Nut Rolls

We have tried and failed many a time to replicate the nut rolls that my Slovak great grandmother, Baba, used to make. We finally got it!! Woohoo!!




Nut Filling for 2 rolls:
4 cups ground walnuts
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
2 egg whites

Add sugar to walnuts. Brown butter on the stovetop, add milk, and pour into the walnuts. Beat egg whites with 2 tbsp. sugar until peaked, fold into walnuts.

Dough for 6 rolls:
6 cups flour
1tsp. salt
1/2 lb. butter
3 tbsp. sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 packets yeast
1/2 cup warm milk

Mix butter, flour, and salt with dough hook, Add eggs and sour cream. Dissolve yeast and sugar with warm milk, add to flour mixture. Mix until dough pulls from bowl, remove and kneed. Separate into 6 balls and let rest 10 minutes. Roll until about 1/8" thick and spread with nut filling, leaving about 1/2" edge without nuts. Roll, tucking the end and edges underneath. Let rise until doubled in size, brush with egg yolk, and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.

Chocolate Almond Torte...sans Almonds

So my mom had gotten be a torte pan for Christmas and I figured it was time to try it out. But I don't really like almonds so I got rid of them and replaced them with a strawberry and lemon puree.

It took literally 15 minutes to get the torte out of the pan, what with those fancy edges and all but it was worth it! It turned out moist without being too rich and dense. I think tortes are being added to my list of go to desserts.

Food Network Chocolate Almond Torte

Alcoholic Ice Cream

Alas this post is extremely late, but I just found these pictures in my camera and they are worth it.

So we had some orangecello in the cabinet and figured we could make an ice cream with it. I sort of made up a recipe based on the only alcoholic recipes I could find, which were for rum raisin. Now orange and chocolate are never a bad combination so we added some crushed chocolate chunks and ended up with an incredibly smooth bowl of delicious.

First Day in Frankfurt

Let the eating begin!
I have begun a 2 week trip around Europe and of course I'm most exited for the food. First stop was Frankfurt, well kind of, we just stayed for the night. So my first meal I had beer, of course, and ordered what I thought to be a sausage but ended up being more of a hotdog which was disappointing.
Dinner on the other hand was a lot better. I had a Parmesan/ truffle pasta which was my first ever experience with truffles. They were ok, earthy but not special but the cheese, I forgot how good real parmesean could taste!!

Peanut Butter Brownies

When I crave a late night dessert, chocolate must be part of it. These tasty treats hit the spot, rich, warm, and full of chocolaty goodnes. But really, when is peanut butter and chocolate ever a bad thing?


http://culinarycatastrophe.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/peanut-butter-swirl-brownies/

Austin TX

Last weekend I went to Austin TX for an industrial design conference. Well we drove there, yes that was 21 hrs of being in a van with 9 other people. Surprisingly I survived, but a drink was needed upon arrival. This lovely Kentucky Tea (long island but with bourbon) only cost me 5 dollars. It was amazing! This had a kick to it and burned in all the right ways.
Mental note: learn to make a Kentucky Tea

Donut Muffins

I usually prefer my desserts to be rich and full of chocolate. On some weird twist, this afternoon I was craving something a little lighter. Thus the donut muffin was born. These mini bites of loveliness were light but cake-y and dusted with cinnamon sugar. Simple and just perfect!

http://kirbiecravings.com/2011/03/cinnamon-sugar-donut-muffins.html