Aunt Emma's Apricot Cookies

This one is the star of the family favorites - Aunt Emma's Apricot Cookie.

Aunt Emma was Emma Peditto, nee Monaco, and the 4th of 11 children - Victor's mom was the 10th. Emma was the cook - their parents both died at an early age and she took over the role of matriarch. The family gatherings all centered around her kitchen.

This particular cookie has always been a family favorite and, while many cousins today try and replicate them, we're the only ones who do them justice. Naturally, everyone else says that theirs are the best, also. However, ours are.

The recipe calls for lard. Yes. Lard. Crisco just doesn't work as well - it makes a tough cookie.

The filling was made yesterday and the dough needs to refrigerate at least a day, so we'll probably start them tomorrow...

Aunt Emma's Apricot Cookies

Filling:

  • 1 pound dried apricots, chopped fine (soaked overnight – we soak in apricot brandy!)
  • 3 cups sugar
  • grated lemon rind (we use about a tablespoon – the amount was never specified)

Drain apricots. Place in saucepan with lemon rind, sugar, and water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook until water is absorbed.  Be really careful — it burns easily.  Cool.

Dough:

  • 2 pkg dry yeast
  • 5 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 pound lard
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 shot whiskey
  • Juice and rind from 1 lemon

Proof yeast with 1 tsp sugar and 1/4 cup warm water.  Cut lard into flour, as you would for a pie dough.  Make a well in the mixture and add all the other ingredients, including yeast.

Work dough with your hands and form into a ball.  (Don’t overwork.  Use a light hand.)  Refrigerate overnight.

Roll cold dough to about 1/8″ thick.  Aunt Emma would cut the dough into triangles, place a scant teaspoon of filling at the wide end, then roll up and shape into a crescent similar to a croissant. It takes a bit of practice. The easier way is to cut squares, fill, and fold over. Place scant teaspoon of filling, fold and seal. Shape into crescent.

Bake at 325° until golden brown on lightly greased sheets or ungreased parchment paper. (Investing in a box of parchment paper is the only way to fly!!)
Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

 

Make a well and add your ingredients.

It starts getting gooey.

Break up the egg yolks...

...and just start slowly incorporating the flour into the liquid.

In just a few minutes you have a completed ball of dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

They do take time, but they really are worth the trouble.


Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti

Let the baking begin!

Cookie baking is a long tradition in our home.  While I always made some cookies, it was Victor who elevated it to a mass-production art-form.  I had a couple of family favorites - he had dozens. The cookie baking just kept growing and growing and growing until a couple of years ago, we decided it was time to scale back and concentrate on just a few favorites.  We're back to having a lot of fun with it.

So... even though we're cutting back - or, at least, we're pretending we're cutting back - we always seem to find the time to make something new. My new one this year is a chocolate peppermint biscotti.

I usually leave the biscotti to Victor because he makes them so good I don't bother, but I had an idea for a chocolate peppermint version and decided to give it a go.

I'm glad I did.  It worked well.  Really well.

I used a chopped chocolate peppermint bark for the peppermint candy. Ghirardelli has a peppermint bark square that should be fairly readily available in most places, but it's also really easy to make - and just use the scrap pieces for the biscotti.

I also used a chopped up 72% chocolate to cut the peppermint - and added Jim Beam and no vanilla!

I think I may dip them in white chocolate - maybe half white, half dark.  I dunno. I'll play and see what I like best.

Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cube (stick) butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbsp bourbon
  • 1 cup chopped peppermint bark
  • 1 cup chopped dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350°.

Sift together dry ingredients.  Cream sugar and butter, add eggs one at a time. Add bourbon.

Mix in flour.  Mix in peppermint bark and chocolate.

Divide dough in half.  With floured hands, shape into logs.  Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool completely.  Slice into 1/4 to 1/2″ slices and toast on both sides in 350° oven for another 20 or so minutes.

 


Beef Pot Pie

I mentally planned this meal yesterday.  I knew it was going to be cold and I knew it would be the perfect dinner. I also wanted to use up the last bit of sauce I had from the veal.  I am king of the leftovers and love figuring out ways to weave little bits of this-and-that into another meal. It's rather simple to do when it's a soup or stew - ya just dump it into the pot.

Tonight was a basic beef stew that started with beef cubes and onions, four fresh tomatoes that needed using, and a carton of mushrooms that were a day or two from no longer being mushrooms. And red wine. And beef broth. And potatoes, celery, carrots, and frozen mixed vegetables. And about 2 cups of that sauce.

I did a double crust that was perfectly buttery and flaky.

