Irish Lamb Stew and Milk Bread Rolls

I saw this stew being made on the Martha Stewart show and just had to try it. I actually got a little obsessed with making it, so A wasted no time getting me to the butcher to buy some stewing meat. It turned out great, very tasty, though I wished there was a bit more sauce. I had made it earlier in the day and then let it sit for a while before we ate it, which meant that the barley soaked up all the cooking liquid.

I also tried my second type of bread, a milk bread. I used a bit of the dough to make rolls and turned the rest into a loaf. I think I like the texture of the white bread a bit better - this one was softer and more tender, not as chewy, probably because of the all-purpose flour.

Irish Lamb Stew
Adapted from Colin Quinn's Irish Lamb Stew on marthastewart.com
Yield: 6-8 servings
Print recipe

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tsp fresh thyme
6 medium russet potatoes, chopped into chunks (I used new potatoes, halved)
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
6 medium carrots, sliced on the bias
1/4 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.


2. Add the lamb shoulder and brown the meat. Remove from pot.


3. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add onions, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onions are soft and translucent.


4. Add potatoes, chicken stock, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook for 1 hour.


5. Add carrots, barley, and heavy cream to pot. Cover and return to oven. Bake until lamb and barley are tender, 30 to 45 minutes.


6. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Milk Bread
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 1 loaf
Print recipe

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) quick-rising active dry yeast
3 tbsp warm water (105F to 115F)
1 cup warm milk (105F to 115F)
5 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
2 cup bread flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1. Pour the water into a large mixing bowl.


2. Sprinkle the yeast into the water. Let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.


3. Add the milk, melted butter, sugar, egg, and salt. Mix gently for 1 minute.


4. Gradually stir in the bread flour.


5. Begin kneading the dough in the bowl. Gradually add in 1/4 cup at a time of the all-purpose flour. The dough should be moist but not sticky.


6. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic.


7. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat with oil.


8. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (75F to 80F) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour to 90 minutes.


9. Punch the dough down and knead slightly.


10. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes.


11. To form into a loaf, grease an 8.5 x 4.5 inch (6 cup) loaf pan, form the dough into a loaf, and place seam side down in the pan.


12. To form into rolls, divide the dough equally into small pieces, about 1 ounce each. Roll the dough pieces into balls and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.


13. Cover either shape loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.


14. Preheat the oven to 375F.


15. Bake the loaf for 40 to 45 minutes, or bake the rolls for 12 to 15 minutes, until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.


16. Let cool slightly, then remove loaf from pan to a rack to cool completely. Rolls can be served immediately.

Peanut Butter Cookies

No particular story behind these cookies. Just felt like having peanut butter cookies.


Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 3 dozen cookies
Print recipe

2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Combine oil, peanut butter, butter, icing sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl. Beat on medium speed until very fluffy and well blended.


3. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined.


4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.


5. Stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture until well blended and smooth.


6. Let the dough stand for about 5 minutes to firm slightly.


7. Pull of pieces of the dough and roll between your palms in to generous 1-inch balls. The dough will be fairly soft.


8. Place cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.


9. Using the tines of a fork, form a crosshatch pattern and press each ball into a 1.5-inch round.


10. Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges.

Quesadillas

Another work-inspired meal was chorizo quesadillas. I had previously only made quesadillas with chicken, so the chorizo was a great way to change up an easy weeknight meal.

No real recipe to post for the quesadillas. For the filling, just cook up the chorizo with some julienned peppers and onions, salt and pepper. To make the quesadilla, warm a small amount of oil on medium heat, put the tortilla in the pan, fill half the tortilla with the filling and top with a mixture of shredded Jack and cheddar cheeses, fold the empty half over the filling, and cook both sides until brown.



Originally, I had planned to make the whole meal from scratch, including making my own flour tortillas. I did find a recipe and I actually tried making them, but they didn't turn out quite right. I reduced the recipe so I wouldn't end up with too many tortillas, and I know I messed up the reductions, but even after I kind of fixed it, they were still quite bubbly and maybe a bit too crispy to use for quesadillas. I ended up buying tortillas from the store, which was disappointing.


