Mushroom Piroshki Appetizers

Umami. Flavor that hits on all six cylinders. Mushrooms have it. And until a few years ago, I admit that my misunderstanding of mushrooms led me to dislike and avoid them. Thank goodness I've moved past that, because YUM. 

With a few simple steps, even common brown mushrooms can deliver powerhouse flavor, and in this case, kick the butt of the beef piroshki I made to accompany these mushroom ones for Easter. 

Mushroom 101

• Selecting Fresh Mushrooms: How can you tell? See the photo above? Fresh mushrooms will have a smooth, glossy cap, that (for the most part) will not have come away from the stem. Like all produce, use it ASAP for the best results. 
• Storing - A Cool Dark Place: Store in a paper bag in a low-humidity drawer in the fridge.
• Washing: YES. Wash off the dirt, for they grow in the ground. Just rinse them under some cool water, and gently rub off any dirt. Allow them to dry, then use them as desired. 

Makes about 50 bite-sized piroshki 

The Dough
4oz cream cheese (just half of a regular old brick), at room temp
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/4C AP flour
1/2t kosher salt

Cream the butter til smooth. Add the cream cheese, and cream til combined. Stir in the flour and salt to form a ball. Flatten it out into a rectangular slab about 1/2" thick, wrap in parchment or plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour. 

The Filling
3 8oz packages organic brown mushrooms 
1 small, or 1/2 large white or yellow onion
2T olive oil
1T butter
salt & pepper 
sherry (optional)

1 beaten egg to seal the piroshki, and for an eggwash

For this recipe, we'll use the whole mushroom. Trim off the ends of the stems. If you have a food processor, you're very happy right now. Chop the shrooms in batches of 3 on "pulse" til finely diced. Otherwise, grab a sharp knife and go to town. Finely dice the onion. Heat a large skillet on medium-high, heat 2T olive oil, then saute the onion til golden. Remove from the pan. Turn heat to high. 

Dump the chopped mushrooms into a cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel (it will turn brown) and squeeze out as much liquid as you can, saving it in a jar for later use (I froze mine to use later in a soup or sauce). Dump the mushrooms into the hot pan, and saute, stirring constantly for even browning. Sprinkle with about 1/2t salt and freshly ground pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes. If you have some sherry, drizzle about 2T over the shrooms to deglaze the pan (about 1 minute). Add the shrooms to the sauteed onions, dot with butter, and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to let off steam. Taste the cooled filling. Add more salt & pepper if needed. 

Roll the Dough
Dust a clean work surface lightly with flour. This dough isn't very sticky, so you only need a little flour to help roll out your dough to about 1/16." Cut silver dollar-sized discs and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 

My dough cutter is 2" in diameter 

Fill and Shape
Take a disc of dough and using your finger, brush some beaten egg around the inside edge. Scoop a full spoon of filling onto the center. Fold the disc in half like a taco. Press the edges together, then crimp the edge to further seal it. 

If making ahead, freeze the piroshki on the sheet pan, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. 

unbaked frozen piroshki. space them out farther when baking.

Baking
Preheat oven to 400'. Space out piroshki on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Brush with eggwash, and bake until golden brown. Serve hot. 

my test bake popped open, so I added some eggwash to the seal. either way, they're delicious!

на здоровья! 

Adam & Eve on a Raft...Psych!

Light & crisp cornmeal pastry. Vanilla bean custard. And the star? A warm, tender, perfectly ripe apricot. I ate my first apricots of the season today, and my thoughts went straight to this utterly addictive treat. Make your dough and pastry cream the day before to save time in the morning. Then just roll your dough, top with pastry cream and apricots, and bake! 

The Dough

1 1/2 cups flour

6T corn meal

1/2t salt

2t sugar, + extra for baking

5T sour cream

7T water

10 1/2T butter, chilled (1 stick + 2 1/2T)

eggwash (1 egg, lightly beaten with a bit of water)

Mix the dry ingredients (1st 4) together in a bowl. Combine the water & sour cream in a bowl, and set aside. Cut the chilled butter into small cubes, and cut into the dry mixture using a pastry cutter, a fork, or quick pulses in a Cuisinart. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients until a dough is formed. You may not need to use all of it. Doughs will form differently depending on the amount of humidity in the air. Wrap the dough in plastic, and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight. 

The Pastry Cream

3 yolks

1/3 cup sugar

2T corn starch

1 cup + milk

vanilla bean

Split a vanilla bean, scrap out the seeds. Put the seeds in the sugar, and the pod in your milk. Heat a little more than 1 cup of milk until just scalded. Whisk together the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Stabilize your bowl of yolks with a towel or rubber mat. Whisk in the hot milk VERY quickly (or you'll get scrambled eggs). Remove the vanilla pod, and pour the mixture back into the pot from the milk. Stir over medium heat until thick. It will thicken very quickly because of the cornstarch, so whisk constantly, and don't walk away. As soon as it starts to thicken (you can see the lines the whisk leaves), turn off the heat and pour the custard into a clean bowl. It will continue to thicken as you  pour it out, so work quickly, using a spatula to get it all out. Let it cool at room temperature for about an hour, then cover with plastic and chill until set. 

Ready to Roll?

Preheat your oven to 400'. Wash & dry 4 perfectly ripe apricots, and slice them in half lengthwise. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Keep the reserved dough covered and chilled as you roll. Roll each piece of dough into an oval, about 1/8" thick. Spread some pastry cream onto each oval, keeping the edge clear about 1/2" for crimping. Create a border for each tart by folding in the dough onto itself, all the way around. Using a thin spatula, place each tart onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush the crimped edge of each tart with the eggwash. Place 2 half apricots onto each tart (so it looks like 2 fried eggs). Sprinkle some of the extra sugar around the edge of the tart (over the eggwash). 

Bake at 400' until the pastry is golden on the edges and the bottom. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before serving. 

Bring these to an outdoor concert, a picnic or brunch, and your friends will forever sing your praises. Hurry up, before apricot season is gone!