Valentine's Day Treats

This past Valentine's Day I was pretty ambitious with the treats.  And then I was pretty unambitious about posting the pictures.  Anyways - here there are:  no big stories, just the recipes and the photos.

First up - 
Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

Crust:

2.7 oz butter

5 oz all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

3+ tbsp cold water

1 egg white (used later)

Dice up the butter into cubes/pads and drop it into the food processor.  Add the flour and salt and pulse until you have small pieces (not too long or you’ll have one big blob).  Pour in the cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, pulsing in between tbsps.  Add more water until the dough is moist and sticks together.  Roll out a piece of saran wrap and place the dough in the center.  Knead the dough slightly to make sure you don’t have chunks of butter.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling
1 kilo fresh strawberries
8-10 stalks fresh rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar

Dice the strawberries and rhubarb into bite-sized pieces.  Place the strawberries in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pan.  Put the rhubarb on top of the strawberries and pour the sugar over it all.  Cover and set on medium heat for 5 minutes.  At 5 minutes, uncover and stir.  The strawberries should have produces a wonderful juice in which you'll cook the rhubarb.  Bring the whole thing to a boil and then reduce the heat, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens and coats the back of your spoon.  Let cool.

Once the strawberry rhubarb is at room temperature, roll out your dough, place it in the pan and cut off the excess.  From the excess dough cut out several small hearts.  Pour the cooled mixture into the crust and top with the cute little hearts.  Bake until the crust is golden brown.

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Frosted Heart Sugar Cookies  

These were just cute and fun to make.  I usually make them slightly thicker than they are supposed to be and cook them just a little bit less...and on a pizza stone.   I know the recipe isn't original or innovative, but it is from my grandmother's Betty Crocker Cookbook from the 1930s.  Here is the link the modern Betty Crocker recipe.

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Heart Cake
I think I need just a little more practice on the heart, but it was a cute surprise in the center of the cake.  And of course it was delicious!!!

The vanilla butter cake recipe is from Warren Brown (he is awesome!).  The heart is red velvet from Annie's Eats.  And the frosting is my own cream cheese frosting.

Here is the technique (which I've not quite mastered).   You have to make two layers of a cake.  In the bottom layer use a sharp knife to cut out a cone.  In the top layer cut out a round shape like a bowl, then use the inverted top of the cone you've cut out and place it in the middle of the bowl shape.  Crumble the red velvet and mix with red food coloring.  It needs to be a fairly dense mixture (not crumbly).  Hint - the circumferential of the two shapes you cut out has to match.

Fill the top and bottom of the cake.  Using a piping bag, pipe red frosting onto the red portion of the bottom layer, then white frosting onto the white portion of the bottom layer.  Carefully flip the top layer onto the bottom layer (somehow not breaking the cake, smearing the frosting, and making it line up perfectly).

Frost the outside of the cake as usual.  When you cut the cake, use a sharp knife and cut triangle pieces from the very center of the cake.  You should have a  half heart in every piece of cake and a full heart inside the cake.  I'm not going to lie - this one wasn't easy...nor was it the prettiest.  But you get the idea.

And there were some beautiful parrots on the balcony to kick.

French Country Bread

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create sourdough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with sourdough recipes from Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley as well as delicious recipes to use our sourdough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

Daring Bakers is part of food bloggers/food photographers online obsession.  This particular component includes a monthly baking challenge.  Each month a different host presents the bakers with a recipe and some specific instructions – like “you must hand churn the butter” or “you cannot substitute the flour/nuts unless there is an allergy or it is unavailable in your area.”  They are challenges though, because sometimes it is hard to find the ingredients or they include a baking technique you’ve never tried before…or like this month, they take hour and hours to complete. What I really love about the challenges is a.) some great baker has perfected their recipe and put hundreds of hours of research and testing into it, b.) they share a lifetime of knowledge and explain to you all of the nerdy tips you need to make it perfect, and c.) you always learn something that impresses.

 My sourdough sponge was super easy to start and now that I see how easy and great (and impressive) the bread was, I wonder why I haven’t been doing this for years!  In fact, my third loaf is rising in the kitchen as we speak.  I can’t wait to get home and pop that beautiful bundle of flour, salt and water into the oven.

