Easy Pear Tart

So, I had some pears that were getting very ripe. I just through this together in 5 minutes and it turned out pretty good. I used won ton wrappers to make a quick crust.

2 ripe pears
8 small won ton wrappers
1 T butter
cinnamon and sugar


Spray small tart dish (6x6-inch) with oil. Peel and slice pears and arrange in dish.

Slice won ton wrappers into thirds and arrange in lattice pattern. Melt butter and brush wrappers. Sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 350 until "crust" is starting to brown and pears are bubbly.

Kugeli (Potato Pudding)

Or as we used to tell our children when they were younger, hash brown casserole.  This is a recipe from my husband's Lithuanian grandmother.

3 1/3 lbs. Red potatoes
2 beaten eggs
½ C ground ham
¼ C butter, melted
1 very small onion
2 t salt
5 oz. Can carnation milk
¼ t pepper

Peel and grate potatoes and onion through food processor twice.  Mix remaining ingredients and pour into greased 8 x 8-inch pan.  Bake 10 minutes at 425.  Lower oven to 350 and bake 1 hour longer.

Jalapeño Pretzel Poppers

I make these ahead of time and then reheat them in the oven for about 10 minutes just before serving so the cheese is nice and gooey. They also freeze well. Adjust your reheat time or let them thaw out first.

2 t yeast (1 packet)
2 C warm water
2 T sugar
3 ½ C flour
1 t salt
2 T baking soda
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
1 jalapeño, diced
6 slices bacon, diced and cooked
coarse salt for pretzel tops

Add yeast and sugar to water and let stand until yeast dissolves and bubbles.  Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Meanwhile, mix together cheeses, bacon and jalapeños in a medium mixing bowl. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

Add flour and salt to stand mixer. Knead for 3- 5 minutes until the dough comes together in one ball. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time as needed, if bread is too sticky.  Dough should be tacky when you pull it out of the mixer, not sticky.  Place in a oiled, covered bowl and let rise until double.

Fill a medium bowl with 2 cups of hot water and add baking soda. Punch dough down and divide into 36 pieces.  First quarter the ball of dough. Roll each quarter into a fat log and cut that into 3 pieces. Roll each piece into a log and cut into 3 pieces. 

Roll each dough piece into a ball and then flatten it into a circle. Add 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture in the center. Pull each side over the cheese to create a ‘cheese package’, pinching the edges closed. Roll the dough into a ball, sealing well. Transfer stuffed dough ball to hot water mixture and allow to set while you prepare the next one. Remove dough ball from water with a slotted spoon and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all dough balls are on the cookie sheet.

In a small bowl beat egg. Brush egg wash onto each one ball and sprinkle with course salt.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in 450 oven until the tops are browned.

Raisin Bread

Bread
5 1/2 - 6 C bread flour
2 t yeast
2 1/4 C milk
1/3 C sugar
4 T butter
2 t salt

Filling
1/2 C sugar
1 T ground cinnamon
1 C raisins

Heat the milk and shortening in the microwave until just warm (115-120 degrees).  Add yeast to milk mixture and stir.  Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine 3 C of the flour, the 1/3 C sugar and salt.  Add yeast mixture and mix until well-mixed.

For stand mixer, add remaining flour and process with bread hook several minutes.  Let stand 5-10 minutes and process 10-15 more minutes.

If you don't have a stand mixer with a bread hook, turn out onto floured surface and kneed in remaining flour.  Let stand 5-10 minutes and then kneed 10-15 more minutes.

Place dough into buttered bowl, cover and let rise until double.  Do not place in warm place unless you are in a hurry.  The slower the bread rises, the better the texture will be.  You can even place in the refrigerator overnight.

Prepare raisins by covering with water and letting them steep until bread rises.  This will really plump them up and make them nice and juicy.  Mix together the 1/2 C sugar and cinnamon.  I like to put it in an empty spice jar with a shaker top to make it easier to distribute over the bread.

Punch the dough down and separate in half.  Roll dough to two 15x7-inch rectangles.  Liberally brush 1 teaspoon of water over each half.  Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture.  Drain raisins and sprinkle over the cinnamon mixture.  Roll into loaves, tucking under edges, as necessary.

Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.  For a crisp crust, brush with and egg white mixed with a couple tablespoons of water the last 15 minutes.  For a soft crust, brush with melted butter the last 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and remove from pans immediately.  Cool on wire racks.

Pan-roasted Chicken

1 T olive oil
1 T butter
3-4 pieces chicken
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5-6 plum-size tomatoes
French-cut green beans

Heat oven-save frying pan over high heat.  I like to use a cast-iron pan.  Add oil and butter.  Once butter has melted, add chicken and brown on each side for about 3 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove chicken to plate.  Add potatoes, onion and garlic and sauté until onions start to tenderize.  Add chicken back to pan.  Add tomatoes, whole.  Roast in 350 oven for about 45 minutes until chicken is tender.  Stir potatoes halfway through to promote even browning.  Top with green beans last ten minutes.