{MKMW} Liechtenstein – Käsknöpfle

Translated it means cheese dumplings. Dumplings! Cheese! How can you possibly go wrong with that? It is very much like our Mac/Cheese but with a VERY different pasta. In Leichtenstein it is one of really very few actual Leichtensteiner dishes. {I found only two initially and then ran across several more thanks to Celt Net}

Liechtenstein is a small principality bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. It is the smallest German speaking country in the world. For most of its 2000 year history it has been under the control of one country or another and its cuisine reflects that. But according to some of the web sites I visited THIS recipe is considered the national dish.

These dumplings can be made by simply dropping little pieces of batter into the boiling water or by using a special cutter They are very similar to German spaetzle.

300g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3 eggs
1 tbsp water
1 large onion, chopped
150g mixed grated cheese {I used Gruyere and cheddar}

Place the ingredients in a bowl and mix them into a dough. Leave for 10-20 minutes. Then pass the dough through a colander or dough cutter into boiling, salted water. Leave the small pieces of dough in the boiling water for a couple of minutes, then place them in a bowl, add grated cheese, and mix together. Fry onion rings in butter until they are golden, then place these on top of the dish and serve.

I made 1/3 of the recipe and that was plenty for two healthy servings.

This was very easy to prepare and very tasty. And since these little free form noodles are so easy to make it will be served often.

Pop on over to and see what other dishes arrived from Leichtenstein. And if you want to join in just make a dish and leave a comment on the MKMW website.

 

{BwJ} Madeleines

In May of last year I was just finishing up catching up with all the TWD recipes I missed. Three of them were Madeleines. I had not made them before because I did not have the pan. Now I am always looking for reasons to make them just so I can use my single-purpose pan!! How perfect is it that this week’s Baking With Julia pick is Madeleines

I Love the shape of these little cakes/cookies. These are made with a Génoise batter which was new to me. Others I have made were more of a cake batter.

These were rather plain so I decided to dress them up a smidge. I dipped some in chocolate

And some I sprinkled with Cinnamon Sugar

AS much as I like love chocolate I liked the cinnamon sugar ones better.

And while I tried to like these madeleines they aren’t my favorites. They seemed dry and awfully dense. Ah, well.

The batter (page 41) and the madeleines (page 334) were contributed to Baking with Julia by Flo Braker. Hosting this week are Katie and Amy Thisdell of CounterDog and you can find the recipe on her blog.And stop by and visit the bakers of Baking with Julia for their Madeleines, too.

 

{BwJ} Rustic Potato Loaf

The fragrance of fresh bread wafting through the house is one of the most comforting things ever! That means that baking bread is always a plus since you have something tasty to enjoy and a comforting feeling as well. And so it was this morning as I was making Leslie Mackie’s Rustic Potato Loaf (supposed to be Loaves but I only made one)

Mackie’s loaf is beautifully rustic. By baking this bread with the seam up rather than down you get the nice rough top, or as she put it, “…with a jagged, flour-encrusted crease…”. Love it!!

The loaf is made with mashed russet potatoes, complete with skins, and AP flour with a little EVOO and potato water thrown in for good measure. You end up with a nice crusty bread perfect with a little dipping oil. And little pieces of skin showing up through the bread.

You can find the recipe for these lovely loaves on Dawn’s Site – Simply Sweet. Or, if you want to join the Baking With Julia fun the loaves are on page 138 of Child’s Baking with Julia

And please stop by and visit the other Members of Baking with Julia and see their gorgeous breads.

 

{BwJ} Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies. I am always on a quest to find just the right recipe. And I have tried one or two or three. There was even a cookie with Espresso in it but I didn’t make those. Now that I am So Much More Sophistocated (Yeah, Right!) I have learned to use Espresso and like it. Especially in these!!

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Using Cadbury’s Dark Chocolate and regular Semi-Sweet chips I added just one 1 Tbl to half the recipe and ended up with 3 dozen cookies. I wish I had added just a tad more espresso. The chocolate seemed to drown out the taste and one was left with just a hint of a coffee aftertaste. But for me, that was okay because I really don’t care for coffee much. I made them more for the Hubs. I would make these again, however.

Peggy of Galettistais this week’s host and the recipe will be on her page.

And please visit the other members of Baking with Julia for their cookies. Maybe they will share!

 

Chocolate Caramel Muffins

I like making muffins. They are quick and easy and they don’t need frosting – much to The Hub’s chagrin. If I make muffins I make ones that have some kind of topping even if it isn’t frosting. So this week when he asked for muffins I found some that I liked and then changed the recipe – a little – to fit our tastes. They contained Nutella. And while I am a fan, The Hubs is not.