It is such a perplexing combination of simple and complex.  The ingredients couldn’t be simpler:  flour, water and salt.  And time.  Lots of time.  Easy to see how it became a staple in our diets.  But it is soo complex!  I’ll admit I don’t fully understand how I went from a bowl of wet flour to the beautiful and delicious bread on my table.  You put together these simple ingredients and wait…and wait…and when you come back you have a yeast smelling spongy concoction!  It grows so beautiful and full and really becomes a blob you can be proud of. 

My favorite moment in making this…well there were a few…like kneading the wet sticky dough without flouring the surface.  It was just messy fun.  But my favorite moment was when I made the first slice into the warm bread.  I cut through the crunchy top and found the center nice and soft.  As the heel came free and fell to the side, steam rose up inside the bread and the inside revealed nice big pockets from air bubbles (like in Swiss cheese).  The top of the bread was perfectly cracked and powdered and looked like something from a European bakery.  It was so delicious and so impressive – I can’t wait to get home to put that third loaf in!

The dough was so sticky the spatula stuck to my hand!

Pfeffernusse

Every Christmas my grandma would send us a box full of pfeffernusse (pepper nuts) a small hard German Christmas cookie.  I'm always hesitant to tell people they are anise cookies because the general public seems to think they hate anise because of the bad rep of black licorice.  I have news for you people:  the flavor you hate in black licorice is the same flavor you love in Italian sausage!

Back to grandma's pfeffernusse.  When she died we all wanted to make sure we had this recipe which was by far her most famous.  Though I've had the recipe for 2 years, this is the first that I've attempted the cookies and the recipe was a bit of a challenge, to say the least.

Lets start out with the lard.  Obviously this is an old recipe.  Guessing by my grandma's age and the dates on the other cookbooks I have from her, I'd say the version I have is from the 1930s.  I don't have access to lard, and even if I did I'm not sure I would want to cook with it, so I used butter.  Actually, someday it would be great to try these with lard just for the heck of it.

Brown sugar or 1/2 and 1/2 white sugar...I think I know what you mean.  1 cup syrup or 1/2 cup molasses...umm...I know these are different, but wouldn't the different quantities and viscosity dramatically effect the baking times and final product?  This seems like a lot of guessing for a first attempt.

And then was the kicker..."Enough flour to roll."  Well thanks, Grandma.  I seem to have misplaced my "enough" measuring cup.  Is that closer to 1 cup or 4 cups?  And exactly how many cookies am I making?  (The answer is closer to 4 cups.)

There was also no guidance on HOW to make the cookies.  It was more of an ingredient list than a recipe. Which I get, that is how I write my favorite recipes too.  But it isn't so helpful for the first time.  So I guessed...wrong.  I started over.  I tried a first batch (which are more like cookies than pfeffernuss).  And then I think I got it down.  Tricky little devils though - they look like they aren't done, but they are hard as a rock.  And according to the internet (and I think confirmed by my memory of grandma's version) they actually soften over time.  Lets hope so!

Recipe Details
From the above recipe, use butter in place of lard and use all brown sugar.  I halved the recipe and used about 3-4 cups of flour (you should probably have a whole bag on hand).  "Enough to roll" means that you stir in enough flour to make the dough thick enough to roll out like gnocci (or play dough).  Oh, and I took sour milk to mean buttermilk.

First, beat the butter and sugar until it is soft and all of the sugar is incorporated (I just love doing this).  In a small bowl combine the buttermilk and syrup.  Add syrup/milk mixture to the butter in two or three batches, making sure it is fully combined.  In another bowl mix together the spices and the baking soda with about 3 cups of flour.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two or three parts.  Once the dry ingredients are fully mixed in continue to add flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough is thick (like play dough).

On a floured surface (I love this part too!) roll out a piece of dough into a rope that is about as thick as your thumb.  Using a butter knife cut the rope into pieces about 1/2 to one inch wide.  Place the pieces on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. 

Pan de Muertos

Feliz Dia de los Muertos! 

In high school my favorite class was Spanish.  Probably because my teacher was great and used things like music and food to get us interested in class.  On a couple of occasions she asked us all to make a Spanish/Latin American dish to bring in for the class.

Someone in our class brought Dead Bread, or Pan de Muertos.  I'd like to say it was me and that I made it...but that probably is my literary take and far from the truth.

