Pork-Ginger Potstickers with Fire Sauce

Homemade Potstickers take some effort to prepare, but the flavor and texture are superior to anything I've ever had at a restaurant, and a lot cheaper too.  The advantage to homemade is in the texture: ground pork with little nuggets of ginger, garlic, and water chestnuts wrapped in a bite-sized won-ton with a salty/spicy dipping sauce create a flavorgasm of deliciousness.

When selecting a mixing bowl, I stand by my rule that you should always grab one size bigger than you think you need.  Remember to cook the pork until crumbly, drain the grease, and allow it to cool before you add it to the mix.  You can use a big spoon to stir, but I prefer to use my hands for that task.

Wrapping the potstickers is the time-consuming part of the preparation.  Kate can usually crank out about 60 in an hour.  We prefer the square won ton wrappers, but the round ones would work just as well.  Make sure to try and squeeze out all the air when you fold the wrapper over the filling.

The Fire Sauce is just a simple mix of three ingredients: Soy Sauce, White Vinegar, and Mongolian Fire Oil. It will separate if it sits too long, so give it a vigorous stir before you eat.

Before you start cooking, preheat the skillet over medium-high.  Add a dollop of oil and as many potstickers as will fit without touching, and let them brown for 2-3 minutes.  I like to use a metal spatula to gently separate them from the pan before I add the water to steam.

When you think they are ready, pour in the water and immediately cover the pan.  Wait until very little steam is still escaping (about 2 minutes), then remove the lid and remove the potstickers.  Kate and I like to eat them as they cook, but you could prepare them all before serving.

Pork Nuggets with Mojo Glaze

We were feeling ambitious tonight when we decided to make this.  It took nearly an hour before the food hit the table, so we've classified this as "weekend only".  That said, it's a fun riff on chicken nuggets, with the Mojo Glaze giving a tangy flair to the breaded pork.

If you decide to do the Maple-Jalapeno Sweet Potato as a side, be sure to get them in the oven before you get to work on the Pork.

The breading in this dish doesn't have too much flavor, so be sure to really season the meat first.  The only other trick is to crush the corn flakes in a plastic bag until they are almost completely crumbled.  This will help to ensure a complete coating when you bread the meat.

Anytime you are going to cook meat, it's important to make sure that everything is completely thawed before you begin; otherwise your meat will have a tendency to undercook in the middle and overcook on the outside.  Our pork was a little too pink for my taste when we first pulled it from the oven, so we dropped the temperature by 50 degrees and put it back in for another 3 minutes.


The Mojo Sauce is a simple creation, but full of flavor.  It's similar to an asian sweet-and-sour sauce, but a little less thick and sweet.  Be careful any time you heat a sugar on the stove.  The contents of the pan can reach a temperature exceeding that of boiling water, and the stuff is sticky, so it can leave a nasty burn if it gets on your skin.  It'll be cool enough to eat once you spoon it over the Pork.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Butter-Sage Sauce

One of our favorite tricks is to dress up packaged food with a homemade sauce.  Tonight's dish is a perfect example: store-bought frozen ravioli and a brown butter-sage sauce with prosciutto.  The whole meal took twenty minutes to prepare, and most of that time was spent waiting for the water to boil.

Making brown butter, or beurre noisette, is simple enough: cook butter until it's burnt just enough to taste good.  I started by crisping some sliced prosciutto in a bit of oil, set that aside, and melted about a stick of butter in the pot with some crumbled sage.  I gave it a stir every minute or so until it looked like the photo above.  Then I added some wine and sugar to deglaze (which put out a lot of steam, so be careful), added the ravioli, prosciutto, parsley, pepper, and tossed it to coat.  Kate suggested that we crumble some Amaretti Cookies over the dish, which added a nice crunchy texture.

Pork Scaloppine with Mom's Coleslaw

Thin meat, breaded like this, is one of our favorites. And you can't go wrong with my mother's coleslaw. The scaloppine takes a little effort to prepare, but the crunchy/juicy combination of breaded pork with lemon-butter sauce is worth a little extra time and mess in the kitchen.

Making coleslaw is incredibly easy. There are only two secrets: cut the cabbage as thin as you can, and no matter what size bowl you grab, you'll wish you had grabbed a bigger one. When you add the salt and pepper, remember that moderation is the enemy of flavor. Toss everything thoroughly between (frequent) tastings, and you can't go wrong.

The sauce is fairly straight-forward to make. Be sure to really whisk and cook the flour before you continue to the next step. You only need to stir it occasionally after you've added the other ingredients. You'll know it's ready when it has a nice sheen and a tart lemon flavor. Reduce heat to low and give it a final stir when you're ready to plate.

When it comes to pounding meat, I learned everything I know from Alton Brown on Good Eats. A ziplock bag and a bit of water makes this an easy and tidy task. Slosh a bit of water in the bag and pour it out, then add the meat a piece at a time. Press the air out of the bag and lightly hammer it with your mallet until you're happy with the thickness. Gently remove the meat and repeat.

Normally when you bread meat you start with a coat of flour. In the interest of making this dish (slightly) healthy, we've omitted that step. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure that I can taste a difference. Some recipes season the egg bath or the bread mixture with salt and pepper, but it always seems like the flavor gets lost when I do that, so make sure you season the meat before you begin.

With the above set-up, I use my left hand to grab a cutlet, dip it in the egg bath, and drop it into the bread crumbs. Then I use my right hand to scoop some crumbs on top of the meat, give it a good pat and gently shake loose the extra crumbs before I arranged it on the pan. This method helps me to avoid the "club hand". Do it differently and you'll see what I mean.

Using the broiler instead of sauteing the cutlets in butter is faster, cleaner, and a bit healthier. I still prefer the flavor of the full-fat method, but Kate and I agreed that this was a fantastic dish.