Category: Recipes

Roquefort Bars (or Blue Cheese Bites)

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Roquefurt Bars

Roquefurt Bars (blue cheese bites)

Tucked away in the back of “The Art of Fine Baking” is an hors d’oeuvres section I keep finding myself coming back to. With recipes such as pizza pennies, potato puff sticks, and poppy seed straws, I always seem to find something interesting that I haven’t seen done before. Using puff pastry for a savory appetizer is somewhat foreign for me since as a dessert lover, I’m usually inclined to make something sweet or chocolatey. In this case, I happened to have some leftover puff pastry from my adventures in making puff pastry, so I set out to throw this quick appetizer together. If using store bought or pre-made puff pastry, this recipe couldn’t be easier. Roquefort or any blue cheese is combined with an egg yolk and a little cream, then spread on strips of puff pastry dough. The strips are then sandwiched together, baked, and simply cut into squares or rectangles. Served warm, the rich buttery taste of the flaky pastry and the sharp blue cheese is a decadence any party guests (perhaps the Superbowl?!) will definitely appreciate.

Ingredients:

1/2 puff pastry recipe or 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
2/3 cup roquefort or blue cheese of your choice
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cheese filling: cream together cheese, egg yolk, chopped parsley, and pepper. Add 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or just enough to make the mixture spreadable.

If using homemade puff pastry, roll out puff pastry dough to less than 1/8 inch thick and trim edges.

Divide sheet of puff pastry into strips 2 1/2 inches wide. Spread half the strips thinly with cheese filling. Cover filling with remaining strips of pastry.

Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill 30 minutes. Bake 50-60 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cool slightly. Trim edges and cut into rectangles or squares.

Yield: Approximately 2 dozen

 

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Mashed Potato Egg and Sausage Pizza

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Mashed Potato Egg and Sausage Pizza

Mashed Potato Egg and Sausage Pizza

This may look like just a casserole but hidden beneath the layers of sausage, vegetables, cheese, and perfectly delicious runny egg yolks is a pizza crust like no other. Seasoned mashed potatoes are baked until just a touch crispy so they hold together to create that carb replacement for the average pizza dough. The mashed potatoes also add a richness that makes this unusual pizza both filling and satisfying. So why the casserole dish instead of a baking sheet? The original recipe titled “Potato and Egg Pizza” in “The Art of Good Cooking” says to use a baking sheet such as a jelly roll pan. I decided to use a casserole dish simply because I wanted a fairly thick layer of mashed potatoes, a favorite comfort food of mine. However, any baking sheet with an edge would work well here.

The beauty of this Mashed Potato Egg and Sausage pizza is how over-the-top it is. Onions, pepper, and mushrooms along with sliced sausage (I used Italian style chicken sausage) are just the beginning. Fresh mozzarella, Parmesan, and star-of-the-show golden yolks, ooze over the mashed potatoes. Try it with garlic mashed potatoes and this may be one unforgettable pizza.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 cups very well seasoned mashed potatoes
1 large onion peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 green pepper, seeded and sliced
4 cooked Italian sweet or hot sausages
6 eggs
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup diced mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a large flat baking dish (such as a jelly-roll pan) generously with as much olive oil as necessary. Spread mashed potatoes evenly. With the back of a large spoon, make indentations in the mashed potatoes for the eggs which will be added late.

Bake potato-lined pan for 30-40 minutes or until potato seems slightly brown and crisp on bottom. Remove from oven.

While potato is baking, sauté onion, garlic, mushrooms and green pepper in remaining olive oil till soft. Slice cooked sausage 1/4 inch thick.

After potato has been removed from oven, spread top of it with sautéed mixture and sliced sausage, leaving indentations clear. Break eggs into each of the indentations. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dot with pieces of mozzarella cheese. Return to oven. Bake about 25 minutes, or until eggs are set and cheese bubbling. To serve, cut into wedges or squares.

Serves 6.

Adapted from “The Art of Good Cooking,” by Paula Peck

Egg Sausage and Mashed Potato Pizza

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Panettone

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Panettone

Panettone

This classic Italian Christmas bread you see in those funny shaped boxes in just about every supermarket this time of year, is somewhat of a holiday staple. I’ve never been a huge fan of Panettone, but it’s hard to resist this rich sweet bread hot from the oven. It’s a fairly simple recipe that yields impressive results. In the original recipe from “The Art of Fine Baking,” my grandmother says to use the “extra-rich coffee cake dough” which calls for 12 eggs. Since I’m always a little apprehensive about recipes that use more than 8 eggs, I decided to use just the basic coffee cake dough recipe which uses a moderate 6 eggs instead. The result was perfectly satisfying- as I said, it’s hard to resist warm rich raisin bread right from the oven. Happy Holidays!

