Girl Meets Farm (2018–…): Season 10, Episode 3 - Let's Get Cozy! - full transcript

[Molly Yeh] Winter is
approaching on the farm.

Nick's ditching up a storm.

So I'm making some hearty food
to keep us warm and comforted.

This is my one-way ticket
to cozy town.

Like my mother-in-law's
chicken and dumpling soup

with crusty no-knead
salami bread.

It's gonna be insane.

It's so good.

Zippy citrus and greens salad

with cheese-stuffed
fried wonton croutons

and hot honey mustard dressing.



And, for dessert,
prepare to be satisfied.

Hi.

My chocolate chip cookies
in a bowl

with vanilla ice cream
and hot fudge

will blow your gaskets.

- So many sprinkles.
- [chuckles]

Oh, yum!

Yay!

Hey, this is me, Molly Yeh.

This is my husband, Nick.

This is our growing family.

And this is our home, our farm,

on the North Dakota/Minnesota
border,

the place where I eat,
sleep and breathe food.



It's getting chilly on the farm.

Nick just finished beet harvest,

and now he's rushing to ditch
the fields before they freeze.

So I'm putting together
an extra cozy dinner

that both of us will enjoy.

For dessert, I am making my
chocolate chip cookies in a bowl,

which are huge chewy cookies

served warm with vanilla
ice cream and hot fudge

and a cherry on top.

It's the kind of dessert that
helps you build your winter coat,

if you know what I mean.

To get going on my cookie dough,

I'll start with 1 cup of
softened unsalted butter

with 2 cups of
light brown sugar.

I love those extra molasses-y
notes from the brown sugar.

And they also help make
these cookies chewy.

So, my ideal chocolate chip
cookie these days

is extra dense,

really gooey and chewy

and huge and thick.

What helps achieve
a chewy dense cookie

is not incorporating too much
air into the dough.

So, in contrast to
other cookie recipes,

where you cream butter and
sugar and get them fluffy first,

I don't want this to get fluffy.

I just want to mix the butter
and the sugar until it's combined

and no longer.

I'll get it going on low.

And this is gonna be ready
really soon,

so I'll crack my eggs.

And as soon as the mixture
is homogenous,

I can add the eggs
one at a time.

And then I'll eyeball in
2 teaspoons of vanilla,

the flavor of coziness.

Okay, now,
as this finishes up mixing,

I'll combine my dry ingredients.

I have 4 cups of
all-purpose flour here,

which is a lot of flour,

but that's gonna help the cookies
stay super thick in the oven.

It'll almost be like
eating little cookie cakes.

I'll mix in 1 1/2 teaspoons
of baking powder

and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.

Chocolate chip cookies can
really take the salt.

They're like pasta water
in that way.

They can take more salt
than you think.

I'll whisk this together.

So, these are inspired by
a dessert

that I would eat in high school

with my friends every Tuesday
during the summer

after marching band practice.

We would go to
a local pizza parlor

and always save room
for their cookie in a bowl,

which was exactly this,

a gigantic cookie

served warm with
ice cream and sauce on top.

And it was the perfect treat.

I still dream about it.

I am very excited to
relive that memory.

All right. That's combined.

My butter, sugar and egg
mixture is looking kind of curdle-y.

[chuckles] Which is
exactly what I'm looking for.

I'll add this in gradually so that
it doesn't go flying everywhere.

This dough comes together
so quickly.

I'm using a combination
of different chocolates,

just for more depth of flavor.

I've got 2 cups of
semi-sweet chocolate chips

and 1 cup of
dark chocolate chips.

That's a lot of chocolate.

And that's it.
Cookie dough done.

I've got two cookie sheets here,

a little guy and a big guy,

because I'll bake
some of them off now

and then save the rest
in the freezer,

so that I can have warm cookies

whenever the craving strikes.

I'm gonna get a big scoop

that's just slight smaller
than a baseball.

Hi.

Plop it down.

Now all of these will get a
sprinkle of flaky salt on top.

And then
I'll flatten them slightly.

Because there's so much
flour in the dough,

these cookies don't actually
really spread at all.

These will go in the freezer,

and these will get baked at
350 degrees for 15-20 minutes

until they're lightly browned
around the edges.

