Cherry Dumplings in Brandied Butter

Gandalf The White's Note:

This was a demonstration recipe at Charlotte Anne Albertson's Cooking School (Wynnewood, PA), Jan 19, 2006. The chef was Sean Burns, executive chef (days), from Davio's in Philadelphia. This was served as dessert and is remarkably easy to make. It uses dumpling wrappers to speed up the prep and effectively makes a crepe or blintz type of dessert. The dumplings can be boiled or steamed -- I prefer steaming because there is less chance of the dumplings coming apart and making a mess in the pan. I've included directions for both methods below.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 cups fresh cherries , pitted
• ½ cup sugar
• 8 ounces dumpling wrappers (1/2 package, a package usually contains 90-100 wrappers)
• 750 ml brandy (1 bottle or to taste)
• 1 lb butter , unsalted
• 1 teaspoon salt , to taste
• 2 ounces chocolate curls (garnish)
• 1 pint ice cream (optional, but very nice!)

Directions:

1. Slow cook the cherries, sugar, and 1/2 cup brandy (to taste) until tender.
2. Put the mixture into the refrigerator to cool.
3. Open the package of dumpling wrappers, remove 5 wrappers, and keep a damp tea towel (or damp paper towel) over the remaining wrappers.
4. Take the cherry, sugar and brandy mix out of the fridge once it's cooled enough to handle it.
5. Wet the edges of a dumpling wrapper with water, put a teaspoon (about 4-5 cherries) into the center, then fold the dumpling wrapper over and seal the edges together with a fork or your fingers, like ravioli -- the seal must be tight!
6. Do the other 4 wrappers, then take out another five and repeat until you run out of dumplings or wrappers.
7. To make the sauce, dissolve the butter in 1/2 cup of brandy until you have a creamy consistency, then take off the heat.
8. To cook the dumplings, use only ONE of the cooking methods listed below, then go the the plating step (#11).
9. Cooking method 1: To steam the dumplings -- prepare a steamer (e.g., a wok with an insert, or bamboo steaming trays above hot water), then put the dumplings in a single layer into the steaming vessel and cover; steam for ca 10 minutes.
10. Cooking method 2: To boil the dumplings -- boil a good amount of water in a pot (at least 3-4 inches deep), drop the dumplings in, and cook until they float.
11. Once you have cooked the dumplings, puddle the brandied butter in a rimmed plate, put 2-4 dumplings in the center, then garnish with chocolate curls. Optionally, a scoop of ice cream (vanilla or cherry) on the side makes for a heavenly flavor. Any additional sauce can go on top of the ice cream.