Crispy Ricotta Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Spring Peas for Invite a Blogger to Your Table

I am always cooking up something here on these pages at More Than Burnt Toast. This time around I am bringing you along for the ride if you wish. I don't know about you but I love to challenge myself. If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges to infuse new life into my cooking adventures for a few years now. Even every day food should always be an adventure either with new ideas, or experimenting with a new cuisine. With these personally imposed challenges my own culinary skills have been rejuvenated and back on track and I am once again inspired.

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to "Invite a Blogger to Your Table"! This is a fun event and an outlet for us each to challenge ourselves and create stronger bonds within the blogging community. Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at creating friendships than cooking and sharing meals together, even it is virtually. But hey, if you live in the same area as another blogger what's to stop you from gathering in your own kitchen for this challenge. With this ongoing event I will challenge myself and one blogging friend at a time throughout the year as the seasons change. I hope this inspires you to make new friends in the blogging community as well as create something you have been itching to try.

Your choice of recipe can be anything you would like it to be. Is there something you have been wanting to make and need feedback and encouragement from a friend to create on your blog? Is there a special dish that you just have to share sweet or savoury? Do you just want the fun of collaborating with other bloggers to come up with a tasty dish you feel you and your readers might enjoy. This is a fun event that creates friendships throughout the blogosphere. Invite someone you have followed for years or a perfect stranger. It is up to you! You will find the rules below.

This time around I invited Gloria of Canelas' Kitchen from Santiago, Chile. We have followed each others blogs for years and she is always one of the first people to comment and offer encouragement. She is one of those bloggers that will always be a friend.

I have made potato gnocchi in the past but came across several recipes for ricotta gnocchi where not only would I need to make gnocchi from scratch but also homemade ricotta too. The initial recipe from chef  Erin Eastland Spring Asparagus, Morel Mushroom and Ramp Cream Sauce with Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi  was the inspiration and what peaked my interest. I did make the ricotta using her recipe but the recipe used ounces of flour and pounds of ricotta as well as an ingredient that has alluded me...ramps. Enter a wonderful recipe from Michael Symon from a cookbook exchange at Eat, Write, Retreat in Washington DC. Within its pages I found a recipe for Crispy Gnocchi with Morels and Spring Peas using measurements I could relate to. As I often do when cooking I combined the two recipes and voila a dish made in heaven.

I loved the tartness of the homemade ricotta from Erin's recipe which was due to adding buttermilk to the equation. It came out light and was perfect for this recipe. When I made potato gnocchi with chef Darin Patterson at a cooking class at Bogners in the Spring one of his "science" lessons learned was to add only the yolk of the egg to the dough...... lesson learned.

So on to the recipe. Thank you for joining me on this adventure Gloria!!!!!You can find her take on the recipe by following this link!

**Crispy Gnocchi with Morels and Spring Peas**
adapted from Michael Symon's, Live To Cook

For the gnocchi:

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup whole-milk ricotta, drained overnight or at least several hours (recipe below)
1 large egg (separated, use yolk only as per Darin Patterson)

For the sauce:

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 oz. dried morel mushrooms (reconstituted according to package directions, rinsed and gently patted dry)(I used 1 cup of fresh mushrooms instead)
1/2 shallot, thinly sliced
kosher salt
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/4 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup frozen peas, partially thawed
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

To make the dough:

Combine the flour, Parmesan, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl. Add drained ricotta and egg (yolk). Mix with hands until the dough just comes together. (Overworking with cause the dough to toughen.) Scrape dough into a well floured-surface, and pat into rough square. Using a knife, cut the dough into thirds and then gently roll piece into foot-long ropes, flouring as needed. Place dough ropes on a floured plate and refrigerate for 5 minutes and up to 2 hours. After dough has rested, return the ropes to a floured surface. Cut each rope into 1/2 inch pieces, and set aside while you make the sauce.

To make the sauce:

Put 2 tbsp butter into a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, add the morels and saute for 2 minutes. Add shallot and saute, seasoning with a pinch salt. Add garlic and parsley, then reduce heat to medium. Add the lemon juice and peas, and saute for a minute or two. Turn off heat and set aside.

Heat remaining 2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat in a saute pan large enough to accommodate gnocchi without crowding (I used a non-stick pan.) When the butter becomes brown and fragrant, add the gnocchi to the pan and cook, turning as needed, until crisp and browned on all sides, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Pour the morel and pea sauce over the gnocchi, turning to coat. Add vegetable stock and Parmesan, and gently toss. Spoon into shallow bowl and serve immediately.

**Cube Homemade Ricotta**

8 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup cream
salt to taste

*To prevent the milk from scorching, rinse your pot with cold water first.

Combine milk, buttermilk, cream and salt to taste in a large, heavy bottom pot. Set to medium heat, heating the milk up slowly. Bring the milk to a light, light boil. Turn it down to a simple simmer. DO NOT stir once the curds start to form on the top. The “raft” will begin to form. This looks like puffy clouds of deliciousness. Allow the mixture to cook for 10-15 minutes, the “raft” will look very solid. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes off the heat.

Remove the raft with a spider or slotted spoon. Transfer to a strainer with a bowl set underneath. Should any ricotta cling to the bottom of the pan, gently remove it and add to the colander. Do NOT pour the hot liquid over your fluffy ricotta! Allow to drain overnight or at least one hour. The longer you let it rest, the dryer it will be.

Place finished Ricotta into a bowl and tightly seal, use immediately or store in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Makes about 1lb. ricotta

If you would like to join in, here are the "rules" as I see it for now.

