Baked potato wedges

This is a very simple yet delicious recipe from Ina Garten (recipe here). A variety of herbs could be used.

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes
4 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp rosemary

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes. Cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half in thirds lengthwise. Each potato will produce 6 long wedges. Place potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. With clean hands toss all the ingredients, evening coating potatoes. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with 1 cut-side down.

Bake the potatoes for 30-35 minutes, turning to the other cut side after 20 minutes. Bake until they are lightly browned, crisp outside and tender inside. 

Outrageous brownies

Another winner from the Barefoot Contessa (find recipe here). The original recipe calls for 3 cups chopped walnuts. As I still haven't been able to overcome my nut allergy, I omitted these. These brownies are decadent and fudgey. They are the best brownies I've ever had.
Also, I didn't have unsweetened chocolate so I made my own. 3 tbsp cocoa powder plus 1 tbsp butter, oil or shortening equals one oz of unsweetened chocolate  (1 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa plus 6 tbsp oil is what I did).

Ingredients:

1 lb unsalted butter

1 lb plus 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

6 oz unsweetened chocolate

6 large eggs

3 tbsp instant coffee granules

2 tbsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose four

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a jelly roll pan (12 x 18 x 1 inch baking sheet)

Melt together: butter, 1 lb chocolate chips and the unsweetened chocolate (I do this in the microwave, but can also be done with a double boiler). Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl stir together the eggs, coffee grails, vanilla and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl sift together 1 cup of flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss 12 oz of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup flour (would also add nuts if desired at this point). Add this to chocolate batter and pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake (I only baked an additional 7 minutes, but I also have a convection oven which bakes faster). Allow to cool, refrigerate and cut into squares.

Pork & shitake pot stickers

This recipe is found in cooking light and can be found here. Though they are a lot of work, they freeze great (I have about 30 in the freezer) and are easy to pop out and cook. These are very tasty and fun.

Ingredients

• 
  2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 4 ounces thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
• 5 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce, divided
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 14 ounces lean ground pork
• 40 gyoza skins or round wonton wrappers
• Cornstarch
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)--I didn't have this so I omitted 
• Cooking spray

1. 1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add sesame oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 1/2 cup onions, garlic, ginger, and mushrooms; stir-fry 3 minutes. Remove from pan; cool slightly. Combine mushroom mixture, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, hoisin sauce, pepper, and pork (that's been browned in a sauté pan) in a medium bowl.
2. 2. Arrange 8 gyoza skins on a clean work surface; cover remaining skins with a damp towel to keep them from drying. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons pork mixture in the center of each skin. Moisten edges of skin with water. Fold in half; press edges together with fingertips to seal. Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch; cover to prevent drying. Repeat procedure with remaining gyoza skins and pork mixture.
3. 3. Combine 1/4 cup hot water and brown sugar in a small bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add remaining 1/4 cup green onions, remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, vinegar, and sambal, stirring with a whisk until well combined.
4. 4. Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat. Generously coat pan with cooking spray. Add 10 pot stickers to pan; cook 30 seconds or until browned on one side. Turn pot stickers over; carefully add 1/3 cup water to pan. Cover tightly; steam 4 minutes. Repeat procedure in batches with remaining pot stickers and more water, or follow freezing instructions. After cooking, serve pot stickers immediately with dipping sauce.
5. TO FREEZE: Freeze dumplings flat on a baking sheet sprinkled with corn­starch 10 minutes or until firm. Place in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag with 1 teaspoon cornstarch; toss. Freeze sauce in a small zip-top plastic freezer bag. Freeze up to 2 months.
6. TO THAW: Thaw sauce in the microwave at HIGH in 30-second increments. No need to thaw pot stickers.
7. TO REHEAT: Follow recipe instructions for cooking, placing frozen dumplings in pan and increasing steaming time by 2 minutes.