[Molly] I'm whipping up a colossally cozy dinner on the farm.
The faster I can plate it up, the faster I can taste it.
Hallelujah.
Asian chicken pot pie with a crust made out of layers of
fluffy scallion pancakes.
Dang.
That is so flavorful.
Saucy and sticky orange broccoli and cauliflower.
I am not going to be able to stop eating this.
Orange you glad it's just a bunch of veggies?
Juicy pork potsticker stir fry.
Get at me.
I almost don't even want to share this with the girls.
And for dessert, my five-spice gingerbread cookies
with tangy cream cheese frosting
Shine!
Five spice, more like five stars.
[playful popping effects]
I'm putting together a hearty dinner for the family because
it's my favorite thing to do. It's how I show my love.
For dessert, I'm making frosted five-spice gingerbread cookies.
They're soft and sweet and flecked with the uniquely
cozy flavors of Chinese five-spice.
And then they get finished with a thick layer
of orange cream cheese frosting.
They're sort of like a gingerbread cookie for sugar
cookie people, such as myself.
I'll start with the dry ingredients for the dough.
Three and a half cups of all-purpose flour,
a teaspoon of baking powder.
A little bit of baking powder is really helpful in
the overall softness of the cookie.
But what I love about these cookies is that they hold
their shape with crisp edges after they're cut out.
Teaspoon of kosher salt.
And now the star flavor of the show, Chinese five-spice.
It's got cinnamon, cloves, fennel,
anise, and Sichuan peppercorn.
So you get the licorice notes of the fennel and the anise,
and then that little peppery bite from
the Sichuan peppercorn.
It is such a complex, cozy combination of spices.
All the flavors work so gorgeously together.
I'm bumping up with a tablespoon of cinnamon,
because cinnamon truly is a key flavor of gingerbread.
Ginger gets the naming rights, but cinnamon lays
the foundation for everything.
And then of course, some ground ginger.
And it's that signature zinginess that makes for
a great gingerbread.
And I'll just whisk this together.
Cookie decorating is a central part of winter.
We go all out with the buttercream
and the sprinkles.
And typically we do sugar cookies because those are
the most fun to decorate, but always a little part of me
feels bad that we skimp out on the traditional gingerbread.
So this actually kind of combines the two.
I'm using gingerbread flavors in a sugar cookie shape
and topping it with frosting because frosted cookies are
the best cookies.
It's good to go.
In my stand mixer, I'll combine one cup of softened unsalted
butter, and then four ounces of cream cheese
is my secret ingredient for making a cutout cookie
that once it bakes up,
it retains this gorgeous softness.
It'll also contribute a little bit of tang, which is so tasty.
And then one and a quarter cups of dark brown sugar.
I'll beat this up until it's creamy and combined.
This isn't like a fluffy cake where you have to beat in a ton
of air in order to get a fluffy crumb.
I love a cutout cookie that is super duper dense.
So I'm not too concerned with beating in a ton of air at this
stage, which is great, takes less time.
I'll crack in an egg,
[whirring]
and splash in some vanilla.
And then turn the mixer down to low and gradually incorporate
the dry ingredients.
The smell of the Chinese five-spice
is so nostalgic for me.
It makes me think of Peking duck and Char Siu.
It's combined when I can no longer see any
dry bits of flour -- let me grab some plastic wrap.
I'll divide it in half, wrap it in plastic,
and then refrigerate it for a few hours.
And this is also the type of thing you could make a couple
of days in advance and just keep in your fridge until
you're ready to bake. It's smelling so good already.
My dough is chilled. It's ready to be rolled out.
I'm rolling this out to a scant quarter of an inch thick,
so just slightly less than a quarter of an inch.
It'll be just thick enough to stay soft after they've baked.
That looks good. I'll cut out my shapes.
I'm using a star, and it's a big star,
because a big cookie is a tasty cookie.
You get a lot of those chewy innards.
And stars are fun to decorate. Just like that.
I love those clean edges.
I'll place it onto a baking sheet that's lined with parchment.
I'll keep on cutting, and then I'll actually freeze
these for an hour before baking at 350 for eight minutes until
they're no longer shiny and just set,
and then I'll get going on the frosting.
[playful dinging sounds]
It's just butter, powdered sugar, and salt.
Start on low then increase speed to high once you know
the sugar won't fly. Oh, that rhymed.
Add some cream cheese,
orange zest, vanilla, and beat some more.
