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Recipe Mon Dec 07 2009
Cozy Recipes from a Cozier Kitchen
My family likes to eat. The kitchen is our gathering place and it's not uncommon to find us all sitting around the center island at 11pm snacking on whatever we can find.
This is the way it's been for as long as I can remember - when I was younger, I used to sneak out of bed when my parents were asleep and meet my brother in the kitchen where we would eat cereal while watch reruns of "The Simpsons." Jump a head a few years later to the summer when I was 17 and he was 14. I would come home after a night at work our out with my friends and my brother and I would make chocolate chip pancakes while catching up on each others night. We tried not to wake our parents, but they usually emerged from their bedroom and joined us for a late-night snack.
Now we're older and when we come home (which is pretty often) it's as if nothing has changed. The first room you enter when you come through the garage is the kitchen and it's usually hours after arriving that I step foot out of the room.
I suppose these memories, and countless others, are part of the reason I love food so much. The friendships that were built in my parent's kitchen are in large part who I am today. Over the years, my mom has demonstrated that cooking for someone is an expression of love. So, that's what we do. We cook, we play cards, we talk and we eat.
This is especially true during the holidays. While Christmas dinner is one of my favorites, I enjoy the left overs even more. Our Christmas is a pretty small event -- my parents, my brother, me and my Grandma -- so we always have LOTS of leftovers.
Most years, my mom uses some of the left over ham to make my one of my favorite meals - wonton soup. It's especially great to make the day or two after Christmas because it's light (I'm usually stuffed for about three days) and so comforting on a cold winter day. The recipe is pretty simple to make and I can tell you that I've tried a lot of wonton soup over the years and this one is my favorite, hands down. One of my first memories is sitting in the kitchen with my mom helping her fold the wontons.
Cheers to a warm and cozy holiday.
Wonton Soup
Soup:
3 cans chicken broth
1 cup ham - cubed
peadpods
1 can sliced water chestnuts
2 green onions, chopped
Filling:
1 lb. finely ground pork
2 slightly beaten eggs
2 T. chopped green onion
2 T. soy sauce
1 lb. ready-made wonton wrappers
In a large kettle cook soup base on low heat while preparing the wontons. To make the filling, combine pork, eggs, green onion and soy sauce and mix well (I like to use a food processor).
To assemble the wontons: Place one teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Dip your finger in water and moisten the edges of the wrapper then bring one corner up over the filling to the opposite corner to make a triangle shape. Press the edges together to seal the wonton. Fold the two bottom corners of the triangle together so they meet one another and slightly overlap (see picture above).
Drop wontons into boiling water. Bring to a boil, add one half cup cold water and bring to a boil again. Add another half cup of cold water and bring to a boil a third time. Drain excess water from each wonton and place into soup base. Serve soup once all wontons are cooked.