So, to make up for it, here's a big post. :)
I made a tasty and unique pizza for Mr. Zach and myself the other night, and unlike my previous pizza attempts, I made the crust from scratch! :)
FOR THE DOUGH:
-1 package Active Dry Yeast
-1 cup Warm Water (105 To 115 Degrees)
-2-½ cups All-purpose Flour
-2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
-1 teaspoon Sugar
-1 teaspoon Salt
TOPPINGS:
-about 3 tbsp. of your favorite pesto (we kinda eyeballed it. go to taste here.)
-a good handful of spinach, wilted in a skillet for a few minutes
-8-10 white button mushrooms, sliced and sauteed
-1/2 a yellow onion, diced and sauteed
-2 or 3 cloves of peeled garlic, minced
-1 nice lookin' tomato, diced
-sliced green olives (on Zach's half)
-1-1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
-freshly grated parmesan to taste
Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Add next 4 ingredients, stir. Give a quick knead (just in bowl), drizzle with olive oil and let rest in a warm place – 30 minutes.
In a skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil, and wilt your spinach in it. Set the spinach aside, then go ahead and saute your onion, garlic and mushrooms. Season them with some salt and pepper, you'll thank yourself for it later. :)
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle a pizza pan with a small amount of olive oil, punch down dough and gently fit it to the pan. Dot dough with a fork, sprinkle on some garlic powder and bake for 10 minutes. (I have the kind of pizza pan with the little holes in it, which make the crust a little more toasty. very nice! ^_^) Spread your pesto atop your crust, then layer your toppings. Zach likes to have a small middle layer of cheese (to stick the ingredients together), then the rest of the toppings and topped with the rest of the cheese. Season the top with a sprinkle of basil and, for added class and pizazz, add some freshly ground black pepper. Put that glorious pie back in the oven for another 20 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Let sit 5 minutes, cut and serve!
Tonight's menu featured Cobb Salad and Bananas Foster. Yum and Yum! The light nature of the salad totally made it okay to have such a decadent dessert. LOL :)
SALAD:
- 1 bag mixed baby greens
- 2 roma tomatoes, quartered
- 1 avocado, quartered
- 2 hard boiled eggs, cut into slices width-wise
- 4-6 strips of bacon, cooked to crunchy
- 6-8 slices of thinly sliced deli turkey
- 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar/Jack cheese
- BBQ Ranch Dressing (see below)
I started by making my hard boiled eggs by following the method outlined by The Incredible Edible Egg. I have never in my life made so perfect a hard boiled egg. They were mah-velous. I let them cool in cold running water while I put the salad dressing together. (see still below. ^_^)
While the dressing chilled, I cooked my bacon. I get the "fully cooked" bacon that you just heat and serve. I cooked it to crunchy in a skillet, and let it cool in a folded paper towel. Then, I crumbled it and put it aside.
I cut the deli turkey into little pieces and warmed it up in the skillet with a dash of pepper and some chili powder. Once it was done, I assembled the other toppings (quartered tomatoes and avocados, sliced eggs, crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and the aforementioned turkey).
To serve, I put a handful of the greens in a bowl, and topped with all the goodies, then drizzled the dressing on. Yum! :)
Dressing:
Prepare Ranch Dressing using Hidden Valley seasoning packet, following directions on reverse of packet. Reserve about 1/3 of the dressing mixture in a small bowl. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of your favorite Barbecue sauce, stir well, and chill for 30 minutes.
For the Bananas Foster, I prepared Alton Brown's Recipe, via the Food Network website (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/bananas-foster-recipe/index.html).
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) dark brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
* 1 tablespoon banana liqueur
* 2 under ripe bananas, sliced in half lengthwise
* 1/4 cup dark rum
* 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Directions
Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over low heat. Add brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg and stir until sugar dissolves. Add banana liqueur and bring sauce to simmer. Add bananas and cook for 1 minute on each side, carefully spooning sauce over bananas as they are cooking. Remove bananas from pan to a serving dish. Bring sauce to a simmer and carefully add the rum. If the sauce is very hot, the alcohol will flame on its own. If not, using stick flame, carefully ignite and continue cooking until flame dies out, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. If sauce is too thin, cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it is syrupy in consistency. Add orange zest and stir to combine. Immediately spoon the sauce over bananas and serve. Serve with waffles, crepes, or ice cream.