I did make my own salsa and guacamole though. Both surprisingly easy to make, and so fresh tasting when it's homemade. I'll never buy either of these pre-made again.



Tomato Salsa
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 1 cup
Print recipe

1/2 small white or red onion or 4 scallions, finely chopped, rinsed, and drained
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 small ripe tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, or to taste, seeded and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir together well.


2. Serve immediately.

Guacamole
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 1 cup
Print recipe

1 large ripe avocado
1/2 small white onion, finely chopped
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, or to taste, seeded and minced
1 small ripe tomato, finely diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1. Halve the avocado and remove the pit.


2. Use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a bowl.


3. Use a fork or a potato masher to coarsely mash the avocado.


4. Combine avocado with the remaining ingredients.


5. Let stand for a few minutes, then serve immediately.

Tofino

We had a little weekend getaway in Tofino the past couple of days.


We wanted to go during low season for our first trip there because it is such a small town and it gets pretty touristy during the summer. While the weather was mostly grey and rainy, blue skies did appear every now and then, and the weather didn't keep us from exploring the beaches and doing some small hikes.






Beau had lots of fun on the beach too, though it was a little windy.


However, the wind did make for some good surfing.


The highlight of the trip was definitely the food. We had two of the most delicious dinners, at Shelter (pan-seared wild salmon with spot prawn risotto and apple honey beurre blanc, and yellow thai curry with mussels, clams, halibut, salmon, shrimp, and banana leaf steamed rice) and Sobo (halibut with yukon gold mashed potatoes and carrot puree, and bouillabaisse), not to mention the most fantastic candied salmon we've ever tried. Tofino is a fishing town, so the seafood is really fresh, literally right off the boat, and it was amazing. We wished we could have stayed longer to try more.

Brownies

Another recipe I found in the April Martha Stewart Living magazine was for brownies. The picture looked so appetizing, and it was the inspiration for my own photograph.


I never make my own brownies because I always think there is too much sugar and butter in the recipe to be healthy. Strangely, it is one of the few things I prefer making from a box. I really like how box brownies taste and I guess I've always thought it somehow makes it easier not knowing all the ingredients. But that's silly - making brownies from scratch, I can control the sugar and butter and quality of chocolate.

I like really dense, chewy, fudgey brownies, and this recipe met all the criteria. Very delicious.

Brownies
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, April 2010
Yield: 1 8x8 square pan, or 9 2.5-inch squares
Print recipe

1/2 cup butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used 4 ounces semisweet and 2 ounces unsweetened)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving a slight overhang on all sides.


3. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring until smooth.


4. Remove from heat and stir in sugar.


5. Stir in eggs, one at a time, until combined.


6. Stir in cocoa powder and salt.


7. Fold in flour until combined.


8. Pour batter into pan and bake about 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs.


9. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes.


10. Lift brownies from pan using parchment and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.


11. Cut into 9 squares.

Roasted Pepper Cream Sauce

We serve a roasted pepper sauce with ravioli at work. I don't know how it is made, but there is a recipe for roasted red pepper sauce in the Joy of Cooking that sounded worth a try. I used red, yellow, and orange peppers instead of just red, and I also added cream. It didn't really taste anything like the one at work, but it was good. Maybe a bit less paprika next time.


Roasted Pepper Cream Sauce
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 1 cup
Print recipe

3 large bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground red pepper, to taste
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.


2. Cut peppers into pieces and place skin side up on sheet.


3. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.


4. Broil, turning as needed, until blackened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Keep your eye on peppers while broiling.



5. Let peppers cool and then remove skin. Chop roughly.


6. Heat olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat.


7. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned.


8. Stir in peppers, garlic, paprika, cinnamon, and ground red pepper. Cook for 1 minute.



9. Pour in stock and water. Bring to a boil.


10. Reduce the heat, partially cover, and slowly simmer for 90 minutes.


11. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor.


