Café Chocolada

My First Daring Bakers Challenge - Sherry Yard’s "Danish Braid"

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:01:00 +0000

My first Daring Bakers challenge hosted this month by Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’? , and I have enjoyed it so very much! I loved the braid, it is aromatic, and delicious. Can't wait for next challenge!

I have made two braids, one with pastry cream, one with plum jam. Here is the process to making Danish braid, and it is not half as hard as you think, and every bit enjoyable, especially when your whole house smells like heaven, and then you get to bite into it!!! :)

Right now I am somewhere on my way to Florida for some much deserved "me time"! Well, as much as the kids will alow it! :)

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Dough, and braid B4 oven...

Danish with pastry cream, then plum jam, and jam itself :)

Plum jam cooked by reduction:

Cook washed and pitted plums with sugar over medium to high heat until it starts boiling (your choice how much, I don't put much, they are sweet already). Later reduce to low, and cook until thick. Can as usual. Simple as that! :)

Pastry cream:

2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn startch
1 Tsp vanilla extract

Mix yolks with sugar, thenh add corn startch, vanilla extract, and mix until smooth and silky. Bring milk to boil, then add the yolk mixture, reduce heat to low, and cook for few minutes, stiring until it thickens. Cool completely before using!

Beef Stew - Goulash

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:39:00 +0000

I only wish I could deliver to you the awesome aromas that are hugging my kitchen now, as well as the taste of this wonderful stew! Mhmmmm, mhmmmm! Yum!!!

Beef Stew - Goulash

1 ½ lb beef for stew, cut up into cubes
5-6 medium to large onions
1 bay leaf
Salt, ground black pepper, favorite seasoning
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp flour
Oil for sautéing
1 ½ to 2 lb potatoes

Put beef into cold water, until needed. Chop onions, and sauté them in a pot, in just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Sauté them only until they are wilted, then add drained beef, and water to about an inch above the beef. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, and cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. As it losses water, keep adding boiling hot water to same height, just about an inch above the meat.

Peel potatoes, cut into quarters, and cook in a separate pan, then drain. In the meantime, finish the stew. Add bay leaf, salt, pepper, tomato paste, seasonings to taste. Let it come to a boil while you make the thickening agent.

In a frying pan heat some oil, just to cover the bottom, add 1 ½ Tbsp flour, and mix it well. Then add 1 Tbsp paprika seasoning, mix well, and transfer to stew. Mix well, remove from heat, let it set for a while, then add cooked potato quarters to it. Enjoy!

Tarte Tatin

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:07:00 +0000

I have been meaning to make this for quite some time now, and now I know I will be making it again. You know I’m a sucker for simple, and a major sucker for apples! : )

Tarte Tatin
(adapted from Desserts, 500 delicious recipes)

8 oz/ one sheet puff pastry
10-12 large apples
Lemon juice
½ cup butter
½ cup caster sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Crème fraiche or whipped cream to serve

Thaw pastry according to directions, then roll it out on a lightly floured surface to the size of the pan in which you will be making the tarte (11 inch round). Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet (parchment paper is great), and chill until needed.

Peel, core and cut apples in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
In the pan which you will use for tarte, cook butter with sugar and cinnamon, until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking for 6-8 minutes, or until the mixture starts resembling caramel.

Remove from heat, arange apples tightly in the pan(they will shrink), and return to medium heat to simmer the apples in the pan for 20-25 minutes or until they start to brown. In the meantime, preheat oven to 450 F. Remove apples from heat, and cool down slightly.

Place pastry on top of the apple filled pan, and tuck the edges of the pastry inside the edge of the pan. Pierce pastry in 2-3 places, then bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is golden. Cool for 15 minutes.

Cover the pan with a serving plate, and carefully invert the pan, and the plate together over a sink (in case some caramel drips), and then lift the pan. Serve warm as is, or with some cream. Enjoy!
More apple recipes available here:
Apple cake with whole apples
Apple bundt cake
Apple dumplings
Batter fried apple rings

Carob Cubes

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:28:00 +0000

My dear foodies. I am sorry I have been absent for a while, but I have checked some of your blogs, and have tried to keep up with the latest developments in our foodie world!

I have had a lot on my plate lately, and I am now getting ready for a Florida vacation! Yeah!!! Finally!

I will stay for about 2 weeks, or so I hope, but I will have my laptop with me, so keep in touch, and I will too. I have rented a house, so kitchen will still be available to me, you never know, maybe I whip up something while having fun on Marco Island!

