Mom's Homemade Pizza

Even better than the biscuits, this sent Robber off into his own kind of Robber-land. On my pizza I had pepperoni and pepper and onion, but Robber had pepperoni and pepper and onion and ham and pineapple and mushroom and everything. He was so happy. He raved on and on about the crust. I guess we'll be doing this one again...

To make 2 14-inch pizzas:

Ingredients (crust):

1 T. sugar
1 T. yeast
1 C. very warm water
1/4 powdered milk
2 eggs
3 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil

(Can also make a simpler dough just using flour, salt, yeast, water, oil)

Directions:

1) Pour water over sugar. Dissolve yeast. When foamy, add milk. Alternate 1/2 c additions of flour with salt, eggs, fat. Knead 10 minutes. Allow to rise until dough has doubled. At this point you can punch it down and put it in the fridge overnight to use the next day or move forward.

2) Divide the dough in two and pat it out into greased 14-inch pizza pans. Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle them with parmesan cheese.

3) Put the pizzas in an oven preheated to 400F. Bake them for 10 minutes, switching their positions halfway through. During that time, mix:

8 oz can tomato sauce
salt
pepper
herbs of your choice: Mom uses thyme, oregano (sometimes marjoram instead), basil, and sometimes parsley.

4) When the crusts are out, spread the sauce evenly over the two of them. Sprinkle on grated cheese (1 pound of mozzerella, 1/4 pound cheddar, mixed). Put on pepperonis or peppers and onions or whatnot.

5) Put them back in the oven for about 15 minutes. Switch their positions halfway through. Remove and eat after they have cooled just a little bit!

Cajun Chicken

Another recipe from kt-recipe-box.blogspot.com. This recipe is one her father, the illustrious D.T., uses and as he is a fine cook, I decided to invest in this recipe for lunchtime eating at school when the Robber is here which proved to be a wise choice.

The recipe is solidly good and appropriate for many occasions, especially if you are feeding a crowd, but it wasn't-- in the end-- exciting for me. Hmmmm. I wonder why. I didn't use lemon pepper or black pepper, so maybe it had less zing? Maybe I expect too much zing out of everything?

I ended up with one big container that we ate and one that I froze for later. You could easily half it and end up with enough.

Ingredients:

16 ounces linguine pasta
4 green onion, chopped
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
3 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
8 tablespoons butter
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
2 green bell peppers, sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
16 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Note from D.T.: I have to do the final cooking in two batches as my skillet is not large enough to hold all of it...

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. Place the chicken and the Cajun seasoning in bowl-toss to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken in butter until almost tender (5 to 7 minutes).

3. Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms and green onion. Saute and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat.

4 Add the sour cream, basil, lemon pepper, garlic and ground black pepper. Heat through. Add the cooked linguine, toss and heat through. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Buttermilk Biscuits

From The Joy. The Robber loved loved loved these. We used them to make BAT (bacon, avocado, tomato) sandwiches. So good! My favorite. Mmmmm.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. double-acting baking powder
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 C. lard or 5 T. butter
3/4 C. buttermilk

Directions:

1) In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and baking soda. Cut in lard/butter.

2) Add buttermilk and mix only as necessary with minimum number of strokes.

3) Turn the dough onto a floured board. Knead it gently for 1/2 minute. Pat the dough to the thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut with a biscuit cutter.

4) Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 450F.

Note: The Joy says this recipe make 24 1 1/2 inch biscuits. I find that it only makes 11 biscuits worthy of BAT sandwiches. Who wants to eat that tiny of a biscuit? I suggest doubling the recipe if you are feeding a crowd, or making just one for yourself so you can have leftovers as they are delicious after a few days in the fridge as well.

Drop Biscuits

I taught the Robber to make these on the last night of his stay and they were, as always, delicious with creamy tomato soup for dinner one day and re-warmed for breakfast the next. We used half milk/half buttermilk for a little extra flavor and because I had buttermilk left over from the baked biscuits I had made for the beginning of his stay. These are a staple from the past, and I'm unsure of their origin. Probably from one of the cookbooks in my mother's collection.

Ingredients:

3 C. flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C. yellow shortening
1 1/2 C. milk

Directions:

1) Grease each cup in a 12-cup muffin tin. Preheat the oven to 450F.

2) In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the shortening.

3) Stirring minimally, pour in the milk and combine with flour/shortening mixture until just moistened evenly. Divide into 12 cups of muffin tin. Bake 15 minutes at 450F until tops are golden brown.

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm never quite happy with these when I make them, but somehow when Mom makes them they come out as the perfectest cookie ever. Hmmmmm.

Ingredients:

1 c yellow shortening
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
12 oz (2 c) chocolate chips
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, soda, salt.

2. In separate bowl, cream shortening with sugars (brown and white). Mix in eggs, vanilla with beaters.

3. Fold dries into wets by hand; stir in chocolate chips.

4. Line outside of cookie sheets with foil. Bake at 350 F, on the upper shelf.

Squash Fries with Chili Cumin Salt and Maple Sour Cream

Here's another recipe I made from RebEatWorld. We ate these fries with homemade pizza and the Robber just about died and went to heaven. He loved them and the sauce, which is a perfect counter-point to the salty seasoned fries. He downed a boatload of them, so the next time I am willing to wrestle with a butternut squash I think I will make these again.

