Latkes

2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes

¼ slivered white onion

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup oil for frying

1. Once you've shredded your potatoes, most people use russet but I used red, it was all I had, you will need to squeeze out as much water from the potatoes as possible. I placed the potatoes in a sack I made from cheese cloth. Time to work out those forearms!

2. Once you've finished squeezing, place the potatoes in a bowl with the beaten eggs, flour, onion, and salt, mix together. (If there is too much egg mixture, add more shredded/squeezed potatoes)

3. Once you've heated the oil in your skillet, from what I've read the oil should be around 350 degrees, I just gauged it by placing a sliver of potato in the oil. If the oil bubbled immediately, its hot enough. Place the batter in the oil using generous spoonfuls so that it will flatten to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness and small palm sized disks.

4. You want to let the batter cook for a minute or two, once it is golden on the underside, flip, and cook till golden on the new side. Place the latkes on a plate lined with paper towels and pat excess oil off.

5. Serve hot with a side of applesauce, sour cream or some other condiment of choice.

Truely, YUMMMMMMMmmmmmmm!

King Cake

First of all, I had somehow managed to completely forget about this blog but I remember really enjoying it back in the day. I randomly stumbled upon it today so now I'll try to return regularly and post things the rare times I actually cook something interesting. Nobody's posted on here for over a year so I'll have to start poking people to try to drum up some other traffic from some of the previous contributors. Truthfully, I don't even know who owns this blog.

Now, to the food...


For anybody familiar with Mardi Gras, you know that king cake is an integral part of the season. That's right, Mardi Gras is an entire season lasting from January 6 until Mardi Gras day, which is the day before Ash Wednesday. January 6 is Epiphany or King's Day and, according to tradition, it is the day that the wise men reached Bethlehem. Ash Wednesday is, of course, the first day of Lent, the Christian season of fasting, which is why Mardi Gras (meaning fat Tuesday in French) exists; it's the last day of partying and eating rich, fat, or sweet foods before Lent. The Brits traditionally eat pancakes and call it Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Tuesday), I think the Czechs eat kolaci and the Poles eat something whose name escapes me at the moment. Most traditionally Catholic or Orthodox cultures have some sweet to use up the last of their sugar and oil and in New Orleans we have the king cake.

The king cake comes from the French tradition, as does Mardi Gras itself, but the Louisiana king cake quickly differentiated itself from the French cake and is now a distinct Louisiana tradition. King cakes are sold throughout the Mardi Gras season and, even though stores will begin selling them immediately after Christmas, locals are usually very strict about not eating them outside of Mardi Gras season. Occasionally, you can find king cakes in bakeries outside the Mardi Gras area (southern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, western Florida, and SE Texas) but, if so, it's usually only the week before Mardi Gras and not the entire season. As I'm currently living on the Left Coast, I can't buy king cakes at the store so I've had to make them myself.

I did a little searching and found a recipe by Emeril that I like a lot. The traditional king cake is similar to a twisted loaf of sweet, cinnamon bread that is shaped into a ring, iced, and sprinkled with sugar that is colored green, purple, and gold, the official colors of Mardi Gras. However, every bakery also sells king cakes filled with cream cheese or fruit fillings. This recipe is filled with cream cheese. I find that the filled cakes are much more forgiving as the unfilled ones dry out easily so are trickier to make well.

If you're not familiar with king cakes, you might get down to the party about baking a baby in and think we're all crazy down in Louisiana. I got lots of weird looks at church and at work when I brought and shared king cakes there. We always bake a small plastic baby into the cake and whoever gets the baby is king for the day. The lucky finder of the baby is also the person who gets to bring the king cake to the next king cake party; back in NO it's common to have weekly king cake parties in offices or classrooms throughout Mardi Gras season. If you can't find small plastic babies (amazingly, I found a package of them at a local novelty shop), people sometimes use a kidney bean, pecan, or coin. Just make sure you warn your eaters that there's something non-edible (and probably plenty chokable) in the cake.

Anyway, I've rambled more than enough, here's the recipe:

* 2 envelopes active dry yeast
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
* 1-1/2 cups warm milk (about 110°F)
* 1/2 cup warm water
* 5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
* 4 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
* 4 cups confectioner's sugar
* 1 plastic king cake baby or a pecan half
* 5 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* Purple-, green-, and gold-tinted sugar sprinkles

Combine the yeast and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the melted butter and warm milk and warm water. Beat at low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, add the egg yolks, then beat for 1 minute at medium-low speed. Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest and beat until everything is incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball, and starts to climb up the dough hook. If the dough is uncooperative in coming together, add a bit of warm water (110 degrees), a tablespoon at a time, until it does.

Remove the dough from the bowl. Using your hands, form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly oil a bowl with the vegetable oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1 cup of the confectioner's sugar. Blend by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your fingers, pat it out into a rectangle about 30 inches long and 6 inches wide.

Spread the filling lengthwise over the bottom half of the dough, then flip the top half of the dough over the filling. Seal the edges, pinching the dough together. Shape the dough into a cylinder and place it on the prepared baking sheet seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring and pinch the ends together so there isn't a seam. Insert the king cake baby or pecan half into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough.

Cover the ring with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft-free place. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brush the top of the risen cake with 2 tablespoons of the milk. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the icing. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons milk, the lemon juice, and the remaining 3 cups confectioner's sugar in medium-size mixing bowl. Stir to blend well. With a rubber spatula, spread the icing evenly over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals, alternating colors around the cake.

