Honey-butter mini pear galettes

Honey-butter mini pear galettes

Serves 6
1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, 4 Tbsp melted butter, 2 Tbsp honey, 3 pear, peeled, cored and sliced, icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C (400°F). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Cut the pastry into six even squares and place on the lined baking tray.

Mix together butter and honey.

Spread 1 tsp of the honey-butter mixture on each square, leaving a 1.5cm border. Arrange the sliced pear on the top and sprinkle with honey-butter mixture again. Repeat with rest of the pieces of dough. Place in a refriderator for 30-40 minutes. Take out of refrigerator and bake for 18 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve warm with thick cream or ice cream, if desired.

Открытый французский пирог (galette) с грушей.

На 6 порций.

Эти пироги обычно пекут летом, когда фрукты очень доступные и дешевые. Их называют французским словом "galette".

1 лист замороженного слоеного теста, 4 столовые ложки размяченного сливочного масла, 2 столовые ложки меда, 3 груши, сахарная пудра.
Разморозить тесто при комнатной температуре в течении 30 минут. Нагреть духовку до 400Ф. Груши очистить от шкурки и нарезать на продольные кусочки. Дечко устелить пекарской бумагой.

Смешать масло и мед.
Разделить тесто на 6 равных квадратов. Помазать смесью масла и меда тесто, выложить половину одной нарезанной груши, оставив свободными 1,5 см от края.
Аккуратно завернуть тесто на начинку. Смазать тесто смесью масла и меда, посыпать сахаром. Повторить всю процедуру с оставщимися частями теста. Выложить на деко и поставить в холодильник на 30-40 минут. Вынуть из холодильника и поставить в нагретую духовку. Печь в течении 18-20 минут, готовое тесто будет золотистого цвета. Вынуть из духовки, остудить и подавать с мороженым или со сливками.

There is a children’s song about galette:
“J’aime la galette, savez-vous comment ? Quand elle est bien faite, avec du beurre dedans.” (“I like galette, do you know how? When it is made well, with butter inside.”)

Everything about Puff pastry

What do you think makes the ideal chocolate chip cookie?

Are you ready to bake the best chocolate cookies?

If yes, please read the article in NY Times

Here's a recipe to bake and much more :

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour, 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract, 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content. Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

Do you know...

Every time I say "I live in Minneapolis", someone pops up a question "Where is it?" This rhetorical question always gives me a bad time. How to explain someone who lives in a center of universe like NY, LA or SF, that Minneapolis is a city? Usually the conversation would be ended after this question.

Yes, it's a city and there is a Jewish community here. Unfortunately, it's a shrinking one, especially a Russian-speaking side. Looking for love, many people have already left a city hoping to meet a RIGHT ONE. Many people used to say: "If you want to get married, move to NY or LA. Definitely Minnesota is a wrong place."


For many years I could not find the RIGHT answer, but now I found. Today www.yahoo.com posted a very interesting and, even a challenging for many Americans info, about best places to build a wealth Surprisingly for everybody, except me, Minneapolis is one of the 5 top cities to build a wealth. Yes, I can live somewhere else, but I feel like a winner, who has the BEST argument against boring people, who is TOO attached to the labels and old standards. I think, after such captivating article many people should consider to move to Minnesota. Minneapolis could be a right place to build a Jewish family.

New York is worst city to build wealth - survey
Monday June 30, 7:19 pm ET

If you'd like to build a nest egg with your paycheck, it may be time to give up New York and head for Plano, Texas. A survey by pay experts at Salary.com evaluated 69 cities with more than 250,000 people and ranked the Big Apple last. Plano came in first among American cities in which to build personal wealth.
The survey, based on census data and Salary.com analysis, focused on local salaries, the cost of living and unemployment. Secondary factors, such as diversity of the local economy, residents' education, percentage of population below poverty level and commute time were also measured.
According to the survey, the top five cities are home to some of the nation's largest companies and have recorded strong periods of growth. Following first-place Plano came Aurora, Colo., Omaha, Neb., Minneapolis, MN and Albuquerque N.M.
New York's diverse economy and highly-educated residents couldn't save it from sinking to the bottom due to its high cost of living and paychecks that just aren't "inflated" enough to make up the difference, the report stated.
Following last-ranked New York were Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Honolulu and San Francisco.

Rhubarb Crumb Cake

Rhubarb Crumb Cake

Fruit Filling

3 cups sliced rhubarb, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 2 tablespoons butter. Mix lemon juice with cornstarch
In a saucepan combine the rhubarb, sugar, butter, add lemon mixture. Bring to a boil and add cornstarch. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered until almost tender, about 7-10 minutes, being careful not to break up rhubarb. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.

Crumb Topping

1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp salt, 8 TBSP unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm, 1 3/4 cups cake flour
Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

Cake

1 1/4 cups cake flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 6 TBSP unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool, 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/3 cup buttermilk
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish. Since I made individual ones, I used a muffin pan(my square one). Just butter and flour(or use baking spray).

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

Transfer batter to baking pan(or muffin pan if you are doing individual); using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Evenly spoon the fruit filling on a top. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over filling, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes(the individual ones only take about 22 minutes…watch them closely). Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan or from muffin tins.


