Sourdough Pizza Crust + Tomato Sauce + Garlic + Bell Peppers + Mozzarella

I have been longing for homemade pizza lately. My current schedule and living situation make it a bit more difficult to have the weekly pizza night that The Boyfriend and I have grown accustomed to. I’m hoping to get this [...]]]>

Sourdough Pizza Crust + Tomato Sauce + Garlic + Bell Peppers + Mozzarella

I have been longing for homemade pizza lately. My current schedule and living situation make it a bit more difficult to have the weekly pizza night that The Boyfriend and I have grown accustomed to. I’m hoping to get this tradition back on track soon.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new recipe but I do hope that you haven’t completely given up on me. I have a sweet treat in store for you this week. Watch this space for a new cookie recipe!

Have a Monochrome Monday post to share this week? Leave a link in the comments.

Please send help. The Swiss chard has established a stronghold in our garden and won’t surrender. It’s been going strong since springtime and shows no sign of slowing down. It may have wilted during the hottest, driest days but has never failed to rejuvenate itself overnight. I wish I could say the same [...]]]>

Please send help. The Swiss chard has established a stronghold in our garden and won’t surrender. It’s been going strong since springtime and shows no sign of slowing down. It may have wilted during the hottest, driest days but has never failed to rejuvenate itself overnight. I wish I could say the same for the tomatoes, radishes, and carrots that we planted. Swiss chard has definitely been the superhero of our garden this year and at this rate, these same plants may just be the superhero of next year’s garden too.

One of the best ways to eat chard (or anything, really) is with cheese. But encase the chard and cheese in a sourdough herb crust and then you’ve got something really special on your hands. A chard, tomato, and ricotta calzone, to be precise.

Before I give you the details about these tasty little pockets, I’m going to give you some more details about myself. Cristina from TeenieCakes tagged me to answer a few questions and I’m happy to play along.

1. What are five things that are absolutely a staple in your pantry/refrigerator?

-Fresh, local apple cider
-Three types of flour: organic whole wheat, organic all-purpose, and unbleached bread flour
-Local Gouda cheese
-Organic, free range eggs straight from the farm
-Compost bucket, usually full of scraps because I’m too lazy to empty it every day

2. What are some of your favorite food scenes in movies?

I always have a difficult time answering movie trivia questions. I’m not much of a movie buff, but the first two that come to mind are:
-The tour of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory (from the original movie, I haven’t see the newer version)
-The lobster scene in Annie Hall

3. What would you consider are three of your cooking and/or baking specialties?

-Sourdough bread
-Pizza with sourdough crust and seasonal veggies
-Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are my current seasonal baking obsession

4. Name a couple of your personal cringe-inducing ingredients or dishes?

-I can’t stand any type of melon. Not even watermelon on a hot summer day. Hard to believe, I know.
-Caraway seeds. I’m always wary of ordering “everything” bagels at an unfamiliar bakery, lest they hide caraway seeds among the sesame and poppy seeds.

5. Favorite movie (doesn’t have to be about food)?

Food, Inc. If everybody watched this movie and took just one small step toward a more sustainable diet, we would be on the right track.

6. With the holidays around the corner, what dish/dessert are you sure to contribute?

Bread, of course!

7. Share a kitchen disaster or funny moment when your cooking or baking just didn’t measure up.

I attempted to make sourdough bread for over a year before I finally got a presentable loaf. I had all kinds of disasters, from dough that didn’t rise to bread that was as hard as a brick. I thought I would never get it right! But persistence paid off and now I enjoy beautiful sourdough loaves every week. With only the occasional disaster, of course.

8. How did you come up with the name of your blog?

I am somewhat of a math geek, and wanted to incorporate it into my blog. Simple Math Bakery just came to me while I was brainstorming. Math and baking certainly go hand in hand so I felt that it was a natural fit. The math skills needed for baking are mostly just fractions and basic multiplication or division, so it made sense to call it simple math.

