Nutella Buns

The picture doesn't do these justice but oh my are they good.  Fresh from the oven they just ooze warm and gooey chocolate goodness.  The recipe is from Saveur Magazine and following in my Albanian tradition swapped out the pecans for walnuts since that is what is available here.

I actually made them the night before, wrapped the pan tightly with saran wrap and kept them in the refrigerator, then let them come up to room temperature before baking them in the morning.  Yum!

NUTELLA BUNS

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup, plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup milk

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened plus more for greasing

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

4 cups flour, plus more for dusting

3/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups Nutella

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1)  Combine yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water in a bowl until foamy, about 10 minutes.  

2)  Meanwhile, bring milk to a simmer in a 1 quart saucepan over medium heat; set aside.  Stir in

      remaining sugar, 4 tablespoons butter, and salt and stir into yeast mixture with vanilla, 2 eggs, and

      flour just until combined.  

3)  Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes.  Place in a

      greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit until the dough doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

4)  Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the remaining butter in a 1 quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add

     brown sugar, stir until smooth, and pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish; sprinkle with the pecans.

5)  Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll dough into a 15 x 20 inch rectangle. Spread the

     Nutella evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border on one long side.  

6)  Beat remaining egg in a bowl and brush onto the clean border of the dough.  Roll the dough into a

     log towards the end brushed with the egg.  Trim ends and cut log into 30 minutes.  Transfer rounds

     cut side up to the baking dish, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake until golden, about 30 minutes.  

7)  Let cool slightly before serving.  Serve inverted onto plates and drizzle with syrup and nuts from the

     bottom of the baking dish.

Potato Pancakes With Rosemary Infused Pears

The most memorable meal during our recent trip to Bavaria was an impromptu lunch eaten on the top of the Zugspitze.  We had taken shelter from the snow squall in a glass walled cafe and ordered off of a poorly translated menu.  Much to my delight this is what the waitress brought to our table:

My inspiration eaten at the top of the Zugspitze

The potato pancake was light and crispy and smothered in melted Gruyere cheese.  The sauteed pears that accompanied the pancake had been infused with fresh rosemary.  I immediately began to think about how I could recreated this dish at home.  Although it isn't exactly the same, my resulting dish was just as tasty.  To appease my meat loving family I served this with some leftover spiral cut ham that I fried in a bit of olive oil.  I also reheated the previous night's Swiss cheese fondue and served a dollop of the melted cheese on top of the pancakes.  Served with a sparkling white wine, the resulting meal was a perfect light dinner.

POTATO PANCAKES WITH ROSEMARY INFUSED PEARS

For the pears:

4 large ripe (but not too soft) pears
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary
3 or more tablespoons apple or pear juice, or water
Pinch of salt
Pinch of nutmeg

1)  Peel, core, and slice the pears.

2)  Place in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan
     with two tablespoons of juice or water.  Add
     the rosemary and salt.

3)  Cover the pot and cook over medium heat
      until the pears are fork tender --or cooked to
      your likeness.  Watch the pot carefully, adding more liquid as necessary to

      keep the fruit moist.

4)  When done, remove the rosemary sprigs from the pan.  Sprinkle with the nutmeg.


For the latkes:

1 lb potatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1)  Using the largest holes of a box grater, shred the potatoes
      into a large bowl.

2)  Add the salt and pepper, toss to combine, and let the
     potatoes sit for 5 minutes.

3)  Using your hands, squeeze all of the liquid from the
      potatoes.

4)  Heat the oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet.

5)  Once the oil is shimmering, drip the potato mixture by large
      handfuls into the oil.  Quickly spread the potato mixture to
      form a flat pancake.

6)  Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the potatoes are crisp and
      brown.  Adjust the heat to make sure the potatoes don't cook too quickly.   Using a spatula,
      flip the pancakes over and continue to cook for an additional 6-8 minutes.

Side two is cooking

7)  Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack in a 250 degree oven until all of the pancakes have
      been cooked.

My version

Real Men Do Eat Quiche

Long days often make putting dinner on the table in a timely manner difficult, if not impossible.  A family can only eat so many pasta with sauce and grilled sausage meals (this is our old standby when I don't have the energy to make anything else).  Fortunately, quiche is always at hit in my house.  If you have the ingredients on hand--and all you really need are the kitchen staples of milk, eggs, and cheese-- everything else can be improvised and dinner can be in the oven in a matter of minutes.  I throw in whatever vegetables and meats I have available; sometimes it is ham or bacon or no meats at all.  As with most things, everything tastes better with bacon so this tends to be my most common add-in which helps to keep household interest up.

Aside from the actually baking of the quiche, which is totally hands off, the most time consuming aspect of the meal is the crust.  Sometimes I make my own following the simple three ingredient recipe of flour, butter, and water.  Purists may cringe, but more often than not I use a pre-made refrigerated crust.  It makes the whole process so much easier and faster.  If the goal is to quickly put a balanced meal on the table this is the way to go.  Throw together a simple green salad while the quiche is baking and you'll be all set.

BACON AND TOMATO QUICHE

1 deep dish pie crust

8-10 slices bacon

1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese (or a cheese of your choosing)

2 medium ripe tomatoes

1 1/2 cups milk- low-fat or whole

5 eggs

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

pinch dried mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Paprika

1)  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2) Prepare the crust of your choice.  Roll out the crust to fit a 10 inch deep dish pie crust.

3)  Shred the cheese and spread over the bottom of the pie crust.  

4)  Dice the bacon into 1/4 inch pieces.  Place in a large saute pan and cook over medium heat until
      browned and crisp, approximately 10-12 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon transfer the cooked bacon
      to a paper towel covered plate and drain.  Sprinkle the cooked bacon over the top of the cheese.

5)  Slice the tomatoes and place over the top of the bacon, arranging in a manner that will facilitate the
      even slicing of the cooked quiche.

6)  Combine the milk, eggs, flour, dried mustard, thyme, and salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Using a
     stick blend blend the mixture until smooth and the flour is thoroughly incorporated into the liquids.
     Pour the custard over the top of the tomatoes.  Sprinkle with paprika.

7)  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the center of the
     quiche is clean.  Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

Served with a green salad this makes a perfect light dinner.  The quiche is even better the next day served either cold or at room temperature.