...in our humble opinions. I tried to recreate the fantastic pizza we had in Park City, pictured here. It didn't look as pretty, but tasted pretty close to the restaurant version. Anyone in Utah should still go to Park City and check out the real thing at www.nypcpizza.com (well, get the address there and then go there to get the wonderful amazing absolutely perfect pizza you'll ever eat). Until then, here is my version.
"Wasatch White" Pizza
This one is my personal favorite, though I love both. My husband likes the pesto better, but also loves both. Instead of sauce, it uses ricotta cheese on the bottom, then its topped with loads of finely chopped garlic and mozzarella cheese.
1/3 recipe pizza dough, see below
1/2 c whole milk ricotta cheese
1 head garlic, peeled, smashed and minced very finely
1 c mozzarella cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stretch and roll dough out til about a 12" round. Pour just a bit of olive oil on the pan or stone you use so it doesn't stick. Place dough on pan, and then brush with a bit of melted butter. Spread ricotta cheese with back of spoon on to dough. Sprinkle with lots of garlic, and then top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for another 15 minutes.
Basic Pizza Dough (found here)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 c warm water
3 1/2 c flour
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
Combine yeast and water, and stir very gently with a fork. Let stand for 5 minutes. Place flour into a large mixing bowl, and when yeast/water mixture is ready, pour over flour and knead gently with hands til combined. Add olive oil and salt. Knead until soft dough forms, and add a little more flour if it is too sticky. Wash out the bowl, and grease it lightly with olive oil before placing dough back in, and then cross cut the top of the dough and grease again with olive oil to keep soft. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, til double in size. Punch down, and then divide into 3 pieces to use for 3 12" pizzas.
"Prospector Pesto" Pizza
Pesto is used as the sauce in this one, then topped with garlic, mozzarella and roma tomatoes.
1/3 recipe pizza dough (see above)
2 heaping tablespoons pesto, recipe here or use store-bought
1/2 head garlic, peeled and minced finely
1 c mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 roma tomatoes, diced
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out dough to 12" and place on greased pizza stone or pan. Brush with melted butter, and then top with pesto and spread sauce with back of spoon. Top with garlic, and then the mozzarella and tomatoes. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 degrees and bake another 15 minutes.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
More Pasta...
So tonight I was the only one home when it time to start cooking, because my sweet mother in law stepped in to help my husband clean the apartment while I visited my sister, brother in law, and brand new perfect nephew. I was in the mood to cook again, but didn't have much inspiration for the evening. So I made pasta again, its a go to. Close to stuff I have done before, yet different enough to have a distinctly different flavor. So I hope you enjoy.
Baked Rotini with Pesto Alfredo and Chicken or Beef
1 lb rotini, again, I used whole wheat
4 chicken tenders cut into bite sized pieces, or about 1/4 lb sliced flank steak (I used stir fry pre-sliced steak)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
3 c milk
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
3 to 4 tbsp pesto sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
Bring large pot of water to a boil, generously salted. Cook pasta to pkg directions in water, then drain. Set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan, and then add onion and garlic; saute til onion is tender. Add flour, and stir til onion and garlic are coated and butter absorbed. Add milk and stir til smooth. Stir in pesto, Parmesan, and then add tomatoes. Simmer over low heat.
Cook chicken or beef in a bit of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss sauce and meat with pasta and pour into baking dish. Top with more Parmesan cheese and breadcrumb and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
**NOTE** I made both chicken and beef because my father in law doesn't like chicken. I just split the pasta in half and tossed it separately with the chicken and the beef, and poured into small 8x8 square pans, rather than the full sized 9x13.
Baked Rotini with Pesto Alfredo and Chicken or Beef
1 lb rotini, again, I used whole wheat
4 chicken tenders cut into bite sized pieces, or about 1/4 lb sliced flank steak (I used stir fry pre-sliced steak)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
3 c milk
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
3 to 4 tbsp pesto sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
Bring large pot of water to a boil, generously salted. Cook pasta to pkg directions in water, then drain. Set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan, and then add onion and garlic; saute til onion is tender. Add flour, and stir til onion and garlic are coated and butter absorbed. Add milk and stir til smooth. Stir in pesto, Parmesan, and then add tomatoes. Simmer over low heat.
