A visit to Mother's Dumplings

Drew hasn't visited with his friend Nancy since his birthday (where she cooked a feast of lobster ravioli!) and they are way overdue for catching up. Dim sum is their brunch of choice and Nancy has the perfect location: Mother's Dumplings.

Everything is made fresh and it is fascinating to watch as the cooks, theatrically on display behind glass, roll the ingredients into little balls and tuck them into wrappers to be sent to be boiled, baked, steamed or fried. The menu is made up of recipes that the chef Zhen learned from her mother. It is pricier than Nancy and Drew's usual dim sum haunts but the dumplings are startlingly fresh tasting and there is not the usual grease. Best of all: a peek into the kitchen reveals a sparkling clean interior instead of the horrors of a favourite dim sum palace that will remain unnamed.

Raul has to work but Nancy's other half, Bruce, joins in and the conversation almost upstages the food. The boiled shrimp, pork, egg and chive dumplings are a vivid green and burst with flavour but the steamed Lamb Shui Mai packs the most punch and the little puckered bundles are fought over. Nancy raves about the broth for the beef and noodle soup with bak choi - it is rich with beefy goodness but mild and subtle - Drew is less enamoured with subtle and adds hot sauce to kick it up. The bbq-ed pork bun is the most standard dim sum option but also the most delicious. Drew is particularly partial to a side dish of spicy peanuts that mix well with everything.

Bruce is excited about a chocolate-banana smoothie for dessert but Nancy and Drew debate the options endlessly. Nancy is leaning towards rice pudding but Drew is curious about the assorted sweet buns. "It's a risk but it'll either be something extraordinary or something we'll tell a story about," he speculates. The sweet buns are extraordinary. Two varieties are gelatinous but brimming with fruity sweetness. There is a tiny lemon almost cupcake that is very tasty but the best is a stunning jewel of a treat shaped like a brightly coloured fruit - "It looks like a little bum mooning us," notes Drew referencing one of Nancy's more notorious escapades - that is a cake stuffed with a fruit paste: a work of art that tastes as good as it looks.

Dim sum may be composed of tiny delicacies but the trio eat enough to be a full meal. Mother's Dumplings is a great place to visit and dine slowly with style.

Mother's Dumplings is at 421 Spadina Ave. mothersdumplings.com

Outside Round Roast with Corn Bread

Raul finds a bargain but very tasty looking outside round roast at Food Basics. $5.32 for a lump of a roast that will make several meals. He decides to make a traditional pot roast dinner crossed with Julia Child's legendary Boeuf Bourguignon. The roast is rolled in flour and then browned on the bbq. "It has to be browned," notes Raul, "or it will just be boiled meat. The browning keeps the juices in. This cut has very little fat in it, partly why it was so cheap, but that also makes it better for us, so it will need to be cooked carefully to make it fall apart just from just the pressure of a fork."

The roast goes into the pressure cooker with a coarsely chopped onion, two carrots and one stalk of celery. This is doused in two cups of stock and a cup of red wine. He brings it to a boil, locks on the lid and cooks for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile he bakes three large quartered potatoes, carrots and parsnips in a half cup of oil, two cups of water, salt, pepper and oregano at 375 degrees for an hour.

The corn bread recipe comes from Food.com:

Southern Pride Sweet Corn Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter ( softened)

1 cup milk

1 cup water

2 cups white cornmeal (for less gritty) or 2 cups yellow cornmeal ( I use white)

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with shortening.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix sugar, butter, eggs, milk, honey and water together in a large bowl.

Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl: cornmeal, flour,baking powder, and salt.

While stirring, add dry ingredients to sugar, egg, and milk mixture and mix thoroughly.

Mixture will be slightly lumpy.

Pour into greased rectangular pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serve with butter.

Raul bakes the corn bread in an oiled cast iron frying pan and puts it in the oven alongside the potatoes and vegetables. All the jus from the roast is strained then boiled until it is reduced by about half and, voila! gravy. As Raul ladles the gravy onto the roast and vegetables on the plate, he explains, "The chef at the convention centre I worked at, taught me that. He said to just save all the juice and keep reducing it to get the most meaty flavour. He used it on the prime rib."

The roast may not be as expensive as prime rib but it is primo tasting. The bite of the wine in the gravy contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the corn bread and not a drop goes to waste - it also turns out to be perfect for absorbing the luscious liquid. "It's not as tender as I would like," notes Raul. "But by the time it sits over night and we re-heat it, it will be melt in your mouth."

Empanadas and Guacamole

"They're gluten free," says Raul.

"Does that matter?" asks Drew.

"Not really," says Raul. "I love gluten. It's how you get lightness and air pockets. But these shells are made of two cups of Instant Corn Masa Flour with one and half cups of hot water and a half teaspoon of salt. They're basically Doritos with meat sauce."

The resulting dough is rolled into balls, covered with saran wrap and left to sit for an hour to reach room temperature. Raul presses each ball into a flat disc using the six-inch tortilla press he found at the thrift store for $5. The press is also used for oatmeal cookies because there isn't enough space in the kitchen to roll out the dough properly. And it means no extra flour is needed. "It's all about process for me," says Raul. "Getting the maximum uniformity out of repetitive efficient actions."

Empanadas can be filled with almost everything and every culture has a variation. Though the Portuguese variation often contains fish or seafood, Raul goes with a Columbian theme and uses ground beef. First he dices onions, celery, green and red peppers, carrots and garlic. All is microwaved for three minutes to soften and then sauteed. He spices only with salt and pepper to keep the flavours neutral as he knows Drew will go overboard with toppings, sides and/or dipping sauces: guacamole, salsa, sour cream, peanut sauce and wasabi mustard have already been floated as ideas. Raul then puts the vegetable mixture into the mini-Cuisinart - another gift from Drew's niece and nephew - and blends it into a puree. This idea came from the big girls small kitchen site and it works wonderfully. A pound of lean ground beef - to make eight empanadas - is browned and then stirred into the vegetable puree.

Raul places the filling in the center of the pressed dough discs and then folds them into a half moon shape. They are baked for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Fortunately, despite being gluten-free, they do not crack as he feared. No air pockets are needed, just a satisfying crunch.

Drew is entrusted with making the side and, after several discussions, guacamole is the compromise. Drew dices two ripe avocados and mixes and mashes them with a commercial salsa and lime juice. Then he adds a squirt of wasabi paste, a spoonful of horse radish, a squirt of hot sauce and three diced green onions. A mixture of coriander, basil and chives from the garden also go into the bowl. "That doesn't look very traditional," complains Raul.

"It's mamacita opera singer Helene Ducharme's flawless recipe with Crackpuppy guitar-slinger Patricia Wilson's accents," says Drew defensively. "And maybe a few flourishes of my own."

"Basil? In guacamole? It's unusual but it looks . . . delicious," says Raul diplomatically.

The results are delicious and Raul not only eats his words but an extra empanada because he can't bear to see his helping of guacamole go to waste or to the dog.