i haven't cooked anything new in a while, but i saw a pic of carmelized onion & gruyere foccacia on foodgawker.com this weekend and it seemed like a perfect lil snack. the recipe was taken from Fifteen Spatulas with just a slight tweak or two (including skipping the gruyere b/c i didn't have any).
ingredients list:
- 2 tsp quick rise yeast
- 1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
- 1.5 tbsp sugar
- 3.5 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 medium onion, sliced
- salt & pepper
- tomato slices
- parmesan cheese
to make: place the yeast, water, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. add in the flour, salt, 1/4 cup olive oil and mix it up by hand or with a paddle attachment. attach the dough hook and kneed for 10 minutes on medium low. cover the bowl and let it rise for 1 hour, then punch garlic into the dough.
in the meantime, chop the onion and cook in 2 tbsp olive oil for about 15 minutes until it starts to carmelize and turns a light golden brown.
preheat oven to 400 degrees. spread the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil over a baking sheet, and stretch the focaccia over the entire sheet. add the the carmelized onion, tomatoes, the parmesan, and some salt and pepper all over the dough. bake for 15 minutes until the edges start to brown.
***
this was good - it was a little puffy for focaccia, but still tasty. next time i might add a little olive oil over the top as well, but other than that it's a easy go-to focaccia.
pizza again! i had to use the second half of the crust in the fridge. this was insipired by the frozen Barber chicken breasts stuffed with apple, onion & brie... LOVE those things. i've since made apple & onion grilled cheese which is delectable, the pizza just seemed like a natural fit. i made a half a pizza, but am including the full recipe below.
ingredients list:
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 1 golden delicious apple, sliced into thin slices
- 1/2 cup cranberry sauce
- 1/2 a yellow onion, diced
- 1-1.5 cups mozz cheese (brie would also work well)
- garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- pinch salt
- olive oil
to make: mix 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees.
roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the hot stone. spread cranberry sauce onto the dough, then pile on first some cheese, the apple, the onion, more cheese, and a few dashes of garlic salt and parsley (and any other desired seasonings). bake in preheated oven for about 14-16 minutes.
within the last few minutes of cooking, brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture. allow to cool a few minutes before serving
***
this is one of the quickest pizzas i've ever made b/c it's so few ingredients, but i loved it. i almost always pre-cook the onion before adding it to a pizza but skipped that here b/c i wanted it to have a little more bite to stand up against the sweet apple. sweet, salty...oniony... yes. if i had it on hand, some sweet sausage would be awesome on this (or maybe bacon mmmmm). my one ooopsie was forgetting to put my cranberry sauce down first... i blobbed it down after. not a great presentation, but yum nonetheless which is what matters.
it's grilling season and i have no idea why i'm making so many pizzas and not very many burgers - what in sam hell is going on? i made an asian pizza-for-one tonight, but listed the full sized recipe below b/c honestly who makes half a pizza. this is the antithesis of a traditional italian pizza, but if we're defining pizza by *a* sauce, dough, and cheese, i think it's still OK to call it that :)
ingredients list:
asian bbq sauce:
- 1/4 cup hoisen sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp Asian 5-spice seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce
pizza:
- 1 cup leftover chicken (or chicken breast), sliced into small chunks
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 1 cup mozz cheese (or any very mild tasting cheese)
- 1/8 cup carrots, thinly diced
- 1/2 cup mushroom, diced (i used crimini)
- 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
- 2-3 tbsp fresh cilantro
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- pinch salt
- olive oil
to make: mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder in small bowl and set aside.
in a small saucepan, heat all sauce ingredients until mixture starts to boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until the mixture thickens and starts to become syrupy. remove from heat and allow to sit so it thickens a bit more (i had skipped the "remove from heat / let sit" step and my sauce -seemed- thick, but after the pizza cooked it was a tad liquidy. don't let yours get liquidy).
heat a large skillet on medium heat; preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees; and heat outdoor grill over medium heat (only do this last step if you are finishing the pizza on the grill). heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in the skillet, and sautee onion until it begins to brown. add red pepper and mushroom and saute for 2-3 minutes additional.
roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the hot stone. spread the prepared bbq sauce onto the dough (note: you may not use all of the sauce - it is a strong flavor so do enough to cover the dough but don't drown it), then pile on first some cheese, the chicken, the onion, pepper & mushroom, carrot, more cheese and the some garlic powder (and any other desired seasonings). bake in preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes.
you can fully cook the pizza in the oven for a total of 14-16 minutes, or if you want to grill it, carefully transfer it to the preheated grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust starts to get a nice char to it. within the last few minutes of cooking, brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. add the cilantro when it is removed from the oven (or grill), and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.
