an energy, a vibe, a recipe for lemon ricotta dumps

that's showbiz baby!

tag yourself I’m Lara waiting for 20 more people to squeeze into this room

Well, that was episode one! I think I’m just now not feeling hungover from the little viewing party I had on Friday (it’s 5:36 pm on Sunday). A batched martini bar was a choice!! (A good, dangerous one.)

Having like forty people shoved into our apartment on Friday was just, honestly, so lovely and wonderful and stupid. I didn’t even know I knew forty people in this city, much less forty people who wanted to come watch me make dumplings on TV. I felt very special and very loved. Maybe I cried when I went to bed that night. Maybe I did!

What I definitely did was make shrimp cocktail and deviled eggs because that’s really what I wanted to eat, even though I literally ate absolutely nothing at all. Not even a bite! I also made lemon ricotta dumplings because, well, obviously. But instead of making them with veggies, I put toothpicks in them and served them as appetizers because I thought that was cute.

If you don’t want to read anymore, that’s fair. The recipe for the dumps is at the bottom, enjoy! If you do want to read still, here are some of my feelings about episode one.

Stuff you didn’t see

Given that there are 11 of us in the competition, there’s a lot that you don’t get to see because we’ve only got an hour—here are some moments I remember that didn’t make the cut.

• Peter’s rice: Just because a couple of people have asked (I’m looking at you, Leonard!), I DID offer Peter some of my rice during the Test challenge—he nobly declined.

• My food processor faux pa: If you look closely at the screen when they show my food processor while I’m making the sofrito for my picadillo, you might notice that the bottom is fully processed, while the top remains full of unprocessed celery and onions. I got very excited when I saw the giant ATK-approved processors because until recently, I only had a baby one at my house. So excited, in fact, that I filled it to the literal top. I ended up picking the entire thing up off the counter while it was running and shaking it over my shoulder. I will not let being over-stuffed stop me!

• Oh, also, my rice: As truly only my luck would have it, the lid for the pot I grabbed to cook my rice in was nowhere to be found, so I ended up using a sheet pan as a lid. She’s improvising! Naturally, I grabbed it about 10 minutes in without thinking and burnt my hand a little bit. That’s showbiz, baby!

• So! Much! Food! I have a disease where the only way I know how to cook is for a small army. On the show, we needed to make a plate for the judges and one extra “beauty plate” so they can take those gorgeous shots you see on the show. That’s it! I, however, insisted on cooking as I always do. About halfway through, I looked down like, why, why am I like this? The good news is the food doesn’t go to waste. The crew gets to eat it as long as their fast enough to get the good stuff.

• The Culinary Team: The unsung, unseen heroes of this show are the people on the culinary team. They’re the people who stock the pantry, get us dishware, and, most importantly (to me), clean the whole kitchen in between when we finish the cook and judging starts. I wish I had them with me at all times always, and they all deserve lots of little kisses and one billion dollars. I will not tell on anyone else, but I, personally, was a mess. They all also said it wasn’t a big deal when I apologized for how I am, which I appreciate even if I still don’t believe them. Culinary for president! (Or, actually, just a long, nice vacation.)

My favorite moments

martini bar was in full effect at this stage

• The judging: So, the one thing I’ve wondered since the show wrapped is… what the hell did judging look like. We obviously knew the results, but we had no idea what they said or how they got there. I’m a vibe! An energy! I really screamed when I heard that, and, yeah, it’s a little self-serving, but I’ll admit it—that was cool as hell to hear.

• Christina’s win: I’ll also admit that, after I presented my dish, I thought, oh my god, am I going to win this challenge?! Then Christina presented hers, and I knew. And, truly, honestly, I was so hyped for her. No one else in that room deserved it more. Not even my little dumplings. More than you want to win, you want the best dish to win, and it was clear from episode one that this was really going to be a show about who makes the best food, and that’s really, really cool.

