Pizza

Everybody has a favorite crust. Some like thin, others thick, still others like something in between.
I most enjoy the toppings. Whatever crust you use at home, whether it is your own recipe or a pre-made flatbread, here are some topping combinations that have worked for me.

Sage Roasted Pear, Candied Walnuts, and Asiago: Peel, core, and slice two Bartlett pears. Toss them with a drizzle of olive oil, a 1/4 teaspoon each of sage, salt, and pepper and bake them in a single layer on a sheet pan until the edges start to brown. At the same time that you are doing the pears, coat 1/2 cup of walnuts with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of brown sugar and bake in a single layer until the sugar bubbles for at least 5 minutes. Use a 400 degree oven for both. Nuts take about 6 minutes, pears about 10. Lay the roasted pear slices around your crust so that they are evenly distributed. Scatter the candied walnuts over the bread. Now top with shaved asiago cheese, you know how much you like, and bake until your crust is done and the asiago is golden. This is really good on a thin crust and it also works well on a thicker, more bread-like crust.


Steak and Salad Pizza: Prepare a steak in the way that you like best. At a minimum, use salt, pepper, and garlic. But if you have a favorite marinade, use it. Now slice it very thin. Brush your crust with olive oil and lay the steak pieces over it. Scatter mozzarella cheese over it and bake. While it bakes, prepare a Caesar Salad. When the pizza is done and still hot, heap the salad on top. Now slice and serve. Best to eat it with a fork.

Cheeseburger Pizza: Brown some ground beef, breaking it up kind of small. Mix equal parts ketchup, mustard, and relish. Spread that on the crust. Top with ground beef, chopped red onion, and diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar. Bake until done, cheese is lightly browned, crust golden. Now top with shredded lettuce. Cut into slices and serve.

Chorizo and Roasted Butternut: Slice the chorizo into half moons, slightly thick. Bake them on a sheet pan just long enough to draw off some of the grease. Cut butternut into small dice, season with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast it on a sheet pan until it begins to brown around the edges. Chop 1 cup of jalapenos, pickled is best, but plain fresh will work too. Julienne an onion, chop 3 cloves of garlic, mix them together, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast on a sheet pan until beginning to brown. They can be done on the same pan as the butternut, at the same time. Top your crust with the onions, then the butternut, then sprinkle with the chopped jalapenos and then the chorizo. Doing it in that order seems to give the best coverage. Top with mozzarella and bake until done.

I use a pizza stone at home and set my over to 450. Pizza bakes in 8-10 minutes. You can also use a sheet pan or, if you have something like a par-baked Frescetta, put it right on the rack.

My Pizza Crust
I like a pretty thin crust. This is the recipe I use and I bake it on a pizza stone.

1 +1/2  cup water, 110 degrees
1 envelope instant yeast
3 cups AP flour
1 cup semolina
1T salt
2T honey
2T Olive Oil

Combine the flour, semolina and the salt. Set aside. In the mixer combine the water and honey. Whisk until the honey dissolves then add the yeast. let it sit until foamy. Add the olive oil and the flour mixture. Mix on med-slow speed for 15 minutes. Divide into two balls. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Shape into 2 pizzas.

Superbowl Snacks

So the big game is coming up and snacks are always needed. Here are a couple of good game day snack ideas. None of them are healthy...they are all bad for you. Such is the nature of a good game-day snack. If you are worried about it, have a salad on the side.

Bacon-Wrapped Smokies

1 package of Lil' Smokies
1/2 lb of bacon, each piece cut into thirds
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c brown sugar

Wrap the smokies in the bacon and secure each with a toothpick. Lay them out on a sheet pan with parchment or foil. Drizzle with syrup. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy. So good.

Easy Fried Ravioli

1 package of won-ton wrappers
1 c ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 c shredded mozzarella
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
3T chopped fresh parsley or 1T dried
1t salt
1/2t pepper

Mix together the cheeses, the parsley, the salt and pepper, and the egg. Lay out the won-ton wrappers. Place a tablespoon of the cheese mixture onto a won-ton wrapper. Moisten the edges with water, top with another wrapper and use a fork to press the edges to seal. Lay the finished ravioli out in a single layer on a sheet pan. At this point they can be frozen for later use. If using immediately, pour a cup of good vegetable or peanut oil into a frying pan. Heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Place ravioli in the pan in a single layer. Fry for 2 minutes, turn and fry for 2 more. Ravioli should be crisp and golden brown. Serve with your favorite marinara for dipping.

The Best Mozzarella Stix

1lb of fresh Mozzarella Cheese
2 eggs, beaten with 1T water
1c flour
1/4c corn starch
1c Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Cut the mozzarella into thick slices, and then into sticks. Combine the cornstarch and flour in one bowl. Lay out an assembly line of the flour mix, then the beaten egg, then the breadcrumbs. Dredge the cheese sticks through the flour mix. Next, dip it in the egg mixture and then back into the flour. Set aside. When all have been dipped, begin again by dipping them first into egg, then into the breadcrumbs. When all are done, place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. Pour 1c of vegetable oil into a frying pan. Add the mozzarella sticks in a single layer and fry for 1 minute on each side, until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels or a paper bag. Serve with warm marinara for dipping.

