Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Ah Oktoberfest, yet another US adopted “holiday” with the soul purpose(in the US that is) to get drunk. Boy we sure do love our excuses to get drunk here in the States. St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco De Mayo and of course, Oktoberfest(which is even better since that lasts for 16 days). Now if you ask anyone at your local pub what any of these holiday/festivals are for Oktoberfest is the only one that they seem to come close to knowing about…but usually they just say it’s about drinking beer. Which is close enough .

So one would assume that my tribute to Oktoberfest would involve beer. You would be wrong. I went to my first Oktoberfest when I was 15 years old. The oh so authentic version of course…..it was a giant tent(with the traditional Budweiser logo on it) in the middle of a parking lot with a really bad polka band playing. That is Oktoberfest in Phoenix, AZ ladies and gentlemen. We sat at long picnic tables decorated in spilled beer and I sat  and wondered what was so exciting about Oktoberfest. We went and got some sausage and sauerkraut, my dad got a beer, and I got a little piece of chocolate looking cake from the German bakery that was there. My first experience with Black Forest Cake. It was probably the most authentic version I every ate in my lifetime so far and their was so much kirsch that if some one would have lit a match at that time I probably would have lost my eyebrows….and if you are going to lose your eyebrows you should do it in Chemistry class just like everyone else.

Washington has a little Bavarian town called Leavenworth. I can only imagine that their Oktoberfest is slightly better than the fine ones in AZ. I doubt we will go this year, but it is nice to know the option is there. So for now the only way to celebrate is to make Black Forest Cupcakes.

I chose cupcakes because I had a friend mention that she wanted to see Black Forest cake up on my site but in a miniature way. For my birthday, 3 different people bought me 3 different cupcake cookbooks. What are the odds? I went through them when I got them but didn’t make one cupcake…again, what are the odds? I did remember seeing that two of the books had Black Forest cupcakes. So I thought that would be the way to go. The recipe I chose actually has you dissect the cupcake and frost it more like a cake than a cupcake. I chose not to do that. I did the cone method that my other book used as well as the Cupcake Lady herself over at the Cupcake Bakeshop. For instructions on how to do it, please visit her site.

If you are not going to use the kirsch or the cherry brandy then don’t bother making these cupcakes. These are pretty dry and not that sweet on their own. They need the sprinkling of kirsch to make them happy. Make your cupcake happy so that it can make you happy. The other thing was that I used canned cherries but not from a store. There is a woman every year who sells cherries by the side of the road. I usually just buy the cherries but I did noticed that she canned her own. I had never had canned Mt. Rainier Cherries. Now, I assumed that since Rainier Cherries were pretty sweet as cherries go that my canned cherries would be….not so much. So I made my frosting a little sweeter since I am a sugar-aholic. I also realized after making these these would have been good for SHF but that is okay, I am happy with the recipe I submited for that.

So enjoy your Oktoberfest and maybe this year drink a little less beer and eat a little more cake.

For the Cakes:
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extra
1/2 cup Kirsch or cherry brandy

 Filling and Frosting
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBSP kirsch or cherry brandy
1 can pitted cherries, drained
grated dark chocolate for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa together and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk. Add vanilla a beat well.
4. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.
5. When cupcakes are cool, unmold, cut into half or in thirds, and sprinkle with cherry liqueur.
6. To make the filling and frosting:
In a large bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add sugar, vanilla, and kirsch. Beat until stiff. Spread layer(s) of cake with half the filling. Press cherries into whipped cream before adding next layer. Save enough cherries to decorate cupcakes. Frost top and sides of cupcakes with whipped cream. Decorate with remaining cherries. Sprinkle grated chocolate over cupcakes.
Source: Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wgaman

All text and images on this site have ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright (c) 2006 by Peabody Rudd.

