Friday, March 30, 2012

French Friday with Dorie: Crab and Grapefruit Salad

THIS SALAD MADE A FANCY MAIN COURSE FOR MY BACKYARD LUNCHEON
The exquisite flavors and textures in every bite of this salad made it a surprising hit.  I admit that when I first considered pairing grapefruit with crab I wasn't getting good vibes.  Because of that I made no special efforts with this salad other than making it pretty enough for a patio luncheon.

Because I was not optimistic, I decided to use whatever was already in the fridge or growing in the yard.

Dorie's Bonne Idee of putting a layer of spicy guacamole in the bottom of the bowls sounded like the best way to begin.  I'm glad I took this suggestion which gave so much rich flavor to all the other ingredients--like adding a great dressing that brings all the other flavors together and really finishes the salad.

MY BACKYARD GRAPEFRUIT
In addition to Dorie's vegetable list, I added celery and shelled raw English peas.  I had mint growing in the garden and used baby spinach as a top garnish along with seasoned shrimp.

I know I'm weird, but I love salty grapefruit.  Everyone I know either eats this fruit just as Mother Nature produced it or with a sprinkling of sugar, but I sit out in the back yard with my salt shaker and enjoy my breakfast in grapefruit heaven.  So, the idea of salting and peppering this grapefruit salad was right up my alley. 

I shouldn't admit it, but my way big cheat was...it was already  in the fridge...I used imitation krab which I love in salads.  It was sweet and delicious and I would do it again!  And no one complained.  There aren't many options for fresh lump crab meat in AZ.  (I do get those containers of pasturized lump crab meat from companies like Phillips when I make my Maryland style crabcakes...it's good, but I wouldn't want it in a salad!)
A DELICIOUS, EDIBLE CENTER PIECE THAT IS HEALTHY, AND BEAUTIFUL--PERFECT FOR THIS SUNNY SPRING DAY

Hope you are all enjoying lovely Spring days too.  I can't believe I will be turning my calendar page to April in only one more day.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Baked Sunday Mornings: Chocolate Coffee (Raspberry) Cake

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY BIRTHDAY CAKE
My kitchen has been busy for the past couple of days as we have celebrated a couple of birthdays as well as a few other events that have required baking projects.  It has been fun to incorporate my baking groups projects into the special events going on at our house, and in my community.

I decided to get creative, for better or for worse, with today's Chocolate Coffee Cake which became a Spring Birthday Cake using fresh raspberries instead of coffee as a flavoring/coloring ingredient.  The flavor change was a good idea, but I had a few challenges with the cake.

RASPBERRY JAM WAS ADDED AS A FILLING ALONG WITH MY RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM ICING
First of all, I deal with an Arizona challenge.  Today was such a beautiful day.  A perfect day for a backyard birthday party and cookout.  The temperature reached 90^ at our house...we've been about 5^ hotter than our neighbor, Phoenix, over the past couple of months.  So if you watch the national weather, we are a little warmer.  

The only thing bad about our temperature is all the butter in the buttercream frosting (and butter really is a good thing!).  It melts.    To compensate, I added powdered sugar to thicken the frosting and help it hold its shape.  But with all that butter, and 90^ and beautiful sunshine, even in the shade, it melts. So, no more buttercream frostings until next winter.  (Not to worry, I find that by adding cream cheese or other sturdy ingredients to frostings along with the butter, everything works just fine.)

CRUMB COATING HAS SET UP
The other impossibility is finding fridge space to let a whole cake set up.  What a joke at my house.  I have two fridges, and there is just Hubby and I left at home, so you'd think I could find some room, but,  HA!  Both fridges are crammed full worse than ever.  This weekend I have two birthday party's ingredients stuffed into all refrigerated spaces.  And, for the past couple of years I NEED to have several new types of cheeses, lots more butter, eggs and cream, and....I'm sure you know how it goes.  Kinda like my pantry with the dozen kinds of salts.  One or two types used to be good enough, but not any more.

THE GANACHE/GLAZE HAS SLUMPED DOWN THE CAKE SIDES
So, I have my cake all frosted with melting raspberry  buttercream, but with the addition of powdered sugar, it was under control.  Then I had to figure out how to add the ganache.  To be runny enough to drip down the cake sides, the ganache glaze had to be a little warm, but my cake did not need any more "warm."  