I omitted the orange zest. It turned out good, albeit a little "rummy". An adventure in cooking with real fire!!! :D
Anyway, I'm alive, and will definitely be more regular in my cooking, though maybe not in my posting. Since the last, I've changed job locations and am still settling into a routine. I need to cook more anyway. I gained 10 pounds over the holidays from eating too many baked goods and fast food lunches... oops!
Eat well! (but not TOO well... hee hee!) :)
January 26, 2010
December 8, 2009
cream sauce of distinction.
It's a cold, windy night. I got off work early and decided that it was high time I made a fabulous cream sauce.
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
6 whole sun-dried tomatoes, diced
6 white button mushrooms, sliced
1-1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp ground superfine mustard powder
3 oz grated Parmesan cheese
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
melt butter in a skillet on medium heat. add the tomatoes, garlic powder and pepper, saute for a few minutes. add flour, stirring constantly until it's a golden pasty glob. add some milk. stir stir stir, it'll thicken up pretty quickly. add mushrooms, mustard powder, salt and cheese, keep stirring. add more milk if necessary, for viscosity's sake. DO NOT UNDERSALT, it'll make it taste like a floury paste devoid of life. Cook on med-low heat until a good consistency is reached. I poured mine over some boil and serve ravioli I bought in the deli case at the store. MMMMM. :)
Try it!
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
6 whole sun-dried tomatoes, diced
6 white button mushrooms, sliced
1-1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp ground superfine mustard powder
3 oz grated Parmesan cheese
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
melt butter in a skillet on medium heat. add the tomatoes, garlic powder and pepper, saute for a few minutes. add flour, stirring constantly until it's a golden pasty glob. add some milk. stir stir stir, it'll thicken up pretty quickly. add mushrooms, mustard powder, salt and cheese, keep stirring. add more milk if necessary, for viscosity's sake. DO NOT UNDERSALT, it'll make it taste like a floury paste devoid of life. Cook on med-low heat until a good consistency is reached. I poured mine over some boil and serve ravioli I bought in the deli case at the store. MMMMM. :)
Try it!
December 4, 2009
Manly Soup!
I made a nice soup in my crock pot last night!
about 1lb beef chunks (sold as stew meat at most meat counters)
2-3 carrots, washed and cut into small pieces
2 celery stalks, washed and cut into small pieces (even the leaves. they are chewable and have lots of celery flavor!!!)
8oz white button mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 can beef stock (from the soup aisle, same size as the condensed soups)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper (and whatever spices you want, really) to taste
about 6oz water
Put all ingredients in the crock pot, set that sucker on high, and let it go for about 4 hours, until the meat's done all the way through and the veggies are soft. Zach made some noodles (the ones he used to make the chicken soup, in fact) to go with it. I had 2 bowls without blinking, it was so good. :) You can turn this into stew if you add some thickener, like corn starch. I'd dissolve a few tablespoons or so in some water or broth, then stir it in until desired thickness is reached, adding more starch as needed.
about 1lb beef chunks (sold as stew meat at most meat counters)
2-3 carrots, washed and cut into small pieces
2 celery stalks, washed and cut into small pieces (even the leaves. they are chewable and have lots of celery flavor!!!)
8oz white button mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 can beef stock (from the soup aisle, same size as the condensed soups)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper (and whatever spices you want, really) to taste
about 6oz water
Put all ingredients in the crock pot, set that sucker on high, and let it go for about 4 hours, until the meat's done all the way through and the veggies are soft. Zach made some noodles (the ones he used to make the chicken soup, in fact) to go with it. I had 2 bowls without blinking, it was so good. :) You can turn this into stew if you add some thickener, like corn starch. I'd dissolve a few tablespoons or so in some water or broth, then stir it in until desired thickness is reached, adding more starch as needed.
November 24, 2009
OH GOD
Look at the magick I have unearthed, and will make for Thanksgiving...
TIME FOR PIE
Commence to drooling NOW.
TIME FOR PIE
Commence to drooling NOW.
November 23, 2009
Giving Thanks.
It's been a long year! I have many things to be grateful for. Thanks to everybody who has given me a helping hand, a happy thought, a soft shoulder, something to fill my belly or my heart. I love you all and you make my life so rich. :)
Lovely Mr. Zach made a kick-butt chicken noodle soup last week, when I was sick. It singlehandedly cured me, and killed all the zombies. Miracle substance indeed!
Here's Zach to tell you how:
8 Cups water
8 Cubes chicken bouillon
1 8 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken
4 Stalks celery
4 Whole carrots
1 Medium yellow onion
1/2 Cup parsley
4 Cloves garlic
2 Cups egg noodles
Serves 6-8, or two with a lot of leftovers!
In a large pot mix bouillon and water according to directions for the bouillon. In this case it was one cube per cup of water. Add the cream of chicken, and start heating the mixture. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into thin segments, and add to the broth. Let the broth come to a light boil, and reduce the heat so that it continues to simmer. Chop the celery, carrots, onion, and add them to the broth (protip: chop the celery leaves with the stalks, and add them to the soup for more great celery flava'!). Increase heat to bring it back to a simmer if necessary. Chop the parsley, mash the garlic, and add them to the broth. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are almost soft. Add the egg noodles, and cook them at a fast simmer until they are done. Voila! Soup! Serve hot, and in bowls, preferably. Season to taste, however I found it quite excellent without any additives.
Sidenote: At the store I found "homestyle" egg noodles on the bottom of the noodle shelf. They are thicker, and more delicious than the thin spiral noodles (in my opinion). You may want to break them into smaller segments as they expand quite a bit when cooked.
Me again. He's cuuuute. :) Anyway, Thanksgiving is this week. I plan on making baked mac and cheese, caesar salad with homemade croutons and homemade dressing, and possibly a dessert. I can't decide between doing an old favorite or getting brave and making something totally new. I'll keep ya posted.
Have a good week! :)
Lovely Mr. Zach made a kick-butt chicken noodle soup last week, when I was sick. It singlehandedly cured me, and killed all the zombies. Miracle substance indeed!
Here's Zach to tell you how:
8 Cups water
8 Cubes chicken bouillon
1 8 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken
4 Stalks celery
4 Whole carrots
1 Medium yellow onion
1/2 Cup parsley
4 Cloves garlic
2 Cups egg noodles
Serves 6-8, or two with a lot of leftovers!
In a large pot mix bouillon and water according to directions for the bouillon. In this case it was one cube per cup of water. Add the cream of chicken, and start heating the mixture. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into thin segments, and add to the broth. Let the broth come to a light boil, and reduce the heat so that it continues to simmer. Chop the celery, carrots, onion, and add them to the broth (protip: chop the celery leaves with the stalks, and add them to the soup for more great celery flava'!). Increase heat to bring it back to a simmer if necessary. Chop the parsley, mash the garlic, and add them to the broth. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are almost soft. Add the egg noodles, and cook them at a fast simmer until they are done. Voila! Soup! Serve hot, and in bowls, preferably. Season to taste, however I found it quite excellent without any additives.
Sidenote: At the store I found "homestyle" egg noodles on the bottom of the noodle shelf. They are thicker, and more delicious than the thin spiral noodles (in my opinion). You may want to break them into smaller segments as they expand quite a bit when cooked.
Me again. He's cuuuute. :) Anyway, Thanksgiving is this week. I plan on making baked mac and cheese, caesar salad with homemade croutons and homemade dressing, and possibly a dessert. I can't decide between doing an old favorite or getting brave and making something totally new. I'll keep ya posted.
Have a good week! :)
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