Walnut Wafers with Goat Cheese, Honey and Thyme

by Heather Harris-Brady

I made these for a different appetizer with wine but they would also make a really nice tea savory. You probably have the ingredients for the wafers in your cupboard, and they go together really quickly – about 15 minutes from start to finish.

I used a goat cheese with honey here, but they are delicious plain as well. Just make sure you store them in an air-tight tin. This recipe is an old favorite of mine from my 1977 edition of The Joy of Cooking – which longtime readers will know is the first cookbook I ever owned, and the start of my cookbook addiction!

Walnut Wafers, Makes about 80 thin wafers

1/2 c. butter

1 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla (you can omit this for a savory)

1-3/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 c. milk

1 c. finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Lightly grease two large cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans and put them in the refrigerator to chill. Preheat the oven to 325.

Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the vanilla if you’re using it, then add the flour alternately in batches with the milk. Beating between each addition.

Take the cookie sheets out the refrigerator and spread them with dough. At first the dough will want to roll around but keep working it. You’ll achieve a zen-like state where it will spread nicely in a most relaxing way. It needs to be THIN. If you can’t see the cookie sheet through it it’s too thick, and thick means chewy, which we don’t want. We want thin and crackly.

Score the dough into squares. Scatter the chopped walnuts or pecans over the dough and press them in slightly. Put the sheets in the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes or until barely brown.

Remove the wafers from the oven and break them apart quickly along the score lines before they cool, while they are still pliable. They will crisp up quickly.

To serve, arrange the wafers on a plate or serving dish. Crumble goat cheese over the top and drizzle with honey. Scatter with thyme leaves.

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Oscar Party Mix (and Wes Anderson Bingo)

by Heather Harris-Brady

Oscar night is tomorrow! Wolfgang Puck and his pastry chef Sherry Yard are doing the menu for the Governor’s Ball again this year. One of the things they’ll be passing around the tables during the show is a rosemary pineapple nut mix. I was a little disturbed by the pineapple, because one tends to eat nut mix without looking and grabbing a slippery piece of pineapple could distract one from the gowns.

So I substituted these dried plums I picked up at the Asian supermarket downstate. At least, I think they’re  plums. They look like plums even though the ingredient list on the back says peaches. The package translations also say other amusing things, so I’m going with plums.

Oscar Party Mix

Three cups raw pecans
1/2 c. diced dried plums
1/3 c. olive oil
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. paprika
2 t. chopped fresh rosemary
1 t. cajun seasoning
1/2 t. garlic powder
2 t. sea salt

Preheat the oven to 300 and lightly grease a baking sheet. Spread the pecans in a single layer and toast until crunchy and barely darkened – about 15 minutes.

Toss the remaining ingredients with the toasted pecans. Spread it back out on the cookie sheet and return it to the oven for another 15 minutes. Store in ziplock bags until ready to serve.

I’m a huge Wes Anderson fangirl, so I’ll be pulling for Moonrise Kingdom for Best Screenplay. Just for fun, I’ve included Wes Anderson bingo cards in the printables section above for your next movie party.

The Oscars dessert buffet usually includes lots of miniature treats. If you want to do a champagne and dessert buffet for your Oscar party, these would all be good candidates to shrink down and serve:

Profiteroles

Truffles

Brownies

The entrees include miniature kobe sliders, my pub burgers could easily adapt to silver dollar size.

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Gougeres

by Heather Harris-Brady

By the time you read this it will be Fat Tuesday. Since no one really needs another recipe for beignets or cajun shrimp, I’m taking a different route. These gougeres would be right at home as part of a Mardi Gras celebration. They are a terrific and somewhat unusual cocktail nibble.

You can make the dough up ahead of time. Scoop it onto cookie sheets as the guests arrive. They’ll be light as air and piping hot just as you finish mixing the last drink. While gruyere is traditional, you can mix in a cup of any grated cheese.

Gougeres, Makes about 20-22 cocktail size puff

Follow my pate a choux recipe here, and as you take the dough off the heat stir in:

1 c. grated cheese

1/2 t. ground red pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (or 375 convection). Drop walnut-sized scoops of dough onto lightly greased cookie sheets.

When they are completely puffed and very lightweight, remove them from the oven and serve immediately.

 

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Heather Harris-Brady