Cheese Straw Heavenliness December 23, 2009
Posted by Teresa in : Snacks/Party Food , add a commentOh, these are the best things ever! I am making a batch at this moment, and realized I haven’t posted them here! Oh, they are so delicious! The recipe comes from 101 Cookbooks. My notes are in blue.
Buckwheat Cheese Straws
The buckwheat flour here gives these cheese straws a depth that others made from all-purpose flour don’t have. That being said, you could certainly give these a shot using all whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour. Or experiment with other flours in place of the buckwheat flour.
1/2 cup buckwheat flour — Of course, I don’t have buckwheat flour, so I run buckwheat (easy to get in grocery stores) through my food processor for a couple of minutes. The crunchy bits left just add to the flavour!
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour – I use the “best for bread” kind we can get in Canada.
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped – I also made these with rosemary once – yum!
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup (2 1/2 ounces) white cheddar, shredded on a box grater — I used aged cheddar
1/2 cup ice cold water
Combine the flours, salt and thyme in a bowl of a food processor. Put the 1/2 cup water in the freezer. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles little pebbles in a beach of sandy flour (about 20 quick pulses). Alternately, you can cut the butter in using a knife and fork. Transfer to a mixing bowl and toss in the cheese. Sprinkle with ice water and use your hands or a spoon to stir it through and bring everything together into a ball of dough. Flatten the ball into a 1-inch thick square patty, wrap well in plastic, and place in the freezer for thirty minutes (or outside in a Canadian winter for five). 
In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat, and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
I find it easiest to work with one half of the dough at a time. Remove the dough from the freezer, cut in half, re-wrap the half you won’t be using immediately, and place it back in the freezer. If the dough gets too warm it is difficult to work with. On a well-floured surface roll out the remaining dough into a rectangle roughly 6×12-inches and 1/4-inch thick. Use a knife to cut 1/2-inch wide strips, each about 6-inches long. Now take a strip of dough and gently pinch it all along its length so that it is easier to roll out into a straw shape roughly 12-inches long. If the dough is giving you trouble, consider chilling it a bit longer. Place each straw on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining strips, leaving at least 1/2 inch between each straw.
Bake the straws one pan at a time for about 8-10 minutes, or until the straws look set, and the cheese is golden where it is touching the pan. Flip each straw and bake for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Keep in mind if your straws are on the thin side, they’ll bake in a flash, if they are slightly thicker they will need to go longer. Remove from oven and let cool, they will crisp more as they cool.
Sometimes I bake off half the dough, and keep the other half in the freezer for another day, but feel free to bake all of it – repeating the process with the second half of reserved dough.
Makes about 4 dozen straws.
Thank you, Heidi, for such a delicious recipe!!
Super Yummy Chili! December 3, 2009
Posted by Teresa in : Dinner, Lunch , add a commentI made this yesterday and it was the best chili I think I’ve ever made! Complex flavour spectrum…. (I picked that up on Food Network.) Throw it all into a nice big pot, medium heat, and start adding everything:
Ingredients:
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes
-1 pkg Veggie Ground Round (the best stuff – no browning required!)
- 1 can mixed beans (would also be good with an additional can of kidney beans), drained, rinsed and drained again
- 1/4 bottle of beer (no more or it gets too runny)
Then comes the flavour!! Add some (anywhere from 1/4 – 1 teaspoon) of the following ingredients, depending on your tastes:
- chili powder
- sea salt
- cayenne pepper (and I think I put some fresh ground black pepper in too)
- garlic, chopped fine
- paprika
- chili sauce – Frank’s Red Hot or Louisiana hot sauce (not too much!)
- Tobasco sauce
- Worchestershire sauce
- a dollop of molasses (yes, for real!)
- maple syrup (don’t gasp!), about 1 Tbsp
- about 6 melting chocolates, the ones that are button shaped, about 1 inch across (stir well to melt)
The sweetness counteracts the spicy and makes all the tastebuds on your tongue come alive! Taste often to make sure you haven’t gone too far in any direction, sweet or spicy… you might need more spicy after adding the sweet stuff! Enjoy the best chili that ever took you 10 minutes to make!
When I make this again, I think I’ll start with some onions, and might also add some jalapenos or other hot peppers, if I’ve got ‘em. And it’s always better to let it simmer, but you can also make it super fast!
