Rainy Pizza Day

Pizza. Yum. What is better? We are defiantly a pizza family. Pizza snobs even! Sometimes we have to ban ourselves from it because we tend to over indulge. If I am going to eat pizza it has to be good pizza. No dominos or pizza hut for me. A couple years ago I began experimenting at home with pizza making. There was a lot of trial and error involved. I think the two most important factors in making a great pizza is first and foremost...the crust! And second the sauce. I like traditional pizza, ie. red sauce, cheese and some kind of meat. But I also LOVE non-traditional pizza. The possibilities are endless!! One of my favorites happens to be a fig jam, pancetta, goat cheese and arugula pizza. My favorite pizza joint down the road serves that one and I have perfected it at home. It is delicious!!

For tonight's experiments I tried a new sauce and dough recipe. It all started this morning when my husband and I were watching the new Cooking TV channel. Tyler Florence was on. I really like him! On the show he traveled to Naples, Italy (the birthplace of pizza) and a cute Italian lady showed him the Italian way of making pizza. My husband and I are of course drooling so we decide, what's better to do on this rainy summer day than make pizza!!! I planned on making 3 different pizzas. A cheese for the kids. A cheese with italian sausage and a caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza for us! They really turned out great. This crust and sauce recipe were by far my most favorite I have tried. I have my baking technique down it was just that I was never completely happy with my crust and sauce.....until now!

Methods:

Start by making your pizza dough. I used Tyler Florence's pizza dough recipe. It is very easy if you have a kitchen aid stand mixer with a dough hook. Here is the link to his dough:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/pizza-dough-recipe/index.html

He calls for 00 flour. This is an Italian pizza flour. In Italy they grade their flour differently than we do in the U.S. It is basically a very fine, soft flour. I used regular, unbleached all purpose flour. But I really would love to try the 00 flour next time! I also doubled this recipe. I gave some to the kids so they could play with it and make their own pizzas.

Place your oven rack on the lowest possible position. Place a pizza stone on the rack and pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees.

While you are waiting for your dough to rise and your oven to preheat make and get ready your toppings.

Toppings for cheese pizza:

red sauce

fresh mozzarella, cubed

drizzle of olive oil

Toppings for sausage pizza:

red sauce

fresh mozzarella, cubed

fresh italian sausage, removed from casing and torn into bits.

drizzle of olive oil

Toppings for Caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza:

drizzle of olive oil

carmelized onions with rosemary

fresh goat cheese, crumbled

fresh mozerella, cubed

diced pancetta. You can buy pancetta already diced (Trader Joes). Place on a paper towel lined plate and cook in microwave for about 1 minute or until cooked through.

Caramelized Onions with Rosemary

One yellow onion, sliced

one sprig of rosemary (strip leaves from stem.)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 lemon

Slice onions. Place a saute pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions and rosemary to pan. Cook onions down until slightly brown about 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and squeeze half a lemon over onions. Stir. Set aside until ready to use.

So I have tried A LOT of pizza sauce recipes. I have tried store bought and making my own. I have never absolutely loved one until tonight! The flavor is awesome and it is so easy!! It is also a Tyler Florence recipie.

Red Sauce Pizza Topping

1/4 c. extra- virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 bunch fresh basil leaves, torn

2 (28 oz.) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand crushed, preferably Italian tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste.

Add olive oil to a heavy saute pan. Heat oil then add onions and garlic. Cook until softened about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and basil. Cook sauce until reduced down and thick about 10-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside until ready to use.

When your dough has doubled in volume punch down and remove from bowl. Spread onto a well floured board and shape into a circle. I do this by pressing the dough with my fingers, pushing out and then stretching over my fists, working it around. You can also use a rolling pin. When you have your dough to your desired thickness (I like mine thin) place on a well floured pizza peel. Drizzle with olive oil and slide onto pizza stone for about 3-5 minutes. I like to pre bake the crust before I put on the toppings just to make sure I get an extra crisp crust. Remove from oven with peel and assemble toppings. Place pizza back in oven for about 5-10 min. Make sure you keep and eye on your pizza. Baking time really depends on the hotness of your oven.

Cheese, red sauce and fresh mozzarella.

Yummy Cheese Pizza!!!

Fresh mozzarella, fresh italian sausage and red sauce.

Fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, pancetta and caramelized onions with rosemary.

Spring is Here!!!

