Rugelach

Because this is one of my favorite cookies (pastry, really), I have a version of it in every book I create. Rugelach are flaky cream cheese pastries filled with cinnamon, sugar, nuts, preserves and sometimes chocolate. Homemade ones are usually crescent-shaped, but it’s easier to shape them into logs. Unlike commercial Rugelach, these are never dry. My trick to making moist cookies is to use the chunks of apricot that most recipes say to strain out. In addition I've added powdered sugar to the pastry dough for the perfect touch of sweetness.

Makes 36-42 cookies

Dough 2-1/4 cups (292 grams) all-purpose flour, fluffed, scooped and leveled into measuring cups 3 tablespoons powdered sugar Pinch salt 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold 1/2 pound cream cheese, cold Filling 2 cups pecan pieces, divided 2/3 cup sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1-1/2 jars (12-ounce) apricot preserves, room temperature 3/4 cup raisins 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted together with 1 teaspoon oil

For the dough, place the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor bowl and pulse to mix the ingredients together. Cut the butter into 1/4-inch chunks, add to the processor and pulse on and off, until the mixture looks like coarse meal, about ten, 3-second pulses.

This is not pulsed enough

This is perfect

Add the cream cheese, by tablespoonful to the processor.

Pulse-process until the dough just starts to come together, about seven, 3-second pulses.

Turn the dough out onto a board and press it together.

Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. with a shelf in the middle of the oven. Line insulated cookie sheets with parchment paper. (Using an insulated cookie sheet, will keep the outside from getting overdone before the inside dough is cooked through. In addition, the insulated sheets keep the apricot jam from browning too fast. If you don't have these, nest two cookie sheets together.)

For the filling, combine 1-1/2 cup pecans, sugar and cinnamon in a processor bowl. Pulse-process until the nuts are coarsely chopped. Remove 2/3 of the filling and set it aside. Pulse-process the remaining mixture until the nuts are finely ground. This will be the topping.

Organize a work surface so that you have a rolling space, filling space, topping space, and cutting space.

Here I have the rolling space on the far end, two waxed paper sheets for filling and topping, cutting space at the near end, and the parchment lined cookie sheet to the right.

For logs:
Roll 1/4 of the dough (7 ounces) into a rectangle 1/16-inch thick x 5-1/2-6 inches wide x 10-inches long, flipping the dough and flouring the work surface as you roll. It should be about 1/16th-inch thick. Cut the dough so that all of the edges are square ( reserve scraps). Move this piece of dough onto waxed paper.

Spoon on about 3 tablespoons of apricot preserves, spreading it thinly to within 1/4 inch of the top edge. Cut any large chunks of apricot into smaller pieces and distribute them evenly over the dough.

Sprinkle 2 - 3 heaping tablespoons of pecan filling (coarsely chopped mixture) over the preserves and press it down into the preserves. Place some raisins in a line on the long edge of the dough. Sprinkle another tablespoon of raisins evenly over the dough and press these down into the preserves, as well.

Roll the dough up from the edge with the raisins towards the clean edge. Brush the clean edge with some of the melted butter/oil mixture and then finish rolling. Press lightly on the roll so that the bottom edge will seal well.

Transfer the roll to another piece of waxed paper. Brush it with some of the melted butter mixture and sprinkle liberally with the topping so that the whole roll, except the bottom, is coated. Cut the log into pieces slightly larger than 1 inch.

Set them on the cookie sheet at least 1-inch apart, seam- side down, with the spiral perpendicular to the cookie sheet .

Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Slide the parchment paper onto a cooling rack. Move each cookie out of the pool of preserves that has leaked from the cookie, and then allow the cookies to cool (this sticky stuff will cling to each cookie and may not taste good if it is burned). While one sheet of cookies is baking, prepare another batch of cookies. When re-rolling scraps of dough, roll it thinner, as it tends to puff up more. They also tend to fall over more, so extra care needs to be taken to make sure that they are level.