I have sugar cookie dough. Tons and tons of sugar cookie dough. I made circus cookies the other day and had a ton of cookie dough left over from that(and that was after making 180 animal cookies). So I wrapped it up in to 4 balls and stored it in the fridge vowing to do something with it later this week. Well my dough is mulitplying, I am quite sure of it. I keep going to the fridge to see if I can hear Barry White music in the background because my sugar cookie dough is multiplying. No lie, I have made two more things using the dough….and yet the same amount seems to still be there. It is never going to go away. Perhaps my sugar cookie dough is like a lizards tail, pull some off, and more just grows back.

Anyway, in needing to use up some of my magic, reproducing dough I decided to do something with it for SHF. This months theme is Surprise, Surprise. I will admit that I went pretty boring with this one but they are quite tasty. Buttery sugar cookie dough with creamy Nutella is definately a winning combo.

Nutella Ravioli Cookies

1 (18 ounce) package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough(for the time challenged)

or

18 ounces fresh sugar cookie dough-this is what I used(if you need a recipe look at my circus cookies)

1/2 cup Nutella spread

3 TBSP white chocolate chips

3 TBSP chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Roll out cookie dough to about a 1/4 inch

thickness.

3. Using a cookie cutter or a glass dipped in flour, cut out rounds. (I used a 2 3/4 inch round cookie cutter.).

4. Using a piping bag or plastic bag with the end snipped off, pipe about 1/2 teaspoon of Nutella into the center of each round.

5. Fold rounds over to create half moon shapes and gently seal edges.

6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes.

7. Remove to racks and cool completely.

8. When cookies are completely cooled, melt chocolate chips in microwave (about 1 minute.).

9. Remove and using a fork, drizzle chocolate over cookies.

10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 with white chocolate chips.

  Ah, my first pumpkin post(one of many I can only assume). Yesterday I was in a bit of a baking/cooking frenzy I should say. Much more than usual. I know in part to the gorgeous(to me) 58 degree weather we were having. I made muffins, cookies, some sort of apple thing that I still don’t know what to call it, cheese tortes(to take to a housewarming) and my own Maple Syrup BBQ sauce(to go with pork chops). It seemed as if I were in a revolving door of make something, clean the kitchen. Make something, clean the kitchen. And so on. Both the dog and my husband were very confused and both probably wondered if I was ever going to make it out of there….obviously I did.

I don’t know what it is about pumpkin. I love the smell, I love the taste(both sweet and savory…but not raw ). I love their color and variety of shapes they are. And of course going out each year to the pumpkin patch to find just the right one.

 This muffin is about as healthy as I get in my baking…meaning I only used 4 oz of butter, that is a miracle for me. I usually like to bake sour cream based muffins but with the pumpkin being so moist I had to make a recipe that would put moist with moist and give me a pile of orangish mush. I would have used pecans but we only had walnuts in the house. If you prefer regular chocolate chips feel free to use those instead(yes they really do taste good with pumpkin). As always, when making muffins DON’T OVER MIX.

 Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Muffins

1/2 cup of walnuts

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin

4 oz unsalted butter, melted

6 oz white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3. In another bowl, mix together the eggs, pumpkin, and unsalted butter. Add in the chocolate chips and nuts.

4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix.

5. Scoop batter into greased or paper cup lined muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed and springy to the touch. Cool then remove from cups. Makes 12 muffins.

 I’ll never forget the first time I had a Monte Cristo Sandwich. My mom and I had gotten dressed up to go to the Tennis/Golf Club for lunch. This was a nerve racking experience to me because my mom and I were not exactly their usual partitioners. We belonged to the Tennis Club because each year my family would pick a sport(tennis was by far our most athletic one we picked) and we would play together every Saturday morning(or more depending). My parents were the only ones at the club with wooden rackets(I begged for a graphite one). They played with used balls and really could care less. We would schlep out there in our baggy t-shirts and baggy shorts and play around. It was really bad when my brother would come home from college and come out and play with us. His version of tennis was to hit the ball as hard as he could and scream “ACE” at the top of his lungs. My parents almost always knocked their ball into other people’s court while they were in play. It got so bad my parents considered buying t-shirts that said “Sorry, can we get our ball back.” The tennis people finally started putting us on the far back court and so the only people who had to worry were those driving by and those who were brave enough to park their car there. Many a convertible owner returned to find a tennis ball or two sitting in their car.

