Whole Wheat Ricotta Blueberry Scones

Scones are one of those baked treats that seem very impressive, but are really embarrassingly easy to assemble. If you are new to baking, I recommend trying scones as a gateway recipe, because they are also pretty forgiving.

This recipe is from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook, and I made it for our brunch while we were in the Outer Banks for a week. The original recipe calls for raspberries, but they are so expensive at the grocery store. We happened to have a big bucket of blueberries, so I just adjusted accordingly. You really could do these with other fruits, but it should be something jammy and squishable. Yes, those are official baking terms.

You wouldn't think that whole wheat flour and ricotta would make for a nice and delicate scone, but it does! The end result is a light, cakey and flavorful treat, perfect with a cup of coffee or a mimosa.

Whole Wheat Ricotta Blueberry Scones
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
1 cup fresh raspberries (or blueberries), chopped
3/4 low-fat ricotta
1/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Roughly chop the raspberries (or blueberries) on a cutting board and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.

Add the ricotta and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.
Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl.

With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula.

Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more.

I'm kvelling! Taiglach and Cheese Blintz Souffle

Oy, could this post be any more Jewish? Yom Kippur Break Fast meal consisting of Cheese Blintz Souffle and Honey Taiglach (tay-gul-ach) - cholesterol, butter, sugar, eggs, cheese, sugar, butter, honey, cheese and more cholesterol. Hey, you have to make up your calories after not eating for 24 hours, right?

Blintz souffle is a dish that takes regular cheese or fruit blintzes and kicks them up a notch. You bake the blintzes in a custard base (eggs, sour cream, vanilla, sugar) and let it rise in the oven, creating a fluffy and sweet home for tangy cheese blintzes. You can use frozen blintzes (I'll never tell) but Alex's mom had made them from scratch!

Taiglach is a traditional Rosh Hashana dish, but my wonderful mother-in-law had a bunch leftover that we couldn't resist nibbling...they were that good! They are small bits of dough baked in a dark and spicy honey sauce, mixed with chopped nuts. She got the recipe from her mother and aunt, and I know it's something we'll keep in the family!

Blintz Souffle



Ingredients:
12-16 blintzes (cheese or fruit)
1/4 cup butter, melted
5 eggs
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar (I like less)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup orange juice or 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
cinnamon
Optional: frozen blueberries

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Melt the butter in a 9x13 inch baking dish and spread it around evenly.

Line blintzes in one layer in the bottom of the pan (you can squish them to make them fit). If using frozen blueberries, sprinkle them onto the blintzes.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, and orange juice. Pour the mixture over the blintzes and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top.


Taiglach
adapted from Epicurean.com


Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups sifted flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
4 tablespoons oil (vegetable)
1 pound dark honey
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups nuts (not peanuts)

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Make a well inthe center and drop the eggs and oil into it. Work into the flour and mix until a dough is formed. Break off pieces of dough and roll into pencil-thick strips. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces and place on alightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 350 F oven for 20 minutes or until browned. Shake pan once or twice. Cool.

Cook the honey, brown sugar, ginger and nutmeg in a saucepan for 15 minutes. Drop the baked dough into it and cook for 5 minutes. Add the nuts andcook 10 minutes additional, stirring frequently.

Test the mixture by dropping a little on a wet surface; if it holds together, it's done; if not, cook until it does.

Eggs Sardou

This is a family favorite on Alex's side. His dad grew up in NOLA (New Orleans) and brought a love of regional dishes to the family. Eggs Sardou is a delicious combination of poached eggs, creamed spinach, and artichoke hearts on a toasted English muffin, covered with creamy hollandaise sauce.

This recipe is most definitely not Weight Watchers friendly, so I resisted the urge to eat two and just had a small one. Alex's family knows about my blog and they wanted to be a part of the pictures, so the pictures are my brother-in-law, Pete, and sister-in-law, Mariel, posing with their delicious brunch.

Eggs Sardou

Ingredients:

Poached Eggs (1-2 per person)

Creamed Spinach (recipe to follow, but any kind will work)

Artichoke Hearts (canned or jarred)

Hollandaise Sauce (recipe to follow)

English Muffins (optional)

Paprika (optional)

Poached Eggs:

Fill a saucepan or dutch oven with water and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, gently crack in eggs, getting close to the surface of the water when you crack them. With a slotted spoon, gently move the white strands back onto the egg so it cooks together. It's done when the whites are no longer transparent and the yolks are still runny. Remove gently with a slotted spoon.

Creamed Spinach:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 bag or 2 boxes (16 to 24 ounces) frozen spinach
salt and pepper
dash nutmeg

Melt butter in top of double boiler over low direct heat (place a heatproof glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water). Blend in flour until smooth. Cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add spinach. Cover and cook over boiling water, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Blender Hollandaise Sauce:

3 egg yolks

1/4 tsp Dijon mustard

dash Tabasco sauce

1 TBS lemon juice

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

In the container of a blender, combine the egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice and hot pepper sauce. Cover, and blend for about 5 seconds.
Place the butter in a glass measuring cup. Heat butter in the microwave for about 1 minute, or until completely melted and hot. Set the blender on high speed, and pour the butter into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream. It should thicken almost immediately. Keep the sauce warm until serving by placing the blender container in a pan of hot tap water.

Assembling Eggs Sardou:

Toast english muffins, and top with creamed spinach, artichoke hearts and then a poached egg. Drizzle hollandaise over everything and sprinkle with paprika.

It helps to have the creamed spinach made before-hand. We used Thanksgiving leftovers so it was easy to throw everything together. It's an impressive brunch dish! Just be sure to have some hot sauce on the table for those true Nawlins folks.