Lavash Herbed Flatbread. This is my version, such as it is, oh and that would be absolutely delicious

My Nana used to bring Lavash flatbread with her when she visited us from Chicago, Winnetka actually.  She and my mom would doctor it up with butter and herbs.  It was delicious.  They'd keep it in cookie tins in the kitchen and I would sneak a hunk every.single.time I'd walk by.

I need to get hold of my sister and see if she has such delicious memories of it.

I have used Lavash as a wrap, it's super thin flatbread, similar to a gigantic tortilla but without the fat so based on that alone, I call it diet food.  I try not to pay attention to the aioli that I usually slather it in.  All natural equals healthy enough for me and since *I* make the aioli and the bread, my committee has no problems whatsoever eating it regularly.

I had a hankering the other day for the crispy, doctored up version my mom and Nana used to make.  I got hold of mum and she shared the secret herb blend, ahhhhhhh the memories of my youth. 

This is the easiest bread on earth to make, truly.  It's soft if you under cook it, crisp if you cook it longer, and crazy, shatteringly crisp and buttery and herby if you slather it and cover it liberally after you've cooked it, a quick 2 minutes back in a screaming hot oven will result in the most delicious, crispy, crunchy flavorful pile of shrapnel that goes with any gathering. 

Try this, trust me on this one: 

TRACY'S HERBED LAVASH FLATBREAD RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

This makes 8 GIGANTIC breads to cook and break up.  The pictures below are a half recipe in case you'd thought you'd lost your minds.  So, if you just want a small batch, you can easily half this recipe. 

For 8 flatbreads

3 cups a/p flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup hottest tap water
splash of olive oil (optional)

Topping:

Melted butter OR olive oil

Herbs:

Any combination of herbs that you like.  I don't share MY herb blend because I sell the bread and I sell the herbs separately too.

You can combine any herbs that you love, some suggestions are maybe:

parsley
sage
rosemary
thyme

herbs de provence

I know my mom has snuck garlic powder in on her blend but I prefer it without because of my need for flavors of my childhood. 

INSTRUCTIONS 

and play by play pictures.  (*these pictures are of a half recipe)

Combine in a kitchenaid with a hook and mix/knead until smooth.  About 3 minutes.  

OR

Combine in a bowl, mix and knead by hand till smooth.  About 5 minutes.  For these pics, I did a half recipe and refuse to haul out 'big red' for a cup and a half of flour

   

    

   

See?  No kitchenaid is no reason not to make this.  (how many negatives can I get into one sentence?)

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, roll into balls.  Place on in a heavily floured plate, flour the balls and place into a plastic bag.   Leave to rest 40 minutes. 

Mix herbs/spices

Melt 6+ TB butter

Preheat oven, with pizza stone OR inverted cookie sheet to 500 degrees.  This cooks hot and it cooks fast.  Life's too short to wait for culinary delight. 

I roll one piece of the dough on a floured piece of parchment paper.  You can reuse it for the whole recipe to cook all 8.  You want to roll it paper thin, thinner than that, you want to about see through it, it should roll out to a 12 or 13 inch circle.  Seriously.  Use flour as needed and brush it off before it goes into the oven.

    

    

  

Slide the parchment onto a peel and put it on the screaming hot stone or sheet pan.  Bake 3 minutes.  Spin if your oven is a little uneven.  Mine is so I spin and remove the parchment at 2 minutes done, which is easy to remove from under the flatbread, for the last minute.. 

Remove from oven with tongs and put it between kitchen towels.  I spray water on the top towel.  It keeps the bread supple if you want.

    

When they're all cooked, spread each with melted butter (OR you can use olive oil!) and sprinkle your herb mix on liberally.  Slip back into the oven, straight on the stone or pan, for 2 minutes.  Remove to a rack to cool and become shatteringly crisp.

    

    

    

Break into shards and keep in a tin.  Mine doesn't really last long enough to require a tin but I'm forever hopeful I'll eventually be able to fill a tin and not eat it all...

Here's just some random beauty shots

   

You'll love this and it'll be your new goto party piece to take along. 