***
as noted my sauce was a little liquidy, but all in all this pizza was a big mouth party. it's 100% wierd, but i love it. if i had it, a little pineapple would have worked really well here as well. i thought the mozz cheese would be really wierd on this (honestly i don't think i've ever seen an asian dish with cheese in it), but it's so mild it kinda just hung out in the background and held the rest of the ingredients together. asian + cheese seemed less wierd that pizza + no cheese. this gets my official YUM vote fo sho.
din din last night... the more pizza i make, the more pizza i want to make. there's a pizzeria in danbury CT, Tuscano's, that has a great baked potato pizza with potato, bacon, onion & cheese which was the inspiration. loved it even better than theirs :)
ingredients list:
- 1 russet potato, sliced into thin (roughly 3mm) slices
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 2 slices proscuitto, diced
- 1-1.5 cups cheddar cheese
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 green onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
- black pepper
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- pinch salt
- olive oil
to make: mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. heat a large skillet on medium heat; preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees; and heat outdoor grill over medium heat (only do this last step if you are finishing the pizza on the grill). heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in the skillet, and sautee onion until it begins to brown.
roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the hot stone. spread ranch dressing onto the dough, then pile on first some cheese (cream cheese & cheddar), the potatoe, the onion, more cheeses, and the some garlic powder and black pepper (and any other desired seasonings). bake in preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes.
you can fully cook the pizza in the oven for a total of 14-16 minutes, or if you want to grill it, carefully transfer it to the preheated grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust starts to get a nice char to it. within the last few minutes of cooking, add the proscuitto and the green onion to the pizza, and brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture. allow to cool a few minutes before serving.
our quick/casual Easter feast. lamb burgers (couldn't find ground lamb in the grocery store so bought it fresh ground from a butcher... even better. we seasoned with them with minced garlic, oregano, and sherry, along with salt & pepper), topped with roasted tomato, carmelized red onion, and gorgzola cheese. yummmy.
served with rosemary fries (i used my Roasted Red Potatoes recipe, using russets instead of red potatoes, chopping up the fries, then adding rosemary instead of the paprika & oregano. easy peasy.)
it was just the 2 of us for Easter this year so we did a quick/casual din as we were spending 90% of the day painting and doing housework. i had leftover cabbage from St. Paddys day - other than Irish stuff, the only thing i know that uses cabbage is egg rolls. and spring rolls are -kind- of Eastery (spring?) so we made that as an app. the Baked Pork Spring Rolls recipe from allrecipes.com was pretty well reviewed with minimal changes, so we went with that (really liked that they were baked too... the frying factor is part of the reason i have never tried to make egg/spring rolls before).
ingredients list (makes 12 rolls):
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 cup finely shredded carrot
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (i subbed fish sauce)
- 2 tsp ginger root, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp chili sauce
- pinch salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
- 12 (7 inch square) spring roll wrappers
- 4 tsp vegetable oil
to make: preheat oven to 425 degrees. cook pork in a medium skillet over medium high heat until evenly brown, then remove from heat and drain any excess fat. in a medium bowl, mix pork, cabbage, carrot, green onions, cilantro, sesame oil, oyster sauce, ginger, garlic, chili sauce, and a pinch of salt.
mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl. place 1 tbsp of pork mixture into the center of a spring roll wrapper, then roll the wrapper around the mixture, folding the edges inward to close. brush the wrapper seams with the cornstach mixture to seal. repeat with remaining spring rolls.
place assembled spring rolls on a baking sheet, and brush all sides with vegetable oil. bake for 20 minutes until golden brown, turning once at the 10 minute mark.
