DUMPLING MANIA + ECTO COOLERS!

HOLY GUACAMOLE, BATMAN! IT'S A NEW YEAR!

We at DINNERGEDDON have been eating, drinking, eating, sleeping, eating, hibernating, eating, washing up, eating, passing out, eating, sleep-walking, eating, and eating more. Many of us are just emerging from holiday food coma - the details of which we will indeed share with you soon.

And hell, look at that picture above. Amey's homemade guacamole looks good enough to lick right off the 'puter screen. But we'll save that for another Mexi-filled episode. Stay tuned.

Right now though, it's a new year. We gotta get down to business with some DUMPLINGS. That's right, we're making homemade DUMPLINGS. This ain't no child's play. We gotta chop till we drop, and fold till we grow old. We need a solid gang. A Dumpling Crew. Someone who knows dumplings. Someone who can show us the way!

Ladies and gentlemen, Awesome Allison Busch:

Allison doesn't just keep the beat going all day and all night. She knows how to make some damn fine eats. And now, she will school us in the art of stuffing delicious ingredients into tiny pieces of delicious dough.

First, we'll need some ingredients. There are no real rules for what can go in a dumpling. You just need flavors that mix well - stuff you want to eat when it's wrapped in dough! We picked up some carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, scallions, cabbage, pepper... We got soy sauce to season and dip in, and sesame oil to cook the dumplings in. Some plum vinegar. Some all purpose flour.

Our master plan: Make two varieties of dumpilngs. A mushroom/carrot/scallion kind, and a potato kind. We plan to steam some, boil some, and pan fry some.

STEP 1: CHOP, CHOP! MIX, MIX!

Super! Now we have our two varieties of fillers.

WAIT! All this chopping and mixing is hard work. We need some liquid refreshment before continuing with this hardcore labor. Time to invent a drink! What happens when you just happen to have a bottle of Dan Akroyd's own Crystal Head Vodka and a bottle of Toronja Mexican soda from the local bodega? You have a delicious and refreshing slime-colored concoction. It's AMAZING! Allison gave it a badass name. You heard it here first, it's the ECTO-COOLER!

Okay okay. Back to Dumplingland.

One can make the dumpling wrappers from scratch, but we opted to leave it to the experts. The asian market had this business:

You can usually buy these Dumpling wrappers in the refrigerated or frozen section of any asian market. Keep them cold right up until you are ready to use them. You don't wanna mess with their delicate constitution.

STEP 2: FILL UP THEM DUMPLINS!

Fill 'em full, but don't pack them too tight. Dip a finger in some water, and moisten the edges of the dumpling wrapper. This will make the dumpling wrapper stick to itself when you fold it up. It's the glue.


When sealing the dumpling up, try to fold the wrapper over on itself, like a fan. This makes your dumpling look pretty. And it probably serves a logistical purpose as well.


Put some all purpose flour on the table or on a plate. Gently coat your dumpling in some flour. Now the won't stick to each other when you line those puppies up!



STEP 3: COOK DUMPLINGS!

Put 'em in a pan with some water and cover and steam 'em! Or fry 'em with some sesame oil!

Or boil them in some water!

STEP 4: PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES WHILE THEY COOK!

That was fun.

STEP 5: EAT!

A special thanks to our pal Allison!