It’s a fun, fun day at Smitten Kitchen–did you know that? Today I am presenting you with not just one new recipe but FOUR. Four recipes! Someone is trying to be the valedictorian of food blogging NaBloPoMo, huh? Valedictorian, medalist and also winner, mind you.
Funny story about that, actually.
Mom: So, what is this nablop thing? Is it a contest?
Me: NaBloPoMo? Oh, it’s just a Thing, mom.
Mom: A thing that you win?
Me: No, a thing that you do. To do. Because the other kids are doing it.
Mom: But why?
Me (totally irked because I am realizing I don’t get it either): It’s obviously too complicated to explain.
Right, so the four recipes! One catch: none of them are here.
The first three are in my most recent Kitchen Window column on NPR all about one of my favorite topics: dumplings. Yes, my dumpling obsession has actually outgrown this site, and it’s gotten so costly that I had to offshore it to India. Also Korea and Italy. Hm, I suspect that this joke is only funny to me. Nevertheless, over at NPR I talk about dumplings of the world, and include recipes for spicy lentil-potato samosas that can be baked or fried, beef-tofu mandu and spinach-ricotta agnolotti. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
The fourth recipe–my mother’s sour cream cinnamon chocolate chip coffee cake–may be familiar to some of you who have been around for a while, but today it is in the Boston Globe, a sidebar to an article about, well, this site and little old me. Thanks be to Jonathan Levitt for making me sound coherent.
And just to keep you at the edge of your seat (my sense of self-importance is staggering, no?), tomorrow I’ll tell you about one of my favorite recipes from this batch, the one that didn’t make the cut. So you come back now, you hear?
Elsewhere:
Wheee! Boston Globe! NPR!
Now, seriously, though – can I have some agnolotti?
Congratulations on the Globe article!
Cake AND dumplings? Man we’re so lucky :) I love how the chocolate chips are glistening in your photograph. Looks scrumptious to say the least.
Congrats on the article!
What about Szilvas Gomboc? Those are my favourite dumplings- hungarian plum dumplings, like Grandma made.
Mmmm! Love this blog!
Mazel tov on the article and NPR Deb, that is great!
That coffee cake reminds me of the one my mom used to make us when we were kids…I’m going to have to ask her for the recipe now. Yummy!
Deb, you’re famous! Every time I go into the Meta page and scan your Braggery links, they have grown! I stand in awe. I am proud to be one of your adoring fans.
I read the Kitchen Window, and of course forgot that it was you. I had a question about the Korean dumplings. I’ve never had any, but I’m pretty picky about my wrappers for potstickers – those wrappers seem heavier in restaurants than wonton wrappers, which are pretty delicate and seem more suited to gyoza. I usually roll my own wrappers when I make potstickers, to get that authentic (well, Chinese American?) chewy, slightly thick wrapper texture. What are authentic Korean wrappers like? Thin, like gyoza, or thicker, like potsticker dumpling wrappers?
My mouth is watering! YUM YUM!
wow, the Globe AND NPR! Hot stuff !
I did this cake last year and it was so stinkin’ good that I wanted to hop a plane to come and shake your hand. We devoured it. Nice job on the article!
“It’s a MEME, mom. Gossssshhhhhh.”
“A WHAT now?”
what a great story in the Globe!!! congrats and keep pumpin’ out those incredible recipes. :)
Oh my god, I love you. This is the first time I visited your blog, but the timing of this is crazy. I *JUST* emailed my grandmother for her recipe for chickpea sambousacs, and here you go posting a recipe for spicy lentil-potato samosas.
But now I’m craving samosas, and I’m at work, so there’s no relief in sight. What to do…
I’m so glad I’m not alone in my dumpling addiction! Should we start up a chapter of Dumplings Anonymous?
Deb – Congrats on the article! I LOVE your site – I made the pierogi for dinner tonight and they were delicious! Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes and photography!
1. You’d totally win if it were a contest.
2. Congratulations on the laudatory article.
3. Hooray for all manner of dumplings. My favorite dumplings are Afghani pumpkin dumplings (pumpkin manti) I don’t know their secret, but they’re amazing. Also, Russo’s (the pasta place next to Veniero’s on 11th St) makes these wonderful radicchio agnolotti, along with plenty of other great filled pastas.
Wonderful article, Deb! Congratulations. Well deserved. :-)
Mazel tov on your continued success! Of COURSE you’re famous – you’re fabulous! Anyway, I am a huge fan of dumplings (had samosas in DC yesterday – delish) and ravioli and other filled pastas are my favorites to eat. Did I mention that I’m so excited you are posting so much?!
Yay for Deb’s NPR article! I’m so proud of you. One day I’ll buy you a drink to celebrate. And, I’ll buy Jocelyn at least three!
Deb,
Congrats on making the Globe!
As always, love visiting the Kitchen and seeing what you’ve cooked up. And, of course, drooling over the awesome photos!
I just emailed my mom the Kitchen Window page, and then the NPR site told me that your dumpling story is one of their top 5 e-mailed stories of the past 24 hours. YOU ARE HUGE!!!