Swiss Chard, Tomato, and Ricotta Calzones with Sourdough Herb Crust
Created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 4 large calzones

For the crust:
1 batch of sourdough pizza crust
Dried herbs to taste (I used oregano, basil, and thyme)

Prepare the pizza dough as directed through the first rise, adding the dried herbs during kneading. Toward the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 450° and prepare the calzone filling. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven while the oven preheats.

For the filling:
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 Cipollini onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 leaves Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated Gouda cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tomatoes, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped chard leaves and continue to cook until the leaves have wilted and the stems are tender, stirring frequently to prevent the leaves from burning. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Turn out the pizza dough onto a well floured surface. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Coat your hands with flour and gently pat each portion of dough into a 6″-8″ circle.

Spread 1/4 cup of the ricotta over the bottom half of each dough circle, stopping 1/2″ from the edges. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Gouda. Top the cheese with tomato slices. Spoon 1/4 of the chard filling over the tomatoes. Using your finger, moisten the edge of the dough circle with water. Fold the top half of the dough over the fillings and match the edges up, pressing to seal. Gently slice 2 or 3 vent holes through the top of the dough.

Using a well-floured peel, slide the calzones into the oven, directly onto the baking stone. Alternatively, you may bake them on a baking sheet. Depending on the size of your baking stone, it may be best to bake just 2 calzones per batch. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Look for these calzones on YeastSpotting, a weekly showcase of yeasted baked goods!

I love to discover the subtle regional differences in condiment use, especially toppings for French fries. I have always been a strict ketchup user, never quite comprehending the use of ranch dressing or chili as a topping for fries. And don’t come anywhere near my fries with mayonnaise! For that matter, just keep [...]]]>

I love to discover the subtle regional differences in condiment use, especially toppings for French fries. I have always been a strict ketchup user, never quite comprehending the use of ranch dressing or chili as a topping for fries. And don’t come anywhere near my fries with mayonnaise! For that matter, just keep the mayonnaise off of my food altogether. Thank you very much.

But now, our neighbors to the north have introduced me to a whole new world of French fry bliss. It’s called Poutine.

I discovered Poutine when I attended a cob building workshop in Canada. Our conversation had turned to food, as it often did during a day of hard labor. But I was not fooled. French fries topped with gravy and cheese curds? This was just a tricky way of trying to convince me to eat my fries with gravy and cheese (yuck). I was told that the only place to get Poutine is in Quebec. And it is “to die for”.

My curiosity was piqued and I couldn’t get Poutine out of my head. The 2,822 mile trek to Montreal is not feasible at this point in time, so the only way to satisfy my Poutine curiosity is to make it myself. But how to create a dish from scratch that I have never tried before?

Project Food Blog gave me the push I needed. The second challenge calls upon us to recreate a classic dish from another culture that is beyond my comfort zone. Poutine just so happens to fit those criteria perfectly.

I have never made French fries from scratch, and I am terrified of hot oil. The first thought I had was to bake the fries, but that wouldn’t be very challenging, would it? I have also never made gravy from scratch. I hardly ever eat meat so it’s pretty far outside my comfort zone. I had some homemade chicken stock in the freezer from the chicken that I recently roasted, so it was perfect timing for gravy experimentation.

I gathered up my courage, poured a bottle of canola oil into the largest, heaviest pot I own (a 7 quart Dutch oven), clipped the thermometer onto the side of the pot, donned two oven mitts plus an apron, and turned the burner on. As the oil heated, it started to sputter a bit. My cat came over to investigate the action. Once the oil was heated to the right temperature, I decided to gently drop in one French fry to see how the oil behaved. Sensing the potential for danger, my cat quickly took cover around the corner. But he couldn’t resist being a part of the action.

There was no geyser of hot oil, no sputtering or smoking. Just a French fry happily floating in a sea of gently bubbling oil. I continued on with the French fry making until I had a stack of beautiful golden, crispy fries.

The gravy was tricky since I couldn’t find a specific Poutine gravy recipe. There is a great deal of contradiction over what makes a Poutine gravy authentic, but there seems to be a general consensus that it is a chicken gravy. I ended up creating my own simple chicken gravy that complemented the French fries and cheese curds perfectly.