Cook chicken or beef in a bit of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss sauce and meat with pasta and pour into baking dish. Top with more Parmesan cheese and breadcrumb and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
**NOTE** I made both chicken and beef because my father in law doesn't like chicken. I just split the pasta in half and tossed it separately with the chicken and the beef, and poured into small 8x8 square pans, rather than the full sized 9x13.
Friday, May 28, 2010
My new favorite thing....
While I am not blogging, check out this blog instead! Just promise me you won't stop reading mine after you see this one!
Cooking Channel Blog
Cooking Channel Blog
Monday, May 24, 2010
Check out my friend's competition!
My friend Rachel is having a competition on her blog The Handmade Heritage.
Come up with some fun Father's Day quotes and submit them to her blog via the comments on this post.
There's prizes involved, so have some fun and maybe you'll win!!
Come up with some fun Father's Day quotes and submit them to her blog via the comments on this post.
There's prizes involved, so have some fun and maybe you'll win!!
Pasta with Bell Peppers and Sausage/Chicken and Mushrooms
So this is one of the things we actually made twice while we were in Park City last week. Our hotel room had a kitchenette and so to save money on eating we went grocery shopping and generally cooked twice a day and went out for one meal each day. And from eating out, I definitely got some inspiration for what I would like to try to make myself later! Anyway, back to the pasta. We used Italian sausage one night and chicken strips the next night, but the rest of the recipe is about the same. Hope you enjoy, we thought it was super tasty!
Oh, and if you are a foodie and like to go to Park City, there's a fantastic olive oil place you need to check out downtown. It's called Mountain Town Olive Oil Company. They let you taste olive oils and balsamic vinegars from all over the world, and there is some pretty tasty stuff!
Pasta with Sausage or Chicken and Bell Peppers and Mushrooms
1 lb whole wheat pasta, any shape that will hold some sauce
1 lb either chicken tenders or Italian sausage (in the casing)
1-2 sweet bell peppers, red, yellow or orange, sliced into thin strips
8 oz sliced white button mushrooms
2-3 tbsp pesto (you can use my recipe or just get a jar of it)
2-3 tbsp olive oil-- we used the Tuscan Herb infused stuff from the fancy store downtown, if you don't have that, use regular, but add some basil and oregano to the sauce mix, and add some garlic too!
Cook pasta to pkg directions. Reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta while it's still cooking before draining (you'll use that for the sauce).
Cook meat first. If using sausage, cook the sausage in the casing, whole, then slice after completely cooked. t I usually steam the sausage with about a cup of water with them in the skillet til the water evaporates or just til it all looks cooked through, then I drain off the extra water and brown the outsides with a bit of oil, then slice. If you are using chicken, slice the tenders into smaller strips, so they are bite sized...about 1/4 inch wide strips, and about an inch and a half long. Cook these completely and if you need to, remove from the skillet so you have enough room to cook the veggies and then add the meat back once the veggies have reduced in size.
Saute mushrooms in a bit of the oil, then add bell pepper strips and continue to saute. Add meat back to pan to bring to temperature, add starchy cooking water to the mix and the pesto. Stir to combine the pesto with the water and the veggies and meat--should be a kind of slurry mixture, not too thick, but will coat the pasta. Toss veggies and meat mixture with pasta and serve.
I'll add a picture this week, I promise. It was tasty!
Oh, and if you are a foodie and like to go to Park City, there's a fantastic olive oil place you need to check out downtown. It's called Mountain Town Olive Oil Company. They let you taste olive oils and balsamic vinegars from all over the world, and there is some pretty tasty stuff!