1) Choose a dish to prepare and invite 1(one) blogger to create that dish with you. You can source your recipe from a cookbook, magazine, blog or any other source. Your dish can be sweet or savoury; easy or complicated.

2) Decide upon a date that you can both mutually post your recipe within a 4 week time frame.

3) Link back to More Than Burnt Toast http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com/ somewhere in your post as the caretaker of this event.

4) Please feel free to use the Avatar/Badge above "Invite a Blogger to Your Table".

5) Once you have made your dish with your blogging friend or friends and posted it, you can choose to STOP or CONTINUE on and "invite another blogger to your table" to make something DIFFERENT on a mutually agreeable date within the next 4 week time frame.

6) If you would like to please e-mail Val at bloggerstable(AT)gmail(DOT)com for no other reason than to let her know you have participated. She would love to see what you have accomplished.

7) Cut and paste these instructions into your post and contact a friend. Let magic happen and let's get cooking!!!

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

Spicy Paneer for Invite a Blogger to Your Table

Spicy Paneer

Forget the mystery of the Taj Mahal, the residence of the Dali Lama or the sacred waters of the Ganges River the true mystery for me is producing outstanding East Indian cooking and the intricate layering of spices. Most Indian dishes are easily constructed but complexly layered. The assortment of mouthwatering recipes of Indian food is simply awe inspiring and for a "newbie" like me rather daunting. It is often said that `variety is the spice of life, and never has a proverb held so true than it does to describe Indian cuisine

Nowadays I can at least spell asafetida and make paneer but finding most of the exotic ingredients used in Indian cooking is a fruitless safari here in K-town. Come to the rescue Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen who lives and blogs in Southern Ontario with a focus on East Indian cuisine. Lisa sent me a care package of some of her favourite spices and combinations to get me started. This gives me the confidence to skim, saute and sneeze my way through layers of spices, vegetables and meats and demystify East Indian cooking for life. I am looking forward to the day I no longer need to stop for East Indian takeout at one of our local hangouts and can move the cooking and recipe developing into my own kitchen. Thank you Lisa for getting me started and developing a life long passion for another cuisine.

For this months edition of Invite a Blogger to Your Table I cooked up a storm in my virtual kitchen where it seemed only fitting to collaborate with my friend Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen. Lisa chose this wonderful vegetarian dish where I would need to make my own paneer and layer complex flavours of Indian spices.

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to "Invite a Blogger to Your Table"! This is a fun event and an outlet for us each to challenge ourselves and create stronger bonds within the blogging community. Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at creating friendships than cooking and sharing meals together, even it is virtually. But hey, if you live in the same area as another blogger what's to stop you from gathering in your own kitchen for this challenge.

With these personally imposed challenges my own culinary skills have been rejuvenated and back on track and I am once again inspired. With this ongoing event I will challenge myself and one blogging friend at a time throughout the year as the seasons change. I hope this inspires you to make new friends in the blogging community as well as create something you have been itching to try.

Your choice of recipe can be anything you would like it to be. Is there something you have been wanting to make and need feedback and encouragement from a friend to create on your blog? Is there a special dish that you just have to share sweet or savoury? Do you just want the fun of collaborating with other bloggers to come up with a tasty dish you feel you and your readers might enjoy. This is a fun event that creates friendships throughout the blogosphere. Invite someone you have followed for years or a perfect stranger. It is up to you!

Here are the "rules" as I see it for now.

Choose a dish to prepare and invite 1(one) blogger to create that dish with you. You can source your recipe from a cookbook, magazine, blog or any other source. Your dish can be sweet or savoury; easy or complicated.  

Decide upon a date that you can both mutually post your recipe within a 4 week time frame.

Link back to More Than Burnt Toast http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com/ somewhere in your post as the caretaker of this event.

Please feel free to use the Avatar/Badge above "Invite a Blogger to Your Table"

Once you have made your dish with your blogging friend or friends and posted it, you can choose to STOP or CONTINUE on and "invite another blogger to your table" to make something DIFFERENT on a mutually agreeable date within the next 4 week time frame.

If you would  please e-mail Val at bloggerstable(AT)gmail(DOT)com for no other reason than to let her know you have participated. She would love to see what you have accomplished.

Cut and paste these instructions into your post and contact a friend. Let magic happen and let's get cooking!!

**Spicy Paneer**

400 grams of paneer cheese, homemade or store-bought, cut into 1 inch cubes (recipe below)

2 tablespoons of ghee, or a mixture of butter and oil
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 green chilies, seeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoons of dried fenugreek leaves
1 teaspoon of amchoor powder
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3 tablespoons of chickpea flour
a generous handful of fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped


1. Cut the paneer cheese into 1 inch pieces and set aside.


2. Heat the ghee, or butter and oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the paneer cubes to the pan and cook, turning the cheese every minute or so until it is lightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. To the frying pan add the cumin seeds and stir and fry for a minute. Now add the ginger, ground cumin, green chilies, fenugreek leaves, amchoor powder, cayenne, coriander, red pepper flakes, turmeric and salt. Stir and fry for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes.

3. Add the paneer cubes, sprinkle chickpea flour over the paneer and stir to coat. Cook for another 5 minutes, flipping the cheese often, making sure to incorporate the chickpea flour evenly. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm.


Serves 4 - 6.


