White Pizza with Arugula

As much as I love to cook, I have to admit that yeast breads are not always my favorite project. Sometimes it seems like they require too much patience and planning, which can be difficult given the fast pace of life. This pizza dough, however, is one of the easier yeast bread recipes I have used - and the result is absolutely worth the effort!
Unless this is your first time reading my blog, you know that my husband is a meat & potatoes guy - and you can guess what his response is to a white pizza with arugula . . . and no meat! Despite the lack of meat, he gave the recipe his endorsement - "This pizza is really good, even without meat! The crust has a good flavor." (Husb tried it without the arugula)

Thanks to Andrea for selecting such a DELICIOUS recipe for Barefoot Bloggers!

White Pizza with Arugula

For the dough:
1 1/4 cups warm (100 to 110) water
2 packages dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
Good olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
Kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, sliced
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the topping:
3 cups grated Italian fontina cheese (8 oz.) I used Raclette cheese because I had it on hand
1 1/2 cups grated fresh mozzarella cheese (7 oz.) OR one 8 oz. pkg fresh mozzarella pearls (not grated)
11 ounces creamy goat cheese, such as montrachet, crumbled

For the vinaigrette:
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces baby arugula
1 lemon, sliced

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Mix the dough - Combine the water, yeast, honey and 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. When the yeast is dissolved, add 3 cups of flour, then 2 teaspoons salt, and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1 more cup of flour, or just enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl.

Knead by hand - When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic.

Let it rise - Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Make garlic oil - Place 1/2 cup of olive oil, the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. (Be sure your oven is clean!)

Portion the dough - Dump the dough onto a board and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Place the doughs on sheet pans lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Stretch the dough - Press and stretch each ball into an 8-inch circle and place 2 circles on each sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature.)

Top the dough - Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil, and sprinkle each one liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with fontina, mozzarella and goat cheese. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon more of the garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown. Top each pizza with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan.

Make the vinaigrette - Meanwhile, whisk together 1/2 cup of olive oil, the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Add the greens - When the pizzas are done, place the arugula in a large bowl and toss with just enough lemon vinaigrette to moisten. Place a large bunch of arugula on each pizza; add a slice of lemon and freshly grated Parmesan and serve immediately.
- Adapted (ever so slightly!) from the Barefoot Contessa, via FoodNetwork.com

Freezer Biscuits

I'm always looking for ideas to help speed up dinner preparation, and have started experimenting with make ahead (or freeze and bake) recipes. On a recent trip home to visit my parents, I discovered my mom's copy of The Best Make-Ahead Recipe, from Cook's Illustrated. All the Cook's Illustrated recipes I've tried have turned out very well (not surprising, with all the testing they do), so I asked to borrow the cookbook and give some of the recipes a try. She also loaned me her Oprah Magazine Cookbook (thanks, Mom!).

These biscuits are very easy to prepare, especially if you use my tip for cutting them into squares (see below). I baked some right away and froze the rest. I have to be honest -I wasn't wowed by the batch I baked right away. The batch I froze and baked tonight turned out much, much better. I had a pot roast in the crockpot and put these in the oven when I got home from work - a wonderful, fast, and easy dinner for the first cold evening of fall. Keep in mind - these are cream biscuits, not the flaky type, but they are much better than purchased freezer biscuits!

Freezer Biscuits
6 cups (30 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for counter
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups heavy cream

Line baking sheet with parchment paper (may need 2 baking sheets); set aside. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until a dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead dough briefly until smooth, about 1 minute, adding extra flour if necessary (if dough is too sticky).

Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch thick circle (or square). Cut biscuits using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter. (Note: I like to form the dough into a square and cut square biscuits using a butter knife or pizza cutter - this eliminates scraps and the need to re-work the dough). Lay biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 1/2 inch apart. If using a round cutter, gather scraps and re-knead them briefly to combine, then pat dough into a 3/4-inch thick circle and cut more biscuits; process can be repeated a third time. Yield: about 24 biscuits, depending on size and shape.

To bake and serve immediately: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. After cutting biscuits, spread them out over 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake biscuits one sheet at a time, 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

- OR -

To freeze: Wrap the baking sheet tightly with greased plastic wrap (or ungreased press-n-seal) and freeze until biscuits are solid, about 6 hours. Transfer frozen biscuits to a large ziplock freezer bag and freeze up to 1 month.

When ready to bake biscuits, do not thaw. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lay biscuits on parchment-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes: You may bake as few or as many biscuits at a time as you wish. Regardless of how many you bake, make sure they are spaced 2 inches apart, and if using more than one baking sheet, bake only one sheet at a time.