*If you don't have enough filling (because you've not divided the filling/topping quite right) finely chop the extra 1/2 cup of pecans and mix in some of the extra topping.

Crescents:
I'm not that crazy about crescents because they don't have as much filling in them and they're more time consuming to make. However, if you like them that way, here's how to do it:

Cut the dough into thirds. Roll the dough,from the center outward, into a circle, approximately 12-inches round and about 1/16-inch thick. Lift and flour the dough often. Use a template to cut the dough into a 12-inch round circle. Once the circle has been cut, you can no longer lift the dough up, as the shape will change.

Spread preserves over the dough, cutting up any large chunks. Sprinkle on some filling, using your hand as a barrier to keep the filling in the circle.



Cut the dough into 16 equal wedges, wiping off the blade with a damp cloth between cuts. Place 2 or 3 raisins at the base of each triangle and then scatter the remaining raisins over the dough. Roll the cookies up, from the wide end of each triangle to the tip. Bend the cookies, slightly, to create crescents.

Transfer the crescents to waxed paper. Brush with some of the melted butter mixture and sprinkle liberally with the topping. Bake as above but for 2-3 minutes less.

CHOCOLATE RUGELACH

Use the same dough and the same technique as for regular Rugelach. Use this filling and topping instead of the above ones:

3/8 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped up into medium-size pieces
2 cups pecans, divided
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the topping: Pulse-process 3/4 cup of nuts with half of the sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer to a bowl.

For the filling: Place the chocolate, remaining sugar and the remaining cinnamon into the processor and process it until finely ground (wear earplugs – this is very noisy!). Add anther 3/4 cup of and pulse-process a few times just to coarsely chop the nuts.

Assemble the Rugelach, as in the above recipe with these changes:

Use the apricot jam, the chocolate filling, and just one row of raisins to help in rolling up the Rugelach. Roll, brush and sprinkle with the topping. Cut and bake as for regular Rugelach. (The extra 1/2 cup of pecans is in case you need more topping).

The cookies may be stored in a covered container for several days. They may also be frozen in a covered container, with waxed paper between layers. This way you'll be able to defrost each cookie individually. They’ll keep frozen for 3 months. Defrost at room temperature, in a covered container for several hours or overnight.

Grape Jam

First, let me say that you have never tasted anything like jam made from the following recipe. It’s not even remotely related to the jam you get in the supermarket, but an intense blast of grape that takes your breath away. Making grape jam is a labor of love - and I do mean labor. If you aren’t serious about cooking and food, you don’t want to even contemplate this recipe. Every year I vow that it will be the last year I make it, but every year as we finish our stash of jam, I once again bring out all of my equipment and settle down for several days of jam making.

Nowadays, in the United States, you can get practically any fruit or vegetable at any time of the year, even if the quality might suffer a little. But if you live on the East Coast, Concord grapes, the kind needed to make grape jam, are only available September through October. For the best jam, it’s best to wait until early October when all of the grapes you get will be dark purple, sweet and plump.

Why is my jam so different from commercial jam? I believe it’s because I pop the pulp out of the skins and cook the pulp, but leave the skins uncooked. These I puree (almost) and then sieve them together with the pulp. I use much less sugar than commercial jam so that the grape flavor can shine through. But make no mistake, this is NOT low-sugar jam – only lower than the commercial variety. Because it’s got less sugar than normal, I do need to use low-sugar pectin.

Penny’s Incredible Grape Jam
Makes 8 wide-mouth 12-ounce jars

7 dry quarts of concord grapes
56-58 ounces sugar (8 to 8-1/3 cups)
3/4 cup water
63-66 grams (more than 1 box) Sure-Jell™ – No Sugar Needed Pectin (in the pink box)
dash of cooking oil

To make this quantity of jam, you are going to need a large canning pot in which to sterilize the jars and seal the jars. And you’ll also need a very large stockpot in which to cook the jam. If you decide to make a smaller quantity, you will need a pot that is 3 times larger than the quantity of jam you are making, as it bubbles up quite a bit as it cooks.

