peach and blueberry crostata August 30, 2006
Posted by hapafood in dessert, fruit.add a comment
i’m usually not a dessert kinda girl, but i do love fruit dessert. this is one of my favorite desserts, and it always reminds me of summer. it’s very light and yummy. here is the recipe (from food network).
pastry
2 C all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 lemon zest finely grated
3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp ice water, plus more if neededfilling
4 large ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
1 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp all-purpose flour
glaze
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash
2 tbsp sugar
- to make pastry: combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. add the egg yolk and pour in the ice water; work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- to make the filling: combine the peaches, blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, and flour in a large mixing bowl. toss the mixture gently to coat the fruit.
- prepare your wooden burning brick oven according to manufacturer’s directions or place a pizza stone in a conventional oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.*
- sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour. roll the dough out into a 14-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick; it doesn’t have to be perfect, free-form is the look you want for this rustic tart.
- transfer the dough to a lightly floured pizza paddle. spoon the fruit mixture into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around; brush the border with the egg wash. lift the edge of crust over the filling, leaving the fruit exposed in center. gently fold and pinch the dough to seal any cracks. brush the crust with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
- *bake the crostata directly on the brick oven floor towards the front or on the preheated pizza stone for 30 to 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and fruit is bubbly and tender. slide a pizza paddle under the tart to remove it from the oven.
* i’ve baked the crostada on a cookie sheet, and it seems to do fine.
neapolitan style pizza August 30, 2006
Posted by hapafood in pizza, pizza dough, pizza sauce, recipe.add a comment
generally, i’m not a big fan of pizza, but i did fall in love with the neapolitan style pizza i found italy. i was lucky enough to run across this pizza dough recipe, and it is one of our favorites. it takes some time to make the dough, but it’s well worth it! here is the whole pizza recipe, including the dough.
makes 3, 10-12 in diameter pizza’s
dough recipe
starter:
2 tsp yeast
1/4 C warm water
3/4 C all-purpose flour
dough:
7/8 – 1 1/4* C water, room temperature
2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
* using more water will make a wetter and harder to work with dough, but it will be more like the dough found in italy.
- dissolve yeast in 1/4 C warm water, and let it stand for 5-10 minutes. add 3/4 C flour and mix until flour is absorbed.
- cover the starter with a cotton towel (i use moistened paper towels) and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- mix salt with flour (2 1/4C).
- add remaining water (7/8 – 1 1/4 C) to starter. add flour/salt mixture and mix the ingredients to the consistency of soft dough. knead dough until it is smooth and elastic.*
- divide dough into 3 portions and shape into ball. dust a canvas or proofing board with flour (i usually use the counter). place 3 portions of dough on dusted surface. cover with a cotton towel (or moistened paper towels). let dough rise until it is doubled (1 1/2 – 2 hours).
* note: you can freeze (up to 2 months) or refrigerate (up to a few days) the dough at this point if you’re not going to use it right away. let the dough come to room temperature before they are rolled out.
pizza sauce recipe
my husband loves this sauce. it’s light and fresh.
1 lb tomato**
1 tbsp olive oil**
salt
pepper
** approximate
- bring a pot of water to a boil.
- make an “X” at the bottom of the tomotoes with a knife. try to make the cuts so that it barely pierces the skin. place tomatoes in water and let them sit for about a minute. remove tomatoes.
- peel tomatoes and chop. place the tomatoes in a fine mesh strainer/sieve. let liquid drain from tomatoes for 10-15 minutes. move tomatoes into a bowl, and discard liquid. add oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste. mix well.
baking the pizza
- place a baking stone in the oven on the bottom most rack. preheat the oven to 500 F. allow the oven to heat for 30 minutes.
- dust your pizza peel with corn meal. roll the dough to a 10-12 inch circle, approximately 1/8 inch thick, and move the dough onto the peel.
- drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil over pizza and spread it around the dough except for an inch around the edge. put a thin layer of sauce on the oiled surface, the thinner the better. place your toppings on top (prosciutto and fresh mozzarella is one of our favorites).
