Pissaladière

Here's a yummy little snack I pulled together using leftover pizza dough. I'll certainly be making this again!

Pissaladière is a French-style, tart-like form of pizza. This is almost a pissaladière. Hailing from the southern part of France, traditional pissaladière is a flaky style crust with onions, olives and anchovies.

That was my inspiration.

I had a leftover portion of pizza dough (from here.) I stretched it out into a rectangle and brushed with melted butter. I added about 1 TB dried Italian herbs to the butter. Perhaps some French herbs next time. Thyme, Tarragon, Parlsey...Herbs de'Provence.

I caramelized one medium onion, which I spread out over the top of the buttered dough. I would add a second onion next time.

On top of that, I added freshly grated Parmigiana. Being anti-olive and anti-anchovy, those won't be making an appearance.

I baked for about 17 minutes at 450, on a baking sheet. The last few minutes, I removed the pissaladière to the baking stone in the oven to get the crust more crispy.

Slice and serve. I'd show you a picture, but I was too excited to serve this to my guest that evening, that I forgot. This was tasty and I will certainly make this again.

A Healthier Chicken Parm

I really liked this. I first experimented with this a few weeks ago. Instead of frying breaded chicken cutlets in oil, I put them on the grill pan. It worked! The flavor is good. The texture is crispy, but light. And most of all, the chicken doesn't feel heavy, oily or otherwise weighed down my oil. Don't get me wrong, I love some fried goodness, but I wanted to try a healthier alternative. Let's get started.

A Lighter Chicken Parmesan

To get started, you need to prep your coating for the chicken. Use large plates or pans to help with preventing too much mess. You need three plates. Plate 1: seasoned flour. I use regular white flour, plus salt, pepper, ground oregano, garlic powder and some cayenne pepper. This will dry the chicken and give the coating something to stick to! Plate 2: eggs, whisked with a wee touch of water. The egg needs to stick to the flour. In turn, the eggs helps the outer coating to stick. Plate 3: the breading. For this application, I used two types of bread crumbs. Traditional plain breadcrumbs and Japanese-style Panko breadcrumbs. I did this for one reason; since I'm not frying these in oil, I want to make the coating as crunchy as possible. The panko help with that. Since panko are more expensive than regular, I used a mix to help spread the wealth as it were. Season the breadcrumbs with a variety of herbs; an Italian blend or use basil, parsley, thyme, savory, oregano. Or use something completely different, whatever you like.

To coat the chicken, pat them dry with a paper towel, dip in the flour and coat all sides, dip in the egg and coat all sides then dip into the breadcrumbs and press down on all sides to get a nice hearty coating on the chicken.

Now to cooking. I used a grill pan. No oil, just get the grill pan nice and hot over a medium-high flame. Gently lay the coated chicken cutlets on the pan and cook for a few minutes per side. Lift gently to take a peak on the underside. You're going to start to see grill marks and a nice golden color.

The first side is done. Finish the next side. In this particular instance, I wasn't concerned about the chicken being cooked through as it was going to go in the oven for up to 10 minutes, and will finish cooking there. If you are not using the oven, lower the heat and let the chicken cook an extra few minutes per side to cook all the way through. You need to lower the heat or you will end up with scorched coating and a raw interior.

When the chicken was browned, I placed on a baking sheet and spooned on some leftover red sauce from the other night, and sprinkled on the parm.

Place some mozzarella cheese on top and place in the oven. I did about 5-7 minutes in a 350 degree oven to finish cooking the chicken and melt the cheese. For the last 2-3 minutes I put the chicken under the broiler to make the cheese bubbly and golden brown. If you really want to make this a lighter, healthier chicken parm, use less cheese, use a fat free cheese, whatever you like. I happened to have the grocery store, part skim mozz. It was good. If I was being decadent, I would have gotten some fresh mozz and used that. All good. Use what you like.

Wonderful! Flavor and texture are wonderful. You still get the cheese goodness, but with a lighter tasting, extra-crunchy chicken. Yeah!

Cheesy

A quick dinner during one of the snowstorms this past week. Chicken & cheese quesadillas.

Cracker Please!

I have to start this post with an apology, I don't remember where this recipe came from. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Martha Stewart recipe, but I have no idea. What I do know, these are delicious and worth trying. Let's get started.

Cheddar Rosemary Crackers

You need three tablespoons for fresh rosemary, which has been finely chopped. I think that's about 1/2 a cup of unchopped rosemary. I still think rosemary is one of my favorite herbs, based solely on aroma alone.


Delicious butter. Use the best butter you can get. Here we have Kerrygold, unsalted Irish butter. Chilled.


