Foodie Friday Comfort Food- Mini Chaussons and Ginger Spiced Almond Rugelach

Hi All! 

Can you believe it's Friday?? The first week of school has been chaotic, but also happy. Everyone is happy with their teachers and Friday night is Allie's first football game as a Varsity cheerleader!

Go Tigers!!

Lots going on at Casa Bramasole as you all know. Getting ready to list and sell a house is quite a job. And things have changed in the real estate market, even just in the last few years. As a decorator myself, I can tell you I remember a time when "staging" was unheard of- now it's part of everyday vocabulary. Thanks HGTV!!

I'm going to take a minute here to ask you all for a little of your collective wisdom. We've learned that our wonderful readers always seem to have answers and viewpoints that we may not have considered

I will preface this by saying that I get paid to stage homes for sellers. I am familiar with the process and with what's expected. I AM discovering that there is a big difference in my thought process when it comes to my own home. And yes, I did have a talk with my dear mom about her staging efforts 

My question concerns my kitchen. Standard staging protocol says clean it (no problem there) and CLEAR IT. Stash all appliances, tools, kitchen stuff, etc. That's the problem. Until we move, this is a working kitchen.

This is where recipes are developed and prepared for tastings, classes, and events. My kitchen is clean,

 but...I do keep my stand mixer and food processor out (both are used several times daily), and there are "things" around. 

Like this...

the red metal bread box holds whisks and spatulas, my mezzaluna, gnocchi board, mortar and pestle....

and this.....

cookie cutters, and a basket of English ironstone cups. I found 20 at a thrift store and scooped them all up for use as ingredient cups when I'm teaching mis en place to a class

and this....

dough is usually rising somewhere and my utensils hang on the custom rack made for me by my talented husband....

Ironstone....

assorted mismatched silverware and tureens for use during class dinners...

and my onion basket and bread box

Arborio, cookies, and corks !

and pasta- this IS Casa Bramasole!

So tell me- if YOU were buying a house- would you be turned off by seeing this?? 

The reason I ask is that the one couple that came through were MOST impressed by our kitchen! She commented to me that she loved the fact that she could absolutely tell that this was a kitchen that would work for her family. She was able to see that her mixer would fit on the counter and that there were work zones. And that it could work and still look good

So do you want to see a "model home kitchen" or a "serious cook/family kitchen"?? Can't wait to see what you think!

Kids coming home from school are always STARVING

time for cookies and milk- Mini Chaussons and tiny, spicy Ginger Almond Ruggelach

"Chaussons" translates as "slipper"- what's more homey and comforting than your favorite slippers??

How about a flaky, buttery puff filled with a barely sweet apple, cinnamon and date filling?

And how about a very NON-traditional ruggelach? This one has a filling of ground almonds, spicy crystallized ginger, and warm cinnamon and nutmeg

Enjoy!

Mini Chaussons

Puff Pastry- homemade or 1 box (2 sheets) frozen store bought, thawed

egg wash of 2 eggs whisked with a bit of water

coarse sugar- I use "raw" or turbinado sugar

FILLING:

2 TBLSP unsalted butter

juice and zest of half a lemon

4 apples- peeled, cored, and diced

scant 1/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean- split and scraped

cinnamon- a few good shakes to taste

a handful of dates (I used about a dozen)- chopped

Make filling- melt butter and mix in all remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook on low for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and using a potato masher, just gently crush the apples a bit (you can puree them smooth with an immersion blender if you prefer). Set mixture aside to cool completely

Roll out puff pastry to a rectangle on a lightly floured board. Using a 3-4 inch cutter, cut out rounds. Place a small spoonful of filling on half of each round and fold other half over. Seal edges, brush lightly with an egg wash, and put tray in freezer for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove tray from freezer, brush each chausson again with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Pierce top of each 3 times with the tip of a sharp knife. Bake for 20 minutes till golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.  If you want to kick these up a notch, serve them slightly warm with a cinnamon sugar dip made of creme fraiche or greek yogurt mixed with a bit of confectioner's sugar and cinnamon

Ginger Almond Ruggelach

these are not traditional ruggelach. The dough for these has a bit of greek yogurt which makes it easy to handle and there are no  preserves in the filling. Add ginger to your own taste- I'm only giving a guideline here :)

Dough:

2 cups flour

scant 1/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

2 sticks cold unsalted butter

3/4 of an 8 ounce bar of cream cheese

1/3 cup of greek yogurt

Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse till dough forms a ball. Remove and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight

Filling:

3/4 cup slivered almonds ground in mini processor with a handful of crystallized ginger

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 tblsp soft unsalted butter

Mix all together in a small bowl. Use your hands to completely rub together and incorporate butter

Remove dough from fridge and let st on counter for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in 4 pieces. Roll each piece out into a circle about 9 inches in diameter. Sprinkle each with 1/4 of the filling and gently press into the dough. Using a pizza cutter, cut each round into 12 slices. Roll each slice up from the wide end and place pointed end down onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Brush each with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar mixed with a bit of ground ginger. Bake for 20-25 minutes till lightly golden and remove to a rack to cool

I can't wait to hear what you all think!

We're linking up this week to 3 wonderful parties:

Foodie Friday at Gollum's 

 Vignette Fridays at Artie's place, Color Outside the lines




and


The Cookie Exchange at Relatively Unique

As Always,

Buon Cibo, Buon Amici,

Pattie and Allie