Baked Blintz Food

CHEF JOHN'S CHEESE BLINTZES

Steps:

• Place 3 eggs, flour, milk, water, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a blender. Blend until completely smooth, 1 or 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Let batter sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Whisk together ricotta cheese, cream cheese, lemon zest, egg, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.
• Heat a 10-inch, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray or brush lightly with vegetable oil. Pour in about 1/4 cup batter. Immediately swirl batter around to coat bottom of pan. Cook until surface looks dry, about 1 minute. Flip crepe over to briefly cook other side, about 30 seconds. Remove to a plate. Repeat with the rest of batter. Stack crepes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly butter a baking dish.
• Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of filling onto the crepe, about an inch from edge nearest you. Fold edge over filling and flatten slightly. Fold in both sides, then roll up crepe into a small filled rectangle, ending with the seam on the bottom, creating a blintz.
• Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Cook the blintzes until golden brown on both sides, turning gently, about 2 minutes. Transfer to buttered baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven to firm up the filling, about 12 minutes. Cool blintzes 10 minutes before serving. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.

BAKED BLINTZES WITH FRESH BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch cake pan or baking dish.
• For the batter, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and blend until smooth. (You can also use a blender.) Pour half the batter (about 1 3/4 cups) into the prepared dish and bake for 10 minutes, until set.
• Meanwhile, for the filling, whisk together the ricotta, mascarpone, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the cheese filling over the baked pancake. Carefully spoon the remaining pancake batter to cover the cheese.
• Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and the filling is almost set. Remove from the oven and allow to stand 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the blintzes in squares and serve warm with the Fresh Blueberry Sauce.
• Combine the orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is translucent and thickened, stir in the blueberries and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, just until a few berries have burst but most are still whole. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and cool.

BLINTZES

Steps:

• With a whisk, beat eggs and milk together and add the salt. Gradually, a tablespoonful at a time, whisk in flour and beat until smooth. Heat a 6inch skillet and butter it lightly. Pour in enough batter to make a thin pancake. (If batter is too thick, add water to thin) Pour out excess back into the batter and don't worry if a "tab" forms on the side of the pan.
• Cook the blintz on one side only until the top blisters and it looks dry around the edges. Turn the blintz upside down onto a clean towel. Rebutter the skillet if need be, every 2 or 3 blintzes, and proceed until all the batter has been used up.
• Make assorted fillings, roll up and fry, or bake or freeze for another day.

BAKED BLINTZ

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375* F. Butter and flour a 9x13 inch casserole pan.
• To make filling: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese. Add cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1 tbsp sugar, and vanilla. Beat together and set aside.
• To make batter: In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1/3 c sugar. Add the 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour and baking powder. Add yogurt, sour cream, and orange juice and mix well.
• Pour 1/2 the batter into the casserole. Spread filling over batter. Pour remaining batter over top.
• Bake at 375* F for 45-50 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut into squares and serve garnished with dollops of sour cream and preserves.

BAKED BLINTZES WITH FRESH BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch cake pan or baking dish.
• For the batter: place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and blend until smooth. Pour half of the batter (about 1 3/4 cups) into the prepared dish and bake for 10 minutes, until set.
• Meanwhile, for the filling, whisk together the ricotta, mascarpone, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the cheese filling over the baked pancake. Carefully spoon the remaining pancake batter to cover the cheese (use a measuring cup and pour batter into a spoon over the dish -- this will prevent the pancake batter from mixing in with the filling). Return the dish to the oven and continue baking 35-40 minutes, until the top is liqhtly golden and the filling is almost set. Remove from the oven and allow to stand 10-15 minutes. Cut the blintzes in squares and serve warm with the fresh blueberry sauce.
• Blueberry Sauce: Combine the orange juice, sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is translucent and thickened, stir in the blueberries and simmer for 4-5 minutes, just until a few berries have burst but most are still whole. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and cool. Makes 2 cups.

MAKE-AHEAD BLINTZ CASSEROLE

Steps:

• For filling, place first 6 ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl., Place batter ingredients in food processor; process until smooth. Pour half of the batter into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Drop tablespoons of filling over batter; cover with remaining batter. Refrigerate, several hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. Remove casserole from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples and lemon juice. Cook and stir 5-7 minutes or until apples are tender. Add brown sugar and salt; cook 1 minute longer or until thickened. Stir in extract; cool slightly. Serve with casserole.

MAKE-AHEAD BLINTZED BREAKFAST BAKE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt into a homogeneous milky mix. Put half the bread in a 10-inch round or 8 x 12-inch rectangular baking dish and pour half the egg mixture over top. If you partially froze your cream cheese it will crumble easily, so crumble half the cream cheese on top of the bread mixture then top that with half the Sweet Potential. Finish with the remaining bread, egg mixture, cream cheese, and Sweet Potential. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight, or up to 48 hours.
• The following morning, preheat your oven to 350°F. Combine the sugar and nutmeg and sprinkle it over top of the bread. Refasten the foil, slide the whole thing onto the middle rack of your oven, and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, until crisp and browned. Serve warm.

BLINTZ BRUNCH BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Beat Neufchatel, ricotta, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup sugar, lemon zest and juice in large bowl with mixer until blended.
• Whisk remaining eggs, sugar, flour, butter, milk and baking powder in separate bowl until blended. Spread 1/3 of the batter onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with Neufchatel mixture, then remaining batter.
• Bake 45 min. or until center is set.

BLINTZ BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Pour butter in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 slices of bread on top, overlapping slightly. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom; sprinkle half of mixture over bread. Top with remaining slices of bread, overlapping slightly. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, ricotta, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest; pour over bread. Sprinkle with remaining brown-sugar mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake, covered with parchment-lined foil, 30 minutes. Uncover; continue baking until browned, 15 minutes more. Top with blueberries and confectioners' sugar; serve.

QUICK-AND-EASY CHEESE BLINTZ CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish or coat it with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a blender or a food processor (fitted with a steel blade), combine all batter ingredients. Process until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the container once or twice. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the batter, and pour it into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees forabout 10 minutes, or until it is set.
• Meanwhile, combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl, and mix them well. When the bottom layer has set, remove it from the oven and spread the filling over it, smoothing the top. Give the remaining batter a brief stir to resuspend the ingredients; then very slowly pour it over the cheese filling so the filling is completely covered. Carefully return the casserole to the 350 degree oven, and bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is puffed and set.
• Let the casserole rest for about 10 minutes before cutting it into squares. Serve with your choice of accompaniments.