Pie Crust

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 sticks butter, frozen
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup ice water

Using a food processor, add flour and salt. Pulse to mix.

Chop up frozen butter and add. Pulse until butter is incorporated and mixture looks grainy.

Slowly add ice water and pulse until mixed.

Turn out onto counter. Press and form mixture into disks - one larger to fit the entire container and and smaller just for the top. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about an hour to allow the flour to properly absorb the water and to relax the gluten.

I always start with a very hot filling and ladle it into the crust and then carefully top and bake.  At this point I really just want to cook the crust and it will cook and brown much quicker and easier if the filling is hot - and you won't burn the crust trying to get the filling hot.

Naturally, I made enough stew for several pot pies - large pot pies - so tomorrow Victor will bring some over to his mom and we shall have a few lunches, as well.

"Tis the season...

 


Butternut Squash and Cannellini Bean Soup

There are not many things better than coming home from work and having a steaming bowl of homemade soup and a warm loaf of homemade focaccia right from the oven. It really was just what I wanted and needed.

The weather turned cold again after the heatwave last week and soup was the perfect dinner.

Victor cooked the squash in chicken broth and garlic, added a bit of heavy cream, sour cream, and Guamanian boonie pepper - a spicy pepper we got from our nephew-in-law, Jay. Cayenne would work in a pinch.  He then added a can of cannellini beans and pureed it all with an immersion blender. I have said many time to go out and get one. It is indispensable in our house.

It was awesome!  Rich, creamy, and lots of flavor.I had two bowls and there was still enough left for Victor's lunch tomorrow.

And the foccacia was his old standby.  Perfect every time.

Foccacia

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1  pkg.  active dry yeast
  • 1/2  tsp.  salt
  • 1  cup  warm water
  • 2  Tbsp.  olive oil

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine 1-1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Lightly grease a large bowl; place dough in bowl and cover with a damp towel (make sure the towel does not touch the dough). Let dough rise in a warm place until double in size (30 minutes).

Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 16×12-inch rectangle. Place in a greased 16x12x1-inch baking pan.  Let rise 20 minutes.

Top with toppings of choice and bake at 375° about 25 minutes.

And speaking of tomorrow... mid-40s and rain.  Whatever to make?!?


Pork Chops

One of my more favorite kitchen devices is the FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I can buy things on sale and/or in bulk and portion it and freeze it without freezer burn. We bought one years ago and it has repaid itself many times over.

This week's buy was a 10-pound pork loin for $16.00.  From it I cut 12 boneless chops, a roast, and chunks for a batch of chili when the weather gets colder, again.  Last year I bought a couple of beef tenderloins - for under $25 a piece.  We had filet mignon for a couple of months. Eating rich on a poor man's salary. Not a bad thing.

Tonight was a really simple marinade of red wine, olive oil, garlic, French herbs, and salt & pepper.  I pan-seared them and then popped them into a 375° oven for about 20 minutes.

Victor came into the kitchen and saw me reaching for another pan to cook the spinach and he said "Another pan? You know raw spinach is good, too." I replied, "yeah, but it's better with butter." He came back with "In that case, it's really better with bacon grease."

The spinach was cooked in a bit of bacon grease, salt, and pepper.

Eating rich on a poor man's salary, indeed.


Stuffed Veal Breast

 

We did good tonight, boys and girls! I tried something new and I'm pleased to announce that it really worked well.

Over the years I have seen and/or heard of veal breasts and stuffed veal breasts from time to time.  I've never cooked one, never worked anywhere that ever cooked one, and, while I may see them on a cooking show now and again, rarely see them in the store, either.

So, whilst doing my shopping early this morning, I came upon a bone-in veal breast on sale for about a third of its regular price. With absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it, it was an impulse-buy right into the cart.

Once home, I started looking for recipes.  It seems that they all started out by saying "Have your butcher bone the veal breast and cut a pocket..." 

Now...  I don't know about you, but out here in the suburban wastelands, our grocery store butcher knows how to cut the tape on the box of pre-portioned product that goes onto the refrigerated shelves. I decided it would be easier - and infinitely less-expensive - to bone it, myself.

It really took no time at all to take the bones off and I was left with - a veal brisket. Now call me silly, but I had completely forgotten that the brisket comes from the breast. I'm pretty sure I butchered a beef forequarter when I was in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club, but I think I was more concerned with trying to keep from cutting my own limbs off with the band saw than remembering the primal cuts...  the knee bone's connected where?!?  But while I may have forgotten where it came from - I definitely hadn't forgotten what to do with it!

