Oaxaca Pizza

My Aunt Joanie is a good cook...no... a GREAT cook! She never steers me wrong when it comes to recipes. And she didn't this time, either. She told me about this simple pizza she makes every Friday night. And while it may be simple to make, it's far from simple in flavor.

Does one need another pizza recipe?? Is there anything original anymore when it comes to pizza? I think so!! At least this was new to me. First, she puts a pint of grape tomatoes in a baking pan, drizzles them with olive oil and adds salt & pepper, puts them in a hot oven (450F - 500F) for 15 - 20 minutes, then sets them aside to cool.

To save herself time (and trouble), my aunt purchases ready-made pizza dough from Central Market (pizza parlors have been known to sell dough very inexpensively, as well). And seriously, I would have purchased pre-made dough as well, but I was house-bound (a self-imposed sentence), so I blitzed up a batch of dough (see recipe below) in my KitchenAid  mixer in less than 10 minutes. I divided the dough into thirds.

Once the dough has risen, place the dough on a piece of parchment and spread out. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the dough. Transfer the dough onto a pizza stone in a 500F. oven (a pizza peel makes short work of this), and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes.


Now here's the big difference between this pizza and any I've ever had before: oaxaco cheese (say wha-ha-ka).  This Mexican cheese grates similarly to mozzarella but is a bit saltier, more flavorful, which makes this pizza tastier! Spread the grated oaxaca cheese over the baked crust and dot the pizza with the roasted grape tomatoes. Sprinkle grated Parmigiana-Reggiano over the entire pizza and place back into the oven. Bake for about 5 - 8 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

Before serving, strew basil cut into a chiffonade over the pizza. It's beautiful and delicious! (I'm sure you noticed the lack of gorgeous greenery over my pizza... )

Really, those roasted grape tomatoes and that wonderful oaxaca cheese... now that's a pizza! Thanks, Aunt Joanie!!

Pizza Crust

4 cups flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (this really makes a difference in the texture of the dough)
2-1/4 teaspoons dried instant yeast
1-1/2 cup tepid water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Mix flour, vital wheat gluten, instant yeast, water and olive oil. If dough does not come together and form a ball, add a bit more water. Let dough rest 10 minutes. Add salt, mix well, and knead for 5 minutes. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in draft-free area to rise until double, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.



P.S. I would have posted a few days earlier, but I was electronically stymied. The cord connecting my camera and computer was frayed almost in two! However, we are back in business! Thanks to all for your patience!!

"Duffins"

My friend, Marysol, at Memories in the Baking, originally shared the recipe for these little tastes of heaven on an internet cooking forum we both occasionally visit.  "Dirt Bombs" are wonderful muffins dipped in melted butter (sounds good already, right?!), then rolled in cinnamon sugar.  Covered in cinnamon sugar.  Glistening with cinnamon sugar. The coating keeps them moist and, well, irresistible.  My son said they were a cross between a doughnut and a muffin, and so re-named them "Duffins".  Fine by me!  Duffins it is!

Sol's Dirt Bombs
Yields: 12 muffins*

3 cups AP flour, minus 3 tablespoons
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk **

Topping ***
3/4 cups unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400º F. Place the rack in the center position. Generously grease a 12-cup standard muffin pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cardamom into a mixing bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down half way through. Mix in the eggs. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk in two additions, mixing gently by hand to incorporate all the flour. The batter will be on the stiff side, but airy. Don’t over mix or beat the batter as this will make the muffins tough. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, without smoothing the tops. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. As soon as the muffins are cool enough to handle, turn them out onto a wire rack.

Add the melted butter to a bowl. In another bowl, mix the sugar
and cinnamon. Dip the muffins (top, sides and bottom) in the butter, using a pastry brush -if necessary- to cover areas not buttered by dipping. Immediately roll the muffins in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sol's notes:
*I've made this twice, and both times, this recipe has yielded 16 muffins instead of 12.
**I substituted whole buttermilk for whole milk because I always have it on hand and prefer it for baking.
*** The amounts listed for the sugar and cinnamon are not quite enough to coat all the muffins, so I recommend you double it.

