Cheese Danish

I've been holding on to this Cheese Danish recipe by Ina Garten for over a year now.  Waiting for the right time to try it out.  I figured I should stop waiting and just make it already.  My husband is at a bachelor party for the next four days and I'm sure the kids would love an excuse to eat something other than oatmeal or cereal for breakfast. So, today was the day!

I had everything I needed except the Ricotta cheese.  I can tell the colds my children have been suffering from is making its way to my head because I stared at this package of Ricotta cheese for about five minutes.  "Ricotta con Latte".  All I kept wondering was if this was coffee flavored?  I looked all over the packaging and then came to the realization that coffee flavored ricotta would be gross.  And that it was the name of the company's ricotta product.  I think I need some cold medicine, stat.

Cream cheese, ricotta, egg, vanilla and lemon zest get mixed together.

And become a beautiful mild yellow color.

Cut a two thawed sheet of parchment in to eight squares (four per sheet).  Put a glob of the ricotta mix in the center.

Brush an egg wash around the edges and fold up two opposite corners.  Note - I think my filling should have been refrigerated for 10 or 15 minutes to prevent it from spreading on pastry.  The waiting for the pastry sheets to fully thaw took longer than planned so my mix was a little warm.

After just 15 minutes in the oven, the danishes were ready!

Not the most gorgeous end result, but the creamy, lemony flavor of the danish was very good.  Both kids loved these and I do plan to make again.  The end product makes it seem like a very labor intensive recipe.  But with using premade pastry and a quick filling, this could easily be done the morning of a brunch or made the night before and baked the morning before an event.

Next time I may omit the lemon zest and try vanilla bean?  You could even mix in a handful of mini chocolate chips or chopped fruit?  Yum!  Thanks, Ina!  Click Here to view the recipe on Food Network's website.

Broccoli Cheese Pinwheels

One of my sorority sisters is a member of the Make Ahead Mommas.  This is small group of moms that get together and come up with great meal ideas that can be prepared in advance and frozen for future use.  AND, make meals that kids love to eat.

The "mommas" are gaining popularity and have been featured on local television shows.  This week they were on TV and had some fun kid-friendly recipes!  One was Broccoli Cheese Pinwheels and I knew this would be a hit with my kids.

We rolled out the pastry dough on to wax paper and B spread some olive oil mixed with chopped garlic.

 

Then we sprinkled some fresh broccoli that I had chopped in to small pieces.  Then we topped with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup each of mozzarella and parmesan  cheeses.

With the help of the wax paper, I rolled up the pinwheel and helped seal the long edge with a little water.  We then placed the log in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Slice the log in to 1 1/2" rounds and place on a cookie sheet and bake!

I served these yummy pinwheels alongside bbq'd salmon.  Everyone had at least one pinwheel... or two.

And in the November/Thanksgiving spirit, here is 'Tom the Turkey' that we had to disguise for B's school project.  Tom is now a football player!

Broccoli Pinwheels, courtesy of Make Ahead Mommas
1 package of puff pastry
½ cup thawed frozen broccoli, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
olive oil
mozzarella cheese, grated
parmesan cheese, grated

Thaw frozen puff pastry dough for 10 mins before using. Unwrap and delicately unfold. With a rolling pin and a little flour flatten dough.

Sprinkle with olive oil, minced garlic, broccoli, and cheeses. Gently roll up and place in freezer for 5-10 mins.

When ready to bake and serve, heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut in to 1 ½” disks and place on a cookie sheet, and place in oven for 15 mins or until nicely browned.

(If making for future use - cut in 1½" disks and place on a cookie sheet to freeze. Once frozen, store in ziploc bags.)

Monkey Bread

Lately I've been hearing people talk about Monkey Bread.  How great it is, how simple it is to make, the family traditions behind it, and also some critical remarks about making it with premade dough.

I found a recipe that was rated five out of five stars and used premade biscuits.  I figured if over 200 people raved about this recipe it was worth a try.  And making it for the 9am Husky basketball playoff game was a perfect reason.  And, we were going to watch it with our friends Jenny and JP at their gorgeous Tacoma home.  Butter and sugar is a great addition to any meal, especially when there are five kids and four adults all huddled around a television.

The best part of this recipe is that I finished most of the tasks the night before (don't pour butter-sugar mixture over dough until next morning), covered it with saran wrap and stored in the fridge.  I took it out of the fridge in the morning and let sit out for about an hour to take the chill off.  Then I poured the sugar-butter mixture over the biscuits and then baked in the oven.  Because we were traveling to Tacoma to eat breakfast, I kept the Monkey Bread in the bundt pan until we arrived at the house to keep it warm. 

I will for sure make this again!  YUM!  Oh, and be warned.  You'll eat more than you plan.

Monkey Bread, courtesy of Pillsbury

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cans Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (I didn't use since I was serving to kids)

1/2 c. raisins (gross! I didn't use raisins in mine)

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 c. butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup bundt pan with shortening or cooking spray.

In large Ziplock bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat.  Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces.

In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.

Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.
 

*Watch out for the hot sugar syrup when placing on to serving plate.

