Jewish Christmas Cookies: Rugelach

Posted on December 20, 2011 by tinycookba

You read that right – I am making Jewish cookies for Christmas this year. Why not? I love rugelach and have wanted to make my own for awhile……and I am oh-so-happy that I gave it a go. So, I’ve been trying to make some things ahead of time for Christmas, including cookie dough. Last Saturday I invited my friend, Lisa, over for a day of rugelach making, wine drinking, and catching up – my kind of way to celebrate the holidays!

Okay, back to the rugelach. I’m actually not sure it’s correct to call it a cookie, I think it’s more likely a pastry. It has 6 ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, butter, cream cheese, and jam – the cream cheese makes it so rich and delicious! I looked around at different recipes and decided to use this one from FineCooking.com, except that I sprinkled sugar on top instead of nuts. Some varieties have raisins, chocolate, or nuts as fillings, but I enjoy the raspberry jam filling – I just heat it up first and strain the seeds through a fine sieve. Okay, first step is to get your food processor out and process the flour, sugar, and salt. Then add big hunks of the butter and cream cheese and pulse until it comes together. Easy enough.

Then separate the dough and wrap it in plastic and let chill for an hour and a half before rolling out.

Once chilled, roll out the dough, spread with jam, roll up and then chill again (I froze most of the logs at this point – then you can have rugelach anytime!).

Lisa spreading jam.

Once chilled again, cut and bake.

The result: a not-too-sweet tender pastry that melts in your mouth. Mazel tov and Merry Christmas!

My favorite cheese in the entire world: Brunet

Posted on December 6, 2011 by tinycookba

I love, love, love, love, love cheese. I crave it. I dream about it. And I savor every bite of my favorite cheeses like Cambozola and Humboldt Fog. I have wonderful friends who, for my birthday, brought me a trio of cheeses to enjoy, along with some champagne (I told you they were wonderful). One of the cheeses was Brunet, a luxurious, creamy cheese with a subtle tang, which made me weak in the knees. It’s made in Italy with goat milk from goats with dark hair, hence the name Brunet. Unlike most cheeses with a rind, Brunet has a very soft, very thin rind that just melts into the cheese, going unnoticed. I’ve only been able to find it at Whole Foods. Grab yourself a hunk of Brunet (and make sure it comes to room temperature) and a bottle of Pinot Grigio and enjoy the best cheese in the world.

Kale and Brussel Sprout Chips

Posted on December 5, 2011 by tinycookba

‘Tis the season for brussel sprouts and kale. Think you don’t like these green veggies? Then you must give them a try roasted in the oven, where they transform into crispy delights. For the kale: break off large pieces and toss the hard center veins, drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt (don’t overdo it, keeping in mind that the kale shrinks), toss everything around with your hands and roast for about 15 minutes or so, tossing once. You want to make sure they are crisp and not chewy, yet not burnt. Get ready to eat a whole bunch of kale in one sitting. Seriously. Even my preschoolers love these.

For the brussel sprout chips: Cut off the base of the sprouts and pull off the leaves (this does take some time to do, but it’s not so bad if you have a little person helping you out, and I am lucky enough to have one of those little people who likes helping me in the kitchen). Drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt and toss everything around with your hands and roast for about 20 minutes or so, tossing a few times. Welcome to brussel sprout heaven!

Pumpkin Stuffed w/ Everything Good

Posted on October 31, 2011 by tinycookba

Run, don’t walk, to the market to get yourself a pumpkin or other squash to make this recipe! I’ve made it a few times for friends and everyone loves it and is surprised at how much they love it. What’s not to love with bacon, cream, and cheese? I’m making this for Thanksgiving and you might want to consider doing that too.

Here is a link to the recipe, and here are my recipe notes: make sure to salt the inside of the pumpkin pretty liberally with kosher salt, before you stuff the pumpkin. Also, make sure you add enough cream so that it is really moist and the bread is floating in the cream a bit. Cheese: please buy Emmentaler (which you can get for a great price at Trader Joes) or Gryuere and cube it– do not buy pre-shredded Swiss cheese, which will taste bad. Also, fresh thyme is a must – do not use the crappy, dry stuff. I prefer to serve it scooped rather than sliced – just dig a spoon in and make sure to get some pumpkin and some of the stuffing – a match made in heaven.

This recipe is from the cookbook, Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan. This is not your boring French cookbook, including not only recipes, but also many great anecdotes. This book is an absolutely wonderful and substantial collection of simple, yet delicious recipes and I highly recommend it for anyone that loves to cook. Go ahead and get it from the library and give it a look-see, and then after you decide you have to have it, head to Amazon.com for the best price. Bon appetit!