Thanks for visiting, and here is a cake made of ground carob, which I loved to snack on when I was little. It is great, next time I am thinking about making an entire torte out of it, with cream, and the whole nine yards… : )

Carob Cubes
(Recipe adapted from Franck d.d. ground carob package)

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 cup ground carob
5 Tbsp oil
5 Tbsp spiced rum
2 Tsp baking powder
Grated rind of one lemon

Preheat oven to 405 F. Mix egg yolks with sugar, adding sugar little by little. Add milk, flour mixed with baking powder, ground carob, oil, rum, and lemon rind. Mix well.
Mix egg whites until stiff, fold them in the mixture. Pour into regular rectangular cake pan (11x7x2), and bake for about 30 minutes. Cool down, cut into cubes, and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Yellow for Bri

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:27:00 +0000

This is my entry for this month’s Click special event is - Click Yellow for Bri!
Briana Brownlow is about my age, and reading about her struggle with breast cancer so young, and learning that at a very young age of 15 she has lost her mother to the disease, has saddened me deeply. You are in my prayers Bri!

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.
Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.
She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.
The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.
CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri
Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.
The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.
The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.
There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.
Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.
This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.
You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

GET WELL SOON DEAR BRI. OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU.
Pineapple (fruit) Torte

For the cake:
7 eggs
7 tbsp of sugar
5 tbsp of flour
10 tbsp ground walnuts
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 395 F. Mix egg whites with sugar until stiff. Add yolks, walnuts, flour with baking powder. Bake in a round spring form pan, for about 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool down, and then cut into two layers. Sprinkle cake layers (generously) with juice from the pineapple can. Spread about half the cream, then fruit, then cream again. Leave some cream for the outside of the cake. Optionally, spread whipped cream all around, and decorate as you wish.

Cream:
3 eggs
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp flour
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 ¼ cups milk
6 tsp vanilla sugar
1 ½ sticks butter or margarine, unsalted
1 can of sliced pineapple or fresh pineapple slices, or some other fruit, can be just cut up fruit, anything works : )

To make the cream:
Mix eggs with sugar, add corn starch and flour, and add to boiling milk. Reduce heat, and mix well until thickens. Cool completely down, then mix in butter or margarine cut up into slices. Mix until nice and creamy.

Six word memoir

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:02:00 +0000

I got tagged for this one some time ago by Farida from Farida’s Azerbaijani Cookbook, but couldn’t get to it, and then I forgot all about it. I should add forgetful, in the list below : )))
Now I got tagged again, by Chriesi of Almond Corner, and I thought I must find time to do it, so here it is ladies, me in six words:

Honest
Artistic
Perfectionist
Impulsive
Kind
Restless (Sagittarius:)

I am very just, and honest, and it is hard for me to live in the world today where there is not much justice…

I am restless; yes, I love being home, cooking, baking, all that, but when the nice weather is here, the highway is calling me, and I love to travel, and get away!

I'm a perfectionist, but not extreme kind. As much as I can be with 2 kids and a big baby husband! I do love organizing, and constantly changing stuff around the house, never pleased with one display/layout for a long time. Constantly changing!

Very impulsive, which is sometimes good, but most of the times makes me jump to conclusions…
OK, this was supposed to be a “6” word memoir!!!!! Sorry! Have a fun day!

Now, I am supposed to tag 6 fellow food bloggers, and the lucky 6 are:

Marija from Palachinka
Cathy from Noble Pig
Susan from Food Blogga
Antonio from Olive Juice
Familia Bencomo from Familia Bencomo
Kate from Aaplemint

If you have already been tagged, do excuse me, I cannot go through so many pages, and check, and if you have done it, maybe just provide a link, if you want to, no biggie, so you need not do it again, but we (me) still get to read... :)

Rainbow Trout - Potato Pancakes - Summer Feta Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:13:00 +0000

Quick, and easy summer Sunday dinner. For fish, sometimes I use regular flour, sometimes cornmeal; I guess in the moment it depends on which one is closer.

Rainbow trout

If I do cornmeal, I use:
1 cup cornmeal
1 Tsp paprika
1 Tsp black pepper

Cut, and salt the fish to taste. Coat in cornmeal mixture, and fry on medium heat for few minutes on each side, or until desired doneness. Transfer onto paper towel, and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Italian style potato pancakes
(adapted from Gemma’ homestyle Italian cooking, November 2002 issue)

3 medium/large potatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1egg, slightly beaten
Salt to taste
1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
A handful of parsley, finely chopped up
½ cup canola oil for frying

Cook potatoes, and mash them, Add the egg, corn, and some salt, and mix well.
Add parsley to breadcrumbs (optional, but I like it). Now, spoon out some mixture into the crumbs, and coat well, take it with your hands, and fry few at a time, over medium heat.
Flatten them, as they fry, but let fry 2 minutes before turning, and turn very carefully, to retain the shape. Fry 2 minutes on other side, and as they are done, transfer onto baking sheet, into the oven (200F) to keep warm, until they are all done.

