When it comes to appetizers, some like buffalo wings. Others like chips and salsa. My personal favourite is some warm, straight-out-of-the-oven salty focaccia, with a dipping sauce of extra-virgin olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar. Should you present me with that, I apologize, but I doubt I’d be paying attention to whatever you say next… I’d be distracted. And were you in my shoes in such a situation, you’d be, too. Mmmh.

Last week H and I decided to have a grape-themed night. I found us some matching cookbooks at Half-Price Books that are all about grapes! Green Black Red features all California grape recipes, and it had some delicious-looking things in there, indeed. We picked the two best-looking ones and went for it.

The focaccia looked fantastic in the book, and ours came out virtually identical (except quite a bit more thick, but hey, who’s going to complain about that?). It’s golden and crisp on the outside, encrusted with juicy red grapes, dusted with fresh rosemary sprigs and large-grain sea salt. And it’s Heavenly.

Grape & Rosemary Focaccia

Adapted from Focaccia with Grapes & Rosemary from Green Black Red

Ingredients:

• 1 package dry yeast
• 5 cups organic AP flour (King Arthur, unbleached)
• 1.5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1.5 cups fresh red grapes, whole
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh rosemary sprigs
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Process:

1. Place yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add warm water, then stir in sugar. Let sit 5 minutes/ set aside.
2. Stir together the yeast mixture with 3 cups of the flour and the kosher salt using a large wooden spoon.
3. Once fully mixed, slowly incorporate the remaining 2 cups of flour 1/2 cup at a time, using your hands to knead the flour into the dough. Keep kneading until it is smooth and elastic (for approx 10-15 minutes).
4. Temporarily place the dough on a work surface, clean the bowl, and dry. Lightly brush extra virgin olive oil around the bottom and halfway up the sides of the bowl, then place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for an hour.
5. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and check the dough. If it has doubled in size, then pour the 1/2 cup of olive oil in the bottom of a large, round tart dish/pizza pan or baking sheet. Place the dough into the pan and gently stretch it out to fit.
6. Dimple the bread with your finger, and make dimples ever 1/2 inch. Place a grape in each dimple, then sprinkle the top of the bread with the rosemary and sea salt. Drizzle olive oil over the top.
7. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes (depends on the heat of your oven; I baked for 20 minutes and could have even gone down to 18 or so- my oven is hot), until the top is crisp and golden brown but not hard. Cut with a serrated knife or pizza cutter and serve warm with the dipping sauce I mentioned above, or with wine and cheese.

Mine was too thick to make panini, but the book suggests using it as a sandwich bread as well. Personally, though, I like it better as thick squares you can pull apart while warm and munch on as a pre-dinner sort of thing, or as a snack. How do you eat yours?

We were having a friend over for dinner and this friend (K) and I disagree on a great many things. Despite our being on opposite ends of the spectrum on what many would consider to be life’s most important topics, she’s one of my very closest friends, and has been for years. She’s a wonderful person, and so for her- and probably only her- would I honour a request that goes as follows:

Me: “Hey, so what should I make for dinner?”

K: “Does it sound bad if I say nothing particularly Frenchy?”

I’d say it’s a testament to our friendship that she asked so nicely :) and so I went searching about for something non-French! I also wanted to do something simple and that had a very tiny possibility of not being liked. Therefore… who doesn’t like cheese pizza? Right? I know her not to be lactose-intolerant, so I figured this one was the safest possible choice. Thankfully, she quite enjoyed it. That “mmh!” she said was wonderful to hear.

Rosemary Margherita ‘Pizza’ Tart

Adapted from David Lebovitz’s French Tomato Tart, which is in turn adapted from A Culinary Journey in Gascony

Ingredients (variation of original):

• 1.5 cups organic AP flour (King Arthur)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons soy butter
• 1 large egg (cage-free, brown, organic)
• 2 tablespoons cool water
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (Grey Poupon)
• 4 large hothouse tomatoes, ripe (quantity will vary based on tomato size and your tomato preferences)
• 1/2 jar Muir Glen original tomato sauce
• 1 large ball fresh mozarella cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons freshly-frated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon large grain sea salt