Roasted Garlic & Grape Tomato Pizza

I love pizza.  I love a good NY-style pizza.  I love deep dish Chicago-style pizza.  I'll even settle for mediocre delivery on a rare occasion.  But my real love for pizza lies within my own kitchen.  The crust can be thin. Or not.  If I'm making pizza for a crowd, I'll bake them in  pans.  If I'm making pizza just for myself  (or 1 or 2 additional people), I'll use the baking stone that permanently resides in my oven.  I like that I can top it with whatever strikes my fancy.  When I add vegetables to my pizzas, I usually like to saute or grill them first:  sauteed onions and mushrooms, grilled eggplant or grilled zucchini.  Or thinly sliced potatoes. Or pepperoni, browned sausage, olives, hot peppers or sweet peppers.  With sauce, without sauce.  Or white pizza - I love white pizza.  Round, rectangular, big, small.  *sigh*  I love pizza.

My pizza this time was going to be a smaller-than-usual pizza.  I roasted a head of garlic. (Cut the top 1/4 of the head of garlic off, drizzle olive oil over the decapitated garlic and sprinkle with salt  pepper.  Wrap tightly in double layered foil and throw in a hot oven (450F.) for about 40 - 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and open the foil.  Let cool until comfortable enough to handle. Squeeze the garlic out of its paper.  This is wonderful in mashed potatoes or spread over crostini.)  After pressing the dough out into a rectangle, I spread the roasted garlic over the dough, sprinkled shredded mozzarella over that, layered halved grape tomatoes over the cheese, and then strewed very thinly sliced red onion over the tomatoes.  A little salt, a little freshly ground black pepper, and a tiny drizzle of olive oil, and then into a hot oven (500F.) onto the baking stone for 15 minutes.  Oh my.  Delicious.

*sigh*  Have I mentioned I love pizza?

Weekend Blog Showcase: Orange French Toast

Welcome to this week's edition of Weekend Blog Showcase.  Visit Ann (Thibeault's Table) to see what she has made and to visit the other participant's entries.

This week, after a long work week, I needed a treat for breakfast.  Something satisfying and delicious.  I stumbled upon this Orange French Toast recipe, a la Nigella Lawson, at Paris Pastry.  I've been in an orange-y frame of mind lately (remember the Creamsicle Cookie debacle), and THIS time, I actually DID have oranges on hand!  And, coincidentally, a loaf of challah bread.

(By the way, if you've never made French toast with challah, you don't know what you're missing!  This bread wants to be French toast.  It just does.  It's the best.)

Okay.  So back to Orange French Toast.  I have to admit that I took some creative license with the recipe.  I added a little fresh orange juice to the egg mixture along with some vanilla extract (which I always add to the French toast egg mixture).  The other thing I didn't do, (okay - I really did get inspired by this recipe), was make the orange syrup.  I like my French toast with a little butter, and that's it.  So, I decided to forgo the orange syrup.  That said, I don't mind a little syrup on my pancakes, and I think this sauce would make a wonderful addition to a stack of hotcakes!  (Go with my stream of consciousness now:  a little orange zest in your next stack of pancakes, drizzled with Paris Pastry's orange syrup.  Sounds good, right?!  Note to self:  buy more oranges...)

I really did love the orange addition to the French toast.  It was so good.  My thanks to Paris Pastry for the inspiration.  Don't forget to give this gem of a blog a look-see.  She has many wonderful recipes and photos to inspire you, too!

Orange French Toast

2 eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4  teaspoon ground cinnamon
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 large thick slices, or 4 thin slices of white bread
Juice of one orange
1/4 cup good-quality orange marmalade(Paris Pastry noted she used apricot jam - genius!)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon, and orange zest in a wide shallow dish. Soak the bread slices in this mixture for 2 minutes a side.

While the eggy bread is soaking, bring the orange juice, marmalade, and sugar to a boil, then turn down to a fast simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. If you need to, let this syrup stand while you cook the bread.

