all this pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum stuff left me in what *i* would consider a cooking slump. fortunately, last saturday i had a reason to get back in the game. some friends hosted an oktoberfest potluck and i took the opportunity to try my hand at making apple strudel. not to toot my own horn, but omg, it was yummy! some other amazing things in our feast were some traditional german brats, homemade sourkraut, german potato salad, pretzels, spetzel, and two micro-brews. woah. there were even a few folks in leiderhozen. so much fun!
anyhow, here's a few photos of strudel making that sparked my recent dive back into cooking.
some other recent kitchen endeavors have been homemade chicken pot pie (complete with pie crust from scratch),
beet and goat cheese ravioli (recipe below),
bbq chicken pizza on whole-wheat crust, arugula & watermelon salad, and an indian veggie curry with cilantro mint chutney. my mouth is wattering a little thinking about that chutney :) perhaps i'm meant to own a beachfront cafe someday......
Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seed Butter (adapted from epicurious)
2 large red or golden beets
1/2 cup chevre (aka goat cheese)
2 T. dried breadcrumbs
*lemon zest (optional)
*fresh thyme (optional)
premade won-ton wrappers (or if you have no kids and lots of time, make your own pasta)
1/2 c. butter
1 T. poppy seeds
freshly grated parmesean cheese
roast the beets at 375 for about an hour or until tender when pierced with a knife. allow to cool and then peel & finely grate into a medium bowl. add chevre and breadcrumbs (zest & thyme if using) & season with salt & pepper.
spoon heaping teaspoon onto the half of each pasta square, dampen the edge and fold dough over filling, pressing the edges together. transfer prepared ravioli to a floured surface while you assemble remaining ravioli.
melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat & stir in poppy seeds. keep warm. cook ravioli (about a dozen at a time) in a boiling, salted water for about 2 min (or until they float to the top). transfer cooked ravioli to skillet with butter & toss to coat. serve topped with parmesean.
anyhow, here's a few photos of strudel making that sparked my recent dive back into cooking.
some other recent kitchen endeavors have been homemade chicken pot pie (complete with pie crust from scratch),
beet and goat cheese ravioli (recipe below),
bbq chicken pizza on whole-wheat crust, arugula & watermelon salad, and an indian veggie curry with cilantro mint chutney. my mouth is wattering a little thinking about that chutney :) perhaps i'm meant to own a beachfront cafe someday......
Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seed Butter (adapted from epicurious)
2 large red or golden beets
1/2 cup chevre (aka goat cheese)
2 T. dried breadcrumbs
*lemon zest (optional)
*fresh thyme (optional)
premade won-ton wrappers (or if you have no kids and lots of time, make your own pasta)
1/2 c. butter
1 T. poppy seeds
freshly grated parmesean cheese
roast the beets at 375 for about an hour or until tender when pierced with a knife. allow to cool and then peel & finely grate into a medium bowl. add chevre and breadcrumbs (zest & thyme if using) & season with salt & pepper.
spoon heaping teaspoon onto the half of each pasta square, dampen the edge and fold dough over filling, pressing the edges together. transfer prepared ravioli to a floured surface while you assemble remaining ravioli.
melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat & stir in poppy seeds. keep warm. cook ravioli (about a dozen at a time) in a boiling, salted water for about 2 min (or until they float to the top). transfer cooked ravioli to skillet with butter & toss to coat. serve topped with parmesean.
Comments
Would love your recipe for whole-wheat pizza crust (especially if you have any tips!). Right now I'm blaming my pizza crust failures on Egyptian ingredients, but soon I won't have that excuse anymore...
i modify the whole pizza crust from one of my favorite books by Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle:
http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Pizza.pdf
I typically don't have refrigerated yeast on hand (the little granules), so i generally use one packet of instant yeast. I also knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes - either by hand or in a standing mixer before allowing it to rise. The key is that this crust gets crispy. Depending on the toppings, I often lower the heat after 15 min and continue to cook a little longer until the crust in the middle has gotten crispy too. Good luck!
BTW, you've been tagged!