Did you know Honiton Lace is still sold today? Visit their official website at Honiton Lace. and although it's pricey (as it should be) you can purchase an heirloom for your own family!
Below are two example of other Honiton Lace Collars and a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on their wedding day. Her gown is made with Honiton Lace.
Queen Victoria and Prince AlbertEnjoy two Armenian traditional recipes. Preparing Armenian food is challenging and not for the faint of heart.
Did you know that the national fruit of Armenia is the Apricot?
The first recipe is for Kyufta, a main course. Middle Eastern countries have their own take on the classic kyufta, but the Armenian version can be made with lightly spiced minced meat, and a twist molasses and brown sugar. There are may different version.
The second dish is an exotic desert called Gata an Armenian favorite, Shape and size varies from region to region. It's a sweet bread-like cake egg-rich and syrupy usually served with a thick dark strong cup of surj. (coffee) Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS for Kyufta
1 1/2 lb. ground land or beef
1 lb. ground lamb or beef. Set aside
2 cups cracked wheat find ground (bulger)
1 large onion, minced
1/2 cup parsley, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon of molasses
1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 quarts broth, beef or 2 quarts chicken
DIRECTIONS
For the outside shell, mix 1 1/2 lbs ground lamb, bulgar, onion, 1 teaspoon of salt pepper, molasses and parsley together with 1 cup water. Knead until it becomes cohesive and dough like.
Set aside and brown 1 lb lamb with a large minced onion until meat is cooked. Add parsley, salt and pepper a teaspoon of brown sugar and cool.
In the meantime, roll outside shell mixture into balls the size of a small egg. Use a bowl of ice water to keep mixture from sticking to your hands. Shape into cups by inserting your thumb into the ball and rotating it in your opposite hand until you form a thin shell. Keep wetting your hands in the ice water to keep shell from cracking.
Fill shell with cooked meat mixture, about 1 tablespoon, close shell, wetting hands with ice water, and seal opening.
Set aside on a sheet pan, continue to roll balls. Place tray in refrigerator to chill.
Boil 2 quarts of broth. Add meatballs and cook them 10 minutes or until they rise to the top
You can serve this with plain yogurt on the side.
ENJOY!
TRADITIONAL DESERT GATA
Dough
16 ounces full-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 cups all purpose flower
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1 tablespoon-sized pieces
Filling
1/ 1/2 cups all purpose flower
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1 tablespoon-sized pieces.
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
To Finish
Egg chalaza removed (thick white part by the yolk-use the egg shell to remove it, beaten.
Dough
1. The dough needs to be made the day or night before you assemble and bake your gata. Start by adding the baking soda and baking powder to the sour cream and mix it until thoroughly combined set aside.
2. Add half the flour and half the butter to the bowl of a food processor (if you have a really large food processor bowl you can do it all at once, but it's best to split it up). Pulse the mixture several times until it looks sandy and contains small pea-sized bits of butter.
3. Add half the sour cream mixture and mix until it comes together into a doughy mass. Remove the dough to a lightly flowered cutting board or work surface and repeat with the remaining flour, butter and sour cream mixture in the food processor. Add the other half of the dough to the dough already on the work surface and gently press it together to from a single dough (do not knead it, but just absorb one dough half into the other).
4. Cut the dough into four equal parts. One at a time, on a lightly floured surface, use your hands to press each dough piece flat about 1/2 inch thick, then fold it together like a letter, turn 90 degrees and fold again into thirds to yield a perfect square. Use your hands to straighten the edges and make sure the corners are relatively sharp. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in an air-tight container. Repeat with the three other pieces of dough and add them to the air-tight container. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Filling ("Khoreeze"):
1. The following day, make the filling. Add the flour and the butter to the bowl of a food processor and pulse the mixture several times until it looks sandy and contains small pea-sized bits of butter. Add the sugar and vanilla and quickly pulse just a few more times to combine, but not enough to form a dough. Pour this crumble filling into a wide, flat bowl and use a large spoon to divide it into four quadrants (just draw lines). Set aside.
Assembly
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F with the oven rack in the center. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Remove dough squares from the refrigerator at a time. Lightly flour a work surface and gently roll out of of the dough squares into a rectangle about 1 1/16th inch thick and about with dimensions of about 12-by-15 inches (doesn't have to be perfect.) Do your best to create straight edges and corners for your rectangle, and an even thickness dusting with minimal flour as necessary. Arrange the rectangle so the longest edge is facing you with the shorter edges on either side.
3. Add 1/4 of the filling to the rectangle and use your hands to spread it over the surface, leaving about 1-inch border at the furthest edge clear of filling, but otherwise spreading the filling from the edge to edge. Use the palms of your hands to firmly press the filling into the dough. this will make it easier to roll without the filling falling out too much.
4. Beginning with the edge closest to you start rolling the dough tightly. Sometimes it's easier to simply make a small fold across the length, using your dough scraper for assistance, and then continue with the rolling. When finished rolling gently press the top of the roll to help seal.
5. Carefully move your roll to a clean piece of parchment or wax paper on your work surface. Lay it diagonally if you must so it doesn't hang off the edges. Use your rolling pin to gently flatten the roll starting at the center and moving outward, and then again starting at the center and moving outward in the opposite direction. You are not rolling it out, but just using the natural momentum of the rolling pin to flatten it so it's not rounded like a jelly roll .
6. Brush the top and sides of the roll with the beaten egg. Use a serrated vegetable cutter (if you have one- and if not a dough scrapper will work but won't yield the pretty serrated edges to cut the dough into 1 1/14-inch slices. Very gently use a small spatula or your dough scraper to remove each piece to the prepared pans. The end pieces aren't pretty but will still be delicious for the chef, so make sure you add those to your pan as well.
7. When finished with the first roll, dump any extra crumbs from your parchment paper (as long as they're not eggy) back into the bowl of filling, and use your dough scraper to clean any extra crumbs from your original work surface and add those back to the bowl as well.
8. Repeat the process with the remaining dough squared on your clean, lightly flowered work surface (you can fold the parchment in half lengthwise and reuse it again once more, and then start fresh on dough # 3 with a clean piece).
Baking and Finishing
1. Bake the gata one tray at a time for about 25-35 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back about halfway through baking, until the tops are dark golden brown, and the dough on the sides is no longer pasty looking, and appears to be cooked through (it may even start to look slightly golden). Remove from the oven and replace with the next pan of gata. Repeat the baking process until all pans are baked, one at a time.
2. Cook the gata completely before removing from the baking sheets. To store, place them either on a large baking sheet pan, or serving dish. Cover with a large tea towel as opposed to foil or plastic wrap, which will cause the gata to soften.
3. You may freeze the gata in a sealed container lined with parchment or wax paper on the bottom, on top, and in between the layers. Refresh the thawed gata, if needed in a 350F oven for about 5 minutes or until they are heated through. This will help re-crisp them if they have softened (you can also use this trick if your gata softens after a few days of standard storage). The final result should be crisp on the outside, and flaky throughout.
ENJOY!