- slide the pizza onto the pizza stone. bake for 5 1/2 – 9 minutes, depending on your oven; i would check after 4 minutes to see the progress. the edge of the crust should be golden brown. remove, cut, and serve.
carrot dumplings August 29, 2006
Posted by hapafood in asian food, dumplings, pork.1 comment so far
dumplings are the asian version of ravioli. the possibility of dumpling fillings is endless. this recipe is one of my favorites and it’s from my aunt and uncle.
serving size: 5-8
for filling:
1 lb ground pork (i’ve been told the fattier the better)
2-2 1/2 lbs carrots*, shredded (i like to use the food processor for this)
2 stalks green onions, chopped*
2 cloves garlic*, finely minced
1/2-1 C water*
1 tbsp** soy sauce
salt**
sugar**
for wrapping:
bowl full of water
2-2 1/2 packages of dumpling wrappers
* these are approximate measurements
** this will be added to taste
- gently saute the carrots in a large skillet over medium-low to low heat until tender. let carrots cool to room temperature.
note: if the carrots get too dry in the cooking process add a little bit of water. You want the carrots to be tender and moist when done, but not damp. - in a large mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, green onions, carrots, garlic, and soy sauce. stir (i like to use chop sticks b/c it’s easier. if you don’t have chopsticks i would use a spoon or fork).
- pour a little bit of the water into the mixture. stir until the water is incorporated into the batter. repeat until the batter looks moist.
note: you might not use all of the water in the recipe. it is better to add less water than needed than more. you do not want the mixture to be so wet that water is coming out of the mixture. - add salt and sugar to taste. (to taste the filling, i usually cook a tsp of the filling in the microwave, and then taste.)
- put about 1 tbsp of the mixture in the center of the wrapper. moisten the outside edge of wrapper, and fold together. make sure the dumpling is sealed tightly, or it will come apart during the cooking process. continue until all the dumplings are wrapped.
note: the amount of filling will vary according to the wrapper size and/or your own preference. you make like more filling or less for each dumpling. feel free to adjust the amount to your liking. - fill a large pot 1/2-3/4 full. bring the water to a rolling boil. reduce heat to medium.
- add enough dumplings to fill the bottom of the pot (less dumplings is better than more when adding). gently stir the dumplings to make sure they aren’t sticking to the pot. let the water come back to a boil, then add 3/4 C of cold water. repeat this two more times. when the water comes to a boil the third time, remove the dumplings from the pot using a slotted spoon. make sure you shake as much water off as possible
- repeat step 7 until you’ve cooked the amount of dumplings you desire.
you can freeze the uncooked dumplings, but i like to cook all the dumplings at once. if i have any leftovers, i save them so that i can pan-fry them the next day and serve them as potstickers.
caveat to recipes August 29, 2006
Posted by hapafood in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
most of the food that i cook in our hapa household i don’t have a recipe for. if i do have a recipe, i usually use it as a base recipe, and then i tend to add my own changes. 
i will note which recipes are a rough estimate within the recipe itself. i’m sorry that i can’t be exact!
thompson “snack” August 29, 2006
Posted by hapafood in savory snack recipe.1 comment so far
i got this recipe from my husband who got it from his grandpa, so 3 generations of thompson men have been enjoying this recipe. it may sound like a strange combination, but it’s really quite tasty.
wheat thins
cheddar cheese
pepperoni
dill pickles (the round ones that you find on hamburgers)
- slice a chunk of cheddar cheese the size of one wheat thin.
- stack cheese, one pickle round, and one slice of pepperoni on wheat thin. eat, and enjoy.
- repeat steps 1-2 until desired fullness is attained.
peanut butter popcorn recipe August 28, 2006
Posted by hapafood in popcorn.add a comment
a recipe i got from a good friend years ago. it’s popcorn covered in a gooey mixture of sweetened peanut butter. it’s a wonderfully tasty and sweet (but not to sweet) snack.
serves 4-6
1 bag of popcorn (any non-savory flavor)
1/2 C light corn syrup
1/2 C sugar
1/2 peanut butter (i usually use the non-crunchy kind)
1 tsp vanilla
non-stick spray
- spray a large bowl with the non-stick spray.
- combine corn syrup and sugar in a small pan. heat the mixture over medium-low to low heat until the sugar has melted. when the sugar is almost melted, pop the popcorn and pour into the bowl.
- remove pan from heat. add the vanilla and peanut butter. stir until melted.
- pour peanut butter mixture over popcorn and stir to combine.
- let mixture cool, and serve.
welcome! :) August 28, 2006
Posted by hapafood in Uncategorized.add a comment
being married to a caucasian has definitely widened the horizons to the type of food that i (an american born chinese) cook on a regular basis. this blog is a place where i’m going to share recipes of the food that you can find in our hapa household menu or recipes that i’ve picked up from friends/families/etc that i think are yummy! enjoy!
