The first Academy Award ceremony which was the brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, head of the powerful MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) film studio, was held in May 1929. As a kid, I remember dreading the night the Academy Awards were to air. It was an epic telecast of movie stars I had never heard of, nominated for films I had never seen, wearing clothes made by designers I could never afford. With the advent of cable television, DVDs, DVRs, and the internet, I now look forward to the festivities which now begin midday, and go well into the evening with interviews performances and even live-action selfies posted simultaneously on social media accounts.
1 batch sour cream pastry dough
1/3 cup almond meal (or blanched almonds finely ground)
1/3 cup Italian green olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1 anchovy filet or ½ teaspoon of anchovy paste (optional)
In a small mixing bowl, combine ground almonds, chopped olives (we used Picholine olives) and anchovy and stir into a paste.
Remove and discard plastic wrap from 1 half of dough, keeping other half wrapped and chilled. Put unwrapped dough in center of 1 sheet of floured parchment paper. Dust dough with flour and cover with another sheet of parchment, then roll out dough into a 9-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick).
Cut the dough into long triangles (like the dough for crescent rolls.) I prefer to roll the dough into a rectangle and cut at alternating angles, but you could also roll the dough into a circle and cut the dough pie chart style.
On the wide end of each triangle, place a small dollop (about a scant teaspoon) of the almond-olive paste and then roll the rugelach from the base to the point of the triangle. Repeat until all the dough is used.
Freezing Instructions: You can freeze unbaked rugelach on a baking sheet until they’re firm, then gently transfer them to a resealable freezer bag. Store them in the freezer for up to 1 month. To bake them from frozen, just add a few minutes to the baking time.