Pot Stickers (Williams-Sonoma style)

1/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
2 cups finely chopped napa cabbage
1/2 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 cup minced fresh garlic chives (I have never found these, but green onion tops work really well)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp rice wine
1 1/2 tsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
45 wonton wrappers
4 tbsp canola or peanut oil
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water to cover for 30 minutes (rehydrate). Squeeze out excess liquid, remove stems and mince the caps.
In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage and salt and let stand for 30 minutes to leach out water from the cabbage. Using your hands, wring out as much water from the cabbage as possible. Put the cabbage in a clean bowl. Add mushrooms, pork, garlic chives, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, ginger, garlic, cornstarch, and white pepper and, using a rubber spatula, mix vigorously to combine the ingredients well.
To fill each pot sticker, place a wonton wrapper on a work surface and brush the edges with water; keep the other wrappers covered with a slightly damp cloth to prevent them from drying out. Plae 1 teaspoon filling in the center of the wrapper, fold wrapper in half to enclose the filling, and pleat the outer edge. Place the finished pot sticker on a lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.
Preheat the oven to 250*. In a large nonstick frying pan over med-high heat, heat 1 tbsp of the oil. Add 10-12 pot stickers, floured bottom down and in a single layer. Sear until bottoms are golden brown, 3-4 minutes., Pour 1/4 cup of the broth into the pan, cover, and let steam until all the broth evaporates, the pot stickers are tender but still firm, and the filling is cooked through, 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and keep warm in the oven. Cook the remaining pot stickers and broth in 3 more batches.
Serve hot with dipping sauce.

Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce
5 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp water
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha chile sauce
1 tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp red jalapeno chile, seeded and thinly sliced on the diagonal

Bulgarian Musaka

One of Beau's Bulgarian colleagues at U of R shared his mother's Mousaka recipe with us. It was a tricky translation as she doesn't speak much English, but I'll be experimenting with it to get it right!

Musaka

Ingredients
1 kilo kaima (ground pork & beef)
5-6 potatoes
1 onion
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon red pepper
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
pinch of black pepper
salt to taste

Ingredients for topping
1 egg
1-2 tablespoons yogurt
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon flour
pinch of salt

Directions
Cut the onion and potatoes separately into small cubes. Stew the onion with the oil and a bit of water at medium temperature. Add the potatoe cubes, tomato sauce and red pepper to the onion and stew, stirring for 5-7 minutes.
Turn burner off, leaving the pot on the burner. Add the kaima (meat) and stir. Add the parsley, black pepper and salt and stir. Add one big tea cup of water.
Put into baking dish and bake at 350F. Check periodically to see if it is done. When it is done, prepare the topping.

Break the egg and add some yogurt, flour, milk and salt. Put this mixture onto the baked musaka and use a spoon to cover the whole thing. Bake again until the topping is nicely baked.

Cut into slices and serve with a side of yogurt, if desired.

Bon appetit!