March 20, 2008

Hamantaschen with dough recipe created in Australia


Hamantaschen

My very own recipe for triangular Purim cookies
Makes 24-30 small ones.

Pastry: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 3/4 cup of butter, cut into small dice, 1 egg yolk, iced water (water with ice cubes)

Filling: 1 can Solo Poppy Seed Filling 12.5oz (Poppy Seed Filling), 1 cup dark raisins, 1/3 cup of any fruit juice.

In a processor, place the flours and sugar and pulse briefly to aerate.Sprinkle the diced cubes of butter over and pulse again until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.Add the egg yolk and pulse again until just mixed through, then adding iced water 1 tablespoon at a time, continue to pulse until the dough just begins to come together. This mix needed 4 tablespoons of water.Place the dough onto a board and basically just mould the dough until it comes together. There's no need to knead! Roll into a ball and cut into half - slightly flatten each half into a disc, wrap in plastic and place in the refrigirator to rest for at least an hour or until the dough has hardened enough to roll.Each half of the dough will make 12 cookies.

Make a filling mixing raisins, and juice in a pan. Place the pan on a stove and slowly warm up. Don't boil and cook slowly, stirring constantly until smooth and thick Remove from heat. Place the warm mix into food processor and pulse until it smooth. Combine together raisins paste and Poppy Seed Filling.

Dust a flour board with a little bit of flour. Roll a piece of the dough out on flour board. Take a four-inch glass, turn it upside down and cut the dough with the lip of glass to make a 4 inch circle of dough. Fill cookie with chosen filling. Squeeze dough up and across to form three cornered hamantashen.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake 25-30 minutes until the pastry has a light brown color. Ready cookies can be dusted with powdered sugar.


Уши Амана" (Хаменташен)

Тесто: 2 чашки муки, 1 чайная ложка разрыхлителя, 1/2 чашки сахарной пудры, 3/4 чашки холодного сливочного масла, 1 желток, холодная вода (желательно с кусочками льда)

Начинка: 1 упаковка начинки из мака (Poppy Seed Filling), 1 чашкa изюма, 1/3 чашки фруктового сока.

Положить в кухонный комбайн муку, разрыхлитель и смешать. Добавить сливочное масло, предварительно нарезав на мелкие кубики. Смешать все, несколько раз нажав кнопку "Pulse" на кухонном комбайне.Добавить желток и постепенно добавить холодную воду не выключая комбайн. Тесто само начнет формироваться. Как только тесто сформируется, остановить комбайн и выложить тесто на доску. Разделить пополам, завернуть в пищевую пленку и положить в холодильник на 1 час.

Приготовить начинку. В небольшой кастрюле смешать изюм и сок. Поставить на небольшой огонь, и постоянно помешивая, нагреть почти до закипания. Снять с огня, положить в комбайн и смешать до образования пасты. Добавить начинку из мака

Вынуть половину теста из холодильника, раскачать в пласт и вырезать 12 кружков. Сверху положить 1 чайную ложку начинки на каждый кружок и сформировать традиционную форму "ущей амана"

Нагреть духовку до 350Ф. Поставить деко с печеньем и печь 25-30 минут до полной готовности. Вынуть из духовки, охладить и посыпать сахарной пудрой.
Повторить тот же процесс со вторым куском теста.

В Америке традиционно пекут недрожжевые "печенья-ущи", и тесто черствеет. этот рецепт теста прекрасно сохраняется в течении нескольких дней

Original dough recipe from Cook Almost anything
I can offer to read and try another recipe from David Shenk (Gourmet)

Finally enjoy The Great Latke-Hamantash Debate

March 15, 2008

Molasses bundt cake with bourbon glaze


Molasses bundt cake with bourbon glaze

Cake: A) Nonstick vegetable oil spray, 3 1/4 cups cake flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, 4 teaspoons vanilla extract, 4 large eggs, 1 cup whole milk
B) 1 cup pecans, toasted, finely chopped, 1/4 cup dark corn syrup, 1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Glaze: 2 teaspoons water, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons dark corn syrup, 1/2 cup bourbon, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Vanilla ice cream

For cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 10-inch-diameter Bundt pan with nonstick spray; dust with flour. Sift 3 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and 2 teaspoons vanilla in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions. Transfer half of batter to prepared pan.
Stir pecans, corn syrup, molasses, and 2 teaspoons vanilla in another medium bowl to blend. Stir in baking soda. Stir pecan mixture into remaining cake batter in bowl. Spoon pecan batter over batter in pan (do not swirl). Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out with dry crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Transfer cake in pan to rack.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze: Stir 2 teaspoons water and baking soda in small bowl to dissolve baking soda. Bring sugar, buttermilk, butter, and corn syrup to boil in heavy 6-quart saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and melt butter. Reduce heat to medium-high. Stir in baking soda mixture (glaze will bubble). Boil until sauce is golden and slightly thickened, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in bourbon and vanilla.

Invert warm cake onto platter. Immediately brush 1 1/2 cups hot glaze over cake, allowing glaze to soak into cake. Cool cake completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate remaining glaze.)
Rewarm remaining glaze, stirring. Serve cake with ice cream and warm glaze.


Немецкий бисквит с мелассой и очень алкогольной глазурью.


В Европе многие ничего не знают о мелассе. Для тех, кто не знаком с этим продуктом, прошу почитатать на сайте

Для бисквита: А) 3 1/4 чашки муки, 2 чайной лоски разрыхлителя, 3/4 чайной ложки соли, 2 чашки сахара, 1 чашка (200 грамм) сливочного масла комнатной температуры, 4 чайной ложки ванильного экстракта, 4 яйца, 1 чашка молока.
Б) 1 чашка мелко порезанных орехов пекан (можно заменить на обыкновенные грецкие орехи), 1/4 чашки кукурузного сиропа (можно заменить медом), 1/4 чашки мелассы, 1/2 чайной ложки питьевой соды.

Глазурь: 2 чайных ложки воды, 1 чайная ложка соды, 2 чашки сахара, 1 чашка кефира, 1 чашка сливочного масла, 2 столовые ложки кукурузного сиропа, 1/2 чашки виски "bourbon"
Нагреть духовку до 350Ф. Приготовить специальную формочку для выпечку немецких бисквитов: Бандт (Bundt pan). История создания этой формочки связана с историей еврейской общины в Германии и Америки.

Смешать муку, разрыхлитель и соль в небольшой посуде. Миксером взбить сахар, масло, ванильный экстракт, вбить по одному яйцу, постепенно добавляя молоко. Последним добавить мучную смесь.

Смешать орехи, кукурузный сироп, мелассу, ванильный экстракт в отдельной посуде. добавить соду. Выложить половину теста (тесто блинной консистенции) в формочку для выпечки, во вторую половину добавить ореховую смесь и вылить в формочку. Поставить в духовку и печь до полной готовности (50 минут) Вынуть из духовки и вынуть из формы.

Пока печется бисквит, приготовить глазурь. Смешать 2 чайные ложки воды с содой и дать раствориться. В отдельной посуде смешать сахар, кефор, масло, кукурузный сироп. Поставить смесь на огонь и дать закипеть. Уменьшить огонь, влить соду и дать покипеть 8-10 минут. Снять с огня и добавить виски.

Отделить 1 1/2 чашки глазури и кулинарной кисточкой нанести на поверхность бисквита. Дать бисквиту остыть полностью. Бисквить может сохранятся при комнатной температуре. Остаток глазури поставить в холодильник. Перед подачей на стол согреть глазурь и подать с бисквитом.