Pan de Muerto is a soft sweet orange bread.  It is something like challah bread meets brioche meets freshly sweet oranges.  It is so delicious! 

The basic recipe is here.  Check on it frequently and take it out a bit earlier - it is best when it is soft and moist!  Yumm!  You'll wish you'd celebrated every Dia de los Muertos!

Paul's Ossobucco - New Favorite!

I'm smiling just thinking about the delicious ossobucco my husband made for me last night.  It all started when I saw this delicious recipe I saw for Braised Short Ribs with Ancho-Chili Spiced Syrah Reduction that I saw last week.  Ahh..it looked so good and the sauce ancho-chili syrah - does that not sound AMAZING!  So after a few days of drooling I set out to get all the fixin's.  

I live in Israel right now, and don't speak Hebrew.  The meat counter/butcher is one of the more intimidating places to go.  So I did my research and found out what short ribs looks like and set off to the shi-shi grocery store which has the best meat.  And they didn't have any ribs.  Dang it.  I circled the store for about 20 minutes waiting for google translate to load on my phone, and then I confirmed for my self that they in fact had no ribs in the deli nor in the freeze. Dang it!  Okay...I'll just do another great meat with the sauce....that one please.

Another 20 minutes on the computer when I got home revealed that I was the proud owner of $22 worth of ossobucco (which isn't that much in Israel).  Ossobucco takes cooks for about 4 hours so we were not going to have that for dinner.  Luckily (well...kind of) Paul was sick the next day, freeing up his afternoon to make a delicious dinner!

The recipe I found at Eats Well With Others (such a creative name!) sold me.  " It is lemony and caper-y and you will squeal the entire day while it is cooking in your kitchen."  Ahhhhahaha! When I came home from work I opened the door, smelled the delicious ossobucco in the oven, and squealed like a giddy foodie! 

It tasted every bit as amazing as it smelled and sounded.  In fact, it was the best meal that I can remember.  This is the type of stuff that you order at a restaurant and then go back every chance possible.  The best part about having this delicious meal at home is that, when no one is looking, you can lick the plate!

Smushed Cheesy Toast

Its lunchtime here in Israel, and though it isn't a rainy day and there is no sign of what I know to be fall, I really wanted one of these squishy cheesy toasts.  I don't know what it is really called, but the Americans I know (who don't speak Hebrew) refer to it as the smushed sandwich, the Israeli's refer to it as a cheese sandwich and I think the women who makes it calls it toast.  So - smushed cheesy toast it is.

The woman who sells these speaks not a word of English, though I think she understands a lot.  Or she is a good guesser.  She greets me in Hebrew and (I think) asks me what I'd like.  I say "toast with onion" and point at the bin of bagels...and expressionlessly she grabs an onion bagel. How did she do that? There are lots of kinds of bagels in there! Then she asks me (I think) in Hebrew what I'd like on it.  Now I respond in half Hebrew, half English: "Cheese, agvaniot, pitriot, pesto sauce, that one...yiroque..yes!"  Sometimes I'm not sure if I said green or blue - or if the word in Hebrew even uses the color - but she still gives me the green onions. 

Once I've exhausted my Hebrew words and the options at her salad bar, she closed the bagel and places in a sandwich/panini maker.  And i wait....and wait....and wait.  It takes quite a while.  Usually while I'm waiting I try desperately to remember the Hebrew word for sauce.  I listen to other people order, hoping they say it.  I know what it is, I just can't remember.  It doesn't matter, because I remember the word "shum" and the only garlic thing she has is the delicious sauce. 

After about a 10 minutes wait, this delicious crunchy, gewy, smushed, cheesy toast is mine.  The toast is nice and firm and crunchy and contrast very well with the stringy cheese inside.  Some of the veggies are crunchy and some are warm and mushy (and when your Israeli colleagues order for you, you get an extra juicy crunch in the corn).

This women should expand.  Her delicious squishy cheesy toast is only US$5.  I wish I could save half for later (because it is kind of big and if you put a lot of veggies like me it is very filling) - but of course, I end up eating the other half "while its warm."  It would be the perfect rainy-day lunch...if it ever rained.  Alas, here is to smushed cheese toasts on a not-so-rainy day!