The cake is traditionally cut into 2-inch-thick slices with all the guests in attendance.

YIELD: 20 to 22 servings

If you want a fun Mardi Gras workout, try making it without a mixer!

Rugelach

Dough:
1 stick of unsalted butter
4oz of cream cheese
1 cup of all purpose or pastry flour

Quick and easy fillings:
can of almond paste
can of poppy seed filling
favorite jam or preserves

Glaze:
1 teaspoon of H2O
egg
turbanado sugar
crushed walnuts (optional)

In a food processor or by hand, mix the dough thoroughly and place in the fridge, to harden, for about an hour. Lightly flour a smooth flat surface, divide the cold dough into two pieces for easier handling. With a rolling pin, flatten the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. Trim the edges so that you have a square piece of dough. For easier cutting, try a pizza cutter, once you have your square, you will want to cut out long triangular shaped strips so that when you roll the dough they will look like mini crescent rolls. Spread a thin, even layer of filling and roll dough. Lay rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment. The glaze is really just an egg wash with sugar crystals sprinkled over. For an added taste you can include crushed walnuts to the filling or ground walnuts sprinkled with the sugar.

Place in a pre-heated oven, set to 350 degrees F. Should bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a light golden brown. Let cool and enjoy with a hot mug of tea.

This is a Jewish cookie recipe with a flare. I love pastries with poppy seed filling but traditional rugelach is made with apricot jam or a walnut filling...still good, but I like this one better.

The easiest spaghetti sauce

2 cans of whole stewed tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced and sautéed in olive oil
fresh basil

Easy one pot option:
Sautee onion in a deep non-stick wok, when the onions have reached a nice translucent, soft look add tomato liquid. When sauce is done add precooked pasta and heat till warmed. Add basil one minute before serving. Otherwise, fry onions and proceed to the next step.

After opening the cans of tomatoes drain the liquid into the sauce pan. To eliminate the slight bitter taste tomato seeds have, cut the tomatoes lengthwise and de-seed. Coarsely dice the flesh and place in the sauce pan. Let the liquid simmer in a pot till it condenses down add pepper and salt to taste.

When pasta is cooked and drained, add basil to sauce cooking for no longer than one minute. Serve sauce over pasta or mixed in.

If you want to avoid pasta, try baking spaghetti squash. Cut the squash in half and bake according to directions. Once it's done, scoop the stringy, noodle like insides onto a plate and serve with your homemade sauce. Its tasty and a great change from your normal spaghetti dish.
To accent this sauce and change or intensify the flavor add:
Oregano
Thyme
Red Pepper Flakes
Dried Italian Seasonings
soffritto made from carrots, onions, celery, garlic, olive oil, and seasonings
olives (canned black or fancy ones)

Protein options include:
Shrimp (low on fat and calories)
ground beef (aim for 98% lean or the sauce will be greasy)
vegetable protein (also low in fat and calories, and makes a nice vegetarian option)

Gooey Butter Cake

Cake:
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.

Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way-even for piggies like me!

I'm not sure where this recipe comes from but it's a favorite in my family. I recently had my sister send the recipe to me and I made it myself for the first time. I even left in the piggy comment at the end, which probably originates with one of my aunts. It's more of a snack bar than a cake. Even though it's rich and sweet, we sometimes have it as a breakfast pastry. It probably works better as a dessert, though, for most people.

Orange Honey Cupcakes

Original Recipe from:
Greetings from the Knit Cafe
By: Suzan Mischer
Recipe by:Julie Stark

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of oatmeal (stove top, not instant)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
zest from the orange
1/4 cup of honey
5 1/2 tablespoons butter melted

Icing:
1-1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
bit of zest from the orange
tablespoon of orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan or line with papers.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and stir with a fork. Add in the juice, zest, honey, eggs, and butter. Continue mixing batter until all ingredients are well integrated into the batter. Fill each cup of the muffin tin with batter till 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or light golden.

To make icing:
Combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, zest, and juice until a smooth glaze. If too wet, add more sugar. If too dry, add a very small amount of juice or water. Once the glaze is a smooth spreadable consistency, drizzle over the muffins while still warm and hurry up and eat!!!

Story:
My mom bought this knitting book for me as a Christmas present. I love the projects, suggestions and recipes. Hmmmmmm......What will your next present be? These muffins/cupcakes are really good, but I like pretending that I'm being healthy by using whole wheat pastry flour instead of the all-purpose. It gives the muffins more texture and better color, but that is merely my opinion, not fact. If you prefer, just use two cups of all-purpose. Be warned even sticking these treats in the freezer didn't stop me from eating them! Though they really do taste better when not frozen.

Dominik's Austrian Potato Salad

This is a very simple recipe and I LOVE it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

1 kg potatoes
1 - 2 onions
3 - 4 tablespoons oil
2 - 3 tablespoons vinegar
salt
pepper
Water
cook the potatoes for about 20 minutes, pour cold water over them, peel
them, cut them in slices.
Mix all the other ingredients in the meantime.
Drop all potato slices into the marinade and give it a rest time in the
fridge.
Taste it.
If you feel that it's too much vinegar, add some sugar, if it's not a
little spicy add more salt and pepper, but that’s always a question of
personal preference.

Story:
This recipe was given to me by my friend, Dominik, who was an exchange student from Austria and practiced with the Illini Judo club. He was always cooking something at judo gatherings and this is the potato salad he made at the last gathering of the year. Usually not a fan of potato salad because of the mayonnaise, this salad is perfect! Thanks Dominik! XXX