Diner Breakfast & Double Dinner Duty Ingredients Potatoes & Bacon

I used to make my own pizza dough, and now that my cast is off, I should knead dough just for the exercise. That said, for lazy days, or days when my hand and arm are throbbing from doing ... whatever I've been doing all day, it's much simpler to buy baked pizza crusts (we like thin ones) and just add our favorite toppings, bake on a heated pizza stone in a super hot oven (450F/220C) for 10-12 minutes and you're done. This version has pesto & olive oil as a base and tons of shrimps with a sprinkling of red chili pepper flakes and some grated cheese.  But I've been hankering diner breakfast food. - eggs & bacon and hash browns, so...

A Delay in Posting - Blame it on Knee Surgery

Sorry for the double post, and I'll blame it ... and my tardiness in sharing the latest Presto Pasta Night news on having some knee surgery done last week.  My grandson said it best..."I'm still  foggy" and having some difficulty sitting at my computer for long.   So I apologize to the wonderful Alicia of Cook. Craft. Enjoy for hosting last week and for those of you who shared delicious pasta dishes with us, for not writing about it sooner.   You can check them out here.... Presto Pasta Night #264

And, hopefully you will all be sharing another tasty pasta with Rachel, The Crispy Cook, who is hosting yet again, this coming Friday...only two sleeps from now!.  Send your entries to oldsaratogabooks (at) gmail (dot) com and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday, May 24 and check back for the roundup on Friday, May 25.  Once again, my apologies for the delay in sharing. 

 And I promise to share what a challenged cook and her assistant (AKA My Honey) eat during my hobbling about - a lovely scramble (similar to this one) with goat cheese (from my favorite Ran-Cher Acres) , roasted asparagus (peeking in the background), roasted red peppers (admittedly from a jar) and some fresh arugula and herbs from my daughter's garden.

Supper was simple... Shrimp, More Roasted Asparagus and Arugula over basil pesto from my freezer (similar to this one). .  


And now it's time for a nap.   More good food to come.... Please don't forget to share a pasta with Rachel.  Send your entries to oldsaratogabooks (at) gmail (dot) com and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com 

Life's Easy Pleasures - Shrimp Pizza & Chocolate Muffins

Since there's always lots to do... too much to do on any day off, it's nice to be able to take some shortcuts in the kitchen... or at least some very quick things to prepare... with little mess to clean up.

It is February and Valentine's Day is fast approaching so it seems like every food site is focused on chocolate. I do have a few very decadent, very delicious, very fattening options I could have chosen my own creation

Dark Chocolate & Candied Orange Tart

or the most decadent and yet simple to make

Nigella's Choco-Hot-Pots

They truly stop any conversation... all you will hear is the moaning.

But today, reading through my email... I found a recipe from Robin Hood Four that I had to try... mostly because I have buttermilk in the fridge, bought for some Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins - not chocolate, but so good and so easy to whip up.   But I digress,  the Double Chocolate Buttermilk Muffins , seen at the top of the post are wonderful.  Perfect for a mid morning treat or... well... whenever the mood strikes.

So that's the CHOCOLATE part of the story.  The reality is, as good as chocolate tastes and it even has lots of health benefits... particularly in terms of mood enhancement... we still need more variety in life.

Being more of a savory than sweet kind of girl, I love spicy and salty and, frankly when feeling hungry, I'd head for the fridge for some cold chicken or meat or maybe whip up a quick pizza like this one...

Spicy Shrimp Pesto Pizza

The longest part... waiting for the oven to heat up enough to crisp the crust like the ones you get at a pizzeria.  I often make my pizza dough from scratch, but recently I discovered some prebaked pizza crusts at the grocery store in the bread department and , while not exactly homemade, they certainly speed up the process and taste delicious.

The weekend is coming up, and after running lots of errands or whatever you do on the weekend... what is your favorite, easy to prepare sustenance?