• Coming this season: We’ve only seen as much of this show as you have, so getting a peek at what’s coming this season was! The! Best! Spoiler alert: I cry! A couple of times! What else happens? Guess you’ll just have to keep watching!

The recipe

as a salad, as a meal, as an app!

Ok, like I said in the episode, the first time I ever made these was because I was dating a vegetarian, and I wanted to impress them so, so badly. (They had thirds and took home a tupperwear full because, as I said, I have no concept of portion control—I think that means it worked?)

I’ve always thought of meat as the most impressive part of a meal, and I really didn’t want to, like, make a rice bowl or something (and I do love a rice bowl!). I wanted something fun and a little different and something warm and tasty, and thus, lemon ricotta dumplings were born. Toss them with grilled or roasted vegetables, put them on top of shaved raw veggies for a salad, serve them alone with toothpicks in them as an app. Do whatever you want! Have fun! And if you do make them, maybe post them and tag me—that could be cool!

(Also, small disclaimer—I’m not a recipe writer. This is really my first go at it, and I’m still learning. If you’ve got feedback, I would genuinely love it.)

Lemon ricotta dumplings: ingredients

• 2 cups of whole milk ricotta

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (plus potentially a little more depending on how wet the ricotta is)

• 2 large eggs

• kosher salt + fresh ground black pepper to taste (I use… a lot)

• zest of 2 lemons + 4 tbs fresh lemon juice (and maybe more juice depending on how tangy you want them)

Lemon ricotta dumplings: method 

• Bring a large pot of very salted water to a boil

• Mix all ingredients together, taste, and season as necessary

• Let sit for 15-20 minutes so the flour can fully hydrate—the batter should be slightly gluey, kind of like a thick banana bread

• Working in batches of like 10-15, spoon tablespoon-sized dollops of ricotta mixture into the boiling water (I just use a regular small soup spoon and push the mixture off the spoon into the pot with my finger

• Once dumplings float to the surface, let the cook for about 3-5 more minutes and test for doneness, then remove from water and set aside (I use a spider or slotted spoon to pull them out—if you want to test, just cut one in half. If they’re the same color/texture throughout, they’re done!)

• Repeat the above until all dumplings are cooked

Grilled spring veggies: ingredients

Here’s where I’ll say, this is what I served them with on the show, but they’re great on their own, just tossed in the dressing. They’re also great on a salad of shaved carrots, cucumbers, and snap peas. Choose your own dump adventure.

• 1 to 2 bunch(es) medium-thick asparagus

• 1 to 2 bunch(es) french breakfast radishes (normal ones are fine, these are preferred!)

• 1 large leek

• 3 tbs olive oil (I like the flavor of olive oil here, but neutral oil works too!)

• kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Grilled spring veggies: method

• Trim woody ends of the asparagus and slice the radishes in half

• Remove the top tough/dark green portion of the leek, then split it in half and rinse thoroughly to remove sand/dirt

• Toss the veg in oil and season with salt and pepper

• Grill the vegetables in batches until you reach your desired level of doneness. I like mine to still have some bite to them—like 5-7 minutes on a hot grill or grill pan, flipping occasionally. You can also roast them at 350 in the oven until you get them where you want them. I reallyyyyyy love the flavor the char from the grill provides here.

• After the veggies are done and cooled slightly, chop the leeks into half-inch pieces and asparagus into 1-1.5 inch pieces

Shallot vinaigrette: ingredients

• 1 large shallot, minced

• ½ cup olive oil

• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar

• juice of half a lemon

• kosher salt and black pepper

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1-2 tbs mayonnaise 

• 1-2 tbs dijon mustard

• 2 tbs fresh dill, finely chopped (or more, I like more)

Shallot vinaigrette: method

• Combine all ingredients in a large mason jar or bowl. If in a mason jar, cover and shake until emulsified, if in a bowl, whisk until emulsified

Once everything is done, toss the dumplings, vegetables, and dressing together in a large bowl and serve! That’s it! I hope you love them! See you next week!