And this is my blog. I sometimes talk about food, I sometimes talk about ceramics, I sometimes talk about things that catch my fancy, I sometimes talk about my darling Hubby Poo (HP), I sometimes talk about random things, I sometimes talk about...
We celebrate 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510... on 3/14 (or 3.14 if you prefer)
And how else to celebrate, but make Pie!
I rarely make anything resembling dessert at this point in my life. Dessert is a huge indulgence both in terms of calories and time to bake and so my pie was also my dinner, and also a favorite thing:
Spinach Pie
It isn't round, so π isn't really needed, but it was time to eat so pie was. Or something like that. I haven't made this recipe in years, but ran across it in my binder the other day and I love spinach. and cheese. and pie. And with the date coming up I knew I had to celebrate. So here is my recipe. At least I'm pretty sure that's what this scrap of paper is. The notes in black are newer, scribbled hastily, just like the recipe...
(my "real" writing is much neater. My recipe scribble? I can't explain) I gathered & stemmed my pile of spinach Unfortunately, at first read, I thought the recipe said only a pound, instead of 1 1/4 pound. I also thought I had a pound, but it must have been weighed in its little plastic container so I only had 12 oz. So my big pile, was cooked and shrunk down to this After a little lookey at some other random recipes, I decided to add some extra onion. I had a HUGE shallot so that was chopped, and these lovely sweet green onions along with my lovely little green onions They were sauteed first, then mixed together with the spinach and then the cheeses and parsley & eggs
Next was the laying of the Phyllo. You lay a layer then butter it, then another then more butter. that + next to the 1/2 cup? it probably should say + another 1/2 cup! ( I may have been able to get away with only 3/4 cup, but once I melted it, I figured I should use it) and besides I have to go with the NobleCathy on this one! And, I had help. (you'll see in a minute) So after 5 or 6 layers of trying not to tear the phyllo, and making sure it wasn't too dry, or too wet, or too cold... I finally got to dump the bowl of filling in. (Yay) and then it was more phyllo wrestling. But Bob was having a good time. Have ya met Bob? He's the one mooning ya! Well, after a bake for 40-45 minutes, we had a lovely spanakopita, or spinach pie if you will.
Last year in the first week of March, I spotted this
This year, in the first week of March, it looked more like this.
(no, those aren't fresh stalks of anything peeking through the snow. Just dead stuff from last year)
The end of winter is a tricky thing in Pennsylvania. Winter just wants to stay a little longer than we want. Like a house guest you can't get rid of.
So, while I can't see the signs of spring yet. If I try, I can find the tastes.
At the farmer's market there was a lovely bunch of asparagus tips (That means it is spring somewhere, right?). They called to me. I responded. HP has been back from CA for about a week, & he brought with him some lovely lemons from his father's tree. So, I had lovely asparagus and bright lemon in the house, there was only one thing to do with it: I put together a risotto that I developed a few years ago.
Shrimp Scampi Asparagus
The basics of the risotto remain the same as all risottos, but the flavors are a knock out.
The Stuff
4 cups Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 small Onion finely chopped (about ½ of a cup)
2 Shallots finely chopped (about 1/3 of a cup)
5 cloves Garlic, finely chopped-divided (about ¼ of a cup)
Coarse Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
1 cup Arborio Rice
½ cup dry white wine, such as a Pinot Gris (Grigio)
½ lb. Asparagus, chopped— ½ the tips reserved
¾ lb. Small (50-60's) Shrimp
½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Thin slice of Lemon & fresh grated Parmesan Cheese for Serving
What to do with it
In a medium saucepan, bring broth just barely to a simmer; then keep warm over low heat.
In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium/medium low heat. Add onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion has softened and is starting to become translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add Shallots & ½ the garlic. Sauté until soft.
Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add Wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
Add about 1 ½ cups broth to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding broth, about 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
Lower the heat. Season Shrimp with salt & pepper, then add to rice. Add a little more broth if needed, stir cook about a minute until shrimp begin to turn pink. Add Lemon Juice, remaining Garlic and Asparagus, stir cook about a minute until Asparagus starts to turn bright green. Add Parmesan, season with salt and pepper and stir some more. When cheese is incorporated, add Asparagus Tips to top of rice. Put lid on and steam for a minute or two to barely cook the tips. Serve with thin slice of lemon & fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
This is very pretty with pink shrimp & bright green asparagus and the thin slice of bright yellow lemon in the center. I guess you would know that if I had my act together & got the camera down to the kitchen instead of the third floor.
After the first bite, HP smile and said, "MMMmmmmmm, this tastes like spring"
I always found that presentation is a large part of the dining experience. This has no appeal to me. And the idea of cocktails in beakers and test tubes hasn't had appeal since I graduated college. (scroll through all the pictures)
For most of the past 2 weeks, I have been a single woman. My husband got sick of the cold NE & headed west to California so he could live like a college student and sleep on his friend's couch then go bum some food & golf from his dad look for work and getting some quality time with his dad. So I've been single. During that time I
slept in 3 times (and there is hope for tomorrow)
started taking a Yoga/Dance class
taught a ceramics class
started making my husband's valentine's day present
sold my first piece of pottery in the store (for which I will earn enough to buy a bag of clay & a couple happy hour beers)
hosted Kringlapalooza (I taught some friends how to make kringla, & we had dinner & wine & someone played the Ukulele, a good time was had by all)
ate out
ate take out Hot & Sour soup
caught a cold
got rid of a cold
untucked all the sheets & blankets so I could wrap up my feet in them the way I like
worked extra shifts with out guilt
helped teach another ceramics class
did anything I wanted on whatever schedule I wanted
spoke to my husband on the phone around 3 times a day
What I haven't done
Laundry (need to do a load before he gets back)
Cooked huge meals (even Kringlapalooza was a simple fettucine alfredo with someone else in charge of salad)
played musical cars
Had dinner with HP :(
It has been fun being single with out the pressure of dating. I have enjoyed the fun of working in the ceramics studio with out worrying about dinner time & whether or not he was hungry, but it will be nice to spend some quality time with him. Especially since he has learned to appreciate his wife who cooks good food for him & his nice comfy bed.
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I am shocked & ashamed. 3 weeks away without a good excuse. Except that it is February. I'll just leave it at that.
So while I haven't been posting, I have done a few other things.
We had a kiln soup party at our 2nd Sunday open house.
We opened up the Gas Kiln and pulled all this out.
4 of us also made soup & we sold that along with little cups. I didn't have much time, so I made a quick, easy & really yummy soup that I found online. Turkey Chili Soup with Hominy (adapted from FoodandWine.com) This is great if you are looking for the warmth of chili, but don't have the time to make it. The Stuff 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 medium onions- one yellow, one red, finely chopped 4-6 garlic cloves, minced 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound turkey andouille sausage, casings removed (or you can use 2 pounds ground turkey) 1/3 cup ancho chile powder 1 Tablespoon ground cumin 1 1/2 Teaspoons chipotle powder Salt 1/4 cup corn meal 2 - 3 Tablespoons tomato paste 5 cups dark chicken stock or low-sodium broth One 29-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed Shredded cheddar, chopped cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips, for serving
What ya do with it: In a large pot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring, until barely softened, about 3 minutes. Add the turkey, sausage, ancho powder, cumin and chipotle powder and season with salt. Cook, breaking up the turkey & sausage with a wooden spoon, until the liquid has evaporated and the turkey is lightly browned, about 5 minutes (if you have problems with the spices sticking to the bottom, deglaze with a little stock). Stir in the corn meal and tomato paste. Add the stock and hominy and simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with cheddar, cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips.
Easy - Peasy!
So, while I didn't sell any pottery at the kiln sale, all of the soups were a hit! And I did have enough interest in this piece that the store took it on consignment.
These didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.
They both have glaze issues and aren't as tall as they seemed when I was making them. (First of all, they never do. Secondly, it is always the shrinkage that gets ya!)
My review (of my own work) concept A, execution C+. What do you think? (I can take it!) I made a similar one for my mother-in-law for Christmas. She liked it, and I think the execution on hers was a little better.
I had a couple other things that went into the kiln, but had some even more severe problems. (I do not take all the blame. The kiln seemed to have some underfiring issues in certain areas) I didn't get photos of those.
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I don't know how it is out there, but it has been cold here. And my computer is in the 3rd flr, uninsulated office. (Really old house, stone walls, no insulation) that, along with a busy work week (covering some extra shifts, for extra hours) has kept me away from the blogosphere this week. :(
Since I was working a lot and it was so cold, I really wanted something warm & comforting to bring in for lunch, but I'm on a budget, so I can't go to the cafe. Well, I'll tell ya, a good stew is a like a good hug, cheap & warms you down to the soul! In my latest library stash, I checked out the unbelievable real stew put together by Clifford Wright. (Wow, I really did find "Mr. Wright"-- too bad I'm married). This is officially my next great find. It will also be a purchase when I return to the world of buyers rather than borrowers. In the mean time let me tell you Cliff (I hope he doesn't mind if I call him that) is worth "checking out!" There are 300 stews in here, some that look more complicated than I want to mess with, but many are reasonable with combinations that I can't believe I never thought of. The book is extremely well organized, divided in sections by main ingredient and the sections go by regions.
The Chicken and Coconut Stew from Kenya was an instant must-try, so let's see how it went! Peppers & Onions are always a good start (2 each here sliced) they are being heated up with 1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger, 1/4 t curry, salt, sugar a couple cloves of garlic (he says crushed to a paste, I just put them through the press) and 3 cloves. Once the onions and peppers softened I added the tomatoes from a 28 oz can (mostly drained) (Cliff asked for 1 1/2 lbs of ripe tomatoes, but they weren't looking so ripe at the market, so I used the canned) Along with tomatoes there was a crushed dried red chile (from the garden last summer!) and 1 1/2 T grated lemon zest. Once they are in & heated, add a small chicken cut into pieces (next time I'll probably just buy 4 # of chicken thighs to make it easier to serve & eat) . (Dory was very excited to help with this!)
After about 5 minutes add 2 cups of coconut milk* and (wait for it)
The next step is a perrennial favorite of mine: Cover, lower the heat & simmer** a couple hours until chicken & taters are tender. It has a pretty orange color and the chicken melts in your mouth! HP wanted it over rice, but I love it just the way it was! Of course the left-overs were the best!
So keep warm, where ever you are & if you need a hug, make some of this & consider it a hug from Kiki & Cliff. (If you serve this to some one else, spontaneous hugs may occur as well)
*(Cliff tells you how to make your own coconut milk, but I'm down with the Goya thing. Cheap & Easy) **(Simmer only, don't boil-boiled chicken = tough chicken)
Alphabet. I'm sure you know that, but soon you'll know why I bring this up.
I have been in a bit of a funk lately, 2009 did not start with the all the promise and joy I need to get out of the rut that I have also been in. Actually, I think that I'm in something like a runk, part rut, part funk. I have been cooking, but not thinking about it (except when I had 8 people over for dinner, 3 of whom I had never met before, and then I was thinking, gee I hope I have enough food!) I have not made anything brilliant in the pottery studio lately, but I will be posting pictures of some of the presents soon. With all this runk going on, I just couldn't come up with anything to post. If I'm bored, why should I bore you?
As we know, once you stop posting, it is hard to get back into the habit, so I have decided to get back into the habit by doing some alphabet based posts. I will still mix in other random posts throughout, but, like a cheap writers ploy, I will try to have some fun with the alphabet.
A is for Alphabet, Alessi, Art and Abacus
Alphabet, you get the picture.
Alessi! All through Italy, I would come across their wonderful kitchen products and smile. They have great designs that are functional, beautiful, fun everything you could want. They have all sorts of products and designers in their stable.
If I ate soft boiled eggs on a regular basis, you know I would have to get these:
If I was big on tea, I would definitely get this:
I do drink wine, but I haven't found this corkscrew yet. But at $54, maybe I'll skip it.