***
really liked these - they do miss a little something for being baked and not fried (sadly, i just love the flavor of fatty fat fried things), but these were still very fresh and yummy just the same. i'd pop them a 6******.
i'm still on my pizza kick. this was Friday night's inspiration, inspired by the shaved steak in the butcher counter at the store and a love of horseradish. MMMMM.
ingredients list:
- 1/4 lb of shaved steak
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 1 cup alfredo sauce
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 1/2 a large green pepper, diced
- 1-1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-1.5 cups horseradish cheddar cheese
- 1-1.5 cups mozz cheese
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- pinch salt
- olive oil
to make: mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. heat a large skillet on medium heat; preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees; and heat outdoor grill over medium heat (only do this last step if you are finishing the pizza on the grill). heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in the skillet, and sautee onion until it begins to brown, adding mushrooms and pepper for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking and the garlic for the last minute.
roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the hot stone. spread alfredo sauce onto the dough, then pile on first some cheese, the meat, all the veggies, more cheese, and the some garlic powder and black pepper (and any other desired seasonings). bake in preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes.
you can fully cook the pizza in the oven for a total of 14-16 minutes, or if you want to grill it, carefully transfer it to the preheated grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust starts to get a nice char to it. brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture within the last few minutes of cooking.
***
LOVED this. the alfredo + the horseradish became super-creamy and saucy together, and the grill flavor was awesome w/ the steak. it was a little too horseradishy for kyle, but a lil more mozz with it would mello that out. 7*******.
after a night of grazing pizza pics on foodgawker.com i wanted to make a pizza sooo bad. we had a red pepper that needed to be used, so roasted red pepper-based pizza it was. one of the best pizza's we ever made used balsamic as the sauce base with grilled veggies, so we went down that path again. pizza is so much better on the grill if it's in season... mmmmm.
ingredients list:
- 2 boneless chicken thighs (1 large chicken breast would also work)
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 2 & 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar, divided
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1-1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups mozz cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- pinch salt
- olive oil
to make: marinate chicken thighs in 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar for at least 15 minutes. mix 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. preheat outdoor grill to medium heat. heat a large skillet on medium heat, and preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees. heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in the skillet, and sautee onion until it begins to brown, adding mushrooms and pepper for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking and the garlic for the last minute.
in a small sauce pan, bring 2 cups balsamic vinegar to a boil, then lower to medium-low heat, cooking for about 5 minutes until the balsamic reduces by half and just starts to take on a syroupy texture. remove from heat and set aside.
cook the marinated chicken thighs on the grill until cooked through, about 8 minutes total, turning once (it's OK if they are not completely cooked through, they will cook a little longer when the pizza is in the oven). when the chicken is done cooking, dice up and set aside.
roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the stone. spread the reduced balsamic onto the dough, then pile on first some cheese, the chicken & veggies, and a lil more cheese. bake in preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes.
you can fully cook the pizza in the oven for a total of 14-16 minutes, or if you want to grill it, carefully transfer it to the preheated grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust starts to get a nice char to it. brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture within the last few minutes of cooking. allow to cool at least 5 minutes before serving.
***
smokey. vegetably. balsamicy. YUMMY.
din din tonight... pork chops made with my fav chop recipe, Caramel Apple Pork Chops from allrecipes.com. i was actually surprised i haven't beaned about them before this, they seem to make a semi-frequent appearance in our house in the fall time. we usually bake them (the original recipe at allrecipe's has the baking instructions), but since it's officially grill season we grilled ours instead. we had brined them overnight prior for kicks as well.
ingredients list: (for 2)
- 2 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tart apple, cored & sliced
- olive oil
to make: preheat grill to medium heat (350 degrees). lightly brush chops with olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste (if you've brined your chops, skip the salt here). grill chops for about 10-12 minutes, until fully cooked through, flipping once.
combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. while chops are grilling, melt butter in a large sautee pan over medium low heat. add apples and brown sugar mixture to the pan, cover, and cook on low heat for 7-10 minutes, until apples are soft. if you need to add additional liquid, lemon juice can be used.
serve apple mixture over chops.
***
yummmz. i used to HATE pork chops as a kid, thinking they were dry and boring. add the apple and a lil somethin somethin... and yum um delish. i've made these with onions added to the apple mixture which is always good (i love apple + onion anything), but somehow completely forgot onion tonight. overall (onion or no onion)... 7*******.