**Home-Made Paneer**

(enough for two helpings, double for this recipe )

• 1 litre full fat milk


• 4 T white vinegar (or lemon juice)

1. In a heavy based pan, bring the milk up to a boil slowly.

2. As soon as the milk begins to boil, add the vinegar, reduce the heat and stir slowly.

3. At this point the curds and whey will seperate making the milk look green-ish grey with lumpy white bits. Perfect.

4. Line a colander with a tea-towel and pour the mixture into it. Leave for 20 minutes to let the whey drain off.

5. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible and shape the cheese into a patty. Tie the cloth with an elastic band around it. Place the cheese parcel on a board with another board on top of it and weigh this latter board down with tins to squeeze out more moisture.

6. After another 20 minutes your paneer will be ready. Unwrap and eat immediately or store for up to 24 hours in an airtight container wrapped in the same damp tea-towel.

 You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

One a Penny, Two a Penny Hot Cross Buns for Invite a Blogger to Your Table

 

Hot Cross Buns

As seen at the Huffington Post

 I love everything about spring! Spring is a time of renewal when everything seems to come alive!!!!! The days are longer and the markets begin to burst with the colours of  bountiful fruits and vegetables of the pending season. It will soon be time to enjoy fresh rhubarb, the pop of a fresh garden pea and lightly sauteed furled fiddleheads. Spring is the season for asparagus and escarole and a wide variety of lettuce hand plucked from the garden for the perfect green salad. The delightful fragrance of chives, mint, chervil and tarragon fill the air to season our dishes. The forsythia and magnolia are in full bloom so all of these tastes of Spring will soon be bursting from our gardens, forests, markets and window boxes.

The Easter holiday is the perfect time to celebrate all this lovely bright optimism. I remember past seasons when as young girls growing up my sister and I would wear our latest Spring finery and Easter bonnets for celebrations with our family and neighbours. Fast forward to motherhood and I have visions of the bright rosy cheeked face of my own daughter whose face lit up like the sunny faced daffodils surrounding her as she scoured the gardens for Easter eggs and played hide and seek among the willows. The one thread that ties these memories together with the present is the heavenly spicy fragrance of a traditional British currant-studded Easter treat.  Hot Cross Buns graced the table Easter morning piping hot, fresh from the oven and filling the air with their comforting spicy aroma. The perfect bun is sticky and sweet on the outside and soft and moist on the inside packed full of real fruit goodness and a hint of mixed spice.

Despite their deep-rooted and well-revered history, the delightful simplicity of these seasonal treats is often forgotten. Back in the early eighteenth century street vendors cries rang out through the streets of towns and villages in England every Good Friday. They were hugely popular. People ran from their homes to buy warm Hot Cross Buns from the baker’s baskets as they passed by and would keep a bun drying in their kitchen all year to bring the household good luck.

Although they have been a Lenten and Good Friday tradition for centuries, Hot Cross Buns were not always associated with Christianity. Their origins lie in pagan traditions of ancient cultures, with the cross representing the four quarters of the moon. Eventually the Christian church adopted the buns and re-interpreted the icing cross. Queen Elizabeth 1 even passed a law banning the consumption of Hot Cross Buns except during festivals such as Easter, Christmas and funerals.

 All the best Hot Cross Buns are made from a traditional recipe, passed down for generations, mixed and shaped by hand and topped with a cross made from pastry strips, just as they have been for centuries. The sweet, buttery, yeast-leavened buns are dotted with currants and a little candied citrus peel and spiced just right with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Why not modernize them and used dried cranberries, or dried papaya, mango or pineapple instead of candied peel.

 Here's a recipe to make your own Hot Cross Buns and begin an Easter tradition in your own home.  If you have not made Hot Cross Buns before you will be amazed by the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction baking them brings. Previous years I have made these ahead of time, frozen them and then reheated them in the oven for a few minutes just before serving time. They come out beautifully!

 For this months edition of Invite a Blogger to Your Table I cooked up a storm in my virtual kitchen with my friend Helene of La cuisine d'Hélène. See what she was up to here.

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to "Invite a Blogger to Your Table"! This is a fun event and an outlet for us each to challenge ourselves and create stronger bonds within the blogging community. Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at creating friendships than cooking and sharing meals together, even it is virtually. But hey, if you live in the same area as another blogger what's to stop you from gathering in your own kitchen for this challenge.

 With these personally imposed challenges my own culinary skills have been rejuvenated and back on track and I am once again inspired. With this ongoing event I will challenge myself and one blogging friend at a time throughout the year as the seasons change. I hope this inspires you to make new friends in the blogging community as well as create something you have been itching to try.

 Your choice of recipe can be anything you would like it to be. Is there something you have been wanting to make and need feedback and encouragement from a friend to create on your blog? Is there a special dish that you just have to share sweet or savoury? Do you just want the fun of collaborating with other bloggers to come up with a tasty dish you feel you and your readers might enjoy. This is a fun event that creates friendships throughout the blogosphere. Invite someone you have followed for years or a perfect stranger. It is up to you!

Here are the "rules" as I see it for now.

Choose a dish to prepare and invite 1(one) blogger to create that dish with you. You can source your recipe from a cookbook, magazine, blog or any other source. Your dish can be sweet or savoury; easy or complicated.  

Decide upon a date that you can both mutually post your recipe within a 4 week time frame.

Link back to More Than Burnt Toast http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com/ somewhere in your post as the caretaker of this event.

 Please feel free to use the Avatar/Badge above "Invite a Blogger to Your Table"
Once you have made your dish with your blogging friend or friends and posted it, you can choose to STOP or CONTINUE on and "invite another blogger to your table" to make something DIFFERENT on a mutually agreeable date within the next 4 week time frame.