Guidelines for additions:
mild herbs - add 6 tbsp. (cilantro, parsley, chives, dill, etc.)
hearty herbs - add 3 tbsp. (rosemary, sage, thyme, etc. )
cheese - 6 oz. shredded or cubed (no larger than 1/4-inch pieces)
Add additions to the flour mixture, if using.

- Adapted from The Best Make-Ahead Recipe

Barefoof Bloggers: Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Alternate Title: It is generally a good idea to follow the recipe!

I admit it, my heart wasn't really in it tonight. Jalapenos are a little too spicy for me (but I thought I should at least try including them), and I also wasn't crazy about baking a big batch of cornbread for just the two of us. But I love the Barefoot Bloggers group and I've never had a Barefoot Contessa dish I didn't like, so I baked the jalapeno cheddar cornbread anyway. But it was only a half-hearted effort. And I was in a hurry to get it baked and posted.

My first mistake was substituting polenta/grits for the cornmeal. It is more coarsely ground than cornmeal, and left the cornbread with a . . . gritty . . . texture. My second mistake was pouring the melted butter - still warm from being melted - into a bowl with eggs and milk. I know better . . . I really do . . . but that is what happens when you're in a hurry. In case you didn't take time to read the last two sentences, here is a summary: raw eggs + a hot ingredient = disgusting.

I also baked the cornbread in muffin pans instead of a 9x13, which I think is probably an acceptable switch (just reduce the baking time to 20-25 minutes). I also used canned jalapenos (I'm not sure if this is a good substitution or not, because I'm not a jalapeno person), and left off the topping of cheese and extra scallions (because at that point I didn't want to waste any more cheese on this project).

The moral of the story is this: follow the instructions, use the right ingredients, and take your time!I think this would be a great cornbread recipe if followed correctly (and for me, if the jalapenos are left out!).

Bittersweet

My kitchen experiment this evening was kind of, well, bittersweet. I was experimenting with agave nectar, a natural sweetener (from the agave plant). Agave nectar, which is becoming more and more widely available, is a good substitute for sugar or honey, especially for diabetics and low-glycemic eaters. I'm not an expert on the science behind it, but apparently it does not create a spike in blood sugar like honey and sugar will do. But back to the baking . . .
I picked my favorite banana muffin recipe for this experiment, because I didn't think using agave would compromise the texture of the muffins (and I also had three over-ripe bananas in my way in the freezer). After figuring out how much agave nectar to use - thanks to internet research, a kitchen scale, and a little math problem - I quickly mixed up the muffin batter. As my Kitchen Aid was working, I noticed a faint smell that reminded me of alcohol. I thought maybe it was because I froze and thawed the bananas . . . but then I realized agave is used to make tequila, so perhaps that was the reason (who knows).

So how did the muffins turn out? The texture was great, not noticeably different from the original. The flavor was good, but not sweet enough. Not quite bitter, but also not sweet enough to be a "sweet muffin."Warning: this is where the healthful recipe you've been reading about takes a radical detour . . . called CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. I wanted to share these with my husband and a few others, and thought they might not get into the bittersweet thing, so I whipped up a mini-batch of cream cheese frosting and turned the muffins into cupcakes. . . another foodie trend, albeit at the opposite end of the spectrum from low-glycemic index diets!Overall, this recipe made wonderful cupcakes, and I think the muffins would have been good alone if I had increased the agave to the full 3/4 cup (see below). I'm definitely going to experiment more with agave nectar . . . next time I hope it doesn't end with cream cheese frosting!

Banana Muffins sweetened with agave nectar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour*
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
3/4 cup agave nectar**
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl (or your mixer bowl), beat together banana, Agave Nectar, egg, butter, and cinnamon. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture; stir until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

* I use Bob's Red Mill. If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour, or simply don't want to use it, substitute all-purpose flour.
** My initial research on baking with agave nectar . . . excluding wikipedia . . . indicated I should use 3/4 parts agave for every 1 part sugar the recipe calls for. This recipe called for 3/4 cup sugar . . . so I weighed 3/4 cup agave nectar, which was 8 oz., then used 3/4 of that amount (which equals 6 oz., if you're mathematically challenged like me) . . . as indicated above, the muffins weren't very sweet, so next time I'll use a full 3/4 cup agave nectar.

