Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Strudel

Dough:
1 ½ sticks margarine, melted
2 egg yolks
1 cup warm milk
3 cups flour

Combine margarine and milk; beat in egg yolks; dump in flour. Mix to form dough; chill overnight in sealed container (dough is thin, but it will thicken). Divide dough into fourths; roll in rectangles as thinly as you can onto clean cuptowels. Onto each rectangle, layer:

crushed cornflakes to cover dough*
½ cup coconut
½ chopped cup pecans
½ cup raisins
½ cup sugar
sprinkling of cinnamon
1 cup raw, thinly sliced apples or pears

Leave about ½” around edge of dough without any topping, so you can seal the edges. Roll up dough, place on buttered foil lined cookie sheet; bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until top browns.

Note from Nola:
*This recipe was passed down to me from my mother Elizabeth “Betty” Jarolimek Anthony; her mother Rosie Kouba Jarolimek passed it to her before that. It is Grandma Rosie’s “authentic” Czechoslovakian recipe, but I have no explanation as to the cornflakes being added. I don’t know if they had cornflakes 100 years ago, or if my grandmother substituted them for some other ingredient.

The dough is not thick at all, and you will swear it will not be thick enough to roll out, but it is. The “old timers” would roll it out onto a clean cotton cuptowel, rolled so thin you could see through it. The cuptowel underneath helped make it easier to roll without tearing when you had all the toppings added.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Jamaican Jerk Wings

Last weekend I decided to make some yummy buffalo wings for hubby while he watched the football games. Never one to leave well enough alone, I began playing around with my recipes. Over the holidays I marinated a turkey breast in a brine solution and baked it; it turned out to be the most moist bird we'd ever eaten, so I though I'd try the same thing with my wings. Since we both like spicy foods, I decided to add Jamaican Jerk seasoning to the brine.If you aren't familiar with Jamaican Jerk, it is a seasoning mix of several different spices. The main three spices are chili pepper, allspice, and thyme. It also contains cinnamon, ginger, clove, garlic, onion, salt, sugar, and red pepper. Yeah, it packs a punch!Although my recipe may sound complicated, it isn't, it just takes a little foresight, since you need to start brining the meat a day before you'll be cooking it. Here's the recipe:
Brine:
1 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Jamaican Jerk seasoning
1 lime, juiced
1 can Dr Pepper
Stir the brine up in a large plastic sealable container; add about 2 dozen chicken wings and enough water to cover. Place lid on and shake well; place in refrigerator for about 24 hours, shaking mixture a few times to keep it mixed up. The following day, drain the liquid off of the wings and place them on a greased roasting pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.While the wings are baking, mix up the sauce.
Sauce:
1/2 bottled BBQ sauce
1/2 stick of melted butter
1/4 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce
When the wings are done, toss with 1/2 of the sauce mixture. Serve the remaining half of the sauce on the side for dipping.