If you would  please e-mail Val at bloggerstable(AT)gmail(DOT)com for no other reason than to let her know you have participated. She would love to see what you have accomplished.

Cut and paste these instructions into your post and contact a friend. Let magic happen and let's get cooking!!

Other Easter treats...

Vanilla Infused Icewine Pain Perdu
Tiramisu Pancakes
Brunch Salad with Goats Cheese
Rose Murrays Roasted Tomato Clafouti
Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict with Avgolemono Sauce
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Maple Raspberry Syrup
The Perfect Shredded Hash Browns
Nalesniki
Easy Cheese Danish
Blueberry Stuffed French Toast with Blueberry Orange Sauce
Strawberry Stuffed French Toast
Croissant French Toast with BC Apples and Icewine Whipped Cream

 *Hot Cross Buns*

My inspiration for this recipe comes from The English Kitchen as well as Wild Yeast.

 For the ferment starter

• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 Packet Active Dry Yeast equals 1/4 ounce or 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons white flour

  For the dough

• 3 - 3 1/2 cups white flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon  ground ginger
• 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, left in fridge(plus extra for greasing)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 3/4 cup (96 g) dried currants or sultanas
• 1/2 cup mixed candied orange and lemon peel, finely chopped (or use chopped dried mango, papaya or pineapple)

 Piping Paste

• 3/4 cup pastry flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water

 Glaze  

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• or 1/2 cup maple syrup 

1. For the ferment starter, mix the beaten egg with enough warm water to make up approximately 290ml/½ pint of liquid. Whisk in the yeast, sugar and flour until the mixture is smooth and well combined, then cover and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.

2. Sieve the flour, salt and ground mixed spice into a large mixing bowl. Remove the butter from the fridg and on a box grater grate the butter directly into the bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the sugar and lemon zest to the well and pour in the ferment starter. Using your hands, gradually draw the flour at the edges of the bowl into the well in the centre, mixing well with the ferment starter, until the mixture comes together as a dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth and elastic. Work the mixed dried fruit into the dough until well combined.

3. Grease a large, warmed mixing bowl with butter.(To warm the bowl rinse with hot water and then dry well). Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the prepared bowl, then cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for one hour to proof.

4. Turn out the proofed dough onto a lightly floured work surface and punch down the dough. Shape it into a ball again and return it to the bowl, then cover again with the tea towel and set aside for a further 30 minutes to rise.

 5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten slightly into a bun shape using the palms of your hands. Place rolls in greased 9x12-inch cake pan. Cover and allow to rest in a draft-free place for 15 minutes.

6.  Cut a cross in each bun, almost cutting all the way through the dough, so that each bun is almost cut into quarters. Wrap the tray loosely in greaseproof paper, then cover completely with plastic cling film (or place in a large plastic bag. Tie the end of the bag tightly so that no air can get in.) Set aside in a warm place for a further 40 minutes to rise.

 7. Preheat the oven to 240*C/475*F.

 8. While the buns proof, make the glaze. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring often. Remove from the heat and set aside.

 9. Now make the piping paste. Sift the pastry flour and combine it with the vegetable oil. Slowly add water, stirring well after each addition, until the mixture reaches the consistency of very thick glue. Don’t make it so thin that it runs, but if it is too thick it will be difficult to pipe. Spoon the flour mixture into a piping bag and pipe a cross over the cuts in each bun.

 10. Place the buns in the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until risen and pale golden-brown. As soon as you remove the buns from the oven, brush them with the glaze, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

 Enjoy! We like to split and toast them and then spread them with some softened butter.

 Makes 1 dozen

 You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza for Invite a Blogger to Your Table

 

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

For my challenge this month for Invite a Blogger to Your Table I wanted to relive the past and recreate a pizza I used to order as a teenager at Mother's Restaurant growing up in Southern Ontario. Although I love the crispy Napoli-style pizzas of today I was longing for a deep dish pizza. You know the kind, where you have no choice but to eat your pizza with a knife and fork, because it has an inch of extra rations of stringy cheese and your favourite toppings. Back in the day this was known as Chicago Deep Dish Pizza but since I have never eaten pizza in Chicago I don't know if it was truly authentic, all I know is that I have been craving it lately!! I decided to enlist my friend Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen to recreate these memories with me for this event. It was fun cooking with you Giz!!!! Thanks for sharing a table with me.

I don't know about you but I love to challenge myself. Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to "Invite a Blogger to Your Table"! This is a fun event and an outlet for us each to challenge ourselves and create stronger bonds within the blogging community. Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at creating friendships than cooking and sharing meals together, even if it is virtually. But hey, if you live in the same area as another blogger what's to stop you from gathering in your own kitchen for your challenge.

 With this ongoing event I will challenge myself and one blogging friend at a time throughout the year as the seasons change. I hope this inspires you to make new friends in the blogging community as well as create something you have been itching to try.Your choice of recipe can be anything you would like it to be.

 There is nothing to join, you just grab a friend and the avatar link back to More Than Burnt Toast and get cracking! Is there something you have been wanting to make and need feedback and encouragement from a friend to create on your blog? Is there a special dish that you just have to share sweet or savoury? Do you just want the fun of collaborating with other bloggers to come up with a tasty dish you feel you and your readers might enjoy. This is a fun event that creates friendships throughout the blogosphere. Invite someone you have followed for years or a perfect stranger. It is up to you!

Here are the "rules" as I see it for now.

1) Choose a dish to prepare and invite 1(one) blogger to create that dish with you. You can source your recipe from a cookbook, magazine, blog or any other source. Your dish can be sweet or savoury; easy or complicated.

