March 2010 – Page 2 – First Look, Then Cook

Fennel, Sausage, Spinach and Sweet Onion Pizza

Published on March 10, 2010 by Dawn4 Comments

What is it about pizza that kids just love? I can’t get my kids to eat a tomato to save their life, and pasta with tomato sauce is really unheard of – but for some reason when you spread sauce all over some bread and top it with cheese, it is a kid’s dream. I decided to do a little experiment. How about make a healthy pizza (well, healthy is a relative word here…) and see if the kids still love it – using ingredients that they would never eat alone even if I paid them. So, I saw a recipe in Cooking Light for Fennel, Sausage and Sweet Onion Pizza, and I thought I could do one better – saute the spinach I have in the refrigerator with that, and top it with cheese. I used sun-dried tomato, basil, chicken sausage and the topping tasted fabulous – I knew it was going to be good with that melted gouda on top. When it came out of the oven, my older daughter mentioned how good it smelled (1 point for the pizza) – she tried the pizza, and really liked it (10 points!)! My younger daughter, not so much. She didn’t fall for it at all – that spinach was not fooling her, nor were the onions or fennel. Oh well, at least one of them liked it. My husband and I, we thought it was an amazing combination – it was a complete winner in our book, and I will definitely be making it again – maybe in another year when my younger daughter has forgotten and I can try the experiment one more time.

Ingredients

3 ounces chicken sausage, chopped (I used one link of sun-dried tomato basil chicken sausage from Whole Foods)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups vertically sliced Walla Walla Sweet or other sweet onion
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 small bulb)
5 oz fresh baby spinach (or frozen if fresh is not available)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package of pizza dough (found at Trader Joe’s) or 1 pre-made pizza crust
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gouda cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan.

Add oil to pan. Add onion, fennel, and salt; cover and cook 10 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and sauté until wilted.

Place pizza crust on a baking sheet or pizza stone. I like to put my pizza stone in the oven while it is pre-heating – it gives it just a little bit more of a crispy bottom. Top evenly with onion mixture, top with sausage then sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 450° for 12-15 minutes or until cheese melts and the crust is nicely browned. Cut pizza into 8 wedges.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Fennel Spinach Sausage Onion Pizza

French-Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon

Published on March 8, 2010March 12, 2010 by Dawn7 Comments

Lemons have always been something of an anomaly for me. I love lemons in savory food – like in chicken picatta, or greek lemon soup with rice – I love lemons in cocktails – lemon drops, vodka with a twist of lemon – but for some reason if a lemon square was sitting in front of me, I would have no problem passing it by. I almost never bake with lemons – I turn my nose at lemon merengue pie, or lemon cake – and would choose something else any day of the week. Then this recipe came along. I found this recipe in Molly Wizenberg’s book A Homemade Life. First of all, the word French really caught my eye. I have to admit, I basically like anything french. The next word that got me was yogurt. I love yogurt – can’t get enough of it – I have at least one everyday – and my favorite yogurt is european style – extremely creamy, but not too think – and full-bodied, unlike many of the yogurt on the market. I read the ingredients – and I decided I had to make it. Maybe this would be the recipe that turns me into a complete lemon lover. Well – this cake was incredible. It was moist, flavorful – and just perfectly delicious – the lemon glaze on top was exactly what the cake was calling for – and it was fantastic. The glaze is very thin, and soaks into the cake to make it even more moist and delicious. It is best served immediately – or waiting an hour or so.

Ingredients

Cake:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup well-stirred plain whole-milk yogurt (not low-fat or non-fat)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil, such as canola

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter or cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper, and grease it too.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the lemon zest, and whisk to mix thoroughly.

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring until well blended. Add the flour mixture and stir just to combine. Add the oil and stir to incorporate. At first, it will look like a horrible, oily mess, but keep stirring, and it will come together into a smooth batter. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Cool cake on a rack for about 20 minutes; then turn it out of the pan to cool completely.

When the cake is thoroughly cooled, combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl and spoon it gently over the cake. The glaze will be thin and will soak in like a syrup.

Serve immediately.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here: French Yogurt Cake

Ham, Artichoke, and Potato Gratin

Published on March 6, 2010March 6, 2010 by Dawn4 Comments

I remember my first artichoke when I was probably a teenager – I was more intrigued by the different steps involved in eating it, than I was the flavor. All I could taste was the lemon butter sauce I kept dipping the tough outer leaves into, just to scrape the meat out with my top teeth. I liked the taste of the artichoke, but without the lemon butter sauce, I was not really interested. I loved when all the leaves were gone, and you were left scraping out the hairy center to expose the wonderful heart. I would cut it up into triangles, and dunk each piece into the lemon butter sauce to fully enjoy it.

When I graduated from college, I couldn’t wait until spring because that’s when the artichokes would show up in the markets. I would eat two for dinner, with some crusty bread – and be completely satisfied. The older I got, the less I needed the lemon butter sauce. Now I just love eating artichokes plain – the subtle nutty flavor and the creaminess of the meat is just so inviting to me, it is all that I need.

I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit, and the sheer fact that it said Artichoke in the title made it a winner in my mind. I decided to use artichoke bottoms and cut them into quarters instead of the hearts the recipe called for – and they were delicious. It was such a perfect combination – the salty ham with the potatoes and the cheese (magnificent!) and then every once in a while you get a wonderful bite of artichoke with its subtle yet sophisticated flavor.

Ingredients

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
4 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 4 large)
Coarse kosher salt
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced (1/8 to 1/4 inch thick)
1 1/2 pounds 1/8-inch-thick ham slices
2 8-ounce boxes frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, halved lengthwise
2 1/2 cups (packed) coarsely grated Comté cheese (about 10 ounces)
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Melt 1/4 cup butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks; sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside.