Being brave and knowing it would taste good, I poured it on.  As I pushed the ganache puddle from the cake top down over the sides, it did not drip down in pretty streams.  I had to let the glaze cool too much to drip.  Instead of dripping, my ganache  slithered down the sides in globs, taking some of the buttercream along for the ride.  My drips could not be like the elegant photo that goes with this recipe.  Guess I need another fridge.

My last challenge is baking with shortening.  I could not add it to a family birthday cake, not even the kind from the natural food store.  Shortening is such a turn off.  I know it has useful properties in baking, but I try to find other methods.  So I used all butter, which created a dryer, crumbly cake.  It tasted good, but could have been better. I had to think up a way to compensate.

Anyway, these were my challenges.  I was apologizing about the not-pretty cake when Stephy-Wephy told me that it was the kind of cake she hoped to find at grandma's house.  Totally homemade and festive for the party.  Of course, she helped me to feel better.  But I had seen that beautiful photo.  And my cake cannot compare.  And I know I will see beautiful cakes on your sites.  And I should be embarrassed to post my cake.  But it's all part of the experience...learning what works and sometimes what does not work.

BIRTHDAY BOY LIKED THE CAKE
OK, now to the other issues.  I decided not to do a coffee flavor cake...does not work at my house.  So, to turn this cake into a Spring birthday cake I chose fresh raspberries as I love raspberry and chocolate together.

I purchased a bottle of raspberry flavored Italian soda/coffee flavoring syrup that I brushed onto each of the three baked caked layers, adding extra flavor and moisture to the cake.  Then between each layer I smoothed on a layer of raspberry jam as well as my raspberry flavored buttercream frosting.  Besides their great flavor and buttery goodness, these fillings and syrupy additions also helped bring moisture to the cake.

THIS CAKE IS GOOD...NOT BEAUTIFUL, BUT GOOD
When comparing this cake to the Devil's Food Cake we made earlier from the "Baked" book, I personally prefer the Devil's Food Cake which I have made a few times.  In the future, I will use that recipe.

It was fun to play around with today's cake, and it did work out OK for a family birthday gathering, but I'll just say that I hope you all made wonderfully beautiful, elegant, delicious cakes that I will drool over as I read your posts. I'm sure I'll be inspired by your baking.
 
"See" you all soon.

I'm sure my cake won't take any beauty pageant awards, but it was fun to bake and decadent to eat.

MY SLICE ...DELISH!




Friday, March 23, 2012

French Friday with Dorie: Cocoa Sables

DELICIOUS PARISIAN CHOCOLATE BUTTER COOKIES
In 1 more hour it won't be Friday...I'm trying to hurry.  Just made these cookies and doing this quick post.  Tomorrow we celebrate Hubby's and No. 2 Son's birthdays...party day at my house.  I'm busy baking birthday cakes and other foods, cleaning, doing the yard, getting my hair done, shopping...........so, sorry I'm late with getting my blog up to date.

For these cookies I chopped 72% dark chocolate and added twice the amount...it's my favorite part.  Just for fun I rolled the pre-cut longs in sugars or chopped nuts.  I doubled this recipe and will use these cookies for our party.  Hubby did taste them and agrees with me that they are chocolaty goodness.

Then, for the the kiddies, I baked a double recipe of Vanilla Sable cookies which were rolled in sugars or sprinkles and then topped with ganache and "Easter eggs."  These are also wonderful butter cookies.  Found Dorie's recipe and write up in the current issues of Fine Cooking, the magazine that has "The Secrets to Lemon Meringue Pie" on the front cover.  The flour to butter ratio makes them a little less dense, I like the way the chocolate variety baked better.  But they are all tasty and I"m sure the family will enjoy munching on them tomorrow at our party.

DORIE'S VANILLA SABLES FROM the APR/MAY FINE COOKING MAGAZINE
I did take a few minutes to look through many of your posts.  I will go back and comment on your wonderful baking, but probably not until Monday.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Baking wth Julia and Dorie: Irish Soda Bread

IRISH SODA (BROWN) BREAD
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated somewhat differently by my family.  We don’t use alcohol in our home, we don’t go to the big downtown parade, and our religion does not honor the man, although we do admire him and learn about him as far as history has recorded his life. And, we did name #2 son with his name.  #2 was a March baby, we had chosen the name, Ryan, for him, and Patrick seemed to be the perfect middle name for our precious Spring babe.

