Anna Sultana’s Brunch Cheesecake and the Lyrid Meteor Showers

Easter is almost here!

A time of faith and blessings.

A time of family memory making and traditions.

A time of famished relatives and food expectations.

The dinner menu - turkey, ham, lamb or beef - will take care of the family later in the day.

But you can’t exactly let them starve until then.

Sure… you could pull out a few boxes of cereal, just like any other morning.

But you know they’ll give you ‘THE LOOK’.

Funny the things the kids learn from us.

Okay… you’ve been through enough, what with the Spring cleaning and holiday baking.

You don’t deserve getting ‘THE LOOK’. 

This Brunch Cheesecake is easy to make but looks impressive.

It can be prepared on Saturday and allowed to sit in the refrigerator, ready to wow them on Sunday morning.

Happy Easter!!

Hints:

Don’t have lemon zest?  Add another tablespoon of lemon juice.

Want something with a top crust?

Spread 1/3 of the batter onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

Cover with the cream cheese mixture.

Cover with spoonfuls of the remaining batter.

Bake as you would for the original recipe.

Leftover cheesecake is great as a breakfast or for dessert on Monday.

Feeding a crowd? Here are a few more brunch ideas:

Anna Sultana’s Corned Beef Hash

Safeway Popover Oven Pancakes

Anna Sultana’s Greek Spinach & Cheese Quiche

Anna Sultana’s Puffy Brunch Omelet with Berry Compote and Other Fillings

Anna Sultana’s Baked Cinnamon Bread Brunch

Anna Sultana’s Lost Bread with Berry Compote / French Toast

Anna Sultana’s Frittatas

                        Brunch Cheesecake

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish 

Place in a large mixer bowl
2 packages (250 g or 8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 container (454 g or 1 pound) ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 Tablespoons lemon juice 

Beat at medium speed until blended. 

Combine in a medium bowl

3 large eggs
1 Cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 Cup milk 

Combine in another large bowl

1 Tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1 Cup flour

Stir in the egg mixture and beat until blended.

Heat oven to 350°F

Spread the batter onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

Cover with the cream cheese mixture.
Bake 55 to 60 minutes, or until the centre is set. 

Allow the cake to cool.

Cut into 16 portions and place on plates.

Sprinkle with

confectioners' sugar 

Top with a dollop of sour cream and jam (optional) 

Serve with fresh fruit.

About the sky this week and next, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

April 15 - The waning gibbous Moon is at apogee, its farthest point from Earth. (An easy way to remember: Apogee = Away)

April 16 - In the morning, look to see the waning gibbous Moon just 5 degrees from Saturn. Look to the west at nightfall to see the “Seven Sisters” (known as the Pleiades Star Cluster) hover above Mars.

April 19 - Last quarter Moon, 5:57 p.m. The Moon appears as a half Moon in the sky. One-half of the Moon is illuminated by direct sunlight while the illuminated part is decreasing, heading toward the New Moon (invisible) phase.

April 21 - Late Friday night into the early morning hours of Saturday, look for the Lyrid meteor showers. Up to 10 “shooting stars” per hour radiate from a spot near the brilliant bluish star Vega. The waning crescent moon will not rise until after 4 a.m., thus assuring dark skies most of the night. These meteors are the dust left behind by Comet Thatcher, which visited the inner solar system in 1861.

April 26 - New Moon, 8:16 a.m. 

April 27 - The barely visible waxing Moon (3% illuminated) is at perigee, its closest point in its orbit to Earth for the month.

Anna Sultana’s German Chocolate Cake and April’s Full Pink Moon

It’s been a while since I posted a chocolate cake recipe.

I think the last one was about a year ago... 

the recipe for Ma’s Mocha Cake.

The most popular chocolate cake recipe I've ever posted - it’s received over 2,000 visits - was Carmela Soprano’s Baci Cake.

Baci Cake does take quite a bit of work...

but then, don’t most delicious recipes?

Well, it’s definitely time for me to post another chocolate cake recipe. 

And with Easter coming, why not go for a special one.

German Chocolate Cake is like Baci Cake in that it takes a bit of work, and is delicious.

Mrs. Kekelia had given me a slice when I was four years old.

Well, I told Ma about it, Ma asked Mrs. Kekelia for the recipe, Mrs. Kekelia kindly gave her a recipe, and Ma made her usual tweaks.

Don’t ask me which version I found most delicious.

I don’t have Mrs. Kekelia’s recipe, but luckily I have Ma’s recipe.

And now, so do you.

Hints:

To make soured milk place 2 teaspoons vinegar in a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 3/4 Cup soured milk.

                        German Chocolate Cake

For the Cake:

grease and flour 2 8x2 inch round pans

tap out excess flour   

Line bottom of pans with waxed paper.      

Sift together

1 3/4 Cups cake and pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt 

Put in a heatproof bowl

4 ounces sweet chocolate, chopped

1/3 Cup water 

Microwave until chocolate is almost melted (about a minute).

Stir until chocolate is completely melted. 

Remove from heat and let cool.

In a mixer bowl, beat at medium speed until foamy

3 large egg whites

Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted.

Place in a large mixer bowl

3/4 Cup butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 Cups sugar

Cream until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add, one at a time

3 large egg yolks

Beating after each addition.

Blend in 

3/4 teaspoon vanilla 

the melted chocolate

Preheat oven to 350º           

Making 3 dry and two liquid additions, alternately add 

the flour mixture 

3/4 Cup soured milk

Blending at low speed.

Blend at medium speed for 1 minute.

With a spatula gently fold about a quarter of the egg whites into the mixture.

Repeat 3 times.

Spread batter in prepared pans.

Bake 40 - 50 minutes, until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean.

Remove from oven. Immediately run small spatula around the cakes. 

Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the pans and let them cool completely.

For the Frosting:

Chop

pecans to make 2/3 Cup

In a saucepan combine 

2/3 Cup sugar

2/3 Cup evaporated milk

1/3 cup butter

2 large egg yolks

3/4 teaspoon vanilla 

Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring, until mixture comes to a full boil.

Stirring constantly, cook about 2 more minutes, until mixture is a caramel colour.

Stir in 

1 Cup flaked coconut

2/3 Cup chopped pecans 

Cool.

Place an upside down layer on a serving platter.

spread half of frosting over the layer.

Top with second layer and cover with the remaining frosting.

Would you like recipes for German bread, cookies or kuchen?

Here are a few of my old favourites, compliments of Mrs. Kekelia:

Mrs. Kekelia's German Rye Bread

Mrs. Kekelia's Stollen, German Christmas Bread

Mrs. Kekelia's Zimtsterne, German Christmas Cookie

Mrs. Kekelia's Pfeffernuesse, German Christmas Cookie

Mrs. Kekelia's Anise Springerle, German Christmas Cookie

Apple Kuchen

About the sky this week and next, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

April 2 - Look toward the west after nightfall to see the waxing crescent Moon (40% illuminated) inside the Winter Circle asterism. This formation of stars looks more like a hexagon than a circle, and is made up of seven colorful stars:  Sirius (white), Rigel (blue), Aldebaran (orange), Capella (yellow), Castor (white) & Pollux (orange), and Procyon (yellowish-white).

April 6 - Look to the southeast and dusk to see the Moon less than 2 degrees from the star Regulus. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion.

April 7 - Jupiter is at opposition, meaning opposite the Sun. It will rise in the east near sunset and will remain in the sky all night long. Around this time it is closest to Earth for the year.

April 11 - April’s Full Pink Moon will be astronomically full at 2:08 a.m. This is the first full Moon of the spring season.   

               A full Moon in April brings frost. If the full Moon rises pale, expect rain.

Anna Sultana’s Corned Beef Hash

What a fun weekend: first we celebrated St. Patrick, then St. Joseph!

And how else to celebrate a holiday or two than with lots of great food!!

Corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick and Żeppoli for St. Joseph are a nice break from Lent type food.

Especially if you’re also raising a glass or two of ale or wine.

But, just like every other holiday, this weekend presents us with the eternal problem: what to do with the leftovers?

What else? Make Corned Beef Hash.

Hash is a recipe dear to any frugal cook’s heart.

Some leftover roasted meat - yes, you can make hash using beef, pork or lamb - and leftover potatoes, and, if you have them, a bit of leftover vegetables.

