Posts Tagged ‘food’

Tasty Potato Pizza Recipe

April 22nd, 2013
5 Comments

This tasty experiment went so fast I barely had time to take pictures after deciding I needed to share the recipe with you and before it had completely disappeared. The photos aren’t ideal, but they work.

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In our San Francisco living days we went to an awesome, tiny pizza-by-the-slice place (can’t remember what it was called, but it was somewhere near Market) that sold the most delicious potato pizza. Penelope was about 6-7 months at that time, Chris kept feeding her whole cloves off the pizza despite my nagging to stop. She loved them. I hated that diaper the next day.

The next best thing to that potato pizza in SF is in Provo (I go every time I get the chance) at Slab. But I can’t always go there when I’m craving a tasty slice. So I tried to duplicate it. I think I got close. You should give it a try.

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Potato Pizza Recipe

  • pizza dough (I used Trader Joe’s garlic dough)
  • cornmeal
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium red potatoes, scrubbed
  • mozzarella (the good stuff)
  • fresh parmesan
  • bacon or ham
  • chives
  • garlic cloves (powder will do just fine)
  • coarse salt (I used Kosher)

Spray your pizza pan with non-stick spray and coat evenly with cornmeal (do not skip this step!). Preheat the oven to 450º F. Prepare the pizza dough as directed, roll out and spread onto pizza pan. Coat with olive oil. Cover the entire surface of the pizza with thinly sliced potatoes brush over the potatoes with a little olive oil. Evenly spread mozzarella, parmesan, bacon, ham, chives, garlic cloves and salt. Bake in the middle rack for about 10 minutes. Move to top rack and reduce the heat to 350. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the potato is soft. Cut and serve.

I imagine this would be really good with brie, goat cheese or feta instead of mozzarella.

 

Food: Baked Potato Soup

April 15th, 2013
3 Comments

It’s snowing and cold again today. When the weather’s like this, I can’t live without this soup.

It takes about 20-30 minutes to make and I typically have everything on hand. Bacon, green onions, cheese and heavy cream are basic staples around our house.

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This recipe is from the Favorites cook book; given to me by my mom, it’s chock full of fabulous recipes.

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Totally ignore the fact that I can’t spell tabasco. Sheesh.

Typically, I’ll add chicken for an even heartier meal. The bacon, is a must. ABSOLUTE MUST. The more the better. I typically cook up a pound of bacon and that tends to disappear just as quickly as the soup.

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Baked Potato Soup

adapted from Favorites, serves 4-6
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
  • 4 cups broth (chicken, vegetable or beef)
  • 4-6 red potatoes (yukon gold are awesome, too), peeled and chopped
  • 2-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • dash tabasco sauce
  • 2-4 cloves garlic (or garlic powder)
  • 1 cup half and half (whole milk works, too!)
  • 5 leaves basil, chopped
  • green onions, chopped
  • sharp cheddar, grated
  • 1 package bacon, crumbled

Peel and chop all veggies in advance. In a large pot, melt butter on medium high with onions until onions are clear. Add flour and mix together (will look like a paste). Add broth, potatoes, carrots, salt, peppper, tabasco and garlic. Make sure liquid covers vegetables, add more water if needed. Cook on medium high for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.* Add half and half, basil and warm all the way through. Serve with green onions, cheddar and bacon.

*To cook your veggies faster, chop your vegetables smaller.

 

Food: Dairy-Free Mango Strawberry Sorbet

April 8th, 2013
3 Comments

We’re just itching for spring around here. It was really nice over the weekend, but we’re straight back into winter today with loads of snow. No complaints from me, though! I don’t mind an excuse to wear my long sleeve shirts.

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If you just so happen to be in a place that’s warmer than 30 degrees (f) today, you should try this recipe out. It was sort of an experiment loosely based around this about.com Thai mango sorbet recipe. It’s really good, and takes only a few ingredients. It’s dairy free and relies mostly on natural sugars. If you have Popsicle molds, get them out!

