cabbage rolls (oma's)

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2 heads Savoy cabbage

1 pound ground sausage (i use Bob Evans sausage roll)

1 medium onion, chopped small

1 pound uncooked long grain rice (I use Carolina)

2 jars Gundelsheim sauerkraut (or any good sauerkraut)

1 or 2 packages Hillshire Farms Lit'l smokies

saved water from cooking the cabbage

Cut the core out of the cabbage but leave it whole. Place it, with the empty core area facing up, in a large pot of boiling water and simmer until you can pull the leaves off easily.

Meanwhile, thoroughly  mix together the sausage roll, uncooked rice and onion.

Drain the head of cabbage. Pull off large leaves and cut out the large vein.  Place a few leaves of cabbage in the bottom of a large pot, then scatter some sauerkraut on top of them. Roll about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling in each leaf (depending on the size of your leaf) and arrange cabbage rolls on top of the sauerkraut. Throw in the lit'l smokies, tucking some between the cabbage rolls, then add some more sauerkraut. Repeat layers...cabbage rolls, sauerkraut and smokies. Carefully pour in the reserved water from the cabbage until everything is almost covered. Bring to a boil, then cook at a slow simmer for several hours. The longer you cook them, the better they are.

[I like to reheat these in a pan with melted butter, I know, but still they are delicious.]

[These also freeze very well.]

 

enjoy! 

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three-layer peppermint bark

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 Adapted from Bon Appétit, December 1998

 

When you’re shopping for white chocolate, make sure that the words “cocoa butter” appear in the list of ingredients or you get only sugar, hydrogenated oil, artificial flavorings, and crappy stuff. I like using Callebaut.

Also, to crush the peppermints coarsely, Bon Appétit advises tapping the wrapped candies firmly with the bottom edge of an unopened 15- to 16-ounce can. I use my food processor.

17 oz. white chocolate, such as Callebaut, finely chopped
30 red-and-white-striped hard peppermint candies, coarsely crushed
7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, such as Ghirardelli 60%, finely chopped
6 Tbsp. heavy cream
¾ tsp. peppermint extract

 

Turn a large baking sheet upside down, and cover it securely with aluminum foil. Measure out and mark a 9- by 12-inch rectangle on the foil.

Put the white chocolate in a metal (or other heatproof) bowl, and set it over a saucepan of barely simmering water. (Do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water.) Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth; if you take its temperature with a candy thermometer, it should register 110°F. Remove the chocolate from the heat. Pour 2/3 cup of it onto the rectangle on the foil. Using an icing spatula, spread the chocolate to fill the rectangle. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of the crushed peppermints. Chill until set, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the bittersweet chocolate, cream, and peppermint extract in a heavy medium saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is just melted and smooth. Cool to barely lukewarm, about 5 minutes. Then remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator, and pour the bittersweet chocolate mixture over the white chocolate rectangle. Using an icing spatula – make sure you cleaned it after using it for the white chocolate, above! – spread the bittersweet chocolate in an even layer. Chill until very cold and firm, about 25 minutes.

Rewarm the remaining white chocolate over barely simmering water to 110°F. Working quickly, pour the white chocolate over the firm bittersweet layer, using your (again, clean) icing spatula to spread it to cover. Sprinkle with remaining crushed peppermints. Chill just until firm, about 20 minutes.

Carefully lift the foil from the baking sheet onto a large cutting board. Cut or break into desired size pieces.

Pack into an airtight container, with sheets of wax paper between layers of bark to prevent them from sticking to one another. Store in the refrigerator. Serve cold or, to emphasize the slight softness of the bittersweet layer, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: This bark will keep for up to 2 weeks, if not more. If you plan to pack it in a tin or baggie with other holiday sweets, be sure to wrap it separately in plastic wrap. Or maybe wax paper and then plastic wrap, so that it doesn’t sweat. If you left it naked, so to speak, to mix and mingle with other cookies or candies, everything might wind up tasting and smelling like peppermint.