Pasta with Sausage or Chicken and Bell Peppers and Mushrooms
1 lb whole wheat pasta, any shape that will hold some sauce
1 lb either chicken tenders or Italian sausage (in the casing)
1-2 sweet bell peppers, red, yellow or orange, sliced into thin strips
8 oz sliced white button mushrooms
2-3 tbsp pesto (you can use my recipe or just get a jar of it)
2-3 tbsp olive oil-- we used the Tuscan Herb infused stuff from the fancy store downtown, if you don't have that, use regular, but add some basil and oregano to the sauce mix, and add some garlic too!
Cook pasta to pkg directions. Reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta while it's still cooking before draining (you'll use that for the sauce).
Cook meat first. If using sausage, cook the sausage in the casing, whole, then slice after completely cooked. t I usually steam the sausage with about a cup of water with them in the skillet til the water evaporates or just til it all looks cooked through, then I drain off the extra water and brown the outsides with a bit of oil, then slice. If you are using chicken, slice the tenders into smaller strips, so they are bite sized...about 1/4 inch wide strips, and about an inch and a half long. Cook these completely and if you need to, remove from the skillet so you have enough room to cook the veggies and then add the meat back once the veggies have reduced in size.
Saute mushrooms in a bit of the oil, then add bell pepper strips and continue to saute. Add meat back to pan to bring to temperature, add starchy cooking water to the mix and the pesto. Stir to combine the pesto with the water and the veggies and meat--should be a kind of slurry mixture, not too thick, but will coat the pasta. Toss veggies and meat mixture with pasta and serve.
I'll add a picture this week, I promise. It was tasty!
Friday, May 21, 2010
We are out
It's our anniversary so we are gone off to Park City. Where we are discovering how bad we really have the foody bug. We found a quaint little shop and bought olive oil that we put on some ciabatta bread with fresh mozzarella. Mozzarella is a cheese best eaten fresh not aged. A tomato would be great with this.
And we had the best pizza we have ever had, ever. At http://www.nypcpizza.com/
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Marinated Broiled Pork Chops with Curry Spiced Oven Fries
Alright, I will be honest, lately I haven't been cooking a lot. We have been very busy because my husband Jeff graduated with his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree on Saturday (yes, I am bragging, its a big deal for us!). Most of the nights last week I haven't had to cook because we have had a lot of potluck dinners and celebrations. My husband has been cooking the last couple nights, and now it came to my turn. We had pork chops tonight, and they were pretty tasty. We're trying to eat out of the freezer as much as possible because we are moving in a couple weeks. So this is something quick I came up with from the pork chops we had defrosted. I include the oven fries recipe as well as how I boil my corn --my mom taught me, and it turns out perfect every time! Maybe this will make up for lost time.
Marinated Pork Chops with Roasted Garlic paste
3 bone in pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick), defrosted
1/3 c Virginia Brand Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette dressing (yep, the same stuff as for the pasta salad)
5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp dried rosemary
salt
olive oil
I store my meats in freezer ziplock bags, so I just added the dressing to the chops into the bag and mashed the bag til all the meat was coated. You can use a bowl, but I find the meat gets more evenly coated if you do it in the bag. Set that aside for about 20 minutes. Probably would be even better if you did it the night before. While that marinates, smash cloves of garlic with the side of a large, sharp knife. Mince it after smashing and then add salt and rosemary and keep mincing til paste-like. In a roasting pan, drizzle some olive oil, and then place marinated meat into pan. Top chops with garlic paste, and place in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Curried Oven Fries
5-6 medium potatoes, sliced or wedged into about 8 pieces per potato
2 tbsp olive oil
seasoning salt, curry powder
After washing and slicing potatoes, toss in a large bowl with oil and seasoning. Place evenly on a cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes. Should be browned on the outside and slightly crispy.
For the corn, fill a large pot with water and bring to boil. Once water boils, add corn and set timer for 5 minutes, then remove from water. Will still be crisp, and have good texture, and be very sweet. I like to just add butter and salt and pepper. Perfect!
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