Alfajores and Dulce de Leche

The recipe I used for Alfajores is found here, but I had to add 2 Tablespoons of water to get the ingredients to form into a dough, and instead of rolling in sweetened coconut, I just sprinkled them with powdered sugar.  They were tender and delicious!  My good friend Barbara (who also served in Argentina) tells me the cookie could be thicker and there's usually a lot more Dulce de Leche sandwiched between them, but she still gave them a thumbs up for flavor!  You can see commercial and homemade images of the real thing here. 

The Dulce de Leche recipe was obnoxiously simple.  You just take a can of sweetened condensed milk (unopened, but with the label removed), submerge it in a pot gently simmering water and let it cook for 3 hours--checking the water level from time to time to make sure it is still submerged.*  When it's done, let it cool (I filled the same pan with ice water to hurry it along), and when you open it up you have Dulce de Leche. 


*Caution:  if the pot is allowed to boil dry, the can will overheat and explode!  I found this recipe that is just as simple (and takes less time!) but it's done in the oven and out of the can so there's no chance of an explosion.  It would also remove the necessity of scrubbing the bottom of my pot with steel wool to get it clean.  So I might try it this way the next time.  This recipe inspired me to try my own version of these Dulce de Leche Brownies.  Look for the results next week!

Zucchini Tomato Dish

1 young, tender zucchini, diced

1 tomato, diced

fat of your choice (I like bacon grease)

salt (I like Kosher)

pepper

Lemon-Pepper Ricotta Spread*

Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add zucchini and tomato to the pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook until tender (about five minutes), stirring occasionally.  Pour into serving bowl and crumble Lemon Pepper Ricotta Spread over top.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

*Homemade Ricotta

Pizza Dough

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons warm water

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

corn meal (to sprinkle on the cookie sheet before laying down the dough)

tomato sauce

toppings of your choice (see our favorites below)

Parmesan cheese (and red pepper flakes if you like 'em)

Place all ingredients in the bread pan in the order listed.  Run it on the dough cycle.  When complete, move oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly sprinkle corn meal over two cookie sheets.  Divide dough in half and on a floured surface roll the dough to your desired thickness (or divide more to make individual pizzas).  Spread about 3 Tablespoons of tomato sauce all over the dough and cover with your favorite toppings.  Bake 12 minutes or until crust is light brown.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Preferred toppings: 

Dad:  Roll the crust really thin, add everything you can plus jalapeños!

Mom:  chicken, artichoke hearts, olives, cheese

Kathryn:  cheese, olives, pepperoni, sausage

Sarah:  cheese - and sometimes sausage

Homemade Ricotta

2 cups whole milk

1 cup cream
(or 2 cups half and half and 1 cup whole milk)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pour the milk, cream, and salt into a 4-cup glass liquid measuring cup.  Microwave until it comes to a full boil--it will get all foamy on top.  Mine took 7 1/2 minutes to come to a full boil, stopping occasionally to stir.  (Warning!  If you just set the timer for 7 minutes you might end up with an explosion in your microwave!  And it's no fun to clean up, so stop occasionally to stir--and maybe cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a paper towel or something.)  Then stir in the lemon juice and let it sit for 1 minute while the curds and whey separate  (If the curdling seems weak, try adding some more lemon juice.).  Place a strainer over a large bowl and line with paper towels.  Gently transfer curds to strainer and let drain for twenty-five minutes.

And you have 1 cup of ricotta cheese!  Now, what to do with it?  If you doubled the recipe, you could try Lasagna Florentine. Or you could try Roasted Figs with Fresh Ricotta.  After looking around at what I had on hand, I added about a Tablespoon of honey, a Tablespoon of lemon juice, and a teaspoon of lemon zest.  Gave it a good stir and scooped some into a bowl.  Then topped that with some berries and a drizzle of warm honey.  Delish!  

Try making  Lemon-Pepper Ricotta Spread and combining that with this Zucchini Tomato Dish.

Mama Bahr's Egg Strata Casserole

8 slices of bread, crusts removed, buttered
1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 2/3 C. milk
1 tsp. salt, pepper to taste, dash cayenne
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 lb. sausage

Brown and drain sausage. Arrange buttered bread slices (my slices didn't fit very well, so I cubed them), grated cheese and sausage in 9 x 13 pan, alternating layers ending with cheese (b,s,c b,s,c)

Combine other ingredients and pour over. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Place casserole pan in a larger pan of warm water and cover whole thing with foil.

Bake 1 hour @ 350 degrees. Remove foil last 20 minutes. Cut in squares and serve immediately.

Optional:
Substitute bacon or ham for sausage.