Moving on to Art. I can't say enough. I love Art and Artists in all their forms. I love fine art, folk art, 2-dimensional, 3 dimensional, visual, performing... You get the picture. I don't have a favorite, though I do have a weakness for the bold, iconic images of Keith Haring and Henri Matisse was probably my first "love". I loved seeing all types of art in our travels. I love that is universal and provincial at the same time. Aside from seeing the amazing pieces through out Rome, I had great fun crashing an opening in Dubrovnik. I saw this and had to go in.
The exhibit was an environmental/installation piece. It was cool to be in the middle of, but I have no idea what the artist was saying when she discussed her piece.
And finally an Abacus. This one was on the island of Murano.
Yes it's glass. Each bead was about the size of a pumpkin.
What better way to start the New Year than with an entry for this month's Ho Down! This month is being hosted by Christie, better known in the ho circle as Milky Lee, over at Fig & Cherry. Me I couldn't wait to join in!
HP has been sick with a miserable cold (or is it that he has a cold & acts miserable...) so I decided that a little zip & a little soup were in order. Unfortunately, I hadn't been to the market since before Christmas, so I went with my frugal nature & love of reinventing leftovers and came up with
Mandy Lynn's Curried Sweet Potato Soup.
I have been eying my leftover Parmesan Sweet Potato Gratin from Thanksgiving for a while. I loved the savory parmesan & rosemary with the sweet of the potatoes and have been looking for an excuse to defrost them The only problem was that I knew that the thin slices wouldn't defrost into the tender slices I started out with and probably wouldn't be as crisp or even as sliced. At first I thought that I would mash them up & serve them that way, but the potatoes I found, which were red skinned and white fleshed, were a different kind of sweet than the orange fleshed cousins and I didn't think I could convince the family to eat them mashed. So I did what any good Mom does. I hid them. I pulled a few more leftovers out of the fridge, including my holiday goat cheese dip with caramelized onions, and some of my frozen stock. I threw it into a pot & added a few secret ingredients. MMMM, maybe it shouldn't be a secret after all, so I'll give you what I made, & try to translate into something you can do as well (without benefits of my leftovers). I know that I plan to make this dish again, so let's give a whirl.
I started with about 1 1/2 pounds of sliced red skinned sweet potatoes. (The closest image I could find was this one over at flickr for a red skinned white sweet potato) Since mine was "gratined" I would say to slice thin, in a large pot, poach in a hearty chicken stock with some fresh rosemary, salt & pepper, when they are tender, add about 2 1/2 ounces of Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of light cream. Don't drain. Here are my potatoes post defrost, pre everything else
To my already gratined, slightly mushed potatoes I added 1 1/2 cups of dark chicken stock, about 3/4 of a cup of goat cheese and some caramelized onions. (about 1/3 - 1/2 cup). Next add 3 Tablespoons of Madras Curry, a teaspoon of salt and, if you can find it, 2 teaspoons Fried Garlic. Simmer until all ingredients are warm & tender, then puree with an immersion blender. (You can also allow this to cool and puree in a regular blender-the result will be smoother, but be very careful when blending hot soups.)
At this point, I added another 1 1/2 cups of stock to thin it, and whipped that in with the immersion as well, (for a little more exotic taste, you can use a cup or so of coconut milk to thin it; I thought about it, but didn't want to open a can of something new). When starting this from scratch, add 1/2 a cup of broth at a time until you get the desired consistency. Just before serving, I stirred in 1/3 cup of plain yogurt. This is a super rich soup, add a piece of bread and you are set to go out and brave the elements or just sit and watch snow fall. It warms you down to your toes and has helped me fight off the terrible cold that HP keeps trying to give me.
A sprinkle of chili powder on top gives the perfect finish
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Ok, so that was Charlie Brown's Halloween. Well, this Christmas has been a budget Christmas, so HP got me a rock. "What would motivate such a gift," asked The Girl when told of this. "Well," I said, "I hate to break this to you, but your father had a very selfish motivation. He wanted more baked goods." And so I got a rock.
At least it is a pretty one!