I also have some other canning supplies that are useful: special tongs with which to hold the jars, and a funnel that is especially made for jam making. I use a mesh lingerie bag to hold the lids and tops. A food mill is also essential.

To start, put the jars (without the lids and tops), into the canner and fill the whole thing so that the jars are covered by about 1-1/2-2-inches of water. Put the lids and tops in the mesh bag and put it in the canner ( tops can never be re-used, but the lids and jars can be used year to year, as long as the lids are not rusty) . Cover, and bring the pot to boiling. Turn down the heat and keep it at a simmer.

To make the jam, place the grapes in a colander and wash them well.

Over the cooking pot, squeeze each grape, forcing the pulp to pop out into the pot. Place the skins in a large processor bowl.

I usually process half of the skins at a time, for about 1 minute. They will get very liquidy.

Pour the contents of the processor into the food mill, which has been placed over a super-size measuring cup. Press the contents through the mill until only the dryish skins remain. Repeat with the remaining skins

Add the water to the pulp and set it on the stove. Boil the pulp for 5 minutes. Pour the pulp and liquid on top of the skin residue in the food mill, and press everything through , using a back and forth motion of the mill, so that you aren’t grinding up the seeds, but are getting the pulp to go through.

Discard the seeds and remaining residue. You should have approximately 9 cups of grape juice. Remove any extra or add a little water if needed so that you have exactly 9 cups of juice. Make sure that the cooking pot has no seeds in it. Pour the juice into the cooking pot.

Measure out the sugar (there's a range to allow for personal taste, but also the grapes vary in sweetness). In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup of the sugar with the pectin (you have a range here too - also depending on how sweet the grapes are).

Gradually stir this into the grape juice. Add a dash of oil, so that the jam doesn’t get too foamy when it starts to boil.

Set the pot on the stove and bring it to a full-rolling boil – that is, a boil that can not be stirred down, stirring continuously ( the mixture will be a muddy, maroon color).

Dump in the sugar, all at once. Stirring continuously, cook until the sugar is completely melted, and then bring the mixture to a full rolling boil again. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. At this point the mixture will triple in volume, bubbling furiously, and will change to a dark purple color (although the picture doesn’t show the color clearly).

When the minute is up, turn off the heat. If using an electric stove, you will need to slide the pot off of the burner, so that it doesn’t continue to cook. Skim off any foam and discard it.

Take three of the jars out of the boiling water, using the special jar holder (so that you don’t get burned), emptying the water back into the pot. Turn the jars upside down onto a towel, and then using oven mitts, turn them right side up. Remove the tops and lids from the boiling water and let drain on the towel, as well.

Place the funnel in one jar, and ladle in the hot jam, filling the jar as high as it will go without touching the funnel.

Remove the funnel. If there is any jam on the rim of the jar, wipe it off with a clean, damp cloth.

Place the top on the jar and then screw on the lid. Repeat with the remaining jars, and then take out three more hot jars and repeat the process.

Tighten the lids, and using the jar holder, place the jars back in the boiling water. Cover the pot, and simmer the jars for 5 minutes.

Remove the jars from the simmering water, and set them aside to cool. As they cool, you should here the lids pop down. To make sure that each jar is well sealed, press on the top of the lid. If there is any movement, the jar is not sealed, and should be placed in the refrigerator. The remaining jars can be put in the pantry for 12-18 months. To use, remove the screw lid, and use a beer bottle opener to pry up the top. Store in the refrigerator once opened.

You can see in the photo that the jam on the back muffin is redder and thicker and the jam on the front half is more grape-looking and runnier. Both were made with the exact same recipe. Logically you would think (or I did) that the darker one would be sweeter. But in fact the darker one was more tart and runnier. Cooking might be science, but sometimes you don’t know what the parameters are until you are into it! At this moment I am recooking the runny jam with another half cup of sugar and 4 tablespoons of pectin/water mixture (ratio is on the box of pectin). Always an adventure!

