More of those little Felt Birdies....

It's that time of year again already. Time to step it up and finish up projects for Christmas. I think it's nice for kids to have their own ornaments that have meaning to them. Ike already has a little collection of ornaments that he has made over the years in school and at home and every year when we put up the tree he loves to take them out, retell how and when they were made, or who gave them to him and to find just the right spot for them on the tree. This year I think I'll make an ornament just for him, and these felt ornaments are quick, easy and cute to whip up. They also make for worry free shipping if you are making it for a friend far away. The one pictured here arrived last week at it's new home in Minnesota. It is similar to one I made here, and hopefully it is the second of several that I'll make this year. The first one is pictured here. If you need a quick little something to give in the holiday season these are certainly quick, easy, and cute. Stay tuned for more gift giving quick crafts as my count down to the hectic holiday continues..........

Cannoli for the first time:)

It's Baker's Challenge time again.

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

There was an added challenge for me with this challenge as I had no access to cannoli forms other than through the internet which would have been unnecessarily expensive due to the postage. Fortunately, my father was coming out for a visit and my hometown is filled with Italian grocers and stores. It timed out perfectly and dad brought me out a package to try the challenge with. After reading the recipe, the dough and deep frying reminded me very much of something my grandmother and mother made on special occasions when I was growing up. They made Khrustyky a few times per year and it was always a special treat. While Khrustyky dough contains egg and has no filling, the pastry was somewhat similar. So it seemed natural to use up the dough scraps in the style of a Khrustyky.
While I am not a fan of deep frying...partly because it seems so terribly bad for you....and partly because since I don't deep fry very often....it seems like such a waste of oil.....I don't have issues with trying something deep fried now and again. I was pretty interested to try this one out. It was not difficult, but with all the fillings and preparation....it was time consuming. Will I ever do it again??....probably for some special occasion, maybe even the neighbourhood Christmas dinner.
The recipe is provided below, plus a delicious sounding Pumpkin filling that I will try in the future.........for now, I chose to fill my cannoli with English custard using eggnog and rum flavouring rather than milk and vanilla, and omitting the sugar as the eggnog was more than sweet enough. I found the small amount of cocoa in the recipe below was enough to make the dough quite chocolaty in colour and you did need to be careful not to brown them too much. So far the Khrustyky have two thumbs up from the boys and the verdict is still to come back from the neighbours on the filled cannoli. If you'd like to see the results of some other Daring Bakers, have a look here, there are lots to choose from.

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners' sugar

Note - If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

CANNOLI FILLING
2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note - If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.

PUMPKIN FILLING
1/2 cup (123 grams/4.34 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1/2 cup (113 grams/4.04 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (122.5 grams/4.32 ounces) canned pumpkin, drained like ricotta
3/4 cup (75 grams/2.65 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 to 1 teaspoon (approx. 1.7 grams/approx. 0.06 ounces) pumpkin pie spice (taste)
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams/approx. 0.08 ounces) pure vanilla extract
6-8 cannoli shells

1. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta and mascarpone until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl, cover and chill until it firms up a bit. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

2. Fill the shells as directed above. I dipped the ends of the shells in caramelized sugar and rolled them in toasted, chopped pecans.

Pudding Time!.....Yorkshire that is.

Tonight we took the opportunity to try yet another recipe from America's Test Kitchen. It had been on the list for quite some time and tonight since we were having roast beef....it was the right time for us. Pretty much any time we have a roast beef of any cut.....we have Yorkshire Pudding. I have had some batches turn out well and others not so much.....no consistency in quality....so I was not opposed to trying what America's Test Kitchen promised to be perfect Yorkshire Puddings or Pop Overs. I must say that I did enjoy them and will definitely try them again......hopefully next time with a proper pop over pan. I have a very oddly shaped muffin pan with straight up sides which are also very short.......so probably not the right shape for a proper pop over. They did rise up well as promised, and also had a lovely moist interior almost like a cream puff. The recipe makes enough batter to make 6 pop overs....but in my oddly shaped muffin pan it made 12 filled straight up to the top of the cups. I did not take into account that I probably should have had a slightly decreased bake time since my pop overs were much smaller. Never the less...while their shape was not quite what it should be......they were quite good. If you are looking for the recipe to try.... here it is.

America's Test Kitchen Yorkshire Puddings

3 large eggs beaten well
2 cups low fat milk warmed to 110F
3 T butter melted and set to cool

2 cups bread flour or all purpose
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400F.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs well and then beat in the milk and melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Add 3/4 of the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk to remove the lumps. Add remaining egg mixture and stir till smooth. Cover bowl and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Stir batter before using. Pour batter into 6 greased and floured pop over pans, or 12 muffin cups.
Put pan in oven for 20 minutes at 400F....then reduce heat without opening the door of the oven down to 300F. Bake an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and poke a hole down through the top of each pudding with a skewer. Return to oven for another 10 minutes until nicely browned.

Remove from oven and serve immediately.