Trust me, you'l love it. 

/enjoy

Tracy

Individual trifles in jars, make ahead, take to a party, make last minute and eat them

  

I like to make food in jars.  It's simple, portioned, you can eat 6 because they're little jars and you can make things for a crowd easily.

I love trifle and this is my take on a smaller version of the original, here goes:

TRACY'S TRIFLE IN A JAR

There are no amounts because it depends on how many jars you're doing, this is your guide

INGREDIENTS

pound cake, home made or bought
strawberries or whatever fruit you love, cut small
jello, whatever flavor fruit you're using
custard, make your own or mix some Birds

                                  (OK, in a pinch you CAN use vanilla pudding, I'd prefer you don't but if you have to, I will avert my eyes) 

brandy or rum

whipped cream because you deserve it

Assembly:

1.  Cut cake with some brandy or rum drizzled on with some chopped fruit
2.  Make jello according to direction and pour over cake and fruit, not completely covering.
4.  CHILL

   

5.  Make or buy custard, and cover fruit and jello.  In full disclosure, I use Birds custard and make it in the microwave.  You can get it most places,  Here's the info:

https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Custard-Powder-300g/dp/B000JMBE7C

I buy it at HEB in Texas as well as World Market and FiestaMart

6.  Top with cake, drizzle with brandy or rum if desired.

  

7.  Pop lids on and chill.

8.  When you're ready... pop on some chopped fruit and whipped cream and EAT

   

They last a while in the fridge and are handy to take to parties, I made a dozen the other to take to a Father's Day do and they travel beautifully, much easier than one large trifle.  

Try this, you'll love this! 

/enjoy

DRIVE BY RECIPE; Scotch Eggs with itty bitty Quail egg, yes I did

I ended up with some peeled quail eggs, yeah, and thought to myself, "myself what shall we do with these little darlings?"  Reminder:  I get mine at Texas Quail Farms in Lockhart, Texas... www.texquail.com

((EPIPHANY MOMENT))

Scotch eggs!

I'll write out detailed instructions with amounts, but for those of you who cook...  check it out:

DRIVE BY RECIPE:  TRACY'S QUAIL SCOTCH EGGS

*NO, I don't have pics of the play by play, I didn't know they'd turn out so amazing.  I will upload more pics when I make the next batch which will be soon!!!!!


Take some boiled, peeled, quail eggs you know my trick, do it.
http://www.tracycooksinaustin.com/2016/06/quail-eggs-how-to-cook-them-how-to-peel.html

Dry them and roll them lightly in flour, pat most of it off, just no wet spots.

Roll the eggs in some sausage meat.  I press a palm sized piece in my hand, thin, and lay the egg in the middle and wrap.  Be sure there's no egg peeking through, roll it around in your hands to seal pretty well.

Dip the sausage wrapped eggs in beaten egg

Dip the egg coated, sausage wrapped egg in bread crumbs.

Preheat oil in shallow pan to medium heat.  Place the bread crumb coated, egg coated, sausage wrapped, hard boiled quail eggs.

Fry on medium heat till each side is brown.  Transfer to a preheated 350 oven for about 10 minutes.

Drain, salt, eat eat eat

   

  

you are NOT going to be disappointed and no, it wasn't fussy or fiddly, go, now, make some!

/enjoy

tracy

PS:  Ok, I don't want to brag or anything but Robert came by to test and he liked 'em!  Yeah, that's high praise indeed

QUAIL EGGS, how to cook them, how to peel them and the best trick you will ever know, seriously, you're so welcome

I have a friend, here in Texas, his name is Robert and he's 84 years old and a recent widower,  I met him about 4 years ago, at a rifle club, where my son shoots precision pellets, but that's another story.

Robert has been adopted by my family, along with another couple whom I simply adore, but I'll embarrass them another time.  Back to Robert.

He loves quail eggs and asked if I would go with him to south Lockhart to get some.  He'd brought me eggs he'd pickled before and they were yummy.

We drove to Texas Quail, www.TexQuail.com , a wonderfully modern, clean yet way out in the country place to get our eggs.