The Best Apple Pie

This past weekend we went to Boston to visit our daughter. One of the trips she had planned was to a nearby apple orchard for an afternoon of apple picking. The farm had many different varieties of apples, and we came away with more than a bushel of Cortlands, Macintosh, Empire and Macoun apples. With so many apples the logical thing to make was apple pie, so that’s what we did the next day. Expecting great things, we were disappointed when we tasted the pie, that evening. Why wasn’t this the best apple pie?

Let’s start with the apples. For an 8-inch pie, I usually use 10 cups of apples consisting of about 5 Granny Smith apples, 1 golden delicious and 2 Macintosh apples. It’s a blend that I’ve come up with over the years that satisfies my requirement for texture, moisture and taste. Because the pie we made in Boston wasn’t sweet enough or juicy enough, I decided to go back to the kitchen and write down what happens to each apple when it is cooked. For my experiment I used 2 ounces of each apple (about 1/2 apple, but I did it by weighing for accuracy), 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1/6th tablespoon of butter. Each was covered with foil and baked in a 400 degree F. oven.

When I uncovered the apples there was a striking difference between the amount of liquid in each cup. The Macouns were gushers, giving off 6 teaspoons of juice, the Macintosh gave off 4 teaspoons (but the Macs I bought in the supermarket only gave off 1), the Empires 3 teaspoons (same for the store-bought Empires) and the Cortland only 1 teaspoon of juice. Since the pie we made in Boston was mostly Cortlands, I now knew why our pie was not as juicy as we would have liked. I also tested the apples that I normally use: Granny Smiths and Golden Delicious. The Granny Smiths gave off 3 teaspoons while the Goldens gave off 5. This would account for my pies almost always flooding into the plate when the first piece is removed.

So to start making YOUR perfect pie, you would decide whether you like your pie very moist, medium-moist or on the dryer side, and then you could choose the appropriate apples. If you wanted a very sweet pie, it wouldn’t be a good idea to use only Golden Delicious, though, because you’d have so much liquid, you’d never get it thick enough. Instead, you could add a little more sugar to the tarter apples and mix in only one or two of the very juicy, sweet apples. Because we wanted to use only the apples we picked (tarter , drier varieties) we should have added a little extra sugar, and could have added some fresh apple cider to make up for the lack of moisture. There’s also a question of tenderness with the filling and you’d want to combine apples that get pretty soft when cooked with those that are firmer. Some apples take forever to cook, and might not be a good choice for a pie in which the crust will be done in about 50-60 minutes. Romes and Macs tend to get very mushy – which I think gives a nice taste and texture when used in combination with firmer apples. Empires, Cortlands, Macouns, Goldens, etc. are medium-firm and Fujis and Galas tend to take longer than 60 minutes to get soft, unless sliced very thinly. Lastly, the amount and kind of thickener needs to be chosen. My mother always used tapioca to thicken her pies. But tapioca (cracked or pearls) leaves little gelatinous globules in the pie that I’m not fond of. Flour is really not a favorite of mine either. If it doesn’t get mixed well, it can be very unpleasant, and if the apples don’t heat up enough or for a long enough time, the flour will taste gritty or pasty. I usually use cornstarch, even though it doesn’t do that well with acidy foods like apple pie – another reason that my usual pie is on the runny side (maybe I should mix in some Cortlands next time). For a pie made with mostly Cortlands, I would cut way down on the amount of cornstarch used – maybe half as much. Yesterday, I tried tapioca starch, which actually gave me the absolute perfect thickness! I bought it in Earthfare, my local organic market. It looks exactly like cornstarch, and the box directions said to use the same quantity as cornstarch. I used the recipe you’ll find below, and have never been as happy with the results.

