Savory Kalacs

Since it is getting so close to Christmas, wrapping gifts, decorating and planning is underway. Hopefully you have many helpful hands during all this activity, but everyone needs to take a snack break. With all the holiday cookie and dessert baking, something savory is a tasty change of pace.

The sunburst of twisted dough (pictured above) may take a few hours to make due to the rising time, but the end result is well worth it. Sandwiched in between the 2 layers of dough is the bold flavor of Gorgonzola cheese. To compliment the flavor of the cheese is a mixture of onions, pancetta and mustard. Not ordinary-but extraordinary..as well as unique. Not only will this satisfy your taste buds, but the great presentation makes it a feast for the eyes.

This recipe hails from a blogger in New Zealand, so measurements are in grams and milliliters. Baking temperature is in Celsius. Conversion charts to cups and ounces are available through the internet.

No matter what occasion- happy hour, football watching party or just a friendly get together, this appetizer is the one thing that should be on your table. So set the sugar aside and pull out the cheese- let's get baking! My tweaks on this process can be found in the tips and notes at the end. They are helpful hints to for you to have baking success with this recipe.

Savory Kalacs
adapted from atdownunder blogger 

Ingredients/Dough
4 tbs of olive oil
a few pinches of salt
1 tsp of sour cream
200 ml of milk (room temp)
300 g flour
15g of yeast

Ingredients/Filling
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola (or your cheese of choice)
1 tsp mustard
2 heaping tbs of sour cream
2 green onions/scallions, sliced thin
25g pancetta, diced
salt and pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste (optional)

Topping
1 egg yolk, whisked or lightly beaten
1 tsp sunflower seeds

Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Set aside. Also, dust a flat surface with flour.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and sprinkle the top with yeast. Form a well in the center. Using another bowl, whisk together the milk and the sour cream. Pour the liquid into the sifted ingredients. Fold mixture together until a dough is formed. Transfer to prepared surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Shape dough into a mound and cover lightly. Let rise for 20-25 minutes.

Once first rising time is complete, punch down dough and form a well in the center. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the center and knead for about 30 seconds. Make another well and fill with the remaining amount of oil. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Form into a round disc and cover lightly. Let rise for another 30 minutes.

As it rises, create the filling by mixing all listed ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Punch down dough and divide into 2 equal pieces. Take the parchment paper from the baking sheet and roll out one piece of the dough into a circle, about 25 cm in diameter. Using a small spatula, spread the filling over the surface the dough, leaving a 1/2 centimeter border on the edge.

Lightly dust a flat surface and roll out the second piece of dough, measuring the same size as the previous one. Place this second piece, making sure to center it, over the dough with the filling on top.

Invert a drinking glass over the center of the disc, slightly indenting the dough. Score the dough into four equal pieces (like cutting a pie) using the back of a knife. Score the four pieces into two equal segments and then score each of the two segments into three equal portions. After scoring, cut through dough with the back of a knife, following the score lines.

Take each portion of dough (there should be 24) by the outer tip and twist three times. Remove the glass and brush the surface with the egg yolk. Top the center circle of dough (as marked off with the drinking glass) with sunflower seeds.

Place in oven and bake until it has a golden hue. This should take about 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and invert onto large platter. Remove parchment paper and invert bread again, this time onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

Tips and Notes:
1. Filling ingredients were combined in a blender, to make it into spreading consistency.

2. I increased the ingredient amount by half to make sure there was enough to cover the dough

3. Take care to not stretch the dough when twisting, so it will remain the same diameter and hold together.

4. After cutting with the back of the knife, re-cut with a sharp knife. The back of the knife process is to make sure the dough does not stretch when cutting.

                                      **LAST YEAR:Chocolate Custard Tart** 

Sausage Rolls

Well I have decided it is about time for something savory.  The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the name is those crescent/cocktail wieners that we all see at parties. However, I wanted something that was a little closer to homemade.  Also, I seem to recall I got sick one time on those.

