Photograph by Gentl and Hyers food styling by Maggie Ruggiero  Prop Styling by Ayesha Patel

Photograph by Gentl and Hyers food styling by Maggie Ruggiero  Prop Styling by Ayesha Patel

Helga Testorf

Braided Cheese Straws

Amuse-Bouche from Issue 11 – Summer 2017 – Heroines

In 1986, it was revealed that Andrew Wyeth had been painting his neighbor’s wife, a stout Prussian woman with braided blonde pigtails named Helga Testorf, in secret for the past 15 years. Though she shunned the media attention, Testorf told one biographer of the experience: “I became alive. I’ve never done anything more worthwhile.” For the most recognizable girl next door: cheese straws braided as her hair was.

makes 12 braids, serves 6 to 12

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp smoked paprika
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 Tbsp ice-cold cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
3 to 4 Tbsp ice-cold milk
1 cup (2 ¼ oz) grated extra sharp cheddar

1

Preheat oven to 350°F.
2
Pulse the flour, salt, and smoked paprika in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it forms a coarse meal. Pulse in vinegar and 3 Tbsp milk. If dough doesn’t hold well, add the remaining Tbsp milk. Pulse in the cheese just until evenly combined.
3
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to roughly the size of an 11 x 14 inch rectangle and ⅛ -inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan, cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
4
Cut dough into ¼ inch strips. Working with three strips at a time, gently braid, slightly rotating each strip inward to keep braid snug. If dough gets too soft, chill briefly. Bake until just golden, 15 to 18 minutes.