Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

Archive for October, 2007

• 1 cup canned tomatoes
• 3 tbs. olive oil
• 2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 lb. vermicelli
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbs. flourSalt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over low flame in deep saucepan. Gradually stir in flour until well blended. Add tomatoes slowly; keep stirring. Bring to a boil; lower flame; simmer for 2 minutes. Add grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste; stir; turn off fire.Break vermicelli into 1 inch pieces. Cook in 2 qts. Of rapidly boiling salted water, about 6 minutes or until soft. Drain. Stir vermicelli into prepared sauce. Beat egg yolks thoroughly; add. Beat egg whites stiff; fold in.Transfer to buttered baking dish; bake in moderate oven about 10 minutes or until firm.Serve hot. Serves 4.

• 6 egg yolks
• 3 cups minced onions
• 1/3 cup cracker or matzo meal
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 tablespoons melted fat or butter
• 6 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Beat the egg yolks until thick. Stir in the onions, meal, salt, pepper and fat or butter. Fold in the egg whites. Turn into a greased 2 quart casserole. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until set. Serves 6 to 8.

Xato (pronounced cha-toh’)is a Catalan dish traditionally eaten in January and February, the two coldest months, during which the Catalans find the sharp taste stimulating and warming, although they ordinarily use very little pepper in their food. It is during this season, too, that the heart of curly endive, which is the base of the dish, is whitest. Generally served as a first course in
Catalonia, Xato is substantial enough to constitute a supper or lunch.

Xato Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic
• 7-8 peeled and toasted almonds
• 1 or more sharp chili peppers (or powdered cayenne pepper)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup wine vinegar
• 3/4 tsp. salt

This sauce can be made in 5 minutes in an electric blender: simply put all the ingredients in at once and beat until the pepper is reduced to fine particles. If you do not have a blender, crush the garlic and almonds in a mortar, add one or more finely chopped chili peppers, and mash to a smooth paste before gradually blending in the oil and vinegar. The number of peppers (or the amount of cayenne) you use depends on how sharp you like the sauce. When tasting the seasoning, bear in mind that the sauce will seem less sharp when mixed with the salad.

• 5 eggs
• 4 large firm green peppers
• 5 tbs. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Clean, seed, and slice peppers lengthwise in 1 inch strips. Beat eggs thoroughly. Heat oil in large frying pan. When hot, add garlic and sliced peppers. Fry until slightly brown, about 5 minutes. Lower flame; cover pan; sauté slowly for 15 minutes or until peppers are soft. Fold in beaten eggs. Stir gently until eggs are of consistency desired. Remove from fire; serve immediately.Serves 4.

For these sandwiches, the bread should be thin. If preparing in advance, cover the sandwiches loosely with wax paper, drape a damp kitchen towel over the wax paper, and refrigerate to prevent them from drying out. Prepare the sandwiches as close to serving time as possible.

• 1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 bunch watercress leaves (stems completely removed), finely chopped
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 8 slices best quality white bread, preferably thinly sliced

1. In a bowl, place the cucumbers with the salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a bowl, combine the watercress and cream cheese.
3. Spread one side of 4 slices of bread lightly with the cream cheese mixture. Top with sliced cucumbers and then another slice of bread.
4. Trim the crusts off sandwiches with a sharp knife, and cut each diagonally into quarters.

A pincho is broiled food, usually meat or mushrooms, cooked and served on a short metal skewer (4 to 5 inches long). Cubes of meat are sometimes alternated with button mushrooms or bits of onion or red pepper. Mushrooms alone are good, as are chicken livers, marinated in olive oil for 1 hour before grilling. Tender lamb cut in small bits and basted with olive oil is really good!

Bunuelitos – Small Fritters

Fritters take about ½ hour to prepare, but because the batter can be made beforehand (even the previous day), there is little work at the last minute. The fritters should be small enough to be eaten in one bite from a toothpick. They need not be served hot, and in fact are best just warm. The following batter, which will make three to four dozen small fritters, can be used for many varieties.

Fritter Batter

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup water

Put flour in mixing bowl and gradually add enough water (about 1/3 cup) to make a batter of the consistency of a thin cream sauce. Stir in one lightly beaten egg and the baking powder.

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Drop the eggs, salt and water into it. Work into the flour with the hand and knead until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead on a board until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll into pencil thin strips. Cut into 1 inch pieces and drop into boiling salted water. Cook until they rise to the surface. Drain. Serve hot with meats. Serves 6 to 8.

• small fish (mackerel, anchovy, or sardine)
• ¼ cup olive oil for frying
• 1 cup olive oil for marinade
• 1 tbs. paprika
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• ½ head of garlic, unpeeled
• A few sprigs of parsley, chopped
• ½ tsp black pepper
• Salt to taste
• Flour for dusting

Fry lightly floured fish in ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat. When lightly browned, put in a recipient, preferably one with a flat surface large enough to accommodate the fish. Heat the cup of olive oil over a high flame. Fry in it coarsely chopped unpeeled half head of garlic with the black pepper and chopped parsley. Let it bubble, stir a few times, remove pan from the fire, and blend in the paprika mixed with the cayenne. Add salt to taste. Pour the hot liquid over the fish. Let it marinate 24 hours before serving. The fish will keep in a cool place five days or more.

Little cocktail pastries are excellent made with any leftover, unsweetened dough. Fresh dough does not take long to prepare and can be mixed the day before you wish. For that matter, the pastries can be baked hours in advance. Best hot or warmed over in a moderate oven, they are also good cold. The following recipe makes enough dough for about forty bite-size pastries or thirty tartlets.

Empanadilla Dough

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs. milk
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Put flour on a board or marble slab, make a hole in the center, add all ingredients in the hole, and mix well with fingers. Roll into a ball and cover with a damp cloth. The dough must rest for 15 minutes before use; it can be kept in a cool place for 24 hours.

• 3 eggs
• 3 cups grated, drained potatoes
• 1/3 cup potato flour     
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons grated onion
• 4 tablespoons melted butter or fat

Beat the eggs until thick. Stir in the potatoes, potato flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, onion and butter or fat.Turn into a greased 1 ½ quart baking dish or casserole. Bake in a 350 degree oven until brown, about 1 hour. Serve hot. Serves 6 to 8.