Pizza Rustica

Oh the exciting world of Pizza Rustica and all of its variations yet to be discovered! As many of you already know, Pizza Rustica is a traditional Italian Easter pie, and can be made several different ways.

I was in love with this recipe from the minute I read it. In fact, it sounded so delicious that I felt compelled to follow it exactly and not try to get to creative, and I am happy that I did. I do think however, that next time I will allow some creativity to come out and would like to incorporate more dried meats and perhaps some tomatoes, and/or some veggies. I am already dreaming of the next time!

When I first read the recipe, it sounded very similar to a quiche, which of course is always a favorite in this house. I was a bit skeptical concerning the sweet crust, but as it was a match made in heaven. The sweetness of the crust alongside the savory flavors of the cheeses and prosciutto was heavenly.

Simple crust and NO YEAST!!



The crust and the filling were so simple that they almost made themselves! This recipe is great for all skill levels because I allows for all the creativity you can muster.  I also have to say that this recipe was not only simple, but also pretty fast to put together. The end product looks like you spent an entire morning creating, but in actuality, it takes a very short amount of time.



It's delicious, I PROMISE!



My husband and I enjoyed it a great deal, in fact so much that I had to send the rest of the pie with him to work. There are always hungry Marines to feed. I was sad to see it go, but my waistline is happy that it is.



Oh so good!





ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!



However you decide to make this, and whatever ingredients you choose, I hope you love it as much as I did!

Until next time.....

Stay tuned for Lemon Loaf Cake on April 17th

Irish Soda Bread

This week’s recipe Irish Soda Bread, on page 214 with Baking with Julia was a big hit at my house. With just 4 ingredients, it really doesn’t get much simpler than this! The basic ingredients are flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. Yup, just four ingredients! I followed the nontraditional recipe and added one cup of raisins to sweeten it up just a bit, and I am glad I did because the bread was delicious!

There is not much I can say about this recipe because all I did was mix everything together, turned it onto a floured surface and kneaded it a little, shaped it into a disk, cut a hash mark in the top and voila, that was it!

What a Beauty!

As you can see, my bread turned a beautiful golden color, thanks to a hint from my friend Laura. I brushed egg wash on top before I put it into the oven, and as you can see, it came out golden and delicious looking. Thanks Laura!

Love the color...

Next Month’s recipes:

April 3, 2012- Pizza Rustica, pages 430 and 431.
April 17, 2012- Lemon Loaf Cake, pages 252 and 253.

Regelach

This week’s recipe was for Rugelach which can be found on page 325 of Baking with Julia cookbook. I have to admit, I don’t think I have ever had a Rugelach so I was very excited to try this recipe.  I actually had to look them up on the internet to find out more about these mysterious, but delicious sounding cookies. After much research, I was delighted to find out that these little cookies are a Jewish pastry. The word Rugelach is a Yiddish word that means "little twists.



After finding out more about these cookies, I decided that I wanted to stay true to their meaning “little twists” so instead of rolling them into a jelly roll like the recipe called for, I rolled them into twists.  The dough was easy to work with, as long as it stayed cold.  I rolled it out and then used a large bowl and cut out a circle so I could easily cut it into 8 slices. It rolled out nicely, and as you can see by the picture, a perfect circle! 




Perfect!



The recipe called for apricot lekvar, which is a think apricot jam, but because I am not a fan of apricot, I decided to raspberry jam instead. I also decided to use toasted pecans and semi-sweet chocolate for the filling. I toasted the pecans to pull out their delicious flavors, and used a food processor to chop the nuts along with the chocolate; I then folded in the raspberry jam which created a mouth-watering paste.




Toasting Pecans!

 Instead of all the cookies being the same, I decided to just spread some of the raspberry jam on the dough and sprinkle them with pecans. Once they were both done, I decided I liked just the raspberry jam and pecans, where as my husband enjoyed the chocolate ones better.



Raspberry Jam and Pecans

 


Ready for the oven!



The first batch of Rugelach burned!! I am not sure why, but after pulling the second batch out, and saw that the bottoms were dark, I realized that I needed to put them on parchment paper to avoid this. The third batch came out of the oven not looking the prettiest, but they were pretty good.

The next time I make this recipe, I think I will follow the exact recipe (minus the apricot) and roll them into a jelly roll as directed. I am looking forward to a more successful batch of Rugelach!

Next recipe: Irish Soda Bread, March 20th!!!

Stay tuned





 

Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

This week’s recipe was Chocolate Truffle Tartlets on pg. 382 of Baking with Julia cookbook. The recipe makes 6 tartlets, and I was excited to use my new tartlet pans. I followed the recipe to a tee, but next time, and oh there will be a next time, I think I will add nuts to the recipe. I think the nuts will be an excellent addition and will add something more than just chocolate.

The recipe called for Dutch pressed cocoa powder but couldn’t find any in my area. I did find premium cocoa powder by Saco Foods, it’s a special blend of natural & ditched cocoa. I also used all Ghirardelli chocolate for both the chocolate dough and filling. I have to say, this recipe is very chocolaty, but absolutely delicious!!!

Dough right out of the oven

I chose to make the dough in my food processor, and it turned out perfectly. I did not know this until I took it out of the refrigerator after 30 minutes. When it first came out of the food processor, it looked dry and was very crumbly. It rolled out nicely and was able to get them into my tartlet pans without a problem.

Tartlets ready for the oven

The next time that I make these, I will make sure to have some vanilla bean ice cream and berries in the house. It’s just me and my husband, and we were eating tartlets all weekend long!!  

Baked to perfection!

Next month’s recipe is Rugelach, March 6^th, and Irish Soda Bread, March 20. Stay tuned!

White Loaves

I am very excited about this being my very first blog about anything, but especially excited to be blogging about my first Tuesdays with Dorie recipe "White Loaves". The recipe is from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Getting Started

 The recipe makes two white loaves, but I made one of my loaves a cinnamon and sugar loaf.  The recipe is very easy to follow, and the variations can be endless!


Rising Loaves

After about 40 minutes in the oven, out came two pretty good looking loaves of bread. As you can see, the one loaf dips in the middle just a bit, but if the smell of these loaves are any indication to how they taste, I have two winners!



Baked Loaves

I am happy to say that this first recipe was a success. I am looking forward to future recipes from Baking with Julia!