TIPS: I've learned that next time I'll probably cut each biscuit in to 6 pieces instead of 4.  They'll cook faster and more evenly.

Also, after filling the pan with half the dough, drizzle about 1/3 of the butter-sugar mixture, and then stack the rest of the dough on top and pour remaining butter-sugar mixture on top.  This way each piece has equal buttery sugary goodness.

Toddler Pasta

I saw a recipe for Toddler Pasta in an issue of Parents Magazine a few years back and had to try it.  Over time I have edited the recipe here and there and have found a perfect combo.  Blake really enjoys this dish and scarfs it down every time.

Almost all the veggies can be purchased in the freezer section minimizing prep work. Enjoy!

Toddler Veggie Pasta, adapted from a Parents Magazine recipe

1 1/2 c. acini de pepe (Blake and I prefer to use star shaped pasta)

1/2 c. finely diced carrots

1/2 c. finely diced red bell peppers

1/2 c. frozen baby peas

1/2 c. finely chopped broccoli

1/2 c. frozen whole kernel corn

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/8 tsp pepper

small dash of salt

Cook pasta in slightly salted boiling water for approximately 7 minutes. Stir in all the veggies and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Drain. Mix in olive oil and pepper/salt.

Makes approximately 6-8 kid sized servings.  (Tony and I eat this too - its pretty tasty!)

Variety:

You can use almost any type of favorite veggies in this pasta.  And, you can always increase or decrease amounts of certain veggies too!

Add a cup or two of low-sodium chicken broth to the finished pasta and now you have soup!

Pecan Sticky Rolls

I saw a recipe in the Seattle Times which looked too tasty and easy to be true.  Homemade (okay, semi-homemade) Brown Sugar and Pecan sticky rolls.  I couldn't resist giving them a shot, especially since the main ingredient is pizza dough - either made from scratch or store bought.

After rolling dough to the correct size, covering with butter, rerolling and chilling for a short period, you sprinkle with the sugar mixture, nuts and butter.

Roll in to a log...

Slice log in to twelve rolls...

Place in greased 9x13 baking dish and bake 30-40 minutes.

And presto - a most delicious smelling breakfast treat!

There was a MAJOR flaw in my finished product unfortunately.  The smell, the look, the flavor, the gooeyness were all amazing.  The texture was dreadful.  The rolls were super chewy and very tough to bit in to.  I should have listened to my instincts when I noticed the pizza dough I had chosen was very stretchy and did not want to hold it's shape. I had to use my hands to finally get it in a rectangle. I won't mention names, but I purchased it from my local market in the frozen section - shaped similar to a hockey puck.  And a hocky puck it should be.  If I make these again I will either use Trader Joe's refrigerated dough or try making dough from scratch.

Brown Sugar and Pecan Sticky Buns, courtesy of Seattle Times and Everyday Food

Makes 12 rolls

All-purpose flour for the work surface

1 recipe Basic Pizza Dough (see above) or 2 pounds store-bought pizza dough, thawed if frozen

1 cup plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 3/4 sticks), room temperature, divided

1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1. On a floured work surface, roll dough to a 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Dot upper two-thirds of dough with 1 cup butter, fold bottom third of dough over half the butter, then fold top third down to cover remaining dough. Roll dough to a 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Refrigerate on a baking sheet until firm, about 1 hour (or up to 1 day covered with plastic wrap).

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap from dough. In a small bowl, combine sugar, pecans and salt. Leaving a 1/2-inch border, dot dough with 6 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Starting at a long end, roll up dough like a jelly roll. Cut crosswise into 12 pieces. Place each piece, cut side down, into two buttered jumbo muffin pans or a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

3. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Immediately invert buns onto a serving platter or baking sheet. Serve warm.

Note: This recipe works well with store-bought dough, but it's exceptional with homemade.

Danish Coffee Cake

I made my favorite coffee cake of all time for Piper's baby shower tomorrow morning.  I have no idea why it is called Danish Coffee Cake.  A more appropriate name would be 'Three Cups of Butter Cake' or 'Butter & Almond Cake'. 

As you can see from my grandma's recipe card, this is a recipe that was made often.  It may seem like a long recipe looking at her card, but it is actually pretty fast and doesn't use many ingredients... butter and flour being the key ingredients.

I highly recommend trying this delicious pastry.  You can make it a day ahead and store in the refrigerator.  Let warm to room temperature before serving. 

I doubled the recipe for the baby shower (24 guests) and made two longer pastries instead of one big one (one with almond slices and one without).

Danish Coffee Cake, courtesy of Charlotte Smith
1 c. flour
1/2 c. butter
2 tsp cold water

Cut butter in to flour and add water. Pat down these ingredients on cookie sheet, 1/4" thick. Set aside.

Boil 1 c. water, 1/2 c. butter. Take of stove and add 1 Tbsp almond extract and 1 c. flour. Gradually beat in 3 eggs and mix well.

Spread over dough base on cookie sheet.

Bake one hour at 350 degrees (or until browned), let cool.

Frost with:
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp milk
1 egg yolk (this is optional, as frosting is not cooked)

Sprinkle with almond slices or slivers. Toast almond lightly as another option.