Then scrape into a piping bag fitted with a quarter-inch tip
for frosting ease. Easy peasy.
My cookies are cool. They smell incredible.
I'm ready to frost and decorate.
So I like a cookie with a frosting as opposed to
an icing that hardens.
You can't beat a really soft, fluffy frosting.
I've got it in a big piping bag with a fairly large tip.
I honestly like almost a one-to-one ratio of
cookie to frosting.
So I'm gonna pipe on a thick layer.
I'm doing these big, cartoon-like lines.
Ta-da.
I'll finish with a little dusting of cinnamon.
That way, that's the first thing that you smell when
you go for a bite.
Speaking of going for a bite,
I'm just gonna steal a taste.
Mm. Mm-hmm.
They're soft and sweet and so cozy.
And the brightness from the cream cheese and the orange
in the frosting balances everything out.
Five spice, more like five stars.
[upbeat acoustic guitar]
[playful pops and tones]
For the main event, I'm making my Asian chicken pot pie.
It's got a super hearty, super flavorful filling that's
loaded with chicken and ginger.
And it gets topped with a freaking scallion
pancake crust. Go off, pie.
I start with the filling and then do an easy puff pastry
scallion pancake hack.
I've got some oil in my pan here.
I'm building everything in my braiser and then serving it out
of that as well.
I've got onion and celery, along with some scallions.
I'll just add the white parts of the scallions right now.
Those take a little bit longer to cook.
A pinch of salt,
and then I'll cook these for a few minutes to soften.
If I had to choose, I would say that chicken pot pies are
the coziest food of all time.
They're just like soup, but more.
They're heartier, they're creamier,
and then you have that crust.
Oh, and with the scallion pancake crust,
this is gonna be otherworldly.
Next, I'll toss in some ginger and garlic.
Is ginger the theme of the day with the gingerbread cookies?
I'm okay with it.
A little crushed red pepper for some heat.
I'll let this cook until it's fragrant.
You want to be careful not to overcook the ginger
or the garlic and cause them to burn and get bitter.
I'll start to build the base of my pot pie.
So with any pot pie, I do the veggies and then add some
flour, which is gonna thicken up the liquid
and create that creamy sauce.
I'll get in six tablespoons of all-purpose flour and whenever
you're adding flour to a dish like this, you want to cook it
for a couple of minutes before adding the liquid,
and that toasts the flour, and it gets rid
of that floury flavor.
I'll switch to a whisk now and then whisk in
two and a half cups of low sodium chicken stock.
You want to add this gradually to create the smoothest sauce.
The first food that Bernie ever inhaled when she was probably
about eight months old was chicken pot pie.
So I know she's gonna be into this.
You can really start to feel it in your whisk when
it's thickened up.
And you can kind of see the tracks
that the whisk leaves.
So I'm ready to add the chicken.
I've got four cups of cooked chicken here.
I'll toss this in.
I like to use a mixture of chicken breast and chicken
thigh so you get those contrasting textures.
OK, I'll fold this in.
Then you can't have a chicken pot pie without peas.
I'm just using frozen peas, which will thaw almost
immediately when they hit the hot mixture.
They're like little balls of sweetness scattered throughout.
And then a few of the scallion greens, but I'll actually
reserve most of them for the topping.
Some black pepper,
I'll season with a bit of soy sauce.
A splash of rice vinegar adds crucial acidity
to balance out the flavors.
And then to maximize its coziness, half a cup of
heavy cream. I'll stir this all together.
This looks so creamy and good.
All right, I'll remove it from the heat while I make
the scallion pancake crust topping.
I've got two sheets of store-bought puff pastry
that I've thawed.
You can either do it in the refrigerator overnight
or at room temperature for about 45 minutes or an hour.
And I'll roll this out until it's a wide
18 by 12 inch rectangle.
You wanna work fairly quickly and keep it as cold
as it can be to maximize those flaky layers
once it bakes up.
My rectangle's rolled out.
I'll drizzle it with some toasted sesame oil.
Even though it's called a scallion pancake, sesame is
a necessary part of it because this sesame oil infuses it with
so much flavor.
That dark toasty notes paired with the fresh scallions are
such a great flavor match.
I'll sprinkle with my reserve scallion greens,
a pinch of salt,
and I'll roll this up like a jelly roll.
Want a nice tight roll to lock in all the scallions.
OK, and then I'll coil this up like a snail
to create layers upon layers of scallion sesame goodness.