Ingredients:

Basic Coffee Cake Dough or Extra-Rich Coffee Cake Dough
1 1/2 cups additional all-purpose flour (if using the extra rich coffee cake dough)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup black raisins
2/3 cup diced candied citron
1/4 cup melted butter

If using Extra-Rich Coffee Cake Dough, follow recipe and add enough additional flour to make a fairly firm dough. Otherwise, follow Basic Coffee Cake Dough recipe.

After dough has risen, knead in raisins and candied citron. Do not handle dough more than necessary after fruit has been added, or it will turn gray.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease Panettone holders or grease a large baking sheet. Divide dough in half. Shape each piece into a ball. Place balls into Panettone holders or space well apart on greased baking sheets and enclose with a 5-inch collar made of greased heavy brown paper. Secure collars by pinning them (if necessary).

Let dough rise until almost double in bulk. Brush with melted butter. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Continue baking 30-40 minutes longer, brushing twice more with melted butter. Bake until golden brown.

Panettone

Adapted from “The Art of Fine Baking,” by Paula Peck.

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Scandinavian Christmas Cookies

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Scandinavian Christmas Cookies

Scandinavian Christmas Cookies | impeckableeats.com

This festive cookie recipe from “The Art of Fine Baking” was actually recommended by a few of you readers. Lightly spiced but with a brightness from the lemon zest, they are the perfect alternative for ginger cookies. Cut them in whatever shapes you like and eat them with or without icing. This versatile cookie can be served for dessert, with tea, as a fix for that sudden sugar craving, or even left out with a glass of milk for Santa. I may just have to make this a new holiday baking tradition.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon dark rum
4 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
frosting or icing of your choice (optional)

Cream butter with sugar. Add syrups, lemon zest, and rum. Mix well. Add flour mixed with salt, baking soda, and spices. This should make a soft dough.
Chill dough until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour baking sheets.
On a well-floured cloth, roll dough very thin (less than 1/8 inch, if possible). Cut into desired shapes. Transfer cookies to baking sheets with a spatula. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and lightly browned. Cool and frost (if using icing or frosting).

Yield: approximately 9 dozen

Christmas Cookies

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Ginger Poundcake

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Ginger Poundcake Loaf Slices

Ginger PoundcakeAt first glance, pound cake may seem very plain and boring. Even this ginger poundcake version may seem to lack the excitement of todays elaborate desserts. Thoughts of that dry crumbly cellophane covered mess at the corner deli might even come to mind at just the mention of simple pound cake. So let’s change that.

I too, was less than enthusiastic to make just pound cake (flavored or not). However, I knew there had to be a reason my grandmother included both two mixing methods as well as five different versions in “The Art of Fine Baking.” Also, out of all the memories my father has of her wonderful baking, he has described few as a “phase” like pound cake. Golden brown, light but substantial cakes coming out of the oven one after another until the perfect recipe emerged. With a moderate amount of sugar, and eggs beaten until thick or stiff (depending on the mixing method), this ginger poundcake has just the right level of sweetness and is fluffy yet still cakey. As the smell of sugar, eggs, and butter began to waft through my kitchen moments before the cake was ready to come out of the oven, I knew my opinion of pound cake would soon change.

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
1/4 cup cognac or rum
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a deep 9-inch tube pan and dust with flour.
Combine candied ginger and cognac or rum. Let stand for 20 minutes. Drain excess liquid and toss ginger with 1 cup flour.

Separate egg yolks and whites. Cream butter with 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add a pinch salt to egg whites and beat until egg whites hold soft peaks. Add remaining sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition for at least 5 minutes, or until egg whites are very firm.

Fold 1/4 of stiffly beaten egg whites thoroughly into creamed butter-sugar-egg yolk mixture. Pour mixture back on top of remaining egg whites. Fold gently together while sprinkling in flour and candied ginger mixed with flour. Be careful not to over mix.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake about 50 minutes or until cake is golden brown and pulls away from the sides.

Adapted from “The Art of Fine Baking,” by Paula Peck.

Ginger Poundcake

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