If Warm Weather was a pizza flavor, this would be it

For almost as long as the husband and I have been together, we’ve made pizza from scratch on the weekends. Our first pizza was made in my tiny post-college apartment and baked on a cheap aluminum pizza pan from Big Lots. He used a crust recipe he found online. We topped it with canned sauce, pre-shredded mozzarella cheese and cheap pepperoni, and thought it was awesome. It had a thinner crust and was much less greasy than pizza shop pizza. Also, there’s just something satisfying about eating a pizza that you have made yourself, from scratch.

Over time, we graduated to a pizza stone and fresher ingredients. The husband has perfected his crust recipe. Usually, I’m the baker. But he always makes the pizza crust because he does it so well. We’ve both started playing with pizza toppings. We’ve made macaroni & cheese pizza, chili dog pizza, taco pizza, buffalo chicken pizza and used any number of traditional toppings in various combinations.

Usually, though, he makes a standard pepperoni or Genoa salami and cheese pizza. My usual go-to pizza was loosely inspired by Greek salad (incidentally, it’s one of the pictures in the rotating header for this blog). I use olive oil and thinly-sliced tomatoes as a base. Then, I top it with mozzarella and feta, onion, kalamata olives, pepperocini and a light sprinkle of lemon-pepper. No red sauce and generally no meat.

You see, I’m not a huge fan of traditional red tomato sauces. I very rarely eat spaghetti with marinara or anything similar. When making pizza, I often completely skip the red sauce. My favorite substitute is pesto, which brings me to this pizza. It is a thin, slightly crispy crust topped with pesto, freshly-roasted red peppers, mozzarella and lots of vegetables. This pizza is perfect for a warm day when a traditional pizza can seem too heavy. I made it for dinner last night and am already looking forward to the next time we make pizza so I can repeat it.

A quick note before I get to the actual recipe and method. The crust recipe will make 2 thin 12″ crusts. You can use the second crust to make another pizza, or freeze it for another day. As I previously mentioned, we use a pizza stone. Since the stone has to be be heated up gradually, I just left it in the oven while I roasted the peppers. Also, I would recommend prepping the pizza toppings while waiting for the dough to rise. That will make the whole process more efficient.

Pesto Pizza with Fresh Vegetables
Makes 1, 12″ pizza

Ingredients
For the crust:
1 c. warm water
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 tbsp. white sugar
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
3 c. bread flour
1 tbsp. oregano
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

For the sauce:
1 c. fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 tsp. dry oregano
1/8 c. pine nuts, toasted
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. freshly-grated Parmesan cheese

For the toppings:
1 tomato, sliced very thin
1/2 white onion, sliced very thin
1/2 c. baby spinach, washed
6-8 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
1 red bell pepper, roasted and cut into thick slices
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Make the crust
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer affixed with a dough hook, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Add sugar, olive oil and salt and combine. Add seasonings. Finally, add flour a little at a time until dough is thick.
3. Divide dough into 2 balls, coat each lightly with flour and set aside. Allow dough to rise until it has doubled, about one hour.

While the dough is rising, prepare the pesto and toppings
1. Preheat the broiler on your oven. Wash and chop all vegetables. Shred Parmesan cheese.
2. Place sliced red peppers on an unlined baking sheet and broil for 4-5 minutes. Flip peppers over and broil an additional 4-5 minutes. Place peppers in a tightly-sealed bag to steam for 20 minutes. Set aside.
3. Toast the pine nuts by placing them in a dry pan over medium heat. Gently shake the pan over heat for about 30 seconds, until nuts are lightly browned.
4. Make the pesto sauce. In a small food processor, combine basil, oregano, pine nuts, garlic, salt, and olive oil. Process until pureed, then grated add Parmesan. Set aside.
5. Finally, remove the peppers from their bag, peel them and set them aside.

Spinach, roasted peppers, tomato slices, onion rings & olives. Yum!

