puff pastry twists with ham

last saturday i finally attended the lichterfest at the alte donau. for those of you who don’t know what that is: the alte donau (old danube) then is full of boats, all lighted in some way with candles and such and when it’s dark there are also fireworks. we were a bigger group, had 4 paddleboats a where busy paddling around beforehand. of course that makes everyone quite hungra and everyone brought something along picknick-style. my contribution where onion jam rolls, meat balls with tzatziki and puff pastry twists with ham. the latter are easy to make in a bigger quantity and for vegetarians just make them with cheese and herbs (i wouldn’t use tomato paste in this case). they are similar to the pizza spirals but still different. i made 2 portions (so 2 rolls of puff pastry) – they were gone in the blink of an eye 🙂 they are also a hit at every party and totally easy. you can also use mustard instead of tomato paste (wouldn’t use herbs here, since in my opinion they don’t go well with mustard).

pumpkin muffins with feta

i’m trying, at least at the beginning of the week, to prepare my lunches for the office. since i only work “part time” (which often means 5 pm, if i don’t have a yoga class scheduled), my time needs to be used efficiently. so there mostly is no time to go out to eat and usually i have a quick bite to eat in between the office and the yoga studio. perfect to take to the office (or as fingerfood at a party) are savory muffins. i already posted a recipe with zucchini, this time you’ll get a version with pumpkin, feta, pecan nuts and sundried tomatoes. i was positively surprised how moist and more importantly delicious the muffins were. the original recipe said it would yield 6 muffins, but i got 9 (way too many for me). that’s why, much to the pleasure of my colleagues, i took them to the office 🙂 of course you can change the ingredients to your hearts desire e.g. add ham, salami, walnuts, different herbs etc.

savory pastries with ham

since the fall happening at tante fanny was canceled, i received a very nice package with their products, a pumpkin and a bottle of wine. i use puff pastry a lot but usually for pizza, quiche or simply filled with jam. somehow i was in the mood to try something different, that’s why i made these savory pastries with ham. do you know the feeling when you know exactly how something is supposed to taste but aren’t 100% sure how to make it? that’s how it was for me with these savory pastries. i’ve eaten them plenty of times and a long time ago also really liked the frozen kind, but for some reason i never made them myself. although it’s so easy and the perfect fingerfood for a party or in my case as a snack 🙂

empanadas

when flipping through the jamie magazine i discovered this recipe for empanadas and immediately was red-hot for them. i really like south american food (even if if i barely cook it myself) and the idea behind these filled dumplings – just using what you’ve got on hand – is really practical. that way you can create something new everytime, be it using different spices, using chicken or minced meat or making a sweet version. empanadas are as varied as your imagination.

the recipe called for eating them hot, when they are definitely best, but also cold on the next day they still were to die for. especially now with the soccer championship going on, empanadas are a perfect snack for watching the game together or as fingerfood at a party (maybe make them smaller then). serve this variaty eg with some sour cream or a homemade tomato chutney.

mini corn dogs

i love american cakes – brownies, cookies & co, but not only the sweet varieties but also the savory ones. and for that the books of cynthia barcomi is just perfect. in “let’s b ake” you’ll also find some savory bites like these mini corn dorgs. around here there aren’t really common, but i’d say they are a version of the german pigs in blankets, but even more hearty due to the polenta in the dough. i just love this comibination! they are a perfect fingerfood for a party, kids will love them and are also a great addition for a picknick (yes we can already think about that again, temperatures are rising 🙂 ). according to the recipe also corn kernels should be added to the dough, but since i don’t like them that much, i left them out.

i would let the dough sit for 20-30 min before baking. that way the polenta can swell, i think the corn dogs are a bit hard otherwise. if you don’t have a mini muffinform at home, you of course can use a normal sized one. however i’d recommend using as small a form you have, otherwise the proportion of dough and sausage aren’t ideal. also it looks nicer when you place the sausage pieces upright into the muffin, but for eating it is better to put them in lengthwise – so you have a bit of everything with every bite.

