jamón ibérico, made from a wild boar that lives in Spain and feeds only on acorns. It was AMAZING. Melts in your mouth buttery salty indescribable… I’m not even sure it qualifies as meat. I was thrilled when Edward, the gentleman behind the deli counter at DeLessio Market & Bakery offered to give us a taste, and I can honestly say my palate has never been blessed with such a delightful meat in all my life.

A thing of beauty. Photo by Edrabbit, my partner in crime.

It has been a good few days for food.

The best part was, I WON!! My Maker’s Mark ice cream with candied bacon bits and maple caramel swirl took the grand prize, with 40 votes from the audience! And the judges all liked it too: all 5′s except for one 4 because the ice cream itself didn’t taste bacony (it wasn’t supposed to). I am just tickled. I don’t know what to do with all the compliments! But I have to say, making food that people like puts a grin on my face like nothing else.

Many, many thanks to Karen who organized the event but sadly couldn’t come, and to the rest of the folks that made it happen too: Diva, Juicy, Steve, Massive Bri, Cubes, Nina, Kevin, Dennis, Micah and many others who I don’t know. Thank you also to Scott at Bac’n for providing many of the prizes and also doing some of the judging, and Nermo for doing on-the-spot silk screening!

Dishing out the ice cream to the judges. Why yes I did store it in margarine containers. Photo by Edrabbit.

Me with all my loot. Photo by Edrabbit.

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BaconCamp Photo Round-up!

• By Edrabbit
• By Scott Kveton, of Bacn.com; one of the judges
• By Cal, another judge
• By Eddie Codel
• By Rod Begbie, whose partner (?) Joy made the delicious Blue Cheese & Bacon dip
• By homesliced
• By catiemagee