By this time, your crust should be ready to finish
4. Reduce oven temperature to 500°.
5. Turn dough out onto a pizza stone and roll it out to about 1/2″ thickness. Bake for 3-4 minutes.
6. Remove pizza from oven. Spread with pesto sauce, sprinkle with cheese and arrange vegetables. Bake for an additional 5-6 minutes. Enjoy!

On January 1, I considered making a traditional New Year’s Day meal. There are certainly enough food traditions revolving around that date. People believe that by eating anything from black-eyed peas and pork to soba and tangerines, they will have good luck in the coming year. However, I’m not particularly superstitious, nor do I like a lot of the traditional American New Year’s foods. But I did want our first dinner of 2010 to be a special one. So, I spent the day in the kitchen making a recipe that I’d had bookmarked for quite some time – handmade ravioli in a decadent cream sauce.

The New Year is now 3 weeks old. The New Year’s Resolution newbies are starting to clear out of my gym. All those goals and promises revolving around crash diets and long workouts are already being forgotten. This is exactly why I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions at all. To me, it’s much better to enjoy all that life has to offer and work to improve oneself on a daily basis. This includes, among other things, enjoying good food and drink, and making time for regular exercise. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people go on and on about how “bad” a food is. No food is bad. If you want a cupcake, eat a cupcake, and do it without whining about how fat it will make you. Just don’t eat ten cupcakes. As Aristotle said (and yes, I am paraphrasing here), moderation is a virtue.

But I digress. Time to get off the soapbox and back to the recipe. It is now Mid-Winter in Ohio. It’s cold and icky outside. Comfort food is the order of the day, especially when that food is a rich, cheesy pasta in cream sauce.

Cheese Ravioli with Spinach Cream Sauce
Makes 4 Servings

Pasta Ingredients
(Makes 1 1/4 lb. pasta)
4 large eggs
2 tbsp. water
3 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Filling Ingredients
2 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 box (approx. 5 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed & dried
4 oz. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 egg, lightly beaten
freshly ground salt & black pepper, to taste

Sauce Ingredients
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, roasted
3 plum tomatoes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 box (approx. 5 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1/2 c. dry vermouth
2 c. cream
1 tbsp. basil
1 tbsp. oregano
freshly ground salt & pepper, to taste

To make the pasta
1. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed (speed 2 on a KitchenAid stand mixer) with a flat beater for 30 seconds.
2. Replace flat beater with dough hook. Knead on low speed for 2 minutes.
3. Remove dough from bowl and knead with hands for 2 more minutes. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and let rest for 20 minutes.
*At this point, the dough recipe instructed me to roll the pasta with my pasta roller, then shape it in a ravioli mold. However, I haven’t quite been able to justify the $120 pricetag that the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment comes with yet. As for the ravioli mold, I like unitaskers more than any self-respecting Alton Brown fan should. But I draw the line at things that I will use, at most, twice a year. So, I rolled the dough with my trusty rolling pin and cut it with a round cookie cutter. Here’s how I did it:
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough very thinly (most recipes suggest 1/16″, though mine was a bit thicker). Cut out the dough using cookie cutters and set aside.

To make the ravioli
1. While the dough is resting, make the filling by combining all ingredients in the order given. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Place a dough circle on a flat surface. Top with a small amount of cheese filling. Place a second dough circle on top. Squeeze together, lightly wetting edges to seal. Repeat until all pasta and filling have been used. Place on baking sheets, cover with wax paper, and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. To make the sauce, cut red pepper and tomatoes in half. Roast in the broiler, turning once to ensure that both sides are browned. Skin and thinly slice peppers and tomatoes.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, salt and pepper. Sauté for about a minute. Add vermouth and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until slightly reduced. Remove from heat and cook the ravioli.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ravioli, being careful not to crowd the pot. Boil for 5 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Remove and drain. Repeat until all ravioli is cooked.
6. Return sauce to a hot burner. Heat sauce, then add the cream. Carefully add ravioli to sauce and cook until sauce is slightly reduced. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

My Thoughts & Suggestions:
I served this recipe with a Caesar Salad and my trusty Garlic-Parmesan Bread. Definitely make sure you have some sort of dense, crusty bread available to sop up the excess sauce.

This is a time-consuming recipe. I didn’t time exactly how long it took me to make this recipe. I know I spent over 2 hours in the kitchen, and enjoyed every minute of it. As for my method, there are a lot of ways to actually form the ravioli. I used the one that made the most sense for my situation with the tools that I already had. My only real complaint was that the raviolis came out a little thicker than I would have liked. In spite of that, I’d definitely call this recipe a resounding success. It was a special meal for a special day; and definitely a lot more satisfying than the icky black-eyed peas my dad forced on me as a child.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Homemade Cheese Ravioli with Spinach Cream Sauce at Teri’s Kitchen using the KitchenAid Basic Egg Pasta Dough recipe.

Sometimes, the best recipes are the simplest ones. This Twist is a great example. It combines crescent dough roll, vegetables and cheese to make an appetizer that is satisfying to eat and pleasing to look at.

Baked Spinach & Cheese Twist
Makes 16 Servings

Ingredients
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
10 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tomato, seeded and diced
16 oz. (2 cans) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and frozen spinach. Add remaining ingredients, reserving 1/2 tsp. oregano.
3. Unroll crescent dough and separate into triangles. On a baking sheet, arrange triangles in an 11-inch circle, with short sides of triangles overlapping in center and points of triangles toward outside. Spoon cheese mixture onto dough near center of circle. Bring outside points of triangles up over filling, then tuck under dough in center of ring to cover filling. Sprinkle with oregano to garnish.
4. Bake 35 to 40 min. or until filling is heated and crust has browned.

My thoughts:
This recipe is super versatile. The original one called for broccoli and mushrooms. Since neither Jared nor the friends I was having over when I made this eat mushrooms, I used spinach and tomatoes instead. I don’t think it would have been as good with mushrooms and broccoli. On a side note, I was very happy when my finished product looked just like the picture in the magazine I got it out of.

Recipe Source: Inspired by Easy Baked Cheese & Vegetable Twist in the Holiday 2009 edition of the Kraft Foods Food & Family magazine.

Prior to making this recipe, I had never made Indian food. In fact, I haven’t even eaten much of it since it wasn’t readily available until I moved to Columbus. I love the complex flavors and textures of the dishes. But, because of the unusual (to me) spices, the idea of cooking it at home intimidated me. Most of the spices and seasonings in my cabinet are standard American and Mexican ones. I have a good idea of how they go together. I know which flavor combinations are complimentary and which ones are not. Indian and Asian spices are much less familiar to me. Still, you never learn if you don’t try. A couple weeks ago, I decided to plunge in and play around with a Sweet Potato & Spinach curry recipe I found online. It turned out better than I expected and gave me the confidence to try more Indian recipes in the very near future.

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Tofu Curry
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into 1″ cubes
1 large eggplant, peeled & cut into 1″ cubes
1 bunch fresh spinach
12 oz. tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
2 tbsp. cumin
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1/2 cup canola oil

Directions
1. In a large pot of salted water, boil spinach for 30 seconds. Drain, then dry with paper towels. Roughly chop the spinach.
2. Heat oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Add garlic and cumin and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add cubed sweet potato, stir well, cook for 8 minutes. Then add eggplant, spinach, tofu, salt, curry powder, and turmeric powder. Cook until eggplant is tender, about 8-10 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat, and let curry rest in the pot for 20 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

My thoughts:
1. The original recipe called for much less spice and only contained vegetables. I added the tofu to give it some protein and doubled the spices since tofu tends to be bland, and since Jared and I tend to like heavily seasoned foods.
2. The instructions and comments about this recipe mentioned letting the curry rest. This is a very important step. The freshly made curry was good, but somewhat bland. It got more flavorful over the 20 minute rest period.
3. The next time I make this, I plan to bake some Naan to go with it. This time, I brushed some flatbreads with olive oil and garlic and toasted them in the oven for a few minutes.

Recipe Source: Inspired by Sweet Potato, Eggplant & Spinach Madras Curry at A Life (Time) of Cooking