Three food gifts, including one comical baking wreck
I have a new appreciation for Great British Baking contestants
On Tuesday I referenced the food coupon gifts I gave my family for Christmas. All of the results were delicious, though only two of the three were deemed binder worthy (a quick podcast episode on my recipe binder system is forthcoming). Here’s why:
The first recipe I made was for Violet. She loves crab rangoon so I thought it would be fun to try making this air fryer crab rangoon recipe (via Food Network). She ended up helping me fill the wrappers, which was such a sweet, nostalgic reminder of when I used to assemble mandu (Korean dumplings) with my grandmother—I couldn’t speak Korean and she couldn’t speak English so we communicated through food preparation.
I didn’t think we overstuffed the filling and the seals seemed tight, but the crab rangoon burst in the air fryer. That said, they were super yummy, easy, and fun to make and no one seemed bothered by the bursting!
The second recipe I made was for Laurel. Given that New York City is her second home, I thought it would be fun to gift her these Union Square Cafe chocolate biscotti (via New York Times). I used to love making biscotti but fell off that train since my favorite pre-kid recipes included nuts and we now have a nut allergy in the house. We’ve been reminded of how yummy biscotti are sampling them in various New York Italian bakeries with Laurel. These biscotti are easy to make and so delicious—especially with a cup of coffee! My biscotti spread quite a bit, I think because the dough was very room temperature—I will try chilling the dough before baking next time. Or maybe not; Vi said she liked that the biscotti were skinny—easier to wrap small mouths around!
The third recipe I made was for Jon and involved a comical baking wreck that gave me a new appreciation for Great British Baking contestants.