viernes, 26 de noviembre de 2010

Turkey Potpie


Chock-full of turkey and vegetables, this savory pie is the ultimate comfort food. Our recipe includes pearl onions, which are easy to peel when you follow the instructions below.
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into
small pieces
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
3 to 4 Tbs. ice water

For the filling:
3 cups turkey or chicken stock
4 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
15 pearl onions
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 small red potatoes, cut into eighths
2 cups cooked turkey, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup peas
4 oz. white button mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch
pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
To make the pastry, in a food processor, combine the flour and salt and pulse once to mix. Add the butter and vegetable shortening and process in short pulses until pea-size crumbs form, 25 to 30 seconds. While pulsing, add the water 1 Tbs. at a time until large, moist crumbs form, 10 to 12 seconds. Serves 4 to 6.

Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a flat disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

To make the filling, in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the stock, thyme and bay leaf to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool. Remove the thyme and bay leaf and discard.

Bring a large saucepan half full of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pearl onions and cook for 2 minutes. Drain the onions, rinse under cold water and drain again. Trim off the root ends, then cut a shallow "X" into each trimmed end and slip off the skins. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Whisk in the reserved stock, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Continue boiling, whisking often, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the carrot, celery, potatoes and pearl onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Add the turkey, peas and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the filling to a 9-inch deep-dish ceramic pie dish.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Arrange the pastry evenly over the filling and trim the edges, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold under the excess dough and flute the edge decoratively with your thumb. Make 4 or 5 slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Place the dish in the oven on a piece of aluminum foil to catch any spills.

Bake the pot pie until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

viernes, 12 de noviembre de 2010

Marzipan Niederegger


Marzipan

is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal. Some marzipan is flavored with rosewater. Persipan is a similar, yet less expensive product, for which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels. In Goa (formerly Portuguese India) almonds are replaced by cashews. Many confectionery products sold as marzipan are made from less expensive materials, such as Soy paste and almond essence.[1]p.594 German marzipan is made by grinding whole almonds with sugar and partially drying the paste, and French marzipan is made by combining ground almonds with sugar syrup.[2]p.484 Spanish marzipan is made without bitter almonds.

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck (pronounced [ˈlyːbɛk] ( listen), older [ˈlyːbeːk]) is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League ("Queen of the Hanse") and because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. In 2005 it had a population of 213,983.
Situated at the Trave River, Lübeck is the largest German port on the Baltic Sea. The old part of the town is an island enclosed by the Trave. The Elbe-Lübeck Canal connects the Trave with the Elbe River. Another important river near the town centre is the Wakenitz. Autobahn 1 connects Lübeck with Hamburg and Denmark (Vogelfluglinie). The borough Travemünde is a sea resort and ferry port at the coast of the Baltic Sea

Lübeck is very famous for its excellent marzipan industry, and according to local legend, Marzipan was first made in Lübeck possibly in response to either a military siege of the city, or a famine year. The story, perhaps apocryphal, is that the town ran out of all foods except stored almonds and sugar, and used these to make loaves of marzipan "bread". Others believe that marzipan was actually invented in Persia a few hundred years before Lübeck claims to have invented it. The best known producer is Niederegger, which tourists often visit while in Lübeck, especially during Christmas time.
The Lübeck wine trade dates back to Hanseatic times. One Lübeck specialty is Rotspon, wine made from grapes processed and fermented in France and transported in wooden barrels to Lübeck, where it is stored, aged and bottled.


http://www.aumarche.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.prodDetail&prodID=523