Weekend Wrap-up (and Bierox)

Warning: LONG POST.

Oh my goodness, we have been busy the past couple of days!  Last weekend Chris had to work a lot, and then I went to Mom's for a few days because he was still very busy.  While there, Mom and I made an apple pie.  We almost always make one when we get together; it's my favorite!

Rachel enjoyed playing with the left over dough.

Yummy!!

I would write more about the pie, but I promised a Bierox post, so I'll save the Apple Pie Post for a rainy day.

Chris and I planned to make Bierox on Saturday, but it ended up being a nice day here.  We took advantage of the nicer weather and cleaned out the car (which it desperately needed).  We also did a bit of shopping and I got to visit my favorite store: Williams-Sonoma.  If I didn't stay home with Rachel, I would probably want to work there.

Today Chris got up before church to marinate some chicken we were going to grill.  We had seen a "Good Eats" show where Alton Brown grilled chicken and it looked so good we had to try it.  After returning from church Chris added a seasoning rub and got the grill fired up.  I cannot provide many details because I am banned from the grilling zone, but the result was fabulous!  We will definitely be making this again, especially in the summer.

After we got the kitchen all cleaned up, I put Rachel down for a nap with the intentions of starting my bread.  However, nap time was cut short so we went for a drive (with a Coke and Twix!) hoping Rachel would fall back asleep.  No such luck, but I really enjoyed our little outing.  Too bad gas is so expensive, I really enjoy driving around to areas I haven't seen before.  So when we got back home I finally started my Bierox.

Now Bierox is something I had never had before I met Chris.  His mom makes them quite often and I assumed they were a Polish dish since it sounded like a funny name and I think most Polish words sound funny.  Nope.  They're German.  And they are delish!  I like them because they taste good and they are so handy to have in the freezer.  I like to make them ahead of time when I know we will be having company and don't want to be stuck in the kitchen.  If you've never had one, it's sort of like a homemade Hot Pocket, except a lot better.  And probably way better for you.  So, here we go! (I use my mother-in-law's roll recipe for the dough and the Guymon church's cookbook for the filling.)

Dough
1 c sugar
4 tsp salt
2 pkgs active dry yeast
flour (almost an entire bag)
4 c water
2 sticks butter
2 eggs

In large bowl, combine sugar, salt, yeast and 4 1/2 c flour.  In 2-quart saucepan over low heat, heat water and butter until very warm (approx. 120 degrees).  With mixer at low speed, gradually beat liquid into dry ingredients.  Add eggs; increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.  Beat in 1 1/2 c flour or enough to make a thick batter; continue beating 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.  Stir in about 5 c flour to make a soft dough.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Shape into ball; place in creased large bowl, turning over to grease top.  Cover with towel; let rise in warm place, until doubled, about 1 1/2 hrs.

At this point, if your kitchen isn't a total disaster, you must have done something wrong.

Note:  You definitely need as big a bowl as you possess, and probably your biggest spoon also (unless you have one of those giant decorative ones hanging on the wall...no need to get that dusty thing down!)  I often say "Cooking isn't hard; you just have to be able to read!"  Sure, some recipes are more involved than others, but that doesn't make it hard.  This is one time when I will actually admit, making bread is hard!  I actually get sort of worn out by the time I'm done kneading it.  But it's all worth it!

Filling
 2 lbs lean ground beef (I used venison today)
1 lg onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1/2 head cabbage, shredded

Brown meat along with the onion and garlic.  Drain, then add the seasonings and the cabbage.  Continue to cook on low heat until the cabbage is wilted.  To assemble, roll out  1/4 of the dough at a time on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4" thickness.  Use a 5-6" diameter object to cut circles out of the dough.  Place about 3 spoonfuls of filling onto dough, then pinch dough up and over the meat like a taco, and then seal the ends.  Place bierox, seam side down, on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.  Makes 2 dozen.

 

As if this wasn't enough craziness for one little kitchen in one day, Chris decided to make souffles while I was in the midst of filling my bierox.  Again, I can't provide any details because I was a bit occupied, and totally missed what he was doing.  But they were yummy! Here's a snapshot:

Raspberry souffle...yum!