Nate's first day of school!!!!

Jumping back into the blogosphere people, and what better way to start than with another fresh starter, my boy. The little guy turned 5 last week, and today started his first day of K1 kindergarden. I can't tell you how proud of him I am, and how excited he was to go!!!

Shrimp and Pork Potstickers, with Fried Rice

Made this the other night, they were SOOOOOO good! Here's the recipe (for the potstickers that is, fried rice is whatever you have in the fridge chopped up, cold cooked rice, and soy sauce)

½ lb Napa Cabbage
½ lb Ground Pork
½ lb Shrimp (chopped)
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Dry Sherry/Rice wine
1 tsp Fresh Ginger (microplaned)
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1 tsp Granulated Sugar
¼ tsp Freshley ground black pepper
1 large Egg
1 package Thicker cut potsticker wrappers (found in asian markets)

For the filling:

Place cabbage and salt in a fine mesh strainer and toss with your hands to coat cabbage with salt. Place strainer over a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
1. After 10 minutes, squeeze any liquid from the cabbage with your hands, discard liquid, and place cabbage in the bowl used for straining.
2. Add remaining ingredients and, using hands, mix thoroughly, pressing mixture against the side of the bowl until it forms a sticky mass.


To form and cook:

Fill a small bowl with room-temperature water; set aside. Lay a wrapper on a clean work surface and place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center. Dip your finger in the water and trace around the edge of the wrapper to moisten. Fold the wrapper in half by bringing the bottom up to the top, then pinch the midpoint to seal. To the right of the midpoint, and only on the top side of the wrapper, fold three pleats angling back toward the midpoint. Pinch each pleat to seal. Repeat with three pleats to the left of the midpoint, making sure the pot sticker is completely sealed (that last step is from the official recipe...my hands shake something awful, and did a piss poor job making the pleats, and it still came out great, so don't sweat it if they look kind of hinky). Lift the pot sticker off the work surface from the midpoint so that the pleats are vertical and facing you. Gently push down to form a flat bottom. Place on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. At this point, the pot stickers can be frozen and cooked later (that's what I did, they freeze great!).
1. In a large nonstick pan with a tightfitting lid, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place 12 pot stickers in a circle facing the same direction (they will look like the spokes of a wheel). Fry undisturbed until the bottoms are light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium and carefully add 1/4 cup of the room-temperature water (be careful because the oil may spatter). Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and, using tongs, turn the pot stickers onto their unpleated sides. Continue cooking until all the water has evaporated, the filling is cooked through, and the unpleated sides are golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove the pot stickers to a plate, wipe the skillet clean with paper towels, and repeat in 2 more batches. Serve with a dipping sauce made with soy sauce, ginger, scallion, and toasted sesame oil.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Gyros. Home made. Soooo good. First I minced some onion in the food processor, and then some garlic as well. I then took 1lb of ground lamb, and pulsed it in the old food processor with the onion and garlic, until it was a fine grind, then added a tablespoon or so of dried oregano, a teaspoon of marjoram, and a healthy bit of salt and pepper, and mixed it well. Press this mix into a loaf pan, and cook it at about 325 degrees in a water bath (see the photo above) for about 45 minutes, give or take a few, and then put a weight on top of the meat (I used another loaf pan, and then balanced my cast iron skillet on top of that, plenty heavy enough) and press it for about 15 minutes.
Gyros are served with a wonderful yogurt based sauce called tsajici. I get some Greek yogurt, an english cucumber (I like these better than a standard cuke, but if you use the standard, I would peel it, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon, as the seed bed in the standard is wetter and looser than an english, and can thin out you tsajici), a lemon, and salt and pepper, nice and simple. Take about one quarter of the english cucumber and peel the skin off, then dice the meat finely. With your veggie peeler, scrape off two strips of the zest of the the lemon, and mince it, add both to your bowl of yogurt. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into your mix, add salt and pepper to taste, and ta-daa!!! You have made tsajici! I let it set for at least an hour to allow the flavors to marry, and wouldn't recommend using it before that.
Traditionally served on warm, soft pita, I got this idea one night when we were enjoying Indian food.Naan bread is the perfect choice to simulate excellent pita (most pita from the grocery store tends to be stale and crumbly when folding, this fixes that issue). Just follow the instructions on the packaging, excluding the butter and water (both are not necessary) and brace yourself for Greek sandwich bliss.

When the meat has finished resting, slice it on long thin strips and place on your now warm "pita" bread. Dollop on your tsajici, and then add whatever toppings suit your fancy. I put fresh lettuce and tomato, but really there are no rules. Roll that bad boy up and get to work on one of the greatest sandwiches in the world.

I would have had a picture of the final project, but it was soooo good I lost control of myself and ate it all up before I could snap a pic. I have no self control.

Here Comes the 123's!

Here is a video from the excellent band They Might Be Giants, from their equally excellent children's album Here Comes the 123's. This album/dvd combo is so good my wife and I listen to it even if Nate's not around! This clip has my personal fave song from the album 'The Number Two'



They have a companion cd/dvd set called Here Comes the ABC's, here's Nate rocking out to his favorite track on that one......check out the rock moves on this kid!


That kid slays me.

Wow, is it Friends Thanksgiving already???!!?? How the time does fly!

Yep, you all might remember last year, around this very same weekend, me and a group of friends meet up and have 'Friends Thanksgiving', it's like real Thanksgiving, only without the fighting siblings and shreiking mother.

I have the turkey in the oven (last year I barbecued the turkey, and it rocked, but it's pouring rain outside, so no 'cue for me), and have made so much stuffing I could pack 4 birds. All's left for me to handle is the gravy, as we do this thing pot luck style.

Fortunately for me, we are doing this on a Saturday this year, as last years Sunday debacle went on entirely too late, with whiskey being shot to the wee morning ours and a very bleary eyed, and mostly drunk DeviledHam staggering into work on Monday morning smelling like a turkey on a 3 week bender.

Wish me luck this year, and maybe I'll snap some photos of the festivities!!!

Happy Friends Thanksgiving to everyone!!!! And lay off the whiskey this year, or wife's gonna leave you!

Qua, Plah! Motherfuckers!

Lt.Worf Endorses Barack Obama. It doesn't get more badass than that!