Tertiy Pirog with Plum Jam

Tertiy Pirog means grated pastry. You can use any thick jam for the filling, but when you have an abundant plum harvest, try making your own plum jam!  Ingredients

• 1 stick, 1/2 cup butter, softened at room temp

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg, room temp

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp white vinegar

• 280 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups + 2 Tbsp, fluffed*)

• 1 cup jam or thick preserves, I used plum jam

• Powdered sugar for dusting, optional

Instructions

1. Cream together 1 stick of butter with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 egg.

2. Stir together 1/2 tsp baking soda with 1/2 tsp vinegar. Once it fizzes, pour over your batter and mix until well combined.

3. Blend in 280 grams flour.

4. Freeze 1/3 of the dough (about 180 grams) for 45 min to 1 hr**. Place remaining 2/3 of dough onto a large sheet of parchment paper, sprinkle lightly with flour and roll into a 9x13" rectangle.*** Transfer rolled dough with parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.

5. Spread 1 cup of strawberry preserves over the top (or your favorite preserves - pick one with a little bit of sour/tartness). Grate the frozen piece of dough evenly over the top of your preserves. Bake at 350 for 22-25 min or until top is golden. When cooled, dust with powdered sugar if desired and cut into square cookies.

* Measure flour by fluffing it up with a spoon then spooning it into the measuring cup and scraping off the top.

**Make into a flat disc shape like you do for pie dough and then take your time rolling your dough and spreading the jam. Clean up a little. By then the dough in the freezer will probably be frozen enough. 

*** It is difficult to roll an exact rectangle, but the dough is forgiving enough to cut excess and patch in the corners. I'm lucky enough to have a 9x13 cookie sheet that works perfectly.

Recipe found here

Plum Jam

Great jam to make during plum harvest! If you let it get nice and thick it's great to use in Plum Tertiy Pirog!

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ lbs. very ripe or over ripe plums

• 1 cup water

• 1 ¼ cups sugar

• ¾ teaspoon cardamom

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Cut plums in half, remove pit and chop into 8ths then cut those in half.

2. Place in a heavy-duty saucepan with water and sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook until fruit is soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

3. Place in blender and carefully puree. IMPORTANT: The heat from the jam can build up pressure inside the blender and spew out. Let the mixture cool slightly then just pulse in short spurts until mixture is smooth.

4. Clean out saucepan and place pureed mixture back into pan. Add spices and cook over low heat for 2-3 hours or until it reaches a spreadable consistency. Stir often to prevent burning.

5. Place in glass jars such as a mason jar and let cool. Place lid on top and store in refrigerator. Will keep about 1 month. If frozen, will keep about 6 months.

Found the recipe here.

Oven Pancakes - Apple Dutch Baby

 Put an 8x8 glass dish* in the center of the oven and preheat 450 degrees.

1 thinly sliced apple (any kind, a mandolin makes easy work of this)

2 Tablespoons butter

In a skillet, sauté apples and butter over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

While the apples are cooking, blend the following:

4 eggs**

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons melted butter

Remove the 8x8 glass dish from the oven. Pour in apple mixture. Stir letting the butter coat the pan, then distribute apples evenly. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Using oven mitts (remember the dish is hot!), place the dish into center of the oven and cook for 15 minutes. The Dutch Baby will come out puffy, then slump. Let cool a few minutes before serving.***

*If you have an appropriate sized cast iron skillet, you can just use that to sauté the apples, then pour the egg mixture over the apples and put the cast iron skillet directly in the oven.

**If you only have 3 eggs, make it anyway. It's still good.

***I think this is delicious as is. If it is not sweet enough for you, sprinkle with powdered sugar (this makes for a beautiful presentation as well), and add syrup if desired.

Rhubarb Cheese Galette

Rhubarb Cheese Galette

Half a batch of this pie crust dough

Poached rhubarb 

-6-8 stick of rhubarb, chopped 

-1/3 cup of granulated sugar 

-1 cup of water

Cream cheese filling 

-8oz (aka 1cup or one pack) of room temperature full fat cream cheese 

-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar 

-the zest of 1/2 lemon

Egg wash
-1 egg
-splash of milk

Turbinado sugar

Make the dough and let chill for a couple of hours or overnight.

Place rhubarb in a single layer in an oven-proof skillet. Add sugar and water. Bring it to a simmer. Cover and put in a 325 degree oven for 8 minutes. (You could cook it on the stove, but it cooks more evenly in the oven). Pour into a jar and let it sit for several hours or overnight.

Combine all cream cheese filling ingredients in a bowl. You can make this ahead of time, but you will want it at room temperature when it is time for assembly for easy spreading.

Preheat oven and cookie sheet at 400 degrees. Have another cookie sheet covered with parchment paper ready. Drain your rhubarb. (The syrup can be added to soda water for a nice drink.)

For assembly, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Place on the cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread cream cheese filling leaving a 2 inch border. Cover filling with rhubarb. Fold edges of dough in. Cover dough with egg wash. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Remove cookie sheet from oven. transfer parchment paper and galette to heated cookie sheet. Cook for 30 minutes.  Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgW8_plxnEQ&t=305s

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

3 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 Tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups croissants, preferable stale, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, lightly pressed into measuring cup

Heat half-and-half, chocolate, sugar and salt in a sauce pan over low heat, stirring until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat. Whisk in eggs briskly (or temper first, then mix).

In a large bowl, combine croissants and chocolate mixture. Let cool, then refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 6-8 cup soufflé dish (round white Corningware). Pour pudding into dish and bake 40 minutes. Cover with foil and bake another 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Can be served warm (but still let it cool slightly). Refrigerate leftovers. Tastes better the next day. Delicious with diced fresh peaches on top.

Note: Sometime try replacing the chocolate chips with cocoa.
(1 T cocoa + 2 t fat + 3 1/2 t sugar = 1 oz semi-sweet chocolate is equivalent on Hershey's box)

Ice Cream in a Bag

 Ice Cream in a Bag

1 cup half-and-half
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups ice
1/3 cup kosher salt

In a sandwich size ziplock, combine half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Remove air and seal. Place in another ziplock for safety (remove air).

Into a gallon ziplock, combine ice and salt. Place small bags inside the bigger bag and shake vigorously for 7-10 minutes until ice cream has hardened. Enjoy!

Sam's New Chocolate Cake

Dry Ingredients

3 cups flour (431 g)
1 1/3 cups white sugar (284 g)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (35 g)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips (286 g)

West Ingredients

3 large eggs, beaten (159 g)
1 1/2 cups milk (370 g)
1 1/2 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (24 g)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (116 g)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Butter and flour two round cake pans.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients, then add to dry ingredients.  Mix.

Pour into 2 round cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Check for doneness--a toothpick in the center should come out clean.

After cooling in pans for 10 minutes, dump onto cooling rack.  Frost when cool, or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Sam's New Chocolate Cake