Ingredients:

2 lbs butternut squash, halved, seeded, and peeled
2 T olive oil
1/2 c sour cream
2 T maple syrup
salt
cumin
chili
2 limes, wedged

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425. Cut squash to half-inch wide fries. Coat with olive oil. Spread in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast until tender and crispy at the edges. I even like them quite brown at the edges, about 35 or 40 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, stir some maple syrup into sour cream to make a dipping sauce, and mix the salt with the spices. Sprinkle some of the spiced salt over the squash fries and squeeze some lime juice over them, pretty liberally.

Creamy Tomato Soup

>This recipe comes to me via RebEatWorld, who says of it:

"I do not like tomato soup. I love grilled cheese, but even grilled cheese cannot redeem tomato soup. And yet tomato soup was the second soup I decided to hazard in my vegetable soup-making quest. For one thing, the picture of "Italian Tomato Soup" in Ms. Forster's Soups book didn't look like Campbell's. It looked redder, and chunkier. And spicy! So I made the soup-- and it didn't look red, or chunky, or spicy. It looked like Campbell's. But it actually tasted heavenly! Especially when I added bottled artichokes the next day."

I made this recipe at great risk: Robber states all the time that he DOES NOT LIKE soup. But I thought, "It's going to rain! And tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on a rainy day sound fantastic! I care not what the Robber says, it is time learned!"

Then Robber came, and I mentioned the soup in a long line of things to eat, and lo and behold he chose it all by himself.

It turns out he likes creamy tomato soup. And creamy mushroom soup.

I said, "Robber, you will not be getting creamy mushroom soup from me."

But we ate of this soup with fresh drop biscuits and were pleased.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
2 T butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
6 tomatoes (2 lbs?), coarsely chopped
3 C chicken stock
1/2 C nonalcoholic white cooking wine (I used 1/4 C. white vinegar, 1/4 C. water)
2 T tomato paste
1 T shredded fresh basil
1 C heavy cream
salt
pepper

Directions:

Heat oil and butter in pan until foaming. Add onion and saute 5 minutes, until softened but not brown. Stir in tomatoes and garlic, then add the stock, cooking wine, and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat, half-cover pan, and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring now and then so that the tomatoes won't stick. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup somewhat. Add the heavy cream and heat through, stirring. Do not allow the soup to near a boil ever again. Adjust the seasoning and the consistency with stock, if desired.

Original Plum Torte

I haven't made this recipe, but it is the plum torte recipe from Marian Burros that made the rounds of Jewish homes for two decades after its publication in the 1980s. R. made it last year and it was very good, if not as interesting as her plum-ginger torte. I am blogging this recipe here for future use and variation on the plum theme.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 24 halves pitted purple plums
• Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for topping

Directions:

1.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.

Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.

3.

Spoon the batter into a spring form of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with (about) 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.

4.

Bake one hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream.

5.

To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.

YIELD

8 servings

• NOTE

  To freeze, double-wrap the tortes in foil, place in a plastic bag and seal.

• NOTE

  Nutritional analysis per serving: 278 calories, 13.3 grams total fat, 7.6 grams saturated fat, 99 milligrams cholesterol, 56 milligrams sodium, 3 grams protein, 38 grams carbohydrate

Here's a link to the best cake recipes from the NYTimes of the past couple years, for future perusal:
http://www.nytimes.com/info/cake-recipes/?inline=nyt-classifier

Crunchy-Topped Whole-Wheat Plum Cake

From the NYTimes Rosh Hashanah section (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/dining/08apperex.html?ref=dining.) I made this for lunch with friends and ate the remainder the rest of the week. I am on a plum kick recently in a major way, and loved every minute of this. So plummy. So good.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease pan

1 1/2 pounds plums, preferably several varieties, pitted and sliced

1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Whipped cream, for serving (optional).

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

2. Place the plum slices in a bowl and gently toss with 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining whole-wheat flour with the baking powder and kosher salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together 1/2 cup butter, sugar, Cognac or brandy and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until thoroughly combined.

4. Add half the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Pour in the milk and continue beating, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.

5. Scrape the dough into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Scatter on the plums in an even layer. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving, with whipped cream if you like.

Yield: 8 servings.

Happy New Year!

Tomato-Watermelon Salad with Feta and Toasted Almonds

See link below. I made this for Mormon med school dinner. I added in some plums and pears, which I really loved in the salad, used grape tomatoes cut in half, and substituted balsamic for the red wine vinegar. I also omitted the arugula with no regrets. I venture to say that this was probably much, much better without it. Fabulous, but very watery so it is best eaten all in one sitting!

Ingredients:

• 8 cups 1 1/4-inch chunks seedless watermelon (about 6 pounds)
• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes (preferably heirloom) in assorted colors, cored, cut into 1 1/4-inch chunks (about 6 cups)
• 1 teaspoon (or more) fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chopped assorted fresh herbs (such as dill, basil, and mint)

• 6 cups fresh arugula leaves or small watercress sprigs
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 5 ounces)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Directions:

1) Combine melon and tomatoes in large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fleur de sel and toss to blend; let stand 15 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons oil, vinegar, and herbs to melon mixture. Season to taste with pepper and more salt, if desired.

2) Toss arugula in medium bowl with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Divide arugula among plates. Top with melon salad; sprinkle with feta cheese and toasted almonds and serve.

I tossed the watermelon with regular salt and placed it in a colander for some time while I cut up the plums, tomatoes, etc. I think this helped to reduce a little bit of the extra liquid, but even then it was still a pretty liquidy salad!

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tomato-Watermelon-Salad-with-Feta-and-Toasted-Almonds-235588#ixzz0yavoNMRa