We do, however, look forward to this green holiday.  It is another fun family and food day.  The decorations are amusing, we get pinched if we don’t wear green, we love minty chocolate, shamrocks, leprechauns, rainbows, and especially pots of gold.  And in my younger years, I remember how my friends and I dyed our hair green using Kool Aid...it actually took weeks to wash out.

Most of all, this day gives us a time to reflect on our family heritage which includes lots of Irish as well as a good mix of everything European.  Hubby’s grandmother was a Galligher, a great Irish name, and my grandfather’s side also has a Scottish-Irish background.  My people were actually Scotts who were transplanted to and then suppressed in Ireland for a few hundred years.  Because of their hard lives and also the Irish famines,  they immigrated to America through the ports in Delaware back in the early 1700's where they moved on and built their lives in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.  I have great feelings of love and respect for these people who came from across the deep sea’s Emerald Isle.

My people come from a different race stock of people (the Irish Presbyterians who are much like the English) than Hubby’s Irish background that  comes through the Celtic, Catholic Irish people.  These two groups have never seen eye-to-eye.  To my people, the Roman Church was the instrument of the Devil and reform was the will of God.  Obviously Hubby’s side of the family had an opposing point of view.

My background is from a people who are very tenacious, opinionated, and  set in their ways.  They are a tough and hardy breed, built for physical labor.  My Scottish-Irish Pennsylvania ancestor women endured hardships, were energetic and patiently shared the dangers and privations of frontier life.  They were physically well-developed with features that indicated force of character rather than refinement of beauty.  They could work in gardens, weave cloth, brew and bake, make and mend, sweep and scrub, rock the cradle, and rule the household.

The Scotch-Irish made more whisky and drank more of it than any other group.  Many of the farmers, having their own stills, had several barrels of it in their cellars.  Drinking was taken as a matter of course, and was hospitality and a courtesy for those who hosted friends to offer them lots of liquor.  Not to have done so would have been a serious breach of etiquette. These Irish drinking traditions continue to this day. 

My Irish grandmothers, going back many, many generations, were the bakers of loaves such as the beloved Irish Soda Bread, from our recipe today, bringing their recipes and ways with them from the "old country" to hand down through the family lines.

I must say that it was great fun to plan and prepare an Irish meal that was completed by a warm loaf of Irish bread...I thought, as I baked, of how my great, great...grandmothers would have baked this lovely, delicious bread.
I knew from the moment I read through the recipe for today's baking that I wanted to make some changes.  Marion Cunningham's recipe is basically the same one I bake every St. Paddy's day for our family dinner.  I read through all your suggestions for mix-ins and changes and looked over the internet for additional ideas.  I decided to use half whole wheat as my basic dough to this extra large biscuit bread.

Because I've been sitting at the computer day and night...well at least it seems like I have...for the past 3 months, doing year end office work and taxes, I need to begin a more healthy lifestyle.  To get through taxes I eat sugar and more sugar and some butter and more sugar.  Today I will send my taxes off to our CPA for review... so today is finally time for a healthy change...at least for a week.

Along with the whole wheat I also took out 1/2 cup of the flour and substituted wheat bran, wheat germ, and old-fashioned oats.  So that this mixture would not taste too healthy, I added a couple tablespoons of dark brown sugar  and just a little butter to my ingredient list.

HOT OUT OF THE OVEN--WHOLE GRAINS AND DRIED FRUITS ADDED TEXTURE AND FLAVOR TO THIS FAIRLY PLAIN BREAD
Then as I read through your ideas I chose to add currants...I have dried black currents in my pantry, and I also liked the idea of dried apricots.  So I chopped up a couple handfuls of those and added them along with the black currents to my dough.

I found that the whole grains do not absorb the buttermilk as readily as plain white flour, creating a stickier dough that needed an extra 5 minutes of oven time.  I also baked this recipe at a 25^ hotter temperature.

The photos have spots that may look like burned pieces, however, these are the black currants...no burn.

I'm glad I made my changes.  I enjoyed the texture and the fruits with their added flavors.  And the whole grains and extra wheat bran and germ gave additional good flavor.  And these changes made a loaf that became even more flavorful the next day rather than becoming as hard as a blarney stone.

I'm looking forward to toast for breakfast with some more of my yummy raspberry jam.  

