"Terry Pulliam Burd" > wrote in message
...

<Snip>
> Anyone else have a kitchen tool a parent or grandparent or whomever
> used that you wish you had now?
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd...oh, and grandma's worn cleaver <sigh>

My "Russian Grandmother" had a wooden mold for the Russian Easter sweet cheese
called Paskha. Recipe to follow

Dimitri


PASKHA
(Easter cheese cake with candied fruit and nuts)
To serve 12 to 14

2 pounds of large-curd cottage cheese (sometimes called pot cheese
½ pound of unsalted butter, softened
½ cup of chopped candied fruit and rinds
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cup of heavy cream
3 egg yolks
4 cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of finely chopped blanched almonds

GARNISH
¼ to ½ cup of whole blanched almonds, toasted
¼ to ½ cup of candied fruit and rinds

Drain the cottage cheese of all its moisture by setting it in a colander,
covering it wit cheesecloth or a kitchen towel, and weighting it down with a
heavy pot or a heavy cutting board. Let the cheese drain for 2 or 3 hours.
Meanwhile, combine the candied fruits and vanilla extract in a small mixing
bowl, stir together thoroughly and let the mixture rest for 1 hour. With the
back of a wooden spoon, rub the cheese through a fine sieve set over a large
bowl. Beat the softened butter thoroughly into the cheese, and set aside.

Over high heat, heat the cream in a small saucepan until small bubbles form
around the edge of the pan. Set aside. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar
together with a whisk or a rotary or electric beater until they thicken enough
to run sluggishly off the beater when it is lifted out of the bowl. Still
beating, slowly add the hot cream in a thin stream, then return the mixture to
the pan. Stirring constantly, cook over low heat until the mixture thickens to a
custard consistency. Do not allow it to boil or it may curdle. Off the heat stir
in the candied fruit and set the pan in a large bowl filled with ice cubes
covered with 2 inches of water. Stir the custard constantly with a metal spoon
until it is completely cooled, then mix it gently but thoroughly into the cheese
mixture and stir in the chopped almonds.

Although the Russians use a special form for this dish in which to shape this
Easter dessert, a 2-quart clay flower pot with an opening in the bottom is a
good substitute. Set the pot with in a shallow soup plate and line it with a
double thickness of damp cheesecloth, cut long enough so that it hangs at least
2 inches over and around the top of the pot. Pour in the batter and fold the
ends of the cheesecloth lightly over the top. Set a weight directly on top of
the cheesecloth---perhaps a pan filled with 2 or 3 heavy cans of food---and
chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or overnight, until the dessert
is firm.

To unmold, unwrap the cheesecloth from the top, invert a flat serving plate on
top of the pot and, grasping the two firmly together, turn them over. The
dessert will slide out easily. Gently peep off the cheesecloth and decorate the
top and sides of the cake as fancifully as you like with the almonds and candied