Ah!!! Spring is here!!! Spring in the Northwest can be unpredictable. Today it is very cold. We have had rain, hail and sun! My kids are playing outside...can't hold them in when they see a sun break! Spring also means that Summer is right around the corner...that means boating and bathing suits!! I have decided that for the next couple weeks I will be posting healthy recipes. I do enjoy making healthy meals for my family and we usually do eat healthy. Some of the things I have posted on my blog in the past are my special occasion recipes. I can not eat like that all the time or I would weigh a million lbs! It is very important to me that I cook healthy foods for my family. I want my kids to have a taste for healthy foods and not junk foods. Healthy food can be good!!! Here are a list of some of the things I always have on hand for healthy meals:

• chicken breast
• boneless skinless chicken thighs
• tilapia
• turkey lunch meat
• brown rice
• a large variety of fruits and vegetables
• low fat cottage cheese
• low fat yogurt
• string cheese
• low fat cream cheese
• low fat granola
• whole wheat breads including pita pockets, english muffins, mini bagels and tortillas
• canned beans
• mixed nuts
• protein powder
• oatmeal
• dried fruits

One of mine and my kids favorite snacks is yogurt with granola and fruit. I use low fat vanilla yogurt, about 2 scoops of low fat cottage cheese, 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (you don't have to use the protein powder. I usually have this after a workout so that is why I like to have added protein) Special K low fat granola and I top with fresh strawberries or whatever fruit I have on hand. My kids really love this. My daughter Lauren even takes it in her lunch. I put an ice pack in her lunch box with the yogurt and have the other ingredients separate. She assembles it at school!

Another favorite in our house are protein shakes. I have one of the magic bullet blenders. I love it! You make the shake right in the cup! My son drinks a lot of these. He has a lot of energy and a protien shake is a great way to keep his body fueled! Not that he really needs anymore fuel. He is like a pit bull....he goes and goes and goes. Anyway, here are a couple of our favorite recipies:

Banana and Peanut Butter Protein Shake

3 ice cubes

1/2 banana

1 spoonful of peanut butter

1 scoop vanilla protein power

1/4 C. milk

1 scoop chocolate ovaltine (optional)

Blend all ingrediants. This makes a perfect child sized portion!

Creamsicle Protein Shake

3 ice cubes

1/4 C. orange juice

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 scoop low fat vanilla yogurt

splash of milk (add more if to thick)

Blend all ingrediants and enjoy!

I also do frozen mixed fruit with yogurt, milk and protein powder. Yoplait even has smoothie ready packs with frozen berries and yogurt chips. All you do is add milk and protein powder!

For dinner last night I was craving some thai flavors! I love thai food! I always have boneless/skinless chicken thighs on hand. Although the fat content is a little higher in the dark meat, it is just so flavorful I can't resist. I love to marinate chicken thighs and grill them. They grill up really fast. I thought up a simple marinade of peanut butter, lite coconut milk, curry powder and lime juice. It is basically a peanut sauce. I didn't really measure the ingredients, just added a little of this and that. So as you are making this make sure you are tasting the marinade as you go. I gotta say it turned out great and my kids loved it. I served it with brown rice cooked in coconut milk and some mixed sauteed vegis. I even made a awesome wrap today for lunch with the leftovers! Here are the recipes!

Thai Flavor Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs

1 package boneless/skinless chicken thighs

1/4 C. peanut butter

1/4 C. coconut milk

1 t. curry powder

1/2 lime, juice squeezed (more if need for taste)

salt and pepper to taste

Mix together ingredients. If needed, add more coconut milk and lime juice to make a thick marinade consistency. Make sure you taste the sauce and add more seasonings if you like. Marinate for 1 hour or up to 8 hours or more. When ready to grill make sure your grill is nice and hot. Clean grates and spray with oil. Spray chicken with canola oil cooking spray. You want to make sure the chicken does not stick to the grates. Grill on one side with lid covered for about 5 minutes. Make sure you stay close to the grill so they do not burn. Turn chicken over and cook for about another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve!

I made brown rice with coconut milk to go along with the chicken. My kids really love rice.....white rice. Who doesn't though! It's good! Especially jasmine rice! But it is so un-healthy for you. I have been trying different ways to get them to like brown rice. Usually they will eat it but it is not done with a smile and a...YUM!!! So last night I tried cooking it with lite coconut milk. It was really good. My kids loved it and ate it all up! I even got a....YUM!!! Here's what I did:

Brown Rice with Coconut Milk

1 C. lite coconut milk

1 1/2 C. water

1 t. salt

3/4 t. sugar or splenda

1 C. brown basmati rice

cilantro or toasted coconut to sprinkle on at the end of cooking.