So going to lunch there that day was a big deal to me. I didn’t want to stick out as the daughter of the wooden racket people(I was 16 , you know how embarrassed you get at 16). Everything there was crisp and white, including the waiters shirts. I had fancy iced tea with raspberries and mint floating around in it. I had made up my mind that I was going to order something that I had never had before. There it was, the Monte Cristo. Sounded so odd to me. French toast filled with ham, turkey, swill cheese….sprinkled with powdered sugar and dipped in strawberry jam. My mother assured me that I would enjoy it, explaining that it was one of her favorites too. So I ordered away, standing up straight as I could(I’m a bit of a sloucher) and trying to sound as sophisticated as a 16 year old could. When it came it was all golden and crispy just like French toast with a tiny side of jam(I knew right away to ask for more). What a wonderful lunch I had.

So when I saw that Slashfood was having a sandwich day I had to write about my beloved Monte Cristo. You don’t find them very much and that is a shame. It is such a wonderful sandwich, offering the best of both worlds, breakfast and lunch. Or as I like to say, it makes for a nice portable brunch. For my sandwich today I stuck with a fairly simple version of the Monte Cristo(sadly without powdered sugar…I was out!) but have also included a more interesting/complicated version.

Monte Cristo Sandwich 

18 slices bread
butter
6 slices ham
6 slices turkey or chicken
12 slices Swiss or Gruyere cheese
a little mustard and mayonnaise, if desired
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

For each sandwich use 3 slices of bread. Butter one side of bread first, then cover with a slice of ham and a slice of turkey or chicken. Butter both sides of the second slice of bread and spread with a little mustard or other dressing, if desired.
Place on top of turkey or ham slice and top with 2 thin slices of cheese. Butter third slice for top; press sandwich lightly and trim crusts. Cut into halves diagonally and secure with toothpicks.
Beat eggs with milk and salt. Dip sandwich halves into the egg mixture and fry on a hot skillet or griddle in butter or margarine. Brown on all sides, adding more butter when necessary. Remove toothpicks before serving.
Makes 6 sandwiches, 12 cut triangles, to serve 4.

Serve with either currant or strawberry jam(I prefer the strawberry).

Another Variation:

Monte Cristo
From Nancy Silverton’s Sandwich Book (Canada, UK), by Nancy Silverton.

Ingredients:

For the Batter:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup club soda
1-1/2 cups dark beer

For the Sandwiches:

6 slices white or whole-wheat sourdough bread, each buttered on one side
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, sliced into 18 1/16-inch-thick slices
8 ounces smoked ham, such as Black Forest, sliced into 9 1/16-inch-thick slices
8 ounces roast turkey, sliced into 9 1/16-inch-thick slices
5 tablespoons strawberry jam, plus extra to serve on the side
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1/2 cup powdered sugar

To make the Batter: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cayenne, and salt. Whisk in the club soda and beer. The mixture should be the consistency of pancake batter. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.

To assemble the Sandwiches: Set half of the slices buttered side down, and cover with the cheese slices, folding them over if they extend past the edges. Layer the ham and turkey over the cheese, and spread the jam over the turkey. Place the top slice of bread on, buttered side up.

Grill the sandwiches on both sides.

Pour the oil into a deep heavy-duty saucepan to fill it halfway. Heat the oil to 350°F (175°C), measuring the temperature on a deep-fat thermometer.

Cut the sandwiches on a diagonal into thirds, to make 9 triangular pieces.

Stir the batter. Dip each sandwich piece into the batter, thoroughly coating it. Fry the pieces 2 or 3 at a time, being careful not to overcrowd them in the pan. Cook them for about 3 minutes on each side, until they’re nicely browned, and transfer to a paper towel to drain. Allow the oil to come back up to temperature before you fry the next batch of sandwiches.

Place the sandwiches on a platter. Sift a very heavy layer of powdered sugar over them, and serve with a side of jam.

YIELD: 9 pieces

All text and images on this site have ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright (c) 2006 by Peabody Rudd.