Lasagna and an Award

Right off the top, I want to thank Natashya for giving me the Kreativ Blogger award. I’m not sure what I did to deserve it, but I will do my best to live up to its reputation. Everyday I am inspired by the blogging community, both food-wise and personally.

There has been an abundance of recipes for butternut squash lately. It must be that time of year. Since I had some leftover squash from an earlier recipe, I decided to make one of our favorite dinners: Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagna, from my copy of Best of Gourmet 2002. (For the recipe, please use the link to Epicurious.) I did downsize it by a third since there is only me to eat it at the moment, but it is a great dish for entertaining.

The flavor combination of butternut squash and toasted hazelnuts is delicious, especially layered between lasagna noodles and a bay-infused bechamel sauce. It’s also a great vegetarian meal that is satisfying for everyone.

I’m still working on the meme questions. Being an analytical sort, I’m probably over-thinking everything, but I will post it during the coming week.

My Kitchen, My World: Ireland

This has been such a bizarre week that it has taken my a bit of time to regain my momentum. All my best laid plans have been constantly disrupted , it seems!

This week we journeyed to Ireland, courtesy of Michelle at My Year to Get Skinny. Oh, Ireland. One whole side of my family comes from Ireland, and it has been a long-time wish to actually visit the Emerald Isle. It's near the top of my travel list at the moment. I suspect there are still relatives living over there and it would be fun to track them down.



With so many choices, I decided to see what I could do with ingredients I had on hand. I ended up with a version of Shepherd's Pie, which I enjoyed for dinner last night and lunch today. Basically, I browned a 1/2 cup chopped onions with 1 sliced carrot, then added 1/2 pound of ground beef and cooked until brown. I seasoned the mixture and threw in some green peas. Meanwhile, over in the other pot, I boiled 2 small potatoes until tender, and mashed them with butter and cream. I poured the meat/vegetable mixture into an oven-proof container, topped it with the mashed potatoes, and sprinkled cheese on top. I baked it at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until heated through.


Well, I was hungry, it was quick. What can I say? Go to My Kitchen, My World and see the wonderful meals the other members made. I wished we all lived closer together!

Updates (TWD et al)

First, the life updates:

I survived jury duty. Three cases required jurors on Tuesday morning, but my name was never among those called. I managed to do some work during the morning session, then walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch. The afternoon waiting session began at 1 pm and time moved slowly. I did manage to read most of a novel, and was nearly finished when the announcement came, at 3:15 pm, that we were released. (Sounds like we were prisoners, no?) Thus ends my service for the next 12 months.

My faith in the law enforcement system here is being strengthened. On Monday, a group of neighbors made contact with the local police to report a suspected drug house that had appeared in our neighborhood. On Tuesday, our 'ringleader' emailed to the police four pages of documentation. On Wednesday, the police asked us to continue our observations but to lay low. After checking the information we provided, the house had become a "house of interest." Today, I spent 20 minutes talking to an undercover detective, who was somewhere in the vicinity, and who spent quite a bit of time in the 'ringleader's' garage, discussing the case and keeping watch. It will be fascinating to see how this is resolved and what the true story is.

But, now to my primary focus here, food. Or shall we say, another version of Rugelach.

While the one's we made this week for TWD were good, I wasn't too sure about them. Now, I should add that I gave my willing neighbor several and asked for her unbiased opinion. My neighbor is basically nondenominational, but her side of the family is primarily Jewish, so lately, I seem to be supplying her with comfort foods. Well, she took one bite of those rugelachs and said they tasted exactly like the ones she remembers growing up, from a family bakery. I must be my taste buds that are out of whack on these, I guess, since she pronounced them to be delicious.

Nevertheless, this afternoon, I made the rugelachs that I have made before. I swear I could eat all of these in an instant without batting an eye. I'm always on the lookout for cookie cookbooks, especially holidays ones, and years ago I ran across this tiny one on Christmas cookies.