Heat the tablespoon of butter in a skillet and cook the eggy bread for about 2 minutes a side over medium heat until golden.

Serve the French toast with some of the amber syrup poured over each slice, and a pitcher of extra syrup on the side.

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Join in on the fun with Ann and me.  Ann is hosting this week (thank you, Ann!).  To participate, find a recipe that appeals to you from another blog (Tastespotting and Foodgawker are great places to peruse to find ideas), make the recipe and post about it on your blog, referencing the blog you borrowed the recipe from.  Place the Weekend Blog Showcase logo on your post and sign into Mr. Linky.  That's all there is to it!  See you at Ann's!

French Bread

It's been awhile since I've made bread.  I have a hard time getting in the mood for a bread-baking session when it's 105 F. outside.  But the temperatures here have finally become less oppressive, to the tune of 68 F. and I'm motivated to get my hands in flour, yeast, and water.

I've posted about this bread before.  I got the recipe from Ann (Thibeault's Table) a few years ago, and it's the simplest bread recipe I use.  The food processor does all the work, a nice respite from the hand mixing and kneading necessary for our grandmothers.

It's easy to doctor up this bread dough.  Add some cheese and jalapenos, or cheese and roasted garlic, or whatever your imagination dreams up.  But today was just pure, unadulterated French bread.  It's great sandwich bread, even better toast!  To store, wrap the cooled loaf in paper towelling, then into a plastic freezer bag.  When ready to re-use, thaw, still fully wrapped, on the counter.  To reheat, I heat the oven up to 500 F, then turn it off and place the loaf directly on the baking stone or rack for 5 - 10 minutes.  The bread comes out wonderfully.

Many people are intimidated by yeast doughs... don't be!  Follow the recipe as written and you'll be enjoying a loaf of your own creation in no time!


Ann's French Baguette

1 package dry active yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
3-1/2 cups unbleached flour (bread flour)
2-1/4 tsp salt
1-1/3 cups cold water plus 1/3 or so additional water

Place the flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of the food process. Pulse to mix. Add 1 1/3 cups of water and process until the dough comes together. If the dough doesn't form a ball, add a little of the extra water. Process for about 60 seconds, turn off machine and let dough rest for 5 minutes.

Turn on the machine again and rotate the dough about 30 times under the cover, and then remove it to a lightly floured work surface. it should be fairly smooth and quite firm.

Let the dough rest for 2 minutes and then knead roughly and vigourously. The final dough should not stick to your hands as you knead (although it will stick if you pinch and hold a piece); it should be smooth and elastic and, when you hold it up between your hands and stretch it down, it should hold together smoothly.

Preliminary rise - 40 to 60 minutes at around 75°F. Place the dough into a clean dry bowl, (do not grease the bowl), cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place free from drafts. (note the French do not grease the bowl because they believe the dough needs a seat to push up from). This first rise is sufficient when the dough has definitely started to rise and is about 1-1/2 times its original volume.

Deflating:  Turn the dough onto your lightly floured work surface roughly and firmly pat and push it out into a 14 inch rectangle. Fold one of the long sides over toward the middle, and the other long side over to cover it, making a 3 layer cushion. Repeat the operation. This important step redistributes the yeast throughout the dough, for a strong second rise. Return the dough smooth side up the bowl; cover with plastic wrap and again set to rise.

Final rise in the bowl - about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or longer. The bread should be 2-1/2 to 3 times its original bulk. It is the amount of rise that is important here, not the timing.

To Shape,
Cut the dough in half. Set one piece aside and cover with a towel.

On a lightly floured work surface pat the dough into a 14 inch rectangle, squaring it up as evenly as you can.

Fold the rectangle of dough in half lengthwise and using the heel of your hand, firmly press the edges together where they meet. Seal well. Pound the dough flat. Now repeat - patting the dough out again and folding it over and sealing the edges. Pinch the edges well and Rotate the dough so that the sealed edge in on the bottom.