The combination of perfectly crispy French fries, extra hot chicken gravy, and cheese curds softening with the heat of the gravy is certainly as good as my Canadian friends would have me believe. Sounds tasty, eh?

Voting for this challenge will be open from September 27th (6 AM Pacific time) through September 30th (6 PM Pacific time). Be sure to check out all the other classic dishes and vote for your favorites!

Poutine
French fries adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Gravy created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 2-3 servings

French Fries:
4 large russet potatoes
1 litre canola oil

Wash the potatoes and slice them into 1/4 inch strips in both directions. Place the potato strips into a bowl, cover them with cold water, and drop some ice cubes into the water as well (Pi ice works well for this purpose). Place the bowl in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

In a large, deep pot fitted with a thermometer, heat the canola oil over medium heat until it reaches 163°C (325°F). Drain the water from the potatoes, and wrap the potatoes in a dishtowel. Make sure that all the excess water is absorbed from the potatoes. Add the potatoes in batches to the hot oil and fry for 6-8 minutes, until the fries begin to turn brown and are soft and limp.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the oil and place them on paper towels to drain. Allow the fries to rest for at least 10 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Just before serving, reheat the oil to 177°C (350°F). Place the blanched fries back into the hot oil and fry for a minute or two, until crispy. Transfer the fries to a plate and serve immediately.

Chicken Gravy:
1 quart chicken broth (homemade, unsalted)
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 medium-sized onion, diced
2 teaspoons salt (if broth is already salted, omit the extra salt)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender and just starting to brown. Add the flour, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Heat the flour for a minute, then start to add the chicken broth, 1/2 cup at a time. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.

Once all of the broth has been added, stir in the salt and pepper. Continue to stir constantly, keeping the liquid at a gentle boil, until the gravy becomes thick. Keep hot until served.

To assemble the Poutine:
Make a bed of French fries. Place cheese curds on top of the fries, and pour gravy over the cheese curds. Top with additional cheese curds.

The aroma of nutty whole wheat pastry crust, browning butter, and melting cheese hung in the air as this galette baked. I resisted the urge to pull it from the oven before it was finished baking. Quickly and carefully, I transferred the piping hot galette to a fresh piece of parchment paper for [...]]]>

The aroma of nutty whole wheat pastry crust, browning butter, and melting cheese hung in the air as this galette baked. I resisted the urge to pull it from the oven before it was finished baking. Quickly and carefully, I transferred the piping hot galette to a fresh piece of parchment paper for its photo shoot. I snapped a few quick (blurry) photos, then got to work slicing and eating this galette. When you make this for yourself, you’ll understand.

Swiss chard was prolific in our garden this year. It was the easiest crop to take care of and produces more chard than we can eat ourselves. It doesn’t show any signs of stopping, even with the cooler temperatures we have (finally) been experiencing this week!

Fall is just around the corner, which means that it must be football season. I don’t know much about football, and you probably won’t catch me on the couch every Sunday morning. But add a football theme to a baking challenge and I’ll definitely be cheering.

September’s “You Want Pies With That?” theme is football, so I decided to honor my alma mater with this Swiss chard galette. Portland State’s colors are forest green and white, so chard is the perfect vegetable to represent PSU!

I sliced this galette into four generous slices, though you could get six servings out of it if you prefer. My inner math geek loves that these slices look like right triangles.

Swiss Chard Galette
Crust adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Filling created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 4-6 servings, depending on how you slice it

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, coarsely diced
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

For the filling:
1 bunch chard (about 16 leaves)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

To make the crust:
In a large bowl, stir the flour and salt together. Add the cold butter and cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and ice water. Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir gently with a wooden spoon until lumps form. Gather the lumps together into a disc shape and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

To make the filling:
Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Separate the chard leaves from the stems. Chop the stems into 1/2 inch pieces, and slice the leaves into strips. Boil the stems for 3 minutes, then add the leaves and continue to boil for another 3 minutes. Pour the chard into a colander, rinse with cold water, and allow to drain. Press out as much water as possible with a kitchen towel or paper towel.