Summer Feta Salad

Tomatoes
Bell peppers
Onions
Cucumbers ( I didn’t have any, works fine without them)
Feta cheese, crumbled
Some salt, and black pepper
Oil, and vinegar

Cut up the veggies into small cubes, about equal amount of each, salt to taste. Sprinkle with black pepper, oil, and vinegar, all to taste. Top with crumbled feta cheese. No kissing after this, but Yum!!!!!!

Asparagus cheese bake

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:02:00 +0000

One of the first things I baked, when I was about maybe 10 years old, was an oven baked French omelet from an old cookbook. It included flour, 1 tablespoon for each egg, and same amount of sugar. That was easy for starters, and I would make it for my brothers, and I can never forget how happy that made me! I have served it with our homemade jams.

Now, my husband likes asparagus with eggs ( and I grew up on asparagus), and I thought why not make savory bake with cheese too? Normally I just cook asparagus, and serve them as a salad/side sort of thing with hard-boiled eggs, or grilled, so it’s about time to give it a try with some other method.

So many recipes out there, but I thought of my easy omelet, and thought to make it like that, savory of course, and burden it with cheese.
Well, I have presented you with how great it looks, here is the recipe should you decide to give it a try, it is nothing special, and every bit yummy!: )

Asparagus cheese bake

½ lb asparagus approx. (1 bunch)
Butter to grease the baking dish
2 eggs
2 tbsp of flour
¼ Tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese ( or other kind)

Boil asparagus till just slightly tender, do not overcook. Drain. Preheat oven to 425 F.
Lightly grease the baking dish (small casserole kind) with butter.

Mix egg whites until stiff, then add yolks, and then flour, one by one tablespoon, some salt, and baking powder. Arrange asparagus any way you like in the baking dish, then pour the egg mixture in. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake until cheese melts. Enjoy! Simple, and yummy, just the way I like it!

Walnut chocolate torte

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:26:00 +0000

There is no story with this one, it is simply delicious!!! Walnuts, chocolate buttercream, what else do you need? Just ask my neighbor. This one is for you my friend! :)

Walnut chocolate torte
(Adapted from coolinarika.com)

For the butter cream:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 oz of baking chocolate
2 sticks, plus 2tbs of unsalted butter, or margarine (250 g)
juice of one lemon

Mix eggs and sugar until creamy, and sugar has dissolved. Cook in a pot over another pot with boiling water in it, or double boiler. Mix constantly, and cook until it starts thickening; add chocolate, and mix well. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and let it cool down completely. Then add butter (or margarine), juice of one lemon, and mix to get silky, nice buttercream.

For the cake:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp plain bread crumbs
250 g (3 cups ground walnuts)

Preheat oven to 390 F. In one bowl mix egg whites until stiff. In a separate bowl mix egg yolks with sugar for few minutes, until creamy. Add ground walnuts, and bread crumbs. It will be quite dry, then fold in egg whites. Mix until all is blended nicely, but don’t over mix.
Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes.

Let it cool, and then cut into two and sprinkle with a little milk, just couple of tablespoons each.
Now fill the cake layers with buttercream inside, and spread all around the outside. Sprinkle generously with ground walnuts, and decorate if you wish. Enjoy!

Any time is...

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:31:00 +0000

Call it an entrée, a side dish, a salad! Whatever! Just don’t touch my plate, make your own! : )
You can try new things, like the new things, change your taste, and preferences, but when it comes to food, one is for sure, you never let go of your childhood favorites. This was another one of mine…

I was a picky eater, NO, scratch that! I was a pain in a you know what!!! I was not only picky, but I barely ate. Well, you can’t blame me, I had too much work building a school for chicken, trying to raise few dozen bunnies, and saving, and bringing home any animal that needed to (or not) be helped.

Chicken Elementary School was closed soon after my mother realized that in order to keep the chicken in the classroom, the corn was being used up very fast… : )

…anyway, back to pasta. I simply love this dish, and even as picky as I was, I was sure to clean up my plate. The onions and paprika give this pasta/potato dish a really nice flavor, and beautiful color too.

There is a dish almost identical to this one called “Granadir marsh”, only the pasta part is sort of like gnocchi, and it is widely popular in the Balkans, so I guess what was done in part where I grew up, someone simplified it. In any case, flavorful, colorful, and my favorite!

Simple potato pasta dish

1 lb pasta (like mostaccioli, rigatoni, rotini, elbows, penne, you get the idea)
1 lb potatoes, peeled, cut up
2 medium onions
3-4 Tbs of oil, or enough to caramelize the onions
2 Tbsp of paprika seasoning
Salt to taste
Parsley to garnish

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain, and set aside.

Boil potatoes, and mash them (just potatoes, no butter or anything).

Salt pasta and potatoes, and combine them now into one bowl.

Chop, and then caramelize the onions, add paprika, and then pasta/potato mixture.

Mix gently, but thoroughly. Best served immediately - garnish with parsley, and enjoy!