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Place the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the soy butter and mix until the butter is fully dispersed into the flour and comes to a crumbly texture
3. Mix the egg with the water in a small bowl, beating thoroughly until the mixture has a light yellow colour.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the center of the flour mixture and mix in to where everything holds together into a dough ball.
5. Flour a work surface, flour your rolling pin, and place the dough ball onto the middle of your work surface. Roll it out and keep dusting it with flour, until there is no stickiness to the dough.
6. Roll the dough onto your rolling pin and place it onto a large 9-inch fluted tart pan. Press the dough onto the sides firmly, then roll your pin across the top to remove the excess dough (which you can use to make a freeform tart, twists, or whatever you choose!)
7. Brush on the mustard and arrange the sliced tomatoes over the mustard. Fill in the holes (where you can see the mustard / there are less tomatoes) with the tomato sauce, then spread whatever you haven’t used of it over the tops of the tomatoes.
8. Place large slices of the mozarella over the tomatoes & sauce. Then sprinkle on the parmesan cheese, sea salt, drizzle on the olive oil…. then take some of the rosemary off of the sprigs and place over the pizza. Lastly, for decoration, place on two large sprigs of rosemary to infuse the pizza.
9. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese has browned to a golden colour and the crust is just turning golden-brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!

Yum yum yum. The sister has taken to this recipe, and it’s a very yummy one. I’m never against fresh mozarella, personally, and neither should be the general populace, because mmmmh, it’s so good! :)

Frittatas are the Italian version of an omelette, and my idea of an omelette- not that I really eat them- is to put all sorts of things inside them. I had a number of egg whites left over from making tart doughs earlier on in the week and decided to pour them all together in this comprehensive frittata. It’s rich and chock-full of good things, but on the lighter side due to it being mostly egg whites- lower in cholesterol and fat! It’s very, very simple, despite having tons of ingredients… so try it! :)

Low-Fat Egg-White Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites (large, cage-free, brown, organic eggs)
• 3 whole eggs
• 2/3 cup organic skim milk
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh sweet yellow corn, organic
• 1/4 cup fresh green peas, organic
• 2 tablespoons freshly-grated Reggianito cheese
• 3/4 cup chopped peppered deli turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach, organic
• 1/4 cup finely chopped baby carrots, organic

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place all frittata ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together briefly until just combined. For a firmer consistency, add a tablespoon or two of organic AP flour.
3. Butter a large, shallow tart dish fairly generously and pour in batter.
4. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and mixture is set in well; wiggles when shaken lightly.
5. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes; then slice with a smooth knife and eat warm.

I told you it was simple! It’s very quick, very very very simple- did I mention how simple this is?- and hearty. You can make it as a weeklong leftover dish, or comfortably feed it to 5-6 people. Long live Italian practicality.

Last week was an exciting one: my coworker S’s girlfriend E was in town, which meant a night of boardgaming and nerding out was absolutely in order. S suggested we make this fantastic deep-dish spinach pizza (of which, as it was topped high with bell peppers, I have lengthened the name) and it turned out to be quite delicious, indeed. S and I joined E in preparing the dough around noon. After a few attempts to activate the yeast (tricky little thing) we finally got it right. A note on that: follow the yeast packet (if using packet yeast) for instructions regarding the amount of water, not the recipe. The original recipe called for so much water that the yeast was having trouble bubbling. S also deigned to use measuring cups and spoons, which are quite necessary for the exact nature of baking doughs!

E expertly kneaded the dough and supervised its rising during the afternoon. Then, later that evening, the boyfriend and I joined them and we together made the pizza: the boyfriend kneaded and rolled out the dough (using S’s high-tech rolling pin (the vodka bottle)); E handled the tomato sauce; I cooked the spinach and assembled; and S cut the vegetables and grated the cheeses. Three cheers for teamwork!

