Simple Egg Salad Recipe

 

Simple Egg Salad Recipe - Reviewed

Are you looking for a simple and delicious egg salad recipe? If so, then you have come to the right place.

I'm going to show you how I make my simple egg salad, using only a few ingredients.

This egg salad is so creamy and delicious. It's perfect for your classic egg salad sandwich, or enjoy it on your favorite crackers as a snack.

First, you need to hard-boil your eggs. You can do this by placing them in boiling water for 10 minutes. I don't like to boil my eggs because sometimes the eggs tend to crack while boiling.

I like to steam my eggs by placing about 2 inches of water in a double boiler. Bring the water to a boil. Place the eggs in the top pan, cover them, and steam them for 12 minutes. You'll get perfect hard-boiled eggs every time.

After the eggs are steamed, I place them back in the pot with cold water and ice. Leave them for about ten to fifteen minutes. This cooling down period makes them so easy to peel.

Simple Egg Salad Ingredients:

6 hard-boiled or steamed eggs

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

I separate the yolks from the whites and mash the yolks with a fork. Then, chop up the whites into small pieces. In a bowl combine the yolks and whites, add the mayonnaise, onions, and mustard, and mix until the egg salad is nice and creamy. 

Garnish with the paprika, add salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy this nice creamy egg salad. Some variations if you like a little more flavor and texture to your egg salad, try adding some chopped pickles, parsley, or celery. You can also experiment with different types of mustard, such as Dijon, or whole grain.

What a perfect way to use up those beautiful dyed Easter Eggs. 

Here are two more recipes to make good use of your dyed Easter Eggs from my friend Cynthia:

Deviled Eggs Recipe

Potato Salad Recipe

To make your hard-boiled eggs by steaming them you will need a double boiler.

Farberware Classic Stainless Series 2-Quart Covered Double BoilerCheck the Price

 

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Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Here's My Mom's Stuffing Recipe

For those who don't know, it's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend.

Growing up, early October was always a time when we planned to be together as a family.

For me, heading to my mom and dad's house with the kids was a wonderful weekend: Time with my brothers and their families, as well as a great time with mom and dad.

Since mom and dad are both passed on now (I still can't believe I'm typing that!) I miss and treasure those memories to the core of my being.

I must say, I'm looking forward to dinner tomorrow with the kids. Unfortunately, it won't be with all the kids, as I have seven (4 sons, 2 stepsons, and a stepdaughter). I only use the word "Step" to respect their mom. My stepkids have been a part of my life for 40 years - I consider them my kids, but I hold back on that declaration out of respect for their mom. Being a mom myself, I understand that 'feeling.' - the feeling of being 'the mom.'

Anyway, I digress!

So in honor of Canadian Thanksgiving, I wanted to share my mother's turkey stuffing recipe. It has long since been my recipe; I just made it today for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

My Mother's Turkey Stuffing Recipe:

Ingredients for My Mom's Stuffing Recipe:

• Celery
• Onion
• Stuffing Bread OR
• Regular Bread Cut-Up with Spices
• Spices if adding on your own: Sage, Poultry Seasoning,
• Sausage (I use breakfast sausage)
• 3 Tablespoons of Rice (Basically a handful)

How to Prepare Mom's Stuffing:

1) In a bowl, add cut the bread up into chewable cubes (sometimes you can get stuffing bread already cut up)

2) If you don't have cut-up stuffing bread and need to make your own stuffing bread, here's what to do:

• In a large mixing bowl, cut bread (any bread that is your favorite, although heavier bread is better) into cubes
• Add Sage - be liberal with the Sage - I add about two or so tablespoons, depending on how big the turkey is and how much stuffing there is
• Add Poultry Seasoning - probably about 2 tablespoons

3) Fry the sausage separately - I buy breakfast sausage - and, after cooked, cut the breakfast sausage into bite-sized pieces

4) In a Frying Pan, in Butter:

• Fry one chopped onion
• Add one entire stock of celery (chopped into bite-sized pieces)

5) Add the celery/onion fried mixture and the cut-up sausages to the bread/sage/poultry seasoning bread mixture

6) Add the rice to the bread mixture

Mix it all together until it sticks together nicely. 

It should look 'wet' and be compacted together.

By the way, what's the secret ingredient to stuffing that makes it stuffing - it's the Sage! But that's been a flavor I've been used to my entire life when it comes to stuffing!

