Lithuania is a country in Europe's Baltic States about the size of West Virginia. It has 67 athletes competing and has won 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the 2016 Olympics thus far.
On the menu for dinner was Lithuanian kugelis and Napoleona tarte for dessert.
The Verdict:
Ebabe actually liked the kugelis and kept commenting about how good it was! The rest of us thought it was okay, but a little bland. Our convection oven browned the potatoes much faster than the regular oven would have, but the potatoes in the center of the dish weren't cooked completely. We solved that problem fairly easily. The recipe mentions serving kugelis with sour cream and that did give it an additional boost.
The Napoleona tart was not as difficult to make as I thought it might be. It was very, very rich. It was good, but be sure to serve it in fairly small pieces!
Oh, and Ebabe decided to fold napkins for us - boats, which seems fitting since two of the medals Lithuania has won in Rio were for rowing.
She wrote the recipe up beautifully and there are great step-by-step photos, so check it out there!
Lithuanian Napoleona Tarte (original recipe from VilNews)
The important thing to note about this is that you need to start it the night before you want to prepare it!
Torte Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups flour
dash of salt
3 eggs
4 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (we used Earth Balance sticks to be dairy-free)
water
Put 4 1/2 cups of flour and a dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in the 4 1/2 sticks unsalted butter.
In a separate bowl mix the eggs with 4 1/2 TBSP of water, then add to the flour mixture. Mix well. Wrap in plastic wrap or store in sealed container and place in refrigerator for 5-7 hours or overnight.
In a separate bowl mix the eggs with 4 1/2 TBSP of water, then add to the flour mixture. Mix well. Wrap in plastic wrap or store in sealed container and place in refrigerator for 5-7 hours or overnight.
Roll out each piece into very thin 10 inch rectangles. (other recipes suggest circles, which would be easier in general, so consider that!)
Bake at 375F - 400F for 20 minutes on cookie sheet until light golden brown. In our convection oven, I baked the at 375F for 14 minutes and they were done. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Cream Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk (we used almond milk to make it dairy-free)
2 eggs
2 boxes of sweet whipped butter (I couldn't find this so we made our own using almond milk, Earth Balance spread, and about 1/2 cup of sugar)
4 egg yolks
1 TBSP orange extract
1 TBSP lemon extract
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 TBSP lemon extract
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 large lemon (for zest and juice)
3/4 - 1 1/2 oz whiskey (to your taste)
Cream -
Mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar and milk together and cook on low-medium heat until it gets a little thick.
Add 2 eggs, mix well and remove from heat. Allow to sit until well cooled.
Then whip the sweet whipped butter, 3/4 C. sugar, and egg yolks together. Once blended, add to the flour and milk mixture and mix well. Add extracts, lemon zest, juice from the lemon, and whiskey. Mix well.
Spread thinly between layers leaving some for top and sides.
Add 2 eggs, mix well and remove from heat. Allow to sit until well cooled.
Then whip the sweet whipped butter, 3/4 C. sugar, and egg yolks together. Once blended, add to the flour and milk mixture and mix well. Add extracts, lemon zest, juice from the lemon, and whiskey. Mix well.
Spread thinly between layers leaving some for top and sides.
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