This is an easy bread that gives great results especially compared to the expended effort.  I'll do it again next year.

LIKE MY IRISH ANCESTORS, IT DOESN'T HAVE A PRETTY FACE, BUT THE TASTE MAKES UP FOR THE LOOKS


Thursday, March 15, 2012

French Friday with Dorie: Cheese Souffle

JUST OUT OF THE OVEN AND THIS SOUFFLE WILL BE MY TASTE
This was a fun late night baking project which gave me 30 mini souffles.  I knew that Hubby and I would not finish them all,  and they should be eaten immediately.  I made mini sizes using Solo 3.25 oz. paper souffle cups...I would guess that they are about regular cupcake size, maybe just a tad bit larger.  They came out of the oven at 10 pm, after baking about 25 minutes, Hubby and I ate a few (they are so light and yummy) and then I quickly packed up most of the rest and ran some to my Frolicking Night Owl's family (she's not baking this week; on Spring break) and to a son who has a badly sprained ankle and needs pampering, delivering them while they were still warm.  Nice to have kids that live within about 5 miles who are very willing to take baked goods off my hands.

SPRAYED WITH PAM AND COATED WITH PARMESAN CHEESE
 By coating the cups with Parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs, both the tops and bottoms, and all this sides browned nicely which added texture and a great flavor.

ALL INGREDIENTS GENTLY FOLDED TOGETHER
 I followed Dorie's recipe with a couple of exceptions.  As stated above, I did not use the bread crumb coating.  And in honor of St. Paddy's Day fun, I added green spinach.  I purchased fresh baby spinach which I steamed...about a pound, wrung out the extra moisture, and then chopped.  I loosened it with a fork before adding it along with the cheese to the egg mixture.

HOT OUT OF THE OVEN--DOING A DEFLATION THING
After whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks, I used 1/3 of the whites to lighten the yolk mixture.  Then I pushed the whites to the side of the mixer bowl and poured the yolk mixture in along the side of the whites bowl .  Then as I folded the whites and yolks together I sprinkled  the cheese and spinach on top as I folded so that all these ingredients were all folded at the same time...less folding.  And that way the cheese did not melt into the still warm yolk mixture, causing that mixture to become heavier.

Just before placing the souffles into the oven I sprinkled additional Parmesan on their tops...just a little.   This added more flavor and helped the souffle's to brown nicely.

AREN'T THEY LOVELY?
The cheese I grated for this recipe was a Kerrygold Irish Swiss cheese that I found at one of my favorite natural foods stores this morning.  Who would have thought I could find Irish Swiss cheese?   So with the Irish cheese and the green spinach I think my souffles are in line with this weekend's holiday.

Note:  This "Swiss" cheese was about $8 per pound and was a much stronger Swiss cheese than I am used to.  After grating, Hubby who was in another part of the house, came in to see what kind of cheese he was smelling...he thought I was using a strong bleu cheese.  No.  And then with the Parmesan cheese, which has a distinct aroma and flavor, the souffles had lots of great cheesy flavor.  I'm glad I added extra flavors with stronger cheeses and the spinach to zip up this classicly mild flavored dish.

PERFECT FOR A LUNCHEON OR AN ELEGANT BRUNCH
This souffle would go great with a garden salad or fresh fruit or a fruity drink.  A decadent dessert could complete this meal.

It's true that the best time to eat this dish is IMMEDIATELY out of the oven.  I will remember to prepare it earlier next time, have my family sitting at the table, and then take it out when it is all beautifully puffed up high, so they can all watch it deflate dramatically before digging in.

What did Hubby think about this dish?  Very tasty!  I thought so too.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Baked Sunday Mornings: Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

 
I CUT THESE PICTURED COOKIES INTO 2 X 3 INCH SIZE AND FOUND THEM TO BE VERY RICH, MAKING THIS SIZE TOO LARGE FOR A COOKIE SIZE... SO WE CUT THESE ALL IN HALF FOR EATING.    A  2 X 1 1/2 INCH SIZE IS JUST RIGHT
I'm going in so many different directions these days that I lost track of the date, thought I'd missed a week somewhere on my calendar, and couldn't believe that I'd missed this experience.  I went to the Baked Sunday Mornings site to see what you all had done, and found the recipe posted, but no one had baked the Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.  It was such a let down that no one had participated.  But I could not complain, because I had also forgotten this project.  I was delighted to figure out my error, to have a week restored to my life, and to be on time to participate in this group.  Whew!  I can't tell you how badly I felt when I thought I had missed out.  All this cooking and blogging has become a hobby and I really miss you all when I can't help missing an assignment.

