A Long Time

It's been a long time, I know. I've been busy with finals, graduating, and dragging all of my stuff back home in preparation for my move to the Czech Republic. So here's a a short post with an elegant, celebratory recipe.

Spicy Cumin Cheese Straws
Adapted from Epicurious

4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1/2 package frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2 sticks butter
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon paprika
coarse sea salt to taste

In a small bowl toss together cheese, ground cumin, paprika, and cayenne.

Separate your phyllo dough into individual sheets. Brush one sheet with butter all the way to the edges. Smooth a second sheet of phyllo on top of it. Continue until you have used half of your phyllo sheets. Sprinkle the cheese and spices onto the dough, leaving a one-inch strip along the top and bottom. Press another phyllo sheet on top, making sure to seal the edges with the butter so your straws don't fall apart. Continue layering the phyllo sheets until you run out. Brush the top sheet with butter and sprinkle with sea salt.

With a pastry wheel or sharp knife cut pastry into strips about 7 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Twist strips and arrange on baking sheets, pressing ends onto sheet to keep strips twisted.

Preheat oven to 350°F. and grease 2 baking sheets.

Arrange half of cheese straws about 1 inch apart on 1 baking sheet and bake in middle of oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until pale golden. Bake remaining cheese straws in same manner.

Serve cheese straws warm at room temperature.

The February Greys

You must have nights like these: there's nothing in the fridge, you don't want to go to the store, and everything just seems like such an effort. Yeah, I've been there. Especially in the winter, when the options start to feel so much more limiting at this point in February.

So what's the cure for the almost-end-of-February greys? It turns out that it involves big, heavy, cheesy biscuits. The truth is, I think a lot of problems can be solved with cheese. It always works for me, at least.

These paprika and cheddar biscuits are, in a word, gorgeous. They puff up with deep, craggy tops and tiny melted pockets of cheese. The paprika is just barely there--in fact, I think I would punch it up a little bit the next time I make these, but they're absolutely lovely as they are right now. The texture is chewy and soft, and in short, they were just what I needed. Served next to a bowl of tomato soup (from a box, sadly,) they made the perfect accompaniment.

Paprika and Cheddar Biscuits
From Joy the Baker, who in turn adapted it from Martha Stewart

Makes 10 biscuits

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika, plus more for dusting

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

6 ounces cheddar, finely grated (about 1 cup)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and paprika. Using a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal with a few larger clumps remaining. Stir in the cheese with a fork.

Add the milk and sour cream; using a rubber spatula, stir until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; don’t over mix. Using a 1/3-cup, scoop mounds of dough about 1 1/2-inches apart of the prepared baking sheet. Lightly dust with paprika.

Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Slide parchment and biscuits onto a wire rack to cool or let biscuits cool on pan for 5 minutes before removing onto a wire rack with a spatula. Serve warm or at room temperature.