Granite counter tops were not part of our great kitchenmakeover, but I could at least pretend in one little section. I have wanted a granite section ever since I started making my pizzas & kringla, it is wonderful to have a good surface for rolling out doughs! Our idea in finding the right rock proved to be the best. We called up a guy who does granite counter tops & made a deal on a scrap. (Our "scrap" was almost 2' x 3' that is a decent sized scrap!) In order to break in the new rock, I happily made two loaves of bread and a big batch of pizza dough. For my bread choice, I decided on an easy Oatmeal Bread, almost exactly as written on the back of the flour bag. A scant teaspoon of cinnamon gives this the added depth you love in a home made bread.
The pizza dough is something that I have been working on & tweaking since I discovered my love for grilled pizza. I always make a large batch so I can stock some in the freezer for those pizza cravings. And what does the recipe look like these days? Well, I'll tell ya.
The very best way to do this is to plan in advance (yes, every once-in-a-while I do that) if you can do this the "cold way" the dough is generally a little better & easier to work with, and the method is more relaxed. Also since the yeast is sleeping, it is more relaxed as well and really lets the flavors come through. I'll show ya what I mean.
Pizza Dough, the cold-way: 2 cups water, cold. Really cold, put it in the freezer for a little while. to that add 1 Tablespoon honey
In a separate bowl, gently mix: 2 teaspoons active dry yeast. (skip the envelopes, buy a jar. It is more cost effective even if you only occasionally bake with yeast. I promise.) 3 Tablespoons Corn Meal 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 3 cups white flour (plus more as needed) Can be All-Purpose, or if you prefer Bread Flour. Bread Flour will give you a slightly lighter, airier dough. If you have room in the freezer, you can chill your flour for a little while before mixing, it helps prevent shock to the yeast as you mix it all together.
Slowly mix in the water and stir until you get a wet dough. I don't have a kitchenaid, so I do this by hand. It isn't difficult, I swear. If it is more wet than dough, add a little more flour (no more than 1/2 cup), but really it is ok for it to be wet ( The more flour, the thicker the crust, so if you like it thick you can add about 1/4 cup early on). Now, put that in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Pour yourself a glass of wine or clear up a good spot on the counter for kneading. Make-out with your husband. or wife. or significant other. Whatever, after about 10 minutes go back to your dough and take it out of the fridge. While the dough is still in the bowl, add 2 Tablespoons olive oil (plus more as needed) and 2 teaspoons sea salt Mix that into the dough and then turn out on to a well-floured rock. (Or other workable surface) Oil your hands well (yes, oil them not flour them) and begin kneading. If you really think your dough is soggy & sticky after a little kneading, then add just a little more flour. Once you have kneaded this into a good dough, put the whole thing into a clean, oiled bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. It will rise, I promise you. The next day, turn dough out onto floured rock. Oil your hands again (really, it is great moisturizer, I promise) Divide dough in half, or thirds or whatever you feel like working with. squish it into a disc, then shape out from there. I have no patience for shaping dough, so mine are rarely circles unless I am willing to make an additional effort. If the dough is rebelling and trying to shrink back, give it a few minutes. Wash the bowl, chop some toppings, whatever. At this point, I will roll it out with a rolling pin if I feel like it. This is great for making a thinner crust. If you like your crust thicker, don't roll it out so much or just stretch to shape. At this point, I will sometimes freeze the rolled out dough. I put it between layers of parchment paper and stick it in. If I am doing pizza on the grill, it is sometimes easier to deal with the colder dough. I will also only partially freeze, then roll the dough up around the parchment paper and put into a zip-loc bag to freeze for later use. (The above method is adapted from KitchenMage's pizza dough on A Year In Bread. The recipe is my own, after adapting several to suit my tastes)
Now if HP reads this, he'll laugh, because I rarely plan this far in advance for dinner, so I'll give you a quick run-down.
All the ingredients & amounts are the same, the changes are in the method:
The water should be warm. (Not hot, but about what you would feed a baby)
Add the yeast to the warm water
After mixing, don't rest, add the oil & salt
After kneading, put the dough in an oiled bowl in warm (about 70-75) place with slightly damp towel over it. Let rise for about 1 1/2 hours.