I usually serve it with chicken strips, but it works alone for me too. Feel free to add some other seasonings as well.

For end result, refer to top :)

Blogging with purpose :)

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:54:00 +0000

I can’t believe I have lived a walking distance from this farm, and missed out on these great farm fresh eggs for almost 3 years! Well, now that I have discovered them, I am buying like there is no tomorrow.

Baking with fresh eggs is way better. I have recently gotten a “Baking, from my home to yours” book, by Dorie Greenspan, and just the following week, when I finally got Madeline molds from Marshalls, Madelines were all the buzz all over the foodie community. Well, I made them too, and my kids loved them! We are hooked! I just used orange peel instead of lemon, as I know that is usually my preference with citrus.

I must not forget!
It’s been a while now that I was awarded this awesome award by TM girl of Taste Memory! Blogging with purpose! I like to think that I am serving some purpose in this foodie world of ours, and being recognized inspires me to contribute more, and be part of this great community! Thank you TM Girl!!! I am honored!

Now I am baffled as to whom to pass it on, as really there are so many of you out there who blog with purpose, and love, and it’s hard to keep track who has already received which award.

So I will use a strategy that I believe HoneyB from The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch has used once; the award goes to all of my dear foodies on my list to the right. Those are the blogs/sites I frequently visit, and enjoy! Please pay them a visit, lots of taste to be discovered, great recipes, posts, and fun!

Tomato Cheese Snack

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:44:00 +0000

What is up with this tomato????!!!!

I got this idea from my godmother’s dad, and I couldn’t wait to share with you guys. I mean who doesn’t like tomatoes, and cheese?

This is a great snack/finger food idea for any occasion. You can inject the tomatoes with any cheese you like(then cool it, of course). The bigger, and more hollow the tomato is, obviously the nicer the slices will look.

I love it! You might not, but it's rather inexpensive to try... All you have to do is melt the cheese in like a double boiler or something, and then inject it with the food/flavor injector into the tomato, and let it cool down in the fridge to allow the cheese to harden.

As you are injecting, once there is no more room, of course, it will start oozing out, so be prepared to clean up promptly :)))

Pioneer Visit

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:17:00 +0000

We have visited a pioneer woman from the 1800s today! She made us soup, and corn bread too!!! Well, we helped : )

Yes, you read that right; and what a great display Port Huron Museum,Port Huron, MI has for that era! It is a log cabin/home built in the late 1850s by Conrad Kammer in Casco Township to the south and west of Port Huron.

Then, in 1981, Mr. Paul Nellis bought the cabin and donated it to the Port Huron Museum. It was restored, and it now serves as an attraction for special events and educational programs, such as the one my son’s class had today.

First, a lovely museum worker dressed up like a Pioneer lady and welcomed us with some opening lines about the history of the Pioneers, and the cabin itself. Then she told us we are actually going to use the fire in front of the cabin to cook our own soup, and here she is mixing that soup...yum...

We also used the fire ,and the Dutch oven to bake our corn bread, that was way cool!

In addition to cutting up veggies, breaking some eggs, and making a big ol’ mess mixing the corn bread batter (they did well though : ), the kids got to make candles and play old fashioned games, like pulling the rope, walking on stilts, duck duck goose, and so on.

Oh, and look at that corn bread; only first graders can make it so perfect!!! Sorry my dear chefs! : )

Thank you P H Museum staff! Kids and grown ups had a ton of fun traveling through time at your log cabin!

Baking powder biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:37:00 +0000

So light, and airy!

Baking powder biscuits
(adapted from"The ultimate book of baking")

1 1/3 cup flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Teaspoons baking powder
1/8 Teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine the dry ingredients, then add butter pieces, and blend well until mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in milk. Mix until nice, and smooth, then transfer to a lightly floured surface, and roll out to about 1/4inch thickness. Cut out biscuits with cookie cutters, and bake about 12 minutes or until lightly golden.

Love, love these easy recipes for homemade goodness! We really liked the taste, and texture; just delicious! I made a little change by decreasing the sugar, because I didn’t want them to be on the sweet side, but of course that is just personal taste.

Also, they are not as golden as in the picture from the book, but I guess even though it is not mentioned in the recipe, they brushed them with egg yolk wash. I am doing that next time : )
Flower shaped cutters make them "tastier" for the kids!

Simply delicious!

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:28:00 +0000

I am pleased to include this recipe as an entry to Meeta’s Monthly Mingle event, hosted this month by Mansi Desai. Check them out, as I am sure there will be lots of great entries!

I have been craving these for a while. Love coconut, and love these soft, chewy, chocolaty coconut macaroons! Hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Coconut Macaroons
(adapted from Family Circle Dec/’07 issue)

3 cups shredded coconut
1 ½ Tbsp corn starch
3/4cup sugar
3 egg whites
½ Tsp vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken up

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all ingredients (except chocolate)in a heat-proof bowl. Set the bowl over a pot of boiling water, and heat, stirring until it thickens, about4 minutes. Remove, set aside.

