Whole Wheat Pizza

I'm back living at my parents house until I move out to Seattle in August.  I graduated a week ago, two of my housemates are in Greece/Dubai, the other is in New Mexico for the summer and I didn't want to be all by myself in Ann Arbor.  It's also really nice to be home, I'm spending some very nice quality time with my parents until I leave "forever."  I've been helping my mom around the house… and cooking dinner.  While their house may be a little bit messier when I come home (sorry Mom!), they can't complain because I cook dinner a fair amount.  Case in point, Whole Wheat Pizza.  My best friend, Katherine (Crutcher, she lives in Texas) sent me a similar recipe about a month back.  I added sugar (fun fact: yeast love sugar, it's their superfood.  The more they eat, the faster and better they grow), spices and decreased the all-purpose flour by a ½ cup.  I also adapted the cooking time.  The two pizzas I made were quite different but equally delicious.  The one pictured on top has a pesto base with sun dried tomatoes, basil chiffonade, pine nuts, onions (diced), mozzarella and parmesan.

This one has a tomato sauce base with onions (diced), red & yellow peppers (diced), broccoli, blue cheese, pine nuts, mozzarella and parmesan.

It's an easy and healthy dinner, and even if you haven't had much experience making bread, this is a fairly smooth dough so the kneading isn't hard at all!

Whole Wheat Pizza

Ingredients:

• 2/3 + 4 TBSP warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 packets of yeast
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp italian seasoning
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Cornmeal for pan

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.
2. Mix in spices, salt and olive oil.  Add in flour one cup at a time.  Depending on the weather and the humidity, you made need ½ cup more of all-purpose flour.  Knead for 5 minutes.
3. Form dough into a tight ball and let rise in an oiled bowl covered with a damp and clean dish towel for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Preheat ove to 450 degrees.
5. When dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide into two equal sections.  With either your hands or a rolling pin, make into two thin 12-inch pizzas, dusting the pans with cornmeal.
6. Pre-bake crusts in oven for about 6 to 7 minutes.  Top pizza with desired toppings and cook for about 7 more minutes, or until all the cheese is melted.
7. Let cool for a minute (if you can!), cut and enjoy!

Gnocchi with Spinach Basil Pesto, Slow Roasted Tomatoes, and Asparagus

I think my cell phone on the side really completes the dish

The first time I had gnocchi was in Rome last summer.  It was the lightest and most heavenly thing I had ever eaten.  Every bite tasted like a cloud, I was hooked and immediately jumped to the Internet to find out how to make it.  Everything I read made gnocchi seem like the hardest thing in the world to make.  Sadly, it was put on my cooking back burner... until now.


Last Wednesday Jake came over for dinner and I knew I wanted to make something new, good and impressive.  Gnocchi was the first thing that came to mind.  I feverishly started researching how to make it; different techniques, recommend sauces and how many attempts it took people to get it right.  Apparently you need a ricer, an Italian grandmother and years of experience to get it right.  And even then you might not get it right on the first try.  I can honestly say I was afraid that I would mess it up and serve Jake dense potato balls.


But once again Deb at Smitten Kitchen saved the day.  Apparently you don't NEED a ricer, you can easily use a the large grater side of your box grater, you just have to make sure the potatoes gratings don't clump together.  And even though I'm Irish and have an infinite love for potatoes, you don't need an Italian grandmother to get it right (meaning my grandmothers do just fine!).  Yes, that's right, I SUCCESSFULLY made gnocchi on my first try!  I was (and partially still am) on a culinary high.  And I'm pretty sure Jake liked it too (but you'll have to ask him to make sure).  I also gave some to my roommate, Zenka, and she didn't seem to complain one bit... In fact, I think she gobbled it down.


If you have any questions about making them, I did enough research and bookmarked enough sites that I  can share tips or answer questions.  But I really recommend you try to make this because it is incredibly rewarding when you do!


PS - I adapted this recipe from SO many sites, but I used Smitten Kitchen's technique tips the most.