Chocolate Caramel Muffins

2 cups flour
1/3 cup finely shaved chocolate
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup caramel plus extra for decorating
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup chopped pecans (Reserve 1/4 for decorating.)
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your muffin tins (one 12-cup and one 6-cup) by spraying with non-stick spray or lining with muffin papers.
Combine your flour, shaved chocolate, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
In another smaller bowl, whisk together your egg, milk, yogurt, and butter.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stop when it’s still quite dry looking.
Add in the caramel, pecans, coconut flakes and chocolate chips. Stir until just mixed.
Divide your batter between the 18 prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pans and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.
Once cool, drizzle the muffins with a small amount of the caramel and decorate with the rest of the pecans.

The Hubs liked these. The caramel was just the perfect topping with a few pecans on top. You could put some coconut on top, too, but we preferred them without.

The recipe was enough for 12 full sized muffins and 12 minis.

I liked the minis best – one little bite of sweetness.

Enjoy!

 

{BwJ} Croissants

I started baking, real baking, 4 1/2 years ago when I joined Tuesdays with Dorie. In all that time I have made lots of different things. Lots! But I have never made…

…Croissants

Nope! Never. Which is why I was excited to see this week’s pick for Baking with Julia. Now I am wondering why it took me so long. While they did take two days of prep and baking they were well, well worth it. They were flakey, buttery, crispy, soft. The dough called for compressed or fresh yeast but I didn’t have any so I used regular KAF yeast. I had no trouble with it rising well. Mixed with the dough is a HUGE oval of butter (1 lb 2 oz) which is why the croissant was SOOOO buttery!!! And delicious. Contributed by Esther McManus, {page 53} it was a nice dough to work with.

I used only 1/2 of the total recipe and then used only 1/2 of the dough made. With the 1/4 of the total recipe I ended up with 9 croissants. They weren’t big but they were perfect for breakfast. No fillings, no butter, no jam needed.

It does take some practice to get the croissants shaped. Not all of mine came out in the regular cressant shape

but that is okay.

They all tasted the same.

The instructions for making the flakey delights is on page 185. On the following pages are instructions for Almond Croissants, Pate Croissants and Chocolate. Two of those are in my real near future since I still have dough in the fridge.

This weeks hostess was Amanda of Girl+Food=Love. So the recipe is on her page and so are some absolutely incredible looking croissants.

The other BwJ member’s croissants are on the Baking with Julia website.

And if you want to join in all you need is the book, Baking with Julia. We’d love to have you!

 

{SRC} Meeting Martinelli

Today is the first Monday in March (ALREADY!!??) which means its REVEAL DAY for the Secret Recipe Club. Each month the memebers are assisgned a blog to enjoy, cook from and drool over!! This week I had the pleasure of meeting Katherine of Katherine Martinelli. She describes herself as writer, photographer, wanderer. She is …”an internationally published food and travel writer and photographer who contributes regularly to publications on three continents. A native New Yorker, she currently calls Be’er Sheva, Israel home.” Her recipes look delicious, her photographs are outstanding, and she has a cookbook – Puff Pastry at Brunch so cooking from her blog was a joy! And as usual it was soooo hard to pick one. Three was hard, but that is what I had to finally stop with.

Here in the south we don’t have much cold weather but when it is cold I love to make soup. Any kind of soup. So one of the recipes was easy.

Chicken and Corn Chowder

While Gumbo is my first soup to make every winter I am always willing to try something new. Usually something full of goodies, thick, and flavorful. Can you see all the goodies in this one – chicken, potatoes, BACON, celery, carrots???

1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons flour
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 medium potatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cups whole milk
½ cup cream
1 3/4 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cups corn kernels (frozen, canned, or fresh)
1/4 teaspoon dried ground thyme
Salt and pepper
Chopped chives, for garnish

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, Bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add 3 tablespoons of the flour and stir until fully incorporated.
Stir in the broth and potatoes, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the corn, milk, and cream and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken and thyme and cook until chicken is heated through.
Put the remaining 2 tablespoons flour in a small bowl and add a ladle full of broth. Whisk together to form a slurry and add back into the chowder. Stir to combine.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately and top with chopped chives, if desired.

This soup was sooo good. Comfort food at its best. While Katherine did not put bacon in her version (which was in the original) I added it back in. The only change I would make next time would be to used cream corn rather than whole kernels. I think it would add more tender corn and creamyness. But this was deliclious.

Especially when I made her Garlic Bread Buttermilk Biscuits to go with it.

Yes, I said Garlic Bread and Biscuit at the same time. Made with chopped garlic and garlic powder there is plenty of flavor in these. These are different from any biscuit I have ever made. Instead of making a dough and rolling it out and cutting biscuits these are made from a batter poured into a pan and sliced after baking.

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
13/4 cup buttermilk

Heat oven to 400F.
Spray an 8- by 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Melt the butter and stir in the garlic, garlic powder and dried oregano.
Pour the garlic and herb butter into the prepared baking dish.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Add the buttermilk and mix until you get a smooth, thick batter.
Spoon the batter on top of the garlic butter. Smooth as much as possible with a spatula so it’s evenly distributed.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Place a plate upside down on top of the baking pan, then flip so the bread comes out with the buttery part on top.
Slice and serve.

Oh! My! All that buttery goodness. All that garlic taste. Oh! My! I love biscuits but don’t always have time when I am thinking of supper. With these I don’t have to take lots of time because they aren’t rolled and cut.

And then Katherine started coming up with variations she wants to try and now, if we meet, she will be my BFF! You have to visit this post to see what I am talking about!!

After the soup and biscuits we really needed (well, wanted) something sweet to end the day. Fortunately there are lots of sweets to choose from. And since I am retired with no children at home I have lots of time so of course I HAD to choose one of the more time consuming desserts.

Rakott Palacsinta aka Layered Crepe Cake.

It is a long process so I will let you look at her recipe and process pics instead. Making crepes. Filling crepes. Stacking crepes. Covering crepes with ganache.

If you look at her picture and then at mine you an see I need more practice with this one. but it was fun to try. And good, too. I made 1/2 of the total recipe (because we didn’t NEED a whole cake to tempt us) and ended up with 10 6″ crepes which I cut in half and stacked. I used strawberry preserves and ground chocolate/sugar between the crepes. Chocolate and strawberry is always a good combination. My problems came because while baking the fillings melted out from between the crepe layers and the crepes got tough. I will have to ask Katherine how to fix that problem. But it was still sweet and tasty.

I have several of Katherine’s recipes Pinned and have more I want to try – Wine braised chicken with saffron cream, Garlicky Shrimp Pasta, and her Cinnamon Bun Cake just to name a few. You really should visit Katherine, browse her RECIPES, and enjoy her photographs.

And if you want to join in the fun visit The Secret Recipe Club and sign up. You won’t be sorry! I mean, really, look at all the great dishes for March (Link below).

 

{MKMW} Portugal

This month My Kitchen My World made a quick visit to Portugal….

..a small country on the west coast of Spain. Portugal is known for its culinary diversity. Cooks pair meat with fish, fish with fruit, fruit with eggs, eggs with beans. Vasco de Gama found the water route to the east and introduced the spices of India, Africa, and South America to Europe. Today all those spices are incorporated into native seasons to add robust flavor to the dishes of Portugal – especially the seafood and water fowl, which, being a coastal country, is abundant.

I have been waiting for a recipe to use some ducks I had in the freezer. This one was perfect. So for supper last nite we had….

Arroz de Pato {Braised Duck and Rice}

A duckling weighing 5 to 51/2 pounds, with its giblets {I had 4 wild ducks and no gibliets}
5 cups cold water
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced thin
10 peppercorns
1/4 pound prosciutto, in one piece
1/4 pound slab bacon, in one piece {For both bacon and prosciutto I had slices but it worked just fine.}
1/2 pound chourico, chorizo, or pepperoni, in one piece
2 cups converted rice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons cold water

1. Pull all excess fat from the neck and body cavities of the duck and discard; prick the bird well all over with a sharp-pronged fork, then refrigerate until needed. Place the water, duck giblets and neck, onion, carrots, peppercorns, prosciutto, bacon, and chourico in a large heavy kettle, and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Adjust the burner heat so mixture bubbles gently, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
2. With a slotted spoon, lift the duck giblets and neck, the prosciutto, bacon, and chourico from the kettle and reserve. Now place the duck in the kettle, breast-side up, bring the
liquid to a gentle simmer, cover, and simmer 30 minutes; turn the bird breast-side down, re-cover, and sim- mer 30 minutes longer. Remove the duck from the broth and cool until
easy to handle. Strain the broth, discarding the solids. Now skim as much fat as possible from the broth-there will be plenty of it! This is a job requiring patience.
3. Preheat the oven to very hot (450°F). With poultry shears, cut the legs and wings off the duck. Divide the breast in half by cutting down the middle of the breastbone, then cut each half crosswise into three chunks. Remove as much meat as possible from the back of the bird.
Place all pieces of meat, skin-side up, in a shallow 3-quart earthenware casserole. (It should measure about 12 x 9 inches, or 11 to 12 inches in diameter, and be 2 inches deep.) Place the uncovered casserole on the middle shelf of the oven and bake the duck until lightly browned-about 15 minutes. Remove -the casserole from the oven and set aside; reduce oven heat to moderate (350°F).
4. Pour 1 quart of the skimmed duck broth (reserve any extra to use in making a soup, sauce, or stew) into a large heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat; add the rice and pepper, bring to a simmer, adjust the heat so that the mixture bubbles gently, then cook un-
covered about 10 minutes until the level of the liquid is below that of the rice. Meanwhile, cut as much meat from the duckling neck as possible and reserve; discard the neck bone. Also, coarsely chop the giblets, and dice the prosciutto. Add all to the rice, cover, and cook 5 to 8 minutes longer until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
5. Meanwhile, dice the bacon and brown in a small heavy skillet over moderately high heat until most of the drippings have cooked out, leaving crisp brown bits-about 5 minutes. You’ll have to stir the bacon frequently to keep it from burning. With a slotted spoon, lift the crisp brown bits to paper toweling to drain; discard the drippings or reserve to use another time. Slice the chourico ‘/4-inch thick; stir into the rice along with the bacon bits.
6. Spoon the rice into the casserole covering the. duck completely. Drizzle the surface first with melted butter, then with the egg yolk mixture. Cover snugly with foil and bake 15 minutes; uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer, just until the rice is faintly golden. Spoon rice mixture onto serving dish or serve directly from the casserole.
{Note: Because ofthe saltiness of the ham, bacon, and sausage used, you will not need to add any salt.} Country Living September 1987