Combine first 4 ingrediants in a pot. Bring to a boil and stir in rice. Turn heat to low, cover pot and cook for about 35 minutes or whatever the back of your rice package says. Sprinkle with cilantro or toasted coconut.

The toasted coconut is really good on the rice. It gives it a little extra sweetness and crunch. To toast coconut just place sweetened coconut flakes on a baking sheet. Place sheet in a 350 degree oven. Check after 5 minutes. Stir. It toasts fast and burns easily so keep and eye on it.

Mixed Sauteed Vegetables

I always make a big batch of vegis to go with dinner. Instead of just steaming them try a quick vegi saute. I used mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, fresh ginger and garlic in this saute. You can use any variety you like. Another one of my favorites is asparagus, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.

2 t. canola oil

cooking spray

asparagus

broccoli

mushrooms

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger

salt and pepper to taste

white wine, sherry wine or rice vinegar

Method:

Cut vegis so they are of similar size. Press garlic in garlic press. Chop ginger. Add 2 t. of canola oil to wok or sauté pan. Spray pan with cooking spray. Add garlic and ginger to pan and turn on heat. When garlic and ginger start to sizzle cook for about 1 minute. Add cut vegis and salt and pepper to pan and saute until crisp tender about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add a splash of white wine, sherry wine or rice vinegar and cook for a minute more.

Here is a picture of the wrap I made for lunch today out of the leftovers from dinner last night.

Whole wheat wrap

leftover chicken

leftover rice

coleslaw mix (I always have some in my fridge. Not actual coleslaw, just the cabbage and carrot mixture)

fresh cilantro

any low fat sesame dressing or peanut sauce derssing.

I hope you enjoy!!

Superbowl

This year we decided to have friends over for superbowl. It was a great time and the food was plentiful! I always tend to go overboard with any menu I am putting together. It always starts out small and then grows as I am making things. Everyone brought something too..... and man was it a good spread!!! I have been obsessing over the cupcakes I had at St. Cupcake in NW Portland last week. I really wanted another one of their coconut cream cupcakes. It was to die for. So I decided I would make some for Superbowl...good excuse to make cupcakes, right? They ended up being pretty comparable to St. Cupcake! So good! I also made a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. Amazing! Also on the menu was maple wings, pulled pork sandwiches, spiced nuts and a hummus platter. Here are the recipes!

Coconut cupcakes were from Ina Garten. The only thing I did different was to toast the coconut for the top of the cupcake.

Here is the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-cupcakes-recipe/index.html

Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes from Ina also. The peanut butter butter cream is amazing on these! And the cake is so moist and chocolatey!! YUM!!

Here is the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-cupcakes-and-peanut-butter-icing-recipe/index.html

Spiced Nuts These nuts are to die for. They are really hard to stop eating. The flavor is just amazing. Another one of my favorite chefs is Nigella Lawson. She got this nut recipe from a bar in NYC called The Union Square Cafe. Here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/the-union-square-cafes-bar-nuts-recipe/index.html

Maple Wings I got this recipe from my Mom. These take a little time but are defiantly worth it. I usually go a little longer on the cooking time to make sure they get nice and caramelized. Here is the recipie:

3-4 lbs. chicken wings

1/3 C. teriyaki sauce

1/2 C. lite soy sauce or yoshida sauce

2 T. minced garlic

1 T. garlic powder

1 T. onion powder

1/2 T. black pepper

1 1/2 C. real maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a large disposable baking pan. Mix all ingredients together in a measuring cup and then pour onto chicken. Bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. After one hour increase the oven temp to 425. Continue cooking and stirring about an hour more until liquid is thick and wings are caramelized.

Southern Pulled Pork Sandwiches from Martha Stewart. These were great. Really easy. I used small potato rolls instead of regular sized buns so that they were more of an appetizer size. Instead of doing it in the oven I used my slow cooker. I let the pork cook for about 6 hours.

Here is the link: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/southern-pulled-pork-sandwiches

Hummus platter I love Trader Joes plain hummus. My kids eat it too. I always have some in

the fridge for a quick snack along with some carrots and snap peas. I threw this platter together for a healthy offering at the party. I included roasted tomatoes, pita bread, carrots, snap peas, greek olives, greek feta and cucumbers.

These are all great recipes to try anytime!! I hope you enjoy!