Repeat with second piece of dough.

Cover with plastic wrap or loosely with a towel and let rise to more than double again at about 75°f.

Place stone in oven and Preheat oven to 500 F.  Slash three long cuts into the loaves and place on the hot stone. Immediately toss a number of ice cubes on to the bottom on the oven to create steam. Bake until bread is golden and has an interior temp of 200°F. Takes about 20 - 30 minutes.

Makes 2 loaves

Olive-Rosemary Breads

Like many other food bloggers, I love to peruse the photos that make the cut at Tastespotting.  As I was scrolling through recent entries, I saw these Olive and Rosemary Breads posted by Technicolor Kitchen.  I knew this was going on my 'short list' to make soon.  Very soon.  The recipe was a basic bread dough but with the pop of fresh rosemary and chopped kalamata olives.  Admittedly, I spent little time in chopping up the olives - I left them in pretty decent sized chunks.  There's no mistaking their flavor in these rolls.  I also threw caution to the wind when dividing up the dough.  Instead of the 16 rolls the original recipe yielded, I decided to go a little bigger and make just 12.  I used a muffin tin, brushing each well with a little olive oil, then plopped the little balls of dough into each opening.  After their last rising, they were brushed again with olive oil, and then into the oven.  The wafting aroma of bread baking always makes me swoon.  The wafting aroma of this bread baking literally made me salivate.  My thanks to Patricia for being the talented photographer that she is!  I would hate to have missed this one!

Olive-Rosemary Breads


Basic dough:
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm whole milk
2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 quantity basic dough
generous 1/2 cup black olives
1-1/2 tablespoons rosemary leaves
all purpose flour, for kneading
olive oil, for brushing

Place the yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Add the flour, salt and oil to the yeast mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding a little extra flour if the dough becomes too sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Brush sixteen 1/2 cup (120ml) capacity pans with oil or cooking spray.

Press down the olives with the palm of your hand to remove the stones, then tear the olives into pieces. Knead the olives and rosemary leaves into the dough on a generously floured surface, incorporating extra flour to compensate for the wetness of the olives. Divide into 16 pieces and roll into balls.  Place in prepared pans, cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough is doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.  Brush with the oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Makes 16

Patricia's Note:  "These reheat really well."  Good to know!

Flammkuchen

Thanks to Dana (of Danalicious) and Ann (of Thibeault's Table), I finally tried this Flammkuchen.  To my mind, it's basically a German pizza.  A thin crust, topped with a seasoned creme fraiche, sauteed onions, and crisp pieces of bacon.  Doesn't the sound of that just evoke a heavenly aroma??!

I have to admit that I bastardized the recipe a bit.  Just a bit.  I made a regular pizza dough that I let proof for a couple of days in the refrigerator for the base.  And since I had no creme fraiche on hand, I decided to use sour cream to coat the crust.  No harm, no foul.  It worked perfectly.  The other thing I changed was to bake the crust for about 12 minutes before adding the sour cream and toppings.  The crust was nice and crispy, and the topping was amazing, with the sweet onions and the salty, smoky bacon.  Absolutely delicious!  I never would have thought that something so relatively simple good be so good - I was surprised!  Thanks so much to Dana for discovering the recipe and recommending it to all of us!!

Flammkuchen
(from Beyond Burgers and Bratwurst)

For dough*:
2 cups Flour
2.5 Tbsp Oil
2/3 cup Water
1/4 tsp salt

For topping:

1 cup crème frâiche (I used sour cream)

1 onion (can be red or sweet onions)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 pound bacon
salt & pepper to taste
1 clove garlic

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Combine ingredients for crust. The dough shouldn’t be sticky and should turn smooth and slightly stretchy. Roll out the dough as thinly as possible and place on a baking sheet or pizza pan or stone.  (*I used a French bread dough, letting it rise as usual.  I rolled out a about one-third of the dough into a circle and placed it on a perforated pan and baked at 500 F. for 12 minutes.  I then topped the crust and returned the crust directly to a baking stone - without the pan - for an additional 10 minutes.)