What’s not to love? 

An English variation of hash is bubble and squeak, made with leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. The vegetables are usually potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, Brussels sprouts can also be added. They used to add chopped leftover roast, but now a vegetarian version is more popular.

Hash can be served for breakfast, as a nice change from bacon or sausages.

It’s delicious with eggs, and fried potatoes, toast or biscuits.

If you want to keep the Celtic flavour, serve Corned Beef Hash with Irish Soda Bread, or Irish Cakes, or Welsh Cakes.

In the southern United States, hash can be two other dishes:

Leftover barbecue pork mixed with barbecue sauce and served over rice. 

A thick stew made from leftover pork, chicken and beef and served with cornbread.

Do not use leftover corned beef in Maltese Corned Beef Pie.

If you do, well, don’t invite a Maltese person to eat it.

Trust me, it’s not the same as canned.

Trivia:

The name hash comes from the French verb hacher which means ‘to chop’. A hash recipe first appeared in Mrs Rundell's A New System of Domestic Cookery in 1806.

Bubble and squeak got its name from the bubbling and squeaking sounds that the cabbage makes while it’s being cooked. It is usually served with leftover cold meat, with pickles or brown sauce, and can also be served as part of a full English breakfast.

National Corned Beef Hash Day is September 27.

Hints:

Canned corned beef can be used in hash if you really have to substitute.

But NEVER use leftover fresh corned beef in Maltese Corned Beef Pie.

You’ve been warned.

Hash is a way to use leftovers, but try to keep the ratio to 2 parts meat to 1 part potatoes, with just a bit of vegetables.

You want your hash to be on the dry side so that it will brown well and have a bit of crunch. An excess of vegetables can make the hash mushy.

If you have a lot of leftover vegetables they might be better in a pot of bubble and squeak, and served on the side.

Back to the crunch… don’t crowd the meat and potatoes in your pan.

It’s like frying doughnuts.

They need space to get browned. Without the space they’ll get stewed.

If you’re serving a crowd, it would be better to cook in batches.

When you flip the hash cake it will break apart. That’s fine.

The bits will get more browned and add to the texture.

                        Corned Beef Hash

Serves 2

Chop leftover corned beef, enough to make 2 Cups

Finely chop

1 small onion

1/4 Cup leftover cabbage (optional)

Dice

1 Cup leftover boiled potatoes

1/4 Cup leftover rutabaga (optional)

1/4 Cup leftover carrot (optional)

Place in a large bowl 

the potatoes and corned beef 

Toss together lightly with a fork.

Place in a large skillet

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or butter

Over medium high heat melt the butter or heat the oil.

Add

the onions and optional vegetables

Stirring often, cook until lightly browned.

Add 

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or butter

the meat and potatoes

Season with 

salt and pepper

Gently shape the mixture into a flat cake.

Let the mixture brown on one side, about 10 - 15 minutes.

Flip the mixture and let it brown on the other side, about another 10 - 15 minutes.

WHILE THE HASH IS COOKING:

Cook 2 to 4 large eggs (poach, fry, scramble, boil - your choice)

When the cake is nice and crispy, scoop half and place it in a plate.

Top with half of the eggs.

Repeat for the second serving.

Serve warm.

About the sky this week and next, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

March 20 – The Spring Equinox at 6:29 a.m. The last quarter Moon at 11:58 a.m. In this phase, the Moon appears as a half Moon in the sky. 

March 27 – New Moon at 10:57 p.m. In this phase, the Moon is not illuminated by direct sunlight and is completely invisible to the naked eye.

March 30 – Look to the western sky as darkness falls to see the the tiny waxing crescent Moon just eight degrees from Mars. Look low to the horizon and you might be able to spot Mercury with binoculars an hour after sunset. The Moon is at perigee, which means that it is at the closest point to Earth in its cycle.

Tourtière Pie with Cheddar Cheese, the Beehive Cluster and the Full Worm Moon by Margaret Ullrich

It's March, but it seems that winter isn’t quite ready to leave us just yet.

We’ve had a couple of days of blustery weather, with heavy snow and high winds.

The Trans-Canada Highway was closed for a while, and everyone had to stay where they were for safety’s sake.

