White Chocolate Blondies--If You Do Not Like Brownies

True chocolate connoisseurs, who appreciate most the dark and bitter chocolate that is very rich in cocoa, probably do not even consider white chocolate chocolate. But I am a white chocolate lover--the lighter the better. Ever since I have tried it as child, imported from Holland, I fell in love with its taste forever which suited my sweet tooth very well. I like it so much, also probably because I do not like dark chocolate at all, even if it comes from such reputable Belgian companies as Neuhaus or Leonidas. Fortunately, all good chocolateries are selling their chocolates by pieces and I can always fill my box with milk or white chocolate pralines.

Similarly, I also prefer milk chocolate or white chocolate desserts to anything made with dark chocolate. For the same reason I am not a big lover of brownies, as they are usually made from dark chocolate. Instead I keep exploring the culinary world in search for interesting milk and white chocolate recipes.

At present, I am working on a recipe for a white chocolate mousse, hoping to achieve perfection. It should be very delicate and fluffy, but at the same time not overwhelmingly sweet as some white chocolate desserts can be. This however is still work in progress.

Meanwhile, I found in my files an old recipe from the In Style magazine for white chocolate blondies. I gathered all the ingredients and rushed to try it out. The blondies disappeared shortly after they were cold enough to be eaten, mostly because of me and my younger son, who likes absolutely all kinds of chocolate, and found these blondies exceptionally good. They were sweet and spongy but the macadamia nuts gave them also nice crunchiness. They were an excellent treat with a strong espresso. Definitely worth making again and next time I will double their amount.

Macadamia Nut Blondies
(Makes 12-16 blondies)

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour,
1/4 tsp baking powder,
pinch of salt,
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature,
1 cup brown sugar,
2 eggs,
2 tsp vanilla,
1 cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts,
1/2 cup good quality (e.g., Ghirardelli) white chocolate chips.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Put butter and sugar in a bowl and, using an electric mixer, combine them until fluffy.
3. Add one by one eggs beating in between well and add vanilla at the end.
4. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt, and blend again well.
5. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips into the batter.
6. Spray a glass baking dish (8x8 inch) with nonstick vegetable oil.
7. Pour the batter over the glass dish and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Take the blondies out of the oven, cut into diamonds, and enjoy.

White Zucchini Lasagna--No Pasta Required

With the first days of spring and warmer weather, I bury in my refrigerator all those meats and potatoes, which missed their chance to become comfort food during the cold days, and look with desire at all the crunchy and green vegetables that the spring brings about. Before we will even notice cold soups and fresh vegetable pasta will rule on our deck tables, and the neighborhood yards will beam with the aroma of grilled meats.

This winter I made exceptionally many comfort dishes, often coming from my native tradition, trying to keep my mother busy in the kitchen, but many of these winter specialties I will save for the next season.

Influenced by the weather, I came home from grocery shopping with a bag full of vegetables, which looked so fresh as if they grew in my own yard. I bought a couple of pounds of zucchini, red peppers, and fennel, for the first time ever. As a result, last week we had many vegetarian dishes for dinner to celebrate the first days of spring.

I bought so much zucchini that I decided to make the whole dish of them and I came with an idea of a zucchini lasagna in white cheese and béchamel sauce. White sauce lasagna with spinach is my kids' favorite, so I was hoping I could rely on that to smuggle zucchini into their diet. For those who never made, preparing the béchamel sauce is the most difficult part of this recipe. Other than that, it is a very simple dish.

Contrary to the conventional culinary wisdom, I always make my béchamel sauce with cold rather than warm milk. In spite of that, it has always turned out perfect. The use of cheese increases the calorie content of this dish, but it is still a leaner dish than a typical lasagna, which is based on pasta.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:
For bechamel sauce
3 tbsp butter,
3 tbsp flour,
2 cups milk,
1/4 tsp nutmeg,
salt and pepper to taste.
For lasagna
8-10 medium green zucchinis, sliced lengthwise into 3-4 slices each (with the ends trimmed),
15 oz ricotta cheese,
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese,
4 cloves garlic, sliced,
1 egg,
salt and pepper,

Preparation:
To make béchamel sauce
1. Melt butter in a medium pot over a low heat and, when liquid, add flour. Mix well with an egg whisker until it turns into a smooth paste.
2. Take the pot off the heat and pour in one cup of milk. Mix well with a whisker until it makes a smooth sauce. Add another part of milk and whisk.
3. Return to the heat and mixing constantly bring the sauce to boil. Let it boil for about 2-3 minutes on the low heat. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
To make lasagna
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Spread half of the béchamel sauce over a bottom of a medium sized oven-proof dish. Cover with slices of zucchini and slices of garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Mix ricotta with egg and spread half of it on top of the first zucchini layer.
4. Cover ricotta cheese with another layer of zucchini and again season with salt, pepper, and garlic.
5. Cover the second layer of zucchini with the remaining ricotta.
6. Put the last zucchini layer on top of the ricotta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and the rest of the bechamel sauce over it.
7. Cover the bechamel sauce with shredded mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and the top becomes gold.

Serve with a lettuce salad, either with bread or as stand alone dish.

Farmers' Cheese and Cinnamon Gnocchi--For the Lazy Ones

Although in a culinary history they probably belong to the gnocchi family, we consider them very Polish and call them "leniwe pierogi" (lazy dumplings) or simply "leniwe" because they are based on essentially one ingredient and do not require much work. Similar to the Italian ricotta gnocchi, they are made with "twarog" (farmers' cheese that resembles ricotta), which is very common in the Polish cuisine, for example to make cheese cakes, and always has a more or less sour taste, as it is made of sour milk. Thanks to that, our cheese gnocchi have a distinctly Eastern European flavor.

I meant to post this recipe for a long time. It is a very easy and basic dish that everyone in Poland knows and all Polish kids love. The farmers' cheese (for example, the Friendship All Natural Farmer Cheese) you can get in the US is not exactly like our twarog (or German or Swiss quark) but it is close enough to make decent leniwe. You have to keep in mind though that the American farmers' cheese is not as sour as the Polish version but instead it is more salty. I gave it a try last week to make leniwe for a dinner for my kids.

At this point, I must say that sweet dinner meals have always been, and I suppose still are, very popular in Poland, especially on Fridays. We make many such sweet meals (not just desserts)--dumplings, noodles, pancakes, crepes. These gnocchi are just one example. We eat them sweet, sprinkled with sugar, dusted with cinnamon, and with hot clarified butter poured on top. Cinnamon is what really makes these gnocchi taste unique. I use the Vietnamese cinnamon that I bought some time ago, which I has an unbelievably strong aroma, unlike any other I have tried. If you are a great cinnamon lover I think this cinnamon is just for you.

Farmers' Cheese Gnocchi
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
2 packs (about 15 oz) Friendship All Natural Farmer Cheese,
1 egg,
1 cup all purpose flour,
1/4 cup sugar,
4 tbsp melted butter,
cinnamon powder.

Preparation:
1. Place the cheese in a large bowl and pressing with a fork mush the cheese into small crumbles.
2. Add bitten egg and flour and knead the whole mix in a dough. Try not to use more flour than 1 and 1/3 cup as the dough will become dense and gnocchi will be hard.
3. On a surface dusted with flour form 2-3 dough snakes and cut them diagonally.

4. In a large pot cook 6-8 cups water with a tbsp of salt. Drop gnocchi on a boiling water and cook them until they appear on the surface plus 1-2 minutes. It is important not to overcook them because they will loose they shape.
5. Drain gnocchi on the colander and put on a serving bowl. Pour melted butter on top, sprinkle them with sugar, and dust with cinnamon--as much as you like it.

Serve warm, soaked in hot butter, which brings out the cinnamon's flavor.