Thinly slice onions and sauté in butter until clear (don’t caramelize). Cook bacon until crisp. (Original author's note:  I prefer to cook bacon in the oven for a nice even crispness.) Finely chop garlic and add it with seasonings to the cream.

Spread the creme fraiche over the rolled out dough and top with the bacon and onions.

Bake for around 10-15 minutes, or until the dough has begun to create bubbles and you see nice browning (you don’t want burnt!).

For Printable Recipe, Click Here

Saturday Blog Showcase - Cornstarch Waffles

 

Welcome to the fifth edition of Saturday Blog Showcase!!  Ann (Thibeault's Table) is hosting this week  Be sure to sign in on Mr. Linky at her blog to join in on the fun!

This week I decided on these Cornstarch Waffles from Cooking Stuff.  Bob wasn't entirely thrilled with these when he made them, but I was interested in seeing what the cornstarch did to the texture of the waffles.  The waffles were light, crispy on the outside and very tender on the inside.  Quite delicious.  To be honest, it won't replace my standard recipe for waffles, but it was a slightly different change of pace and a little easier to make than my recipe.  And to be fair, the taste was quite good!  The kitchen smells like I've been making pastries.  How great is that?!  Thanks, Bob -

Cornstarch Waffles

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (or a bit less)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup whole milk or buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the oil, vanilla, egg and milk. Mix well. Let it rest for a half hour. Make the waffles according to your iron's directions.

 Source:  icookstuff.blogspot.com

For Printable Recipe, Click Here

Saturday Blog Showcase - Homemade Pita

It's time for our 4th Saturday Blog Showcase.  Ann (Thibeault's Table) and I are hosting the event.  Please find Mr. Linky at the end of my post to sign up.  We look forward to everyone's participation and can't wait to see everyone's creations and introductions to different blogs!

This week I made pita from Kosher Camembert, a lovely blog with photos and essays of Zahavah's travels.  Her pita bread recipe was so easy to follow.  The one diversion I did take from the recipe was that I did separate the dough into 10 pieces and rolled each individually into 6-inch discs of dough to form the pita.  Zahavah rolled the dough and cut out 6-inch circles.  I will have to try that sometime to see if my results are any different.  I was very happy with the way my pita puffed!  They're wonderful. Another great recipe to add to my ever growing repertoire!  Thank you to Kosher Camembert!!

Pita

Adapted from Janna Gur’s The Book of New Israeli Food and Joan Nathan’s The Food of Israel Today.
These pitot are the closest I have found to the ones you get in Israel, fluffy and perfect with hummus, for mopping up leftover salad dressing, or filled with chocolate spread. The trick to forming the pockets is baking in a very hot oven on a baking stone (or, if my case, on hot cookie sheets) and refraining from opening the oven during baking.
Makes 8-10 pitot.

- 2 1/4 t yeast
- 1 1/2 C warm water
- 1 T sugar
- 4 C flour (I used all-purpose)
- 1-2 T olive oil
- 1 t salt

Make the dough. Dissolve yeast in 1 C of the warm water with sugar. Allow to bubble up (takes ~ 10 minutes). Add to flour, olive oil, and salt in bowl of mixer. Knead with dough hook for 10 minutes. Add additional water, tablespoon by tablespoon, until dough forms a slightly sticky ball.

First rising. Pour a little olive oil into a large bowl. Roll the ball of dough in the oil until coated. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let dough rise until doubled (1.5 – 2 hours). I punch the dough down a few times during the rising.

Shape bread. Most recipes call for you to split the dough into 8-10 portions to roll out individually. But I prefer to easier method of rolling out all the dough and using a bowl to cut out 5-6 inch rounds. You can bake the scraps or re-roll them (this time I rolled the scraps into 3 individual pitot with not-so-round results).

Second rising and preheat oven. Allow the pitot to rise a second time for ~10 minutes. I do this on top of the oven as it preheats to 500º F. Heat cookie trays in the oven while preheating.