The rugelach sounded especially good, so I gave them a try and this recipe has become my favorite.

Rugelach

1 cup butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup butter, melted

Cut butter into flour using two knives, or a pastry cutter, as if making a pie crust. In a separate bowl, beat together egg yolk and sour cream, then add to flour mixture. Mix until blended. Divide dough into three parts. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Prepare filling by combining sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts. Preheat oven to 357 degrees F.

Working with one portion at a time, roll dough into a circle that is 1/8-inch thick. Brush each circle lightly with melted butter and spread one-third of the filling on each one.


Cut each circle into 16 wedges, and roll each up, starting at the wide end and rolling towards the point. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. (This may take more than 15 minutes, depending on your oven. Just watch them, and remove them when golden.) Cool on racks and store in covered containers (if they last that long).

(I did brush them with some leftover egg wash and sprinkle them with sugar, a la Dorie.)

Makes about 4 dozen.




I did give some to my neighbor, for her comments, which I will hopefully receive tomorrow. This cookies have been a great restorative, so I'm glad to share them with everyone.

Happy Baking!

TWD: Rugelach

This has been a challenging day today. Not foodwise, but lifewise. Over the summer a new person moved into our quiet neighborhood. A group of neighbors now believes that the residence has become a drug house, and evidence is mounting to support that belief, so we're all working with police to see what can be done. On top of that, and tomorrow's election, I found out that my jury duty is scheduled for tomorrow (or Tuesday if you're reading this then). I was prepared to go on Wednesday, but not on Tuesday. I have a standing meeting nearly every Tuesday, so I've had to call a bunch of people and explain why I won't be there. Plus, it's election day, an historic one at that. It's just frustrating.

So, this week's TWD event was chosen by Grace of Piggy's Cooking Journal. We made rugelach, a filled and rolled cream cheese pastry. I've made rugelach before, so I was looking forward to trying a different recipe. These are good, but somehow I feel they are lacking something in flavor and taste, which just adds to my frustration for the day. They weren't very difficult: the dough was easy to work with, the filling was fine, they baked without burning, and they tasted alright. Just not memorable. Maybe it was the filling. I'll have to find my previous recipe and compare.

I spread the dough with some boysenberry jam:


Sprinkled on the chopped pecans and currants:



Sprinkled on the finely chopped, bittersweet chocolate:



Ready to eat:



They were good, mind you; just not great. That in itself is a challenge, of course: to find the perfect rugelach recipe now.

I'm sure the other TWD bakers have their own opinions on this week's challenge, so I encourage you to take a look.

A Pie: Fashionable Yet Strange

You Want Pies With That?

I have to admit that I was stumped by this month’s theme: Pies as a Fashion Statement. What does that really mean? Let’s hope it is open to artistic interpretation.

So, after pondering this for considerable time, I decided that a black and white combination could be the height of fashion: tuxedos, Ascot hats and gowns, penguins.

Now, this pie, although black and white, was a strange one, sort of backwards. It tasted fine, but I’m not sure I would make it again in the same way. I’d probably make a regular crust and cut back on the orange peel. Best of luck to anyone who is brave enough to try it. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Holly, this month's hostess, interpreted this theme.

Black and white pie

4 tablespoons butter; softened

¾ cup brown sugar; packed

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon orange zest; grated

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate cut in 1/2-inch bits

½ cup white chocolate chunks 1/2-inch pieces

⅔ cup pecans; chopped

1 recipe for a single-crust pie

Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a medium bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium until creamy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and orange zest until well blended; mixture may look slightly curdled. Stir in bittersweet and white chocolate chunks and pecans. Crumble pie crust dough on top, stirring with a fork until well blended.

Pour into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake 35 mins, or until set. Let pie cool before serving, topped with whipped cream.