But back to Boston… Could more have gone wrong with my pie in Boston? You bet. The crust was really just mediocre. I knew from the get-go that I probably hadn’t used enough water in the dough. I was worried about the crust being tough – a problem I had had the last time I made flaky crust- and water is usually the culprit when crust gets tough. I thought it might be a little dry (it was), but was surprised that the crust was so tender that it barely had any texture in the mouth. As a bottom crust it was fine, but the top crust really didn’t work. So, of course, my challenge when I got home was to figure out exactly how to tell when you’ve added enough water. Here’s the answer: The dough should feel supple, but not sticky, and it should hold together. You should be able to pick up the dough ball and hold it above the counter without it falling apart.

When you roll it, you should be able to fold it without it cracking.

If any of these problems arise, add a little more ice water to the dough. If the dough is too sticky, it could be because it’s not cold enough, or it might need more flour. If it needs to be toughened a little, you can also fold it and then re-roll it. This works especially well for the top, because it makes it flakier. And so, here is MY Perfect Apple Pie

Serves 6 - 8

MAKE DOUGH 1 DAY AHEAD

Flaky Pie Crust
2-1/2 cups (325 grams) unbleached all- purpose flour, fluffed, scooped and leveled into measuring cups

1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) shortening, frozen and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

5 tablespoons (2.5 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/4 cup (or more) ice water, divided

Filling
3-5 medium Granny Smith apples
1 medium golden Delicious apple
2 medium McIntosh apples
1 lemon or 1 tablespoon of Fruitfresh mixed 2 quarts with water

3/4- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup tapioca starch (or cornstarch)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Glaze
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon sugar

Place the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor bowl. Pulse-process to mix everything together. Place the shortening and butter on top of the dry ingredients. Pulse-process until the fats are cut into pea-size bits, about 5, three-second bursts. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Sprinkle on 3 tablespoons ice water. Mix with a fork and then, using your hands, press the mixture into a solid mass. If necessary, add more water to bring the dough together. The dough should feel supple, but not sticky, and it should hold together. You should be able to pick up the dough ball and hold it above the counter without it falling apart. Divide the dough in half. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. with a rack in the middle of the oven. Grease and flour an 8-inch glass pie plate . (Flouring the plate is controversial, as there is a risk that the dough could shrink off of the pie plate rim. However, it’s so much easier to get the slices out of the pan when the plate is floured, that I do it anyway. )

For the filling, peel, core and cut the apples into 1/4-inch slices, using as many as necessary to have 10 cups of apples. Squeeze the lemon into a large bowl of water, or use the Fruitfresh. Place the apples into the bowl of water, drain, and then return the apples to the bowl along with the brown sugar, cinnamon and tapioca starch.

Transfer the dough to the pie plate using one of these techniques: Flip the dough over the rolling pin. Pick the whole dough piece off of the plastic and lay it into the pan.



OR
Flour the dough, fold it in half or quarters, and then transfer it to the pan and unfold it .

There should be several inches of overhang. Trim the dough to 1/2-inch beyond the rim ( I use my thumbnail as a guide).

Transfer the filling to the crust-lined pie plate, mounding it high in the pan. Dot with the butter.

Brush the rim of the crust with water so that the top crust will adhere well.

Roll out the remaining dough, making it larger than the bottom crust, so that it will fit over the mounded apples.

Trim the top crust so it is the same size as the bottom crust. Squeeze the two edges together and then roll the edge up to make a nice border on the pan rim.

Here you can see that I’ve rolled the right edge of the pie crust, but not the left side, yet. I also experimented with cutting out a diamond shape in the middle of the crust as a steam vent. It also gives me a good place to stick a knife into the apples to see if they are cooked. But I think I liked the round vent hole better (see opening photo). It was easier to get it in the center and it didn’t tend to rip the way the diamond did.

Flute the edge using one of the techniques from this post on Pies and Tarts: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?

Make 4 or 5 slits in the pie with a sharp knife. Mix the sugar with the milk and brush this over the crust ( or brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar – your choice).