If you've never added Sage, give it a try - by the way, that's ground sage! You can find it in the spice aisle of your local grocer.

NOTE:

I prepare this the night before, put it in a ziplock bag, keep it in the fridge, then stuff the turkey in the morning <---- Mom taught me that trick too.

My number three son, Joshua, loves this recipe as much as I do, and that alone makes me so happy! Thank you, Joshie, for being a kindred stuffing lover!

Happy Thanksgiving to all - These times haven't been easy, so it's essential to live in the moment and enjoy spending time with the ones you love.

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Make Fresh Basil Pesto

 

Fresh homemade basil pesto reviewed

It’s easy to grow your own herbs. Every year in the spring, Fran buys fresh basil plants, we re-pot these plants and set them out on our deck.

We enjoy fresh basil all season long and into the fall. The plants just keep reproducing. This basil pesto is so easy to make and can be enjoyed in many ways.

Basil pesto is perfect tossed over pasta, spread on crackers or toast, try adding some to your favorite salad. Try it on Garlic bread or a baked potato. 

I’ve even made pesto pizza you can find my recipe here for Fresh Tomato and Pesto Pizza.

Our grandson Bobby loves to cook, and especially with fresh ingredients. This fresh basil pesto is one of his favorites to make. Bobby makes this basil pesto in about 10 minutes. So, it’s easy to have a meal on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Basil Pesto Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup fresh grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves fresh garlic (We love our garlic so, you can cut this in half if you like)

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (can be omitted)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Add the basil leaves and pine nuts into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the food processor several times to chop and mix.

Add the garlic, cheese, and lemon juice and pulse several more times

Place the lid on the food processor turn it on and pour the olive oil in a steady stream.

Stop and scrape the sides with a spatula and turn it on again for about 10 seconds.

Add salt and pepper to taste. If you use the red pepper flakes add them now and pulse a few more times to mix it all in.

We served our basil pesto over fresh Fettuccine that we made with our Emeril Lagasse Pasta and Beyond machine.

Read my review here: Emeril Lagasse Pasta and BeyondReviewed.

Our basil pesto with homemade fettuccine was on the table in 30 minutes or less for a delightful family meal.

We used our Ninja Food Processor to make this pesto. Any food processor or blender will work. If you don’t have a basil plant, you can buy fresh basil at your local grocery store and have this basil pesto at any time. 

It's easy to freeze the pesto to enjoy anytime on crackers or toast. Pour the pesto into ice cube trays and place them in the freezer. After the pesto freezes place the cubes in a freezer bag.

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Review of National Marshmallow Toasting Day

 

This is the perfect holiday to top off a summer vacation.  It is held each year on August 30, so enjoy an end-of-summer vacation by taking a camping trip or having a backyard bonfire (perhaps around your fire pit or outdoor fireplace) and toast marshmallows.   

The marshmallow is a type of confectionery made from sugar, water, and gelatin (whipped to a solid, but soft, consistency) then coated with corn starch. It is used as a filling in baking.  It is also molded into shapes. You can buy marshmallows by the bag or make your own with this recipe here on the Food Network.

Marshmallow Treat

The most popular way to eat a marshmallow is in a S'mores!  Nothing better than a night around a campfire, singing songs, enjoying the outdoors, and topping it off with this sweet treat.

S'mores Recipe:

Source: Pixabay

Ingredients:

Chocolate candy bar

Honey Graham Crackers

Marshmallows

Instructions:

Break off a square of Graham cracker

Add a piece of Chocolate.

Toast a big marshmallow over the campfire.

Add the hot marshmallow.

Top it with another graham Cracker.

Eat , savor and enjoy!

Note: For wintertime or anytime you cannot go camping, you can make S'mores in the microwave. Just put them together and pop them into the microwave on high for 15 to 20 seconds.

Recipe Credit: Holiday Insights dot com. 

More Fun Ways to Eat Marshmallows

Source: Pixabay

Top off a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.

Source: Pixabay

Savor marshmallow filling in a yummy candy

Source: Pixabay

Mix up a batch of marshmallow Rice Krispie treats. 

Source: Pixabay

Decorate a gingerbread house using marshmallows for the snow.

Source: Pixabay

A favorite as a marshmallow 'peep' in an Easter Basket

Party Time

Available on Amazon

And for a S'mores party, what could be more perfect than this indoor Electric Stainless Steel S'mores Maker with 4 Lazy Susan Compartment Trays for Graham Crackers, Chocolate, Marshmallows and 4 Roasting Forks. Made by Nostalgia, it has an electric flameless heater to toast your marshmallows to perfection. Perfect for parties and family gatherings.

Toasted Marshmallow Day

August 30

For More Holiday Reviews

Click here

*Holiday review of Toasted Marshmallow Day written by Wednesday Elf

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Fresh Lemon Hand Pies

My mother made the best ever lemon meringue pie, it's one of my all-time favorites. Every time she made it I was like, "is it cool enough to cut yet mom".

Anyone else in the house was lucky enough to get a slice with me around. Today I'm reviewing how easy it is to enjoy that lemony taste that brings back some wonderful childhood memories.

Hand pies are so easy to make with store-bought pie crust and lemon filling, or any fruit filling for that matter. This perfect snack or dessert could be ready in 40 minutes or less.

Every year my cousin sends me these giant lemons for his backyard in Arizona. This weekend I decided to make homemade fresh lemon hand pies. The first thing that I did was make the lemon filling.

Lemon curd is really so easy to make. I made this and refrigerated it overnight, but you can make this and let cool for a couple of hours and use it for whatever your making.

Lemon curd is so versatile it can be used for cakes, cupcakes, donuts, or spread it on top of a scone of crackers.

Fresh Lemon Hand Pies Ingredients (Lemon Curd)

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (4 to 5 lemons)

zest of 2 lemons

5 large egg yolks

1/2 cup salted butter (Cold)

Instructions

1. You will need a double boiler for this, add some water and bring it to a boil.
2.  Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks, continue to stir.
3. Add the zest of the lemons and the lemon juice. Continue to stir the mixture for about 10 minutes, it will begin to thicken.
4.  After 10 minutes remove the mixture from the heat, and add the butter one tablespoon at a time.
5. Continue stirring, the mixture will become nice and thick. Once all the butter is melted into the mixture pour it into a bowl and let it cool for 2 to 3 hours before using it.

Pie crust ingredients

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup Crisco (Cold)

6 to 8 tablespoons of Ice Water

1. Cut the Crisco into smaller pieces
2. Add flour and Crisco into a mixing bowl
3. Mix until Crisco begins to fold into the flour
4. Add ice-cold water one tablespoon at a time 
5. Mix until a ball of dough forms

Divide the pie crust into two equal parts wrap each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about a half-hour. I used my KitchenAid Stand Mixer to make the pie crust.

Now, it's time to assemble and bake these little sweet treats. I rolled each ball of the pie crust out to about a 10-inch circle between two sheets of parchment paper.

Tip: Lay the parchment paper or wax paper on a kitchen towel. This prevents it from moving all over the counter while rolling.

Cut the crust with a 4-inch cookie cutter, place a tablespoon of the lemon curd in the middle. Then, fold them over and pinch the edges together. Press a fork around the edges to seal.

Poke the middle of each hand pie with a fork. I made 12 hand pies, six out of each half of the crust. You will have to re-roll some of the crust to get the other 2 out of each half.

Now you will need two egg whites and a couple tablespoons of sugar. Beat the egg whites in a small bowl.

 Brush the hand pies with the beaten egg whites and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Or you could skip the sugar and dust them with powdered sugar right out of the oven.

Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Set them on a rack to cool and enjoy.

You might enjoy some of my other fresh lemon recipes

Easy Lemon BrowniesGlazed Lemon Almond BiscottiQuick Easy Lemon Bars

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Review of Stouffer's Escalloped Chicken and Noodles

I remember being introduced to Stouffer's Frozen Foods as a teenager in the 1950s when my Uncle Pete went to work for them in Cleveland (the home base of the company).  Frozen foods were fairly new to us at the time and my parents found them to be very handy for quick dinners after working all day.

I found the Stouffer's meals delicious and, as a result, I have been a fan of them ever since. I have tried a large variety of frozen dinners over the years, but none as good as Stouffer's. 

Stouffer's Escalloped Chicken and Noodles

My very favorite is Stouffer's Escalloped Chicken and Noodles, a hearty combination of white meat chicken, egg noodles, mushrooms, celery, carrots and peas in a creamy sauce

Old-Fashioned Home-Cooked Escalloped Chicken Recipe

(c) Elf

An old-fashioned 'from-scratch' recipe for Escalloped Chicken comes from the Garden City Cookbook (Centennial Edition) published in 1979 by The Community Church

My in-laws lived in Garden City, Kansas and this cookbook was compiled by church members to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the first church in Garden City and dedicated to all of the brave pioneers who in 1879 organized the First Congregational Church in town. First published in 1908 and revised and re-published in 1930, this cookbook is the 1979 edition.