Recipe from Bon Appetit, march 2003

HADASSAH MOURNS PASSING OF BUNDT PAN INVENTOR
H. David Dalquist created baking pan as Hadassah fundraiser (New York - January 5, 2005) -
With the holiday season barely over and all those calories from all those baked goods already firmly attached to America’s hips, the passing, announced today, of the inventor of the Bundt pan, H. David Dalquist, will give pause to bakers and dieters everywhere. But how many know that the Bundt pan was invented in response to a request by the members of the Minneapolis Chapter of Hadassah? In 1950, when home baked goods were still a staple of every American household, and baking lessons a featured highlight of Hadassah meetings, the Minneapolis chapter tried to recreate the heavy cakes that their mothers used to make in their native Europe. Unable to find the right pan, one member took a relic from her mother’s German kitchen to H. David Dalquist, chairman, owner and founder of Northland Aluminum, and asked him to recreate the pan in modern material. The result was a success, and for years Dalquist gave the Hadassah chapter his seconds, which they turned around and sold to raise funds for Hadassah’s projects in Israel, which today include two major hospitals, a college, a career counseling center, and numerous youth programs. "Who could have imagined that a simple aluminum cake pan, invented more than a half century ago, could have become a fundraising vehicle for an organization that today boasts more than 300,000 members across the country?" said June Walker, National President of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. "With that homey little baking pan, Hadassah women built the most advanced medical center in the Middle East, the Hadassah Medical Center at Ein Kerem. We thank David Dalquist for his contribution!" In the 1960s, the Bundt pan really became a hit when a Texas woman used it to place second in the Pillsbury bake-off. Today, thanks to Hadassah, there is probably not a home in America without a Bundt pan.

March 06, 2008

It's never enough... teachings!

One of my coworkers sent me a message with a HIGH VALUE teachings. Please try all of them.

1. If you peel a banana from the bottom you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how all the primates do it.
2. Separate your bananas when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen much faster.
3. Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. The cheese will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
4. Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
5. Add a teaspoon of water when sautéing ground beef. It w ill help to pull the grease away from the meat.
6. To make terrific scrambled eggs or omelets add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, heavy cream, or Fat Free Half and Half before beating them.
7. For a super brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Get set for a wonderful minty frosting.
8. Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and add at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic
9. Leftover snickers bars from Halloween or Christmas make a delicious dessert. Simple chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.
10. Reheating Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy microwave pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
11. Easy Deviled Eggs.Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw the bag away when done for an easy clean up.
12. Expanding Frosting. When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You will also be eating less sugar and calories per serving.
13. Reheating Refrigerated Bread. To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
14. Newspaper Weeds Away Start putting wet newspapers in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Put layers around the plants, overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic but they will not get through wet newspapers.
15. Broken Glass Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.
16. No More Mosquitoes Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
17. Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
18. Flexible Vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
19. Reducing Static Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Put a pin in the leg seams of your slacks and -- ta da! -- static is gone.
20. Measuring Cups Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
20. Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
21. Reopening Envelope If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
22. Conditioner Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
23. Goodbye Fruit Flies To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it with a 1/2 inch of Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
24. Get Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
25. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took t he filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free -- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

March 04, 2008

Australian Coconut-Lemon Bread (enhanced recipe)


Australian Coconut-Lemon Bread

Excellent morning treat. You will try the recipe over and over again.

2 eggs, 300ml (1 1/4 cups) milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 350g (2 1/2 cups) flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 225 g (1 cup and a bit) caster sugar, 150 g (2 cups) shredded coconut, 75 g (1/3 cup) butter, melted, zest and juice from 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 180C /350F.Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Stir in sugar andcoconut. Make a well in the center and pour in egg mixture. Stir untiljust combined. Carefully add zest and lemon juice.Add butter and stir until just smooth, being careful not to overmix.Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or untiltester comes out clean.Cool in tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Лимонный кекс с кокосовой стружкой

Рецепт, привезенный из Австралии, который освежит завтрак.

2 яйца, 1 1/4 чашки молока, 1 чайная ложка ванили, 2 1/2 чашки муки, 2 чайной ложки разрыхлителя, 1/2 чайной ложки соли, 2 чайной ложки корицы (по желанию), 1 чашка сахара, 2 чашки свежей кокосовой стружки, 1/3 чашки сливочного масла, предварительно растопленного, натертая жедра и сок 1 свежего лимона.

Размешать яйжа, молоко и ваниль. В отдельной посуде смешать муку, разрыхлитель, соль и корицу. Сделать углубление в центре и влить яичную смесь. Перемешать осторожно, добавить кокосовую стружку, цедру и сок лимона.

Приготовить форму для выпечки кексов, вылить в нее тесто и печь в духовке около 1 часа (полную готовность проверить лучинкой.) Остудить в форме 10 минут и вынуть из формы.
Этот рецепт станет одним из любимых для Ваших домочадцев, потому что это просто, вкусно и сытно.

Original recipe from BakingSheet