I was extra busy in the kitchen this past weekend, whipping up tasty recipes, trying new things, and performing experiments that test the boundaries of cooking as we know it!
Well, maybe they weren't all THAT edgy, but they were still experiments. First, I worked on creating an egg dough for wontons and egg rolls. I found a starter recipe which used 1 egg, 2 cups of flour, water, and salt. It made a thin, crispy dough that was very tasty, but more reminiscent of a spring roll than an egg roll, if you ask me. I'm hoping to re-work the dough a little on my next try in order to make it a little bit more eggy. I'd like it to bubble a little, and become that perfect texture right between chewy and crispy.
It wasn't long before I realized that my pasta maker was an absolute neccessity for this project. No matter how hard I try, I can never roll square dough thin enough. Thank goodness for my Kitchenaid.
Next, I moved on to my fillings. My project for the day was Stuffed Wontons, and after the third batch, I got my stuffing and folding method down pat.
And how did I fill them? I tried three different combinations on Saturday. The first was smoked salmon with tarragon, dill, chives, and cream cheese. Next, I combined baby bella mushrooms with kale, thyme, garlic, and cream cheese. My final filling was the most complex, sauted shrimp with scallion, basil, pineapple, and quinoa in a sweet and spicy soy chili sauce.
After they were all stuffed, I fried them up and took some test bites. The verdict? All three were very good, but the shrimp wontons need a little tweaking. Because they were so wet inside, they burst in the pan, leaving ugly black marks on the wrappers. The good news is that they tasted great, so with just a little re-working the recipe should succeed.
All in all, it was a very nice Test Kitchen afternoon. I've decided to start hosting Google Hangouts during my Test Kitchen adventures. If you have your own recipes to test, or you'd just like to hang out and talk food while I'm cooking, stop by my G+ page to RSVP. I'll invite you to my next Test Kitchen Hangout.