Place the pie on a baking sheet. Bake the pie for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. and bake for another 30 - 40 minutes more until both the top and bottom crusts are golden. Shield the pie rim with aluminum foil if it is getting too brown. To make a simple shield, take 3 pieces of aluminum foil slightly large than the pie. Crimp the edges up to make it less square and to hold the pieces together. Cut a cross in the middle of the foil and bend back the foil, from the center outward, to reveal the pie below. Set the shield on top of the pie – it should leave the center open to brown but will shield the rim crust, which always cooks faster.

Cool at least 30 minutes before eating.

For best results, the pie should not be made more than 8 hours in advance (leave uncovered at room temperature). Rewarm it at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Leftover pie should be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. Heat at 350 degrees F. to re-crisp the top crust.

Making the Best Apple Pie

I'm almost done with this post, but need a few more photos which will be coming tomorrow (needless to say I am making this again). Check back tomorrow for my saga of making the best apple pie, and a recipe.

Greek Ostrich Burgers

My husband and I don’t eat beef, and for the last 20 years we’ve been using ground turkey to make burgers, meatballs, etc. At our local farmer’s market, I discovered ostrich, a low-fat healthy meat that tastes a lot like beef. It tastes so much like beef, that at first we thought it was too strong tasting. As we’ve eaten it more and more, we’ve grown to really love the rich taste and the firm texture. That’s one of the drawbacks with turkey – nothing ever seems to have enough “chew”.

Our local ostrich farm can be reached at http://www.birdbrainranch.com/. We buy the meat frozen at the farmer’s market, but maybe they ship.

Here’s a comparison chart (lifted directly from BirdBrain’s website) of ostrich to other popular meats.

per 3 oz. meat

	Calories	Protein	Fat	Cholesterol
Ostrich	97	22	2	58
Chicken	140	27	3	73
Turkey	135	25	3	59
Beef	240	21	15	77
Pork	275	24	19	84

Obviously, this is a little skewed, because you can get lower fat ground beef and pork. But, you can see that regardless ostrich is a very healthy meat. Because it’s sold by small farmers, it’s also usually hormone and antibiotic free.

When we first started eating ostrich burgers, I though it would be fun and informative to do a comparison taste-test. I made turkey burgers, ostrich burgers and one that was half and half

The turkey burgers are on the top, the pure ostrich burger is on the bottom left, and the mixed one is on the bottom right. I knew from the get-go that ostrich tastes best when cooked medium-rare, and that would be a problem with the mixed burger (since turkey must be cooked to at least 160-degrees), but decided to go ahead anyway and just cook that burger longer. I was really surprised that we liked the ostrich burger the best, the mixed one (even though it was cooked through) second best and the turkey burger the least. It just seemed to have so much less flavor than the ones with ostrich, and the texture wasn’t as firm either. I cooked the first ostrich burger rare-ish (140 degrees), which we didn’t like as much as the ostrich that was medium-rare (about 150 degrees ). I’m sure if you’re used to rare meat, you’d find the rare ostrich just fine, but since we are used to fully cooked turkey, it was a bit of a shock to us. In any case, I cooked the burgers on my Cuisinart Griddler and the ostrich exuded a lot of juice, which I removed by tilting the Griddler so the juice could flow out and into the cup that comes with it. I had to do this so that the burgers wouldn’t steam. A cast iron pan might have been better, but mine was all rusty, so this was the best choice available (without using oil in another pan). The ostrich was done in less than 3 minutes, and the turkey took about 3-1/2-4. Very quick and very tasty!!

The following recipe was adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe published in 1990.

1 pound ground ostrich
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Mix all of the above ingredients, and shape into patties, 3/4-inch thick. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Make the sauce first and have other ingredients ready, as the burgers cook very quickly.

Tzatziki Sauce
1 tablespoon grated cucumber
5 ounces Greek yogurt, fat free okay
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped mint
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped dill

Mix all of the ingredients together and chill until ready to grill the burgers. Leave the sauce at room temperature when you start to make the burgers.

Cook the burgers to desired done-ness. Serve with sauce, lettuce cucumbers, etc. on buns of your choice (we use low-fat whole grain buns)