double chocolate muffins

for the night of the shooting stars we made a picknick at a field in neuwaldegg (vienna). besides wraps, humus, potato spread and pesto twists something sweet was a must of course. muffins were requested, with chocolate and nuts. since i hadn’t made any in quite a while and i wanted to try a new recipe anyways (the one i used so far got me more cakey muffins and not the soft, moist ones you’re used to), it fit perfectly. after some searching i found something on an english blog. i adapted the recipe to my needs – so i added chopped pecans (you can use any nuts you like) to half of the dough and, surprise, surprise, raspberries to the other half. especially the raspberry chocolate muffins were extremly moist, kinda like my raspberry brownies. my definite favorite, but the ones with nuts were naturally pretty good as well.

for the picknick i could finally use my picknick basket. it was slumbering unused in my closet for 8 years and finally it had its time to shine 🙂 it was a perfect night. die view wasn’t ideal – there were some clouds and on one side there still was too much light from the city. nonetheless we saw plenty of shooting stars.

these muffins are also perfect for parties or all occasions were you want to take something uncomplicated with you.

onion jam rolls

already when i made the onion jam, i thought of making these onion jam rolls. ever since i ate these delicious cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting in bali (which are on my to-cook/bake list since 2 years), i am a fan of them. you can fill the yeast dough to your hearts desire, be it with cinnamon/sugar, nuts, jam, chocolate (!) or like in this case with a savory filling (othere versions eg with different kinds of pesto, spreads,…). the dough for these savory rolls is like a pizza dough. i think it’s brilliant how the rolls rise in the form, before they are baked. you can literally watch them grow. btw they taste best when they are fresh.

palmiers with tomatoes and fresh herbs

i just got the new book “cookies” from cynthia barcomi and i love it! tons of – surprise – cookie recipes both sweet and savory.

i always love me some savory cookies – perfect as a snack if you have just that tiny appetit for something salty. the polenta gives the dough a nice crunch and harmonizes perfectly with the tangy filling. also perfect to prepare ahead of time, the dough can stay in the fridge for about 3 days. the palmiers can e.g. either be an alternative snack for a movie night or also perfect for a party.

potato goulash

potato goulash is another childhood memory of mine. i very rarely ate it in the last years, but when i was still living at home my dad or mum used to make it more frequently. like with a lot of country specific dishes everyone probably got their own recipe for it. i actually only know this version, at best with squashed potatoes (but that wouldn’t have looked too appetizing in the picture) to get rid of the otherwise soup like texture (and my parents always served it to me like that, we are creature of habit 😉 ) i improve the goulash with a spice paste according to alfons schubeck (tip from my mum). it adds this special kick to the dish.

donuts

donuts are, or have been, all the rave at the moment. you also found recipes in various cooking magazines. with the opening of dunkin donuts in vienna i couldn’t get around it anymore. although i haven’t even eaten them when i was in the states and they didn’t look all that appealing to me in the store here either (unbelievable that people acctually stood in line for hours for that). in my opinion the glazes look too artificial. according to my friends that taste isn’t all that it’s made out to be either. so i though, it doesn’t look that hard, so i’ll see if i can make some that are better. especially the recipe in the current lecker bakery look enticing, particularly the raspberry glaze.

if you also want to try your hand on homemade donuts, plan enough time. the dough has to rise at least 5,5 hours. so it’s a project for a whole day. i started at 8 in the morning with the dough and at 4 pm the donuts were done and ready to be glazed. take another hour for the glaze to solidify. you see, it’s not just done in the blink of an eye.

i made 3 different kinds: some with chocolate glaze, raspberry glaze and rolled in cinnamon sugar. i couldn’t really decide which ones i likes best, they all were amazing. especially the donut holes with cinnamon sugar were just perfect!