Mix together the flour, butter, cheddar & parm, seasoning (cayenne pepper and this time I tossed in a small bit of chipotle chile as well.) One egg yolk.


Mix together with some cold water, then add the rosemary. The dough will be crumbly and won't pull together. On the counter you will dominate the dough. You will make it do what you want. You must be aggressive and you force. Pushing and kneading, the dough will come together.


Roll the dough into a log shape, wrap with paper or plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours.


Slice the dough into 1/4 inch disks.


Bake until golden brown and delicious. As they come to room temperature, I think the flavors are best. They are tasty fresh from the oven, but I think they are best about an hour or two later.


Ta Da! You don't get too many with one batch. So, don't snack on more than one or two before your guests arrive, or you won't get to share. I think the recipe yields 2 dozen.

Recipe:
Cheddar Rosemary Crackers

A quick heart attack recipe

White Cheese & Sausage Pasta
from Culinary in the Desert

I made this for dinner last night. It was good! Gut bomb good! Spicy from the sausage. Ridiculously creamy and gooey from the cheese and bechamel sauce. Stupid Good. I more or less followed the recipe; even though I didn't have it in front of me, so some of the quantities were off and I ad libbed a bit. Added some shredded white cheddar cheese (1/2 cup) as well as the mozzarella and parm.

Instead of using another baking dish, I made sure to boil the pasta in an oven-proof pot. After I drained the pasta, I dumped it back in the pot and poured the sausage/sauce mixture over, stirred and baked. Saved us a little extra clean up. I used a half pound of spicy ground pork sausage, not turkey sausage. I don't think it matters much. But use the spicy if you like some good heat. If not, use regular, but add a little red pepper flake. You want some heat to cut through all the creamy, cheesey goodness.



4 cups dry rigatoni or any other short tube-shaped pasta
8 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
2 TB butter
3 TB all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3 ounces fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400

In a large pot of boiling salted water, add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, add sausage - cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Add butter to the same skillet and allow to melt over medium heat - whisk in flour and allow to cook, whisking, for a minute or two. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Cook, stirring, until thick, about 8 minutes - remove from heat.

In a large bowl, toss together the sauce, cooked sausage Parmesan, crushed red pepper and salt. Scoop the mixture into a 7" x 11" baking dish coated with nonstick spray. Scatter the top with mozzarella. Bake until bubbly and the top is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Baked Ziti

We've been eating a wee bit more frugally lately. In addition, I've been trying to force myself to make dinners that save well for lunches. Too that end, we had another pasta/casserole type meal last night that used plenty of pantry staples and two ingredients I had on hand in the fridge from previous meals.

Baked Ziti with Ground Pork

This is a version of the Double Cheese Penne I've made many times before. And for meat & dairy eaters, what's not to like. Pasta! Pork/Sausage! Double Cheese!!!

This version:
1/2 ground pork
1 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper
ground fennel
rosemary
thyme
sage

OR

1/2 pound loose/bulk sausage.

Cook pork until cooked through. Try not to break the meat up into too small of bites. Most of it will break up on it's own. If some pieces stay more bite size, leave them. The texture is nice with the sauce and the cheese later.

When cooked through, set aside in a bowl.

Using the same pan, add

1 TB olive oil
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 14 oz. can tomato puree (or 1 can diced tomatoes whizzed in the food processor)
salt
pepper
1/2 heaping tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp sugar (my sauce seemed bitter--maybe from the garlic, so I balanced with some sweetness)
1/2 8 oz can of tomato sauce

Cook the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant. Add the basil and stir to incorporate. Add the tomato puree and sauce. Simmer for five minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Add the ground pork to the tomato sauce.

Cook 1/2 lb of ziti or other tubular pasta. When al dente, add to the sauce.

Pour pasta/sauce mix into a baking dish. Sprinkle with:

1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Bake for 15 minutes until melted, gooey and golden brown. Delicious.


We both had plenty for dinner and two containers for lunch! Woot.

And because it's fun...

A kitteh in a box. Boomer has developed a fondness for her empty box. When I'm annoying her and invading her personal space, she retreats to her box for a little R&R away from my grasp. The mouse...her second favorite toy. Her first? A torn strip of linen. She's always up for a rousing game of ribbon batting. Like kids, she's just as excited by the empty box and torn fabric as she is by the store bought toy!

And it's not from a box

Shells & Cheese

A favorite comfort food in our house is Shells & Cheese from a yellow box with a foil pouch of a cheese-like sauce. It's alright. That's J-lo's preferred box. Mine is the old school blue box of Mac & Cheese.

Well tonight it was shells and cheese. From scratch. Mmm.