Тертый пирог с ревенем.

Фруктовая начинка

3 чашки мелко нарезанного ревеня, 2 столовые ложки лимонного сока, 1 чашка сахара, 2 столовые ложки кукурузного крахмала,2 столовые ложки сливочного масла.
Растворить крахмал в лимонном соке. В небольшую кастрюлю положить ревень, сахар, сливочное масло и лимонную смесь. Поставить на огонь и нагревать до закипания. Уменьшить огонь, добавить крахмал и оставить тушиться на 7-10 минут. Снять с огня и остудить до комнатной температуры. 

Затирка.
1/3 чашка сахара, 1/3 чашка коричневого сахара, 3/4 чайной ложки корицы, 1/8 чайной ложки соли, 8 столовых ложек размягченного сливочного масла , 1 3/4 чашек муки.
Перемешать два вида сахара, соль, корицу и масло. Добавить муку и замесить затирку (крошки). Поставить затирку на нужнюю полку холодильника на 10-15 минут.

Тесто
1 1/4 чашки муки, 1/2 чашки сахара, 1/4 чайной ложки соды, 1/4 чайной ложки соли, 6 столовых ложек сливочного масла, 1 яйцо, 1 желток, 1 чайная ложка ванильного экстрата, 1/3 чашки кефира. Нарезать масло на 6 одинаковых кусков.

Нагреть духовку до 325Ф. Покрыть специальной пекарской бумагой квадратное 8-инчей деко. Смазать маслом и посыпать мукой.

Замесить тесто миксером. Смешать муку, сахар, соду и соль. Не выключая миксер, добавить масло, яйцо, желток, кефир и ванильный экстракт. Продолжать взбивать еще в течении 1 минуты.

Вылить тесто в деко. Равномерно распеделить по всему дну дека. Наверх выложить начинку. также равномерно распределить начинку и посыпать затиркой. Печь 35-40 минут. Вынуть из духовки, дать остыть. Подавать с чаем или молоком.

Можно приготовить за день до подачи на стол.
Dough has been adapted from America’s Test Kitchen. You can also view the similar recipe without fruit filling on Browned Eye Baker

Go Green...

I think, having a couple relax-minutes during Holiday, you might be interested to read about benefits of GREEN TEA.

I know, there are a lot of speculations around this ancient product, but we should try to reexamine our knowledge again. Let's do it!

• Does Green Tea Help the Heart?


• U.S. National Library of Medicine


• 7 Reasons to Drink Green Tea


• Green tea may help prevent skin cancer


• Green tea cuts fatal illness risk


• Is it really healthy for you?

Some recipes to try it! (all of them have already been tested by bakers-bloggers)

• Green tea cheesecake white chocolate brownies


• Green tea cupcakes


• Green tea ice cream


• Green tead shortbread with white chocolate

Pickled herring canapes

Pickled herring canapes

It goes with borscht very well. Enjoy as much as you can.
Clean, skin, and bone 4 picked herring fillets; flake the fish. Wash 2-3 ribs of celery; chop finely. Peel and dice 1/2 small red onion, 1/3 cup chopped fresh green onions. Combine the herring, celery, onion and green onion in a bowl, add 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise and freshly ground black pepper. Gently mix together, and let stand for 15 minutes. If mixture is too think, add a lemon juice. Spread mixture on toasted bread or slices of French baguette. Garnish with parsley.

Бутерброды с селедкой к борщу.

Почистить селедку, вынуть косточки и отделить от кожи. Филе селедки мелко нарезать. Помыть 2-3 молодых побега сельдерея и нарезать на мелкие кусочки. Мелко нарезать 1/2 маленькой головки красного лука, 1/3 чашки свежего зеленого лука. Смешать сельдерей, два сорта лука и селедку, добавить 2 чайные ложки майонеза и приправить черным перцем. Все перемешать и дать постоять 15 минут. Если паштет очень густой, добавить немного лимонного сока. Выложить паштет на приготовленные куски свежего хлеба. Можно украсить мелко нарезанной петрушкой.

Lemon Ricotta latkes

Lemon Ricotta latkes
This recipe WILL work!

The name "ricotta" means "cooked again" in Italian, referring to the second processing of the liquid to produce the cheese and is available in whole milk and part-skim milk versions.

Yields: 16 latkes/pancakes

1 1/2 cups cup all-purpose flour, 1 Tbs. baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 eggs, 4 Tbsp melted butter or vegetarian margarine, 2/3 cup milk, juice and grated rind of one lemon

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together the cheese, eggs, milk, butter, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl.
Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Brush the griddle with butter. Pour approximately 1/4 cup measure of the batter on the griddle and cook on both sides until light golden brown. Top with fresh berries and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.



Лимонные оладьи из итальянского сыра "Ricotta".

Рико́тта (Ricotta) — итальянский сыр, приготовляемый из молочной сыворотки (а не из молока, как традиционные сыры), остающейся после приготовления моцареллы или других сыров.

На 16 оладий.

1 1/2 чашек муки, 1 столовая ложка разрыхлителя, 1/2 чайной ложки соли, 1 чашка сыра Ricotta, 2 столовые ложки сахара, 2 яйца, 2/3 чашки молока, 4 столовые ложки размягченного сливочного масла или маргарина, сок и цедра из одного лимона.

Перемешать муку, разрылитель и соль в небольшой посудине. В отдельной миске перемешать яйца, сыр, молоко, масло, лимонный сок и цедру. Добавить мучную сухую смесь и все хорошо перемешать.

Подогреть масло на сковороде. Выпекать блины на горячей сковороде, смазанной растительным маслом. Дать остыть, посыпать сахарной пудрой. Подавать со свежими фруктами.

What Makes a Good Cookbook?

What Makes a Good Cookbook?05.23.08

There was a moment of shocked silence when executive editor Doc Willoughby said he’d given away most of his cookbooks. Then all hell broke loose. “You did what?” Ruth Reichl exclaimed. Someone else asked, rather testily, why he hadn’t had a tag sale. Another colleague literally put her head in her hands, while executive food editor Kempy Minifie went straight to the heart of the matter. “How on earth did you choose?” she said.

And that, of course, led to a freewheeling, spirited (and still evolving) discussion about the definition of a good cookbook. Doc wasn’t remotely defensive, but he was adamant: “The recipes have to work,” he said. “Otherwise, I’m not interested.” There should be a Shelf of Shame, we agreed, for books with bad recipes. You might attempt, and fail, at one several times before realizing you’re not to blame—but being disappointed (or disappointing others) at mealtime is no fun.

Sloppily written recipes are one thing, but the overall tone of a cookbook is rather like architecture: You respond to it whether or not you’re aware of it. Want to be taken by the hand and shown how to do something step by step? Julia Child’s your gal. Her great enthusiasm is always corralled by very rigorous, very correct, very French technique. One has to be in the mood. Marcella Hazan’s recipe style is also informative; her reserve stands in contrast to Julia’s ebullience, but at the end of the day, her tone is charming and relaxed in a way that’s typically Italian. This isn’t to say that Marcella isn’t formidable in her own right, but she is more about sharing than teaching. A conversational tone can also take the anxiety out of cooking something that is generally thought of as difficult. Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore do that beautifully in Fish Without A Doubt, the inaugural offering in our Gourmet Cookbook Club. Economical, even terse, recipe writing has its place as well. Take The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book: Although it presupposes a certain level of knowledge (“Make a dough with 2 cups flour and 1 egg, ½ teaspoon salt and water”), it also makes you feel as though you have been invited to a fabulous dinner party—and that’s long before you reach the recipe for a friend’s Haschich Fudge, “which might provide an entertaining refreshment for a Ladies’ Bridge Club or a chapter meeting of the DAR.”

But there is more to a good cookbook than recipes. When pressed, Doc found himself conceding that there are some he treasures simply for the inspiration or sound advice they contain. What speaks to me, I realize, are cookbooks that almost subconsciously have taught me how to understand food, and what flavors and ingredients work together. My enjoyment of food descriptions stretches back to a childhood spent with the Little House on the Prairie series (those books are full of wonderful meals), and continues to this day: The prose has to make me want to eat that food. The author must convince me, for instance, why his or her recipe for panna cotta is better, or more interesting, than all the others that exist in the world. The author should evoke a sense of place, and above all, evoke how people live.
Often, the unsung star of the show is what causes you to stop and read a recipe in the first place: its title. Think of the timeless appeal of Edna Lewis’s books; all it takes is “Thin-Sliced Cucumbers Marinated in Sugar and White Vinegar,” “Skillet Scallions,” and “Blueberry Cake with Blueberry Sauce” to capture the essence of a hot summer day. New York caterers Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, authors of the 1980s blockbuster The Silver Palate Cookbook, were brilliant at giving you a sense of what a dish should taste like with a few well-chosen words—“Chicken Breasts Baked on a Bed of Wild Mushrooms,” “Creamy Pasta Sauce with Fresh Herbs,” “American Picnic Potato Salad.” These are the sort of cookbooks I like to read, prone on the sofa, on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

An imaginative cookbook might lead me to a novel, and sometimes I find myself greedily absorbed in both, practically simultaneously. The Silver Palate, for instance, always makes me think of Laurie Colwin, whose work I discovered at the same time. Another perennial favorite, Jane Grigson’s masterful Good Things, reminds me of the plain, elegant writing of Barbara Pym and even that of Eliza Acton, in Modern Cookery for Private Families—as engaging today as it was in 1845, when it was first published. “Cut the cauliflowers into small handsome tufts, boil them until three parts done, and drain them well,” Eliza writes. “…When they are quite cold, dip them separately into the batter … fry them a light brown, arrange them neatly in a dish, and serve them very hot.”

Even if you have never picked up a cauliflower before, you know you are in the hands of a friendly, capable cook, yet you don’t feel bossed around—and that might well be the most important hallmark of a good cookbook. We all want to learn something, after all, but writing that’s full of intimidation—or, worse, condescension—can drive a person out of the kitchen in no time flat. And that would be a tragedy, because everyone deserves a delicious homemade meal.

Article from Gourmet