Ingredients:

• 4 good sized Russet potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. After cleaning the potatoes, cut a ⅛ inch deep all around the potato (it will make peeling them a lot easier later).  
2. Place in boiling water for about 30 minutes, or until a paring knife can easily be inserted into the fattest past of the potato.
3. When potatoes are done, remove and peel right away, the skins should slip right off with minimal assistance of a knife (and unless you have super hands, you'll want to use a kitchen towel or hot mitt to hold to potatoes).
4. Then grate the potatoes on the largest holes of a box grater into a large bowl. Add the lightly beaten egg and the salt to the potatoes and mix well with a wooden spoon.
5. Add the flour to the potatoes a little at a time, using only as much as you need so that the dough will not stick to your hands. When the flour has been incorporated, bring the dough together with your fingertips.  At this point my dough was still kind of sticky - you really want to avoid using too much flour (it will end up being very dense), err on the side of caution.
6. Dump the dough and any remaining floury bits onto a slightly floured surface. Knead the dough as you would bread dough. Press down and away with the heel of your hand, fold the dough over, make a quarter turn, and repeat the process. Knead for about three or four minutes.
7. Form the dough into a ball and then divide it into 6 smaller balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the six pieces using your fingertips into a long rope about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces.
8. Sadly, I am not yet talented enough to add the traditional gnocchi ridges with a fork, but if you can: create the ridges, press each piece of dough against the tines of a fork. With your finger, gently roll the pressed dough back off the fork. Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a lightly floured or parchment-lined dish. If you’d like to freeze them for later use, do so on this tray and once they are frozen, drop them into a freezer bag. This ensures that you won’t have one enormous gnocchi mass when you are ready to cook them.
9. To cook the gnocchi, place them into a pot of boiling and well-salted water. After a few minutes the gnocchi will float to the top. Continue to cook for one minute then remove,  and set aside.  If you are using a sauce, add to a saute pan with the (heated) sauce and cook for another minute or two.

Spinach-Basil Pesto

1. In a food processor combine a hand-full of basil leaves, about a cup of fresh spinach, ¼ cup of pine nuts, ½ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, ¼ cup grated asiago cheese, 3 cloves of minced garlic, some freshly ground black pepper, and a few pinches of kosher salt.  All of these ingredients can be more or less to taste.
2. After this has been pureed, continue running the food processor and drizzle in olive oil until the pesto has reached your desired consistency.
3. This can then be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for a few days, but for the gnocchi you will want to heat it in a sauté pan, adding the gnocchi for the last one or two minutes.

Slow (Oven) Roasted Tomatoes

1. Preheat over to 250 degrees.
2. Cut Roma tomatoes in half and place in a small casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and top with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
3. Cook in oven for about two hours or until nice and soft.

My Recipe for Roasted Asparagus

Grilled Pizza

Pizza's on the Grill

Pizza's being prepped with toppings

Teaching Caroline how to stretch out pizza dough

Plate of toppings

First go around on the grill

I have been wanting to make grilled pizza for a long time now - whenever I see pictures the pizza just looks so delectable. As my sister is leaving for college on Tuesday (all the way across the country in Oregon), I need to teach her to cook as soon, and as fast as possible. I taught her how to properly stretch out pizza dough (as I will never be graceful enough to throw it in the air) and how to grill it. I must say... I don't think I will ever go back to just plain oven cooked pizza again. This pizza had an amazingly deep flavor and the crust was both crunchy and soft at the same time. My pizza has pesto, fresh tomatoes, onions, pine nuts, mozzarella, and parmesan on it - I recommend this combination, but the addition of blue cheese would also work very well. If you don't feel like cooking on a hot day - just heat up your grill and make some pizza!

(See older post for pesto recipe)

Thin Crust Pizza Dough + Grilling Instructions

Adapted from Frolicking Foodies

• 500 g strong white flour (I used King Arthur Bread Flour, and must weigh the flour - it really makes a huge difference)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 TBSP sugar
• 1 package yeast
• 2 TBSP oil (I try and use oil reserved from sun-dried tomatoes or similar)
• 300 ml lukewarm water (not too hot or the yeast will not perform - trust me here!)