This was really good but took about 4 – 4 1/2 hours to make. The flavor of the bacon and prosciutto was all through the rice and the ducks were very flavorful. I am glad I made the full recipe so we could have leftovers.

For dessert we had….

PÃO DE LÓ

…a golden sponge cake layer that appears in its paper wrapper in markets and pastry shops throughout Portugal.

2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/3 cup unsifted all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 9-inch round cake pan. Cut a 15- by 12-inch piece of parchment paper and fit into pan, allowing edges to extend beyond rim (see
Note). Grease paper on bottom and 2 inches up side of pan.
In medium-size bowl, with electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs with salt until light and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar until soft peaks form. Add yolks, 2 at a time, beating 3 minutes after each addition.
Sprinkle flour over egg mixture. With rubber spatula, very gently fold flour into beaten egg mixture until uniformly combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.
Place another piece of parchment over cake, resting on extended edges of the parchment pan liner and being careful to avoid top of batter.
Bake 15 minutes or until center appears set. Remove top piece of parchment. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Using edges of parchment pan liner, lift cake to serving plate and set aside at least 1 hour before serving.
{Note: The cake may be baked without parchment, but the surface will be darker. To do so, grease 9-inch round baking pan and line bottom with a circle of waxed paper; grease paper and side of pan.}{Country Living June 1997}

This cake was a perfect foil for ice cream or caramel or chocolate but by itself a little bland. I would definitely make it again tho. Very simple and quick.

Sure wish y’all would join us in visiting the cuisine of different countries. Just check

with the website each month to see what country we are visiting.

HINT:: March we are going to Liechtenstein.

 

{WWDH} Banana Cake

Most of the time there are at least 10 frozen bananas in the freezer. At least that is how many I can find at any one time. Last week I found about 15 so it was a Bananapalooza in my kitchen. And since I knew I had lots of frozen naners I chose Donna’s Food Processor Banana Cake for the group {Wednesdays with Donna Hay} to make this week.

All you need is one cup of smashed bananas along with flour, sugar (brown and white), eggs, cinnamon, and sour cream. Mixing these ingredients together results in a lovely little cake. The cake was nice and moist, not too sweet and not a strong banana taste. Perfect!!! And it is super simple because all the ingredients go into a food processor for mixing!!

I made the whole recipe and from that made 1-6″ bundt and 1-4″ cake.

Visit with Gaye, Kayte, and Chaya to see their cakes.

If you want to try this little tasty cake you can find the recipe on page 160 of Donna’s Off the Shelf or online at Recipe Binder or a similar cake on Donna’s Website that is ALMOST identical with a caramel sauce {why didn’t I think of that???}

 

Mini King Cakes for Fat Tuesday

It is the end of Mardi Gras season here in Louisiana. Today is the LAST day to be indulgent before the beginning of the Lenten Season on Ash Wednesday.

There are parades all over Louisiana.

And there are King Cakes all over Louisiana.

So try this one from “Louisiana Cookin’”. Fast, rich, and delicious.

The recipe is for 12 individual King Cakes. I ended up with 12 individual cakes and 1 larger braid.

While these are not filled they are still quite decadent – a rich buttery Brioche bread sprinkled with sugar (in Mardi Gras colors of course) and a sugary glaze. Thanks to Marcelle Bienvenu, a Chef/Instructor of the John Folse Culinary Institute. And if you are still not sure of who she is – WHO’S YOUR MAMA, ARE YOU CATHOLIC AND CAN YOU MAKE A ROUX? is one of her Cookbooks.

You can find the recipe on the Louisiana Cookin’ Magazine Site.

Laissez les bons temps rouler Y’all!!