Sunday, May 22, 2011

Give Us This Day...The Middle Bit

Because the middle bit is the meaty part. The middle bit is the surprise filling, the good part. The middle bit is the stuff on your inside that holds together your outside...now we're getting to it.

When it starts to feel like everyone around me is an idiot, it usually means it is time for me to a little bit of work on myself.  On my insides.  People are going to do what they do, say what they say, be how they are...and when I'm taking care of myself, when I'm making sure my needs are met, then I am much better at letting it roll.  When I get a handle on my insides it is easier for me to manage what I show on the outside.

Change the insides.  Change the middle bit.  I have that power.




Homemade Hot Pockets

A fabulous snack.  A totally portable party bite.  The easiest alternative to store bought pocket sandwiches that I have ever seen!  The dough baked around these Korean spiced sandwich pockets is a slightly sweet, fluffy bread that compliments the spicy filling suggested here OR you could put your own filling inside these rolls.  We made them with pizza sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni once.  I have plans to try spicy sausage and a combination of cheeses.  The 7 year old wants to put apples and cinnamon in them sometime.  Change the insides.  Change the middle bit.  You have that power.  This recipe is so simple.


Filling:
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cooking sherry
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 pound ground turkey
Cooking spray
2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage

Dough:
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1.  To prepare the filling. combine the first 11 ingredients, scallions through turkey, in a large bowl.  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray; add mixture to pan; cook 10 minutes or until done, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the cabbage and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool the mixture so it is not too hot to handle when it's time to assemble the buns.  You could make the filling up to a day ahead and refrigerate until you are ready to bake the buns.  Or if you're going to use some other filling, obviously you would skip this part...duh.

2.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

3.  To prepare the dough, combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and stir with a whisk.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the 1 1/3 cups of water, honey and canola oil.  Add the water mixture to the flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth (about 5 minutes).  Kneading this dough is not nearly as aerobic as some yeast breads.  It is light and easy to work with.  You may need to add additional flour during the kneading to prevent it from sticking to you and your surface.  After kneading, leave the dough on the counter, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 5 minutes or so.


4.  Flour your surface again, and sprinkle more flour on top of your dough, then roll it out into a rectangle roughly 16 inches by 12 inches.  Cut the dough into 12 squares, or squarish pieces, and while you work with one piece at a time, throw that clean kitchen towel over the rest of the pieces to prevent them from drying out.  Spoon 1/4 cup of filling mixture into the center of the dough square.  Put some water in a small dish and use it to dip your fingers in and moisten the edges of the dough square.  Bring the corners up so the opposite corners meet in the center as you fold up the dough pillows.  Pinch the seams together all the way to the edges using extra water to make them sticky.  Place the filled dough balls, seam side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet.  






5.  Combine the last tablespoon of water and egg white in a small bowl and lightly beat with a whisk.  Brush the top of each dough ball with mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Omit this step if you are using an alternate filling.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned.  If your filling is cold from the fridge, you may need to extend the cooking time slightly.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before grabbing one and running away with it!

No comments:

Post a Comment