Two On One Pizza & Amazing Leftover Scramble

It's been many months since I made my own pizza dough. Ridiculous, really since I found an awesome recipe that is so easy, even a clutz like me can make one - a little "free form" I admit, but I call it "Artisan" Pizza and none of the toppings end up on the bottom of my oven. My recipe for California-style Pizza Dough , from James McNair's New Pizza (my review) is simple, ends up being crispy - just the way I like it and freezes well. My suggestion to you is to make a double batch, cut into 4 pieces and freeze each separately for that last minute craving. Well... it will need time to defrost, but if you take it out around lunch time, it's ready for dinner.

Wandering through my many new iPad apps and foodily.com, potatoes on pizza kept being offered up. And while they all sparked my attention, I just did my own thing. I wasn't sure if my Honey - carnivore and meat eater pizza lover that he is - would like it so I did a half and half thing.

Two On One Pizza

top of post

In fact, he loved them both. That said, I still had potato slices and onion slices, not to mention some mushrooms and chopped rosemary in the fridge this morning. Plus some pancetta I've been craving and some farm fresh eggs. Naturally I was compelled to whip up this tasty scramble...

What's your favorite pizza topping? And what do you do with the left over, unused ingredients?

Pizza Start to 2010

First thing we did when we got back to Halifax was, naturally to visit the grandkids and their parents. That's Boaz and Mummy taking a picture of Grandma taking a picture.
And that's Dov, taking a break from his peanut butter to give us a big smile.

Naturally, after a little while catching up, the conversation turned to food and Joanna brought out a new cookbook she knew I'd love....James McNair's New Pizza: Foolproof Techniques and Fabulous Recipes and just as naturally, the two of us huddled over the book while we oohed and aahed over tasty looking treats.

A little background....Joanna tries very hard to keep their home kosher-style. And by that I mean not mixing dairy and meat and not cooking with pork or seafood. All of which she loves, just not at home. So when we saw a glorious looking Caramelized Onion and Sausage Pizza, I suggested dinner at our place, which went something like this....

The easy part....preparing the unbelievable, incredibly easy, oh-so-tasty California style Pizza dough the day before, which just required a couple of punch downs in the fridge and letting it rest for about an hour before creating the actual pizzas.

Same goes for the Seasoned Tomato Pulp, required for Bo & Dov's Marinara Pizza.

I even found time earlier in the day to make the onion & sausage topping as well as get the ingredients lined up for a pastry baked Brie with pecans and some of the orange rhubarb chutney I got at The Shipwright Cafe in PEI this past September. It was supposed to be an appetizer. And since we also invited Ezra's parent, I defrosted some shrimp and arrange more ingredients for the excellent recipe for a shrimp pasta dish from another new book I want to review.

That was the quiet, so-good-to-get-back-to-my-kitchen-after-a-week-away part of my day. And then joyous chaos. Around 5 pm, Jo, Ezra and the boys arrived. The little one only wanted his Poppa and Boaz, needed Grandma to do all sorts of things, none of which included being in the kitchen. Even though the weather turned stormy and Ezra's parents begged a rain check, Joanna, always craving seafood, suggested that we still make the pasta (I will share that recipe in the next day or two) and skip the baked brie.

In the end, it was Joanna making the pasta and Ezra preparing the pizza and lucky grandparents just getting tons of loving from delicious little ones. What a great way to start 2010. I do hope your beginning was as joyous and that the rest of the year looks as promising.

Spaghetti Pizza

It's not an illusion...this really is spaghetti pizza and it's delicious. Another new cookbook hit my table - A Tavola!: Recipes and Reflections on Traditional Italian Home Cooking (Culinary Institute of America Dining) which I will be writing about soon. That said, I couldn't resist this fun and fast dinner as my entry for Presto Pasta Night.

Remember, I'm this week's host, so send me your entry by midnight tonight...that's midnight wherever you are and I'll be posting the roundup tomorrow morning. Send your link to ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com.

Homemade Pizza in a Tiny Kitchen

Whenever I feel frustrated at how small my kitchen is...actually it looks very specious because it's part of an open plan living room/dining/room/kitchen...but it is short on cupboards (I keep half of my dry goods in the front closet sharing space with our coats and jackets) and counters....I love to check out Jill Santopietro's tiny NY apartment kitchen where she does recipe testing for the NY Times and often shares videos. Today it's how to make pizza, and although it's still thicker than I like, it looks awesome. The photo at the top and this one...

are my own creation...and now that I've learned some insider tips, it will come out even better.

