Recipe for Balkan Cheese Pie – Burek and Adjika Sauce

I have had this Recipe for Balkan Cheese Pie from the Darina at the Gratinee blog pinned for a while, and for some reason in the past couple months I have been on a real Eastern European food kick. Most of it was Russian food, but also Mediterranean, so no surprise that the Balkans and this pie has risen to the top of my to do list to try.

This Balkan Cheese Pie sort of combines the best of both of these cuisines, the lighter Mediterranean touch where the pie is eaten with simple yogurt or salad or fruit, but also a lot of cheese and oven pie method of making a meal from the Serbia area that is so close to the Soviet and Russia and shares history and perception of Slavic brotherhood.
Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe. Just easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe. Just easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche

Also called Burek, this pie is at its core a pastry made from phyllo dough and filled with cheese (in this case cottage cheese and feta, though ricotta might also be used) and optionally also throw in some vegetables (commonly greens or mushrooms) or ground meat.

Thank you for the inspiration Darina. For an alternate version, instead of a pie, you could make a pita version – a pie and pita version are covered by Superfora here and Darina makes a spiral version that is a cross of pita and pie.

Balkan Cheese Pie – Burek

Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe. Just easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe. Just easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche
Ingredients:

  • 8 phyllo sheets (you can find these in the freezer section. Defrost them in the refrigerator overnight, and take them out to get to room temperature while you are mixing your cheese/egg in step 1 of directions below).
  • 1/2 pound  cottage cheese
  • 1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup club soda (this helps make the pie fluffy)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt (optional, depending on how salty you think it already is from your feta)
  • Browned meat or mushrooms (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon dill (optional)

Directions:

  1. As you are making your cheese mixture, let the phyllo dough which you probably bought frozen and have defrosted overnight in the refrigerator come to room temperature – still in the box though. Ok, now to the mixture. In a large mixing bowl combine the cheese, eggs, club soda, oil, and salt (optional, depending on how salty your feta already is). For this recipe I used cottage cheese and feta cheese that were both reduced fat, and you can also use ricotta. I hear it’s still not quite like actual Eastern European cheese, but this is the closest to it. Once the mixture is ready, now open the phyllo package and release the sheets – you wanted to wait until now to do this so it doesn’t dry out because then it will break easily (though for this recipe, it doesn’t matter as much is there are small tears and holes since you are folding the phyllo sheets in anyway).
    Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, though you can also use ricotta Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, now mixed with the eggs and club soda and olive oil As you are making your egg and cheese mixture, let the phyllo dough which you probably bought frozen and have defrosted overnight in the refrigerator come to room temperature
  2. Grease a 9 inch pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place two sheets of phyllo, one crossed over the other, over the pan and gently tuck in. With a ladle, spoon over some of the cheese mixture.
    Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets in layers. It doesn't matter if you tear the phyllo sheet as you will be folding it in anyway Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, though you can also use ricotta. You layer the cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets in alternating layers Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, though you can also use ricotta. You layer the cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets, 2 sheets for each layer
  3. (Optional) For variation, sprinkle layers with fresh spinach leaves, sauteed mushrooms, or browned ground lamb or pork on top of the cheese and egg mixture.
  4. Otherwise, fold the corners of the phyllo over the filling. Pour over some more of the cheese mixture. Repeat a few more times, using 2 layers of phyllo sheets and the cheese and egg mixture alternating. Pour any leftover filling over top layer.
    Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, though you can also use ricotta. You layer the cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, though you can also use ricotta. You layer the cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, though you can also use ricotta. You layer the cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets
  5. Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes, or until top is golden and pie has puffed up.
    Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, still hot out of the oven Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, still hot out of the oven Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, still hot out of the oven
  6. Cool until lukewarm and then cut into pieces like quiche and serve.
    Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, though you can also use ricotta. You layer the cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, though you can also use ricotta. You layer the cheese egg mixture with phyllo sheets

If you’d like, top with poppy seeds or like I did, with dill.
Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, topped with dill. Just easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo dough, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, using cottage cheese and feta, topped with dill. Just easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo dough, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche

You can serve your slice of Burek with a green salad, fruit salad, tomato salad or cucumber salad. In cooler days you might choose soup. Another option if you made it plain cheese like I did is serve it alongside your choice of cooked vegetables that are steamed, sauteed or roasted.
Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, here served with sauteed mushrooms in garlic butter. Burek is an easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo dough, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, here served with sauteed mushrooms in garlic butter. Burek is an easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo dough, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche Balkan Cheese Pie - Burek recipe, here served with sauteed mushrooms in garlic butter. Burek is an easy layering of cheese egg mixture with phyllo dough, like a Mediterranean or Eastern European quiche

I went super Eastern European and added Adjika sauce on the side.
Balkan Cheese Pie, or Burek, here with Adjika Sauce - recipe for both on http://pechluck.com Balkan Cheese Pie, or Burek, here with Adjika Sauce - recipe for both on http://pechluck.com

Adjika is sort of like a Russian pesto, but instead of basil, oil, and pine nuts it’s dried red peppers, garlic, salt, and some dried seasoning that are then ground up together. Yes, it’s supposed to be a bit spicy. There are some recipes out there with tomatoes, but I like it without because I don’t want it to be like salsa or ketchup – I want it to be a mix of sauce and chili paste, sort of what is alluded to by this article at Roads and Kingdoms on “Adjika: Sauce of Glory, Pride of Abkhazia“.

Most recipes for Adjika sauce I found use a lot of ingredients like tomatoes, carrots, and make a lot of cans. The version I do is a small amount – about 3/4-1 cup. You want the ingredients to be as dry as possible so that the most liquid comes from the additional of the oil, so you can choose for instance to use regular parsley instead of the dried kind in the spices and seasonings section, just make sure it is chopped and dry.
Balkan Cheese Pie, or Burek, here with Adjika Sauce - recipe for both on http://pechluck.com Balkan Cheese Pie, or Burek, here with Adjika Sauce - recipe for both on http://pechluck.com

Adjika Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 4 hot red chilli peppers
  • 1 cloves garlic peeled
  • 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • a large pinch of salt
  • A few teaspoons of Walnut or Olive oil, as needed for consistency

Instructions:

  1. Spread peppers on a table with wax paper underneath and let air dry until the chilis become slightly wrinkled if you can – you can make it without this step, but you’ll want to taste and add a pinch more to balance the liquid from the chilis
    Red chili peppers for adjika sauce - recipe on http://pechluck.com
  2. Wash the chillies, cutting off the stems, and then cutting the chilies in half to scrape out the seeds – if you like spiciness, save the seeds so you can add them to the heat level you want in step 4.
  3. In a food processor, add your cut seedless chilies, garlic, coriander and parsley into a food processor, add a splash of oil and pulse until a paste.
  4. And salt and pulse for another couple of seconds. Check the spiciness and add some of the reserved seeds if the sauce seems too mild to your taste. Add more oil as needed to get the desired consistency.

Adjika sauce, sort of like a Russian pesto that uses dried red peppers, garlic, salt, and some dried seasoning that are then ground up together

Have you ever heard of any of these two dishes? Do you know of any good places in Portland to get Eastern European food?

When you first read Balkan Cheese Pie, did you think of the Balkans… or Balki from Perfect Strangers?

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April Fool’s Recipe for Spaghetti Pie

I know April Fool’s Day, which is April 1, is not until next week, but next week is also Easter so I have to get this one done first!
Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957

I admit the April Fool’s is a bit of a stretch here, since this looks like a pie yes,  but it’s pretty clear it’s not any type of regular dessert pie. But, I like the call back to my favorite on the Wikipedia list of April Fool’s jokes, the BBC’s Panorama Programme reporting about spaghetti crops in Switzerland.

I was also inspired to make this Recipe for Spaghetti Pie by this great recipe by Bobcatsteph3, which itself is a copycat recipe for Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom’s Oh My Spaghetti Pie. The description on the Old Chicago website describes this as “This Old Chicago exclusive starts with spaghetti tossed in Alfredo sauce made from scratch daily with Parmesan, mozzarella, Romano and provolone cheeses, topped with even more cheeses and slow-baked to toasty perfection. Served by the slice over our house marinara.”