Spoon out macaroons, about a scant tablespoonful each, anyplace an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for about 10-15minutes, or until lightly golden, but still soft &chewy. Cool on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl for 1 minute on high power. Stir to make it smooth, and then dip bottoms of macaroons into chocolate, and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and let set in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Silly Tag! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:34:00 +0000

I got tagged with this silly meme by Chriesi of Almond Corner.
Here is how it goes, and it is desired to keep the foodie theme :

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

OK, in my case the page 123 is a photo page, in my “The Ultimate Book of BAKING”, by Martha Day.
That is the book that happen to be the closest since I just used a recipe from that book in my cake base for the Apple Pudding Cake.
So I guess it is reasonable to read from the page 122, and here is goes:

“Roll out about ½ inch thick. Stamp out 2-inch circles with a cookie cutter. Place on the prepared tray, and bake until golden, 12-15 minutes.”
With this photo, you have the whole recipe :)
I am tagging following awesome food bloggers:
1. Marija from Palachinka!
2. TM Girl, from Taste Memory!
3. HoneB from The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch!
4.Kevin from Closet Cooking!
5. My Sweet and Saucy from My Sweet And Saucy! : )

Citrus Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:10:00 +0000

This month Tartlette is hosting Sugar High Friday #43, which is a monthly event created by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess.Tartlette chose citrus theme, which is sure to produce yummy posts!!!

Just like Tartelette has mentioned, citrus, after chocolate, is her favorite flavor---well, I am sure it is for many people. I find myself always squeezing that lemon/orange juice over my cakes, regardless the recipe. It adds magic!

I chose this roll because it is my favorite roll/cake when it comes to taste (thanks to orange juice), and I love that it is simple to make. The first delicacy I thought of when thought about participating for this event was this roll, because of the aroma that orange gives it, with chocolate butter cream, it’s a winner!

You can dress it up many different ways, use it for other cake creations, and so on. I make it often; my husband loves it, his mom used to make it a lot (what a way to score points with my hubby, ha? Hahaha!)

Orange Infused Chocolate Buttercream Roll

For the jelly roll:
(this recipe can also be found here)

6 eggs

6 Tbsp of AP flour

6 Tbsp of sugar

½ Tsp of baking powder

Mix the egg whites with sugar until stiff, then add the yolks, one by one, then flour mixed with baking power. Bake in a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper, @ 385 F until lightly golden (not too long). Transfer onto damp kitchen towel, along with the parchment paper, and roll it up.

Chocolate butter cream:

(I use this one in many cakes, love it! Like Dobos Torte)

4 eggs

5 oz granulated sugar

3 ½ oz bakers chocolate

1 ½ stick (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter

Mix eggs and sugar until frothy, then cook in a double boiler , stirring constantly until it starts to thicken. Then add chocolate, and mix it in. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and let it cool down, later put it in the fridge. When completely add butter cut up into pieces, and mix well with a mixer, until you get a silky textured butter cream.

Unroll the roll, sprinkle generously with freshly squeezed juice of 2-3 oranges, or about 1 cup or orange juice. In the event you don’t have oranges, you can use orange flavored juice box. Roll it up, and decorate any way you like, and enjoy!

To contribute a little more, I have also made some fruit made out of almond meal/flour.
It is so easy, seriously. You feel like a kid while you are making them, and it’s so much fun!!!

Fast too, so if you want to ad flare to your creations quickly, here is your solution, and you can make all kinds of fruit. I have learned a technique from a lovely cook from Canada, goes by name Cipelica, and she post on a Croatian cooking website (Coolinarika).

Fruit

125 g (4.41 oz)almond flour/meal
125 sugar (4.41 oz)
50 ml (1.69 fl. oz.) water (Updated, not 100ml, it's 50ml)
½ Tsp of margarine

Food colors (yellow, red, green)

(this is how much I have used this time, you can increase accordingly, if you need more)

Boil water and sugar, then add almond flour, and mix well. Add margarine, and let it cool down. Divide into parts, and color each part any color you want by adding drops of food colors slowly.

Play with it, every time you will get better.
For citrus fruit, I have shaped it, and then poked the fruit with a toothpick to create more authentic look.
For more citrus cravings you might like Torta della Nonna!

For Beautiful Bones

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:35:00 +0000

On my visit to Familia Bencomo blog the other day, I have found out about Susan from Food Blogga, and she’s got a great blog with awesome recipes, accompanied with mouthwatering photos, and great posts!

I read her post about osteoporosis, and I was amazed to find out that age has nothing to do with osteoporosis. Unfortunately Susan is one of those young women who struggle with osteoporosis.
She has decided to host a food blogging event to promote osteoporosis awareness, and since May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention M onth, it is perfect timing as well.