12. Add cream and salt and pepper.


13. Serve warm with pasta, roasted or grilled meats, chicken, or fish.

White Bread

As mentioned in the previous post, I had a ton of fun making a delicious loaf of white bread yesterday. I followed a very basic recipe and did all the kneading by hand. The loaf turned out much better than I ever expected - it was so good, we actually ate more than half the loaf at dinner!

I am definitely going to try my hand at different bread variations in the next few weeks. I think the secret to a good loaf is using bread flour. I tried making bread a few years ago with all-purpose flour and it was very disappointing. The extra gluten and protein in the bread flour gave the loaf the chewy bread texture I like so much. And fresh bread straight from the oven - how can you go wrong?


White Bread
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 1 loaf
Print recipe

1 cup warm water (115F to 125F)
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) quick-rising active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp melted butter
2 3/4 cup bread flour

1. Pour the water into a large mixing bowl.


2. Sprinkle the yeast into the water. Let stand for a minute. Yeast should froth a little.


3. Add the sugar, salt, and melted butter.


4. Add 2 cups of the bread flour. Stir gently.


5. Begin kneading the dough in the bowl. Gradually add in 1/4 cup at a time of the remaining bread flour. The dough should be moist but not sticky.


6. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic.



7. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat with oil.



8. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (75F to 80F) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. The dough should not spring back when pressed.



9. Grease an 8.5 x 4.5 inch (6 cup) loaf pan.


10. Punch the dough down and knead slightly.


11. Shape the dough into a rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick.


12. Fold the long sides of the dough into the middle, overlapping slightly. Press the seam to seal.


13. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the pan.



14. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. The dough should rise about 1 inch above the top of the pan.



15. Preheat the oven to 450F.


16. Bake the loaf for 10 minutes.


17. Reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.



18. Let cool slightly, then remove loaf from pan to a rack to cool completely.

Mussels in Garlic Fennel Cream

I had so much fun yesterday. I was inspired, after two delicious meals of mussels at Chambar and Stella's on Cambie, to try to make them at home. I went to T&T and found that mussels are surprisingly inexpensive to buy, and the recipe I found said to serve with crusty bread, which I had already been planning to make for some time, so it was the perfect plan for dinner.

The mussels weren't much work at all, mostly just chopping the onion, fennel, garlic, and herbs, and they really only took a couple of minutes to cook. I actually made some pasta as well, to help soak up the sauce in addition to the bread. I will post the bread recipe separately.


Mussels in Garlic Fennel Cream
Adapted from Cook at Home by Anna & Michael Olson
Yield: 2 servings
Print recipe

30 mussels
1 tbsp + 1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup fennel, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sprigs fresh tarragon (I used basil and parsley instead)
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup whipping cream
juice of half a lemon
coarse salt and ground black pepper, to taste

1. To purchase mussels, select ones that are alive, that is, with a closed shell. The smell should be appealing and the shell should be intact.


2. To clean mussels, remove the "beard" and rinse 2 or 3 times in cold water, tossing with your hands until the water runs clear.


3. To store mussels before serving, place them in a colander on a plate in the fridge and cover with a damp tea towel.


4. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.


5. Add onion and fennel and saute for 3 minutes.



6. Add garlic and tarragon (or other herbs) and cook for 1 minute.


7. Add the mussels and stir to coat.


8. Pour in white wine and bring up to a simmer.



9. Add cream. Cover the pot and cook until all mussels have opened, shaking pot occasionally, about 3 minutes.


10. Spoon mussels into a serving bowl.


11. Boil the cooking liquid until reduced to desired consistency.


12. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the lemon juice into the liquid and season with salt and pepper.


13. Pour cream and vegetables over the mussels.


14. Serve with crusty bread or pasta.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wednesday was my last night of curling with one of teams, so I made some cookies as a farewell gift. I packaged them in cute yellow Chinese take-out boxes that I found at the dollar store.


Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, April 2010
Yield: 40 cookies
Print recipe

1 3/8 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/8 cup butter
5/8 cup brown sugar
3/8 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Cream butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy.


3. Add the egg and beat until well combined.


4. Add vanilla.


5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.


6. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth.


7. Mix in the chocolate chips.


8. Drop by teaspoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.


9. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges.

Birthday Dinner

It's A's birthday today, but I have to work tonight, so we celebrated with a home-cooked dinner last night.

We started with a roasted beet, goat cheese, and candied pecan salad. To candy the pecans, I just put a tablespoon of sugar with a drop of water and the pecans into a pan and cooked them until the sugar coated the pecans, about 5 minutes.


Then bruschetta. Nothing too fancy - I toasted the bread in the oven, rubbed it with garlic and brushed with olive oil, and then topped with chopped tomatoes and basil.


Main course was just pasta, but I had freshly made that batch of sauce. I put lots of tasty ingredients in it, like shallots, fennel, celery, carrots, roasted garlic, and chili flakes. It was pretty good.


Dessert was a strawberry pistachio cream phyllo cup, to finally finish off all the phyllo dough.


Phyllo Cups with Strawberries and Pistachio Cream
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 3 cups
Print recipe

1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tsp sugar
2 sheets phyllo dough
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup pistachios, toasted and chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1/4 fresh strawberries, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Place a large cutting board slightly larger than the phyllo sheet on the work surface, long edge facing you.


3. Place one sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush the sheet with melted butter. Sprinkle with one teaspoon of sugar.


4. Place the second sheet of phyllo over the first and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with the second teaspoon of sugar.


5. Fold the phyllo in half, width-wise.


6. Cut the phyllo sheets into 6 squares.


7. Butter the insides and rims of 3 large muffin cups.


8. Place one phyllo square into a muffin cup, easing it in so that it covers half the bottom and rises to hang over the side of the cup.


9. Ease in a second stack, slightly overlapping the first, to cover the other half of the muffin cup.


10. Repeat to make 2 more phyllo cups.


11. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.


12. Let cool completely, then carefully remove from the muffin cups.


13. Whip the whipping cream, sour cream, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and the vanilla until almost stiff.


14. Fold in the pistachios and the mint.


15. Just before serving, divide the pistachio cream between the cups and top with the strawberries. Serve immediately.

Snickerdoodles

We went out for drinks with friends last night. Earlier in the afternoon, I made some cookies hoping to bring some to share, but I decided at the last minute that that was weird since we were at a pub. So now we have a whole batch of cookies to eat, but they are really yummy, so it's not too bad.

We went to dinner at Chambar afterwards for A's early birthday. The meal was amazing, as usual. A had mussels with the most delicious tomato sauce. It was a bit spicy and we could taste hints of fennel and cilantro. I had duck with spiced butternut squash puree and goat cheese quenelles. Everything was delicious. The meal was also memorable because Thomas Haas was sitting at the table behind us.

I'm back to work today for the first time after a two-week break after the Olympics. It will be strange working only one game since we got used to working two or three games a day during the Olympics, but I'm looking forward to getting back to cooking and seeing friends again.

Snickerdoodles
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 30 cookies
Print recipe


1 cup flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/8 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar together until very fluffy and well blended.


3. Add the egg and beat until well combined.


4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.


5. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth.


6. Pull off pieces of dough and roll between your palms to form generous 1 1/4 inch balls.


7. In a small bowl, mix together 1/8 cup sugar and cinnamon.


8. Roll the cookie balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture.


9. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, 2 3/4 inches apart.



10. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges.

Spanakopita

I still had plenty of the phyllo dough, so I tried making spanakopita, or Greek spinach and cheese pie. They turned out really well - they look good, taste good, and are easy to make. I only baked a couple of them and I froze the rest to use as an appetizer for another day.

Spanakopita
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 21 triangles
Print recipe

1 pound spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 eggs
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, melted
7 sheets phyllo dough

1. Preheat oven to 375F.


2. Stem, wash well, and coarsely chop the spinach.


3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.


4. Add the onion and green onion and cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.



5. Add the chopped spinach a handful at a time. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the liquid is released, about 5 minutes.



6. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is evaporated and the spinach is dry, about 7 to 10 minutes.


7. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then squeeze to remove the excess liquid.


8. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs.


9. Add the cooked spinach mixture, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.



10. Place a large cutting board slightly larger than the phyllo sheet on the work surface, long edge facing you.


11. Place one sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush the sheet with melted butter.


12. Place a second sheet of phyllo over the first and brush with melted butter.


13. Cut the phyllo sheets into 6 strips, about 2 to 3 inches wide.


14. Place a tablespoon of the filling at one end, about 1 inch from the edge.


15. Fold the corner over it to make a triangle.



16. Continue to fold, as you would a flag, until the whole strip is folded into a triangular packet. Repeat with remaining strips.


17. Repeat process with remaining phyllo sheets. The seventh sheet can be folded in half to make 3 more triangles.


18. Place each purse onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.


19. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.


20. Triangles can be assembled in advance, frozen, and baked just before serving.

Cranberry Goat Cheese Phyllo Purses

I have a whole bunch of phyllo dough in the fridge since we defrosted the package of phyllo for the apple strudel, so I decided to try a little appetizer. These are super easy to make and would be perfect to bring to a potluck or to serve at a dinner party. They look fancy and are pretty tasty two-bite treats.

I filled them with a cranberry cinnamon goat cheese from Costco, but you could get more creative and make your own filling by mixing plain goat cheese with any ingredient you like.

Cranberry Goat Cheese Phyllo Purses
Yield: 12 pieces
Print recipe

3 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup cranberry goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375F.


2. Place a large cutting board slightly larger than the phyllo sheet on the work surface, long edge facing you.


3. Place one sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush the sheet with melted butter.


4. Place the second sheet of phyllo over the first and repeat previous step until all three sheets have been used.


5. Cut the phyllo sheets into 12 squares.


6. Place a teaspoon of cheese into the middle of each square.



7. Gather the four corners of each square and twist slightly to enclose the cheese.


8. Place each purse onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and press down so the bottom is flat and can stand on its own.



9. Brush the top of each purse with melted butter.


10. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.


11. Should be served on the day it is made.

Apple Strudel and What Makes Me a Chef

I do this a lot - I decide that I want to make a certain dish, and then I look up recipes for the dish. Usually, I've seen someone make it on tv or I read an article about it, so that is one recipe source, and the other is always the Joy of Cooking. I read both recipes and often discover that they are quite different. I combine the parts of each recipe that I like the best and use that to put my own spin on it. And I think that is what makes me a chef.

I did that with the apple strudel I made last night. The recipe in the Joy of Cooking instructs me to make my own strudel dough, so I cheated somewhat and used phyllo dough instead. But the filling in the Joy versus the one on the phyllo dough packaging were very different, so I don't think I will actually say it is adapted from either source, because I think this is actually my very own recipe for apple strudel.

Apple Strudel
Yield: 6-8 servings
Print recipe

5 medium tart dry apples (I used Gala), peeled and cored
5 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup + 2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp cinnamon
juice and rind of half a lemon

1. Preheat oven to 375F.


2. Cut apples into wedges, then slice crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Add lemon juice and rind to keep apples from browning.


3. In a separate bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar, ground almonds, breadcrumbs, and cinnamon. Mix with apples.


4. Place a sheet of parchment paper slightly larger than the phyllo sheet on the work surface, long edge facing you.


5. Place one sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush the sheet with melted butter and sprinkle 1/2 tsp of sugar over the butter.



6. Place the second sheet of phyllo over the first and repeat previous step until all five sheets have been used.


7. Leaving a 2-inch border along the edge, place the apple mixture length-wise along the bottom third of the dough.



8. Use the parchment paper to help roll the strudel up over the filling.


9. Place the rolled strudel onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. It can be curved into a horseshoe shape to fit onto the baking sheet.



10. Brush the top of the strudel with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and sugar.


11. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 15 minutes.


12. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden.


13. Slice on a diagonal with a serrated knife.


14. Best served warm on the day it is made.