2 comments

May 16, 2012

Chewy Pizza Crust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pizza crust is one of those things that most people totally cop out on and buy a store-bought. I was, and occasionally still am one of those people. I think by whipping up this simple recipe and getting such a lovely result, I’m one step further from those dark days.

Pizza was requested by the Mister, and I had zero desire to leave the house to pick up a pre-baked crust. I did have a few packages of yeast in the cupboard and come on, it was Sunday afternoon…I had no reason not to spend a little time kneading and rising a ball o’dough.

I found this recipe, which is super simple, and went straight to work. This is a classic, chewy crust, that pleased my white-bread-only-eatin’ man and me. Crispy, soft, with a hint of sweet. Perfecto!

 

Pizza Dough

From: Cooking is Easy

2 cups flour (I used unbleached)
1.5 tsp instant yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar or honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp olive oil or melted butter

How I make
Measure 2 cups of flour into a bowl and add 1/2 tsp salt. Mix with a spoon. In a separate bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and honey or sugar.

Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour  liquid into it, mix with a spoon. If the dough comes together, great! If not, add water, little by little until it comes into a sticky ball.

Now time to bring out your hands….take 1 of oil or melted butter and form the dough into a ball. Knead for 2 or 3 minutes, and set it back into the bowl. Now set aside in a warm, clean space. I put mine in my oven (NOT ON! haha) and just let the little light be the warmth. Leave it for at least an hour, two if you can.

Take it out of the oven, and spread it out on to your greased pan or pizza stone. Should make one 9 x 13 rectangular pie or a couple smaller circles.

Top with your favourite stuff!

I baked my topped ‘za for somewhere between 15-18 minutes at 375C….I think? These details are escaping me at the moment, they’re being overshadowed with my recollections of Sunday-night pizza deliciousness.

Enjoy!

 

0 comments

May 6, 2012

Fantastic 5 Minute Tapenade

 

Please bookmark this recipe if you fall within the following categories:

  • You have a potluck/girls night/game night coming up and you don’t have hours to spend on your contribution
  • You often have unexpected guests pop in and need a quick little dish to nosh on
  • You bought dried figs at the grocery store because they had a pink sticker (woo! 50% off!) and now need something to do with those figs. Me.
  • You have a pulse

The last one’s just me being a joker….insinuating that this stuff is so good that you’d have to be off your rocker not to love it. It’s a garlicy, salty-sweet spread that is veggie-dipable, great smeared over a baguette, or even tossed in a cold pasta salad.

And a bonus; it looks and sounds sophisticated (to me, at least) and takes zero time or skill to prepare.

I used black canned olives because I didn’t have kalamata, and it was still terrific. My roomie made this a while back using dried dates instead of figs, and yep, you got it. It was still friggin delicious. If you’re not a huge garlic person, I’d pare the amount down to 1 clove, as with two, it’s got a pretty serious kick!

Fantastic 5 Minute Tapenade

From Allrecipes.com

  • 1 cup chopped dried figs (or dates)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2/3 cup olives, pitted
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Combine figs (or dates) and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, and liquid has reduced. Remove from heat, put into food processor, and add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne. Add olives and garlic, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep it in the fridge to cool, the flavours really pop if you can let it chill for a few hours!

2 comments

May 2, 2012

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bring out the fat pants, lock your doors, and close the blinds people…because you’ll have a really, really hard time sharing this with anyone. But you should share, if you don’t want to throw yourself into a downward spiral of dessert regret. This stuff is serious, it ain’t playin around.

For those of you who putter the world of food blogging, you know all too well that trends sweep through like wildfire. Cue bacon.

Bacon tore the food blogosphere a new one and refuses to back off (sorry Kelly, aka @baconandbaileys, you’re not going to like what I’m about to say). I’m over it. Mostly because I’m a vegetarian and have forgotten how delightful a sizzling slice of bacon can be; regardless of my bacon apathy, it’s been claimed as the key to world peace and the cure for just about any ailment, maybe except fatness. Ahem*baconator*

Other trendy foods/flavours of late are s’mores, doughnuts, salted caramel and chocolate, browned butter, all of which have been blown into food celebrity for good reason. They’re friggin delicious, and many of them are classic novelties reincarnated from the past into fun new modes of eating. This recipe is a prime example of taking a rampant food trend, and finding an innovative way of stuffing it in your face so it can promptly deposit itself on your rear end.

Cookie dough dip. Every little baker’s favourite finger-food, sans salmonella. Happiness.

My sister made this for my other sister’s baby shower this weekend, so I did have to share. Thank god.

We served this up with graham crackers and it was amazing. Little chocolate wafers would be definitely delicious.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (really try to get minis if you can)
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in icing sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips, cover, refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for another hour. Roll cheese ball in pecans before serving.

Serve with graham crackers or chocolate wafers!

3 comments

April 30, 2012

Creamy Carrot Soup

I know tomorrow’s the first of May, but I am still feeling the need to curl up with a bowl of soup once in a while! April’s been pretty chilly here in Nova Scotia, and carrots, spuds, and onions are still the main event at my beautiful local Farmer’s Market.

Carrot ginger is like the little black dress of soup recipes, isn’t it? A fave on so many resto menus and food blogs, it’s pretty much always a safe bet! There are loads of variations out there, and I’m sure they’re all just dandy…but this one is better than dandy. It’s the best. It’s creamy, rich, decadent carrot soup. I deviated a wee bit from the original, I used some lovely NS-grown sweet potatoes from Keddy Farms instead of regular spuds, and topped it with cilantro instead of the called for green onions. It’s great both ways, folks!

It’s a recipe that I am borrowing from my boyfriend’s dad, who’s a fantastic cook and entertainer. Bob isn’t scared of a little butter and cream, as is evident here, but let me tell ya. It is worth it. A bowl of this soup, with a dollop of sour cream and a few sliced of green onion, paired with a slice of crusty bread? A full-on cure for those April showers chills.

Creamy Carrot Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 6 large carrots, sliced
  • 1.5 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 medium white or sweet potatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 - 1 cup heavy cream (I used 1/2 cup, original called for a full cup)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • sour cream (optional, for garnish)
  • chopped green onion or fresh herbs (optional, for garnish)

Melt butter in large, heavy bottomed pot and add onions, carrots, ginger and garlic. Sautee for about 20-30 minutes, over medium/low heat. Stir around to ensure even cooking. Add broth and chopped potatoes bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 20 minutes, or until all veggies are cooked through. Once everything is cooked through, take off heat and allow to cool a bit. Puree the soup, in batches (be careful!) in your blender or food processor. Return to pot, add cream (I used 1/2 cup, the original recipe calls for a full cup), lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions or herbs! This will keep in the fridge for 3 days too. Perfect for lunches!

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