I'll roll it out again, and I'll roll it out this time
to be a little larger than the top of my braiser here.
So it's gonna be quite large.
I can start to see the scallion greens through the dough.
I'll brush this all over with egg wash to help it get shiny
and golden on top.
I'll brush the edges of the braiser with some egg wash
too, and this'll be glue that will help
the puff pastry stay on.
I'll cut some slits in the top for vents so that the steam can
release as it bakes.
I'll transfer it to the braiser.
Drape it over the top. Oh, it looks so good.
I wanna make sure it touches all the edges.
And then before it goes in the oven, some flaky salt
and sesame seeds for crunch.
Oh, that's so pretty.
I'll bake this at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, tenting with
foil for the last 10 so that it doesn't get too brown.
Cozy town, here I come.
It smells spectacular in here. Let me check on that pie.
Yum!
That is one gorgeous pot pie.
I'm gonna go for it right now,
because family means that you don't care if the person
who cooked the pot pie sneaks a taste before serving it.
You know what this needs is some hot Chinese mustard for
just a touch of that sinus-clearing deliciousness.
[short sigh]
Mmmmmm!
Dang, that is so flavorful with that ginger
and the scallions.
And that crust is so chewy and crispy and flaky and good.
This is some alpaca sweater-level
coziness in one spoon.
For a side dish that is vying to be even more comforting than
the main, I am making orange broccoli and cauliflower.
It's basically orange chicken, but with veggies,
so it's healthy-ish.
I'm starting with half a head each of cauliflower
and broccoli, and I'll coat them in some flour,
season with some salt.
And it's so easy just to put them all into a bag
and shake them up.
This is a job that Bernie and Ira would love to do.
So I'll just get them fully coated in the flour.
And this just helps the surface of the veggies stick
really well to the batter. All right, that's it.
For the batter, I'll start with three quarters of a cup
of all-purpose flour,
and three quarters of a cup of rice flour,
which will help the batter fry up to be light and crispy.
Two teaspoons of baking powder will allow the batter to puff
up while it fries. And a teaspoon of salt.
And I'll whisk together.
This is just like a tempura batter.
I love a battered vegetable.
It kind of creates this shell that's crispy on the outside,
but chewy once you get right below the surface.
Such a good texture.
one and a half cups of seltzer adds the bubbles
that will keep this batter light and airy.
This will be a very thin batter, but it puffs up
in the fryer.
I love seeing this bubbly batter come together.
I'll transfer my veggies to the batter
and get them fully coated.
Cauliflower and broccoli are so great with this because
their florets catch the batter and just provide so much
delicious textural excitement.
Broccoli is one of the few vegetables that Bernie and Ira
reliably eat with excitement.
So we have it pretty much every other day.
They've got to have it crispy.
They're actually pretty snobby about their broccoli texture.
If they have broccoli somewhere else and it's not crispy
or salty enough, they won't eat it.
But this deep frying is going to take the broccoli crispiness
to a whole other level.
I'll toss these to allow the batter to coat everything
and then I'll get them into my pot of oil.
I have a couple of inches of neutral oil heating
to 350 degrees here.
That is exactly the sizzle you want to hear.
Add a couple of spoonfuls.
We'll fry these for four to five minutes until they're
golden all over.
I'm frying in cast iron, which is a great vessel for
deep frying because cast iron holds heat very well,
and it kind of slows that dropping of the oil temperature
once the cold veggies go into the oil.
And one thing I love about orange chicken is how
the nuggets are all very smooth
and almost blob-like in appearance.
And that's what's happening here too.
The batter is just getting so puffy and happy.
And there are still some craggles though, which is
important because those craggles will catch the sauce
and add for some great crunchy excitement.
Even if the batter starts to turn lightly golden,
you wanna make sure to go for the full four to five minutes
because it's important that the veggies cook all
the way through.
This is the golden brown color that I'm looking for,
and I love seeing those craggly bits.
They'll be extra crunchy.
I'll transfer these to a wire rack
to allow any excess oil to drip off, and I'll just hold
them here while I fry up the rest of the batch,
and then I'll make my sauce.
[playful tones playing]
This sauce contributes tang and zippiness, and it just
shellacs the veggies with glossiness.
I'm starting with some orange juice, and to this, I'll add
a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce,
rice vinegar for acidity.
I love a sweet, salty combo,
but you also gotta have some sour.