This is a dish I have never had, and also a restaurant that I’ve never been to, even having lived in Chicago, because it doesn’t actually exist in Chicago – the 3 locations in Illinois are in Peoria,  Rockford and Champaign which are all significantly *outside* Chicago. There are 3 locations here in Portland though I’ve never been to any of those either! I’ve actually only seen Old Chicago when I’ve been in Colorado, which seems to be where they have the most franchise locations since they started out in Boulder in 1976.

While I respect the true alfredo used to make the pie in the BobcatSteph3 copycat recipe (and which Old Chicago Pizza probably makes in its own kitchen),  the “calories, schmalories” concern me too much so I did a different white sauce. I could have used the cauliflower alfredo that I shared in a previous recipe post, but this time I tried a different cheese mixture that uses low fat ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan along with Tofutti Sour Supreme (or you can use light or regular Sour Cream). If that sounds like something you might put into a lasagna, that’s where I got my other part of this inspiration.
Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957 Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957

And here I go again, making a savory pie (the last one I did was the bacon cheddar potato one using Michael Smith’s recipe). I think this pie serves 4-8 people depending on what else you are serving the slice on the plate with.

Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna so it's both creamy and tangy, and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957

Ingredients:

  • 20 ounces of spaghetti noodles (I did not use all of my 13.5 Oz box), cooked to al dente and drained from pasta water. It will cook again when you bake it, and further soften so it’s ok for it to be less than al dente. I personally like wheat or veggie noodles so mine are not the same color as normal noodles
  • 2 cups of  shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
  • 8 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 8 ounces Tofutti Sour Supreme (or you can use light or regular sour cream – I think using 1 beaten egg would work too as the binding agent here for the cheese)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • 4 cups of your own marinara sauce, be it from a jar or your version of homemade, your choice. I put quite a bit of red pepper in mine to make it spicy, you might consider adding mushrooms, or even your choice of crumbled meat if you don’t want it vegetarian

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. While the pasta is cooking to al dente, mix together the 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella, all 8 ounces of the ricotta, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan aka 1/4 cup (you will use the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan for topping later), and all the Tofutti Sour Supreme/sour cream, Italian Seasoning, basil, garlic, and to taste the salt and pepper.
    Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957. This cheese filling is a mix of shredded mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan and sour cream with seasonings
  3. Mix the cheese sauce to the al dente spaghetti until it is well incorporated, and then place the cheese and spaghetti into the greased pie plate.
    Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957 Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957
  4. Cover the pie dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the pie briefly to spread the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese that is left on top of that pie and then bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is all melty. If you wanted to, you could add a bit of panko or breadcrumb while adding the mozzarella and Parmesan topping if you’d like a bit more crunch.
    Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957 Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957
  5. After you remove your spaghetti pie, let it cool for at least 10 minutes so it can solidify and stay together when you cut your pie slices.

To serve, make a layer of the red marinara sauce onto a plate, and then on top of that serve a slice of the spaghetti pie, sprinkle with a bit of fresh basil chiffonode or chopped basil or some crispy fried sage if you’d like. Or add another layer of sauce on top of your pie!
Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957 "Recipe Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957

I usually see this dish served with a side salad and also some garlic bread, which you can use to further dip into the sauce. The key here is that this mashup lasagna spaghetti dish is a taste of both creamy cheesy white and tangy (and in my case spicy) red sauce. Plus you are having spaghetti but without having to slurp it up and get the sauce on your face and clothing.
Recipe for Spaghetti Pie for April Fool's day. It's a mashup between spaghetti and lasagna and a nod to the April Fool's joke of the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957

Are you doing or making anything for April Fool’s Day? Have you ever had Spaghetti Pie or been to Old Chicago Pizza?

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Cauliflower Colcannon

How I celebrated St Patrick’s Day this year, part 2. This is the vegetarian part.

The traditional Irish song… hear the famous Mary Black version here at Youtube

“Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream.
Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake
Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make?”

The chorus:

“Yes you did, so you did, so did he and so did I.
And the more I think about it sure the nearer I’m to cry.
Oh, wasn’t it the happy days when troubles we had not,
And our mothers made Colcannon in the little skillet pot.”