Focaccia

I can't even begin to describe this focaccia. It was so good I want to throw around words like fantastic, wonderful, amazing, outstanding, incredible . . . but I'm afraid no amount of multisyllabic words will help you understand, so I think you should make it yourself. Yes, even if you "can't make bread" or "don't have the patience" or whatever excuse is stopping you from trying this recipe. If you start with the right ingredients and follow the instructions, this recipe will guide you through the process, and it's sure to make you feel like a professional bread baker when you taste it.
I found the recipe on Annie's Eats (via Amber's Delectable Delights, and originally from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart). I'm not going to post the recipe here, so you'll have to check out Annie's blog or Amber's blog to get it (trust me, it's worth the extra click or two)!
I will add a few tips . . . first, my gas stove is too hot to simmer the oil and herbs together (I fried . . . literally . . . the herbs), so if you have a gas stove, I recommend using a double boiler - or just combining the oil and the herbs without heat. Second, I floured my silpat and used it as a spot to fold, stretch and shape the dough. When it was ready to transfer to the rimmed baking sheet, I just picked it up and placed both silpat and dough in the pan, eliminating the need for parchment paper.
Finally, the focaccia keeps fairly well - but it is definitely best to eat it the day you bake it! Oh, and don't cut into it too soon after you take it out of the oven (even though you will REALLY want to)!

Pork Chops with Apple-Sage Sauce + Biscuits

If a prize for "ugliest sauce to accompany pork chops" existed, I think the apple sage cream sauce featured in this post might win. It smelled and tasted great, but left a lot to be desired in terms of presentation. I tried to hide it with a sage leaf and also tried to distract you with the colorful salad greens. Sloppy appearance aside, the pork chops with apple sage cream sauce made a great Saturday lunch.

Pork Chops with Apple and Sage Cream Sauce

4 boneless pork loin chops, 3/4 inch thick
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
salt and pepper (preferably freshly ground)

Sauce:
1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced into wedges
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin (about 1/2 cup)*
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup apple cider
3 tbsp. applejack or brandy
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp. minced fresh sage leaves
3 tbsp. light cream cheese
2 tsp. cider vinegar

1. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels, then season each side with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 10 or 12-inch skillet (use one with a lid) over medium-high heat until just smoking. Lay the chops in the skillet and cook until light brown, about 3 minutes. Turn the chops over, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to cook until the center reaches 130 degrees (with an instant read meat thermometer), 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Transfer chops to plate, cover with foil and allow them to rest until the center reaches an internal temperature of 140-150 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, add apple, onion, and 1/4 tsp. salt to the oil/drippings left in the skillet, return to medium-low heat, and cook, covered, until the onion has softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in cider and brandy, scraping up the browned bits in the skillet. Stir in the broth and sage; bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes.
4. Pour any pork juices accumulated on the plate into the skillet. Whisk in cream cheese and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in vinegar; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over pork to serve. Four servings.

Per serving:
Pork chops only: 330 calories; 15 g fat; 110 mg cholesterol; 0 g carbs; 44 g protein; 0 g fiber; 8 points. Sauce only: 90 calories; 2 g fat; 5 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbs; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber; 2 points.
* I substituted shallots for onions
Source: The Best Light Recipe, from the editors of Cook's Illustrated

I also made "Secret Trick 1860 Baking Powder Biscuits," from Marcy Goldman's A Passion for Baking. This was my first attempt at making homemade biscuits just for the sake of making homemade biscuits. I've made shortcake biscuits several times, which are conceptually similar, but never plain biscuits. I have a long list of things I want to make from A Passion for Baking, and decided to start with this recipe. The results? They were easy to make but were more bitter than I prefer. A shot of honey on top helped, but in my opinion, a good biscuit should be able to stand alone. I suspect the baking powder is to blame, but I am afraid the biscuits would not rise enough if I reduced it. I plan to continue my quest for a great biscuit recipe, but in the meantime, here is the recipe:

Secret Trick 1860 Baking Powder Biscuits
1 tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tbsp. shortening
3-4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1. In a measuring cup, stir whipping cream and lemon juice together; let stand a few minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stack two baking sheets together and line top sheet with parchment paper (I think you could use just one if you have Airbake double-walled baking sheets). Arrange oven rack to upper third position.
3. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Cut in butter and shortening to make a coarse, grainy mixture. Drizzle soured cream over mixture and stir lightly with a fork to blend. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8-10 times until mixture is just rollable.
4. Pat or roll out to 1-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch disks. Place on prepared baking sheet; brush tops with milk, cream, or melted butter. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes.