Yield: about 36 pieces, or more, if you cut them smaller.

enjoy!(click here to return to blog!)

coffee toffee

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1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons molasses (can swap corn syrup or honey)
1/4 teaspoon salt (or a heaping 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, or 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (toasted, skinned and cooled) or another nut of your choice

Line a small baking sheet (mine are 9×13) with parchment paper or a silicon mat and set aside.

In medium heavy saucepan (I used a 3-quart) with a candy thermometer attached, melt butter, brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, salt and espresso together over together. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk until the temperature approaches 250*F, at which point you should stir constantly until it reaches 300*F.

Pour immediately into the prepared baking sheet — you can spread it more evenly with a offset or silicon spatula but don’t worry if you have neither. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee and let them sit for a minute until soft, then spread the chocolate evenly over the candy base. Sprinkle the chocolate with chopped hazelnuts. 

Break into pieces and store in an airtight container. 

enjoy!

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pink peppermint snowballs

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makes about 40 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 drop red food coloring gel

1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup rice flour

1/4 teaspoon salt 

2 tablespoons crushed peppermint candies

1 tablespoon very coarse red sugar*

1 cup powdered sugar mixed with finely crushed candy canes for rolling in.

Preheat your oven to 350°F and arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two pans with parchment or silicone baking liners. 

Cube up your butter and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften. You don't want it too soft for this recipe, just warm enough that you can work with it. 

In your mixer equipped with the paddle, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium high speed for three-four minutes until smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the drop of red food coloring and peppermint extract, beat again until well mixed, scraping down the bowl as needed. 

In the meantime, combine the flours, salt, crushed candy and red sugar together. 

Add the flour mixture to your mixing bowl of what is essentially pink peppermint butter cream frosting and mix on low speed to combine. Scrape down the sides as needed. 

Once the dough has is evenly mixed and has just come together, stop beating. 

Roll the dough into balls just under 1". Place the balls on a tray and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Once chilled, arrange the balls on your baking sheet, leaving 2" of space between each. 

Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes, rotating once half way through baking until the cookies have a golden blush and the bottoms are brown. 

Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire wrack before coating with powdered sugar. To coat: mix the cup of powdered sugar with crushed candy cane in a bowl, add the cookies, a few at a time. Toss gently  to coat and then repeat with the remaining cookies. 

enjoy!

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Farmer's Cheese and Raisin Filo Strudel

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adapted from Rick Rodgers

Kaffeehaus: The Best Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague, because nobody wrote down my Oma's recipes!!!

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
20 ounces farmer's cheese
2 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 cup milk
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1 cup golden raisins (I did not use them) 

12 12-by-17-inch sheets of fresh or thawed frozen filo
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F. Lightly brush a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish with a little of the melted butter.

2. Using a rubber spatula, work the cheese through a medium-meshed wire sieve into a medium bowl. Stir the bread crumbs and milk in another medium bowl.

3. Beat the room-temperature butter in a large bowl with a handheld mixer on high speed until creamy. Add the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat until light in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Mix in the farmer's cheese, soaked bread crumbs, and sour cream.

4. In another medium bowl, using very clean beaters, beat the egg whites at high speed until they form stiff peaks. Stir about one fourth of the whites into the cheese mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Fold in the raisins.

5. Place a filo sheet in the prepared pan, letting excess dough hang over the sides. Using a soft brush, lightly brush the filo as best as you can with melted butter. Layer 5 more filo sheets, buttering each layer. Pour in the cheese mixture and spread evenly. Layer with 6 more filo sheets, buttering each layer and the top. Tuck the excess filo into the baking pan.

6. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Cool for 30 minutes. Dust the top of the strudel with confectioners' sugar. Serve warm or cooled. This is really yummy with vanilla sauce.

The strudel is best the day it is baked.enjoy!

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