I can't wait!

It smells like a warm
cookie sweater in here.

I'm gonna check on my cookies.

Oh, yeah.

[Nick] Cookies!

- Oh, man.
- Oh, hi.

I smelled these from outside.

- All the way out in the field?
- Way out there.

[chuckles] Okay.
Well, you're just in time,

because we're supposed to
eat these while they're warm.

So you get the ice cream, I'll
get the bowls and the cherries.

We're each gonna have one 'cause I
know how good you are at sharing desserts.

He's terrible.

What cookie do you want?

Hmm...

This row.

Here, you can have this one.

- We'll start with that one.
- [chuckles] Okay.

And this one.

Okay. Don't these smell
so good?

[Nick] They're so warm, too.

- Fudge?
- Please.

- It's warm.
- Okay. Hot fudge.

I heated it up. I figured you
were getting really cold out there.

Get the sprinkles on.

- Okay.
- Don't hold back, please.

- And then this...
- Oh, yes!

- and then this.
- Okay.

- And then you eat it with a spoon.
- Okay, eating time?

Yeah, it's eating time.
Here we go.

- So the perfect bite, okay?
- Okay.

You get a little ice cream,

you get a little hot fudge

and then you get some cookie,

and then you just chonk it.

Here we go.

Mmm! The cold ice cream
with the warm chewy cookie

and the gooey fudge is, like,

doing it for me right now.

So many sprinkles.

- Ditching is going well?
- I love ditching.

I always get this confused
with ridging.

So, we have too much
water at times, right?

Ditching is when you,

you know,
make pathways for water.

You get this, like, instant
gratification, right?

You know, you move the soil,
you make way for the water,

and it's, you know,
ready for next year.

- Cool.
- Yeah.

You know what else is
instant gratification?

- Cookies and ice cream.
- Yeah. [chuckles]

[Molly] Coming up, a soup that no
scented candle could ever replicate.

It's pure delicious coziness,

swimming with buttery
dumplings and loaded with love.

For the most magical night ever,

I am making
chicken and dumpling soup,

featuring my
mother-in-law's dumplings

which are in a flavorful broth
that heals your soul.

I make homemade stock first,

strain it and then
use it for the soup,

and then send some
dumplings a-simmerin'.

I'll get my chicken
right into my pot.

This is basically the stock
that I try to make every Sunday

while Bernie is napping.

It just brings this warmth
into the house

that you can't replicate
with a scented candle.

I've got one quartered
yellow onion,

a carrot cut into chunks,
and I don't even peel them.

When you're using it for stock,

you're basically making
chicken tea.

Got a parsnip, a celery stalk,

some smashed garlic cloves

and then my bouquet of herbs,

fresh thyme, fresh parsley
and dill.

That's the sign of
a good Jewish chicken soup.

There's a lot of dill.

And I happen to be Jewish.

Two bay leaves.

And a teaspoon of
whole black peppercorns.

I'll cover this all with water,

I'll bring this to a boil and then
reduce it to a very low, gentle simmer

and let it go uncovered for
at least an hour and a half.

If the water dips below
the contents of the pot,

just add a little bit more
to compensate.

Okay.

See you soon!

Give me the warmest robe,
the fluffiest slippers,

nothing will ever compare to
the coziness of homemade stock,

wafting through
the air of the kitchen.

I think I could be on the
marketing team for chicken soup.

That's how much I love it.

I'll carefully pour this
through a strainer

into a heat-safe bowl.

Okay.

I'll get my pot
back on the stove,

and then I'll add
my soup veggies.

So, I have thinly-sliced
carrot, parsnips,

celery, onion, the same that
were in the stock.

Chop up some herbs,

more parsley and more dill.

I'll carefully pour in
my hot stock.

And I'll add 1 tablespoon
of kosher salt.

But I'm gonna keep
the salt near because

every pot of chicken soup
is different

depending on how much water
reduced during the stock-making process.

You know, you might need
a little more,

you might need a lot more salt.

I'll stir this around
and bring it to a boil.

Just let these veggies
start to soften

and get good and soupy
and flavorful.

This has come to a boil,

I'll reduce it to
a simmer now and cover it up

since I don't want any more of
my precious stock to reduce.

