Addicted to Bread

There’s a little plaque hanging in my kitchen that says “Home Baked Breads.” My husband bought it for me after he realized (oh.my.gosh.) that I knew how to make focaccia. Sadly for our waistlines, he and I both love bread, especially when it’s homemade and definitely when it’s covered with tomato sauce.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I have to give major credit to my favorite cookbook in the world – The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. It is the best cookbook I have ever owned (thanks mom!) and I have yet to try a recipe from it that I do not absolutely love. That is why, last night, when I had a major craving for pizza-ish carbs, I went straight to my Test Kitchen book to sniff out a recipe for Pizza.

It requires some planning ahead (total rising time is about 1.5 hrs), but if you follow the directions, it’s pretty much fool-proof. It makes three 12″ pizzas, or in my case, it make two 12″ pizzas and three deliciously fluffy 4″ mounds of tomato-covered  flat bread (flat-ish, they were pretty fluffy).

Dough:

• 4 1/4 c. bread (or all-purpose, I used King Arthur’s Organic All-Purpose)
• 1 packet rapid rise yeast (or 2.25 tsp)
• 1 3/4 c. warm water
• 1.5 tsp salt

2 TBSP olive oil

In measuring cup, combine yeast and water, proof for a few minutes. [Note: the actual recipe skips this step, combining the yeast with the rest of the dry ingredients, but I always prefer to add my yeast wet, just in case.] In large mixing bowl, combine 4 c. flour and salt, add in olive oil and then water/yeast mixture. Mix for until dough forms a ball, then let it rest for 2 minutes, then mix again for 30 seconds. At this stage, my dough was REALLY sticky. Pour dough out on to a heavily floured surface and begin kneading, adding the remaining 1/4c. flour as needed. Knead for a total of about 5 minutes, then place dough (shaped into a nice neat ball) in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic (also oiled) and let rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes (mine only needed 60) or until doubled in size.

Turn dough out on to floured surface and divide into three, equal-sized balls. Wrap each in plastic and let them rest another 20-30 minutes.

In the meantime: place your pizza stone (a must have!) in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Let the stone heat up in the oven for at least 30 minutes. This is the perfect time to assemble all your toppings.

After 30 minutes, you can begin building your pizzas:

On a large sheet of parchment (you’ll use this during baking) sprinkle a couple TBSP of cornmeal and begin to roll out your first ball of pizza dough. I didn’t need a rolling pin, just gently push and shape the dough until it’s about 13-14″ in diameter. Now it’s time to decorate!  I topped our pizza with Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce (delicious! I highly recommend!), minced garlic, thinly sliced bell peppers, red onions, tomatoes and chicken apple sausage.

Now comes the most tricky part: Turn a large cookie sheet upside down and gently slide your pizza, on the parchment paper, on to the upside-down cookie sheet. This is your substitute for those big paddles they have in pizza kitchens. Slide the pizza, parchment and all, on to your hot pizza stone and back for 10-15 minutes until done. Repeat with your other two balls of dough and you have pizza night! Preservative free and delicious!

Retro Night – Turkey Meatloaf

When I’m craving old-fashioned, stick-to-your ribs food, this is at the top of my list. I serve it with mashed yukon gold potatoes and broccoli sauteed with garlic.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan with olive oil or butter.

In large bowl combine:

• 2lbs ground turkey (I use 1lb breast meat, 1lb thigh meat – they’re sold separately at my grocery store)
• 1/2 – 1 cup bread crumbs (since most store-brand varieties have milk in them, I make my own by toasting day-old sourdough and then blitzing in the food processor until very fine)
• 1/2 finely chopped parsley
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce\
• 1/3 c. ketchup (I like Heinz organic)
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt!)

Mash all ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Press into loaf pan and round the top. Spread another 1/3 cup of ketchup. Bake at 375, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes or until browned on top and cooked through.

You can easily make a gravy to go with this by making a simple roux (equal parts flour, butter – I usually need about a TBSP of each) and adding chicken broth, ketchup, a little tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste. My family likes the meatloaf with just ketchup. They’re big ketchup fans. Especially my one year old. The dentists will scold me for this, I’m sure.

Enjoy!

Asian Style Lettuce Wraps

Asian style Lettuce (or Cabbage) Wraps:

I’ve been making this recipe for a couple years, but it definitely came in handy when farm boxes came several weeks in a row with lots of lettuce and cabbage. It’s fast, easy to prepare and chock-full of flavor.

Sautee until meat is thoroughly cooked and onions are transluscent:
-1 breast of chicken, finely chopped or 1/2-1 lb ground turkey, chicken, or leftover roasted chicken – whatever you have on hand (I wouldn’t recommend beef)
- 1/4 c. chopped scallions
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
Sauce: Combine in sauce pan all ingredients but cornstarch, simmer gently until sugar dissolves. Whisk in cornstarch and simmer until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and pour half onto the cooked chicken mixture.
-1/2 c. soy sauce
-1/2 c. sugar
- 1TBSP mirin (sweet rice wine – this is good to have on hand if you do a lot of asian cooking)
-1 tsp. minced/grated garlic
- 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
- 1 TBSP cornstarch
Toppings, etc:
- Cooked white or brown rice OR cooked rice noodles
- Grated carrots and cucumber, sprinkled with seasoned rice vinegar
- Peanuts if desired or any other sauces/nuts/etc you might prefer
- Washed and dried pieces of lettuce or cabbage (we used the Romaine from our box and it worked great! It was sturdy enough to hold good-sized portions)
Line everything up buffet style and people can fix their own wraps. Bruce’s brother loves these with spicy Thai peanut sauce, I like them more Japanese/Teriyaki-inspired.

CSA Salsa

Back in October, our farm box arrived with a bag full of hot peppers. I’ve never made salsa before, but in keeping with my goal to not waste a single vegetable from those boxes, I decided it was time for salsa. I wanted something of a roasted salsa, so this is what I came up with – it was a surprising hit with the family.

10 small-ish hungarian wax peppers, seeded, cut in half and roasted until charred on the edges
Approx 1-2lbs tomatoes, seeded, halved and roasted until charred
1/2 onion, chopped
Half a bunch of chopped cilantro
1 TBSP white vinegar
Juice from 1 lime
Salt to taste
Blitz everything in the food processor until it reaches the texture you prefer.

Butternut Squash and Potato Leek Soup

 

For someone who has never been all that fond of butternut squash, I would eat this soup morning, noon and night if I could. It’s easy, relatively fast (especially if you have already-roasted squash on hand) and perfect for fall and winter weather.

When I’m making soup, I always try to season as I go so each level of ingredients is properly seasoned. I think in the end I use less salt and the flavors are better blended.

Serve this with a nice salad and some rustic sourdough bread.

• 2 TBSP olive oil or butter (I used half and half)
• 3 large leeks, sliced (discard the top dark green parts, just use the white and pale green portion of the leek)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 lbs potatoes, sliced (Skinned Russets are ok but yukon or fingerling have better flavor for this recipe I think)
• 1/2 large roasted butternut squash, cubed (or more! use to taste)
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• S&P to taste

Heat oil in large stock pot and sautee onions and leeks until softened and transluscent. Add potatoes and cook until the potatoes are soft but not fully cooked. Add about 1 qt chicken stock and simmer covered until potatoes are cooked through. Drop in cubed butternut squash and begin to break up the potatoes and squash pieces with a wooden spoon. Add about another 1/2 qt chicken stock and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the squash and potatoes are very soft and well-combined. At this point you can serve as-is, blend for a really smooth/creamy soup or use a potato masher to gently mash the soup a little more. In my family, we like chunky soup. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Makes about 8-10 servings