Alfajores Recipe

Since Gram asked me for this recipe, I thought that in addition to sending it to her by email, I'd share it with the group. I suggest drinking a refreshing capirinha while making them instead of the hoppy beer that accompanies Jerry's soup so well!


Prep Time: 1 hours,
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
• 12 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cognac
• 2 1/2 cups cornstarch (corn flour)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Dulce de Leche
• Grated coconut


Preparation:
To make cookie dough:
Cream the butter and sugar together, then mix in the remaining ingredients except the dulce de leche and coconut until well blended. Knead on a floured work surface until the dough is smooth and let rest for 15 minutes.
Make the cookies:
Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch and cut into 2-inch rounds. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 300°F oven for 20 minutes. When cool, spread some dulce de leche on the bottom of half the cookies and press another cookie on top, allowing some of the dulce de leche to squeeze from the sides. Roll the sides in the coconut until the sides are covered.
Makes about 12 delicious, definitely non low calorie cookies!

Mushroom Soup

I made about 1.5 gallons of this:

Brown butter in soup pot (3TBSP), ad about 1/3 c. Olive Oil.
Sautee Onion or two + Lots of garlic + some salt
Add a pantload of cut up mushrooms. Mix and match. I used mostly Portabellos and Whites, plus oysters, shitakes, and three or four other kinds. Stir a little.

Add most of a bottle of a big, hoppy beer. An IPA or a Pale. Sierra Nevada would be great.
Drink another beer.

Sautee for 5-8 minutes over medium heat.
Add Beef stock. I used about 4 Qts. (big pot).
Throw in a good handful of chopped parsley and a small can of tomato paste.
Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer for as long as you want, prob, 20 minutes minutes at least.

Meanwhile, drink another beer.

Finely grateout 12 oz of lovely fresh parmesan. Reggiano is of course the first choice, but I used this Argentinian number with good results.

Have a slice of cheese with a pear. Put on a new record. I was listening to the Decemebrists and Dylan. I do recommend something folky but erudite to the point of pretention for this soup. Have another beer.

Stir 6 egg yolks into the cheese. stir in pretty thoroughly, so it looks like a homogenuous mass.

With the soup NOT QUITE AT A BOIL, stir in the egg+ parmesan, stir until thoroughly mixed. Serve with nice bread. Salt and pepper. It would be cool to garnish with a freshly sauteed chantrelle when they are available.

Really came out nice.

Kitchen Mishaps, and Curry Cauliflower Flat Bread

Not the best of luck in the kitchen today. I broke my roomates coffee pot into a million piece while in the process of ruining my other roomates pan trying to steam beets. I neglected to put enough water into the pan and the whole thing turned smokey. Smoked beets... mmmmm.

Yesterday, though, I made flatbread with cauliflower, light coconut milk, curry powder and wheat flour. Tasty! If you try it, make sure to go with light coconunut milk. Here is the recipe. Another one from the nytimes! I love their recipes.

Challah

I used the recipe in the 5 minute a day bread book. I am surprised at how good it turned out. I also made a 3rd or 4th attempt at making my own yogurt last night. It worked, but I wouldn't say that they yogurt tastes as good as store-bought yogurt - not saying a lot...

Vegetable Slaw Recipe

In case anyone is up for a recipe that is slightly more labor-intensive (lotsa veggie chopping!), here is a yummy recipe for slaw that is different from the usual:
Vermont Marble Inn Vegetable Slaw

8 Servings

1/4 Cup Champagne Vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse-grained salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
1/2 medium head green cabbage, shredded
1/2 medium head red cabbage, shredded
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, cut into 3-inch long julienne
2 red bell peppers, cut into 3-inch long julienne
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
2 medium zucchini, cut into 3-inch long julienne

Whisk first six ingredients in large bowl. Gradually whisk in oil
in thin steady stream. Add all remaining ingredients. toss
well. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Chill)

Here's one I haven't tried, but it sure sounds good.

http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/3180

Also, I have been experimenting with the five minute bread recipe. At Mother's suggestion, I tried potato flakes in the basic recipe. One cup of potato flakes and 5 cups flour seems to be about right.
When you finish one batch, mix the next one in the same bowl without rinsing the bowl. The longer it sits in the fridge, the more sourdough flavor you get.

Burnt Oranges with Rosemary from nytimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/dining/201frex.html?ref=dining

Super great way to make a desert out of oranges! This would have turned out better had the rosemary I used been younger and less bitter. Serve with yogurt. It is really easy to over carmelize the sugar if you don't know what you are doing.