Caution: Experimental Food Preparation in Progress

I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner last night. Nothing fancy or authentic, just the Better Homes and Garden recipe. I wouldn't recommend it. A real Italian inspired recipe is much better.

Anyway, I ended up with a half a dozen OK meatballs as leftovers. I didn't think I could stomach them again for dinner (I didn't think DD or Munchkin wanted to either), so I started thinking of some alternate meatball uses. Meatball subs were tossed out immediately due to lack of a good bread and cheese to go with them. Straight meatballs with sauce wasn't appealing. I was about to give up when I opened the fridge. There was my inspiration: won ton wrappers.

Given my latest potsticker/gyoza kick, I now have two packages of wrappers stocked up. I finally found the round ones at Fred Meyer (although they weren't the "gyoza" style I was hoping to find). The packages claim they can also be used for ravioli. That's when I put two and two together, and decided I had to make meatball potstickers.

I started out taking a leftover meatball (in sauce) and cutting it in half. I placed one half on a square wrapper and realized it was way too much meat for one wrapper. Using water, I moistened the edges and used a second wrapper to cover the meat. I folded the edges up like a shrimp pouch. It didn't look too bad.

To cook the "potsticker," I wiped a non stick pan with a oil laden paper towel. In went the potstickers and I let them cook just for a minute on medium-high before adding 1/2 cup water. I covered the pan and steamed the potstickers for about 6 minutes. After removing the lid, I let turned up the heat slightly and allowed the water to evaporate. When all the water was gone and the potstickers were browned on the bottom, I was done.

I really wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. I was thinking a bit like ravioli, but not too much because of the flavor of the won ton wrappers. The combination of meatball and won ton was good. It wasn't really like a ravioli or a potsticker. For a second I was reminded of the Olive Garden's Fried Ravioli, but then it tasted like a potsticker. I kept going back and forth trying to figure out if I would enjoying dipping it in Alfredo sauce or soy sauce.

The second batch I decided to go all out and use a whole meatball. It was the same basic process, but I did not fold up the corners. I also made sure to preheat the oil slightly before adding the potstickers. That did the trick. I ended up with a use for leftovers that was tasty and unique.

It makes me wonder. What else would be good steamed up in a won ton wrapper?

Yum-O, Not So Yum-O

One of my favorite hobbies is cooking, but only when it's really in a hobby form. For the most part I don't mind being responsible for making dinner every night, but sometimes I just like to take the afternoon and really cook.

The problem with this is when I decide to make up a recipe. I am one of those "picky" eaters, not in the sense that I don't like foods, but that store bought or restaurant foods are always just a bit off in taste. So, I'll spend an afternoon trying to recreate a good food, but make it the best possible way. I'm on the impossible quest of making the perfect food.

There is, also, the problem that I live in a fairly un-diverse region of the country. That said, we do have a wide array of different ethnic restaurants, but due to lack of numbers to try, I question how authentic they are. And, if I want to recreate a recipe, the ingredients can be hard to find. I only have the patience to go to so many stores in one outing to search for an unusual ingredient.

Despite the problems that come up when creating recipes, I have fared pretty well. I haven't killed anyone or given anyone food poisoning. My made-up Buffalo Chicken Pizza got rave reviews at dinner the other night. And, only one recipe, my attempt at homemade gnocchi with sage butter sauce, has resulted in an emergency trip to McDonald's.

My current obsession: pot stickers and gyoza. I followed the America's Test Kitchen (http://www.americastestkitchen.com/) recipe to the letter the other night and wowed my family. But there is just one problem. Somehow, something was lacking. The taste wasn't right. I'll have to make a second attempt, maybe a third to refine the recipe. It might even warrant a trip to a four or fifth store in search of gyoza (not won ton) wrappers.

Now I only need two or three free afternoons.