Dates Stuffed with Chevre, Pistachio, and Chive

Having been out of cooking commission for most of fall, I missed the season of fancy party snacks and holiday breakfasts. I spent December gazing at a certain very delicious little face, foregoing the mistletoe and the cocktail parties. Now it's January, and the cinnamon rolls and champagne flutes are fading in the rear view mirror on your way to the gym. 2015, you came quickly.

But I've been making up for lost time, now that the babe and I have hit our stride. We've had scones and omelettes for brunch, wintry mixed drinks at happy hour, and plenty of snacks. I'll spare you the over-the-top breakfasts and the bourbony indulgence -- for now -- but the snacks I've been making these past couple weeks are too good not to share. Think of it as some belated holiday cheer.

These dates snapped back into my repertoire after I received a version of them from a friend, shortly after Adi was born. Jana, an excellent cook (and now a maker of very fancy cakes), slipped some chevre into pitted dates, and topped each date with a slice of pistachio and a pinch of minced chives. I ate one, then shamelessly ate all the others before D could get any. And then, the very next day, I added a TJ's run to our itinerary to pick up dates and chives and chevre and do the whole thing again.

In my scrambled-up version, the chives and chopped pistachios are folded into the chevre, so I could assemble the dates whenever hunger struck. Lazy me snacks straight from the fridge, but if I'm serving them to other people, I bring the dates to room temperature before serving. When I'm feeling fancy, I heat them in a low oven. The heat softens the dates and caramelizes their edges, and of course, no one ever said no to hot, melty cheese.

Maybe you're the lucky type to be hosting or joining a January dinner party, in which case, go you. Bring these along. If not, there's not an ounce of shame in eating them for dinner.

Dates Stuffed with Chevre, Pistachios, and Chives
Makes about 20

1 lb. medjool dates (20-22 dates)
5 oz. chevre or other fresh goat cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons minced chives
3 tablespoons shelled salted pistachios, coarsely chopped
flaky salt and cracked pepper

Use a small paring knife to make a lengthwise slit in each date. Remove pits, and splay dates open.

In a small bowl, combine chevre, chives, and 2 tablespoons of pistachios. Use a fork to mash the cheese, softening it while combining it with the chives and pistachios.

Fill each date with a heaping teaspoon of filling. Sprinkle remaining pistachios over dates, and finish with a sprinkle of salt and a bit of cracked pepper.

Easier Rugelach

Growing up, toward the end of Saturday morning services, we kids would lurk in the social hall of the synagogue, near the refreshments. Ostensibly, we were there to help set up. In actuality, about 5% of our effort went to helping out, while a round 95% we spent angling to be near our favorite snacks.

Among the universal favorites were rugelach, the flaky, jam-filled pastries that are now near-ubiquitous. (Last week, I even stumbled on savory rugelach. Sort of genius.) But at the time, they seemed special. Mostly, they seemed difficult. The first time I made them, I understood that while they aren't hard, per se, they are quite fussy. While the dough comes together quickly,it's the bit where you roll the dough into disks and cut it into pie slices. I end up fretting and fussing pretty hard to make sure that each skinny little pie slice you roll up doesn't lose its fillings in the process. Also, most recipes call for apricot jam - why must it always be apricot, which is just about the least likely jam to be in my fridge? The last time I made these, I decided the recipe was overdue for some hacking.

So what makes these easier? Two things. First, you can use whatever jam and whatever nuts you have. This is sort of “rugelach without a recipe.” Second, unlike my old favorites, these are rolled and cut much more easily and less fussily. One long strip of dough, filled and rolled into one long log, then cut into pieces on the bias. They're plenty pretty, and more importantly, they're easy.

Did I mention they freeze like champs? Might just need to make a double.

Easier RugelachAdapted this old Gourmet recipe and a bit of trial and error

For the dough:
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar

For the filling:
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup of any jam (for my most recent batch, I used a mixture of raspberry jam and orange marmalade - get creative!)
1/2 cup golden raisins or currants, chopped
heaping 1/2 cup (4 oz.) walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
Cream or milk for brushing cookies

Make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor or mixer, combine butter and cream cheese and pulse several times, until combined. Add flour and sprinkle salt and sugar over flour; pulse several times, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a piece of plastic wrap, collect into a cohesive mass, and flatten inside the wrap into a rough rectangle shape. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably 2, and up to a few days. Alternatively, freeze dough for later use.

Set a rack in the middle rung of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a 13x18 (half-sheet) rimmed baking pan with parchment paper. Whisk together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Assemble the rugelach: Cut dough in half; refrigerate one half while you work with the other. On a floured work surface, roll half the dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle, with a long edge facing you. Spread 1/4 cup jam evenly over dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the perimeter. Sprinkle half the raisins/currants and half the nuts over the jam. Dust with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar.

Using a bench scraper or sharp knife to assist, lift the long edge of the dough nearest you, and roll dough into a long log. Place seam-side down onto one side of the baking pan. Repeat with remaining half of the dough and filling ingredients.

Brush logs with cream/milk and dust with the little bit of cinnamon sugar that remains. Then use a long, sharp knife to make biased cuts most of the way through the dough, at 1-inch intervals. If dough seems too soft to cut cleanly, refrigerate 20-30 minutes before slicing.

Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Set pan on rack to cool for about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board to slice the rest of the way through.

Rugelach will keep in a tight container for up to one week.

Crispy Apple Skins

My friend Jeremy, an excellent cook and compost expert, is back to tell us about a fantastic new chef's snack to make the most of Thanksgiving prep. We made them last night, and...well, it's a good thing I snapped a picture immediately. They're gone.

You'll make these once and never think of peeling an apple the same way again. Seriously.

Thanksgiving is upon us -- Hanukkah, too! -- and if you haven't already done so, there's a good chance that "make apple sauce" is on your to-do list for between now and Thursday. Trust me. When you make that apple sauce, you're going to want to make these dead-simple little treats, too.

Ingredients:

apple skins (any variety) spice of your choice

Steps:

Cover a baking sheet with foil. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Make sure your apples are washed and dried.

When you peel your sauce apples, move the peeler from the stem to bottom of the fruit. Press a little harder than you ordinarily might, so as to capture a little bit of the apple's meat along with the skin. You should end up with strips of apple 3/4"-1" wide and 3-4" long, depending what apples you're using.

Lay the skins on the sheet, skin side down, in one layer, with at least a little separation between skins. Leave as is, or sprinkle lightly with whatever spices you like: my kids love cinnamon, my wife and I love cayenne. Experiment!

That's it. Stick 'em in the oven, and check in on them in a half hour so. The skins should be starting to curl up into little straws. Pull them out when they've curled enough to feel rigid, but haven't yet started to brown, usually 40-45 minutes total. Take note: they won't be crispy yet. Use your fingers to gently knock the skins off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack. They'll crisp up almost immediately as they start to cool, and be ready to eat in just a few minutes!

There are a bunch of reasons I love these things, beyond the fact that they're delicious. For starters, they're super easy. They come out perfectly crispy every single time, and the crunch you get when you bite into it is extraordinarily satisfying. They're 100 percent good for you. And maybe my favorite part? They reduce waste and create food in one yummy little package!

I'm a sustainability entrepreneur (shameless self promotion: Compost Cab), and I can't help think that we might be onto something here. In fact, I kind of want to market these as a healthy snack for kids-of-all-ages called Apple Skinz. That's right -- they're so good I want to sell them at Whole Foods. Who's with me? Make them for yourself, then let's talk!

Thanks to Rivka and NDP for giving me a space to share this gem. Wishing everyone a peaceful and meaningful Thanksgiving, and if there are candles in your future, a very happy Hanukkah!

Cornmeal-Bourbon Doughnuts with Chestnut-Sage Stuffing

It's doughnut week here on NDP. First up were these sufganiyot filled with the best cranberry mousse of your life. Now? We're going savory. Please welcome my friend and cook extraordinaire, Josh Resnick, who's sharing his unforgettable cornmeal doughnuts stuffed with stuffing. Ever since we tried them, we haven't been able to stop thinking about them. I tested them this past weekend, and while Josh's came out better than mine, even my amateur version was quite delicious. These doughnuts are not to be missed.

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Around Passover, I read that Hanukkah and Thanksgiving would coincide for the first, and in

any meaningful sense, last time

.  We have been hosting my wife's family and part of my family for the last three years, so to us, this holiday has already represented a melding of two families' traditions.  A mashup like this would fit right in. So, despite being in the midst of Passover prep, I went into menu planning overdrive.  That's normal, right?

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Some options were obvious -

deep-fried turkey

,

turkey-fat latkes, cranapple sauce

.  But that's just the beginning.  

Sufganiyot

, or jelly doughnuts, the ubiquitous dessert of Hannukah, seemed like the perfect canvas for a mashup.  Once you take out the jelly, you can really stuff them with anything, sweet or savory.  After some tinkering, I settled on cornmeal doughnuts with chestnut sausage stuffing.  For this home cook, it has been the answer to the question I didn't even know to ask: shouldn't  more doughnuts be made with meat?

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A few notes on ingredients.  I used stone ground cornmeal for some classic cornbread texture.  I also added wheat gluten to make sure the doughnuts were chewy.  If you don't have wheat gluten and don't feel like buying it, I would use bread flour in place of all-purpose and replace the gluten with an equal volume of cornmeal.

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A note on technique.  A clean edge is critical to the shape of the doughnut and to making sure the stuffing stays...well, inside.  After filling the doughnuts, stretch them out a bit and recut them with a biscuit or cookie cutter.  This will ensure a good seal and a clean edge.  You don't want your filling leaking out, and you're not looking for something beignet-shaped.

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Rivka again here. Don't skip the recutting step! Also, don't skip this recipe. As you can see and understand, we're kind of obsessed.

Bourbon-Cornmeal Doughnuts Filled with StuffingDough inspired by Bon Appetit; filling by Josh Resnick Makes 12 doughnuts

For the doughnuts: 1 packet (¼ oz.) instant yeast 2 tablespoons warm water 2 teaspoon plus ¼ cup sugar 6 tablespoons canola oil 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons bourbon (Josh uses Weller) ½ cup milk or unflavored soy milk, warmed to 115 degrees (warm-hot) 2 teaspoons salt 2¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour ¼ cup wheat gluten 1 ½ cups cornmeal

For the stuffing (makes more than needed): 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 sweet Italian sausage, diced ½ medium yellow onion, ¼-inch dice 1 medium carrot, ¼-inch dice 1 rib celery, ¼-inch dice 1 small green bell pepper, ¼-inch dice 3 ounces roasted and peeled chestnuts (about 20), chopped (the pre-packaged ones make life easy) ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage or ¼ teaspoon dried sage

First, make the dough: Combine yeast, water, and 2 teaspoons sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for 10 minutes, until yeast turns foamy. Add the remaining ¼-cup of sugar, wet ingredients, and salt to the bowl. Hook in the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, wheat gluten, and corn meal. Add to the wet ingredients and mix with the paddle attachment about 30 seconds, until fully combined. Then switch to the dough hook and need for two more minutes. The dough will be a bit sticky, but it should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl slightly. If it doesn’t, add flour by the tablespoon until it does.

Scrape dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for at least 2 hours at room temperature, until doubled; alternatively, transfer to the fridge and let proof overnight.

Make the stuffing: Put olive oil in a large sauté pan set over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until the fat starts to render and the meat starts to crisp, about 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients to the pan and sauté until vegetables have begun to soften, about 5 more minutes. Then add 2 tablespoons of water to the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and cook on medium heat until water as evaporated and vegetables are mostly soft, about 7 minutes. (The carrots should still have the slightest resistance). Cool completely.

Form the doughnuts: On a lightly-floured surface, roll dough into a rough rectangle, ¼ inch thick. Using a 3½-inch biscuit cutter, cut into rounds. Re-roll and cut remaining dough until all dough is used.

Brush each disk with water. Top half of the disks with 1 ½ teaspoons of filling. Set one untopped disk over each topped disk and press firmly around the edges to seal, stretching the edges of each doughnut slightly while sealing; after all doughnuts are sealed, recut each doughnut with the 3½-inch cutter. The cutter does the best job of creating a firm seal.

Place doughnuts on paper towel, cover with a second paper towel, and let rise 45 minutes-1 hour.

Fry the doughnuts: Line a large plate with two layers of paper towel.

In a large pot, heat 3 inches of canola or other neutral frying oil to 350 degrees. Fry doughnuts about 75 seconds per side, until golden brown. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate and drain.

Serve hot (with gravy!)