Oh, well… it’s March in Manitoba and we're used to getting a few surprises.

I recently posted the recipe for Manitoba Tourtière Pie.

A friend mentioned that her son loved cheeseburgers.

She wondered if cheese could be added to the filling.

Well, why not?

Hints:

The dough for the crust can be made two days in advance.

Don’t skip chilling the filling. This prevents the crust from becoming soggy. 

The dough that is leftover from trimming can be used to make decorations for the pie.

Either roll flat and use cookie cutters or roll the dough into a rope to make spiral decorations.

To freeze an unbaked pie: wrap well and freeze for up to one month. 

Defrost in refrigerator for 24 hours, then bake.

For best results, bake pie on bottom oven rack.

In a rush? You can use a package of refrigerated pie crusts. You’ll need two crusts.

But don’t make the pie and freeze for a later meal. 

The crust won’t be as good as it could be.

                        Tourtière Pie

Crust

Cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3/4 Cup solid vegetable shortening

Chill 30 minutes.

Also chill 1/2 Cup water.

In a medium mixing bowl blend

2 Cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Using a pastry blender, cut the chilled shortening cubes into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.

Sprinkle over the flour mixture

4 Tablespoons cold water

Using a fork stir and draw the flour from the bottom of the bowl to the top, distributing the moisture evenly into the flour. 

Add more water by the tablespoon until the dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.

Divide the dough into two pieces, making one piece slightly larger than the other. 

Flatten into 1/2 inch thick disks, and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. 

Chill for 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

Filling

Finely chop 

1 onion 

2 stalks celery

3 cloves garlic

Peel and grate or chop 

1 pound baking potatoes

In a dutch oven place

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil 

Heat oil over medium-high heat. 

Add 

1 1/4 pounds ground pork, beef or veal or a combination

the chopped onion, celery and garlic

Stirring frequently, cook until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. 

Add 

1 Cup beef broth

2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

the grated potatoes

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.  

Uncover and simmer for another 10 minutes. You want most of the liquid to evaporate.

Remove the filling from the heat.

Chill in the refrigerator until cool, about 30 minutes. 

While the filling is cooling:  

On a lightly floured surface roll out the larger piece of dough.

Fit the dough into a 9 inch pie plate. 

Roll out the remaining pastry and leave on the floured surface.

Stir into the cooled filling

1 to 1 1/2 Cups shredded Cheddar Cheese, as mild or as strong as you like

Mix well.

Spoon the filling into the prepared pie plate. 

Preheat oven to 425°F 

Beat together  

1 egg

2 teaspoons water

Brush some of the egg mixture over the edges of the pastry in the pie plate.

Place the top layer of pastry over the filling. 

Seal the edges, then trim and flute the edges. 

Cut steam vents in the upper crust.

Add the extra dough decorations (see hints).

Brush the remaining egg mixture over the top of the pastry, and decorations. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. 

Leaving the pie in the oven, reduce the heat to 375°F.

Bake for an additional 45 - 50 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Serve as is or with chili sauce, or ketchup, or chutney.

A cooked vegetable or a salad would also be a nice touch.

Tourtiere Pie, in all its variations - with or without cheese - is a delicious meat pie.

But do try Ma’s Timpana recipe.

Really. It’s great!

About the sky this week, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

March 8 - Look to see the waxing gibbous Moon just 4 degrees from the Beehive Cluster (M44), also called Praesepe, the Manger.

March 10 - Although the waxing gibbous Moon will be bright, see if you can spot the star Regulus a mere 3 degrees from it. Regulus is one of the brightest stars in our sky, and is part of the constellation Leo, the Lion.

March 12 - The Full Worm Moon at 10:54 a.m. Watch this short Farmers’ Almanac video to see how this Moon got its many names.

Manitoba Tourtière Pie by Margaret Ullrich

On Sunday we enjoyed a day at Festival du Voyageur.

We were celebrating a very important part of Manitoba’s history.

The festivities took place in St. Boniface, the home of Winnipeg’s French community.

We had a lot of fun and enjoyed some great food including tourtière.

When we moved to Winnipeg in 1975 we learned about Saint Jean Baptiste Day.

In 2014 I posted the recipe for Tourtière, which had been given to me by a neighbour.

