Archive for October, 2008

Daring Bakers: Pizza

Published
by
Jason
on October 29, 2008
in Dinner, Lunch and Recipes
. 21 Comments


This month’s Daring Bakers challenge was traditional pizza which is kind of funny because I have been making flatbread pizza by modifying last month’s recipe for lavash crackers.  This dough was very easy to work with and shape even though I used about half whole wheat flour.  I failed on getting a picture of me tossing the dough but I honestly didn’t get much height.   I topped one pizza with tomato sauce, a bit of goat cheese and fresh mozzarella.  I’m a little obsessed with goat cheese on pizza.  It really adds something to the flavor of fresh mozzarella.  I topped the other with sautéed onions, fresh thyme and goat cheese.  When it came out of the oven, I added sliced pears and a slightly sweet balsamic vinegar reduction (I added a little brown sugar and reduced the vinegar over low heat).  This was sooo good.  It was one of those combinations that just tastes like it was meant to be when you bite into it. 

Thanks to Rosa of Rosa’s Yummy Yums for hosting this month’s challenge.  Check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see what everyone else came up with!


~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled – FOR GF: 4 ½ cups GF Flour Blend with xanthan gum or 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup corn flour, 1 cup oat flour, 1 ½ cup arrowroot, potato or tapioca starch + 2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast – FOR GF use 2 tsp
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar – FOR GF use agave syrup
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

Continue reading ‘Daring Bakers: Pizza’

Bacon Pancakes

Published
by
jillian
on October 20, 2008
in Breakfast and Recipes
. 6 Comments

Bacon Pancakes, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

I was looking around the kitchen tonight trying to decide what to put in our ‘breakfast for dinner’ pancakes. I almost went the apple route but I have been putting apples in just about everything lately. I almost always keep bacon in the freezer, and crispy bacon sounded like the perfect thing. These were pretty wonderful with just the right balance of sweet and salty. I served these with some warm dark amber maple syrup and a bit of butter.
1 cup flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp ricotta cheese or plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp crumpled crispy bacon

Sift the flour and baking powder together. In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients and stir into the dry. Fold the bacon into the mixture and allow it to stand for about five minutes. Cook over medium low heat on a buttered griddle.

Spartan Apple Crisp

Published
by
jillian
on October 15, 2008
in Breakfast, Dessert and Recipes
. 8 Comments

Spartan Apple Crisp, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

Yes, another apple recipe! Apples are to fall what zucchini was to summer…readily available, fairly inexpensive and good in just about everything! This version of apple crisp is not too sweet and doesn’t need to be saved for dessert. It makes a really good breakfast or an afternoon snack. I used Spartan apples in this because they are naturally sweet and hold up well. Spartans are apparently the first apples produced as from a formal breeding program. I like them because they are equally good for eating and baking.

Apple Crisp
6 apples sliced

1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp tapioca
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ nutmeg
Pinch of allspice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp lemon juice
For the topping:
1 cup rolled oats
¼ white whole wheat flour
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
Toss the sliced apples in the spices, tapioca, and lemon juice. Press the apples gently into a baking dish. Combine the dry ingredients for the topping. Using your hands, crumble in the butter and honey until well dispersed. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 until the juice from the apples begins to run. Allow to stand for about 5 minutes prior to serving for the juices to thicken.

You could serve this with ice cream or whipped cream for dessert.

Barefoot Bloggers: Butternut Squash Risotto

Published
by
jillian
on October 13, 2008
in Dinner, Recipes and Side Dishes
. 4 Comments

Butternut Squash Risotto, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

  I am late on my Barefoot Bloggers post for last week, but I actually made this and just never got around to writing about it. I stayed really close to the recipe on this, I just left out the pancetta. This was really good and rich. The saffron gave this a surprising amount of flavor (it was worth the trip to Trader Joe’s). I would definitely make this again. It was really easy if you can make the time to stir it.

Below is Ina Garten’s recipe from the Food Network

* 1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 ounces pancetta, diced
* 1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
* 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 teaspoon saffron threads
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut it into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer.

In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice plus the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total. Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan. Mix well and serve.

Apple and Cinnamon French Toast

Published
by
jillian
on October 13, 2008
in Breakfast and Recipes
. 2 Comments

DSC_3384, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

I bought more apples this weekend! Given that apples are just about the only fruit in season right now, I bought a lot. I made this for breakfast on Sunday. I definitely don’t have anything against maple syrup (in fact, we gave little bottles as favors at our wedding), I have just been trying different things with breakfast. These sautéed apples are combined with a cider reduction. This had lots of apple flavor and tasted just like fall.
For the French toast, I combined 1 egg, 1 cup of milk, 1 tsp vanilla and ½ tsp cinnamon for 4 pieces of bread.
For the topping, I sliced 1 apple and sautéed it a tablespoon of butter. I added a tablespoon of brown sugar, and a ½ tsp of cinnamon. I removed the apples from the pan and added about a ¼ cup of cider. I reduced the cider down by about half and added the apples back into the pan and added another tablespoon of butter.

Spinach Mushroom Pizza and Green Tomato Margherita Pizza

Published
by
jillian
on October 12, 2008
in Dinner, Lunch and Recipes
. 7 Comments

Spinach Mushroom and Green Tomato Margherita Pizza, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

The flatbread pizza I made last weekend was so good that I had to make it again this weekend. This time I made a regular Margherita pizza topped with sliced of green tomatoes. These little green tomatoes are of note because they are the only tomatoes my plants yielded this year (thanks to my pillaging groundhogs). Green or not I was going to use them in something. After the jalapeno poppers, I was all fried out.
The other pizza I topped with spinach, mushrooms, cheese, and onions. This was J’s favorite, and I was really pleased with how it turned out too.
For the pizza dough, I used this recipe for lavash crackers and just rolled it out about 1/2 inch thick perimeter. I just bake it for 10 minutes at 350 and then remove it and add the topping and bake at 425 until it is done.
Here is how I topped the Spinach and Mushroom Pizza:
Ingredients
1 onion
1 ½ cups chopped mushrooms (I used cremini)
2 cloves of chopped garlic
2 tbsps sherry or white wine or chicken stock
1 package of defrosted and drained frozen spinach
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Sauté the onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil until they are translucent and add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook for another few minutes and add the liquid to deglaze the pan. Add the spinach and stir to combine. Add ½ tsp of salt and ¼ of pepper.
To top the pizza, spread the mushroom and spinach mixture evenly and dot the dough with ricotta. Tear pieces of fresh mozzarella to cover the desired amount of the pizza. If desired drizzle the top with a little extra virgin olive oil. Grate fresh parmesan over the top and bake at 425 until the cheese has melted.

Jalapeno Poppers

Published
by
jillian
on October 11, 2008
in Lunch, Recipes and Side Dishes
. 3 Comments

I really love all things spicy, and when J’s uncle offered me about a dozen fresh jalapenos from his garden, I couldn’t pass them up. There was no question that they were destined to be filled with cheese and fried. I actually stuffed and froze these several weeks ago. They have just been waiting in my freezer to be breaded. I defrosted them slightly before dipping them in the flour and batter. I used corn starch and egg white to get the coating really crispy. The goat cheese in the filling was really subtle but it added a nice dimension to the filling. I may have to grow some jalapenos myself next year to make more of these.

Ingredients
12 fresh jalapeno peppers
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup goat cheese
1/3 grated cheddar
½ tsp garlic salt
1 egg white
¼ cup corn starch
1 tbsp flour plus additional for coating
1 tbsp milk
Salt and pepper
Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the ribs and the desired amount of the hot seeds. Combine the cheese mixture and using a plastic bag with the tip cut off, pipe the cheese into the peppers. You should have some of the cheese mixture left over.
For the coating combine the egg white, corn starch and flour. Carefully add enough to make a thick batter. Dredge the peppers in plain flour and coat with the batter. Heat about a ½ inch of oil in a high sided pan over medium high heat. Fry the peppers, turning once to brown on both sides.

I served this with some of the filling for dipping but you could also use sour cream.

Apple Cake

Published
by
jillian
on October 10, 2008
in Dessert and Recipes
. 3 Comments

DSC_3253, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

I saw this apple cake on the awesome Smitten Kitchen, and I knew I had to make it. J and I bought a bunch of apples from our local apple orchard last weekend with this in mind. I also had a tube pan that I got last year for my bridal shower that I somehow hadn’t broken in yet. My visions of all the angel food cakes I would bake never quite materialized. I managed to over bake this cake a bit. The apples were super juicy and i was afraid that this cake wasn’t quite done enough. I think that next time I wouldn’t worry so much because this cake is meant to be moist. In the end it was still good, and it was even better reheated soaked in some apple cider. i really liked the carmelized sugar around the top. It makes me think of making a tarte tatin in the near future.

Click here for the recipe.

 

Flatbread Pizza with Eggplant

Published
by
jillian
on October 6, 2008
in Dinner, Lunch and Recipes
. 1 Comment

DSC_3242, originally uploaded by jasonrr.

When I was making the Daring Bakers lavash crackers, the dough made me think of making a thin flat bread pizza. I used the same exact Peter Reinhardt recipe with half whole wheat flour. I just didn’t roll out the dough as thinly and left a ridge for the crust. I topped this with homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh goat cheese, a bit of Parmesan, and thinly sliced eggplant. J wanted the topping to have a lot of onions. I made a really flavorful sauce that was really heavy on the onions and garlic. It went really well with the goat cheese. I have to say this came out as good as I had hoped and it was pretty quick to make. As an added bonus, this reheated really well in the microwave. I am not sure why but the crust stayed nice and crispy.

Here is a recipe for the very oniony sauce. This makes just enough to top one pizza.

Ingredients
1 sliced onion
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp anchovy paste
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 cup of pureed tomatoes

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions. Saute until the onions are translucent. Add the anchovies, and chopped garlic and cook for another minute. Add the vinegar and stir to coat the onions. Remove from the heat and add the oregano and tomatoes. Return to low heat and heat through for 5 minutes.