Your friday and my friday. I get the sneaking suspicion they are different. Let me take a stab at this.
Your friday. Leave work, meet friends at happy hour at a mexican place. Margaritas turn into tacos and queso. The next thing you know its 9 pm. Then you head to the cowboy lounge or some other crowded establishment with 27 tv’s and music too loud to talk over. You frequent these places until 1 am or so, stop at Anthonys Pizza and eat an entire new york style pizza on your way to your bed. (this part, I am a little jealous about.)
My friday. I leave work 30 minutes early in anticipation of a fresh pasta endeavor. I get home to make said fresh pasta, leaving my poor husband hungry and most likely drunk on scotch at 9:30 pm when we finally sit down for dinner. We eat, do dishes and then start again on this whole ‘fresh’ endeavor, Saturday’s breakfast a mere 10 hours away. While Brian continues to drink scotch, i judge my ability to make fresh pastry after 4 glasses of Hill Family Estate. I decide ‘what the hell’ and make strudel.
Said strudel is eaten at midnight instead of for breakfast, because, ‘how am i supposed to sleep with that haunting smell?’
And I wake up craving hashbrowns anyhow.
Apple Ricotta Strudel
8 ounces ricotta
3 tablespoon mascarpone
1 lemon, zest and juice used
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 apples
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, place the mascarpone, ricotta, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, 4 tablespoons of sugar and mix until smooth, using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Set aside.
Peel and slice your apples into thin slices. In a small bowl toss them with 1 tablespoon of sugar, cinnamon and juice from the one lemon.
Carefully unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry and roll slightly.
At an angle, slice off the top corners and cut two notches in the bottom. Slice 1-inch strips diagonally down both sides of the puff pastry, leaving the center uncut. Cut the same amount of strips on both sides.
Add cheese filling, spreading it evenly down the center of the puff pastry. Top with apple slices.
Fold in the bottom and top flaps. Braid the puff pastry, by folding the strips over the filing, alternating sides, until you’ve worked your way down the puff pastry. Using your knife, trim off any leftover strips or extra dough.
Brush top with egg wash. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
While baking, mix confectioner’s sugar with milk and whisk. When the danish comes out of the oven, drizzle top with icing and serve warm.
So you can see, although our friday nights may be a little different, they are both equally pleasing.
Love,
Whit
Oh my lord she is BE-A-UTIFUL! Looks delish gyps. And hey…. your friday night sounds pretty amazeballs to me… you STILL found time to throw back a bottle of wine even with all that cooking
That’s my girl. Multitasking.
Your Friday nights sound way better. This one is so photogenic!
Really? I’m like that too. I try to make a huge dinner or really catch up and do all of the ideas I had stored in my head all week. My husband just shakes his head.
Thank You! Thank You and Thanks for giving great directions on how to cook the Perfect Steak! Made our Beef Tenderloin Steaks tonite and WOW were they mouth watering and so delicious! We will be having them more often as terrific as they tasted! You are wonderful for sharing your expertise with us! : )))
I SO want your Friday night.
Your strudel is gorgeous! I’ve never made one but this is tempting.