2) Decide upon a date that you can both mutually post your recipe within a 4 week time frame.

3) Link back to More Than Burnt Toast http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com/ somewhere in your post as the caretaker of this event.

4) Please feel free to use the Avatar/Badge above "Invite a Blogger to Your Table".

5) Once you have made your dish with your blogging friend or friends and posted it, you can choose to STOP or CONTINUE on and "invite another blogger to your table" to make something DIFFERENT on a mutually agreeable date within the next 4 week time frame.

6) If you would like to please e-mail Val at bloggerstable(AT)gmail(DOT)com for no other reason than to let her know you have participated. She would love to see what you have accomplished.

7) Cut and paste these instructions into your post and contact a friend. Let magic happen and let's get cooking!!!

Who knew that deciding to make authentic Chicago Deep Dish Pizza I would come across such controversy on the Internet. Most recipes I found used cornmeal in the crust but it has been proven time and time again that corn meal never has been part of the crust recipe of any of the great Chicago deep-dish pizzerias.  But I also read that some people like cornmeal added in their crust and I have no problem with that either. Each to their own! To please all sides of the equation my compromise was to add a sprinkling of cornmeal to the bottom of the pan and not in the crust for two reasons...so that the crust does not stick as well as adding a slight crunchiness to the crust.

I opted for a recipe based on a recipe by Cook's Illustrated for the dough and sauce. They are known for perfecting their recipes. I added my favourite toppings and used a combination of provolone and mozzarella sliced cheese and omitted the cornmeal. In my research I read that the cornmeal gives the crust a very undesirable sandy and gritty texture unlike any pseudo Chicago deep-dish pizza that I have ever eaten so I just felt I did not want to take the chance. If you enjoy cornmeal in your crust please feel free to add it in.

The lamination technique described herein and on their website looked interesting. The method for the recipe is not very time consuming. It involves spreading one layer of butter and a few quick folds, so it only added a few minutes to the dough preparation. Nothing like making croissant dough or puff pastry!!! The goal is NOT to get the paper-thin layers of a French pastry, merely to introduce a few layers to the crust. I thought the texture was pretty close to what I have had in the past but quite a bit different than the more bread-like crust of my favourite pizzeria in my hometown. The recipe is an excellent starting point to tinker with, and I think the lamination process adds a lot.

The Verdict: It wasn't the pizza of my dreams since I prefer a nice chewy crust like my local pizzeria, but it did take me back in time to when I was a teenager enjoying a Mother's pizza with my friends and needed to eat pizza with a knife and fork.

Also don't forget that today is Earth Hour where we shut our light off at 8:30 PM around the world.

**Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza**

Makes two 9-inch pizzas, serving 4 to 6.
Published January 1, 2010. From Cook's Illustrated.

Place a damp kitchen towel under the mixer and watch it at all times during kneading to prevent it from wobbling off the counter. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands, or it might stick. The test kitchen prefers Dragone Whole Milk Mozzarella; part-skim mozzarella can also be used, but avoid preshredded cheese, as it does not melt well. Our preferred brands of crushed tomatoes are Tuttorosso and Muir Glen. Grate the onion on the large holes of a box grater.

Dough

3 1/4 cups (16 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) yellow cornmeal (if you want to add it and enjoy it in your crust)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/4 cups water (10 ounces), room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, plus 4 tablespoons, softened
1 teaspoon plus 4 tablespoons olive oil
Sprinkling of cornmeal

Sauce

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
dash of salt
2 garlic cloves , minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper

Toppings

1 pound mozzarella cheese , sliced (I used a combination of mozzarella and provolone)
1/2 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)
Toppings of your choice: mushrooms, onions, peppers, pepperoni, capiocolla, feta.....)

****************
FOR THE DOUGH: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook mix flour, salt, sugar, and yeast on low speed until incorporated, approxinaely 1 minute. To your dry ingredients add water and melted butter and mix on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy and smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 5 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

 Coat  a large bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Transfer dough to bowl, turning once to oil top; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.

FOR THE SAUCE:  In medium saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Add grated onion, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, approxinately 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar, increase heat to high, and bring to simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and oil, then season with salt and pepper.

 TO LAMINATE THE DOUGH: Adjust oven rack to lower position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto dry work surface and roll into 15- by 12-inch rec-tangle. Using offset spatula, spread softened butter over surface of dough, leaving 1/2-inch border along edges. Starting at short end, roll dough into tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 18- by 4-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise. Working with 1 half, fold into thirds like business letter; pinch seams together to form ball. Repeat with remaining half. Return balls to oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes.

5. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Transfer 1 dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into 13-inch disk about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough to pan by rolling dough loosely around rolling pin and unrolling into pan. Lightly press dough into pan, working into corners and 1 inch up sides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with remaining dough ball.

6. For each pizza, sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella evenly over surface of dough. Spread 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce over cheese and sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce. Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
 
You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com. Content must be credited to this author.

Coeur a la Creme with Caramelized Strawberries for Invite a Blogger to Your Table

Coeur a la Creme with Caramelized Strawberries

In January I invited Valerie of A Canadian Foodie to my table and even though she lives in Alberta and I in British Columbia we shared our table by creating a dish together. Nothing creates friendships better than sharing a kitchen even it is virtually. For our initial creation we both made Pasteis de Belém (Portuguese Custard Tarts) a traditional Portuguese treat.  We so enjoyed the experience that according to the rules of the event as listed below Valerie invited Hana from My Life as a Housewife  from the UK to create a different dish, their very first Coeur a la Creme, and I was invited to tag along.