Congrats Deb – this is awesome and those dumplings look and sound fantastic. You are on your way girlfriend!
Fantastic pictures as always. YUM.
That cake looks amazing. That was an excellent article, I’m really glad – you deserve much fame, happiness and sparkly things for this blog. The best thing about it is that I know your recipes will work, because you’re so shameless and hilarious in telling us when they don’t.
Congratulations to Alex, too – the photos are outstanding and you guys are a wonderful team.
deb, as always i love the food. and i loved looking at the recipes over on npr and the globe. love love it all. BUT… the mom conversation? priceless! could we be twins separated at birth?
Congratulations – great stuff! The NPR articles made me hungry for golubtzi. It’s 7am lady, what are you doing to me? And of course yay for the Boston Globe article – as a Boston girl myself I am particularly pleased they featured you – it’s a really terrific paper, that sadly lives in the shadow of its other, more influential (ahem, names not mentioned) East Coast cousin.
My 14-year-old sister – who has become a great baker – will love this cake!
Long-time reader, first-time commenter. I love your site, and just wanted to let you know how glad I am that you are doing NaBloPoMo. It is such a treat to have a post to read every day this month! Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all your efforts in the kitchen and online :)
two of my favorite things ever… I love dumplings so much!
Dude, you’re on NPR!
I must admit, I’m a latecomer to the joys of smitten kitchen. I only ran into the site about a month ago. However, you have become one of my most-forwarded links in a very short time. Great site, witty writing, a sense of humor that would make my father proud and food that would make my mother swoon.
Keep it up!
All I want for my birthday is cake & empenadas! Cake & Empenadas! Cake & Empenadas!
All of these look amazing! I can’t wait to try them.
Hi… my name’s Erin… and I’m a dumpling addict.
Congrats Deb! I’ve had the cake recipe printed for a long time, haven’t had a chance to try it. I can’t wait now though!
Each time I come here, I think: “That’s the best thing ever!” We have a new best thing ever!
Lol, also good to see someone else trying to use the “Conjunctive” method on their Mother, wherein you try and end a conversation by not actually asying anything but: “No, regardless…” “It’s because…” “Just. No, forget it.”
Just printed your mothers Chocolate-chip sour cream cake to try from the Boston Globe article. I’m passing this on to all my friends in Mass. You are doing a wonderful job with your blog.
i just wanted to say a big thank you! my wife made that pumpkin butter….wow!
Mmm, I’ve been making a different coffee cake every Sunday for the last. . .well, two Sundays. This one will definitely be next!
I am a long-time reader and admirer of your site and happy to see that you are getting the attention you deserve! As I read through your dumpling article, I was thrilled to see you list Turkish manti among ravioli and wontons. Just wanted to mention though that while manti is served in a yogurt sauce, it is not called ayran. Ayran is a popular yogurt drink while the sauce over manti is just garlic yogurt with some paprika flavored melted butter poured on top. Sometimes we sprinkle dried mint over it too. Just thought I would mention it – really just an excuse to leave a comment and tell you I’m a big big fan!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE dumplings. Thank you so much for this post. I am going to try your different dumpling recipes to see if they’re what I’ve been searching for. I’ve tried them only a couple of times and so far I haven’t found the right combination to really knock my socks off.
Oh, and the picture of that cake literally made me want to lick my screen.
Your recipe is #2 in the “most popular emailed stories” on boston.com right now. It looks delicious! Love your site!
Megan! Szilvas Gomboc?! Oh, my absolute favorites too! I can never find the little-bitty plums my Nagymama used though…sigh.
So are you, like, famous now? The Boston Globe article and NPR? Wow. Can I name drop you yet?
On the strength of having made your pumpkin bread pudding and your granola and pumpkin butter, all of which were wonderful, plus seeing the beautiful fresh sage and spinach at our local farmer’s market, I decided to buy a pasta maker and make the agnolotti. Unfortunately, I didn’t think they were worth the effort – just too bland. Maybe I didn’t put in enough nutmeg or use enough sage, since your recipe didn’t specify the amounts (is your bunch of sage the same size as mine?). But at least your pasta dough directions were pretty clear, and after a while I got the hang of the pasta machine so it was fun, plus I used the leftover dough for spaghetti noodles for lunch yesterday. So even though it’s a lot of kneading to make pasta I’m hoping you’ll have more recipes so that I can justify having bought the machine.
I have a recipe very similar to this, but it’s a banana batter, so when it’s baking, the smell- my god- you’ve got the banana bread smell, mixed with the cinnamon & chocolate smell. It’s one of the ones I make again and again.
What a pleasant surprise to find the mandoo recipe when I clicked on “Surprise Me”. Growing up in a Korean household, we made homemade mandoos, (with store bought wrappers), and it brought back great memories! Your recipe is almost identical to my grandmothe’s recipe! thanks for posting! =)
Am I the only person who can’t find the actual recipes in the NPR article? Or maybe they took them down because this is now ancient history? But I want dumplings! :-(