I USED A LARGER STONEWARE BAKING PAN...MORE LIKE COOKIE SHEET SIZE--THESE COOKIES ARE RICH SO I WANTED TO MAKE THEM THINNER...I'LL GET ABOUT 40 BARS FROM 1 BATCH
I have one son who was a picky eater as a child.  All my other kids loved everything, but this particular son politely asked what was being served and then proceeded to make his own meal...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...every day.  I think they kept him alive.  Even though his tastes have matured and he is now a healthy eater of a variety of foods, this recipe reminded me of him and it was fun to think about him as I baked these bars. ( I miss him and his wife as they are away at school.)

HAND HELD APPLE PIES
These bar cookies had lots of parts.  Prepare the baking pan, mix the crust, refrigerate, roll the crust, par-bake with weights, let cool, make the filling,  make the crumb topping, can't remember, did we chill again, bake...cool, slice, taste...

MAKING APPLE PIES ALONG WITH THE BAR COOKIES ADDED VERY LITTLE EXTRA CLEANUP
I decided not to make a big mess by rolling out the crust between layers of parchment paper,   HA!  I thought foods don't stick to parchment paper.  What a mess!  The dough rolled out beautifully in the paper, but when I went to peel off the paper, the dough totally stuck to both sides and took effort to get it cleaned off.  So, back to my countertop method of rolling out with flour and without paper.  That actually worked great...should have done it in the first place.  But now I had made a mess and I was dreaming about pie while scooping out peanut butter.  Why not, I already had the rolling out mess and could use the same dirty dishes.  In honor of my "Baked" baking, I decided to use their crust recipe, which we have used previously.  (These all butter crusts don't hold their shape as well as those with at least a quarter shortening, but they taste sooooo much better...just love all that butter!  And I also love NOT eating shortening.)

 I went to the patio fridge where I keep extra fruits and veges, and just about blew up.  The same peculiar fridge problem happens to me a couple of times a year.  Someone decided to adjust the fridge temperature...make it a little colder...and I found a fridge full of frozen produce.  Actually no one did it...must be those leprechauns. There is also extra milk, butter, bacon, etc...that are not bothered by a little ice, but my pie apples were hard as rocks. (Actually they peeled easily and made perfect pies.) I knew that when they thawed they would be mush and would rot and be unusable...so my pie turned to pies, four,...had to use all those apples.  And then I made lots of hand pies just with some of  my filling (4 pies was enough) and used all my dough scraps for these small crusts.  Anyway, those wanting to come for Sunday dinner will be required to eat their fair share of pie as well as peanut butter and jelly bars.

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY BARS JUST OUT OF THE OVEN (NOTE:  I USED HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY JAM)
And in the "Baked" tradition, I used half brown sugar in my pie filling.  The pies are delicious, but the best ones are the smaller, rustic hand pies.  Their egg washed, sugar sprinkled crusts are crispy, top and bottom, and with a little filling oozing out and caramelizing on their edges, well, they are extra good.  Anyway, just thought I'd let you all know that our crust recipe works well for mini, uncontained pies.  I'm thinking about making berry pie-pops tomorrow...I also found raspberries and blueberries out in that fridge.  They too need to be used. 

LARGE BAR COOKIES--SEE ALL THE LAYERS?
The Peanut Butter and Jelly bars came together well, even though the process was drawn out with so many steps and dirty dishes...except for my crumb topping which was not as crumby as I'd hoped.  With all the fat in the pound of butter used through this recipe plus the other pound of butter, well, almost, in the peanut butter, my crumb topping kinda melted into all that fat during baking.

My son would like these cookies.  I will make them again when he visits home...but I plan to reduce some of the filling fat so that those oils will not be absorbed by the topping and make it less crumby.

I'm interested to see what you all think about these.  And, I'm very happy I did not miss this experience!

Happy St. Paddy's day to you all!!!