In honour of Valentines Day this dessert is perfect since Coeur is French for “heart.” This is a traditional French dessert, a simple no bake, crustless cheesecake made by draining a mixture of sweetened cream cheese and creme fraiche of excess moisture in a special heart-shaped ceramic mold.  The coeurs are traditionally molded in a special heart-shaped mold with holes on the bottom to allow liquid to drain out as it sets up overnight. If you don’t have a heart-shaped “coeur à la crème” mold or molds, you can use a colander. This will give it a dome shape rather than a heart. You can also rig up makeshift molds by cutting the sides of four 12-ounce paper cups to 3 inches high. With a toothpick, poke 12 holes in the bottom of each. Line with cheesecloth; fill as directed.

Coeur a la creme molds can be found in cookware shops across the country and even online. As with baked cheesecakes, the best way to ensure that you have a smooth dessert is to bring the cream cheese to room temperature and beat it well before mixing it with the other ingredients. When finished, the coeur is a pure white heart, ready to decorate in a variety of ways.

Caramelizing the strawberries this time of year concentrates the flavour when strawberries are shipped from warmer climates abroad. They are not at their peak of perfection so benefit greatly from this method to maximize the flavour of this topping. Here in Canada I will have to wait until June for local strawberries...sigh... but for this dessert I was simply not prepared to wait:D Strawberries and Valentine's Day are synonymous!!

Check out this Couer a la Creme from former White House pastry chef Chef Roland Mesnier. Just the other day I watched him create this dish on one of the news networks.

Coeur a la Creme with Honey Vanilla Sauce and Fresh Fruit

Here are the "rules" for the event "Invite a Blogger to Your Table" as I see it for now.

This is a fun event and an outlet for us each to challenge ourselves and create stronger bonds within the blogging community. Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at creating friendships than cooking and sharing meals together, even it is virtually. But hey, if you live in the same area as another blogger what's to stop you from gathering in your own kitchen for this challenge.

 Your choice of recipe can be anything you would like it to be. Is there something you have been wanting to make and need feedback and encouragement from a friend to create on your blog? Is there a special dish that you just have to share sweet or savoury? Do you just want the fun of collaborating with other bloggers to come up with a tasty dish you feel you and your readers might enjoy. This is a fun event that creates friendships throughout the blogosphere. Invite someone you have followed for years or a perfect stranger. It is up to you!

1) Choose a dish to prepare and invite 1(one) blogger to create that dish with you. You can source your recipe from a cookbook, magazine, blog or any other source. Your dish can be sweet or savoury; easy or complicated.

2) Decide upon a date that you can both mutually post your recipe within a 4 week time frame.

3) Link back to More Than Burnt Toast http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com/ somewhere in your post as the caretaker of this event.

4) Please feel free to use the Avatar/Badge above "Invite a Blogger to Your Table".

5) Once you have made your dish with your blogging friend or friends and posted it, you can choose to STOP or CONTINUE on and "invite another blogger to your table" to make something DIFFERENT on a mutually agreeable date within the next 4 week time frame.

6) Please e-mail Val at bloggerstable(AT)gmail(DOT)com for no other reason than to let her know you have participated. She would love to see what you have accomplished.

7) Cut and paste these instructions or "rules"  into your post and contact a friend. Let magic happen and let's get cooking!!!

With this ongoing event I will challenge myself and one blogging friend at a time throughout the year as the seasons change. I hope this inspires you to make new friends in the blogging community as well as create something you have been itching to try.

I have had a fascination with Couer a la Creme ever since I was in highschool dreaming of the dinner parties I would have when I had a place of my own. I thought my first attempt was to be from the Silver Palate Cookbook, a classic cookbook that not only began my culinary journey over 25 years ago but continues to challenge me. All these years later I have still not tried their version. Look for it in a future post. You could also check out a Couer a la Creme with Grand Marnier Raspberry Sauce I made previously from Ina Garten.

The Verdict: I have had the pleasure of making this special occasion dessert previously.  If left for a day or two extra more liquid will be extracted for a firmer product but it still does not have that young cheese consistency that you would tend to expect. A majority of the liquid is soaked up by the cheesecloth so what is left in the dish perhaps is not a good indicator. Ina's recipe creates a dessert with a firmer texture from what I remember. The flavour profile is different considering the fruits used this time around. I will continue to experiment with different flavours. This dessert will convince your special Valentine's that you've spent hours in the kitchen when in truth this is one of the easiest dishes to make ever!I will always keep a special place in my heart for coeur la creme!!! Thank you so much Valerie and Hana for inviting me along on the adventure. It was so much fun wasn't it!!! Valerie made two versions one with Cassis Raspberry Blackberry Hibiscus Flower Garnish and one with Sour Cherry Soup. Hana wowed us with Couer a la Creme with Strawberry Rose Sauce.

Our very own Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes started The Food Blog Diary some time ago. We are inundated with so many food blogs events on the Internet it is hard to keep track of everything that has passed our radar. If you have an event you would like to advertise or would like to find an event you would like to participate in check out her Food Blog Diary. She keeps an up-to-date listing of food events like this one, challenges and competitions out there in the blogosphere.

Have fun and make this "fooled you into thinking I am a kitchen goddess dessert" for your Valentine!!!! Find a friend today and cement your own friendships by joining us in the "Invite A Blogger to Your Table" initiative!!!