Close-up of filling:

MKMW: Germany

This week, for My Kitchen, My World, we traveled to Germany, thanks to Roxanne of Roxanne’s Road Rules. I have been to Germany quite a few times, traveling by rail and by car. I’ve been to Berlin and parts of eastern Germany, Munich, Garmisch, Dachau (town), Heidelberg, Tübingen, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt, as well as the historic town of Dinkelsbühl and Neuschwanstein Castle. I have friends who live in Stuttgart, Munich, and Frankfurt.

Also, it wouldn’t surprise me if I had relatives living somewhere in Germany. While doing some genealogical research recently, I discovered that one side of the family actually came from Germany and not the Netherlands as I had always believed. In the US, ‘Dutch” has more than one meaning.

Sometimes, when my German friends travel to the US, they often stop and visit. Several years ago, on one particular visit, we decided to make a German specialty: spätzle. My friend gave me an authentic, German spätzle press, that I treasure.

The dinner we made during her visit was Käsespätzle, layers of caramelized onions, Emmentaler cheese, and spätzle.

However, since I’m a big fan of pork and sauerkraut, I decided to feature these ingredients in my German meal and to make fresh spätzle to accompany it. This made several dinners for me, but I’m not complaining – it’s one of my favorites!

(This dinner is a bit on the brown side, but it really was delicious.)

Pork with Sauerkraut

1 ½ pounds country style pork ribs (or pork chops, sausage, or any combination)

1 15-ounce can sauerkraut, drained

1 small potato, peeled and grated

1 small tart apple, peeled and grated

1 small onion, peeled and grated

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine sauerkraut, potato, apple, onion, and caraway seeds in a casserole. Top with the ribs or chops; bury the sausage in the sauerkraut. I found boneless country style ribs, which worked out well. Bake, uncovered, for about 1 ½ hours, or until done.

Spätzle

¾ cup flour

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

1 egg

¼ cup water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat egg and add to dry ingredients. Add about half the water and beat well. Keep adding water, a little at a time, while beating, until bubbles start to appear and the batter is smooth. The batter should be thick and wet.

Fill a large pot with water; bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with cool water. When the water comes to a boil, place some of the batter into the spätzle press, and slowly squeeze so the batter drops into the boiling water. When the spätzle float to the surface, skim them off and place them in the cool water. Repeat until all the batter is used up. When ready to serve, drain the spätzle and saute in butter to reheat. Season with salt and pepper.

Bread Baking Day 14: Colored Breads

There are moments in life when Inspiration truly and suddenly smacks you in the face. I had a moment like that the other evening. I had just discovered the challenge theme for Bread Baking Day #14 and within seconds I knew what I was going to make. In all fairness, I came up with my idea before Zorra (1x umrühren bitte aka kochtopf) had posted the results of World Bread Day, and while there are some related breads, they weren’t mine. The theme? Colored breads. How cool is that?

I decided to play around with my recipe for Rosemary Raisin Sourdough bread, turning it into Pink Cranberry Sourdough Bread, and because I wanted to see how the bread turned out, I baked it early. Entries aren’t due until December 1, but I’m ready now, and November is shaping up to be a busy month, so for once, I’m slightly ahead of the game.

I made boulettes – four small boules, and I substituted dried cranberries for the raisins and beet juice for the water.

Risen and ready for the oven:

Cooling:

While the inside isn’t overly pink, it is moist and has a sweet, fruity flavor. The only evidence of beets is the color.

This challenge provides lots of creative opportunities, and even though I’m early, I may play around again if I have the time. Final results will be posted in early December on Boaz’s site, Grain Power. Colored breads – a terrific choice!

Now I just have to figure out what to do with the cooked beets.


Pink Cranberry Sourdough Bread

14 ounces bread flour

4 ounces whole grain flour

1 teaspoon dry yeast (instant or active dry)

½ ounce Kosher salt

1 ounce honey

2 ounces olive oil

2 ounces dried cranberries

1/16 cup chopped fresh rosemary

8 ounces beet juice

8 ounces sourdough starter

Instructions can be found here.