Chili-Cheese Dip (There is no excuse for this, but it IS addictive)

2 cans Hormel Chili NO BEANS
1 small can chopped green chilis
1 lb Velveeta Cheese, cut into chunks

Mix it all together. Microwave or bake until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.

Easy Xiao Long Bao

These are an easy version. They are fun to make and we make them in large quantities and freeze them in a single layer on a sheet pan. When they are frozen we put them in serving size bags for later use.

Broth
2c good chicken stock
3T good chicken stock or water
1T unflavored gelatin

Filling
1 pound ground pork
1/4 pound peeled de-veined, uncooked shrimp, finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon Mirin. Sake works as well.
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Sauce
1c rice wine vinegar
6T Tamari or Soy Sauce
2T fresh ginger, minced
1T local Honey
1T Sriracha

Wrappers
72 3 inch dumpling wrappers, round or square. The round ones make prettier dumplings.
1 head of Napa Cabbage, leaves separated.

Bring 2c of chicken stock to a boil. Remove from heat. Put 3T of cold stock or water into a small bowl. Sprinkle with the 1T of unflavored gelatin and let bloom. Stir into hot stock. Pour it out onto a sheet pan lined with parchment. Put in the fridge to chill and set. When set cut into small cubes, 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch.

Mix all of the filling ingredients together until well blended.
Mix all of the sauce ingredients together. Refrigerate while preparing the dumplings.


Place a scant teaspoon of filling and 2-3 cubes of gelatinized stock into the center of the wrapper. Gather the wrapper up around the filling, fanning and sealing as you go. Be sure and completely seal the wrapper. If you are having trouble, try moistening the edges of the wrapper before crimping. This is the point at which you would freeze dumplings if you'd like.

Line the steamer basket or pan with the napa cabbage leaves and place the dumplings upon them with space between each dumpling. Steam gently for 10-12 minutes. Serve with sauce.

Free Soup

This week we are doing Lentil Soup. I like lentils because it doesn't take many to pack a nutritional punch. They are nature's little powerhouse, after all. Lentils work well in both hot and cold applications, but I like them best in soup. There are any variations on Lentil Soup. I have recipes with cabbage and tomatoes, barley and mushrooms, and my very, very favorite, mujaddara, which is not really a soup, but I always think of it that way. But today we are doing a traditional lentil and vegetable soup.


3c brown lentils
2 onions, med dice
2 carrots, med dice
3 stalks of celery, med dice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2T Olive Oil
2lbs or 1 large can of tomatoes, chopped or diced
2 quarts good chicken stock. Use vegetable stock to make this a vegan dish.
1 bunch of interesting greens, chopped. (I have used spinach, chard, bok choy, napa cabbage, green cabbage, collards and mustard greens. Just be aware that different greens have different cooking times and you want them to be a fresh addition, not swampy.)
1t cinnamon
1t cumin
1t cardamom
1t ginger
1t coriander
2T salt
1t black pepper

In your soup pot over medium high heat, saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the olive oil until the garlic begins to soften and brown around the edges. Toss in the cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, ginger, coriander, salt, and pepper and continue to saute for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, scraping up the fond from the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken stock, 2 quarts of water, and the lentils to the pot. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer for an hour. Remove the cover, add the greens and cook simmer until the green are just done. For using greens such as mustard or collard where you might desire a longer cooking time, reduce the initial simmer accordingly.

If a bunch more people drop in for dinner, you can always throw on a pot of rice. When it's time to serve, scoop rice into the bowls before serving. It will stretch the number of servings considerably.

Free Soup

Sunday is "Free Soup" day this year. So on Sunday I make a big batch of soup, post a notice on Craigslist and on the Front Porch Forum announcing Free Soup and saying what I'm making. Please bring your own containers.

Anyway, today is the first Free Soup of 2015 and so I did "Hoppin' John Soup". Served it with Chipotle Corn Bread.

Here's the Free Soup Recipe of the Week

Hoppin John Soup

2 onions, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced
1 Tomato, chopped

3 smallish dried chipotle peppers
2 cans of black eyed peas, drained
1 large can puree tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1lb. ham, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 t. Salt
1T Olive Oil
2 cups cooked Brown Rice
2T Parsley
1T Cumin
1T Garlic Powder
1T Chili Powder
2T Oregano

In a soup pot, cook the onions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until they begin to sweat. Add the chipotle peppers, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and oregano and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the tomato, tomato puree, chicken broth (or stock) and black eyed peas. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add the ham and heat through.

Now if you are serving it immediately, add the rice when you add the ham. Otherwise, keep the rice separate until ready to serve. I like corn bread with it. But it is also good with black bean corn chips and Fritos.

Basil Chicken

I love this dish because it is easy, satisfying, and the long, slow simmer fills the house with a delightful aroma. I serve this over noodles, usually. But I have occasionally served it with basmati rice or roasted fingerling potatoes.

2# chicken thighs, skin and bones removed, quartered
15 oz coconut milk
5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch of fresh basil, roughly chopped*
1 onion, medium dice
1T Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste


In a dutch oven over a medium heat, saute the onions until they are translucent. Add the chicken and continue to cook until the chicken is browned on all sides. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, and basil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 3-4 hours. You could also put the dutch oven in a 250 degree oven and bake for 3-4 hours. I put mine on the wood stove. Season to tast with salt and pepper and serve with egg noodles, potatoes, or rice.

*There is just no such thing as too much basil in this dish.