Thursday, August 28, 2008

Happy Birthday, Mel


For my sister's birthday, I let her decide what I will make her and her family (and Mom and A) for supper as well as what her birthday cake will be. This year she asked for Pork Dumplings, Sesame Noodles, and Blueberry Pie. We have an obsession with Pork Dumplings thanks to a family trip we took to Virginia to visit our brother, his wife, and their girls this spring. For lunch one day they took us to this restaurant that makes tasty dumplings located on Charlottesville's pedestrian mall. We really liked the dumplings, but it reminded me of this recipe for dumplings that I used so make.

After we got home, I looked up the original recipe and then started making them (it's called Make-Ahead Pork Dumplings from the March 2003 issue of Southern Living; get it from myrecipes.com). Sometimes I steam the dumplings per the recipe, but sometimes I fry them in peanut oil. Either way, they are delicious. It makes a lot, so be prepared to freeze the leftovers. This is also a great appetizers for parties. The recipe for Sesame Noodles came from the New American Cooking cookbook from Williams-Sonoma.

Instead of the usual cookie cake or ice-cream cake, Mel requested blueberry pie. The recipe, which is from a former co-worker, follows. —PHH

Vanishing Blueberry Pie
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 (9-inch) piecrust
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
4 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
Vanilla ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Mix together first 7 ingredients. Pour into prepared piecrust.
3. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes.
4. Combine softened butter and next 2 ingredients. Sprinkle over pie.
5. Bake for 10 more minutes, shielding edges of crust, if necessary, to prevent excessive browning. Serve warm with ice cream or cold.

2 comments:

Leah said...

I love these dumplings. I also love Chicken and Thai Basil Dumplings, which you can find on marthastewart.com. The recipe is from the Rickshaw Dumpling bar in Manhattan. I made them last summer and they tasted just like the restaurant's. The only problem is you need thai basil for them...I'm not sure where to buy it around here. I just bought a thai basil plant at Pepper Place last weekend so that I can make the dumplings when the plant is big enough. Both of these dumplings are on the menu for when I have a "Dim Sum and Some Games" night.

Just Us Chix said...

Ok, Melanie is so lucky. Don't you want to know when my birthday is and what I want to eat?
~A