To find out more about Osteoporosis, the disease of fragile and more likely to break bones, and for great resources, just go to National Osteoporosis Foundation website.

For Susan’s Beautiful Bones: An Osteoporosis Food Event, I have decided to share a cup of coffee with all of you! I can’t imagine starting my day with out that morning cup of coffee, and why not drink one that helps take care of your bones?!: )

Nescafe Late

1 ½ Tbsp of Nescafe Classic Instant Coffee
4 Tbsp of cold milk
2 Tbsp of sugar (or as much as you like)
(that's how much of those ingredients I use;
you adjust it to your own taste, as I do like it strong)

Mix with a hand mixer until frothy, transfer to a coffee cup, then add
1 cup boiling milk, wait a few seconds, and then burden it with tons of whipped cream: ))))))
Sprinkle with chocolate shavings (optional--- yeah, right! *hahaha*), and enjoy!

Apple Pudding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:10:00 +0000

This cake is rather simple. I know, I know, I always say that! But it is, really! You don’t even need a recipe, just use your favorite yellowcake/sponge cake recipe. Then you cook apples ( like 3 medium/large ) in 2 cups of water, and you thicken it all with corn starch, sugar, food color if you like, and maybe even some strawberry extract. Usually, I just buy one bag Dr. Oetker strawberry pudding powder, and it’s all in there, except sugar. I use 5 Tbsp. I’m just saying---it is easy!

My friends, and I have made this one a lot in refugee camp over a decade ago, and it brings back some good memories. Yes, good memories! : ) Memories of friendship, and fun, because it was our teenage years, and sharing one stove between 7 families was not stopping us from having our cake, and eating it too!!! Minus the whipped cream : )

Ok, if you want to try, this time I have used a recipe for the yellow cake from one of my cook books, and instead of just store bought pudding (starch), I have used starch and so on...

It is approved by my six year old to be yummy, and pretty too :)

For the Yellow Cake
(adapted from The Ultimate Book of Baking, Martha Day)

½ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
Mix it until nice and fluffy, then add 2eggs,and mix well.
Fold in previously mixed:
1 cup flour
1Tsp baking powder
1/8 Tsp of salt
Grease the spring form pan, and spoon the batter in. Bake @350 F until just right : )

Apple Pudding:

Cook apples (3 medium/large, peeled, cored, and cut up into cubes) in a 1 ¾ cups water. Mix ¼ cup water with 3 Tbsp of starch, 5 Tbsp of sugar (or more if you like it really sweet, I like it just refreshing), couple of drops of red food color, and about 1/4 Tsp strawberry or raspberry extract. Mix it in boiling apples, after they have cooked for like 10 min.
With that done, sprinkle your cake with some milk, to make it more moist, pour the apple pudding over, and cool it down completely.
Serve with whipped cream please! :)

Walnut Roll

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:42:00 +0000

Nice and cooled down ;)
Very popular all over Eastern Europe, and very popular in my house. We go nuts for nuts, and this roll is perfect for that!!!
I add another cup of nuts on top of the recipe, to make it more nutty! :)
Walnuts, cinnamon, and rum are a very happy gang together, and they create this crazy aroma that invites your neighbors over! Be cautious!

In this photo it is still hot, that's how much we love it:)

Walnut roll
adapted from http://www.strmec.250x.com/orehnjaca.htm, (in Serbo-Croatian)years ago, and it appears the link doesn't work anymore... just wanted to give credit ;)

For the dough:
1 kg ( 2.20 Pounds) flour
1 package dry (quick rise) yeast (7g)
6 dl (20.28 fl.oz milk
6 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ stick butter (12Tbsp)
1 Teaspoon salt
1 whole egg
3 yolks

Mix together as you would for any bread - start the yeast separately, and add all the ingredients to a bowl, and let it rise until it doubles in bulk. Transfer to a floured surface, knead, divide into two balls. Roll out each ball into a square about the size of the medium baking pan, to approx. ½ inch thickness. So, when you roll it up, it’s just about wide as the pan.

Walnut filling:
4 cups ground walnuts
4-5 Tbsp of sugar (the original recipe called for 1, but that’s not enough for me : )
¼ Tsp of cinnamon
200 ml (6.76fl.oz.) boiling milk
2-3 tbsp of spiced rum
2 egg whites, beaten until stiff (save the yolks for brushing)

Mix walnuts with sugar, cinnamon, and rum, and then pour the boiling milk over it, and mix together. Add the egg whites, and spread the filling over the rolled out dough. Repeat with other dough, and place the rolls side by side into a baking pan, or 2 loaf pans. Brush with egg yolks, and bake @ 305 F for about50minutes, then increase the heat to about 350for another 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Farida's Tandoori Bread ~ I made it!