In a large bowl, combine the chard, feta cheese, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

To assemble the galette:
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to facilitate easier removal of the galette, or just leave the baking sheet ungreased.

On a floured surface, roll out the galette to a 12 inch circle. Spread ricotta cheese to within 1 or 2 inches of the edges. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the ricotta. Spoon chard filling in an even layer over the cheese. Fold the edges of the galette over the top of the filling, leaving the center open. Football laces are optional. Using a pastry brush, coat the exposed (folded over) part of the crust with melted butter.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Place the entire baking sheet on a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

This pizza was inspired by our favorite local pizza place. They put all kinds of crazy toppings on pizza – mashed potatoes, peanut butter, pasta, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, and many more! My favorite pizza is topped with mashed potatoes, BBQ sauce, chicken, and mozzarella. Since I stopped eating industrially processed meat, I [...]]]>

This pizza was inspired by our favorite local pizza place. They put all kinds of crazy toppings on pizza – mashed potatoes, peanut butter, pasta, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, and many more! My favorite pizza is topped with mashed potatoes, BBQ sauce, chicken, and mozzarella. Since I stopped eating industrially processed meat, I have missed eating this pizza.

Opportunities to purchase meat that satisfies my current standards (local, small scale, pasture raised, respectfully slaughtered) are few and far between. When I went on a farm tour at Quail Springs permaculture farm, I got the chance to order a couple of chickens from livestock manager Brenton Kelly.

The chickens were raised as an important part of the permaculture garden. They eat kitchen scraps and help keep weeds and bugs under control in the garden, while providing a valuable output to enrich the soil. When it comes time for the chickens to serve their next purpose (meat), Brenton uses a low-stress method to process the birds. If you are interested in this process, take a look at Brenton’s turkey processing photos (warning: photos are graphic).

To cook the chicken, I used Julia Child’s Casserole-Roasted Chicken with Tarragon recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1 (which also happens to be Meryl Streep’s favorite Julia Child recipe). As usual, Julia does not disappoint. This chicken is simple and flavorful!

To make the pizza, you’ll need:
Sourdough Pizza Crust
Olive Oil
Mashed Potatoes
Chicken slices, roasted or grilled
Red Onion, thinly sliced
Mozzarella and Gouda cheese (or your favorite cheese combo)
BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 450° for at least 45 minutes, with a baking stone in the oven. Pre-bake the crust, directly on the baking stone, until it is slightly puffy and starts to brown on the bottom. Using a pastry brush, spread a thin layer of olive oil all over the crust.

Spoon the mashed potatoes onto the crust and spread thin (you don’t want the toppings to be too heavy!). Add a thin layer of barbecue sauce over the potatoes. Arrange the chicken slices over the sauce and top with onions. Slice the mozzarella thinly and add to the pizza. Sprinkle with shredded Gouda cheese and drizzle with barbecue sauce.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melty and the crust is brown.

Barbecue Sauce
Created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: approximately 3 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chili pepper, minced
1 cup ketchup
1 cup beer
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons sucanat
3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and chili pepper. Saute just until tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 20-30 minutes.

This challenge put me out of my comfort zone not only with a new technique, but with a new ingredient as [...]]]> The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

This challenge put me out of my comfort zone not only with a new technique, but with a new ingredient as well: suet. I rarely eat meat, so my first thought was to forge ahead with the vegetarian suet version or to just make a sweet sponge pudding.

But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to attempt the traditional version of the challenge. I put aside my objections so that I could try an authentic dish from another culture. And then I decided to try the sweet sponge pudding as well!

Both puddings were delicious! The bacon leek filling was out of this world. I thought that the suet crust was a bit thick, and it was very rich. Perhaps the measurements were a little off due to my conversions. I don’t have a scale so I had to convert all the measurements to cups, tablespoons, etc. It seemed like I had too much dough, but I used it all anyway as I thought it would make the pudding sturdier.