Cauliflower Colcannon

This Cauliflower colcannon recipe can still be served the traditional Irish way with a crater of melted butter in the middle
Usually this is made with potato and cabbage, but I decided to switch it out to cauliflower instead of potato  because well, I love cauliflower, and I thought it was a better alternative with nutrients. We’ve used mashed cauliflower before instead of potato so it seemed natural it could be used in colcannon also, which is really just a variation of mashed potato with cabbage. This serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of cauliflower florets – this was the florets from about a 2 1/3 pound cabbage
  • 1 cup of 2 percent milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter divided (3 tablespoons for the cabbage and 1 later for the combination into colcannon), plus more for serving. Ideally use Irish butter for serving!
  • 1/2 of a small green cabbage (about half a 1 pound cabbage)
  • 2 roasted garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Bring cauliflower florets and milk to a simmer in large saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Cover pan and let the cauliflower soften, which might take 15 – 20 minutes depending on the size of your florets.
  2. Meanwhile, with your half a cabbage, with the cut-side down, slice it as thinly as possible into shreds, and probably cut it into thirds after that so they are not so long (think like cole slaw for inside a sandwich). Melt the two tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender and begins to brown. Season with the salt and pepper, to taste.
    1/2 small cabbage is all that is needed for Cauliflower colcannon for 4-6 Slicing cabbage into shreds for a Cauliflower colcannon recipe
  3. When the cauliflower milk mixture is soft enough that you can mush it, transfer contents of the pan a big bowl and then use a potato masher to mash it. After mushing the cauliflower, pour in the sauteed cabbage and butter from the skillet, add the minced roasted garlic, the last tablespoon of butter (this is optional depending on how much butter was left with the sauteed cabbage) and salt and pepper to taste, and mix until all is incorporated.
    Recipe for Cauliflower Colcannon that switches out potato for cauliflower but tastes just as good Recipe for Cauliflower Colcannon that switches out potato for cauliflower but tastes just as good
  4. To serve the colcannon in the traditional Irish way, after you put your serving of cauliflower colcannon on the plate like a small mountain, push the back of a ladle down in the middle of each portion to make a crater in the middle. Think Crater Lake, and Mt St Helens. Now add a 1 little pat of butter into each of those craters, which should melt. Now each person eating the colcannon can scoop a little butter into each spoonful of colcannon.
    This Cauliflower colcannon recipe can still be served the traditional Irish way with a crater of melted butter in the middle This Cauliflower colcannon recipe can still be served the traditional Irish way with a crater of melted butter in the middle

I have seen variations of this recipe that swaps out the sauteed lettuce for kale, or for leeks, or may sprinkle a bit of cheese in, or horseradish. Instead of Irishing it up into a Colcannon, leave out the greens to make simple mashed cauliflower instead of your mashed potato for any meal – you don’t need it to be a holiday or St Patrick’s to enjoy this side dish. Anything you can do with mashed potatoes you can do here!
This Cauliflower colcannon recipe can still be served the traditional Irish way with a crater of melted butter in the middle This Cauliflower colcannon recipe can still be served the traditional Irish way with a crater of melted butter in the middle
Have you had mashed cauliflower before? Or had or made colcannon?

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Green Food for St Patrick’s Day plus Variations on a Reuben

Looking for some green food that doesn’t involve using food dye to help celebrate St Patrick’s Day? Here’s a round-up from previous posts I’ve done… there is so much green out there naturally, and in many delicious forms. I also have some suggestions for fun ways to use corned beef and/or pastrami besides a reuben sandwich towards the bottom of the post.

Green Food for St Patrick's Day with no need for food dye or food coloring, plus suggestions for fun ways to incprorate corned beef and pastrami

But, first, the green food.

For appetizers, of course you could go with guacamole– I did a face off with 3 different guacamoles, one recipe from Alton Brown, one recipe from Bobby Flay, and one from Rick Bayless

Guacamole from Food Network chefs:  The Rick Bayless Recipe- Sundried Tomato Guacamole Guacamole from Food Network chefs:  The Bobby Flay Recipe- a spicy guacamole and in the back The Alton Brown Recipe- a tomato guacamole

Or try edamame hummus for an option besides the obvious guacamole!