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:50:00 +0000

Look what I made! YUMMY!!!

It's Farida's Tandoori Bread! This bread was on my mind everyday since I first saw it on Farida’s blog. I love bread(who doesn’t), and I am always trying out breads from all over the world, and I am so delighted to report, and I am not surprised, that his bread is awesome. It was literally gone like a snack in 10 minutes. I have followed the recipe faithfully, and it sure paid off, it looks awesome, and tastes like heaven. Certainly a must try!

Farida, thank you so much for sharing, my family loves this bread, and it will certainly be on my table often! My daughter literally walked around the house talking to herself ”mhmm, this bread is good”, ”this is delicious!”, and so on. When my husband and I sat down to eat, and we were slicing the bread away she looked at us like :”that’s enough”, and then she just claimed the last piece like a lion!!!

It is so simple to make, I must make double next time! Delicious bread!
Greetings to your daughter, and your whole family!

~ More awards! ~

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:47:00 +0000

My, my, do I feel important! I was awarded with another awesome award from my fellow food bloggers lately, and I haven’t gotten time to really sit down and pass the first one along.
Diva from The SugarBar awarded me Arteypico award!!! Thank you so much Diva; I am honored that you found my blog creative, interesting, and worth your time! : )
“You make my day” award was given to me by Farida of Farida’s Azerbaijani Cookbook!Thank you so much, I am so honored that I made your day!

So, now I found some time, and it’s hard to decide, as so many of you out there make my mouth water, and I love your blogs! It is hard to chose a small gang with so many delicious food blogs out there, but here we go:

"Arteypico" award goes to:

1. Meltem, of Farida’s Azerbaijani Cookbook; Farida’s little girl, and the cutest chef in the world!
2. Paola, of Diario di Cucina; a blog in Italian, but delicious, creative, and well worth the time to translate!
3. Lovely TM girl, of Taste Memory; love her creativeness with writing, her memories, and food---yummy!
4. Marija, of Palachinka;we share the same cultural background, and visiting her blog feels like going home. She is so creative with her photography, and offers great recipes from Serbia, and Balkans!
5. Brylinn of Jumbo Empanadas; awesome food blog, great cook, great food photography, very creative!!!

The Arteypico award comes with these rules:
1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

I am not sure of the rules for the “You make my day award, but the first blog that comes to my mind is Tartelette. I am sure you have all been hypnotized by her creations, and certainly she will make your day when you see her latest post!

I will add blogs here as they make my day (that's not going to be hard), and today:

May 04/2008 ---You make my day Tartelette!!!

Nutella Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:58:00 +0000

Believe it or not, it is very hard for me to prepare the food that would appeal to my 8 and 6 year old kids! No matter how much they love spending time with me in the kitchen, and they admire my creations, I can’t have them eat everything I make. I have quoted him already, but once again, my son once told me that I am better “than the chefs at the fancy restaurants”, and that was a huge compliment for me, even though he really just wanted me to give in into buying him something! :))))

The best time to trick them into homemade food is when they come from school, after a long “no fun” day! : ) I try my best to always have something special on the table, and these rolls are one of those things they cannot resist. Nutella is the key, but you can also fill them with your favorite jams, or even cream cheese. For cheese you exclude the 1/4 cup sugar, and increase salt a bit.

I like to keep their minds of BK of McDs by making something special for right after school that will hold them until dinner. They love to take these rolls to school, for a snack too. I try to limit their fast food to a once or twice a month occasion., that’s it!

Nutella Rolls:

½ cup milk
½ cup water
1 Tsp sugar + ¼ cup sugar
½ Tsp dry active yeast
½ cup oil
½ Tsp of salt
Enough flour to mix the dough (Approx. 3 cups)
There really is no measure, you just add until you have a nice bread sort of dough texture

Mix together water and milk, and warm it up a little. Pour into mixing bowl, add 1 Tsp of sugar, and yeast. Let sit for few minutes, then add the oil, ¼ cup sugar, salt, and start adding flour a little by little until you have bread like dough. Cover, and let it rise until doubled.

Now knead and transfer to a floured surface. I do this on my linen tablecloth that I have just for these things, so that I don’t cut or scratch my table when I cut the dough.

Divide the dough into 2 balls, and roll each of them into a diner plate sized circle : ) Now, that’s a funny way to put it! Cut into quarters, and then cut each quarter into 3 rolls to be : ) You get 12, of course! Repeat with the other ball of dough.

Put a little Nutella in each, and roll it up. Bruch each with egg yolk wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds or some other seeds (optional), and place a little bit(like ½ Tsp) of butter or margarine on top of each roll. Bake @ 380 F for about20-25 minutes, or until golden.

If this is not enough, just double everything! :)
For another great recipe for rolls, visit Marija’s blog!

