Tag: country cooking

Sugar Squash Dumplings

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I recently discovered an awesome fall squash called sweet dumpling. Like most fall squash, it’s versatile and easy to cook. And it is so sweet. And the name of the squash itself gave me the idea for making a squash filling to go into a dumpling.

Sweet dumpling squash. I was able to take a picture of this before the sun went down. Amazing what natural light will do for a photo.
You can use this same basic method to cook all fall squash.
Baked sweet dumpling squash.
Mashed sweet dumpling squash. These photos are taken inside under harsh, yet inconsistent lighting.

To make dumplings we have to bake the squash first. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half and hallow out the seeds with a spoon. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, give it a squirt of cooking spray and give the cut side of the squash a squirt too. Then place the squash cut-side down on the pan and put into the oven to bake for 30-40 minutes or until the flesh of the squash is fork tender. Scoop out the cooked squash, leaving the skin behind then mash the squash in a bowl.

Ingredients

3-4 C. cooked sweet dumpling squash (see above)

½ of a medium onion, finely diced

2-3 sprigs of rosemary, finely diced and divided. Half for the squash mixture and half for the butter sauce.

¼ to ½ stick of butter

½ C. Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp ancho chili powder

1-2 tbs herbs de Provence

Wonton Wraps

Salt and pepper (not pictured)

(other equipment needed: bowl of water and a pastry brush)

While the squash is baking, finely dice the onion and sauté with butter and olive oil. Add herbs de Provence and a pinch of the rosemary. Salt and pepper to taste. Let it cook down until very soft. Then add the squash to the onion mixture and give it a good stir. Let it all simmer together, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl and let cool for a few minutes, then add the Parmesan and rosemary. Add salt and pepper, if needed. But be careful, Parmesan is very salty on its own.

Add Parmesan and rosemary. Give a good stir.

Give it a good stir then add the chili powder.

A little chili goes a long way.

Put your wonton wrappers on a cutting board. You will need to work quickly because we will seal the wontons up using the water as the “glue.” But wontons are very sticky once they get wet so faster is better.

Put a dollop of squash mixture down on each wonton. It’s about 1 tablespoon of squash per square.

A dollop ...
Brush with water to seal the top and bottom of the wonton togethe.

Brush all four sides of the wonton with water, then put a second wrapper on top. Press together with your fingers. Be sure to get all the air out of the stuffed center part as possible. Then crimp the edges with a fork to seal it tightly. Place the dumplings on a flat surface until you can cook it. Get a large pot of water boiling then place the dumpling into the water to cook. You will have to do this in batches. Each batch will take about 3-4 minutes to cook.

Not the greatest photo, but hopefully you get the idea.
Out of the boiling water.

After the dumplings have cooked. Place them on a plate or cookie sheet. Don’t bunch them up into a bowl or they will clump together and tear when you try to move them.

Last step, toss the dumplings in brown butter sauce. To make the sauce, put a plug of butter into the pan, get it hot, add a little salt and pepper and a little pinch of the rosemary. When the butter is bubbly and starts to brown, add the dumplings, toss to coat with butter, add a pinch or two of rosemary. Let the dumplings toast and get a little brown.

Put on a plate and sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top. Yummy!

Sugar squash dumplings, y’all.

Strawberry Stuff

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When I was a kid, one of the greatest joys in life was the random family “get-together”. It could be a family reunion, a holiday, or just a random gathering of our clan of peeps. The best part of these gatherings was the food…OH THE FOOD…that would come out of the families who were from all over North/East Texas. I’ve joked often that I’m pedigree White Trash, but this might be the cherry on the top of the sundae, so to speak. I don’t even remember when this particular dish showed up the first time, but after it did it became a staple in our get-togetherin’. I distinctly remember heated conversations over whose favorite dessert this was as various family members tried to claim that it was their favorite over some other family member.

The original incarnation of this dish was made with peaches and was simply called “Peach Stuff”, and as far as I know has remained so in the family up until this point. I’ve often wondered outloud if this thing would be good with just about any different fruit you throw into it. However, your available ingredients will limit the type of fruit you use. I’m getting ahead of myself…let’s get this thing built and then go back and reassess.

Ingredients:

-Two tubes of Ritz crackers

-a stick and a half of unsalted butter (real butter…don’t you DARE use margarine)

-a large pack of strawberry jello (or two small packs)

-a tub of Cool Whip (full strength…not the lite crap)

-a stick of Philly cream cheese (full strength…no the lite crap)

-a cup of sugar

-2lbs of fresh strawberries

Take the two tubes of Ritz and crush them GENTLY so that you don’t bust open the packages. Trust me..it’s easier to do this inside the package. I tried using a food processor on it one time, but it made the crumbs too small. You want a varied sized crumble on this.

By rolling the crackers inside, you can crush them with your thumbs. Just make sure you don’t leave any big chucks. Even if you do, though, you can crunch them in just a bit.

In a 13×9 ungreased pan, dump your crumbs out.

You can see some of the bigger crumbs here…just squeeze them with your fingers to smash them.

Melt the butter (just so that it’s soft…don’t get it too hot or it will separate).

Pour the butter into the crumbs.

With a big metal spoon, mix the crumbs and butter together so that it’s evenly spread.

Turn the spoon over and start whacking the crumbs so that they even out all over the pan (you’ll notice the pan is suddenly a different color…I grabbed the bigger one on accident when I started out and had to change). Don’t whack too hard. You can use the weight of the spoon if your spoon is big enough. Smacking it will pack the crumbs in. It will take you a good 10min to do this, probably. You want the edges especially to be sealed up around the corners. Again, in just a bit this will make sense.

It should look something a-like so:

Packed in good.

In a preheated oven, put this on the middle rack and cook for 20-25 min @ 350deg. It may take a bit longer, but that should be about right. You are looking for it to be nice and golden brown.

In the meantime, prepare the Jello as per the instructions on the package.

Once you get it made, slip it in the fridge for 20 min, then into the freezer. We want it to get to where it’s JUST starting to set up, but not too set up.

Now then…let’s make the good part. Dump the Cool Whip, cream cheese, and sugar into your mixer and start whipping it up. It helps to leave the cream cheese and Cool Whip out for an hour or so to soften. Whip it on high. The sugar needs to be dissolved completely, and the mixture can use the extra fluff.

When it’s good and whipped, it will look almost like Crisco. Appetizing.

And you get to pick who gets to lick the beater.

Pull your crust out and let it cool. Don’t try to put the cream cheese mixture on when it’s still hot or it will be a mess.

A close-up of the crust. You’ll be amazed at how good this will make your house smell.

Top the strawberries and slice them up. They need to be in pretty thin slices, which you can accomplish with either a knife:

Or an egg slicer, which will cut your work down by a ton. This is one of my favorite tools in the kitchen. I use it for eggs, mushrooms, and strawberries when I want them sliced. You have to go easy at first or you’ll smoosh the strawberries. Just go easy so you don’t end up with a mush.

I thought about macerating these with sugar, but that will drain them of water and you don’t want that. When they are sliced up, put them back in the fridge to keep them cold until your crumbs are cool and your Jello is ready to use.

When the crumbs are cool, dump the cream cheese on them and spread them out. Go EASY with this or you’ll f up your crumbs. You need them to be sealed off completely by the cream cheese, and if you push too hard you’ll move the crumbs. Bad. Just go easy.

Speaking of the Jello, by this point it should be ready to go. This is borderline too far…when it starts getting thick, pull it.

Spread the cream cheese and make the edges TIGHT. It needs to seal up the crumbs. Using a paper towel, clean up the sides. It doesn’t have to be too clean, but you’ll want a separate layer look for presentation. If that doesn’t matter to you, then don’t worry about it.

Arrange the first layer of strawberries evenly on the cream cheese.

Once you have the bottom layer covered, then take the rest and even spread them out. You put the first layer down one-by-one so you know that you get good coverage of the white stuff.

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With a ladle, carefully pour the Jello onto the strawberries. Go easy now…if you pour to fast or heavy, it will penetrate the crumb layer and make ’em soggy. Bad.

Pour it over evenly.

From the side, you can see the layers. Now then…how white trash is this thing? Ritz crackers, whipped cream, cream cheese, and Jello with fruit in it sounds like every recipe out of the local Baptist church cookbook, doesn’t it? I’m sure that’s where this thing came from. Doesn’t matter, though…we are 12 hours away from greatness.

Cover the pan and put it into the fridge overnight. The Jello needs a few hours to set up completely. Don’t pull it early. When you do, though, this is what you are treated to. Oh, man.

The first slice is always the hardest to get out, but when you do get it out you’ve got this crispy, crunchy crust, creamy sweet layer of goodness, then the tart and crisp strawberry/Jello layer.

Back to the original conversation…this was Peach Stuff when I was a kid. You use peach Jello instead of strawberry, and use canned peaches instead of strawberries. You can chill the cans of peaches and drain them, using the juice as the “cold water” on the instructions on the package. I’m sure you can use just about any fruit flavor that Jello makes outside of lemon or lime. Whatever fruit you choose, though, this will be a instant favorite at your family get-togethers or holidays.