Posted By Lindsay on May 17, 2009
When you have a good foundation, you can build just about anything. Like cupcakes. Once you have your fail-safe vanilla/chocolate cupcake base, you can experiment with flavors to your heart’s content.
Same is true for pizza. I’m in love with this crust. It’s crisp, flavorful, and complex. It could practically pass as focaccia, delicious without any toppings at all. Granted, it requires most of the day as far as planning ahead, but the results are well worth it.
This time, we topped the crust with some artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and as always, goat cheese.
Quite the tasty treat! And while it doesn’t quite satisfy Taylor’s constant craving for greasy pepperoni pizza, it sure hit the spot for me. I’d never been one for red sauce pizzas, so for me, this is the pizza of my dreams.
Artichoke Heart, Olive, and Goat Cheese Pizza
Makes 2-4 servings (depending on how hungry you are and how big you roll it).
Ingredients:
Crust:
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (from 1 envelope)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Topping:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, drained
3 slices oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
2-1/2 ounces soft goat cheese, sliced or crumbled
10 kalamata olives, pitted and halved (about 1/4 cup)
Directions:
For crust:
Pour 3/4 cup water into large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. Let stand 10 minutes to dissolve yeast. Add oil, salt, and herbs, then 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir until well blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking, about 5 minutes (dough will be soft). Shape dough into ball; place in large oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with kitchen towel. Let dough rise at cool room temperature until almost doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down; form into ball. Return to bowl; cover with towel and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Punch down dough. Form into ball; place on floured work surface. Cover with kitchen towel; let rest 30 minutes. Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet.
Mix olive oil, rosemary, and garlic in small bowl, and set aside.
Bake crust for 5-7 minutes or until just set. Remove from oven and brush 2 tablespoons garlic oil evenly over crust. Sprinkle with artichoke hearts, olives, sundried tomatoes, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle pizza evenly with remaining garlic oil.
Bake pizza until crust is crisp and cheese begins to brown, 15-18 minutes. Transfer pizza to board. Cut into wedges and serve warm.
Posted By Lindsay on May 7, 2009
I was feeling fruity the other day. Feeling fruity and vanilla-y and almond-y. Normally I’d either do vanilla cupcakes or almond cupcakes, but not this time. No, I wanted both. And this light and delicate cake provided just that. Flecks of almond meal and vanilla bean, spiked with almond extract, and topped with a bright blackberry buttercream, well, I don’t have to tell you that these were delicious.
A perfect choice for a dinner with friends – perfect because, well, our friend’s daughter joined us for dinner, and her favorite color just happens to be purple. Let’s just say that she wouldn’t give in until she got her purple cupcake BEFORE dinner, where she proceeded to dive in and lick every bit of the purple frosting off of the cupcake before she was satisfied.
And unlike some cupcakes I’ve made, these beauties are naturally purple… or purply-pink, to be precise.
They almost became a post for the failed-cupcake-hall-of-fame. See, I first added a bit of tofutti cream cheese to the frosting as I didn’t want it too sweet. I’ve done it before with chocolate buttercream, and the other flavors in the frosting always overpowered any weirdness lingering from the tofutti (I admit, it is not a substitute for the real thing). But in this case, I took a lick and realized something was horribly wrong. Took a finger-full to Taylor too just to confirm my suspicions. He nailed it – the frosting tasted like berry flavored yogurt, a few too many days past it’s sell-by date. Funny how non-dairy cream cheese can give an overpoweringly dairy-like taste to an otherwise good frosting. In to the trash it went.
Take 2: much better. No cream cheese. Fresh blackberries, pureed and strained. Half a vanilla bean, scraped off the pod and beautifully speckling the violet fluff. Just a hint of fragrant almond. And to top it all off – proof that my spiffy new flower molds DO work with marzipan (not quite as well, marzipan is extremely fragile and doesn’t hold the delicate shape as well), but it was the perfect topping on the perfect cupcake.
I don’t think I am the only one to think that the timing of these couldn’t be any better – can you say, perfect mothers’ day treat? I know my mom in particular would swoon over these (or anything almond for that matter – like mother like daughter!). If only I could figure out how to ship cupcakes to her, I would send her a box of these in an instant.
Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Blackberry Buttercream:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons fresh blackberry puree, strained
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and mix. Whisk together oil, coconut milk, vanilla bean, and almond extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
For frosting, cream butter in electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Slowly add 1 cup sugar and beat until smooth. Add blackberry puree and mix until combined. Add remaining confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until well incorporated. Add vanilla bean and extract and mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes. Top with a marzipan flower, if desired.
Posted By Lindsay on May 2, 2009
This month’s Cooking Light had an entire section on strawberries. And I dog-eared just about every page within that section. I don’t know, something about strawberry mixed with just about anything is something I can’t resist.
Like this recipe. Unbelievably delicious. It’s a dish you think you should feel guilty about. Nothing about it tastes like a “healthy” recipe – it’s rich and sweet and decadent. And we ate every last bite with an incredible amount of gusto, practically licking the last bits of strawberry sauce off the plate when we were done.
Yes, sir-ee… this one we’ll be making again. and again. and again…
Gorgonzola-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Strawberry Gastrique
Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Cooking Light.
Ingredients:
Sauce:
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
Chicken:
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 ounces prosciutto, chopped
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
To prepare sauce, place strawberries in a small, heavy saucepan; partially mash with a fork. Stir in sugar, vinegar, broth, and coriander; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 2/3 cup (about 30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Strain mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids.
To prepare chicken, combine cheese, thyme, and prosciutto in a bowl. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket; spoon 3 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 4 minutes or until done. Serve with sauce.
Posted By Lindsay on April 25, 2009
I’ve never had flat iron steak before. But our freezer now has a box of them (thanks Mom!) so we thought we’d seek out the best way to cook them. I guess it is similar to a flank steak (if you can’t find flat iron), but honestly it might be my favorite cut. It was incredibly tender, not chewy like some beef can be. Definitely not something you want to overcook, so watch it carefully.
The cilantro sauce was refreshing. Tangy. Slightly spicy. Delicious.
We served this with some roasted veggies, potatoes and brussels sprouts, which were also delicious when drizzled with the cilantro sauce.
A keeper for sure!
Pan-Seared Flat Iron Steak with Spicy Cilantro Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 (10– to 12-ounce) flat iron steaks
Directions:
Combine the cilantro, garlic, 1/2 cup of the oil, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder and salt in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set sauce aside.
Sprinkle steaks on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare or 4 to 5 minutes for medium.
Transfer steaks to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before thinly slicing. Serve with sauce on the side.
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