Deep Fried Onion Strings

We are in birthday month!  This means lots of junk food.  Since the kids pick their meals, they usually pick things that we wouldn't normally have.  After homemade Pop Tarts, we had Chick-Fil-A for lunch and burgers and onion strings for dinner.  This is another great recipe from the Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook.  We piled these onions on our burgers and ate them on the side too.

Deep Fried Onion Strings

• 
  
  1 large onion
• 
  
  2 c. buttermilk
• 
  
  2 c. all-purpose flour
• 
  
  1/2 T. salt
• 
  
  Black pepper, to taste
• 
  
  A dash of cayenne pepper
• 
  
  Canola oil for frying

Peel onion and slice very thin. Separate onions and put in a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk over onions and let set on the counter for at least an hour, pressing onions down into the buttermilk to keep them submerged in buttermilk.  Combine flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in bowl.  Pour oil into Dutch oven, about 3 inches deep. Heat oil to 375 degrees (a kitchen thermometer is handy...I use mine all the time). When you sprinkle flour over the oil, it should sizzle.  Using tongs remove some onions and immediately dredge in flour. Tap tongs on side of bowl to remove excess flour.  Carefully drop into oil, stirring around to break up clumps. These will cook pretty fast.  Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and serve hot.  Makes 2 servings.  I tripled this and it fed 6 people with plenty leftover.

Pop Tarts.....of the homemade variety

These taste amazing!  I may never eat boxed Pop Tarts again.  This means I may only have Pop Tarts once every ten years. This recipe is not for the weak or the faint-hearted.  These are work people.  We have been drooling over this recipe from Chickens in the Road for quite sometime now.  Today, in honor of my oldest daughter, on her 13th birthday (yes, we now have our first teen and look to be living with teens for at least 17 more years!), I made homemade Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Pop Tarts.  The kids always get to pick their birthday breakfast.  They have often picked out Pop Tarts or some really disgusting cereal like Cookie Crisp.  This year it was either homemade doughnuts or homemade Pop Tarts.  I thought Pop Tarts seemed easier than doughnuts, but I think I was wrong.  Now I will just have to make doughnuts to find out.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Pastry:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups shortening
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup very cold water

Add flour, shortening, sugar, and salt to a large bowl. (This is a lot of flour...I suggest a really large bowl so stuff doesn't fly all over the counters.) Mix flour and shortening with a pastry cutter until it looks nice and crumbly. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, egg, and water. Add to the flour mixture, stirring in till well-moistened. Stick your hands in there and shape it into a ball. (Don’t overhandle.) Divide dough into equal halves. Wrap each half with plastic and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before using. (Please make this night before....if your not crazy like me.)

After dough is chilled, roll out in two long strips six inches wide.  I did this on the kitchen table.  It is the only big, flat, non-cluttered surface in the kitchen area.

Cut into three-inch sections.

How you roll your dough will determine how many Pop Tarts you end up with.  I made 14 Pop Tarts.

Place filling in the middle of the strips for the bottom layer. Brush with butter, then put a scoop of sugar mixture in middle and spread with spoon.


Filling:

• 3 T. butter, melted
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 T. cinnamon

Using the other strip, place tops on PopTart pieces, pinching all the way around the sides to seal. Press a fork all around the sides then prick the centers to vent. Carefully transfer to a greased baking sheet using care not to tear the bottom.  This is a delicate operation.

Bake at 400-degrees approximately 15 minutes, switching oven racks halfway through baking. (Note: Start baking on the top rack then move the pan to the bottom rack after about 8 minutes.) Cool and top with icing.


Powdered Sugar Icing:

• 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 t. vanilla
• 1 or 2 t. milk
• A sprinkle of cinnamon

Combine 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and enough milk (one to two teaspoons) for drizzling consistency.

This post is linked up with Tasty Tuesday.

Sugar Cookies

These are my favorite sugar cookies.  They are slightly crisp and buttery with big sugar crystals all over the outside.  I found this recipe at  Savory Sweet Life.  She has some really tasty looking recipes on her site.

Sugar Cookies

• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup salted butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 cup coarse sugar crystals or regular granulated sugar for rolling cookies (we used demerara sugar and it probably took about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together butter and sugar until it is nice and creamy. Mix in 1 egg yolk at a time and vanilla extract. Mix dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture, mixing completely.  Be sure to scrape down the bowl to be sure everything is mixed. Using a medium scoop (we used the large side of a melon baller), form dough balls and roll them in sugar crystals. Place cookie balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper 2 inches apart from one another. Be sure not to flatter any of the dough. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the surface of each cookies have a cracked like texture. Remove from oven and allow cookies to remain on the cookie sheet for 5 mintues before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy!  Makes about 32 cookies. 

Sausage and Cheese Braid

This is how you assemble the sausage and cheese braid.

Just out of the oven!

I love cheese.

Sausage and Cheese Braid

Dough:

• 1-1/2 c. water
• 1 t. yeast
• 4 c. flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 olive oil

Filling:

• 1 lb. Italian sausage (or ground beef with Italian seasoning if you don't like sausage)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c. ricotta cheese
• 3 c. Mozzarella cheese

Dough:  Combine water and yeast in mixer bowl. Let proof 5 minutes. Add flour, salt and olive oil. Knead with dough hook, adding more flour as needed until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Knead for 5 minutes. Let rise for 20 minutes or so...no need to have poofy dough for this recipe.

Filling: Meanwhile, fry sausage with onion and garlic cloves until completely cooked and vegetables are soft. Drain off grease. Mix in ricotta.

Assembling: Once dough is done divide in half and pat out into two large rectangles. Put half the sausage mixture down the middle of each dough rectangle and then top with 1-1/2 cups cheese on each rectangle. To make the braid (see picture above) cut the sides of the dough just about to the filling in strips that are about 1 inch wide. Starting at one end, cross the strips over one another until you get to the other end.  Crimp ends closed and fold under.  Beat egg and lightly brush over the tops of the braids. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool 5 minutes before cutting. Makes 2 large braids.

Give Away at Raising Homemakers

They are giving away a really cute necklace at Raising Homemakers, so head over there and leave a coment.

Garden Fresh Galettes

Yellow squash galette before baking.

Hot out of the oven...oh my!

Yellow Zebra tomatoes, basil and zucchini galette before baking.

I was searching the Internet for recipes that involve squash.  When you grow squash you usually have to figure out what to do with it.  New ways to serve it because it is an abundant producer.  I came across this recipe at Smitten Kitchen and it was AWESOME.  It was the best thing to come out of my kitchen in a long time.  I altered the original recipe only slightly by using yellow squash, adding more garlic and not using basil.  I saved the basil to go with the tomato version.  What are you going to top your galette with?

Garden Fresh Galette

Pastry:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chill again
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup ice water

Filling for squash galette:

• 1 large or 2 small zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup (about 1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded mozzarella

Glaze:

• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Make dough: Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. I made mine in the morning and used it at dinner time.  I just took it out about 5 minutes before rolling it out.

Make filling: Spread the zucchini out over several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let drain for 30 minutes; gently blot the tops of the zucchini dry with paper towels before using. (I thought this was really cool!  What was beaded up on top of the zucchini...amazing.) In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil and the garlic together; set aside. (I made my garlic oil in the morning so that the flavor could really get into the oil.) In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon of the garlicky olive oil together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare galette: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round on parchment paper. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the galette dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Shingle the zucchini attractively on top of the ricotta in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of the garlic and olive oil mixture evenly over the zucchini. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open. Brush crust with egg yolk glaze.

Bake the galette until the cheese is puffed, the zucchini is slightly wilted and the galette is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with basil, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Tomato/Basil galette: 

• 2 tomatoes, sliced thin and placed on paper towels to drain for about 10 minutes. Blot top just before using.
• 20 or so basil leaves
• Zucchini slices if desired

Assemble the same as above, placing basil leaves on top of cheese mixture and layer with tomatoes and zucchini if desired.

This post is linked to Meatless Monday.

This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday.

Chocolate Pie with a Cloud of Whip Cream

This is my mom's chocolate pie.  It is super rich and super delicious. I was always afraid to make it because of the egg whites.  I was afraid of egg whites.  Not sure why.  If you have a KitchenAid mixer you should not fear the egg white.  All things are possible with the KitchenAid.  If I could only have one appliance in my kitchen it would be my mixer.

This pie calls for a prebaked pie crust.  You could use a cookie crust, store bought or homemade.  I prefer the saltiness of regular pie crust.  This is my go to pie crust for prebaked crust needs.  You don't have to roll this crust, you just press it into the pan.  I saw this crust on on Cook's Country and you can look over there for the particulars. This post is more about the filling and the best part, the cloud of whipped cream.

Chocolate Pie

• 
  
  1 prebaked crust
• 
  
  1 12 ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
• 
  
  2 T. milk
• 
  
  2 T. sugar
• 
  
  4 eggs, separated
• 
  
  1 t. vanilla

Separate eggs, placing whites in bowl of mixer and yolks in another bowl. Begin beating whites on medium speed and once they begin to look foamy, after about one minute, turn the speed to medium-high and let beat until stiff peaks form. While the whites are beating, place chocolate chips, sugar and milk into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Beat egg yolks, one at a time, into chocolate mixture and then add the vanilla. Fold in the egg whites.  This takes some work.  You want a uniform color to your chocolate and no white clumps, so be patient, while gently folding the two mixtures together. Once fully combined, pour into prebaked pie crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.  Top with a cloud of whip cream.

Cloud of Whipped Cream

• 
  
  1 pint heavy whipping cream, cold
• 
  
  2 T. sugar
• 
  
  1 t. vanilla

Chill your mixing bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to making whipped cream.  Pour cream into mixer and begin beating with whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, after about 2 minutes, add sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until to desired consistency.  I whip mine until it is just about stiff peak stage.