“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor meet together;
the Lord is the Maker of them all.” Proverbs 22: 1-2
“But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
in the presence of the godly.” Psalm 52: 8-9
I tried a new ‘old’ recipe last week based solely on the name of the contributor. As I was perusing an old cookbook I recognized a name from my childhood, Anna Bostrom. I remember calling her Grandma, even though she was not my grandma. She was my favorite aunt’s mother-in-law, and I remember her as a truly kind and loving little old lady.
In my memory she was always in a wheelchair, I believe diabetes had taken her ability to walk. The disease had not taken her ability to love and create. I have pictures of myself and my siblings wearing knitted and crocheted mittens, hats and slippers from Grandma Bostrom. She enhanced our lives and we looked forward to visits with her.
Grandma Bostrom models what is meant by having a good name. She has been gone for decades but the mere mention of her name evokes positive, stable, wonderful memories. No one is perfect and I’m sure Grandma Bostrom had her moments, but her name, for me, speaks of love and care. Her memory and reputation are greater than riches, better than silver and gold.
Over and over the Bible exhorts us to pursue lives of holiness and love, not lives of wealth and worldly acclaim. We are to stand firm in truth, caring for all, the rich and the poor. We are to share the good news of Jesus steadfastly, fervently, freely, to the end that when our name is uttered our reputation is that of Jesus.
What response do people have when they hear your name? Fear? Excitement? Dread? Joy? Does your name precede you in a way that is honoring to God? Our social media world can crush a reputation in an instant. What takes seconds to destroy can take a lifetime to rebuild. Be careful. Be thoughtful and intentional with your life. Your words. Your actions. Your thoughts.
The Psalms talk often about the great name of God. He is to be trusted and revered. His name is a strong rock, a foundation we can depend on. He never fails, never leaves us, always loves us and is always good and kind. Do you believe that? What response do you have when you hear the name of God?
I must admit that sometimes God doesn’t feel good and kind to me. Life can be hard. Not only difficult but traumatic events bring God’s good name into question if I rely only on my feelings and my understanding. Thankfully God’s good name and reputation are not dependent on my limited feelings and knowledge. Higher, deeper, wider, more abundant and expansive than I can begin to comprehend is God. He is the Great I Am. He is love. He is trustworthy. In the face of our sin and untrustworthiness He provided a savior to bring us back into relationship with him. His name is enough.
I don’t know about you, but I want that kind of reputation to be associated with my name. I want to be known as trustworthy and loving and kind. I want to be known as one who followed Jesus. I want to be remembered as someone who loved like Jesus. Years from now, if my name is found in a cookbook or at the bottom of an old Valentine or birthday card, I pray that the one who finds it remembers a woman who loved like Jesus.
While God’s good name can be trusted in all realms at all times, I’m afraid Anna’s knitting and crocheting skills beat her recipe writing hands down. I have tried her recipe twice now, and though the dough is good (when salt is added!) I cannot follow the intsructions to get a suitable Danish pastry. The original recipe says to make ‘twists’. My twists did not stay twisted, as you can see in the picture above.
The original recipe is pictured here:
Below is my attempt to refine the recipe. The dough is tasty and easy to work with; I just have not figured out the best way to shape the pastries to keep the butter inside, instead of burning all over the oven! If you find a way, please let me know!
I did look up the ‘yeast cake’ and found 1 Tbsp active dry yeast to be the equivalent. I wish Anna had added a few details about how flat to roll the dough, how small to cut the shapes, etc . . .!
Danish Pastry
- 1 cup cold milk
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 cups Gold Medal Flour
- 1/2 pound butter (that is typically 2 sticks of butter)
Dissolve yeast in cold milk in stand mixer bowl. Add sugar, egg yolks and flour. Mix well, until dough forms a ball. Chill 1 hour. Meanwhile, let butter stand at room temperature, to be rolled into the dough later.
I had a double yolked bonus egg, thus it appears to be 4 yolks!
Once dough is chilled, roll it on parchment paper into a square. I needed to sprinkle my surfaces with flour to make the dough easy to roll. Spread with butter, fold the dough in half, spread with more butter. Repeat until all butter is incorporated into the dough. It will be very buttery!
I buttered and folded five times. Then cover with plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Roll out, on a floured surface, and cut into squares. In hindsight, I probably should have rolled it out flatter and bigger, both to incorporate the butter more and make each pastry smaller for baking.
Place dough on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press the center of each square down to create a depression in the center of each piece. Cover with towel and allow to rise.
While the dough rises, mix the following together in a stand mixer:
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- most of the egg whites left over from the dough (save enough to brush the tops of each pastry for baking)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Blend until mixture is fluffy and smooth.
Remove towel from pastries. Push the centers of each pastry back down, and fill with a scoop of the cream cheese mixture. If desired, add a dollop of your favorite jam or preserve. Brush dough with the remainder of the egg whites. Place pastries in oven pre-heated to 450* ( I know that is quite hot!) for 12-16 minutes. Keep an eye on them, do not allow them to burn.
These pastries looked and smelled so good that my husband requested one straight from the incredibly hot oven. It seems I am close to getting this recipe refined!
Before I forget, I want to share a picture of the gorgeous Kringle baked by Claudia last fall! She follows the blog and tried the Kringle recipe to amazing success! Thank you so much for reading and sharing your beautiful confection!
If anyone has good fortune with these Danish pastries, please send me a pic!
For some thought provoking listening pleasure, here’s a song from Casting Crowns.