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Mango Strawberry Sorbet Recipe

makes about 4 cups

  • Two ripe mangos
  • 4-6 ripe strawberries
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 cans coconut milk (FULL FAT!)

Peel and cut mangos in large chunks. Remove the greenery off strawberries. Place mangos, sugar and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Open up the cans of coconut milk and scoop out the top “cream” first. Chaokoh and Thai Kitchen brand coconut milk have the best/most creamy texture. If there’s any watery stuff, discard. It’ll make your sorbet icey (which is perfectly fine if you’re making ice cream pops).

Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. I have this cuisinart ice cream maker, I highly recommend it if you don’t have one. I’ve found it’s best to serve immediately or let it cure for up to 4 hours before serving. If you let it cure longer, you may have to bust it out of the freezer 15 minutes prior to serving so it can soften. Enjoy!

Alternatively, you can follow the freezing instructions on the original recipe’s page. It doesn’t require an ice cream maker, just a freezer and some patience.

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Food: Blackened Asparagus

April 3rd, 2013
10 Comments

I’ve been cooking quite a bit with asparagus lately. It’s that time of year, and it’s just plain delicious when you get it early in the season. If you wait until it’s just about off season, this stuff gets bitter. Roasting or blackening them tends to fix that.

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I’ve had a few people ask via instagram and facebook if I would share my “recipe” for cooking asparagus.

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I was introduced to the wonderful world of roasted vegetables when we lived in California and a woman from church taught us the best methods for cooking vegetables. Roasting is wonderful, it breaks down the sugars and brings out the sweetness and flavor in any vegetable. BUT. . .  it’s a pain to heat up your oven in the warmer months and it generally takes about 30-50 minutes to oven roast. Here’s how you can do it all on the stove top in 5 minutes.

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Cut your asparagus in thirds. Discard the bottom third (this is the most fibrous and bitter part of the veggie) and cut the middle in half lengthwise. Leave the top as is.

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One bunch of asparagus is enough to feed about 4 people.

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Heat a large pan to high heat. Since you’re blackening these veggies, you cook them high and fast. You want to use an oil or fat that can withstand high heat. For natural oils, go with peanut or olive. Cooking sprays worked well, too.

Use a generous teaspoon of oil and spread over the pan.

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Once pan is hot, reduce to medium high and add vegetables. I add half a bunch at a time, you want to make sure there’s enough room in the pan for the veggies to get seared by the bottom of the pan. You’ll want to have a lid ready, because it’ll sizzle. A LOT.

Cover your pan for 5 minutes, turning the vegetables every minute or so. Season and serve.

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Fun ways to eat asparagus:

  • place in a caprese sandwich
  • serve with proscuitto, pear and gorgonzola
  • add to a red curry (add veggies at the end so they don’t get soggy)
  • in a crepe with chicken, basil, red peppers, tomatoes and hollandaise sauce
  • with a little salt and pepper

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I loved every bite of the above sandwich. It tasted like spring. I’m really craving spring right now, we’ve been stuck in a rain cloud the last couple days.

 

Perfectly Even Cookie Balls

March 25th, 2013
5 Comments

I’m sure everyone else figured this out a LONG time ago, but while I was making my favorite (and chewy) Molasses cookie recipe I discovered how I could make the perfect, perfectly round cookie balls.

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I had a small ice cream scoop at one point, but it would always get gummed up with the dough. I’ve also used regular kitchen spoons, but I don’t ever get the perfectly consistent amount every time, and it seemed to take forever to round out those balls perfectly.

My little ah-ha moment last week was to use a round table spoon as my scoop, and a small teaspoon to pop the dough out. I got those cookies onto the cookie sheet in record time and they all cooked evenly.

BOOM! Mind blown, anyone?

How do you get cookie dough onto the cookie sheet? Or does it go straight into your mouth like half of this recipe did into mine?

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