Mushroom Strudel

Po had this fabulous recipe for Mushroom Strudel that we just had to try.  And it was amazing.  I would definitely mail you a package of Mushroom Strudel because it tastes so good, but, as that's not entirely practical, I'll post the recipe instead.  (Though the post office does like smelly boxes in the mail).

 

Mushroom Strudel:

1 lb. mushrooms, chopped

1 cup cream cheese or cottage cheese - we used cream cheese

1 cup sour cream or yogurt - we used sour cream

1 tsp salt

lots of black pepper

1 tsp. dill

1 cup bread crumbs

2 scallions, finely minced - we used green onions that we had on hand

1/4 cup packed fresh parsley

3 Tbs. lemon juice

----

10 sheets filo pastry (~1/2 pound)

3-4 Tbs olive oil or butter for the filo

 

1)Preheat oven to 375oF.  Oil a baking tray.

2)Place the mushrooms in a saucepan, and cook them all bythemselves over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Drain them, squeezing out all the excess liquid, and transfer the mushrooms to a medium-sized bowl.

3)Add cream cheese, cut into small pieces, or cottage cheese to the hot mushrooms.  Mix well.  Stir in the remaining filling ingredients.

4) TO ASSEMBLE:  Place one sheet of filo on a clean, dry countertop.  Brush the top lightly with oil, then add another sheet.  Brush with oil, then add another.  Continue until you have 5 layers .  Add half the filling, fold in the sides, and gently roll until you have a neat little log.  Brush the top with more oil, then carefully lift the pastry, and place it on the oiled baking sheet.  Repeat this procedure to make a second roll, and place it next to the first one on the tray.

6) Bake 25-30min, until golden and exquisitely crisp.  Cut with a serrated knife, using a gentle sawing motion.  Serve hot or at room temp.

 

Brushing the filo - if you've never worked with filo before, it is definitely an experience you should have in your cooking career.  Nothing else in the kitchen is quite like it.

Rolling the logs

 

We doubled the recipe because of a serious love of mushrooms, hence the 4 logs instead of just two.  Thanks for the recipe Po!

Original recipe from some brilliant cookbook of Po's.  TBA

Oreo Truffles

These take a little more time than the pretzels I just posted, but they are definitely worth the process.

Use of food processor or blender to grind a full package of oreos into fine crumbs (original oreos, not the double stuff).  Mix crumbs with a full package of cream cheese.  I mix them in my bocsh with either the cookie paddles or the dough hook.  The resulting "dough" will be super heavy and thick.  If you try to use something without enough power (ex: most hand mixers), you will risk burning out the motor of your mixer.  You could probably also do this with a spoon, and then kneed the dough for the last little bit to get a firm, sticky dough.

Now the fun part:  use a cookie scoop or a melon baller to ball up the dough.  Place balls in the fridge until firm.  In a double broiler, melt Bakers chocolate (about 12 oz).  Dip balls into chocolate, place on parchment paper or slip mat.  Allow to cool - I cool mine in the fridge.  Devour!

If you don't have a double boiler, here is what I did:

Fill pan with some water.  Put a glass or metal bowl on top of the pan.  Choose a bowl that fits snugly but doesn't hang too far down and touch the water.  Note: this isn't yet the full 12 oz of chocolate inside the bowl.

Pretzel Turtles!

Easiest holiday goody ever!

Place rolos on square pretzels.  Top with pecan halves.  Place in heated oven for 2-4 minutes, until just barely soft enough to press the pecans down into the rolos  (if you let them get too soft in the oven, they become a melty mess).  Remove from oven and press all the pecans.  Cool and devour.

Kitchen 3.0

My kitchen got a facelift.  Perhaps this explains the lack of posts for the last few weeks . . .


Remember this?

Welcome to our latest version:

And I quote:

"We haven't had dessert since Friday!"
-My Sister

Thanksgiving!

Sometimes I think Thanksgiving is the greatest holiday ever.  A day dedicated to eating - all day long.  First an outrageously huge dinner with stuffing, rolls, and yams; and then another meal of pies.  I say pies plural because in my family, something is wrong if there isn't at least one pie per person present at the Thanksgiving meal.  (In fact, I did not eat with my family yesterday, though my husband and I dropped by later that night.  They had 4 people for the Thanksgiving meal and the following pies: razzleberry, pumpkin, pecan, cherry, and chocolate.)  No wonder I like pie so much.

We ate at my husbands grandparents.  I had volunteered to make rolls before I knew there would be over 20 people at the meal so I made two different recipes of rolls.  I can't decide which was best.  They were pretty similar.  The 1st one I'll post was sweeter and easier to make (in my opinion).

Crescent Rolls:

1 C boiling water
1/2 C margarine, melted
3 eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 C sugar
1+ Tbsp yeast
5 C flour

Beat water, margarine, and eggs.  Add salt, sugar, yeast, and 4 C flour.  Add the fifth cup as needed while mixing for 8-10 min.  Be careful not to add to much flour.  You want the dough to be smooth and elastic (it should stretch if you pull on it. Ex: you should be able to make a window - called a gluten window - with a small piece of dough)  Allow to rise to double in size.  Punch down dough and cut in half.  Roll out 1/2 of the dough at a time in a thin circle on a greased or buttered surface (a floured surface will dry out the dough).  Cut into 16 pie shaped pieces.  Roll starting from the wide end and allow to rise for another 20ish minutes on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 for 12-15min.

I have made the next roll recipe several times and it is harder to get the exact amount of flour and avoid stiff rolls than the above recipe.   

Rolls

2 Tbsp yeast, dissolved in 1/4 C very warm water
2 C warm milk
1/2 C margarine, melted
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
6 1/2-7 1/2 C flour

Dissolve yeast in water and let sit.  Heat milk in microwave.  Combine milk, melted butter, sugar and salt.  Add the eggs and the yeast.  Add about 5 C flour and mix.  Begin adding flour 1/4 C at a time until the dough is not too sticky.  Again, you want the dough to be smooth and elastic.  With this dough, I found that if I waited when it was sticky and just needed it gently outside of the bowl, it would get smooth without me adding more flour.  Allow to rise.  Punch the dough down and divide into 3 dough balls.  Roll out, cut, and roll from the wide end (as described above).  Allow to rise another 20 minutes.  Bake at 350 for 12-15 min.

 These were once part of a full circle with 16 pieces, but I was almost done rolling them by the time my husband came back with the camera.

 Rolling the dough.

Piles and piles of rolls.  We made 80 rolls.  I can't decide which I liked better, so now you have both recipes an can choose for yourself.  

And finally, it can't be a Thanksgiving post without pie.  My husbands favorite pie is key lime.  So we made 2 key lime pies to take to his grandparents.

Key Lime Pie

See nicer picture of this same key lime pie recipe here, when I made it for pi day.

Put 8 oz cream cheese, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, and 1/2 C key lime juice (either from fresh key limes or you can find bottled key lime juice at Kroger chains) in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into graham cracker pie crust.  So easy your husband can make it (and mine did)!  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!