Still No Pasta And a Cry For Help

It's not often my Honey actually makes a request for dinner. He's usually just happy to eat whatever I make. That said, he did mention pizza a couple of times in the last few days and so I did whip up his favorite...meat lovers delight....tomato sauce (with lots of garlic & some balsamic vinegar added to tomato paste and a sprinkle of red chili pepper flakes), a sweet fennel sausage turned into tiny meatballs and sauteed before adding to the topping, Italian salami with prosciutto, thinly sliced red onions and cremini mushrooms all topped with grated Mozzarella.

That part was fine, and the dough part tasted great, but here's the dilemma... I love thin crust pizzas and mine always come out very poofy. What am I doing wrong????

To all the pizza makers out there....please help with a little guidance!

Sunday...No Mussels But Perfect Pizza & Soup

Well, Sunday didn't quite work out as planned either...the day was sunny and bright, but I wasn't. Somehow during the night I was visited with a whopper of a cold...so the plan for the day...stay home close to Kleenex and bed. No trip to the Mussel Festival this year. Nothing to do all day but read, nap and watch old movies. Isn't life hard!?!

So what about food? Well, fortunately for us, I have a stash of Split Pea Soup in the freezer...always nourishing of body and soul.

And, fortunate indeed, I had whipped up some Whole Wheat Pizza Dough on Saturday...thank goodness for the bread machine. Toppings...some grilled veggies (done on my Griddler)...red peppers, asparagus, sweet onions and oyster mushrooms over some left over Chunky No Cook Tomato Basil Sauce (again, thank goodness for freezers!). Cheese of choice this time....bocconcini.

All in all, a satisfying food day thanks to my favorite kitchen toys.

The Griddler - No Longer on the Wish List

Finally, the Cuisinart Griddler is off my wish list and sitting happily on my kitchen counter!

Just in time for me to use whip something up from my newest cookbook, (published by DK Publishing who put out some great cookbooks) ...Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas. I know what you're thinking...either she's moved or she's lost it completely. Afterall, I've been whining about the no barbecue here since August so what's with a grilled pizza cookbook?

First of all, this book understands me and all those out there who wish to grill but don't have a bbq sitting outside their door. There are the usual instructions for those lucky enough to do outdoor grilling and lots of photos and tips regarding charcoal and gas options, but more important (at least for me), is the conversion to indoor grilling with detailed options for cast iron skillets and grill pans, regular skillets, flat griddles, panini grills, contact grill presses (like George Forman's), open faced electric grills, Tuscan or fireplace grills, and if you're rich or just lucky...built in gas or electric grills. See what I mean about loving this book already and I haven't gotten to the great recipes yet.

But hold on...because I must mention the other thing I love about this book...detailed photos for every complex step plus the just plain gorgeous photos of pizzas and piadinas (soft flatbread sandwiches), salads (to accompany pizzas and piadinas) and there are desserts too. There's no stopping the creativity.

And did I mention that I really love the way the authors share options for actually making the dough or the sauces or how to combine everything for the perfect meal...YOUR way.

So on to the dough - the choices...stand mixer with dough hook, food processor with plastic blade (I chose this route) or hand kneading. The hands on part...less than 5 minutes and rising on the counter - 2 hours...then an hour or overnight (my choice) chilling time...grill time with my new Griddler - 3 minutes and a final (hardest part was choosing what to top it with) 3 minutes under the broiler to melt the cheese.

Since I couldn't decide I went with pepperoni, mushrooms & onions on one and shrimp with pesto, but not your average pesto...this one has pecans in it. One word...AWESOME!!

So rather than share the actual pizza toppings (because I used the book as a jumping off point for toppings) I'm sharing the secrets for any pizza - the dough, herbed grill oil, chunky no cook tomato basil sauce and basil pecan pesto. All three sauces will now be a staple in my fridge for pizzas, paninis, pastas and ....the list goes on. What can I say...no excuses, no whining any more about not having a bbq!