The suet was actually pretty easy to work with, since it is a solid at room temperature. Most instructions recommend rendering the suet to remove the membrane and then shredding it. I didn’t choose this method, for a couple of reasons. The challenge hostess, Esther, explained that she simply crumbles it off the membrane when it’s frozen. Since I generally take the lazy way out, and a pan of hot beef fat doesn’t sound too safe to me, I decided to skip the rendering step. I peeled off as much of the membrane as I could and crumbled the frozen suet into small chunks.

Setting up the steaming apparatus was also a challenge. In order to steam the pudding, the bowl must be placed inside a large pot without touching the bottom or sides. There should be enough water in the bottom of the pot that it doesn’t boil dry, but not so much that it boils up and into the pudding bowl. Thanks to a recommendation from a fellow Daring Baker, Audax, I set up my Crock Pot to steam the pudding.

I placed a folded kitchen towel underneath the bowl to keep it off the bottom of the pot. I had plenty of room to put an inch of water in the bottom without it coming up too far on the sides of the bowl. Using the Crock Pot was a great method, since virtually no water escapes during cooking. I didn’t have to top off the water at all during steaming.

The chocolate raspberry pudding batter reminded me of cake batter. The steaming process introduced a unique texture. It was spongy and rather dense, but very tasty! Guess what it tasted like? Banana bread. Weird, I know. There were no bananas in sight, that could have snuck into this pudding. But The Boyfriend and I both got a banana bread flavor from this pudding. Very interesting.

I’ll definitely be making pudding again, as it’s a relatively simple cooking method with an infinite amount of adaptable recipes. I recommend visiting the blogs of my fellow Daring Bakers to see all the beautiful adaptations of this traditional British dish!

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

Bacon and Leek Pudding
Adapted from Farmers Weekly
Yield: 4-6 servings

Filling:
6 strips bacon, cooked
1 tablespoon butter
1 leek
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup vegetable broth, warmed
2 sprigs fresh thyme, stripped from stalks
1/3 cup cream, room temperature
salt and pepper to taste

Suet crust:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded suet
salt and pepper to taste
scant 1 cup of milk

To prepare the filling:

Slice the cooked bacon into pieces. Trim the roots and the tips off of the leek and slice it into small pieces. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan and saute the leeks until tender. Sprinkle the flour over the leeks and stir it in.

Slowly pour in the vegetable broth while whisking to prevent lumps. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until it thickens. Turn the heat down to a simmer, and add the thyme, cream, and bacon. Stir well and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare the crust:

Grease a 1 liter pudding basin or heatproof bowl (I used a Pyrex bowl) with butter. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and suet together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Work in the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough is elastic and cleans the sides of the bowl. I needed a scant cup of milk, but you may need more or less liquid. Try not to handle or knead the pastry as it will get tough.

Reserve 1/4 of the dough for the lid. Roll out the rest of the dough and line the bowl with it. Pour the filling into the crust. Roll out the lid and attach it by moistening the edges of the bottom crust with water. Press the edges together, using a fork to crimp.

Cover the pudding with foil or other greaseproof paper, pleated in the middle to allow for expansion of the pudding. Press the foil tightly under the lip of the bowl. Wrap a length of kitchen twine around the bowl to secure the lid and prevent any water from leaking into the pudding. Fashion the twine into a handle over the top of the bowl if desired (this will facilitate easier removal from the steamer).

Steam the pudding for about 5 hours. Carefully remove the twine and foil, and turn the pudding out onto a plate.

Chocolate Raspberry Steamed Pudding
Adapted from Telegraph
Yield: 6-8 servings

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2-3 tablespoons milk or water

Grease a 1 liter pudding basin or heatproof bowl (I used a Pyrex bowl). Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.

Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of milk or water, enough to produce a “dropping consistency” (I assumed this meant that the batter should drop back into the bowl when lifted out on the back of a spoon). Stir in the raspberries and chocolate.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pudding basin or bowl. Cover with foil or parchment paper, leaving a crease in the middle for the pudding to expand while cooking. Tie the cover on with string, leaving a handle on top if desired (recommended for easy removal of basin from steaming container). Steam for 2 hours.

Turn the pudding out onto a plate, and serve with fresh raspberries.