Presnac & Cheese Pita

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:23:00 +0000

This dish has a very special meaning to me, it brings back memories, and it is very, very old…Only few women I have ever known have made this, and I myself don’t know the true recipe, but have recreated it to the best of my ability.
I grew up in Dalmatia (yes, I’m a Dalmatian, but not one of the 101 or 102 : ) in a little village nested at the feet of mount Velebit, the largest mountain range in Croatia.

Growing up there, it was just a blast, and I am so proud of my memories, and my enchanted childhood. People were so hardworking, honest, and although seemingly poor, really and truly, they were very, very rich, because they were happy with what they had, and happy with simpler things life had to offer. A word and a firm handshake was still the best form of contract, homes were never locked, and crime was read about in newspapers from elsewhere…

Women were strong, hard working as well, blessed with new age technology, but still each house had their own smokehouse, and bread was still made old world style. One of the treasured dishes made was this “sort of cheese cornbread in fillo sort of dough”, we called it presnac. I can only remember few women ever made it, and one of them was my dad’s cousin, who sadly died last year, so I can’t get the right recipe, but I have recreated it to the best of my taste memory, and ability. It sure turned out delicious, and almost exactly how she used to make it. The only ingredient I didn’t have was good Kačkavalj cheese, which is aged semi-hard cheese, that wouldn’t lose it’s shape when baked in the dish. I know she used to layer slices of it in between fillo, and the cheese/cornmeal filling.

I can find it here in the USA, only it’s a 40 minute ride, one way. Marija, you probably have it sitting in the fridge right now : ) It’s very popular in Serbia, as well as all of the Balkans.

So, here is how I have made Presnac( and cheese pita or burek with cheese as well)

For fillo dough:
500 g AP flour(a bit more than a lb)
Salt to taste, small handful
Enough hot water(as much as you can handle hot)to make the dough, not to hard but not soft

For the filling:
1lbcottage cheese
1 lb cream cheese (I make my own, you can use Farmers cheese)
3 eggs
Salt, to taste
Mix all well, divide into two bowls, and add 6 Tbsp of cornmeal into one of them ---that’s for Presnac.
½ Tsp of baking powder to add later.

Make fillo dough, knead it well, transfer to a floured work surface, and divide into two balls. Now place the dough balls onto a clean kitchen towel, flatten them with your hands, put a Tbsp of oil on each and flatten them again to spread the oil all over the dough.
Now, mix ½ Tsp of baking powder into the cheese mixture with cornbread.
Take one dough like a pizza dough, and work the middle a bit, then place it on a clean table linen (I have one just for these dishes), and from the middle stretch it with your hands gently, and keep stretching away until it’s all done. If it starts ripping you stop.
Cut off the edges, and put about a third of cheese/cornmeal filling down the middle of fillo dough.

This is when you would be layering slices of hard cheese. Cover with one side of fillo, put another third of filling, cover again with other side of fillo.

Put some more filling, and then sort of make an envelope to close it all up and form it into a baking dish shape, and transfer to an oiled baking dish, and brush with egg yolk. Bake @ 405 F for about 25mintues, then you raise the temperature to about 450 F, and bake until golden brown.

Other fillo you use to make cheese pita, or burek with cheese. You stretch the dough, cut the edges off, sprinkle with oil, and cut into three (look at the 3rd picture, cut into 3), spread each third carefully with cheese filling and then just roll it up by lifting the table linen. Didn’t take pictures of that, I was all alone, really needed help : )

It’s simple, just lift the one edge of the table linen, and let the dough start rolling itself, you might need to start with hands if it’s stuck to the linen, then you just roll away. Once rolled up, you connect the edges towards the middle, like in the picture, and transfer to an oiled dish, repeat with other two thirds, and then sprinkle all with some more oil, very lightly. Bake @450Funtil golden brown. Fillo can be filled with many different fillings, like ground meat, potatoes, apples, and much more.

Cheese pita- burek with cheese

Easter Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Medena) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:12:00 +0000

Before we came up with food coloring, Easter eggs were traditionally colored by use of onion peel. There are other natural resources of color, but this is how my ancestors did it, and I continue to do it every year, at least half a dozen for my own enjoyment.
Kids, of course get to mess up my porch and color with food colors, and stick the stickers where you didn’t think they would : )
For me Easter is this Sunday (Orthodox), and I color the eggs on Good Friday, which is today. It’s very simple, all you need is some stockings (need I say new- c'mon they're cheap), cut up into pieces, fresh leaves which should be available by now, onion peel, and water.
The more onion peel you have the deeper red the color will be, but of course if you have a husband who threw away your onion peel (by mistake : ), which you have collected for months, than you will have to settle with the peel of maybe 10 onions, urgh!!!

First you position your leaf, then you secure it with a piece of stocking, tying it in the back, and you boil the eggs as usual, only with addition of onion peels. When done, and cooled down, reveal your art!

Here is the process in few pictures: