Russian Easter Cheese

 Russian Easter Cheese - Not Just For Easter!

A few years ago I had the privilege to be invited to a friend's house for Easter dinner. Being of Russian and Greek descent, she cooked up quite a mixture of yummy food. One delicious dish was a light cheese that practically melted in my mouth. I never forgot the soft and sweet yellow delicacy and had wanted to find the recipe for years. Recently, while the Test Chickens were thinking up projects, over a nice glass of wine, I mentioned this cheese and we were off and running. We pored through quite a few recipes until we found one that sounded the most like what I had remembered and decided to give it a try. It's traditionally an Easter Cheese called Hrudka but I think it's great served anytime for any occasion.                           Recipe 5 eggs 1/2 liter of milk 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 Tbsp salt (you can add nutmeg or cinnamon for a little extra flavor if you want) Pour milk into a pot and set at low heat. Add eggs to the milk. Add salt and sugar. Mix well with an egg beater, but do not beat vigorously. You don't need a double boiler for this but try not to scorch the bottom. Stir the mixture constantly for 20-30 minutes until  it separates into curd-like pieces and "white water". Cook for a few minutes after the white water appears. Pour the mixture into a strainer lined with a cheesecloth or porous kitchen towel. Pour off the water. Squeeze out remaining liquid (be careful, it's hot!), tie off the cloth (tightly) and hang it up where it can drip dry. If you tie the top of the cloth with a string, it will give the cheese a ball like shape. Give it another couple of squeezes to help the liquid drain off and then allow it to cool. Place it in the refrigerator and allow it to set for 3-4 hours, then unwrap it. Tuh Duh! The cheese can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days, but trust me, when it goes bad, you'll know it because it will smell like rotten eggs! Happy cooking!

Here's how this cheese is supposed to look when you unwrap the towels: For my part, I had never heard of this food and was extremely skeptical about the purported Russian origin. My poring over recipes consisted mostly of Internet searches wherein I found most references to this dish were of Slovakian origins. Feeling superior because I figure I'd been right about the origins, I further discovered the Slovakian name (Hrudka) and some methodology. In true Test Chicken fashion, each of us Chickens chose a particular version of the dish. Over there on the left you saw the sweet version. I was tasked with the savory. I omitted the sugar and, instead of nutmeg or cinnamon, I added a pinch each of freshly ground black pepper, chopped parsley and chopped chives. Otherwise the process is the same. Here is a photo series of how it looks as it cooks and comes to curd consistency:   The whole thing was fascinating and satisfying that we actually got it right, never having seen it done before. However, Chicken One over there thinks this recipe is the chicken's pajamas, whereas I was not so enthralled with the taste. Because I'm not a big egg fan, and this "cheese" is really just a ball of  very eggy custard (read, scrambled eggs), my Chicken counterpart and others in the household ended up eating most of it. I abstained after perfunctorily tasting both of the "cheeses". And, yes, I'm aware how pompous I sound! In any case, I am thrilled to learn about a dish from another culture and to try it with the success we had. No SCAFU to report this time. And it wasn't even Easter!

Homemade Artisanal Pizza

Red Pizza Hello, Chickadees! America's Test Chicken (ATC) is proud to present the inaugural ATC post. The Chicken was busy in the kitchen making pizzas. True to form, the Chicken tried more than one way and presents here not only the successes, but also the SCAFUs (Situations Chicken All Fowled Up). First, the red pizza, so-named because it has tomato sauce on it. You can find the dough recipe below. But now, a few chicken scratchings about the recipe and process: Using parchment paper keeps the elastic dough from pulling back so far during roll-out. Plus you can pick the finished pizza up by the paper edges for transport to the oven and maneuvering on the hot pizza stone. The Chicken sauteed many of the toppings before assembling the pizza. This assures the ingredients are well cooked and, importantly, reduces the moisture on the finished pizza. The pizza stays crisp and doesn't get gummy in the middle. Here, check it out yourself: Music for this video: "We're Gonna Rob the Supermart Tonight" by SWCampbell. Used by permission. The glory of this recipe is that you can use whatever ingredients you have on hand for toppings, perfect for cleaning out odds and ends in the refrigerator. And you determine the amounts and combinations of toppings. The Chicken used: jarred red sauce pan-fried pepperoni slices sauteed onions sauteed red bell peppers jarred sundried tomatoes minced garlic sauteed mushrooms chopped Kalamata olives pre-packaged shredded cheese The Chicken pre-heats the oven with the pizza stone inside to 450 degree Fahrenheit. After three minutes of baking, rotate the pizza, slide it off the parchment onto the stone and bake three more minutes. The parchment will look like it might burn, but it won’t. It does get very brittle.  A pizza peel or similar tool would be a great help. Let the finished pizza rest a couple of minutes before cutting with a pizza cutter or large chef’s knife. Language note: The Chicken has determined that "artisanal" is Italian for "misshapen". Yeast Dough Crust Recipe Ingredients: 1 packet of active dry or instant yeast (¼ oz or 7 g) 1½ cups (355 ml) water 3½ cups (497 g) flour Dash of salt 5 tablespoons (75 ml) oil Oil to coat bowl and baking sheet Instructions: Mix yeast in water and let sit for 15 minutes. For instant yeast, it is not necessary to wait 15 minutes. Mound flour on board or countertop and make a large well in the center with your fingers. Pour the yeast mixture, salt and oil into the well. Mix the flour into the liquids gently with your fingers until all the flour is incorporated and the yeast and oil are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Form a ball with the dough, place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat the ball with oil. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and set the bowl in a warm place. Wait until the dough has risen and doubled in size then punch it down.

White Pizza For variety, Test Chicken #2 (the younger, prettier one) chose a white pizza. The fun was in choosing from all the yummy toppings. As with the red pizza, you can use any combination of toppings. Heck, just clean out the fridge, it's all good! We chose : goat cheese chopped capers onions pre-sauteed mushrooms pre-sauteed fresh baby spinach and arugula minced garlic chopped kalamatas shredded cheese, optional As for the wax paper – I honestly thought I had some parchment paper, but when I couldn’t find it (hint: organize) I used wax paper instead. SCAFU alert! You’ll soon see why that wasn’t such a good idea. Wish we'd had the foresight to video the alarm going off and my husband waving a towel at it to dispel the smoke. It was pretty funny, but you'll have to use your imagination! Disclaimer: no pizzas were injured in the filming of this video! Music for this video: "She Shines" by SWCampbell. Used by permission. A couple of notes about the wax paper: If the smoke pouring out of the oven didn't discourage you from using it and send you scurrying to the grocery store to buy parchment paper, keep some of these "lessons learned the hard way" in mind. First, if you use wax paper there's a likely chance it will stick - and I do mean stick - to the pizza and you'll spend a lot of frustrating time trying to scrape it off.   Second, it even worked its way into some of the folds of the pizza dough (when it was rolled out, I think) and that made it very difficult to remove! Actually, you really don't need paper (wax or parchment) at all. But if you choose that route, be prepared for it to be a lot messier and prying it off the stone will probably rip it into pieces. (well, that could save time cutting it into portions - but not recommended!) Second, you don't really need a pizza stone either. However, it does make it crispier and the oven temp will be more stable. Having said all this negative stuff about using wax paper, I feel obligated to say that the smoke did not affect the taste of the pizza in any way. It was delicious! SCAFU (Situation Chicken All Fowled Up): During one pizza attempt, the Chicken inadvertently almost made crackers because the rising dough was in a place that was way too warm. The outside of the dough ball was crispy! Fortunately the crispy areas were thin and small, so the Chicken was able to incorporate them into the dough without much problem.