I’ve only had polenta once before, when my boyfriend cooked it for me. He loves a good cooking experiment just as much as I do. We had been intrigued by it in the store, not quite knowing what to make of the large yellow tube that appeared ready to burst at any moment. [...]]]>

I’ve only had polenta once before, when my boyfriend cooked it for me. He loves a good cooking experiment just as much as I do. We had been intrigued by it in the store, not quite knowing what to make of the large yellow tube that appeared ready to burst at any moment. We decided that it was pretty tasty, and I vowed to use it again.

When I came across a recipe for polenta made from scratch, I knew I had to try it. Plus, the addition of mushrooms in this recipe forced me to push my comfort zone. I don’t like mushrooms very much. It’s definitely a texture thing, so I figured that if I chopped them finely enough (and tried not to think about it) I could enjoy this dish.

Polenta is basically boiled cornmeal. It’s a simple base that is infinitely adaptable. Polenta is used in a wide variety of dishes from all over the world, and is prepared according to many different methods. Here, I created basic polenta by whisking cornmeal into boiling water.

Then, I dipped the polenta in a mixture of breadcrumbs, Parmesan, cilantro, and garlic. And baked it to perfection!

I chose to top it with a tomato wine sauce, which also makes an excellent pizza or pasta sauce. The whole meal took me a good half day to put together, but the time spent was well worth it.

Sun-Dried Tomato Polenta Cutlets
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
Yield: 12 cutlets

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, not packed in oil
1 cup red wine
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3 cups water
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
3 egg whites

Heat the red wine just until it boils. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a non-reactive heatproof bowl and pour the wine over the tomatoes. Set aside to soak.

Heat the olive oil in a small pan. Add the minced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Saute until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and 1 tablespoon of the basil. Cover the pot and cook on low, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their juices, about 10 minutes. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes, saving the wine for the sauce, if desired. Add the tomatoes to the mushroom mixture and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups water, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, then add the cornmeal in a slow stream, whisking rapidly to prevent lumps. Reduce the heat to low, and cook uncovered, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, or until the polenta is very thick. Stir in the mushroom mixture.

Grease an 8 by 12-inch glass or stoneware baking dish. Spread the polenta evenly in the bottom of the dish. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, cilantro, and 2 cloves of minced garlic in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

Cut the polenta into 12 triangles. Here’s how: cut the polenta in half lengthwise. Then cut in thirds crosswise to create 6 rectangles. Then cut each rectangle in half diagonally. You should have 12 triangular cutlets.

Use a spatula to remove each cutlet, dip it into the egg white, and then coat both sides with the bread crumb mixture. Place the cutlets onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, flip them over, then bake for 10 more minutes, or until golden brown.

Tomato Wine Sauce
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
Yield: about 3 1/2 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup red wine
3 cups undrained chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onions, garlic, and salt. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onions have begun to soften. Add the Herbs de Provence and oregano, and cook for another minute. Add the wine, bring the sauce to a boil, then add the tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.

When we spent the weekend in Big Sur, we ate two breakfasts and one dinner at the Big Sur Bakery.  I fell in love.  I needed more than one weekend to try each breakfast pastry and every type of pizza.

I’ll go back someday soon, but for now I’ve got their cookbook.  When [...]]]>

When we spent the weekend in Big Sur, we ate two breakfasts and one dinner at the Big Sur Bakery.  I fell in love.  I needed more than one weekend to try each breakfast pastry and every type of pizza.

I’ll go back someday soon, but for now I’ve got their cookbook.  When I saw the potato frittata recipe I remembered seeing the frittata in the breakfast pastry case.  I didn’t try it while we were there, but now I can make it at home!

This is not a quick meal.  But it fits with the spirit of the bakery, that good food takes time.  And it’s worth slowing down for.  Everything I used in this recipe is organic and local, except for the bacon, oil, and butter (which was organic, but not local).

All of the vegetables and potatoes came from the farmers market.  One of the farmers there sells these beautiful sweet potatoes that are white inside.

They play tricks on my mind.  Once they are peeled, they look like regular russet potatoes, but when you take a bite they are as sweet as can be!