Bake. Pull a hot cookie tray out of the oven and quickly transfer half of the pitot onto it and return to the oven. Bake until all pitot have puffed to form pockets, 3-6 minutes. Repeat with remaining pitot.

Store. Pitot go stale pretty quickly, so the best way to store them is in in a bag in the freezer. You can reheat them for 20 seconds in the microwave after spritzing with a little water.

For Printable Recipe, Click Here

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To participate in Saturday Blog Showcase, remember:

   1. Make a recipe from another blog on any day of the week. Create a link to that blog in your post.

   2. Add the Saturday Blog Showcase logo to your post.

   3. On Friday night or Saturday, link your post to Mr. Linky.

Foodie Friday - Mini Bagels

When I saw Ann's (Thibeault's Table) post on the bagels she made, I was bound and determined to try them for myself.  The recipe is detailed, including a mention that the dough should be stiffer than most bread doughs.  I've tried making bagels before, but the texture of the dough was not something I'd ever paid attention to before.  It really made such a difference in the final texture of the bagels.  They were much easier to make than I expected though forming them took a little practice. A little shmear, a little smoked salmon... I'm all set (and very happy!)

Mini Bagels

2 cups warm water
2 packages active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
about 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
3 quarts water with 1 tablespoon of sugar
Cornmeal
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
about 2 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds.

Stir together water and yeast in large bowl of electric mixer; let stand 5 minutes to soften yeast. Stir in the Sugar and Salt.  Gradually mix in 4 cups of the flour and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. With a spoon, stir in about 1 1/4 cups more flour to make a stiff dough.

Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky, (about 15 minutes); add more flour as needed to prevent sticking - dough should be firmer than for most other yeast breads.
Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled ( about 40 minutes to 1 hour).

Punch dough down and divide into thirds. Set 2/3 of dough aside on a floured board; cover with clear plastic. form remaining 1/3 dough in a log and cut into 16 equal pieces.

To shape, knead each piece into small ball and poke thumbs through centre. With one thumb in hole (hole should be at least 1/2 inch) work fingers around perimeter, shaping ball into a small donut like shape
about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place bagels on a floured board or tray and let stand 20 minutes.

Bring water-sugar mixture to a boil in a 4 to 5 quart pan; adjust heat to keep it boiling gently. Lightly grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Lift bagels carefully and drop into water (about 6 at a time) boil gently for 1 minute turning only once (30 seconds each side). Lift out with slotted spoon and drain very briefly on paper towels, and place on baking sheet. Brush with 1/3 of the egg yolk glaze, sprinkle with seeds and bake in a 400° oven for 20 minutes or until richly browned. cool on racks.

Repeat with remaining 2/3 dough (you may need to punch it down before shaping,) working with 1/3 at a time. Makes 48 cocktail size bagels.

Source:   Sunset - Hors D'oeuvres, copyright 1981

For Printable Recipe, Click Here

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Thanks to Michael of Designs by Gollum for hosting another Foodie Friday.  Follow the link to her blog to see what everyone else made for today!

Saturday Blog Showcase - Linda's Goat Cheese with Olives, Lemon & Thyme and Rosemary Flatbread

Welcome to the 2nd week of Saturday Blog Showcase!  I'm hosting the Showcase this week - remember that Ann (Thibeault's Table) will be hosting again next week. Today I'm featuring a recipe I've been wanting to try for quite some time now from Linda of How to Cook A Wolf.  Her pictures of this lovely appetizer have always left me salivating, and so I couldn't wait to try it for myself.  I don't know why I waited so long!  It's delicious, easy, and unique.  The goat cheese gets a little warmed from the infused olive oil and the flatbread is the perfect accompaniment.  Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe, Linda.  I'll be making it again and again!

Goat Cheese with Olives, Lemon & Thyme

1/2 cup assorted olives
3 fresh thyme sprigs
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 (4- to 5-ounces) fresh goat-cheese medallion or 2 (2-ounces) goat-cheese buttons

Accompaniment: crisp rosemary flatbread (recipe follows)

Heat olives, thyme, oil, zest, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small skillet or saucepan over low heat until fragrant (do not simmer). Cool to room temperature.