Perfectly Picturesque Peach Pie :)

Paul wanted to put the pie in the window. I wanted to drive the neighbors nuts with the great smell.

The blogosphere has been abuzz with peaches lately.  Peach cobbler, grilled peaches, peach smoothies, fresh stuffed peaches, peach cake…Mmmm!  I don’t live in the States right now but I know how delicious those peaches are and I want you to know how jealous I am.  My husband and I really can’t eat a whole peach pie right now, so I convinced a friend to host a potluck, promising him a delicious and stunning peach pie.  I didn’t have a recipe.

I bit the bullet and bought those expensive imported peaches that are not quite ripe…but it is the best I can get.  So I’ll have to hope my baking skills can make up for it.  As for the recipe, I spent a wonderful moment perusing some great food blogs for ideas.  I decided to go with something akin to my mom’s Dutch apple pie with the beautiful presentation of SassyKitchen, but I couldn’t use her recipe so I was still at square one.  The flavor combinations of Pease Pudding sparked my interest:  Nectarine & Cardamon Ice Cream.  Mmmm…cardamom; Fitting given its prominent role in Arab foods (Arabic coffee) and my current location in the Arab world.  A nice local touch.  Finally, I thought I’d change up the streusel topping by using almonds (thanks to Carina Forum for the idea).

Here is the recipe (email me if you’d like it in cups instead of ounces):

Crust:

2.7 oz butter

5 oz all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

3+ tbsp cold water

1 egg white (used later)

Dice up the butter into cubes/pads and drop it into the food processor.  Add the flour and salt and pulse until you have small pieces (not too long or you’ll have one big blob).  Pour in the cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, pulsing in between tbsps.  Add more water until the dough is moist and sticks together.  Roll out a piece of saran wrap and place the dough in the center.  Knead the dough slightly to make sure you don’t have chunks of butter.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

 

Filling:

4-5 delicious and fresh peaches!

8 oz. sugar

1.25 oz all purpose flour

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cardamom

Splash of lemon juice

Slice the peaches and put them in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and spices.  (If you want to go the extra mile, grate your own cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom!)  Sprinkle the dry mixture over the peaches and toss.  My peaches were pretty dry and the mixture mostly fell to the bottom of the bowl.  But, the sugar will pull out the juices in the peaches to create a syrup so you should stir this a few times to re-coat the peaches.  I added a splash of lemon juice a.) because my peaches were dry and b.) because I wanted something bright amidst the warm winter flavors.

 

Topping

2.5 oz all purpose flour

2.5 oz almonds

4 oz butter

4 oz brown sugar

Using a food grinder (like a coffee bean grinder), coarsely grind the almonds into a powder.  Combine the almond, flour and sugar in a food processor.  Add the butter in cubes/pads.  Pulse until small balls appear.  (If you blend too much on this one, don’t worry.  Your fingers will just do little more work breaking it into pieces when you put it on the pie.)

Okay – so now you have all of the pieces ready.   

1.  Roll out your pie crust, fold it into quarters and transfer to the pie pan.  Trim the edges right at the top of the pie dish – don’t eat them.  (If you can, blind bake the crust for 10 minutes.)   

2.  Roll the extra edges into a ball and roll it out again into an oval.  Cut this into long strips about ¼ inch thick.  Twist two strips together and repeat until you have enough ribbon to go around the circumference of the pie.  (If you were blind baking the crust, pull it out of the oven!)  

3.  Stir your peaches one last time and pour them into the crust, drizzling any extra syrup over the peaches.  Reserve 5 perfectly cut beautifully colored slices for the top the pie.   

Pre-baked.

4.  Using your fingertips break the topping into small pieces and spread it evenly on top of the peaches (don’t get too close to the edge).   

5.  Now carefully wrap your dough-ribbon around the edge of the pie, hiding the ends as best possible.  Arrange your final peach slices on top and brush the ribbon with egg whites.

6.  Finally, cover your masterpiece with foil and bake.

Bake at 400F for about 30-35 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the crust and topping are beautiful golden brown.  Resist the temptation to eat the hot pie and let it cool – the syrup will congeal and it will look so beautiful when you cut into it!

 The pie is very warm and not too sweet.  I recommend you serve it with some vanilla ice cream.  The cool rich flavors of the ice cream will balance well with the warm fruity flavors of the pie.  

Golden Crust.