This past week was, to put it mildly, odd. We had some beautiful weather on Thursday, then we had the April Fool’s snowstorm. It would appear that this spring is going to keep us guessing. This week we will have recipes heralding spring. I can tell that spring is coming. The roads are showing the wear already. We will need to watch for our herbs-chives will probably be the first to come up and don’t forget to keep an eye out for your rhubarb!
Trivia tip. Rhubarb is actually a vegetable. Confused? Remember a tomato is actually a fruit. Still confused? March is a spring month. I could go on.
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
3 eggs
3 pounds mild Italian sausage
3 (16 ounce) containers ricotta cheese
5 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
9 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
1 egg, beaten
Directions: Make the dough first. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Combine the oil, milk and 3 eggs, pour into the dry ingredients and stir until the dough holds together well. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to mix until smooth.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Divide the dough in half. Roll out one half of the dough to fit a 14×18 inch baking sheet with sides that come up at least 1/2 inch. If the dough is too stiff to roll out to that size, let it rest for a few minutes and come back to it. Fit the dough into the baking sheet. Set aside.
Place the sausage into a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring to crumble, until no longer pink. Drain off the grease and set aside to cool. Mix together the ricotta cheese, 5 eggs, salt, pepper and hard-cooked eggs in a large bowl. When the sausage is cool, stir it into the cheese and eggs. Spread this mixture evenly over the crust in the pan. Roll out the remaining dough and place on top. Roll the edges and pinch together to seal. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg.
Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 1 hour. Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into servings. This can be served warm or cold.
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs, beaten
4 1/2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups of flour, confectioners’ sugar and butter until it forms a dough, or at least the butter is in small crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. While this bakes, whisk together the white sugar, salt, flour and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in rhubarb to coat. Spread evenly over the baked crust when it comes out of the oven.
Bake for another 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until rhubarb is tender. Cool and cut into squares to serve.
You really need to let these cool, the custard firms up and they cut very cleanly.
Keep writing, have a great week, and we’ll talk more next time. Please contact me at Susie cooking@ainop.com or c/o Pioneer Times, P.O. Box 456, Houlton, Maine 04730.