Edamame Hummus

Last year I went with an Avocado Mac and Cheese from the Melt cookbook

Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro

But there’s a lot of avocado inspired recipes you could try, as I covered in this Avocado Pesto and more Avocado Awesomeness post that also shows some avocado inspirations from Chef Lisa of Mother’s Bistro

Vegetarian Hummus Avocado Greens Sandwich Buffalo Chicken Salad with Avocado and Microgreens Sandwich California Avocado Commission and the sticker for California Avocados California Avocado Commission and Chef Lisa Schroeder of Mother's Bistro & Bar celebrate June California Avocado Month with Guacamole-filled Cherry Tomatoes Avocado Pesto, vegetarian and easy to make, has a feel sort of like an alfredo or mac and cheese sauce but much healthier!

Another way to get in the green naturally is with broccoli, like this St. Norbert College’s Cheese Broccoli which is an awesome simple casserole that is nostalgically old fashioned. There’s also these homey Spinach and Cheese Pinwheels

 Spinach or Squash Cheese Pinwheels

Or go with Brussels Sprouts, either Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Mashed Brussels Sprouts.

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts Mashed Brussels Sprouts

There’s green in these Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage Recipes.

Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed kale with caramelized onions Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed Cabbage

Green Gazpacho that celebrates the bounty of greens with green pepper, celery, scallions, jalapeno, parsley, cilantro, and chives
The Four Seasons Farm Gardener's Cookbook review Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman gardening farming recipes local produce Green Gazpacho recipe, green pepper, celery, scallions, jalapeno, parsley, cilantro, and chives, spring soup recipe

Asparagus Goldenrod evokes green as well as gold

The Four Seasons Farm Gardener's Cookbook review Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman gardening farming recipes local produce Asparagus Goldenrod recipe

Or combine beer with green but without going to the low of green beer by making Saison Beer Ricotta on Cucumber appetizers

Saison Beer Ricotta on Cucumber

If you’re not in the Northwest and enjoying a 60-70 degree weather like we are, you probably wouldn’t be out on the grill, but here in Portland with our 70 degree March 17 we could do a bbq and throw in Irish Whiskey into our burger as well by making Cheddar Whiskey Burgers that has a combination of beef and pork with a bit of whiskey, and then is stuffed and then topped with a cheddar whiskey sauce. Sorry everywhere else that is cold and has snow.
Recipe for Cheddar Whiskey Burgers

For more authentic food that is Irish inspired, you could enjoy a vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie courtesy of Moosewood

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Ok, this doesn’t qualify for meatless, but I dined out at Kenny and Zuke’s for this this Bagel and Egg and Cheese with Pastrami bagel and this dish of Pastrami Cheese fries and it seemed very celebratory to me. What I love about these ideas is taking corned beef or pastrami and doing more than just a sandwich. Shake it up by putting it into a breakfast sandwich with a bagel or croissant, make reuben dogs or make them mini and adorable slow cooked beef reuben sliders. Chop it up and add it to fries, nachos, make a reuben mac and cheese or any casserole (I like this one with layers), or even into a baked creamy reuben dip! I will be making one of these links this weekend- I haven’t quite decided which one yet. I’ll also be making a colcannon – but instead of making a potato colcannon, I’m doing a cauliflower colcannon. Stay tuned for the outcome on Monday’s post!

Kenny and Zuke Deli's delicious pastrami brunch with an Everything Bagel and Egg and Cheese (cheddar) with addition of Pastrami Kenny and Zuke Deli, Delicious pastrami brunch with pastrami cheese fries

Also, I’m heading to Bowery Bagels on Monday because they are celebrating with Corned Beef Bagel Sandwiches, available at their downtown shop the week of March 16th – 21st for $8. These corned beef bagel sandwiches are packed with house-cured corned beef and topped with cabbage slaw and spicy mustard, which you can get on Bowery March bagel special, the Light Caraway Rye Bagel. Get the fingerling potato salad as a side and have the full Irish corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes experience. I’ll update with a photo when I acquire the goodie bagel.