Roll out as above.
This method is not quite as relaxing, but gets the job done when you want your pizza for dinner that night!
As for cooking on the grill, this is the way to do it. (And yes, we had a warm day this week, so my pizza was cooked on the grill!) Preheat grill to very hot, then turn down to low. Scrape & oil grate as needed Put the naked dough on the grill, cover and let sit for a couple minutes until bottom is lightly toasted. Flip dough, put toppings on, cover and cook for about 10 minutes (or less depending on your grill) If your dough is not frozen and is well formed, you can also create your pizza with your toppings and put it on the hot grill. (I still recommend chilling the dough so it doesn't stick) If you do that, be sure to spread cornmeal on your pizza peel (or cookie sheet if you don't have a peel) and put onto the grill with a quick jerking motion.
With all the the pizzas, don't go too heavy with the sauce. Just trust me on that. Besides, with crust this good, who needs to?
Our favorite toppings: Goat Cheese & Parmesan Alfredo with shrimp and caramelized onions (we've also been known to add roasted red peppers to this) Fresh Mozzarella with garden tomatoes and olive oil (no sauce). Add fresh basil just prior to serving (so it doesn't over cook) it may work better if blanched, but I'm not organized enough to think about that until its too late Mixed "Mexican cheese" with leftover beer-can chicken, red onions & a swirl or two of Sweet Baby Ray's.
We did not get into the traditional Christmas at our house this year. The Kids left a few days before for Florida with mom & grandma and we were running behind in everything. We were lucky enough to go to my sister's so we could spend Christmas eve & Christmas day with her family and my dad & his wife. Christmas is much more fun when you have small children who still get caught up in the excitement of it! Our cork Christmas tree was the only tree that went up in our house. It seemed wasteful to spend money on a tree just for the sake of having a tree, but I did take the time get my annual ornament. I have gotten an ornament every year since my husband & I were engaged and plan to continue this regardless of the tree situation. This year, I went a step farther & made an ornament. One of the benefits of working at an arts center is that you get to experience art every day and even try something new if the mood strikes. This year, I decided to try blowing a hot glass ornament. I had lots of help (Thanks Ben!) but this is what I made If ya have a chance to do this, I totally recommend it. I had a blast & have a great ornament!
Since the kids were on their way to warmer climes, and we were going over the river & through the woods, we didn't want to do a traditional Christmas dinner. We chose instead an warming winter meal from my latest library book. In this case, the "Balti" is they style of cooking, Indian-by-way-of England, and the way it is cooked, in that large wok-like pan. We chose most of our menu from this book.
Balti Butter Chicken
Balti Baby Vegetables
Naan
Tandoori Style Salmon from my own collection of recipes
Do ya wanna see?
The Butter Chicken was unbelievable (ok, they had me at "butter") It was marinaded in a thick yogurt and spice mixture for about 8 hours then cooked on the stove top in a traditional wok with, you guessed it, butter (I couldn't find a Balti at the local kitchen shop). In looking at other recipes on the world wide web, I think I could have done a version cooking directly in the clay dish and been equally as traditional. This was a flavorful, but mellow chicken dish that was super easy and will hit the table again soon!
I loved the tenderness and bright flavor of the baby vegetables (I used new potatoes, baby zucchini, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and chick peas) This was tasty, the sauce was a little over-zippy, but mellowed to a nice level on the leftovers (usually it goes the other way, hmmm). Not sure I would do this again unless I can find cheaper baby vegetables. It seems that you pay for the cute factor. Maybe in spring!
The naan was a decent bread, (seen here pre-oven) it didn't look or taste like naan to me. That is something that I will work on for the next time, though I think I need to forgo the oven in favor of the grill for this.
Oops, no picture of the salmon. It was very tasty and went quickly though. We had a blast doing a non-traditional dinner and will likely hit this cookbook a couple more meals before the due date! I can't wait.
So, what kind of food did you eat over the holidays? Any new favorites?
