Abandon Strudel

I had my choice of poison when asked to prepare a dish for a friend's annual Oktoberfest party.  Hand stuffing 30 lbs of sausage didn't sound like a great time, so I thought I'd take the easy way out by making a strudel from scratch.  The morning of the event I found out just how silly this notion was, and won't be posting the recipe as a result.  There has to be a better approach and recipe out there, but this is what I've learned so far.  

Strudel is an ancient Austrian pastry most commonly filled with apples, making Fall a great time to eat it.  The key is to make a very elastic dough that can be stretched so thin a love letter can be read through it (I must assume all Austrian love letters are written in a size 100 bold font).  Onto the process.

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Oreo Truffles

This could be the single most important post during my Great American Bake Sale campaign--the secret to Mary's Oreo truffles.  Mary will be making around 300 of these decadent treats for the bake sale at The Butcher and Larder on May 7th.

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The Cookie, Not the City

The next Great American Bake Sale featured item is the humble kolaczek (kolaczki is plural).  Amidst my eternal indecision of what to bake for the masses, I decided to embrace my heritage and attempt a Polish mass of white ingredients.  

I grew up eating kolaczki, but they were always store-bought or restaurant-made.  Most of the time, they are anemic pieces of dough folded over filled with either more white stuff (cheese), or a fruit jelly, then garnished with powdered sugar (even more white stuff).  The following recipe I got from a great chef who makes the best [foie gras] pierogies I know.  It doesn't include baking powder, which is an ingredient that seems to be up to much debate in online grandma forums.

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Madeleines

Until the Great American Bake Sale on May 7th, I'm going to feature recipes from bakers or myself that will be part of the menu.  There's almost 30 Chicago food bloggers and home-bakers that have signed up to donate so far, in addition to various local businesses, so there's going to be something for everyone.  

The first featured pasty is the madeleine, which gets its name from the unique shape given from the baking vessel used.  Without using the proper mold, this pastry is just another genoise cake.  This version calls for

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Bread Revival

Brunch is one of the most difficult meals to make, because it's often too sweet and carbatose.  The balance between sweet and salty is important, but it's important to work in proteins and other nutrition to wash away the previous night's discourse.

Pain perdu is a common overly sweet, dessert oriented brunch item that I struggle with because it's nothing but sugar, carbs, and often ice cream.  I would never eat it as an entree, but I feel it has the potential to be a good dessert course during a meal.  Today I decided to rework the classic 'lost bread' dish into a local, palatable dish to be proud of.

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