Source: A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman

Day-old brioche = awesome French toast

This weekend, I had the opportunity to sample a few treats from My Koog, a new bakery in Quincy. My Koog has French and German breads and pastries; brioche is one of their specialties. I brought home two mini-loaves. Have you ever tried to eat a mini loaf of brioche on its own? Maybe it was just me, or maybe it was the fact that I left it out on the counter overnight . . . either way, I just couldn't eat it plain . . . but it made great French toast. Tender, but not in the least soggy.

The recipe (using the word recipe here might be a little bit of an exaggeration) is: 8 slices of mini-brioche, each 1/2 inch thick, dipped into a mixture of 2 eggs and 3-4 tbsp. milk. Cook over medium-low heat in skillet with butter or cooking spray. Add maple syrup and you have a nice quick Sunday morning breakfast for two. Imagine how good this would be with fresh fruit on top in the summer . . .

Surprise Shepherd Pie + Banana Bread

I thought Mr. Meat & Potatoes would like Shepherd Pie. He likes beef, mushrooms, green beans, and potatoes - all primary components of Shepherd Pie. Makes sense, right? After taking the time to make Cooking Light's edition of the recipe, I dished it up and he said "I don't like stuff that's all mixed up."
Ugghh . . . I knew that . . . but I guess I . . . forgot?

Here's the surprise part: he ate it and he liked it! He actually said it exceeded his expectations and would give it 5 stars. That part really surprised me - 5 stars? I would have given it 3.5 or 4. It was good, but not great. It could have used a little more seasoning/salt and might be better with shredded beef (think pot roast) instead of ground beef. I'll work on the recipe and post it [someday] when I think it's worthy of the 5-star status Ken gave it!

Since I was on a comfort food kick, I also made banana bread. I found a recipe in an old Cooking Light cookbook; this version has 3 points per slice, compared to 5 points per average slice of banana bread. It definitely satisfied my craving for sweets/fruit/bread. This recipe yields a very dense loaf of bread. If you keep leftover slices in the fridge, let them warm up to room temperature or heat in the microwave before serving.


Banana Bread (adapted from Cooking Light)
1 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. light butter, softened
3 medium bananas, very ripe and mashed
1/4 c. skim milk
1/4 c. low-fat sour cream
2 egg whites
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add banana, milk, sour cream and egg whites. Mix well.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
4. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar/banana mixture. Mix until well blended.
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, bake at 350 for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. When completely cooled, slice into 16 servings and enjoy.

Per slice: calories 147; fat 2.2 g; fiber 1.1 g. Points: 3

More Bread . . . and a Bird

Frustrated with the bread machine experiments, I set out to make a loaf of banana bread, sans bread machine. Good excuse to use some of the over-ripe bananas from the freezer, and to use the new LeCreuset loaf pan Grandma Margaret got me for my birthday. It's fantastic in comparison to the previous two loaves/bricks from the bread machine. The interesting part of this story relates to the freezer. . .

My friend Amanda was at my house recently. We were cooking up a storm, using vegetables from her garden. Somewhere along the way, she opened my freezer and noticed frozen bananas. She told me she was proud to see bananas in the freezer (as opposed to the trash!). Amanda and my friend (and former roommate) Lesley have been gently working to get me to be a better "economist" in the kitchen. They both set a good example, but I'm still not buying generic chocolate chips or peanut butter! Anyway. . . I told Amanda that I also had bananas in the freezer in the basement that REALLY needed to be used.

After dinner this evening, I went downstairs to retrieve the bananas from the freezer. I spotted one ziplock bag of bananas, and saw the top of another ziplock bag peeking over the railing of a compartment inside the door. That bag must have the oldest bananas in it, I reasoned, because I didn't even remember putting it in there. When I picked up the bag, I should have realized it was too light to be bananas . . . but instead, I brought the bag closer to my face to see what was in it . . . and realized I was peering at a . . . frozen quail carcass. Feathers, beak, and all. Eww.

Here is the recipe for the banana bread.

Bananas can be frozen in their peels in a ziplock bag, just thaw on the counter for an hour or so before use. I don't recommend substituting frozen quail!

Banana Bread

2 cups flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup ripe banana, mashed (2-3 bananas = 1 cup)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 tbsp. milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts, toasted (I omitted these because I wasted my last package of walnuts on the pumpkin bread)

1. In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix. Add the banana, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until combined. Add eggs and remaining flour. Beat until combined. Stir in walnuts.

2. Transfer batter to greased loaf pans (two 8x4x2 or equivalent - I used one larger loaf pan and 2 mini-loaf pans). Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, remove loaf and transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. Wrap and store overnight.

- Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens