Two Homemade Fall Pizzas

Whenever I go back to Colorado Springs to see my family I always try to find time to make a delicious meal for everyone.  My reasoning for this is three fold:
1. I love cooking...that is a given
2. My Mom usually purchases the groceries and I can't say I mind cooking on someone else's dollar...  Thanks Mom!
3. You should see my parents' kitchen.  My Mom had her midlife crisis in the form of changing her entire kitchen and she did a great job with the new design.  The drawers close on their own, the fridge beeps at you if you leave it open, she has a warming drawer (ideal for holiday meals) AND she is a lady with a deep and sincere love for appliances and gadgets.  Can't go wrong with any of that!

So, the last time I was home we went with two recipes my Mom found for pizza: roasted root vegetable pizza and zucchini and summer squash pizza.  Both were good, but the easiest of the two was the zucchini and summer squash and ended up being the family favorite by far.  I literally made my Mom double check the recipe to make sure we had done everything because it was just too easy to be true.

Don't be fooled.  Neither pizza is a pizza as you would typically imagine.  No red sauce here!  But I promise if you are a fan of vegetables, particularly those of the fall variety, you will be pleased.

Zucchini and Summer Squash Pizza (From William Sonoma)

Ingredients:

• 1 green zucchini, sliced 3/16 inch thick
• 1 yellow zucchini, sliced 3/16 inch thick
• 1 Tbs. Parmesan dipping and drizzling oil, plus more for brushing
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Two 10-inch pizza dough round, homemade or store bought
•   6 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 oz. ricotta salata or goat cheese
• 6 large fresh basil leaves, minced

 

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 475 degress.
• In a bowl, stir together the green and yellow zucchini, the 1 Tbs. oil, salt and pepper. Let stand for 5 minutes, then drain off the excess liquid.
• Place 1 pizza dough round on a floured surface (ideally a pizza board). Lightly brush the dough with oil. Sprinkle 2oz. of the mozzarella on the dough and top with half of the zucchini and then sprinkle one more ounce of the mozzarella on top.
• Transfer the pizza to the oven, tapping the peel lightly to release the pizza. Bake until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the pizza occasionally to ensure even browning.
• Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the pizza. Grate or crumble half of the ricotta salata over the pizza and sprinkle with half of the basil. Cut into slices and serve immediately. 
• Repeat to cook the remaining pizza. Makes two 10-inch pizzas.

Roasted Root Vegetable Pizza (From Martha Stewart)

Serves 4 
Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 pound homemade pizza dough or store-bought pizza dough, fresh or frozen (thawed)
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 6 cups (about 1/2 recipe) Roasted Root Vegetables
• We used a small butternut squash, chopped
• 2 small red onions, cut into sixths and layers separated
• 6 small carrots cut lengthwise and into 1 inch chunks
• 1 small acorn squash, chopped
• 5 small red potatoes cut into sixths 
• *Note - potatoes on pizzas seems weird, I know...but it is delicious!
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (optional)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Brush a large rimless baking sheet with oil. Gently stretch dough into 12-by-16-inch oval (or as large as will fit on baking sheet); transfer to prepared sheet.
2. Sprinkle dough evenly with half the mozzarella. Scatter vegetables on top, then dollop with ricotta; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and the rosemary, if desired. Drizzle with oil; season with salt and pepper. Bake rotating sheet from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

I must give my Mom credit for these pizzas as she did most of the work making the dough and getting the pizzas in and out of the oven.  I may have bitten off more than I could chew that weekend with work, school, and being able to function in general, so thank you Mom for a delicious meal!

Bon Appetit!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

While I am on a curry kick, you MUST try this delicious curried butternut squash soup.  I found this recipe in the Colorado Classique cookbook and the two times I have cooked this I made some very slight, but hardly noticeable changes to the original recipe. 

This soup was a pleasant discovery because I have a bad habit of staying away from potato/squash/ pureed soups because
1. They often times use heavy cream and my unfortunately slow metabolism and I try to avoid heavy creams more often than not, and
2. They seem like much more work than broth based soups

Well, now that I have a handy dandy high tech food processor I can no longer find an excuse for not making delicious pureed soups....and as for the metabolism, that is what a treadmill is for! 
Please note, this soup does not actually use heavy cream (yes, good find Leah) but I felt the need to explain to you why I am turned off by creamier soups. 

Anyway, now that the first winter storm has hit the Colorado Front Range and Thanksgiving is somehow right around the corner, you should give this soup a try and thank me for providing you with an easy to prepare accompaniment to your Thanksgiving meal or just thank me for the comfort your body will feel when you consume this butternut deliciousness on a cold winter day.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Makes 6-8 portions. 45 minute Prep.  30 minutes cook time

Ingredients

• 2.5 - 3 lbs of butternut squash, cooked until tender 
• 4 T butter
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 T curry powder
• 4 C chicken broth
• Optional: grated white cheddar cheese (Colorado Classique garnishes with plain yogurt & mint)
  

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop squash and place on rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes.  (You can also cut the squash in half and cook in the microwave for 8-10 minutes cut side down, but I prefer the oven roasted flavor)

2. Meanwhile, prep other ingredients
3. When there is 5-10 minutes left on the squash, melt butter in a stockpot

 4. Add shallots, onions, garlic, and curry powder and saute for 5 minutes

5. Add cooked squash to the pot, add chicken broth and bring to a simmer
Cook for 30 minutes

6. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor, season to taste and garnish with white cheddar cheese, or with plain yogurt and mint

 7. Serve Hot...Of Course!!

The second time I made this I served it with green beans that were boiled, and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, craisins, and sliced almonds.  Not a bad combination if I say so myself!

Bon Appetit!

Chicken in Yellow Curry - a delicious and hearty dish!

      For those of you that have followed my blog since the beginning (maybe you are out there somewhere...) you may have read about the unbeatable Italian treat: Roasted Balsamic Strawberries.  That recipe as well as the recipe below comes from one of the greatest cook books I own, The World Kitchen. 
     I have made many recipes from this unique and worldly cookbook, but the Chicken in Yellow Curry is my first adventure in trying a recipe from the Thai and Vietnamese region of the book.  I do love curry though, so I had a lot of faith in how this recipe would turn out; plus, Luke and I both were aching for some sweet potatoes!
     This dish is relatively easy to make (although cooking the chicken can get time consuming) but the delight that follows is well worth the wait.  Tender chicken soaked in a sweet, yet slightly spicy sauce...what more could you ask for?

 Chicken in Yellow Curry Deliciousness (makes about 6 servings, allow just over an hour for cooking)
Ingredients:

• 3 T canola oil
• 3 lbs, skinless chicken thighs (recipe calls for bone in, but I prefer boneless)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 3 T curry powder
• 1 T packed brown sugar
• 1 T red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 stalks lemongrass (*Note: Lemon grass can be expensive.  Instead I substituted 1.5t lemon zest and 1/8t minced ginger....thanks to the AmAzInG Food Substitutions Bible)
• 1 T minced ginger
• 1 C chicken stock
• 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
• 2 T fish sauce
• 3 carrots, cut into about 1 inch chunks
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• Slices of fresh basil leave (to garnish, about 3 T)

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven or heavy pot (3.5 quarts is just big enough), warm the oil over med-hi heat.  Working with about 3 thighs at a time, sear chicken until browned on both sides (about 8 minutes per batch).  Set aside on plate.
2. Add garlic and shallots to pot and saute until fragrant (30 seconds or so).  Add the curry, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, about 1t black pepper, lemongrass (or substitute), and ginger and saute until fragrant and well blended (another 30 seconds or so).  Add the stalk and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.  Stir in coconut milk and fish stalk and bring mixture to a boil.
3. Once boiling, add all chicken, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  Make sure all are pushed down into the pot to be covered by the sauce.  Partially cover and cook over low heat for about an hour.  Veggies should be tender and chicken cooked through.
4. Spoon mixture into bowls and garnish with the basil.  Serve hot for a heart warming, curry experience!  (*Note: the recipe says to spoon the mixture onto a platter, but as far as I am concerned this would create a terrible saucy mess....so I opted to spoon straight into bowls.  One less thing to clean)!  

Heart Warming Deliciousness in Every Bite!!

This is a nice warm meal, perfect for a fall or winter day.  Please let me know what you think and Happy Cooking!

Bon Appetit!

Homemade Walnut Pesto!!!!!

Throughout the year, we have been growing basil on our balcony but have not been doing a very good job of consuming it.  The amount of basil we had was not proportionate to the time we had to eat it before winter which lead to making Walnut Pesto!!! I can not take credit for the idea of making pesto with our exuberant amount of basil, that was all the idea of my mother-in-law.  I had originally thought we could dry the basil with the food dehydrator, but pesto sounded much more delightful!

I found the recipe below via foodgawker.com, but it comes from a blog called Cookie + Kate which turned out to be a delightful food blog that I plan to visit more often. Food Blogs make my life, or atleast a small portion of my life, complete =)

I decided to make walnut pesto instead of the traditional pine nut pesto for two main reasons:

1. Pine nuts are more expensive than walnuts
2. Some pine nuts can leave a bitter taste in your mouth called 'Pine Mouth' and I didn't want to run the risk of using a bad batch of pine nuts in our mass produced batch of pesto!

WALNUT PESTO:

Ingredients:

• 3 lightly packed cups of basil, washed
• 3 medium garlic cloves, peeled 
• 3/4 Cups of walnuts, lightly toasted
• 3/4 Cups of olive oil (if you prefer thinner pesto, add more, but this is plenty in my mind!)
• Salt, to taste
• Lemon Juice (optional, but the approx. teaspoon I used added great flavor!)

Instructions:

Step 1: Toast walnuts over med-hi heat, until fragrant

1. Toast the walnuts over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes
2. In a food processor, combine basil, walnuts and garlic cloves
3. Drizzle olive oil into food processor while pulsing other ingredients
4. Transfer mix from food processor to bowl.  Add salt and lemon to taste.
5. Transfer to lidded bowl for storage in the fridge, or if you plan to freeze some, transfer to multiple containers for storage in the freezer  

Step 2: Combine basil, walnuts and garlic in food processor

Place pesto in container(s) for storage in fridge and/or freezer

The pesto tasted delicious when we made it, although I have yet to use it in any recipes as of now.  I recently made scrambled eggs with some pesto mixed in which was delicious and it always makes for a flavorful condiment on sandwiches.  Or you can always go the more traditional route of using it in your favorite pasta dish! Keep a look out and I will try to post some recipes including pesto soon!

Bon Appetit!