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RECIPE ROUNDUP
Baking Up a Breakfast
By Kevin Hargis
If any of you are like me, February--often cold and gray in Texas--seems like the longest, not the shortest, month. This is the time of year I like to curl up in my toasty bed for a couple of extra minutes of shut-eye.
One thing that can lure me from my flannel-sheeted cocoon on a gray, gloomy day is the smell of breakfast. I like making breakfast in the oven in the winter because it warms up not only the stomach, but the kitchen as well.
I'll have to admit to a certain weakness for pastries. One delicious recipe I found recently would be perfect served warm on a winter morning.
The recipe for Apple-Filled Turnovers comes from the Culinary Institute of America Cookbook (Lebhar-Friedman Books, 2008). The CIA, as it is known, is an organization devoted to raising the bar for home cooks and professionals alike.
The book is filled with recipes both basic and exotic from chefs across the country. It also includes loads of advice and photos illustrating essentials that everyone--from the most accomplished cook to a rank amateur--would find educational.
APPLE-FILLED TURNOVERS
1 1/2 pounds frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg
2 tablespoons cream or milk
1 1/2 cups Apple Filling
1 cup Apricot Glaze
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough into 12x16-inch rectangle. Dust dough and rolling pin with flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking. Cut dough into 12 4-inch squares. Place squares on prepared baking sheet and let chill in refrigerator until firm, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from refrigerator. Brush squares with wash made by whisking together egg and cream or milk. Place 2 tablespoons of Apple Filling in center of each and fold opposite corners together to form triangle. Press edges firmly together to seal. Chill turnovers 10 minutes before baking.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush turnovers with egg wash. Cut slit in center of each turnover to vent steam. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks and brush with Apricot Glaze before they cool. Cool completely before serving.
Apple Filling
1/4 cup applejack or apple-flavored brandy
1/4 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
4 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
6 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons currants
1/4 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Combine applejack or brandy and apple juice in small bowl and set aside. Heat saute pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Toss sliced apples with sugar. Add about a third of sugared apples and saute until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer apples to bowl. Add third of apple juice mixture to pan and stir to loosen sugar stuck in pan. Allow to simmer until slightly reduced and thickened, about 30 seconds. Pour over sauteed apples. Saute remaining apples in two additional batches as above. When adding final batch of apple juice mixture to pan, stir in remaining ingredients. Add mixture to bowl and stir gently until currants are evenly distributed.
Put filling in bowl set in ice bath and cool, stirring occasionally. Once cooled, it can be kept in covered container in refrigerator for up to 5 days. Warm slightly before using.
Apricot Glaze
3/4 cup apricot jam
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup brandy
Combine all in saucepan and bring to boil over high heat, stirring until jam is completely melted. Strain through wire-mesh sieve into bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature before using. This can be kept up to 3 weeks in refrigerator. Warm slightly before using.
Serving size: 1 turnover. Per serving: 260 calories, 0.8 g protein, 6.2 g fat, 44.7 g carbohydrates, 0.8 g fiber, 40 mg sodium, trace cholesterol.
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HOME COOKING
Recipe Contest Winner: Janie Fitzgerald, Victoria Electric Cooperative
Prize-Winning Recipe: Breakfast Pie
In response to the call for Baked Breakfast dishes, we received many recipes for sweet treats. There were also some delicious and savory recipes. Our tasters universally liked everything, making the judging difficult. But this simple egg dish, with its hearty, spicy flavor, rose to the top.
BREAKFAST PIE
1 pound pan sausage
1 can (10 ounces) tomatoes and green chilies
2 cups grated cheese, divided
4 eggs, beaten slightly
5 ounces evaporated milk
2 unbaked pie shells
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown sausage, add tomatoes and chilies. Mix in 1 1/2 cups cheese and divide evenly into pie shells. Mix eggs and milk and pour evenly over sausage mixture; top with remaining cheese. Bake for 40-45 minutes until center of each pie is set. Makes 16 servings.
Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: 265 calories, 12 g protein, 18.2 g fat, 9.5 g carbohydrates, 0.2 g fiber, 489 mg sodium, 94 mg cholesterol.
CINNAMON BISCUITS
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons shortening
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons cinnamon, divided
1 cup powdered sugar
About 2 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Cut in shortening. Add buttermilk and mix well. Sprinkle with half of cinnamon. Fold lightly and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon. Flatten dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut to desired size with knife or biscuit cutter. Put in lightly greased baking pan and bake until lightly brown (about 10 minutes). Mix powdered sugar and milk together to glazing consistency and pour over hot biscuits. Serves 12.
Serving size: 1 biscuit. Per serving: 195 calories, 3.4 g protein, 7 g fat, 29 g carbohydrates, 1.2 g fiber, 448mg sodium, 6 mg cholesterol.
Bertha Corley
Pedernales Electric Cooperative
CHERRY BREAKFAST STRATA
12 cups day-old Italian bread cubes (1/2-inch cubes)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cherry Syrup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 8 cups of bread cubes in greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish. In mixing bowl, combine extract, cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar and beat until smooth. Stir in cherries and pecans. Spoon over bread. Top with remaining bread. In bowl, whisk eggs, half-and-half, cinnamon and remaining sugar. Pour over bread. Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes or until browned. Let stand 5 minutes and top with warm Cherry Syrup before serving.
Cherry Syrup
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) sour cherries, undrained
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Combine all ingredients but extract in saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in extract.
Serving size: 1 cup. Per serving: 792 calories, 19.5 g protein, 18.7 g fat, 134 g carbohydrates, 5.7 g fiber, 901 mg sodium, 102 mg cholesterol.
Hazel Turner
San Bernard Electric Cooperative
'COFFEE DOG' APRICOT-WHITE CHOCOLATE SCONES
3 rounded cups white bread flour
3/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick margarine, chilled and diced
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 package (6 ounces) white chocolate chips
1 egg
3/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in margarine with pastry knife. Add apricots and chocolate chips. Break egg into bowl and add 1/2 cup of cream. Using spoon, mix by hand and gradually add cream until mixture resembles biscuit dough. Take care not to get it too wet (you might not use all of the cream). Knead dough into a ball in bowl. Transfer ball to a lightly floured surface, shape into smooth ball and flatten slightly. Cut into eight wedges. Place on nonstick cookie sheet, 1 to 2 inches apart, and bake at 300 degrees in convection oven (or 325 degrees in conventional oven) for about 20 minutes. Do not preheat oven. Cool on cookie sheet or wire rack.
Serving size: 1 scone. Per serving: 450 calories, 9 g protein, 11.2 g fat, 77.4 g carbohydrates, 2.2 g fiber, 447 mg sodium, 39 mg cholesterol.
Guy and Kerri Roush
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative
Note: The Roushes say these scones are a bestseller at their coffee shop, Coffee Dog, in Bastrop and are great warm out of the oven.
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RECIPE CONTEST
June's recipe contest topic is Tomatoes. The luscious summer fruits (or are they vegetables?) lend themselves to versatile uses: Bake 'em, slice 'em, sauce 'em. What's your favorite recipe? The deadline is February 10.
Send recipes to Home Cooking, 1122 Colorado, 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. You may also fax them to (512) 486-6254, e-mail them to recipes@texas-ec.org, or submit online at www.texascooppower.com. Please include your name, address and phone number, as well as the name of your electric co-op. The top winner will receive a copy of 60 Years of Home Cooking and a Texas-shaped trivet. Runners-up will also receive a prize.
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