Croissant Bread Pudding

    This is the easiest and best bread pudding recipe I have ever made! 

Ingredients:

• 3 whole eggs
• 8 egg yolks
• 5 cups half-and-half
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 large croissants, preferably stale
• 1 cup raisins

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, and begin adding in the half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk well until all ingredients are well incorporated and set aside.

    

    Slice the croissants in half horizontally and place the bottom halves in a 10 x 15 x 2.5 inch baking dish. Add the raisins on top of the croissants, and then place the top halves over that. This ensures that the raisins are not exposed and will not burn while baking. 

    Pour the custard over the croissants and press down on them, ensuring that the croissants soak up the custard. Allow this to set for 10 minutes while gently pressing down every so often.

    Place this pan in a larger pan filled with 1 inch of hot water, and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Take the aluminum foil off and bake for an additional 45 minutes until the croissants being to puff up. 

    Remove from the oven, and allow to cool. Serve with a white chocolate or caramel sauce.

Enjoy!

Naan

    This naan recipe is sure to delight everyone you make it for, and I guarantee they will keep asking for more! It pairs perfectly with the previous recipe, red lentil curry.

Ingredients:

• 1 (0.25oz) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature

    In a large bowl, dissolve the package of yeast in warm water. Allow this to stand for about 10 minutes. Add in the milk, egg, salt, sugar, and flour. 

    Begin kneading and adding a little flour at a time in order to knead a soft dough. Once the dough has formed, coat the outside of it with a little olive oil. 

    Place a kitchen towel over the top, and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size. 

    Next, pinch off golf ball-sized pieces and roll into balls. Set aside on a cooking tray, place a kitchen towel over them, and allow to rise once again for 30 minutes.

    Heat a cooking pan on medium heat. Take a dough ball and begin rolling it out on a floured surface. Take the room temperature butter and spread it on one side. Place the buttered side down into the pan, and cook for about 1 minute. Butter the other side and flip.

Enjoy!

Red Lentil Curry

    I discovered this recipe when I bought red lentils for the first time, and didn't know what to make out of them. Ever since then, I have been making this at least once a week. It is delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
• Half of a red onion
• 1 tbsp curry
• 4 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 large russet potato, chopped
• 1 cup red lentils
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Naan bread and lime wedge for serving

    Chop the red onion, garlic, carrots, and potato as you heat the oil in a medium sized pot on medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots to the pot and saute until softened, about 2-3 minutes. 

    

    Stir in the curry powder. Then, add the potato, red lentils, vegetable broth, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally.

    The best way to serve this dish is with naan and a lime wedge. Enjoy!

Bruschetta

8 roma tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 baguette, sliced and toasted

In a bowl, toss together the tomatoes, basil,

parmesan, and garlic.

Add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil,

salt, and pepper and incorporate well.

Burek (Ground Beef Pie)

     Burek is a pie (pita) stuffed with ground beef found in cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire. Pita is a popular dish in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it can be stuffed with a variety of ingredients such as potatoes (krompirusa), cheese (sirnica), and spinach (zeljanica). Although all of these versions of pita are great, burek is my favorite. 

As the saying goes, sve su pite pitice, samo je burek pitac...

Ingredients for the dough (or you can choose to layer phyllo dough):

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups water

Combine all the ingredients and knead until dough begins to form. 

Ingredients for ground beef mixture:

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all these ingredients and mix well until uniform.

To begin, place the dough onto a floured surface, and begin rolling out with a rolling pin. 

Continue to gradually roll out the dough, adding flour over the top to prevent it from sticking.

Once the dough is rolled out as thinly as possibly, without breaking, begin filling it with the ground beef mixture.

Roll the side of the dough over the beef mixture and continue to roll until the beef can't be seen through the dough.

Cut the dough and begin coiling around itself.

Continue repeating this process, and placing the dough coils into an oiled cooking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour. 

Serve warm with some yogurt (kajmak) and sparking water (kisela voda) on the side.

Ricotta Lemon Pancakes

3 tbsp melted butter

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Melt the butter in the microwave and allow to cool. 

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients including the melted butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix thoroughly.

Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan on low to medium heat.

Scoop the batter into the saucepan and flip once bubbles begin to form on top.

These are best served with a dusting of powdered sugar!

Guacamole

• 3 avocados, mashed
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

In a bowl, first mash the avocados. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. Serve immediately, or place plastic wrap over it and refrigerate.