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Now, if you followed the link below, you'll realize that my Kringla doesn't look anything like the traditional Norwegian Kringla. It does, however, somewhat resemble the Kringla that Grandma K. brings the kids when she visits. Mine is not as even or as pretty, but ohhhhh does it taste good! Due to the time & mess involved in making it, Kringla is a "special occasion" cookie. It comes out for Christmas, maybe Easter. It is not a spur-of-the-moment, lets-bake-coookies cookie, it is a 2 day process. It is also something that I like to keep special, and when you take a bite of these, you know they are special.
Kiki's Kringla, adapted from MBPG on Allrecipes.com Day one. Mix two cups sour cream & two cups heavy cream in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Put in the fridge until tomorrow. Have a glass of wine & contemplate cleaning some counter space in order to actually make these.
Day two. Take sour cream mix out of the fridge. Let it come to room temperature. (At my house, that isn't much different than fridge temp, but lets pretend it is!) Preheat the oven to 475. (Yes, that is 475, very hot) Then, line up your baking sheets. You'll need several.
Mix 2 teaspoos baking soda & 2 teaspoons real, pure vanilla extract into the cream mixture. It marbles up very pretty; see: Next, in a very large bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter with 2 2/3 cups sugar and 2 egg yolks. Add the new improved cream mixture to the butter mixture & beat some more. In another bowl, sift together 6 cups of flour & 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Then gently dump in your flour mixture mixing as you go until fully incorporated.
Now, take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves, make sure your apron is tied & hair out of your face. Curse at yourself that you drank wine instead of cleaning counter space. Clean some counter space and find a good workspace. On a floured surface, with floured hands, grab a hunk of (very sticky) dough about the size of those yummy Ferrero Rocher balls, (you know the ones with a crispy coating over a hazelnut with chocolate-hazelnut filling) roll your ball of dough out to a coil and then attempt to shape into an infinity symblol or a figure 8 depending on which way is up. This is easier said than done, but this dough fluffs up enough that the detail is lost. (The kringla my mother-in-law brings from Iowa is always beautiful, but not as puffy as mine. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but I like these so I'm not going to mess with it) put your infinity, figure 8, letter B, ... shaped dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat process with freshly floured hands. The dough is very sticky, so if the phone rings, let the machine get it. In between kringla you can try to get some of the dough off, but you may look like a dog trying to get peanut butter off the roof of its mouth. Give the kringla enough space to puff out like a pomeranian and put into the oven. Bake for about 4 minutes, then turn cookie sheet. Bake for another 4 minutes or so until the tops have just a hint of brown.
Usually, I put HP in charge of the oven & baking portion while I am busy attempting to make my infinity signs. (Really, the dough sticks to your fingers and you get some odd shapes).
These taste best fresh out of the oven, with a small pat of butter on top. They melt in your mouth! They are also good if you microwave it for about 10 seconds & put butter on it. And they are also good just on their own or with a cup of hot cocoa, or coffee...
Well the first half of this post is a big rerun. But it is from sometime in '07, so hopefully you won't remember it. I'm doing a rerun, because on Thanksgiving I got a comment on the post from Unni E. in Norway. I don't know if she continues to read, but if you do, Thanks for coming across the pond & I love your name!
So the original post was on Kringla, a Norwegian cake-like cookie. Unni also sent me a link to what real Norwegian Kringla looks like http://www.tine.no/page?id=28&key=8422&cat=649 Well gosh, that doesn't look anything like mine! And when I used google translate to translate the page, it told me to "melt the butter and milk in hell" and also told me to "Paint with whisk together eggs and steak." I'm not sure I know how to do that. So, today you get the rerun. Tomorrow, or the next day, you get my Kringla in a post. For now enjoy, and remember, if you are melting your butter in hell, "Let the mixture will be lukewarm, and the hell of ferment.Rør til gjæren er oppløst."
I'll have to clean & clear every spare inch if I'm going to follow through with my plans to make Kringla for The Girl as an Easter treat. Kringla is a Norwegian soft cookie (normally in the shape of an infinity sign, but this was the pic I found), and she loves it. Since she gave up sweets for Lent, I thought it would be a nice reward, as it is a very rare treat. I've only made it 2 times, though her grandmother will occasionally send it (store bought as it is a major project to make & grandma has enough going on).