Serve olive mixture over goat cheese.

Cooks' note: This dish can be prepared 2 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

Rosemary Flatbread

1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon

Preheat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle.

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin).

Lightly brush top with additional oil and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide round (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flatbread (discard parchment) to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds (1 at a time) on fresh parchment (do not oil or salt until just before baking). Break into pieces.

Cooks’ note: Flatbread can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Source:  Maggie Ruggerio via Linda/ How to Cook A Wolf 

For Printable Recipe, Click Here

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To participate in Saturday Blog Showcase, remember:

1. Make a recipe from another blog on any day of the week. Create a link to that blog in your post.
   
   
2. Add the Saturday Blog Showcase logo to your post.
   
   
3. On Saturday, link your post to Mr. Linky.

Ann and I look forward to everyone's contributions. Happy Saturday Blog Showcase!

Country Biscuits & Honey

I seem to borrow quite a bit from Ann's (Thibeault's Table) repertoire of recipes, and I did it again today.  With temps in the 20's and wind chills in the teens, instead of my usual weekday fruit smoothie, I opted for something warm and cozy.  And Ann's biscuits were just what I wanted.  Hot biscuits with melting butter and honey and a freshly brewed cup of coffee - NOW I'm ready to face the day!

Country Biscuits

2 cups of flour
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, lard, Crisco or butter (Ann's note:  I use butter)
1 cup of milk (cream) or buttermilk
if using buttermilk add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda)

Optional. Add a little sugar if you prefer sweet rather than savory.

Mix the flour with the baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until it resembles coarse meal. Stir milk or cream in to flour mixture. Mix quickly with fork until dough comes together. Using hands gently pat the ingredients together. Do not over-handle.

Pat out to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut with biscuit cutters and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes at 450°F.

If making cheese biscuits add the mustard and cayenne to the dry ingredients and add the cheese after the shortening has been cut into the flour.

Tip: An easy way to cut the butter into the flour is to use a box grater. The large side of the grater makes the perfect size pieces of butter.

Options:
You can use any favourite cheese. Gorgonzola and other blue cheeses are wonderful with the addition of black pepper. Cheddar cheese is good with chives or green onions. Sometimes I add dry mustard and cayenne pepper. Or bacon or ham.

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Eggs Benedict with King Crab

Yesterday I tried my hand at making English muffins. I love English muffins. Those little nooks and crannies of a well-made English muffin were made for oozing, melting butter or drizzled honey, or some homemade jam. My first attempt was slightly lacking but held great potential! A couple of them (the recipe made 8) even came out fairly well! They taste wonderful - I just need to get the grilling temp even. I will definitely work on that.

Now that I had a few of these on hand, I wanted to do something really special with them. Melted butter, drizzled honey, or homemade jam not withstanding, I decided on Eggs Benedict, which has to be my all-time favorite brunch dish. Now, many years ago, I had brunch at a little restaurant in Dallas that offered up a few different versions of Eggs Benedict, among them E.B. with King Crab. How decadent is that?! A split, toasted English muffin, layered with steamed King Crab meat, a poached egg, and a river of Hollandaise over top. It was the best brunch dish I'd ever had and have since recreated it at home for friends. And what a great way to start the new year, yes? Sheer decadence (to which will give way to more healthy eating... I hope... but... that's for tomorrow... ) ;-D

Eggs Benedict with King Crab

English muffins (recipe follows or use store-bought), split & toasted
King Crab, steamed
Eggs, poached (one for each English muffin half)
Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows)

Layer toasted English muffin with crab meat (as much as you like!) Place a well-drained poached egg over crab meat, and pour Hollandaise sauce over eggs. Serve and enjoy!!