Sunday Dinners

Whew!! What a great Christmas break we had! I finally feel like I am getting back into the swing of things! Kids are settled back into their school routines and I finally feel caught up.....a little! I made many fabulous meals over the past couple weeks but have not had time to post anything! This post is going to include a little of everything.

First off, my absolute favorite meal that I made over break was Beef Bourguignon. I finally watched Julie and Julia and I just loved the movie! A movie about food is for me!! A lot of the dishes she made in the movie I have made myself. I had never made the beef bourguignon though and I instantly wanted to try it! It is really not hard to make. You just have to prepare things ahead of time and realize it's going to take a couple hours. Most of the time the beef is in the oven anyway! An important item you must have is a heavy dutch oven with a tight fitting lid. I have a Le Creuset. It is cast iron with enamel over it. I bought mine several years ago. Back then you could only really find them in specialty stores. And they are very expensive. (I actually saved up for mine and was so excited the day I bought it.) Now you can find other brands at any store. Khols, Target and JC Penney all have really good ones for good prices!

The beef bourguignon recpie I used was from Ina Garten. It is very similar to Julia Childs. I promise you that you will love this dish. It is so hearty, warm and comforting. A little fills you up and the flavor is so phenomenal. Once you've had it, you will dream of it and crave it! At least I do!!

Here is the link to the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beef-bourguignon-recipe/index.html

I served the beef bourguignon over mashed yukon gold potatoes. Ina served hers over toasted bread which is really good too!

Another great, healthy meal I made over break was a vegetable soup. I got this recpire from Martha Stewart. I do love her! Her recipes are always great. I have made a lot of her stuff and you just can't go wrong with Martha! The soup is packed full of vegetables and fresh herbs. Soup is such a great way to get your needed vegis in your diet. This soup also has chickpeas in it which adds more fiber to the soup. This soup does require some chopping of vegis. Don't be afraid! Make sure you have a sharp, appropriate chef's knife and that you are holding it the proper way. It makes all the difference in the world! Here is a link that explains the proper way to hold a chef knife:

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/knifeskills/ss/knifegrips_2.htm

This recipe made a lot of soup. It was great to have leftovers for lunch the next day!

Here is the recipie:

Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup

serves 10-12

2 T. extra- virgin olive oil

4 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, cut into 1 inch,

and washed well.

3 celery stalks, cut on the bias into 1/2 inch thick pieces

3 medium carrots, cut into cubes

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 pinches of red pepper flakes

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

5 1/4 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cuos water

1 small (1- 1 1/2 lbs) butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes

2 yukon gold potatoes, cut into cubes

1 head escarole, cut into i inch thick ribbons

1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. thinly sliced fresh mint

2 T. thinly sliced fresh dill

1. Heat oil in large dutch oven over medium heat. Cook leeks, celery, carrots, garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1 t. salt, stirring occasionallly, until leeks are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add stock and water, and bring to a boil.

2. Add squash and potatoes. Return to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in escarole and chickpeas, and return to a boil. Stir in lemon juice and herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Well, as most of you know I love anything Italian! Shoes, clothes, dishes and of course food! A lot of Italian food is very easy to make. Italians know how to combine simple, fresh and few ingredients for a fabulous dish. When most people think Italian food they think spaghetti and meatball and lasagna. While those are very good and I make them often I really like to cook authentic Italian dishes. Chicken Marsala is one of those dishes! I like to serve it over angel hair pasta with a big cesear salad. It is so easy to make and comes together quite quickly. I made this for Sunday dinner and we had our group of close friends over who also love Italian food. There is nothing better than sharing a big Italian meal with the people you love!

The chicken marsala recipe comes from Tyler Florence here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-marsala-recipe/index.html

I also made fresh focaccia bread. I will never forget when we were in Italy and we were in the town of Siena. It was one of my favorite places in Italy that we visited. We got there early in the morning and we were looking for a place to get some coffee. We stepped around the corner and smelled a wonderful freshly baked bread smell. We found the shop it was coming from and went in. In this bakery we had the most delicious freshly made focaccia bread right from the brick oven. The bread had indentions all over it with sea salt and rosemary sprinkled on top and in the indentions the olive oil pooled. I will never forget it!! Can't wait to go back one day and get some more!

This focaccia comes from Michael Chiarello. It is very good and worth taking the time to make! Try it!!

Here is the link:

http://www.napastyle.com/recipe/recipe.jsp?productId=2382&parentCategoryId=614&categoryId=713&subCategoryId=681

I hope you all try and enjoy these recipe!! Arrivederci!!