**No, they didn't pay me or offer me free eggs or quail.  I just wanted to share with you where I got the eggs.  I did tell them I had a food blog, I did ask for a card but that's the extent.  I was tickled when we walked in to hear one of the wrangler wearing dudes rush out with an eager hand to greet Robert back, things like country charm and manners and politeness simply delight me and on that basis alone, I'd give them my business.**

I found out that TexQuail supplies HEB with these, boxed, frozen quail and while I have your attention, you need to go buy it, I have bought the whole quail and roasted them to absolute deliciousness, that's another post, but before I get it up, go and try any of these products, you will not be disappointed and you're buying local.  I didn't buy them before because I thought they were prepared cooked seasoned but they're not, it's just beautiful packaging  Try them, you'll like them. I promise.

Back to my gobsmacked moment...

While we drove to Lockhart from Austin, I drove, Robert and I talked about, amongst other things, quail and quail eggs.  I love them, I told him but they're a pain to peel if you want to boil them for anything.  He looked over at me and started to laugh, in a deep, low, back country, genuine laugh.  You just don't know how't'do'it. He used to raise quail so I had a reasonable amount of faith in his insights. This was yet another moment in time where I was absolutely and totally at the mercy of an old worlder who knew long ago common sense stuff that I needed to know.  I'm going to share with you now exactly how to do it.  I tested, twice, three times, to be sure it wasn't a fluke,  how on earth did I live this long and NOT know how to peel a quail egg...  seriously, thanks Robert, you've rocked my world

THIS is how to do it, there's no recipe, this is a method:

TRACY PEELS QUAIL EGGS

yep, that's the title we're going with

Step one, obtain quail eggs. If you're local, go down to TexasQuail (www.texquail.com) and head into the office, you can tell them you saw this post but you're not getting anything free because of me, just sayin'.  They are $3/dozen.

Bring enough water to generously cover the eggs to a boil, I add a little salt.  I put the eggs into a dry ladle to transfer them to the boiling water, set timer for 5 minutes.  You want a gentle boil, not a witch cauldron boil

    

DING!  after 5 minutes, drain quickly and put the eggs in a jar, cover with plain vinegar.  SERIOUSLY, you have to trust me... 

   

YES, the vinegar looks like it's boiling, it's not, YES the color is coming off the eggs, it's freaking me out  and does every single time.

   

I skim the brown every little bit and they're turning WHITE?! The dots fall off??  WHAT?
Robert told me to just leave them on the counter, covered in vinegar but an open jar and just forget about them. He said he usually leaves them over night, (because he cooks them then goes to bed) so the shell disintegrates completely and you just have to peel the membrane.

 

At 4 hours, I couldn't stand it and picked one out... (OH NO WAY)  ITS like LEATHER!?!?!  Robert told me to pinch the fat end and pop the small air bubble and the "shell" will fall away with a gentle pull.  So, pull I do...

   

NO WAY!  It's peeled, perfectly, smoothly, no digs or pully bits, no divots, no holes, just smooth and clean.  Wow, did I mention wow? I rinsed it quickly in clear water, and now to get in there

  

PERFECT, the white is tender, the yolk perfectly hard cooked, I like to sprinkle it with salt and pepper and pop them in my mouth,  Fully expecting the egg to wreak like and taste like vinegar, nope, nuts, nothing.  Doesn't taste like anything except quail egg.  Robert told me the membrane protects the egg from tasting like vinegar, I didn't believe him, I was SO wrong.

I still simply do not believe it worked and I still do not believe they don't taste like vinegar.  How on earth did I get this old and not know this trick?  

Share this with everyone you know but be sure to credit Robert, through me, because I wouldn't have believed this method would work or even try it if it had come from anyone else. 

There you go, now you can pickle, eat, devil or slice quail eggs to your heart's content

Wow, Robert... got any more culinary secrets you thought "everyone with sense" knew?   I'm going to walk around with a pad and paper to steal the tidbits from now on!!  THANKS !

/enjoy 

Tracy