A couple of teaspoons of toasted sesame oil,
and then a quarter cup of apricot jam, which will help
the sauce caramelize and thicken, and then it'll
glue onto the veggies in that deliciously sticky way.
And a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken everything up.
I'll whisk this until it's smooth.
I love to have this combination of orange and apricot so
you get complex fruitiness.
Now, ultimately, it's gonna be heating it up that thickens it,
but before I add it to my pot to thicken, I'll sizzle
together some aromatics.
I'll add a drizzle of oil to my big braiser here, and I'm using
a pot that's big enough to add in the veggies after
I've made the sauce.
I'll sizzle some scallions and garlic and ginger,
and crushed red pepper.
I love a kiss of heat in this dish.
I'll pour in the sauce.
I'll simmer this for just a minute until it thickens.
Mm, that is a really good smell, and a really good smell
is the key to a cozy kitchen.
Oh, yeah, it's getting thick.
When you can drag your spoon across the bottom of the pot
and see its track the whole way,
you know it's thick enough. All right, it's go time.
I'll add the veggies right into the sauce.
So excited. I like handling these.
They're so satisfying and crunchy.
I'll toss them all together and get them
fully coated in the sauce.
This looks so good. Yowza.
The faster I can plate it up, the faster I can taste it.
This is the perk of wearing sweaters.
Hallelujah.
Look at that steam coming off of it.
It still needs toasted sesame seeds
and scallions.
And this is just giving my hand something to do while it cools
so that it's not lava hot going into my mouth.
Which one of you do I want first?
I want you.
So sweet and sticky and the breading is so crunchy
and chewy and satisfying.
I am not gonna be able to stop eating this.
Orange you glad it's just a bunch of veggies?
[playful dings and chomping]
To really stir up this dinner,
I'm making my potsticker stir fry.
It's just a quick and easy veggie base
with juicy pork dumplings to make it craveable.
I'm starting with my potstickers, just frozen
pork potstickers.
I keep these on hand at all times.
The girls cannot get enough of them.
[clunking]
I've got some oil in my skillet here.
I'll spread these out so that all of them can make contact
with this skillet and start to get crispy.
Sometimes when I see my girls inhaling bananas,
the grossest food of all time, I am like, whose child is this?
You are not related to me.
But then when I see them eat
potstickers with as much exuberance, I'm like, oh yeah,
we're totally related.
And now to get the insides hot and steamy, I'll add a quarter
cup of water and then quickly cover it up.
This is a two-step process. Step one, makes them crisp.
Step two, makes them cooked throughout.
I'm always looking for ways to make potstickers into
a full meal.
Sometimes I'll put potstickers on a salad, but one day I just
cooked up some veggies right along in the skillet with them,
throw in a sauce, and bam, you've got a stir fry.
They smell so good. All right, I'll uncover these.
Hello.
And allow the steam to evaporate.
Oh, look at that good brown color.
This is my happy place, a pan of dumplings.
I'll get these out of the skillet to make way
for the veggies.
[hums indistinctly]
Add a little more oil,
and then I'll get going on my veggies.
I've got some broccoli, bell pepper, and onion here.
Within a pile of potstickers, I'll eat any veggies.
Oh, they smell so good.
And I'll cook these for just a few minutes.
If your pan ever seems dry, you can add
a little bit more oil.
They're so colorful.
Bernie just had a rainbow birthday party.
This would have been perfect for it.
I'll sprinkle in a few cashews. I'll let them toast.
Cashews are such a happy nut. They're always smiling.
I'll add the potstickers back in.
This is almost like a pasta dish, if you think of
the potstickers as like ravioli.
I'll bring this all together with my sauce.
Sriracha, soy, rice vinegar, sesame, water,
cornstarch, salt, ginger, garlic.
Whisk it up. Sauce done.
The sauce just adds the most delicious bit of heat.
It brings everything together.
This is my ideal form of balance, fried potstickers,
a rainbow of veggies. I am so here for this.
I cannot wait.
I'm going to get a serving bowl immediately.
Oh, yeah.
Get at me. I'm so excited.
I almost don't even want to share this with the girls.
I'm gonna spoon this one. Oh, yeah.
Here I go.
Mm-hmm.
Those potstickers are so crispy and juicy, and these veggies
are perfectly cooked.
Time to get this colossally cozy dinner started.
[cheerful music playing]
[pops, dings, and whizzes]
[various voices] Mm. Mm!