Rustic Hamentashen

I should be studying for a Soc. Theory exam tomorrow, but I took a much needed break to make these yummy cookies! I tried to put a spin on these traditional cookies for Purim, since my fiance has complained of their typical dryness.

For the cookies you'll need:

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter/margarine, sliced into thin pieces
1/2 cup cream cheese or Neufchatel
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the cookies' filling you'll need:

1/2 cup Milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup Jelly of your choice (I used grape)

1. Add flour, sugar, butter, and cream cheese to a bowl. It's hard to stir, so feel free to get your hands dirty and knead the dough a little bit. You'll know the consistency is good when it is crumbly but can still be packed into a ball. After you've done this, refrigerate the dough for about an hour.

2. To make the filling, just add chocolate chips and jelly into a saucepan and simmer while the dough is in the fridge.

3. Roll the dough out (if you have a rolling pin) and cut into triangular pieces.

4. Add several spoonfuls of the mixture onto the cookies, and fold the three sides over the filling.

5. Bake at 375* for about 15 minutes or until they're golden. Even if the cookie feels cool, don't burn your mouth on the filling! They'll need to cool for about 10 minutes.

Little did I know that Aaron does not care for grape jelly; but he still ate them :-)

Enjoy with a glass of milk! Yummy late night snack.

Potato Soup

I made this several days ago when I was starting to get sick. My Mom's potato soup was sort of her staple food item. I always vary the recipe a little bit. I normally add a lot of milk, and a lot of basil, but here's what I did this time:

Water (add some Better than Buillon, or Chicken Broth)
Milk
Potatoes
Carrots
Onion
Basil
Parsley
Salt
Pepper
Mozzarella or Ricotta
Parmesan
Hot sauce
Butter
Olive Oil

1. Start by boiling some water. As the water gets hot, peel potatoes and cube them. Add them to the pot. Now reduce to a simmer.

2. Chop the onion, and add to a small frying pan with butter and olive oil. I added brown sugar to mine, but you can flavor them or not, they'll still turn out great. Saute the onions until they're golden brown. Now add them to the soup.

3. Add milk, and grate (peeled) carrots into the soup. Turn the heat up a bit, and add the spices: basil, parsley, salt, pepper. Once it's hot, add the cheese and the hot sauce.

4. Once the potatoes are cooked, it could be served, however, I like my soup a day or two after I've made it. The flavor is more vibrant, and the broth is usually creamier or thicker.

I recommend serving with a salad, and toasted French baguette w/ butter or olive oil.

*Note: I don't really measure when I cook, so I'll only occasionally post the amounts of what I've added. Seeing as how about 2 people read this blog, I don't think it will be a problem. :-)