And while this simmers,

I'll get going
on those dumplings.

I'll start with
6 tablespoons of butter

along with 3/4 of a cup
of water.

And I'll heat this up
and bring it to a boil,

which is, I find, a unique way
of starting a dumpling recipe,

but this is how it was scribbled,
uh, in my mother-in-law's

little stained note card

that she uses any time
she makes these.

So I'm not gonna question,
I'm gonna go with it,

because I don't want to
mess with perfection.

I remember she first made me
these dumplings when

I think I had just
moved to the farm,

and I was super-sick.
I had the flu.

And it brought me back to life.

This is boiling. I'll
remove it from the heat now.

And then my dry ingredients...

which is 1 1/2 cups of
all-purpose flour,

1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar,

1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt

and a few passes of nutmeg

for that warmth that I crave
so much in a dumpling.

I'll whisk this to combine
into kind of a thick paste.

And adding the hot water
together with the flour

actually inhibits the gluten
on the flour,

so you get a tender dumpling.

I'll add in three eggs

and incorporate into
a sticky dough.

This takes some elbow grease.

Into my simmering soup,

I'll drop heaping teaspoonfuls
of the mixture

for the perfectly-sized
dumpling.

Come on! Just like that.

I'll keep on scooping
my dumplings

and then cover this up and let them
simmer until they're cooked through.

About 15 minutes.

And, meanwhile,

I'll chop up my chicken.

My chicken is chopped, and I'm
ready to put this soup together.

Oh, and these dumplings
are fluffy and happy!

I'll pile this juicy chicken
right in.

This is my one-way ticket
to cozy town.

Add some black pepper.

Oh, man, these look awesome.

Here I go.

[sighs] Mmm!

Like I always say,

a dumpling a day
keeps the doctor away.

Yum!

Later, the secret to my
simple no-knead bread

that makes it good enough
to not need butter.

For a second dose of carbs
and a soup-dunking companion,

I am making my
no-knead salami bread.

[sighs] It's fatty and crusty,

and it's got chewy bits of
meatiness scattered throughout.

It's glorious
and so easy to make.

I just dice up some salami,
chop up some chives

and fold it into
a dough that I made last night

and bake.

To start, I'm dicing up
8 ounces of salami.

So when this goes into the
bread dough and it bakes up,

the fat from the salami
is gonna seep out

and get into the bread
and enrich the bread,

and it's gonna be insane.

It's so good.

This bread doesn't actually
need a slathering of butter

when it comes out of the oven,

because it's so
rich and good already.

I know, it's crazy, fresh
bread not needing butter.

What is this world?

It's salami bread world.

Okay, I've got my
no-knead dough here.

It's been fermenting
on the counter overnight.

It's bubbly,

and it smells yeasty,

which is exactly
what I'm going for.

I just mixed together flour,
salt and yeast

and then add in water and stir
until everything is incorporated.

Then cover it up
and say goodnight.

Simplest ingredients ever,

but the fact that it's given the
time to develop and do its thing

creates great complex flavor.

Now I'll sprinkle on a third of
the salami and a third of the chives

evenly all over the top.

This is a very wet dough.

And there are so many things
you can do with it, too.

You don't just have to
use salami.

You can use different kinds
of salty meats.

Or sometimes I take this
on a sweet route

and use chocolate chips.

At this point, I just wanna get all
of these mix-ins evenly distributed.

With my rubber spatula,

I'll start at twelve o'clock
and I'll work my way around,

folding the dough over
the salami and the chives.

I'm doing this
a little at a time

to make sure I have even
distribution of salami and chives.

It seems like
way too much salami,

but you have to consider the fact
that the bread will continue to rise,

both after this
and also in the oven.

So it is going to be
a good salami-to-bread ratio.

Okay, another third of
the salami and chives.

Ditching is one of the last
things that happens on the farm

before the snow falls.

So, when Nick says
he's ditching,

I know that winter is coming.

And that's my cue to make
extra-hearty foods,

so we can hunker down
and hibernate for the winter.

So the last bit seems like
it's not all gonna fit,

but I'll use my fingers
to pinch everything shut,

and we'll lock these mix-ins in.