Briskets are pretty fatty - and one right off the bone is even more-so.  I trimmed off the smaller top piece and with my handy-dandy KitchenAid grinder attachment (Thanks, Debbie!!!) I ground it for the stuffing.  It was maybe a pound and a quarter, pound and a half...

To it, I added salt and pepper, garlic, about a half-pound of frozen spinach and a half-jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil.  I mixed it all up and set it aside.

I butterflied the remaining piece and opened it up like a book.  I spread the stuffing all along it, rolled it jellyroll-style, and tied it with kitchen twine - keeping the fattiest layer on top.

And then the fun began.

First thing I did was brown it all off in a dutch oven.  When it was nicely browned, I added half a bottle of red wine, a quart of beef broth, and a can of diced tomatoes in juice to the pot, along with a few hefty pinches of French herbs, salt, and pepper.  I brought it to a boil and then, covered, into a 350° oven for 2 1/2 hours.  About every 30 minutes I would turn it to submerge another piece.

I pulled it out of the oven and then let it sit for about 30 minutes before slicing.

Stuffing fell out while cooking and I had a goodly amount of it along with the tomatoes in the braising liquid.  I just broke it up into uniform pieces and thickened all of it with a bit of cornstarch.

The meat was tender as tender could be - and the sauce totally rocked.  It totally rocked.  There were only a few ingredients but they spent a lot of time together.  They played together well.

So...  we have another winter meal concept to play with... I'm looking forward to it...


Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

 

We're starting to get our Christmas Cookie Baking List together, so I thought I'd bake a batch of unrelated - but holiday-centric - cookies just for the heck of it.  I really wanted to try out some chocolate peppermint chunks to see how they were because I have an idea for a chocolate peppermint biscotti this year.  We've dramatically cut the amount of cookies we bake every year, but every year we also come up with some new ideas to augment the old standards - and a chocolate peppermint biscotti - dipped in chocolate - sounds like it may be a fun idea.

After tasting a couple of the peppermint chips I decided to up the chocolate content a bit and made a batch of chocolate chocolate chip cookies with a bit more cocoa and a heaping teaspoon of espresso powder.  I also added more plain chocolate chips to offset the peppermint a bit.

The end result was a pretty festive cookie.  Lots of chocolate with a goodly amount of peppermint. It gave me a good starting point for the biscotti.  And if I dip them in a good dark chocolate, they'll be the perfect holiday treat - amongst all our other perfect holiday treats.

I used a #40 disher to scoop out the cookies.  They hold 1.75 tablespoons of dough and are the perfect size for adult-sized cookies.  It's also the perfect size for mini-muffins. A #60 disher is just barely a tablespoon and makes a great kid-sized cookie.

I highly recommend everyone putting several different sized scoops on their Christmas Wish List this year.  They really make cookie, muffin, and even pancake-making, a snap!  We have 7 or 8 different-sized scoops we use for a variety of things.  We've also had them for years.  They really do last forever.

Chocolate Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 heaping tsp espresso powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups chocolate peppermint chunks
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, expresso powder, and salt and set aside. Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and and vanilla and beat until combined well.

Beat in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir in chips.

Use a #40 scoop if you have one - and you should - and bake about 13 minutes or until cookies are just set and begin to crack on top. Remove from oven and cool.

 

 


Sunday Pastry

 

This morning's breakfast is brought to you by Victor:

I love Ina Garten. She has a tag line she uses all the time. "How easy is that?"

I was watching her last week and she was making danish pastry. I happened to have some frozen puff pastry (doesn't everyone?) so for Sunday breakfast I decided to make Tim a treat. Cheese/Pear Danish. How easy is that?

  • Peel the pear
  • Core the pear
  • Dice the pear
  • Cook the pear
  • Cool the pear
  • Get the cream cheese
  • Get the ricotta cheese
  • Separate an egg
  • Mix the cheese with
  • Egg Yolk
  • Vanilla
  • Sugar
  • Thaw the puff pastry
  • Roll the puff pastry out to 10x10 inches
  • Cut the puff pastry into quarters
  • Fill the pasty with cheese
  • Top the cheese with cooked pear
  • Make an egg wash
  • Brush egg was around the edges of the 4 pastries
  • Fold one corner over the cheese
  • Fold the other corner over the top
  • Repeat with other 3 pastries
  • Place pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet
  • Egg wash the folded pastry
  • Sprinkle with sugar
  • Pre-heat the oven
  • Refridgerate the pastry for 15 minutes
  • Bake for 20 minutes
  • Clean kitchen
  • Make more coffee
  • Cool Danish
  • Serve warm

The next time Ina says "How easy was that?" I'm going to put my foot through the TV.