You don't have to use shells, but they take the sauce really well.



(beware, estimate quantities-I didn't measure)

3/4 lb pasta, cooked al dente

3-4 TB butter
3-4 TB flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of onion powder & garlic powder
fresh black pepper and salt

Melt butter of medium heat. Add the flour. Stir until all the butter is absorbed. Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring for 3-5 minutes. This will cook out the flour taste. You know have a flavorful roux.

1 cup water or light broth
1 1/2 cup half & half

Add the water and stir. The mixture will bubble, blurt and maybe even spit a little. When smooth add the half & half. Stir to incorporate.

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup blended "Italian" shredded cheese (includes mozzarella, parm, provolone and others)

Add the cheese to the sauce in handfuls. Stir to incorporate. Add another handful. Continue until all the cheese in mixed in.

Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning as you see fit.

Pour sauce over the cooked pasta and stir until blended. Dump pasta into a baking dish.

Add some seasoned breadcrumbs to the top.

2 TB butter
1 tsp each of dried parsley, thyme and oregano
A few grinds of pepper and pinch of salt
1/2-3/4 cup dried, prepared bread crumbs

Melt butter in pan. Add the seasoning, pepper and salt. Stir in breadcrumbs and toast for 3-5 minutes until fragrant and nutty.

Once the crumbs are added to the top of the shells & cheese, toss the whole mess into the oven for 15 minutes at 350.

Enjoy.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Happy Birthday to Me!
Happy Birthday to Me!
Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm another day older (yippee!!!). I love my birthday. I get to do what I want. So what did we do? Well tonight we're going to our favorite restaurant for dinner with friends. But the big deal this year was a little party I threw myself. There will be another post about the main part of the evening, but in a nutshell--11 bottles of wine, four cheeses, two pasta courses, salad and an amazing dessert! I asked The Sommeliatrix if she would lead a group of us on a guided wine tasting! She was totally on board so we started planning. The main theme: Old World France vs. New World Wines. With a few odd ball grapes thrown in for fun. And it was a hit. I'll tell you more about this later...

But for the party. I had freshly made tomato sauce with tomatoes from the previous weekend's Market. The other pasta course was a specific request to pair with one of the wines--my rosemary cream sauce. Then I picked up some amazing cheeses from Whole Foods and made dessert.


I took this recipe--Pear and Vanilla Brown Butter Crisp and altered it to use what I had in season and locally. I had apples from the Market and frozen blueberries we picked this summer, so we had Apple-Blueberry Vanilla Brown Butter Crisp. Holy Rollers! It was amazing.

The filling. Apples, blues and brown sugar. A little flour to help it come together.

With the vanilla brown butter. That aroma is amazing. If for no other reason, you should open up a vanilla bean and drop it in hot butter. I think Paula Deen would call it redonkerous!

Covered with the crisp topping...Irish oatmeal, more brown sugar and toasted almond slivers.

After cooking, it must be served warm and with a scoop of home-made Spiced Ice Cream. The ice cream was flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and ground clove. Heavenly. IMHO.



Here's my table for the tasting. We all had two regular wine glasses, a sparkling wine glass, water, water pitchers, a dump pitcher. Cheese, crackers, Marcona Almonds, jelly (see below) and tasting sheets for notes.


Here are my cheeses. All were very good and we each had a favorite. Mine was the Saint Andre triple cream from France. Like Buttah!

Others (from upper left):

• Vlaskaas from Holland (Gouda-like with crystalline nuggets of flavor, think little bits of salt)
• Meadow Creek Appalachian Tomme from Southwest Virginia (mellow, creamy, grassy)
• Parrano from Italy (pretend Gouda and Parmigiana Reggiano made a baby)
• Saint Andre from France (triple cream, like buttah)

To pair with the cheese, I opened a jar of Cayuga White Wine Grape jelly that I picked up at the Market. This paired nicely with all the cheeses, but the combination of the jelly with the Saint Andre was transcendent. Eyes rolling into the back of your head good. Slap yo mama good! Highly recommend trying this!!! I have a phone number and email if you want to try to order some of the jelly...contact me offline and I will share.


A wonderful night...and I haven't even started talking about the wines! Stay tuned.

Potaytoe, Potahtoe

BAKED POTATO


This is nearly perfect as it...but...it can get better....

...with some bacon, cheese and sour cream...

sure, it's not all that good for you, but you know what...it's soooo satisfying.

step 1: heat the oven to 400 degrees.
step 2: wash the potato
step 3: poke it
step 4: rub with a little olive oil
step 4: bake for 50-60 minutes
step 5: done

No foil wrapping. The skin was slightly crispy. Perfect.