Deep-Dish Spinach & Bell Pepper Pizza

Following the Deep-Dish Spinach Pizza recipe from RecipeZaar

What really makes the taste of this so wonderful are, in my opinion, the fresh basil leaves. Rosemary, I know you’re commonly called the most fragrant herb, but I’ll take basil over you almost any day :)

Getting this out of the springform pan was a snap- using it makes this incredibly simple. I am tempted to make a flat, thin pizza (preferably Margherita, my favourite) but for deep-dish, you can’t beat the springform. The edges were a bit temperamental when cutting (cracked more easily than usual, S noted) but the taste was fantastic. And what’s quite surprising is that despite being very thin, the dough is very resilient- in fact, only half the dough is used in the recipe. The rest can be stored and used later, or will serve for making two pizzas at once (or perhaps covering it, making it an actual ‘pizza pie’?). Whatever you choose to do with the second half of the dough, this pizza is sure to please. Yum!

I know, I know, but trust me when I say this is the last panino recipe for some time! It was a beautiful sunny day, the boyfriend and I had no set plans other than cleaning, and suddenly it came to me: what a wonderful day for a picnic! I called to get his thoughts on the subject, and as it involved eating food, he naturally wasn’t opposed, and thus I set about making picnic food: panino and potato salad, put together a canteen of orange juice, package up a few cookies and berries, and we’re set! Ah, right, back to the panino…

This one has turkey in it, but the real ‘meat’ of this sandwich is the roasted red bell pepper. You can roast it yourself or get it in a can at the market- just make sure they’re large and whole so that you can get the full effect, rather than small pieces! Spinach and fresh mozz round out this sandwich to make it flavourful and delicious. And what’s that particular zesty taste? It’s a mix of my house-made shallot pesto + some oregano-basil tomato sauce! These all melded together to make an incredibly delicious picnic food.

Zesty Turkey Bell Pepper Panino

Ingredients (makes 1 panino):

Process:

The tomato sauce + pesto + roasted bell pepper makes this one a powerful punch of flavour, so be prepared for a bit of a kick! For an added burst,  add in 2 tsp (1 per side) of caramelized onions or shallots. Yum!

The second panino H and I assembled was by far the yummier of the two, and all thanks to a chance added ingredient. The flavours of this one were fantastic, to the point where the boyfriend happily wrote me upon having eaten his take-home panino half, “That second panino was sooooo good!!” and he usually doesn’t go out of his way to comment after the fact, which clearly speaks in favour of this hot pressed sandwich. It’s got some really fun textures going on and is downright delicious. Herein lie its secrets:

Hot Italian Panino

Ingredients (makes one sandwich):

• 2 slices cut approx. 1-inch thick of rustic bread of your choice (french boule, rustic/country bread, a fairly dense ciabatta, etc- so long as it’s got few holes and a good crust)
• 5-8 fresh basil leaves
• 3-4 slices fresh mozarella or fresh Italian cheese (we used one which H picked up at the Whole Foods cheese counter of which we both immediately forgot the name, but it was fantastic. More consisent than fresh mozz but creamier and more flavourful)
• 1 tsp – 1 tablespoon (depending on your preference) of pesto (I used the disastrous one I made specifically for this sandwich)
• 2 slices deli turkey (my suggestion would be a smoked or oven-roasted one)
• 1 roasted red bell pepper (jarred works fine)

Process:

1. Heat panini press or grill pan
2. Assemble cheese slices onto one of the bread slices
3. Arrange basil leaves over cheese (see pictures below)
4. Arrange turkey slices over the basil leaves
5. Place red bell pepper over the turkey
6. Spread pesto evenly onto other bread slice
7. Put bread slices together carefully so as to not spill ingredients
8. Place sandwich on panini press and pull down the top; or, place on grill pan and place pressing tool on top; or, place on grill pan and if you do not have a panini press, put a heavy weight on top
9. Grill/press for 4-5 minutes, then if browned to your preference, flip over and grill for another 4-5 minutes
10. Remove from heat, slice in half at a slight diagonal, and dig in :)

It’s incredibly quick and simple, as if you have ready-made ingredients the onl thing you really have to do is cut the cheese… and yet, for under 10 minutes of work and a bit more for prep time and cleaning, you have a gourmet lunch/dinner that’s portable, delicious, and features a wide variety of textures. Try it out and vary the ingredients! You could add tomato (but be careful, they may eject juice), eggplant, zucchini, you name it.