DELISH WITH BROWN SUGAR AND LOTS OF SAIGON CINNAMON

Thursday, March 8, 2012

French Friday with Dorie: Saint-Germain-des-pres Onion Biscuits

 
ONION BISCUITS FILLED SANDWICH STYLE--THESE ARE DELICIOUS!
Dorie's onion biscuits are full of flavor and complement other savory foods wonderfully.

Hubby and I arrived home tonight, Thursday evening about 8:00 and Hubby was starved.  "What's to eat?" he asked as he stuck his head in the fridge and scowled.

"I'm making you something...something French," I answered.  I knew I needed to make  the onion biscuits and somehow turn them into a quick meal.  I had originally planned to make breakfast sandwiches with them, filling them with bacon or sausage and eggs, but that did not suit me tonight.  "Just give me 30 minutes."  And that's all it took.

HOT OUT OF THE OVEN
I finely diced a small onion which was sauteed in a little butter until it became clear.  While the onion cooked, I layered bacon slices between paper towels which were put into the  microwave. I  let them cook until they were crispy.  While those two ingredients cooked I put all the dry ingredients into my food processor and pulsed them a couple of times to mix, and then I added the cold, chopped butter and pulsed a couple more times.  (I figured this method would be quicker and it worked well.)  Next, I dumped this mixture into a large bowl, sprinkled in the onions and added the cold milk, mixed everything with a fork just until barely combined .  Then, as Dorie suggests, I kneaded the dough a couple of times to get all the flour from the bottom of the bowl.
2" AND 1" BISCUITS--SEE THE YUMMY ONION PIECES FLAVORING THESE BISCUITS
The dough was crumbly, as it should be for biscuits, but it rolled out easily.  I used both  2" and  1" cutters just for fun.

While the biscuits baked (14 minutes) I sliced a tomato, some Monterey Jack cheese, an avocado, and decided not to use my wilted lettuce.  I thought about mayo or mustard, but wanted to enjoy the biscuit flavor; the dressings/spreads were not missed.

The one inch size would be perfect for mini appetizers, the 2" made lovely late-dinner sandwiches.

I WANTED TO SHOW THE INSIDE OF A SLICED BISCUIT...FLAKY AND LIGHT
I put several sandwiches together, clicked a couple of pics, gave Hubby a plate of food, and he loved it, I mean he really loved it (of course, he was eating bacon!).  He told me 4 or 5 times that they were  really good.  I thought so too.  The onion biscuits were subtly sweet with the caramelized onions which gave a delicious flavor to these biscuits, which otherwise would have been ordinary in flavor.  But they were extraordinary in texture and  were very light.

And 30 minutes was all it took to get Hubby his French dinner.  Not bad.  I played with the 1"size, just adding a small piece of cheese, and they were also good...the cheese melted into the warm biscuits making them simple yet delicious.  I thought about sticking a toothpick into the top with a olive or a pickle or something fancy...but I had promised only 30 minutes.

MANY FILLINGS WOULD BE DELICIOUS IN THESE BISCUITS... A SIMPLE PIECE OF CHEESE WAS TASTY
And there are leftovers for Hubby's breakfast...he can made himself a great eggy sandwich in the morning.  Loved this recipe.  The simple foods are often the best.

It will be fun to read your posts tomorrow and see how you all used these onion biscuits.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Tuesdays With Julia and Dorie: Rugelach

DELICIOUS ADDITION TO OUR  "SAYING GOOD-BYE TO OUR FRIENDS" DINNER
How much fun is this!!!  Rugelach, made with a buttery, cream cheese dough and “abundantly stuffed” with a homemade apricot lekvar, finely chopped pecans, and lots of cinnamon-sugar... YUM!

I needed cookies for a few occasions this week so I decided to make LOTS of Rugelach for all my needs.  Friends who are moving out of state came for dinner, I always take homemade treats to my adult Sunday school class where I plan on 75 attenders, the usual weekend crowd stopping by looking for food,......     One can never have too many good cookies.

It’s a very busy week, so these cookies took some planning, especially since I decided to 5 X the recipe (about 250 cookies).  Wednesday night I made all the dough, in my food processor.  The by-hand method sounded lovely, but I needed to get this dough finished and into the fridge.  It all came together nicely with my modern machine.

Friday evening I had time to make my fillings.  I actually made several types and flavors of fillings, but when it came time to actually roll out and fill my cookies, I chose to use only the apricot version just to keep things moving along.  I was really wanting chocolate and berries and a variety of nuts, but those can wait for another time.  After making my initial apricot batch, and trying them, and trying them again, and again...well...they were really good. 