**Coeur a la Creme**
Recipe adapted from Epicurious and Bon Appétit

4 (10x10-inch) squares cheesecloth
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
6 tablespoons powdered sugar, divided
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

******************
Rinse cheesecloth under water; squeeze until just damp. Line each of four 3- to 4-inch coeur à la crème molds with 1 square of cheesecloth. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, crème fraîche, 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt in large bowl until smooth, about 4 minutes. Press through fine strainer; divide among molds. Fold cheesecloth over. Place molds in shallow baking dish; cover with plastic wrap. Chill at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

To serve, fold back the cheesecloth corners and invert the coeur à la crème onto a serving platter; remove mold and cheesecloth. Arrange the strawberries and sauce around the rim of the plate.

**Caramelized Strawberries**
from Saveur

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (I used honey)
1/2 cup red wine, preferably pinot noir or zinfandel
3 whole cloves
2 whole black peppercorns
1 2" cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved
3 cups strawberries (about 1 1/2 pints), hulled and halved lengthwise

*******************
Make the strawberries: In a 12" skillet, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water over medium-high heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup is light golden, about 4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and add wine, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, and vanilla bean with seeds. Return pan to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add strawberries, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, occasionally stirring gently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com. Content must be credited to this author.

"Invite a Blogger to Your Table." We Made Pasteis de Belém (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

Pasteis de Belém (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

 I think I missed my calling as cruise ship director or party planner since I am always cooking up something here on these pages at More Than Burnt Toast as well as in my life. This time around I am bringing you along for the ride if you wish. I don't know about you but I love to challenge myself.  Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to "Invite a Blogger to Your Table"! This is a fun event and an outlet for us each to challenge ourselves and create stronger bonds within the blogging community. Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at creating friendships than cooking and sharing meals together, even it is virtually. But hey, if you live in the same area as another blogger what's to stop you from gathering in your own kitchen for this challenge.

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges to infuse new life into my cooking adventures. Even every day food should always be an adventure either with new ideas, or experimenting with a new cuisine. With these personally imposed challenges my own culinary skills have been rejuvenated and back on track and I am once again inspired. With this ongoing event I will challenge myself and one blogging friend at a time throughout the year as the seasons change.  I hope this inspires you to make new friends in the blogging community as well as create something you have been itching to try.

Your choice of recipe can be anything you would like it to be. Is there something you have been wanting to make and need feedback and encouragement from a friend to create on your blog? Is there a special dish that you just have to share sweet or savoury? Do you just want the fun of collaborating with other bloggers to come up with a tasty dish you feel you and your readers might enjoy. This is a fun event that creates friendships throughout the blogosphere. Invite someone you have followed for years or a perfect stranger. It is up to you!

Here are the "rules" as I see it for now.

1) Choose a dish to prepare and invite 1(one) blogger to create that dish with you. You can source your recipe from a cookbook, magazine, blog or any other source. Your dish can be sweet or savoury; easy or complicated.

2) Decide upon a date that you can both mutually post your recipe within a 4 week time frame.

3) Link back to More Than Burnt Toast http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com/ somewhere in your post as the caretaker of this event.

4) Please feel free to use the Avatar/Badge above "Invite a Blogger to Your Table".

5) Once you have made your dish with your blogging friend or friends and posted it, you can choose to STOP or CONTINUE on and "invite another blogger to your table" to make something DIFFERENT on a mutually agreeable date within the next 4 week time frame.

6) If you would like to please e-mail Val at bloggerstable(AT)gmail(DOT)com  for no other reason than to let her know you have participated. She would love to see what you have accomplished.

7) Cut and paste these instructions into your post and contact a friend. Let magic happen and let's get cooking!!!

For my first foodie challenge I invited one of my favourite bloggers I would love to share a kitchen with. I was hoping my enthusiasm would be contagious and I was ecstatic when she was on board. Her name is Valerie and my name is Valerie and we are newly dubbed the "Culinary Twins," for this post only, since we both live in Canada,  are both passionate about food and up for a challenge.

For my first guest I chose Valerie of A Canadian Foodie because I love her experimental and inquisitive nature for trying something new, and then having us understand the process. In true Canadian Foodie style she rose to the challenge and did a play by play pictorial. Hop on over to her blog as she takes on the challenge of making Pastel de Belém. Valerie describes the tarts as "It is all about texture and mouth feel and tickling that deep inner pleasure seeking core eliciting that little sideways smile." It makes we wish I had even one left!!


Over the holidays I spent some time with L'il Burnt Toast's favourite family and had the extreme pleasure of trying many traditional Portuguese dishes like Churrasco Chicken cooked on an open fire pit in the middle of a Canadian winter, Portuguese Rice, Custard Puddings and Flan. I loved every one of these dishes and being the small eater I am I had small portions of each. When I tried the Portuguese Custard Tarts I knew I had to try to recreate them at home. The rest will come later.

The biggest hurdle to overcome in this recipe was the pastry since I am "pastry challenged." The next challenge (although mastered before) is to create a custard. You will read the results of these two challenges below.Truthfully it is not the first time I have ever tried these tarts.  As a young teenager growing up in Cambridge, Ontario, and too young to go to the clubs without fake ID, we had a choice of what to do on a Saturday night and inevitably "my girls" and I would find ourselves at one of the clubs in town. Dancing would be at one of the Portuguese, Italian, Polish or Newfoundland clubs and we would mingle with the young gentlemen our age and their families. At the Portuguese Club there was always Codfish Cakes and Portuguese Tarts.

