Piroshky/Пирожки

Russian Stuffed Rolls

Mind you, this Is not an authentic piroshky recipe. When I researched the recipe from coast to coast, low and high, across the ocean, hill and valley…just kidding!  Too many variations of this recipes that are all so good!

I ended-up using the dough recipe from one site and the meat filling recipe from a Japanese comic book (yeah, that’s right). The soy sauce seasoning makes this ‘Wafu’ yet the curry powder pulled it towards Indian…in the end, they married well, I think.

You could deep-fry these (my favorite method) or bake in the oven for less guilty pleasure.

Ingredients and Instruction for 16 rolls (Print Recipe Here)

• 1 cup milk, divided
• 3 Tablespoons corn syrup
• 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil plus 1 Tablespoon for sauté onion.
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 small egg yolk
• 2 and 3/4 cup bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 onion about 3/4 cup, minced
• 1 cup (about) cabbage, minced
• 1/4 pound each ground beef and ground pork, or 1/2 pound of ground beef
• 1 hard boiled egg, minced
  
• 3 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon ketchup
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying
• 1 egg yolk for baking

1. For the dough - Pour 1/3 cup milk in a small sauce pan. Heat it at low heat until very warm (do not boil). Add corn syrup and 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil, stir to dissolve. Add rest of milk then egg yolk and mix well. Turn off the heat, cool down to lukewarm. Add yeast, mix well, wait for 5 minutes to make sure the yeast is active.
2. Put flour and salt in a large bowl and stir with chop stick or whisk to combine. Pour milk mixture (step#1) and slowly turn the dough with chopsticks. When the dough comes together. Knead with your hands until elastic. Note: the dough may be still sticky at this point. If it’s too wet add just 1 Tablespoon of bread flour and knead it. Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
3. For the filling – Do this step while the dough is resting. Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan at medium-low heat. Put minced onion and sauté until transparent, about 4-5 minutes. Add minced cabbage and continue sautéing until wilted about 1-2 minutes.
4. Add both meats to the pan and cook until the meat turns brown. With a wooden spatula break the meat while sautéing at medium heat.
5. Season with curry powder, soy sauce, salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon each), ketchup. Lastly add minced boiled egg. combine well. Set aside. Note: take taste test here, adjust seasoning if necessary.
6. For shaping the rolls – Put dough (dough should be about double in size) on dusted surface, divide dough in 4ths. Then cut each 4th in 4 sections. Roll out each section to approximately 3 inch diameter (make the center thicker). Lay the stretched dough on the palm of your hand and put a generous 1 tablespoon of filling. Gather the edge to the center and close tight (Warning: if you neglect this task, it may result in the filling to explode). Shape them however you want to. Place it seam side down flat on the mat* or plate and let rest for 30 minutes. * Rolls continue to expand a little so give 2 inches of space between.
   
7. If you’re frying – Pour oil in heavy bottom, deep pan (make the oil at least 3 inches in depth). Heat at 320 F*. Lower the rolls seam side down gently, fry them 1-2 at time, turning occasionally until golden brown about 5-7 minutes. * if the rolls are turning brown too quickly then it’s too hot, turn it down. I set top burner to low heat setting. Receive rolls on the paper towel.
8. If you’re baking -  Heat oven to 390F. Spray the tray with non-stick spray like Pam or brush with oil. Lay the rolls 2 inches apart. Brush each roll with egg wash (mix 1 egg yolk with 1 Tablespoon water). Bake for 12 minutes. Leftovers freeze well…enjoy later!

I picked the last of sunflower from my backyard to decorate my plate…gave me a bit of sunshine…

Наслаждайтесь! (Bon appétit!)

Today’s Tapas and Today’s Sweets are fun project but not for my waist. #todaystapas, #todasyssweets…I have to find other hobby quick! The photo below is mini corn dog.

I love Haagen Dazs ice cream. I only need  just a little bit to satisfy the craving…with homemade taffy topping.

Something about monkey bread that is so comforting…decided to make it for Saturday brunch…took more time to raise the dough. It ended up with a breakfast for dinner situation.

Have a wonderful week!

Frozen Kefir Custard

Hot Weather Treat

The weather here in Oregon has been unusually warm lately. So I have been craving something cold and sweet. Since there is no one here to help me drink the kefir, I decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and use some of the abundant kefir to make frozen custard. When I was a kid we used to hand-crank our ice cream. I must admit that having an electric ice cream maker is much easier – and it makes just enough for me to eat and share with the neighbors.

Ingredients and instruction (Print Recipe Here)

Equipment needed: Ice cream maker

• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 egg yolks
• 1-1/2 cups kefir
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 Tablespoons sugar

1. Bring the cream and sugar just to a boil in a small saucepan.
   
2. In the meantime, stir the egg yolks and vanilla together.
   
3. Slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. Allow to cool.
   
4. Pour the kefir into the  egg yolk and cream mixture. Cool off in the refrigerator.
   
5. Put the cooled down mix into the ice cream maker and turn it on.
   
   
   We used to fight over who got the paddle when the ice cream was done. Somehow the ice cream stuck to that tasted better…
6. Enjoy with fresh fruit or just plain.

 

In case you are interested here is the setup I use to make the kefir. I may have let this batch ferment a little too long but it still tasted good.

And here are the kefir grains

I am a big fan of home made kefir. I really like the sourness and the health benefits. We use it in our morning smoothies and I enjoy drinking it plain. Looking forward to Nipponnin getting home this week.

Got a few tomatoes from the garden,

Canneles

Breakfast of champions?

Well, Nipponnin Is off in Hawaii helping with the grandkids. Not sure if you noticed any of my sense of jealousy in that bland statement. But it is there. Just a little. So, she gave me a recipe and instructions to make this and post it for all of you, her faithful readers. The wikipedia entry for this makes it sound less delicious than I think it is, but I guess beauty is in the eye (or taste) of the beholder and all… And it did give me permission to eat these for breakfast. It is one of my favorites. Besides, this gave me a good excuse to buy a pan. It needs to rest in the refrigerator for 24 – 48 hours so plan ahead.

Recipe and instructions (Print recipe here)

Equipment needed: Cannele molds

• 4-1/4 cups of milk
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 extra-large egg yolks
• 1 extra-large egg
• 2-1/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups unbleached pastry flour
• Nonstick cooking spray

1. Bring 2-1/2 cups of the milk and the butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, the egg, sugar, vanilla and the remaining milk. Whisk in the flour.
   
   
   
3. In a steady stream add the milk mixture from step 1 – whisking to combine.
   
4. Pour the batter through a fine sieve into another bowl.
   
5. Cover and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.
   
6. Heat oven to 400 F. Spray molds with cooking spray and place in freezer for 20 minutes. Place molds about 1-1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
   
7. Remove batter from refrigerator and whisk gently. Fill each mold to 1/2 inch from the top. Bake until they slip easily from the mold and are evenly browned, 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours.
   

The figs loved the hot weather so we had more than we could eat. I made a few bottles of jam. Love it with fresh bread.

Nipponnin will be back in a couple of weeks. She is still posting her #todaystapas on Instagram, so please look her up there to see what she is up to.