Saturday afternoon I made all the cookies...took about 3 hours, but it was nice to have my kitchen time after a yard work and house cleaning morning.

UPDATED CENTURY'S OLD JEWISH COOKIE
My Sunday school class lesson was on the writings of the ancient Old Testament Hebrew prophet, Isaiah.  I knew these cookies would add a little more inspiration.  While baking I decided to tell my class (after doing some internet research) that this Rugelach recipe is an updated version of a century’s old Eastern European Jewish recipe and with the dried fruits and nuts it could have been something similar to what was eaten in ancient Jerusalem.  (But I’m sure my cookies had lots of extra sugar.) My class agreed and loved the idea of eating a Jewish food with a long history.  I may be totally wrong, but I did read several comments where this cookie is served during Jewish holidays.  And I have seen them in bakeries during Jewish holidays, and at Christmas time, and whatever their heritage, they are delicious.

After my dough chilled for a couple of days (much longer than necessary), I rolled it out into long rectangle shapes about 1/4" thick, slathered them with my apricot lekvar, added the nuts, and sprinkled their tops with lots of cinnamon sugar.  Then  I cut the topped dough rectangles in half lengthwise, and rolled each half like I would cinnamon rolls.  After pinching the seams together, I added an egg wash and sprinkled the long, cookie rolls with more cinnamon sugar.  Last, each roll was sliced with a pizza cutter into 1 ½" pieces, placed on doubled, lined baking sheets and baked for 22 minutes, until golden brown.

YUM!  FRUIT, NUTS, BUTTER, CREAM CHEESE....SOME OF THE WORLD'S BEST FOODS
Wow!  After cooling for just a few minutes, these were delicious.  Not too sweet; just little 2 or 3 bites each of puffed up goodness.  These cookies are dangerous.  I gave myself all the ends, that’s 2 on each of the 10 rolls I made (already I’m up to 20 cookies) and I had to taste several more to make sure each batch was worthy of my friends...Yup, they were.  I must have eaten pounds of butter and cream cheese and sugar and....it was all good...had to keep myself going for those 3 hours, especially after all my morning work.

Next time, I’ll roll my cookies into crescent shapes which I think are prettier, and I’ll use other fillings just for fun.  I’ve already added  Rugulach to my Christmas cookie baking list. 

See you all in a couple of weeks after St. Paddy's day baking...up next with this group, Irish Soda Bread.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

French Friday with Dorie: Roasted Salmon and Lentils

THIS MEAL IS A SURPRISE...SALMON AND LENTILS ARE DELICIOUS TOGETHER
We love outdoor cooking and Salmon is extra terrific when grilled.  I closed my books (today was payday) at 9 pm and almost decided I was too done for the day to think about my Dorie cooking which needs to be posted in the morning.  But guilt set in.  I’d purchased my salmon yesterday, had everything for the lentils, and I knew I’d regret not making this dish if I decided to call it a day.  And my guilty side reminded me that this is a group experience and being part of this wonderful group is  a big part of the fun.

The lentils cooked quickly ...I cheated by mincing my veges and just cooked them with the lentils from the beginning...while the salmon grilled outdoors.  I used chicken broth which was a great choice for this recipe.  The time to both prep and cook this meal was fast, taking less than 30 minutes from prep to eating.

NIGHTTIME GRILLING WAS WORTH THE EFFORT...BEAUTIFUL PINK SALMON FOR THOSE DARK GREEN LENTILS--BEAUTIFUL COMBINATION
I have never considered salmon and lentils in a dish together, but I will now.  This is delicious food.  Just as I plated my meal, which I thought was beautiful, Hubby and No. 1 Son walked through the door from the gym and were very happy to share my food.  They love high protein foods, especially after a workout, and this meal was perfect for my men.

It made me happy to pick a fresh lemon, that I used to squeeze fresh juice over the raw fish, and I added only salt and pepper before grilling.  This fish is oily enough that no olive oil was needed for grilling. I made a little sour cream tarter sauce and  I also found dill and a ripe tomato in my garden to complete my meal.
JUICY AND LOTS OF FLAVOR
Such a fresh and healthy meal, quick to prepare, and tastes as good as it looks.  This experience gets 5 stars...so glad I made it!