1. Mix the sugar, yeast, oil and water together in a small bowl and leave for 5 minutes to bubble up. Weigh out the salt and flour. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt, make a well and then add the watery mixture. Incorporate by bringing the flour into the well of water, gradually. Knead the dough until it is very smooth and very elastic - it will be quite sticky, so I would recommend adding a little flour to your kneading surface.
2. Oil the same (cleaned) bowl with a little bit of olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and wait until doubled in sized. I personally hot box mine in the oven (aka, I heat the oven up to 100 degrees, turn it off, and place the bowl inside there to rise), it takes a lot less time.
3. Portion your pizza dough into four (maximum six) even balls. Heat your grill to a medium-high heat, then stretch your dough balls out thin and place them on your grill. Cook on one side until it’s crispy and a little golden, then take off the grill.
4. Once you’ve done them all, dress the sides that have already touched the grill with your sauce and desired toppings. Place the uncooked side back on the grill and cover for a few minutes, until the bottom is really crispy and your cheese is melted through. Serve immediately, maybe with a beer and a simple green salad.

Fresh Homemade Tagliatelle with Pesto

I finally saw Julie & Julia. It was a good movie... but I kept on thinking I was watching two movies at the same time (if that makes any sense). However, two things happened after watching the movie. One, I left the movie feeling famished. Two, I gathered up all my cookbooks and read through them figuring out all the things I can make, photograph, and blog about. I just want to cook and bake as much as possible. After seeing the movie I became incredibly inspired to actually seriously start writing a cookbook. Well - maybe in a year or two - but as of now I will keep on cooking, photographing and blogging. Oh yes, I also felt incredibly inspired to try totally new (and complicated) recipes and be totally ok with messing them up, but being able to say I tried/did it!

But about this recipe - it's fresh, handmade, Tagliatelle with Pesto I made a few days ago. I made it before the movie, realized the movie was starting in 30 minutes, so I heated it up after the movie and ate it for dinner. I must say - for how relatively easy it was to make - I was impressed. Next time I make it though, I will spend more time rolling it out (to get it super thin) and cutting thinner strips of pasta.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups strong white flour (I just used King Arthur's plain AP flour... it turned out well)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-1/2 Tbsp olive oil (I primarily use olive oil from Crete - I think it tastes better)

Directions:

1. Sift the ingredients into a bowl and stir in the salt.
2. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Use a wooden spoon to stir the eggs while gradually drawing in the flour. After a few minutes the dough will be too stiff to use a spoon and you will need to use your fingers.
3. Once all of the flour has been incorporated, turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (it took me about 5 minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes.
4. Roll out out the pasta so its REALLY thin (this is where I kinda messed up) and fold into thirds and cut out long, thin strips, about 1cm wide.
5. To cook, bring a pan of water to a boil, add 1/2 Tbsp of oil, and the pasta will take about 3 minutes to become al dente (aka fully cooked).
6. Drain the pasta, place in bowl, mix in pesto, pour a glass of red wine, sit back, & enjoy!

Pesto!

Happy (belated) Memorial Day! Yesterday was filled with a lot (a lot) of cooking. I went to the grocery store at 9am, started cooking at 10:30am, and finally finished around 3:30 pm. No breaks.

Over the next few days I will be posting these recipes: Eggplant Parmesan, Tomato Sauce (for the eggplant parm), Pesto Sauce, Grasshopper Brownies, and a mint chocolate garnish. Now, you will be pesto! This is a potent pesto that will delightfully coat pasta or be a nice sauce for pizza (recipe for that later).

Ingredients:

- 3 cups of (packed) basil leaves

- 6 cloves of garlic (minced)

- 1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts

- 1/3 (ish) cup of olive oil

- 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese (grated)

- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rough chop the basil, then place in a food processor with the garlic and combine until a smooth paste is formed. Add in pine nuts and combine.

2. While the food processor is still running, drizzle in the olive oil.

3. Transfer basil/garlic paste to a bowl and mix in parmesan cheese with a fork. Once well combined, add salt and pepper until it tastes 'good.' I personally put in a good amount of salt (maybe a 1/2 TBSP...maybe more...who knows, I don't really measure).

4. Enjoy! If kept in an airtight container, the pesto should keep in a fridge for a while (a couple weeks to a couple months)

Maybe if I'm up to it, I'll post another recipe tonight.