Ma regularly served meat pies as a dinner dish when I was growing up.

In addition to the traditional Maltese Corned Beef Pie, Ma would make meat pies using whatever she had in the house.

Both her corned beef and meat pies were very good.

Tourtière is a meat pie recipe which was created in Quebec.

The name comes from the dish in which it was originally cooked, a tourtière.

What went into the dish depended upon what was available locally.

Well, the recipe travelled across Canada and throughout the New England area, and - just as with any really good Maltese recipe - each area added its own special touch.

On the coast, including the New England states, tourtière is made with fish, such as salmon.
In Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Eastern Quebec the tourtières are deep-dish meat pies made with potatoes and various meats, including wild game, cut into small cubes.

In Montreal tourtière is made only with finely ground pork. After the meat is browned, water, cinnamon and cloves are added to the filling. 

It is served with any of the following: ketchup, maple syrup, molasses, mango chutney, or cranberry preserves.

Acadian tourtière is a pork pie that may also contain chicken, rabbit and beef.

Here in Manitoba tourtière is regularly served during the holidays in Francophone communities. The browned meat is then well seasoned before being added to the crust.

Basically tourtière is a delicious way for thrifty housewives to use whatever they have on hand.

Now that is something Ma would really have understood!

Hints:

The dough for the crust can be made two days in advance.

Don’t skip chilling the filling. This prevents the crust from becoming soggy. 

The dough that is leftover from trimming can be used to make decorations for the pie.
Either roll flat and use cookie cutters or roll the dough into a rope to make spiral decorations.

To freeze an unbaked pie: wrap well and freeze for up to one month. 

Defrost in refrigerator for 24 hours, then bake.

                        Tourtière Pie

Crust

Cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3/4 Cup solid vegetable shortening

Chill 30 minutes.

Also chill 1/2 Cup water.

In a medium mixing bowl blend

2 Cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Using a pastry blender, cut the chilled shortening cubes into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.

Sprinkle over the flour mixture

4 Tablespoons cold water

Using a fork stir and draw the flour from the bottom of the bowl to the top, distributing the moisture evenly into the flour. 

Add more water by the tablespoon until the dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.

Divide the dough into two pieces, making one piece slightly larger than the other. 

Flatten into 1/2 inch thick disks, and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. 

Chill for 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

Filling

Finely chop 

1 onion 

1 stalk celery

2 cloves garlic

Thinly slice 

6 mushrooms

Peel and grate 

1 medium potato

In a dutch oven place

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Heat oil over medium-high heat. 

Add 

1 1/2 pounds ground pork, beef or veal or a combination

the chopped onion, celery and garlic, the sliced mushrooms, and the grated potato

Stirring frequently, cook until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. 

Add 

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Pinch nutmeg

Pinch cloves

Pinch cinnamon

Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the filling from the heat and chill in the refrigerator until cool, about 30 minutes. 

While the filling is cooling:

On a lightly floured surface roll out the larger piece of dough.

Fit the dough into a 9 inch pie plate. 

Spoon the cooled filling into the pie plate. 

Roll out the remaining pastry and place it over the filling. 

Seal the edges, then trim and flute the edges. 

Cut steam vents in the upper crust.
Add the extra dough decorations (see hints).

Preheat oven to 425°F 

Beat together

1 egg

2 teaspoons water

Brush the egg mixture over the top of the pastry, including the decorations. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. 

Leaving the pie in the oven, reduce the heat to 375°F.

Bake for an additional 45 - 50 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Tourtiere Pie, in all its variations, is a delicious meat pie recipe.

I still prefer Ma’s Timpana recipe.

As I once said

Maltese cooking is heavy on simple carbs. 

Maltese go beyond simple into downright retarded.

Well, I’m Maltese, not French.

About the sky this week, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

Before sunrise, look south to see the waning crescent Moon, Antares and Saturn form a trio. Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius. Seeing Antares and Scorpius before dawn signals that the shortest days of winter are behind us.

February 26 –New Moon at 9:58 am.

February 28 – Look to the west at dusk to see the tiny, waxing crescent moon pair up with Venus. Then once night falls, grab your binoculars and try to locate the Mars and Uranus above the pair.