This particular recipe comes from David Leite of Leite's Culinaria. He says "The secrets to a crispy, flaky pastry is to make sure the butter is evenly layered, all excess flour is removed, and the dough is rolled very thinly and folded neatly. You will need a thermometer to accurately gauge the custard. These are best eaten warm the day they’re made. Because home ovens can’t match the heat of those at the bakery in Belém, where these treats were first made, your pastéis may not brown as much as those you have seen in photographs."

For a bit of history...

It is believed that pastéis de natas, as they are also called, were created before the 18th century by Catholic nuns at the Jerónimos Monastery of Belém in Lisbon. The Casa Pastéis de Belém in Lisbon was the first place outside the convent selling the original creamy dessert. After the monastery was closed in the 1820s, they became known as pastéis de Belém, after the name of the area and its famous bakery. Since 1837, locals have gone there to get them warm out of the oven and sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar. These are very popular, with tourists literally waiting hours for them.

 Portuguese monasteries developed many sweet recipes based on egg yolks since the egg whites were demanded in large quantities both for starching clothes, such as nun habits, and also in wineries, in the clearing of wines, like Port, that required the use of egg white to remove the tannins. This left many leftover egg yolks. Lucky us!!!!! I hope you will give this recipe a try.

Lessons learned:

1) For the pastry challenged this pastry turned out very flaky and very similar to puff pastry. If you are short on time you could certainly use frozen puff pastry, but truthfully it simply does not compare in texture to this homemade crust. I was very proud of myself and would make this pastry again and again. It seems difficult but read the instructions over several times and it will turn out alright!

2) I used larger tins than the recipe called for so needed to adjust my baking time and increased it accordingly.

3) To try and duplicate that bakery look I finished them off under the broiler for a few moments.

4) If your custard does not seem thick enough cook briefly on the stove top over medium heat until it thickens slightly. It will of course cook more in the tart shells.

5) Your pastéis may not brown as much as those you have found in bakeries. I solved this problem, if you want to call it that, by finishing my tarts under the broiler for a few minutes to get a tan!



**Portuguese Custard Tarts (Pasteis de Belém)**
Alfama’s Pastéis de Nata
by David Leite of Leite's Culinaria
Adapted from a recipe by chef Francisco Rosa of Alfama

For the pastry

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup plus two tablespoons water
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, stirred until smooth (1 cup = 16 tbsp = 250g = 8oz.=2 sticks)

For the custard

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk, divided
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 egg yolks, whisked
Powdered sugar
Cinnamon

***************
Make the dough

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour, salt, and water until a soft, pillowy dough forms that cleans the side of the bowl, about 30 seconds.

2. Generously flour a work surface and pat the dough into a 6-inch square using a pastry scraper as a guide. Flour the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 15 minutes.

3. Roll the dough into an 18-inch square. As you work, use the scraper to lift the dough to make sure the underside isn’t sticking.

4. Brush excess flour off the top, trim any uneven edges, and using a small offset spatula dot and then spread the left two-thirds of the dough with a little less than one-third of the butter to within 1 inch of the edge.

5. Neatly fold over the unbuttered right third of the dough (using the pastry scraper to loosen it if it sticks), brush off any excess flour, then fold over the left third. Starting from the top, pat down the packet with your hand to release air bubbles, then pinch the edges closed. Brush off any excess flour.

6. Turn the dough packet 90 degrees to the left so the fold is facing you. Lift the packet and flour the work surface. Once again roll out to an 18-inch square, then dot and spread the left two-thirds of the dough with one-third of the butter, and fold the dough as in steps 4 and 5.

7. For the last rolling, turn the packet 90 degrees to the left and roll out the dough to an 18-by-21-inch rectangle, with the shorter side facing you. Spread the remaining butter over the entire surface.

8. Using the spatula as an aid, lift the edge closest to you and roll the dough away from you into a tight log, brushing the excess flour from the underside as you go. Trim the ends and cut the log in half. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or preferably overnight.

Make the custard

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and 1/4 cup of the milk until smooth. Set aside.

2. Bring the sugar, cinnamon, and water to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 220°F (100°C). Do not stir.

3. Meanwhile, in another small saucepan, scald the remaining 1 cup milk. Whisk the hot milk into the flour mixture.

4. Pour the sugar syrup in a thin stream into the hot-milk-and-flour mixture, whisking briskly. Add the vanilla and stir for a minute until very warm but not hot. Whisk in the yolks, strain the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

5. Heat the oven to 550°F (290°C). Remove a pastry log from the refrigerator and roll it back and forth on a lightly floured surface until it’s about an inch in diameter and 16 inches long. Cut it into scant 3/4-inch pieces. Place a piece cut-side down in each well of a nonstick 12-cup mini-muffin pan (2-by-5/8-inch size). Allow the dough pieces to soften several minutes until pliable.

6. Have a small cup of water nearby. Dip your thumbs into the water, then straight down into the middle of the dough spiral. Flatten it against the bottom of the cup to a thickness of about 1/8 inch, then smooth the dough up the sides and create a raised lip about 1/8 inch above the pan. The pastry sides should be thinner than the bottom.

7. Fill each cup 3/4 full with the slightly warm custard. Bake until the edges of the dough are frilled and brown, about 8 to 9 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven and allow the pastéis to cool a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack and cool until just warm. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar, then cinnamon and serve. Repeat with the remaining pastry and custard. If you prefer, the components can be refrigerated up to three days. The pastry can be frozen up to three months.

Makes 40 pastries

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://goodfoodcorner.blogspot.com. Content must be credited to this author.