These rolls are not that difficult to prepare and require very little of your time. The best thing about this recipe is that it leaves you with a variety of choices when it comes to the type of meat filling.  Any ground meat will do, however, I find that it is best to use something with a lot of flavor in it, which is usually sausage.  Also, these are even better served with a dipping sauce.  I have listed some combinations below:

Bratwurst/BBQ Sauce
Chorizo/enchilada sauce
Italian Sausage/ Garlic or marinara sauce

I still have yet to make these using chorizo, but it will not be long.  I have done the other suggestions above. One bite of the flaky pastry and the spicy meat is all it took for me to be addicted to these.  Try serving these at your next party, you will be glad you did.

Sausage Rolls
courtesy of The Perfect Afternoon Tea Recipe Book

Ingredients
1 beaten egg for glazing
3 tbs cold lard
3 tbs cold butter
3 tbs cold water
9 oz raw sausage meat
1 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a medium size bowl.  Then, with a pastry cutter, cut in the lard and butter until the consistency of the flour changes to fine crumbs.  Then add water and stir until the mixture turns into dough.  Shape into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap.  Place in fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once the chilling time is complete, take out the dough and place on a smooth, floured surface.  Roll dough into a rectangle measuring 7X12.  Cut dough into 2 strips, each measuring 3 1/2 X 12.  To make sure that your dough isn't sticking to the surface, run a large thin knife underneath each piece of dough.

Then divide your sausage evenly into 2 pieces.  Shape each piece into a long roll, measuring 12 inches in length.  Place each piece of sausage in the center of  the pastry pieces, running the 12 inch length parallel with the dough length.  Brush the 12 inch edges of the pastry with water and fold over the sausage and press the edges together to seal.

Then, using a sharp knife, cut each long roll into 8 pieces.  Flip the pieces over with the seam side down.  Then brush them with the beaten egg and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes until crisp and golden.  Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.
                                    **LAST YEAR:Chicken Avocado Parmesan

Blue Cheese Crisps

Yes, it has been some time since I posted an appetizer or savory recipe.  I do not crave salty things as much as I do sweet, but the craving eventually comes along.  I wanted something cheesy, yet I did not want it to be deep fried.

Firstly, I have a lot of different cheeses in my fridge.  On those rare occasions when I go to Central Market, I take my time in the bread and cheese area.  They have such a great variety there and my husband is usually trying to rush me.  He is one of those "list" people, which means that impulse buying is out.  Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes not.

Anyhow, if you have a craving for blue cheese or are looking for a quick appetizer, this recipe may be just the one.  The outside is fluffy bread dusted with smoked paprika and a sprinkling of cheddar and Monterrey jack cheese.  The creamy inside is a mix of 2 cheeses, the first being the tangy cream cheese and the other, blue cheese.  This mix provides a wonderfully sharp and salty flavor in every bite.

Outside of the taste, it is a pretty quick fix.  These morsels can be prepared in advance and frozen.    Once taken out of the freezer-just top and bake, no defrosting required!  The recipe states you can top and freeze but I am not sure how well the paprika or cheese on top will do in the freezer, so my suggestion is to top them the day you bake them. This recipe yields 48 appetizers.

Blue Cheese Crisps
courtesy of My Great Recipe Cards/packet 33

Ingredients
3/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cubed
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
1 egg
2 tbs butter
3 oz cream cheese
2 tsp instant minced onion or 1 tsp onion powder
4 oz crumbled blue cheese
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
smoked or regular paprika (for topping)
grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper.  Also, let your cream cheese, egg and butter come to room temperature before using.

Sift together flour and salt and set aside.  Fill another bowl with cream cheese, egg, onion or onion powder, butter and blue cheese. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes or until it reaches a creamy consistency. Cover and refrigerate.

Add the cubes of shortening to the flour mixture and blend with a pastry cutter until it becomes a mass of pea-sized clumps.  Sprinkle 1/3 a cup of the ice water over dough and mix with a fork.  If it seems to dry, add more water until the dough holds together in a large ball.    Split dough into 2 equal pieces.

Lay one piece out on a floured surface and roll into a rectangle.  The rectangle should be 8X12.  Take out the filling from the fridge and smear 1/2 of it evenly on the dough, covering a space of 4 inches wide and 12 inches long.  The filling should leave a small border on the three edges, so the dough can be sealed without the filling coming out.  Place the rest of filling back in fridge. 

Take a spatula and run it underneath the dough that is not covered with filling.  This is to make sure that there is no sticking.  Then fold the dough in half, making it into a 4X12 inch rectangle. Press down lightly making sure all the air bubbles are out and seal the edges of the dough.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Cover dough and place in fridge for about 30 minutes.  This will insure that the filling is not runny when you cut the dough.

After cooling, the dough will need to be cut. You can use a knife, a regular or crinkle edged pastry cutter or a small biscuit cutter.  I used a biscuit cutter and they turned out uniform in size but there was some wasted scraps.  Cut dough into 1 inch squares or circles and place pieces on baking sheet. These do not rise much, if at all, so they can be spaced closely together as long as they are not touching.

Sprinkle dough pieces with paprika.  If you opted to top with cheese, sprinkle that over the paprika.
Place pan in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove and let cool on pan for 5 minutes and transfer to serving tray. These are best served warm. Repeat process with remaining dough and filling.

If you plan to freeze, complete all steps up to and including the cutting instructions. Freeze in a single layer and wrap well.  To prepare, do not defrost, just put paprika and cheese (if desired) on top and bake.  Enjoy!

Italian Dippers

Getting home late on Monday prompted me to want to make appetizers instead of having a heavy meal.  It had been some time since we had any Italian food and I still had some spicy sausage from Central Market.

I had the idea to make something like toasted ravioli only the filling would be different, it would be more hearty.  After some trial and error, I came up with these Italian dippers.

These are actually deep fried shell pasta filled with sausage, onions, mozzarella and spices.  The shells overlap one another to keep the filling from coming out.  Each piece is quite a bit more than the regular ravioli and it takes only a few to satisfy.

Another neat thing is that the variations of fillings you can try for these are endless.  This recipe makes about 12-15 toasted shells.

Italian Dippers
by flourtrader

Ingredients
30 pasta shells
1/2 sprig of fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
2 basil leaves, chopped
1/2 lb of spicy Italian sausage
9 slices of  pepperoni (about 1-1 1/2 inch diameter size) quartered
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 cup grated mozzarella
Italian bread crumbs
2 egg whites
oil for frying
1 jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce for dipping

Fill a saucepan with 1 tbs of oil and place over medium heat.  Then add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the sausage, breaking up meat into small pieces.  Stir and cook sausage for about 3-5 minutes, until all areas are brown..  Once the meat is cooked, add the pepperoni pieces and cook until pieces release their oil and become glossy. Stir in rosemary and basil and let cook for another minute.  Remove from heat and place sausage mixture in a heat proof bowl to cool.

Once mixture has cooled, mix in the grated cheese until evenly distributed.  Set aside.

Then cook your shell pasta according to manufacturers instructions.  After cooking and draining, rinse shells with cold water until pasta pieces are cool to the touch.

Fill one pasta shell with about 2-3 tablespoons of meat mixture.  Then take another shell and overlap the other shell, covering the opening of filling.  Continue this process until all the filling is used up., placing formed shells on a platter.

Place 1 cup of bread crumbs on a plate and spread out evenly.  In a medium size bowl, lightly beat the egg whites.  Then preheat your deep fryer to 350 degrees.

Dip each filled shell into egg whites and allow excess to drip off.  Then roll in crumbs and set aside.
Repeat process until all formed shells are coated.  Place 3 shells at a time in the fryer basket (we have a fryer with 2 rectangular baskets) and cook in hot oil for about 3 minutes.  Remove and place on paper towels to drain.

Serve toasted shells with a bowl of marinara for dipping. Enjoy!