Cover bottom of baking dish with 1/3 of potato slices, overlapping as needed. Layer 1/3 of ham over. Scatter 1/3 of leeks over, then 1/3 of artichoke hearts. Measure 3/4 cup cheese; set aside. Sprinkle half of remaining cheese over. Repeat layering 1 time with potato slices, ham, leeks, artichokes, and cheese. Cover with remaining potato slices, ham, leeks, and artichoke hearts.

Whisk broth and next 4 ingredients in small saucepan over medium heat until flour dissolves. Bring mixture to boil; cook until smooth and thickened, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Pour over gratin. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese over. Cover gratin with foil, tenting in center to prevent cheese from sticking. Bake gratin 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until potatoes are soft, topping is browned, and juices are bubbling, about 50 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Ham, Artichoke and Potato Gratin

Layered Brownies with White-Chocolate Caramel

Published on March 4, 2010March 4, 2010 by Dawn9 Comments

Good things come to those who wait…boy does that saying irk me. I am not a very patient person – especially when it comes to food. I am always trying things along the way, seeing how the flavor changes during the cooking process – always looking forward to the finished product. These brownies really tested my patience. I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit (which has been slightly adapted below to make it just a little simpler) and it sat in my pantry for months. I really had to be in the right frame of mind to bake these. You bake the brownie layer – and fortunately while the brownie layer is cooling, you make the caramel (which by the way is the best caramel I have ever made – I gave my girls a big spoonful each because I didn’t want them to miss out, while I scraped up the leftovers from the saucepan). Then comes the painful part – 8 hours of chilling. Once the caramel is set, you layer the chocolate ganache on – and then another 4 hours of waiting. I made the mistake of starting this process on a Sunday – and since I had to go to work on Monday and again on Tuesday – I couldn’t enjoy these brownies until Tuesday night. 2 days is a long time to wait for brownies – but let me tell you – they were worth EVERY SECOND. These brownies were incredible – everyone that bit into them squealed in delight – they were extremely rich, decadent and utterly fantastic. Good things definitely come to those who wait – I know it is true, I just hate to admit it…

Ingredients

Brownies:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

White-chocolate caramel:

3 tablespoons water, divided
3/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
4 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced, room temperature

Bittersweet-chocolate ganache:

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped

Preparation

For brownies:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil. Butter foil. Combine 1/2 cup butter and bittersweet chocolate in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Whisk cocoa powder, flour, and salt in small bowl. Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Pour butter mixture into sugar mixture; whisk until blended. Add cocoa mixture; whisk until blended. Transfer brownie batter to prepared baking pan; smooth top (layer will be thin).

Bake brownie until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow brownie to cool slightly, then gently press down on edges to form flat, even layer. Cool completely in pan on rack.

For white-chocolate caramel:
Spoon 1 tablespoon water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over and stir to blend. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tablespoons water, sugar, and pinch of salt in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup is deep amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 8 minutes. Slowly add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Reduce heat to low. Stir to dissolve any caramel bits. Remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes. Add gelatin mixture; stir until gelatin dissolves. Add white chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in butter. Pour caramel atop cooled brownie; spread evenly to cover completely. Chill uncovered until caramel firms slightly, at least 8 hours or overnight.

For bittersweet-chocolate ganache:
Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Cool until mixture is slightly thickened but still pourable, about 15 minutes. Pour ganache atop caramel on brownie; spread just to edges. Chill uncovered until ganache is firm enough to cut, about 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Using foil as aid, lift brownie out of pan; place on work surface. Fold foil sides down. Using sharp knife, trim off about 1/4 inch of brownie on all sides. Cut brownie into eight 3 1/2-inch-long, 13/4-inch-wide bars.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Layered Brownies with White-Chocolate Caramel

Beef Rendang

Published on March 2, 2010March 3, 2010 by Dawn4 Comments

In my opinion, slow cooking beef is the only way to go. You can actually buy a very inexpensive cut of beef, cook it at a low heat for a long time – and out comes a tender piece of goodness. I saw this recipe in Cooking Light – and I was drooling just reading all the ingredients. I happen to love Malay curry – and I could already taste the combination of the shallots, coconut milk, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon. When I went to the store to get the beef, I passed over the already cubed stew meat and decided to go for the boneless chuck roast like the recipe called for. The chuck roast had a nice marbling of fat through the meat – and I knew it would make the beef just melt in your mouth. I was right – this dish was amazing. The flavors were incredible. My sauce was not as thick as the recipe read, but it didn’t matter – once the sauce hit the rice, it was a perfect consistency. If you like Malay curry, you have got to try this dish – don’t wait. If chidren are going to be eating this – I would omit the serrano chiles…the chili garlic sauce will give it a nice mild spice that children can handle.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/3 cup thinly sliced peeled ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 5 cloves)
2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 whole cloves
1 to 2 serrano chiles, chopped
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk, divided
2/3 cup flaked unsweetened coconut, toasted
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
2 (3-inch) fresh lemongrass stalks, crushed
2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
4 cups hot cooked basmati rice

Preparation

Place first 9 ingredients in a food processor or mini chopper. Add 1/4 cup coconut milk; process until smooth. Spoon mixture into a bowl; set aside.

Place 3 tablespoons coconut milk and flaked coconut in food processor; process until a smooth paste forms.

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot mixture; cook 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining coconut milk, rind, and next 5 ingredients (through broth); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Discard lemongrass. Stir in flaked coconut mixture; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve over rice. Serves 6.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Beef Rendang