Dining In: Durham, NC - Scratch Bakery Pizza Night

Long time no blog! However, we have a good excuse. We are eagerly awaiting baby spoonraider and life has been very hectic. I have to admit that this post should have gone up last fall since that's probably the last time we went to Scratch for Pizza Night, but I figured I'd still share. 

Scratch Bakery is an adorable coffee shop/bakery/cafe nestled in a side street of downtown Durham. We went to their Pizza Night with some friends and it was BYOB. Perfect! The beet and greens salad was quite flavorful and so refreshing. The pizza had a doughy crust and yummy toppings. The atmosphere is fun and casual. Perfect for those chill fall nights when you just want to eat a no-frills, all comfort meal. 

Hope you have a great week! 

Pao de Queso

Have you ever been to a Brazilian churrascaria such as Texas de Brazil or Fogo de Chao? If you have, then you've definitely had these delectable little cheese poufs. They are chewy, soft, and cheesy. If you've never had them, make this recipe now. You can thank me later.

What is even more awesome is that everything gets blended in a blender. That's it. You are done. Stick it in the oven and you have appetizers for your dinner.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups of parmesan cheese (you can also use swiss, cheddar, or any other grate-able cheese)

1 ½ cups of corn oil

1 cup whole eggs

2 ½ cups of tapioca starch (often found in Asian grocery stores)

1 cup of 2% milk (we used whole milk)

Several pinches of salt

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender.

2. Spray a mini-muffin tin with vegetable oil. Pour mix into cup tray filling each to the top.

3. Place it in oven 350 degrees for 15min, until light brown.

4. The bread should be baked and served immediately, so you can truly enjoy its full flavor. This can be frozen and reheated, but fresh is probably best.

Probably the easiest appetizer you can ever make!

Seafood and Chive Dumplings

Dumplings are perfect little packages of bite-sized food and totally easy to make. We decided to make a seafood version after being inspired by a new show called Easy Chinese (horrible name, but good recipes!) on the Cooking Channel. I liked how this dumpling did not use pork, which tends to be much fattier and instead utilizes fish as the primary protein.

Seafood and Chive Dumplings

From Easy Chinese, Cooking Channel

Ingredients

6 ounces fresh skinless striped bass or other firm white fish, finely chopped

6 ounces shelled and deveined shrimp, finely chopped

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon Shaoshing rice wine or dry sherry

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Pinch minced seeded red chile, optional

Pinch sea salt

Pinch ground white pepper

6 Chinese chives or flowering garlic chives or 3 scallions, finely sliced

4 dried Chinese (shiitake) mushrooms, soaked in hot water and finely diced

36 square wonton wrappers

2 large carrots, thinly sliced on a sharp bias

Directions

1. Mix the bass, shrimp, cornstarch, ginger, Shaoshing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, red chile, salt, white pepper, chives and mushrooms in a medium bowl until well combined.

2. Place a teaspoonful of the seafood filling into the center of each. Rub the outer edges of the wrapper with water using your finger and then place the wonton into your hand. 

3. Fold the wrapper into a triangle, pressing the edges together to seal in the filling, and then create 6 to 8 pleats along the sealed edges using your thumb and index fingers, pinching well to adhere. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers. 

4. Lay the carrot slices in a bamboo steamer and place a dumpling on top of each.

5. Fill a wok or large skillet with 1 inch water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Place the lid on the bamboo steamer and lower it into the wok. Steam the dumplings until the fish is cooked through and the dumpling wrappers are translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.

Enjoy!