Hollandaise Sauce
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup butter, melted and bubbling

Add egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and hot pepper sauce to blender, and blend about 5 seconds. With blender running, and partially covering top, pour in bubbling butter in a steady stream. Blend until thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

Yield: 3/4 cup

Source: GE appliance recipe, copyright 1978

English Muffins
1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings, see Cook's Note*

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F.

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using #20 ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork and serve.


*Cook's Note: Small tuna cans with tops and bottoms removed work well for metal rings.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/english-muffins-recipe/index.html

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Mushroom Ragu on Crostini

I made bread today (Ann's French bread recipe, as usual).  It seemed to turn out even better than usual, so I wanted to use it in my dinner tonight.  I was stumped for awhile until I remembered a recipe I wanted to try from the the cookbook my sister bought for me, Hudson Valley Mediterranean - The Gigi Good Food Cookbook.  I love this cookbook - so many wonderful recipes.  One of the ones that really appealed to me was the Mushroom Ragu.  I unfortunately didn't have the variety suggested in the recipe (different oyster mushrooms) - I only had button mushrooms, but the sauce adds so many wonderful flavor elements that marry so well together.  There's a mellow yet brightness to the flavors.

I sliced thin slices off of a baguette I had just made and toasted them under the broiler before topping with the mushroom ragout.  A little extra Parmigiana-Reggiano over that, a couple of minutes under the broiler, and the real tasting began... I was in heaven!  So good.  The warm, delicious creamy sauce and mushrooms were exactly what I needed for this chilly day.  You could also use grilled polenta rounds or softer bruschetta bread slices.  You won't be sorry!

Mushroom Ragu

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots (about 4)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chopped blue oyster mushrooms (about 6 ounces, trimmed; 8 ounces, untrimmed)
2 cups chopped orange oyster mushrooms (about 6 ounces, trimmed; 8 ounces, untrimmed)
2 cups chopped shiitake mushrooms (about 6 ounces, trimmed; 8 ounces, untrimmed)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 cup grated Fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in the largest skillet you have over medium heat.  Add the shallots and garlic and cook until the shallots are translucent and the garlic is just starting to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.  Increase the heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms, a little at a time, adding more as they cook down and start to shrink.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and keep stirring until the mushrooms begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.  Then deglaze the skillet with the white wine, and cook until the liquid has reduced to a few glossy tablespoons, 1 to 2 minutes.  Stir in the cream, rosemary, and lemon zest.  Remove the skillet from the heat, mix in both cheeses, and taste again for salt and pepper.  Serve immediately or refrigerate the mushroom ragu for a few days and reheat it over a gentle flame with a touch of broth or cream.

Source:   Hudson Valley Mediterranean, The Gigi Good Food Cookbook, copyright 2009

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Toffee Crunch Muffins

It seems I'm on a muffin kick these days!  They're so easy to mix together and bake without much clean-up, it's a great answer to my everyday question of  "What shall I make today?"

I came across these muffins on Recipesource.com.  It's a brown sugar muffin with crushed, chocolate-covered toffee bars mixed into the batter and sprinkled over the top prior to baking.  Doesn't that sound amazing?!  My kitchen was emitting heavenly aromas as these little things baked their way into my heart.  They are at once tender with a bit of crunch, sweet but not too sweet, and have become one of my favorite muffins.  The only slight change I made was to make them in a traditional-sized muffin pan, rendering only 9 muffins (though I may have slightly overfilled the cups).  Minis or conventional-sized muffins, you'll definitely be happy with these little gems!

Toffee Crunch Muffins
Makes 36 mini-muffins, or 9 - 12 regular-sized muffins

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 (1.4 ounces each) chocolate-covered toffee bars (such as Skor or Heath bars), divided

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Line muffin tin cups with muffin/ cupcake papers.

Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, mix milk, sour cream, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract.  Stir liquid ingredients into dry mixture, just until moistened.  Fold in 2 of the crushed toffee bars.  Spoon batter into muffin liners.  (I find an ice cream scoop works wonderfully for this procedure.)  Sprinkle remaining crushed candy bar over each unbaked muffin.

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