Recipes

Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, but actually most bakeries in the United States make them starting on Ash Wednesday and bake their last batch for Easter Sunday. There are several versions of this Easter treat, some have no fruit, others have raisin, and some, like these from my Father’s recipes have raisins, orange peel and citron. The cross on the top is generally made from a slurry of mixing flour and water, which I don’t think is great tasting, so my father always made the cross on top using his custard recipe, which I have included.
Hot Cross buns have a history that goes back centuries. We tend to think of them as an Easter pastry, but have origins that go much further back to pre-christian times. A very early version of of the buns were baked to celebrate Eostre, a Germanic Goddess of Fertility. The symbolism for the Christian version has the cross on the top as a symbol of the crucification, the spices used to signify the spices used in embalming and the orange peel reflecting the bitterness of his time on the cross.

Galette des Rios or “Kings Cake” is a classic French pastry that was traditionally shared at Epiphany on January 6th to celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem. However, you will find that this delightful creation combining buttery, crispy, flakey puff pastry with a creamy rich almond filling is served year round. If you choose to make your own puff pastry, it takes a bit more time and skill, but with store bought puff pastry it’s quite simple. This is a fantastic after dinner dessert, good after lunch, wonderful with coffee for breakfast, or actually at any time. It’s best when it’s still a bit warm from the oven. However, if there is any left for the following day, I suggest warming it bit in the oven to re-crisp the pastry. Prep time and difficulty level was based on using pre-made puff pastry.

Chicken thighs are one of my favorite pieces of the chicken. They are moist, tender, versatile and can retain all of their excellent qualities whether they are roasted, broiled, braised or stewed. This recipe is easy to make, just takes a bit of time to stuff and tie the pieces, and this part of the prep can be done a day ahead. You can either practice your deboning skills or have the butcher remove the bone for you. For a slightly different flavor for the sauce, try substituting Marsala or Madeira wine for the white wine.

Mille-Fleuille is such an old world classic pastry. When I was studying cooking in France I had at least one puff pastry based sweet every day. I developed a love for the buttery crispiness of puff pastry and to this day, making my own pastry dough is still a favorite pastime. However, if you are not so-inclined, there are several store bought brands that will work equally well. I think that the main ingredient in making superb puff pastry, or any layered (often referred to as “laminated”)dough like croissants, or Danish pastry is the butter. Salted butter and even some lesser unsalted brands contain a percentage of water and water in the butter is the enemy of a good layered dough. So, if you would like to make your own, invest in a good quality European Unsalted. If you would like more information on butter, click on my link to Tips and Techniques on Butter. /https://flourfiglive.wpengine.com/tips-and-techniques/butter-salted-or-sweet/
NOTE: The time and difficulty level I’ve listed for this recipe is based on buying the puff pastry.

My Dad’s rich chocolate fudge cake is legendary in our family. Was often the cake of choice for birthdays, or any celebration. I found two versions in his journal, and after several test runs, I find this to be the closest to what I remember. I tested the cake using several cocoa powders and found I really liked Guittard’s Dutched Cocoa Rouge the best. It has a wonderful color and intense depth of flavor. The fudge frosting was more of a challenge, as the ones in his journal involved many steps, and many places where disasters could take place. Fortunately, my sister had his easier version, and that is what I have used for this recipe. I did take a bit of creative license with the espresso flavored chevron pattern on the top. The cake is intensely chocolate, and I found that the tiny bit of deep coffee flavor blended nicely and rounded out the overall flavor.