A bit of history: HP's family is partially of Norwegian origin (you can't tell by looking at him though), when they emigrated to the US, his great grandfather (a former member of King Olaf's Royal Ski Patrol. I swear, I can't make this stuff up) changed the family name. Seems he thought Sveergard was too hard to spell. (In fact, I'm willing to bet I spelled it wrong) When he changed his last name, he picked something shorter, and translates roughly to "By the Fjord." Sadly, my husband didn't pay much attention to genealogy, he thought his name meant "Buy the Ford" and now we have a "Crapmobile" Contour that has started once in the past 3 months. (ok, I did make up the "buy the Ford" part, but the rest is true, including the dead crapmobile)
Kringla is labor intensive as well as space intensive. Last time I made it, I destroyed the cheap little hand blender that I used. The kids, worried that that could end my Kringla making career, got me a lovely little kitchen-aid hand blender for Christmas. Tragedy averted!
So, I feel that the kitchen-aid is up to the task, the real question is am I?
I'm not sure what this image is, but it came up when I was trying to do an image search for Kringla, does it mean No Kringla?
I was tagged for an "Honest to God" meme by Sarah Louise, so here I go. 10 points of honesty.
I didn't like the title "Honest to God." I don't really like that phrase.
I ate the last brownie & it was good
I also ate the last cheese stick. I didn't realize it was the last one.
I wish I had that cheesestick now.
I try to be helpful, but really sometimes I'm a pain.
I have too much time on my hands & not enough gumption to use it wisely.
If I know that, I haven't figured out why I'm not giving myself a kick in the pants to get get off my pants.
The pants I'm wearing are too big. Unfortunately it's not because I've lost weight. They were "hand-me-downs" that were just a little big to begin with
I think I'm a very honest person. Unless I think honesty is going to hurt your feelings, then I'll sugar coat sometimes. Sometimes I do that when I shouldn't & sometimes I don't do that when I should.
I'm not good at "tagging" people, so I'm not going to. I'll leave it to you "injuns" to be honest.
Really, what do you do with a heap of left over stuffing? We had 2 kinds at Thanksgiving & this was the "savory" it was cooked in pan, not the bird. It was good stuffing with cornbread & sausage along with a little apple & onion & celery, but really; I only eat stuffing at Thanksgiving. So, I was perplexed, but I am also pretty frugal, so I didn't throw it away immediately.
And then one day last week a friend said, "Hey, J doesn't have a budget for food at his opening. We thought we would all pitch in and make something. Are you in?"
Of course I was!
Then it dawned on me, that my grocery money hadn't quite recovered from Thanksgiving. But I wanted to make something tasty. So, of course, I went through the pantry & fridge. What did I find? A large container of stuffing.
So, of course I did what I always do when in doubt, add cheese To my cornbread & sausage stuffing, I added about 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend ( CHEDDAR, MONTEREY JACK, COLBY AND MOZZARELLA CHEESES-- not the stuff with the icky spices & salt & MSG) and some (4 oz?) GOAT CHEESE and about a 1/4 cup grated pecorino. I mixed that in with 3 beaten eggs and rolled them into balls.
I put them in a hot oven (I believe it was 375) for about 35 minutes. When I pulled out these little puffs? I had almost 4 dozen puffs of yumminess
(see the cheese? that makes it for me!) They were snapped up pretty quickly, these little stuffing wonders, and the taste was a hit. One person even told me I should definitely try the "crab puffs" So the stuffing was a hit. And I was relieved!
I've already realized that the stuffing would also be perfect to put into mushrooms as another appetizer. Because I hate wasted food--especially when it's good food!
Read more...
(my "real" writing is much neater. My recipe scribble? I can't explain)
Unfortunately, at first read, I thought the recipe said only a pound, instead of 1 1/4 pound. I also thought I had a pound, but it must have been weighed in its little plastic container so I only had 12 oz. So my big pile, was cooked and shrunk down to this
They were sauteed first, then mixed together with the spinach and then the cheeses and parsley & eggs