The recipes contained in this Garden City Cookbook were favorites of current church members, many of which were passed down from generation to generation. 

Aunt Alta's Escalloped Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

1 can mushrooms
1 (4-5 lb.) stewing hen or large fryer
Salt
Celery Salt
Paprika
2 c. fine cracker crumbs
1 recipe of white sauce

WHITE SAUCE:

4 T. chicken fat or butter or oleo
3 heaping T. flour
Broth from chicken and juice from mushrooms
1 c. milk or cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil and then simmer hen until tender and done.  Take meat from the bone and cut in small pieces about ¾-inch long. 

Make medium white sauce.  Put layer of cracker crumbs in flat pan and then a layer of chicken and mushrooms. Season to taste with salt, red pepper and celery salt. Pour almost half the sauce over this and make another layer of each. Pour remaining sauce over this and sprinkle cracker crumbs on top and a little paprika. Bake 450◦ for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the depth of the pan.

*Author's Note: This 'from-scratch' Escalloped Chicken recipe does not call for noodles, but I imagine noodles could be added or even served on the side or spoon the dish over cooked  noodles.  If you choose to use cream instead of milk, you will find that the dish is very rich. Yum.

Additional Notes:

Source: Pixabay

This long-ago 'from-scratch recipe is a bit amusing to read, especially the parts about the 'chicken fat' and referring to the chicken as a 'stewing hen'. These are terms we don't use much today. Garden City, Kansas, back in the day, was primarily a farm-based small town in western Kansas, so I can imagine many of the 'stewing hens' were raised by the farmers for their own use. If you were to ask today's 'kids' about where chickens come from, they'd no doubt say “the grocery store” (unless they are farm kids). 

Summary

If you want to make your own homemade escalloped chicken, try this old-fashioned recipe in this article.  

Or try the one I found online on the Go, Go, Go Gourmet blog for a homemade recipe that duplicates the Stouffer's dish called Stouffers Copycat Escalloped Chicken and Noodles.

When you want the same as a quick, and delicious, dish, use Stouffer's  Escalloped Chicken and Noodles.

For quick, yet tasty, dishes with a wide variety of choices, give Stouffer's Frozen Meals a try.

Happy Eating

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Review & Recipe by (c) Wednesday Elf 3/23/2019

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Review of Hot Drink for the Holidays

Hot Holiday Punch Recipe Postcard

by mbgphoto 

Hot Drink for Cold Days

I love to entertain during the holiday season. When my guests come in from a cold winters evening a cup of hot holiday punch will make them feel warm and festive.

Over the years I have experimented with several combinations for hot drinks and have ended up using this one for the past ten years or so.  It has just the right blend of juices and spices and is great with or without alcohol added.  I always serve the alcohol on the side and let the guest decide how much to add or not.

Hot Holiday Punch

Ingredients

• 1 Jar (48 oz) cranberry juice 
• 1 can (46 ox) unsweetened pineapple juice
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon allspice
• 3 sticks cinnamon
• one orange cut into slices

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in large crockpot and heat.  I put a decanter of rum nearby for those who would like to add a bit of liquor.

At the beginning of this page I added a link to a recipe card for the punch that you can purchase on Zazzle.

Mugs for Hot Drinks

Here are some festive mugs I found on Zazzle.
The first one can be personalized with your name.

Custom Ugly Christmas Sweater 11oz ringer mugs
by logotees

Watercolor Pine Tree Joyeux Noel Espresso Cup

by JunkyDotCom 

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a festive holiday season!!

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Soft Foods: Sweet Potatoes Reviewed

When Cooked Sweet Potatoes Are A Great Option For Soft Foods

Image by Llez

Continuing in my series of soft foods for those who are going through the process of getting dentures, today we review the options of the wonderfully nutritious sweet potato. 

I have a couple of ways that I serve the tuber root that is naturally sweet in my home. I will share both ways with you in this article. One is extremely simple while the other takes a little preparation; both are really good!

Before we get to a couple of ways to enjoy the sweet potato, I thought you might be interested in the nutritional values of the sweet potato. It is a good source of simple starches, complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, vitamin A, several of the B vitamins, vitamin C and vitamin E. It contains the minerals of calcium, iron, potassium and a few others. Did you know that a sweet potato has more potassium than a banana? 

OK, so one of the simplest ways to serve sweet potatoes to your family is to use a can of the item shown below. 

Bruce's Candied Yams

I know the can says "yams" but they actually use sweet potatoes. Many people interchange the words yams and sweet potato incorrectly. They are not really the same thing but that is another topic for another day.

I will tell you these canned sweet potatoes are seasoned so deliciously that all I do is just heat them up. The syrup has cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar...no need for anything else! They are really tasty just as they are.

The darker the color of the pulp of the sweet potato ... the more beta-carotene (vitamin A) it has.

The Sweet Potato Recipe That My Daughters Love The Most

I've been fixing this Sweet Potato Casserole for about 36 years and my daughters just absolutely love it. I didn't make it for Thanksgiving one year and I was just about disowned by my oldest daughter. She now makes it for her family, too.

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz) cans of sweet potatoes

1 (14 oz) can pineapple tidbits, (undrained)

4 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Drain the sweet potatoes and discard the liquid. Drain the pineapple tidbits, saving the juice from the can. 

Melt the 4 tbsp of butter.

In a medium sized bowl mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add the melted butter and brown sugar. Stir until it is combined well.

Stir in the pineapple juice until you have the desired consistency. Fold in the pineapple tidbits and the marshmallows.

Butter a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and spoon in the potato mixture. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. 

You might not think that pineapple would be good with sweet potatoes but you would be incorrect. This is really a delicious addition to the typical sweet potatoes that have the melted marshmallows we are accustomed to. The pineapple adds a bit of tartness that works well with the sweetness from the brown sugar and marshmallows.

Whether you need soft foods in your diet or not, sweet potatoes are an excellent choice to include with your meals. In fact, the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) rated the sweet potato the most nutritious vegetable of all to eat.  

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Couscous Salad for Summer

My couscous summer raspberry salad

It has been a hot and sultry summer.  A heat wave enveloped us for weeks.  I like to eat. It is safe to say that I like to eat way too much. But in this heat nothing sounded good to me.  Today I have made something that has satisfied my summer craving. I'm not very talented in the kitchen so I am not typically one to share recipes. But I have to share this couscous salad with you. If I made this recipe successfully, I am confident you will do even better. Couscous, raspberries, and feta - a delicious way to beat the heat.

Couscous

I am not even 100% sure what couscous is. But years ago I had a friend who made a good amount of recipes that included hummus, couscous, and other foods that I might never heard of otherwise. She ate far more healthy than I ever have. 

nutritional information

Lately, I've missed some of those foods. Twice recently, while trying to address my cravings, I've purchased couscous in the deli section at the store. And twice I was very disappointed. Their idea of couscous was pouring huge amounts of vinaigrette over couscous and calling it done. Their version was far too much "dressing" for me. It was almost like sipping directly from the vinaigrette bottle. Yuck.

I bought some couscous and some feta and hoped I'd find a recipe that would satisfy my hunger.

Refreshing Raspberry and Feta Couscous Salad  

I found this Raspberry and Feta Couscous Salad recipe online.  It looked easy and delicious. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted it. But I didn't have pine nuts or mixed salad greens.  I thought I'd wing it and make my own version which is a risky proposition in my kitchen!

Fortunately, I had fresh raspberries on hand (for smoothies) as well as some raspberry vinaigrette.  I read the directions above for guidance then made my own version.  

If you need measurements and amounts, you'll want to follow the above recipe. But my version was as follows:

• Prepare the couscous per instructions on the box.  When finished, fluff with a fork.  Add the smallest squirt of Raspberry Vinaigrette, stir gently, cover and refrigerate.
• Place the following ingredients in a small bowl - cubed feta, thin slices of cucumber, a few fresh raspberries, a big pinch of very finely chopped onion, a big pinch of thinly sliced yellow pepper, a bit of coarsely chopped spinach. Cover and refrigerate.
• After the couscous is chilled, add it to the other ingredients - Fluffing and mixing together gently
• Add another small squirt of raspberry vinaigrette

In hindsight, the only thing I should have also added was mint from my balcony garden. Perhaps I'll make that tomorrow with couscous, watermelon, mint, blueberries, and feta... my version of this recipe.

I have found that I could purchase the same brand of couscous from Amazon at a substantial savings. When I purchased the couscous from the store, I thought it was a bit pricey and thought I'd have to make it as a rare treat. But with the cost savings on the bulk amount on Amazon (same brand) I think I'll have to add this to my regular meal rotation. At least for the remainder of this summer.

Israeli Toasted Pasta Couscous

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Mark the Date: March 19th Zeppole Day!

For many of you who just read the title of this piece, you probably think I meant to write March 17th.  After all, that is the day the whole world turns Irish, but I assure you I meant March 19th!

After all the green beer and shenanigans that went on just two short days earlier, we find ourselves again celebrating another  Great Saint's Feast Day.

This one is St. Joseph's Day.  He traditionally was known as the Foster Father of Jesus Christ.  So from this auspicious beginning comes the Italian way of celebrating Father's Day.

Now St. Joseph's Day isn't celebrated like St. Patrick's, with parades and lots of drinking, but, as with any celebration, there is food!  You cannot celebrate anything without some special culinary delight!

The Italians have this lovely pastry called Zeppole di San Guiseppe.  If you have never tried one, I recommend that you make your way to the nearest Italian Bakery and ask for this lovely concoction. Traditionally it was only made for March 19th, but, as with anything that becomes successful, many bakeries now make this famous treat available at least a month in advance of St. Joseph's Day and some even make them all year round.

Here is my recipe for these delightful Zeppole, and I bet once you try them, you will be hooked forever.  You will have another reason to celebrate the month of March.  It will become the St. Patrick's, and St. Joseph's Day feasting.  By the time you are done with that, it will be great to return to the practices of Lent and do a little fasting....because you know that Easter is on the way.

To Make the Pastry:

1 cup of water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3  cups of cake flour
5 eggs
6 to 8 cups of good quality oil for frying

To Make the Cream Custard

3 1/4 cups of whole milk
Rind of one lemon
8 egg yolks
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 1/2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter cubed.

Brandied Cherries for decoration and taste.

Directions:

Pastry:  In a saucepan, bring the water, butter, sugar and salt to a rolling boil.  Make sure the butter is in small cubes as it will melt better and combine with the water, salt and sugar mixture.  Add all the flour in one movement.  remove from heat and using a wooden spoon blend in the flour until it is all incorporated.  Put back on the heat and stir the mixture over medium, heat for about 5 minutes.  Do not let the mixture dry out.  Remove from heat and after allowing the mixture to cool completely put into a mixing bowl.  There you can begin to add one  egg at a time mixing well after each egg is introduced.

Place all of this mixture into a pastry bag with a star shaped tip (the tip should be at least 1/2 in diameter)  Cut squares of foil or parchment about 4 inches square.  If using foil you must spray oil on the foil before immersing in the deep fryer or frying pan.

Pipe out a circle of 3 1/2 inches around on each piece of foil or paper.  Fry the zeppole on each side for about 4 minutes, removing the paper or foil after flipping them over. Do only two or three at a time and drain them on paper towels.

Let them cool thoroughly.


Custard:  Place the milk and the lemon rind in the  pot, leave for 20 minutes and then bring the milk to a boil. Remove from heat.  Let the lemon rind steep in the milk of 10 minutes and then remove.  In another bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until the mixture is fluffy.  Add the cornstarch and flour and whisk to combine.

Once the milk has been cooled it can be added to the egg mixture .  Return it to the heat and whisking constantly, cook for 2 minutes or more until it is thickened.  Add the cubed butter to the custard and mix well.  Remove from heat and place in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap .  Make sure the wrap is touching the top of the custard or it will develop a skin and we don't want that.  Cool thoroughly.  Place the custard into a pastry bag and pipe either on top of the pastry or the way I like it, in the middle of the pastry......

Traditionalists will fill the center of the Zeppole with the custard and place a brandied cherry on top and then dust it with icing sugar.  

Some Bakeries do it the way I like them best, they slice the Zeppole pastry in the middle, add the custard to the inside, add brandied cherries on top of the custard and then replace the top part of the pastry, dusting all with icing sugar.

By Lucas81 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Traditional Zeppole, ready just for you!

Pictures: The top picture comes from my favorite bakery in Toronto, San Remo's (www.sanremobakery.com) and the picture at the bottom comes from Wikimedia.

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