And can we just admire these beautiful eggs for a minute?

Each one is unique in size, shape, and color.  They come from a small organic farm near my house.  Super fresh and delicious!  The perfect main ingredient for this frittata.

Potato Bacon Frittata
Adapted from The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook

4 strips bacon
5 tablespoons canola oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
9 eggs
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
3 garlic scallions, sliced thin
2 scallions, sliced thin

First, cook the bacon.  Here’s how I did it: Line a baking sheet with foil and line up four strips of bacon on the foil.  Place the pan into a cold oven and turn the oven on to 400°.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven, and place the bacon strips onto a paper towel-lined plate to cool.  Leave the oven at 400°, or preheat it if you fried the bacon.

Place the onion in a medium pan with 2 tablespoons of the oil.  Saute over medium-high heat until the onions are caramelized, about 8-10 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and scrape any brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon.  Continue to cook until the water has evaporated and the onions are brown, about 5 minutes.

Place the onions into a baking dish with the potatoes.  Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil.  Season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.  Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.  Lower the oven temperature to 350°.

Whisk together the eggs, parsley, and scallions.  Add the bacon and season with salt and pepper.  Add the potato and onion mixture.  Heat a 10 inch cast iron skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat.  Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet, then pour in the egg and potato mixture.  Cover the skillet with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes.

I removed it from the oven when the edges were crispy and the top had just begun to brown.

The taste of good, homemade macaroni and cheese brings me back to my childhood.  One of my favorite dishes has always been mom’s macaroni and cheese.  Rich, creamy, cheesy, ooey, gooey goodness.  It is definitely our family tradition.

The November [...]]]>

The taste of good, homemade macaroni and cheese brings me back to my childhood.  One of my favorite dishes has always been mom’s macaroni and cheese.  Rich, creamy, cheesy, ooey, gooey goodness.  It is definitely our family tradition.

The November Flavor of the Month is Traditions.  Perhaps after trying mom’s macaroni and cheese, you’ll decide to make it your family tradition as well!  To explore traditions submitted by other bloggers this month, click the logo above.

Even though I now live 2,940 miles (exactly, according to Google Maps) away from my mom, I still use her recipe.  But I do like to change it up a bit.  I usually use a combination of two or more types of cheese.  I just love to walk through the cheese section and select a brand or type that I’ve never tried before.  This time I used Dubliner cheese with Irish Stout and Trader Joe’s Organic Monterey Jack.

The Dubliner cheese is sharp, and the Monterey Jack is the perfect mild complement.  I also threw a little bit of grated Parmesan into the pot.

This recipe uses a roux, which is basically a mixture of fat (butter) and flour that helps to thicken sauce or gravy.  So you will have to stand over the stove for a while, stirring while the sauce thickens.  It won’t take too long (about 10-15 minutes), and it’ll be worth it.  I promise.

Then you can say that you’ve made a roux.  Now doesn’t that sound fancy?  People will be impressed.

This recipe is easily adaptable.  Sometimes I like to add broccoli or ham, or whatever else I can find that tastes good when it’s covered in cheese.  What is your favorite addition to mac n cheese?

Baked Mac N Cheese

10 ounces of macaroni (I like to use elbows or penne)
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced finely [Mom's note: Do not leave this out!!]
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups milk
8 ounces shredded cheese of your choice, plus more for topping

Preheat oven to 350°.  Cook the macaroni according to package directions.  Drain the pasta and set aside.  Adding a little olive oil to the water while boiling the pasta will help prevent the pasta from sticking together as it cools.

Mix flour, dry mustard, and pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add onion and cook until tender and opaque.  Stir in the flour mixture.  Slowly add the milk, and cook until smooth and slightly thickened, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese.  Continue to stir until all the cheese has melted.

Place half of the pasta into a 2 1/2 quart round casserole dish.  Pour some cheese mixture over it.  Cover with the rest of the pasta, and pour the remainder of the cheese over the pasta.  Slice some cheese to place on top.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and starting to brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes or so before eating.