Are you making anything special in celebration of St Patrick’s Day?

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Ricotta Pie Recipe, or Pizza Dolce

As I was preparing my round-up of recipes for the holidays, I realized I have very few dessert recipes. That makes sense, since I don’t usually make dessert. I’m usually equally tempted by finishing off with a cheese plate instead of something from the baker at a restaurant.

This recipe provides both – cheese and a sweet treat. It is an Italian recipe called Ricotta Pie, also known as Pizza Dolce or Italian Sweet Pie. It uses ricotta mixed with sugar and eggs. It is very similar to cheesecake, but lighter. You can make the cake a little less sweet by adding the sugar a bit at a time, or also make it less eggy/more custardy if you reduce the amount of egg used.
Recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate, tastes lighter than a normal cheesecake

You can serve the pie simply as is. Add a little eye pleasing detail when serving with a little dusting of powdered sugar. Or, you can add fruit – either in the mixture or you can do so on top (be it in a warmed jam form or a sauce). You could also choose to a handful of mini chocolate chips inside the mixture into the pie. You can go more savory by adding spinach, or topping the pie with tomatoes… You can use lemon flavor via lemon juice and rind, but you could just as easily have used orange flavor instead, or amaretto, or more cinnamon… and/or you can drizzle chocolate on top.

I’ve seen this pie with an actual pastry pie crust, and also seen it with a graham cracker crust. I made this for a party so for ease of serving, made it in a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish instead of pie pans and omitted any crust at all.

There are a lot of possibilities! The version I decided to make includes whiskey, orange zest, and then topped with chocolate to finish for a Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate.
Initial layer of chocolate which melted when I grated it onto my recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate Recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate, tastes lighter than a normal cheesecake

You can make the pie the day before the refrigerate it to then serve the next day, which makes it wonderful for the holiday season to get some things out of the way to free up your kitchen.

Ingredients:

  • 3 pounds of  ricotta (48 ounces)- you might find the best value is to purchase two 32 ounce containers of ricotta you purchase where you will use 1 1/2 of them. The other half you can enjoy spread on bread, or make some stuffed pasta shells!
  • 1 1/4 cup of sugar or to taste – I only used 1 cup so it wasn’t too sweet for my palate, but I’ve seen some variations that use up to 2 cups!
  • 4 eggs. Some recipes use up to 12 eggs, so you can decide how eggy you want this.
  • 1 1/2 shots of whiskey or to taste
  • Zest of one orange
  • 1/2 of a bar of chocolate (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. As it is heating up, combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well until the filling is creamy. You can do this using a mixer or hand mixer or your own awesome muscles.
  2. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan or two 10 inch pie rounds. Obviously if you wanted to use a dough first, you would have already prepared and put this down…
    Recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate - poured and ready to go into the oven
  3. Bake everything at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or so – start checking 1 hour to see when the top is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Because this was such a big pan, I think I ended up with 1 hour 30 minutes.
    Recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate - fresh from the oven
  4. Before serving, let cool. If you’d like you can refrigerate this to serve the next day, which will help the cake set a little firmer. For my topping, I waited until the cake cooled a little bit but was still warm and then grated an initial layer of chocolate that melted.
    Initial layer of chocolate which melted when I grated it onto my recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate Initial layer of chocolate which melted when I grated it onto my recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate Initial layer of chocolate which melted when I grated it onto my recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate
    Then, later, I grated more chocolate on top when it was totally cooled so the shavings stayed intact.
    Recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate, tastes lighter than a normal cheesecake
    When serving, cut into pie pieces or if using a pan like I did, into squares. You can dust with powdered sugar, or any of the various toppings I mentioned.

As I mentioned, I like how the ricotta makes this a lighter cheesecake, and that you can have so much potential for toppings, or you can add more (such as fruit or a handful of chocolate chips) into your ricotta batter into the cake itself. How do you think you would make this ricotta cake?
Recipe for Whiskey and Orange Flavored Ricotta Cheese Cake with Chocolate, tastes lighter than a normal cheesecake

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