She's not perfect, she's rustic.

She's gonna taste perfect,
though.

Okay, done and done.

I'll dust a piece of parchment
with a little flour

and then transfer the loaf
seam-side down

right onto the parchment.

There you go.

Dust with a little more
flour on top

and cover it up with plastic.

Allow this to rise until
it's expanded by half.

Holy salami, I can't wait.

To finish off the bread,

I'll carefully and gently lower
it into a preheated Dutch oven.

You wanna be careful
not to touch the sides of it.

[sings fanfare]

Then cover and bake at
450 degrees for 30 minutes,

then uncovered for
another 10-20.

It's gonna be so tasty.

It's smelling
meaty and salty in here.

Let me check on my bread.

Oh, yes!

Look at this gorgeous
crusty loaf.

And I can see some salami
pokin' out the top,

just begging to be eaten
immediately.

Here I go.
Let's just try this.

Oh, yeah! Hello, hi.

I'm going right in

to the center,
to see the cross section.

Okay, I think that was ASMR.

Here we go.

How about that cross section?

Perfect salami distribution,

I can still see some chives.

It just shatters.

[exhales] Okay.

This is what I like to do.

Cut a big, thick slice

and then cut it in half.

And then I can just examine
and see,

"Hmm. What do I want
my first bite to be?"

Oh, I think I want it
to be this one.

This is...

[breathes deeply]

I need a moment.

Still to come,
crispy deep-fried wontons

stuffed with tangy cheese
are calling my name.

Nick's almost done ditching,

and I'm almost done dinnering.

I just have one more dish
to whip up.

I'm making my citrus
and green salad

with goat cheese stuffed
wonton croutons.

It's bright and fresh,
tangy and sweet

and it's got a crunchy
fried cheesy element on it

that makes me crave salad.

To start on my wontons,
I'll make my filling.

I have
softened goat cheese here.

I'll sweeten it
with a touch of honey,

toss in some fresh chives,

season with salt and pepper

and just mash it up.

This salad is loosely inspired
by chevre chaud salad,

which is fried goat cheese
on a bed of greens

that I love so much.

The other thing that it's
inspired by is Chinese takeout.

Because who doesn't love
a cream cheese stuffed wonton?

Okay, my filling is
looking good.

Now I'm ready to form.

I've got my
wonton wrappers here,

just store-bought.

And I'm keeping them under a
damp towel so they don't dry out.

Add a plop of filling
to the center.

I'll seal the edges with water.

And to shape, fold two
opposite corners up

and pinch them in the center,

and then join the remaining
two corners at the center as well.

Wouldn't you like to eat
one of these guys

resting on a pile of kale?

So I'll keep on shaping
and then I'll be ready to fry.

I'm ready to fry.

I have a few inches of neutral oil
heating in my pot to 365 degrees.

And I don't
have too many of these,

so I'm going to fry them
all at the same time.

They only take
a couple of minutes.

They're like little boats.

They're sizzling already.

So I'll turn these
every so often

to ensure that they're getting
fried evenly on all sides.

I have never ditched.

Not a field,

I didn't even ditch school.

[chuckles]

These are some golden wontons.

I'll transfer them to
a wire rack,

so any excess oil can drip off.

While they're still hot, I'll
sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

They're smelling good!

Okay, I'm ready to
put my salad together.

I've got an orange and a
grapefruit that I have supremed,

which just means I have
cut them into segments

with no bitter pith.

I'll add in my baby kale

and a sliced red onion.

And now, for my dressing,

it's a citrusy
mustard vinaigrette

that's got a little bit
of a kick to it

'cause I used
Chinese hot mustard.

I'll drizzle this over.

And you could also use a
store-bought citrus vinaigrette.

I'll gently toss
everything together.

Pile this on.

It's so pretty.

Sprinkle on some
toasted sesame seeds,

and, lastly, the wontons,

the star of the show.

Let's be real.

They're so cool-looking!

They're calling my name.
I just heard it.

The wonton said, "Eat me."

[crunching]

Mmm!

That just explodes with flavor.

This salad is crunch meets cozy.

It is time to eat.

One, two, three, shoot!

[chuckles] Got ya!