Ah, this one definitely is to be filed in the ‘accident’ category. H and I were set to make to panini, and the second was to be an Italian one, featuring pesto… and rather than use the perfectly fine store-bought one in the fridge, I just had to go off and try making my own. With no direction, no recipe, no studying, just randomly throwing things into the blender and hoping for the best. The saddest part is that it probably would have worked, too, if it weren’t for that meddling shallot! I had picked up some very pretty looking shallots at the store earlier that day and thought it a brilliant idea to chop one up and put the whole thing right on into the pesto. Raw. Clearly I sometimes just am not thinking things through :) That said, in case any of you are mad enough to want to try it, herein lies the recipe to my failure:

House-Made Shallot Pesto

Ingredients (makes about 6 oz):

• 1/4 cup organic canola oil
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• the juice of 1 lemon
• 1/16 tsp lemon xest (just grate it for 5 seconds or so)
• 1/4 cup whole sunflower seeds
• heaping 1/4 cup almost-burnt toasted walnuts
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups chopped parsley (curly-leaf)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, paprika, coriander, cumin, sea salt, black pepper
• …1 medium shallot, minced (DON’T DO IT!)

Process:

1. Place all liquid ingredients (canola oil, olive oil) in bottom of blender or food processor
2. Then place parmesan and nuts
3. Then add in all other ingredients
4. Omit the shallot, it’s not worth your crying over
5. Blend/process on medium setting until the pesto becomes rather thick (though not quite tapenade-thickness)

Et voila, you’re done! When shallot-less, I bet this would have been a rather tasty pesto, although I would suggest upping the parlsey to perhaps 3 cups and adding some more sunflower seeds, they give a really nice texture. That said, the mere thought of this- honestly- makes me cry as my eyes were watering for a good hour after chopping that silly shallot, so do your eyes a favour and omit it so that you can have a happy pesto!

EDIT: After having used this pesto for a few weeks for a varity of panini, I have to say I’ve really come to like it. The sunflower seeds have absorbed most of the oil, so it has more of a tapenade consistency, but the shallot taste is by no means overpowering and adds a very nice flavour to the sandwiches. It’s also ideal as a panino-bread coating because it will seep through just enough to create nice grill marks but won’t splatter about.

I was rather stressed last Sunday and told myself, I’m in the mood for comfort food today. For me, my favourite comfort foods are cappelini caprese and caprese salad- syrup-y aged balsamic, fresh buffalo mozarella, juicy cherry tomato halves… I happened to have found some fresh cappelini on sale (fresh pasta is like a different world, and such a lovely way to brighten a pasta dish) and was determined to get this one right, as my last attempt was good, but subpar. The pasta was too thick, the mozarella wasn’t truly fresh, I added pasta sauce- which really took away from the flavours…

So I decided to go for Italian comfort and make this happy dish. I lacked two essential ingredients: shallots and fresh basil. Despite this, I decided to make the dish anyway- hence a simple cappelini dish! This one is a make-on-the-go recipe that takes about 15 minutes at most- fresh pasta cooks in 2-3 minutes!

Simple Cappelini Caprese

Ingredients:

• One package (the more pasta you add, the less tomato/mozz per oz of pasta you get- this ratio is up to you!) fresh (really, it has to be fresh to work- you’ll find it in the refrigerated (not frozen) section of the grocery store) cappelini pasta (be wary of those marked ‘angel hair’- make sure it’s really thin. Also, whole wheat is naturally better, if you can find it!
• One can of chunky tomatoes in their juice. I used Muir Glenn, and they’re delicious. The larger the tomato chunks in these, the better- whole or halved works best.
• Approx. a dozen fresh and ripe cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• One large ball (again, this is up to your ratio) fresh mozzarella di buffula. You’ll know it’s the right kind if it looks soft and very squishy and is packaged in water/liquid. Only remove from the liquid shortly before it’s time to mix it into the pasta to ensure freshness.
• Approx. 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil- will be of highest quality if very dark green in colour and housed in a glass bottle in a cool, dark place.
• Sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Process:

1. Cook pasta as directed on package. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and a large spinkling of sea salt to the water right when you turn on the heat- this will help to keep the pasta to sticking once you place it in the boiling water. The fresh pasta should take 2-3 minutes to cook.
2. Chop the cherry tomatoes and open the can of tomatoes while the pasta is cooking, set aside.
3. Drain the pasta, but set aside 1/3 cup of the pasta water to use for later.
4. Place the pasta in a large mixing bowl. Place the cherry tomatoes on top, and pour in the can of tomatoes (feel free to only use half if you don’t want it to be as tomato-y). Make sure you’re pouring in the juices, as well!
5. Add in the remaining olive oil, a large pinch of salt and pepper, and toss thoroughly.
6. Remove the mozz from its liquid and very lightly rinse. Cut into large chunks- the size and shape don’t really matter- and toss into the pasta. You’re doing this last to ensure that the mozz won’t melt into the warm pasta- it’s best when lightly chilled and remaining squishy, not runny!

You’re now set to eat! If you have fresh basil, then after the mozz, toss in some fresh chopped basil on top. I’ve found the onions to really not be needed- the canned tomato juice has a flavour all on its own! But if you can’t live without, you can also find canned tomatoes with onion pieces already inside. It’s magical. This dish is incredibly simple, but really yummy and comforting for a chilly day. :)

Pear-infused culinary treats continue with today’s cake:

At Half-Price Books I recently found a very cute little Italian cookbook and immediately thought of H- she does love her Italian recipes- and gifted it to her. In it, she found a recipe for pear and ginger cake, and suggested it be our next week’s recipe choice! Though the pears were a bit on the firm side, I think they lent themselves well to the recipe.

I attempted to find it online but have yet to find the same one, and, not wanting to mislead you, thus won’t link to a recipe until I find it… somewhere. The recipe was fairly simple, albeit odd- the pears went into the bottom of the pan (we used a bundt, care of H) uncooked (not too uncommon), but there was very little flour in the cake- really, little batter at all. But it rose to the occasion quite nicely, and caramelized around the edges. A scoop of melting vanilla ice cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and perhaps a small pile of uncooked pear slices top this one off quite nicely. There’s not much to say on this one other than the fact that it’s a nice cake- not too heavy, about half of it is pear… a bit heavy on the butter, but we used smart balance, so life could certainly be worse! I found the ginger taste to be a bit too strong (it pricks!) but the cake’s other eaters (H, my sister, the boyfriend) didn’t find the ginger to be in excess at all… so clearly I’m odd man out. It was quite yummy regardless, and certainly very pretty to look at!

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day- and usually the boyfriend and I do some walking or dancing, something simple. He’s not the surprising sort, so I was enthusiastically baffled when he presented me with the most beautiful bouquet of roses, lillies, and lavendar I had ever seen yesterday. It’s gargantuan- and it’s positively lovely :). To say thanks, I wanted to make a particularly enjoyable dinner for tonight. Upon asking what he would like, he mentioned that he had really enjoyed the tortelloni of a few weeks ago. My sister mentioned she had some leftover ravioli she wasn’t planning to have, and so came about the ravioli lasagna.

The contents are whole-wheat prosciutto-chicken ravioli; sauteed carrots, bell pepper, roasted garlic, and tomato in olive oil (cooked like this); and a thick layer of mozarella. Some corriander (I was looking for cardamum but settled happily on this one), large sea salt, freshly-cracked pepper, a drizzle of olive oil… it smelled fantastic, is oh-so-simple, and when plated prettily with some salad, is a sight to see.

Taking pasta- of any sort- adding sauteed vegetables, and baking it with a layer of cheese (of your choice) on top is, I guarantee, an easy way to add class to an already-delightful recipe. Which cheese do you find melts best? Whole Foods has a nice part-skim mozarella that slices nicely and browns perfectly on top.

My attempts to lighten Italian continue with this try at cappelini caprese. There’s a fabulous Italian restaurant in Austin- Andiamo Ristorante - that has a yummy, yummy, yummy cappelini caprese. It’s my favourite pasta dish there is- delicately thin whole wheat cappelini pasta in an onion and tomato sauce, chock-full of buffalo mozarella pieces chunks. It’s delicious, and I have decided to try my best to imitate its greatness. Sadly, I’m not quite there yet- but getting closer, and that’s what counts!

Some whole wheat pasta, roasted onions and tomatoes in olive oil, chopped spinach, a dash of tomato/oregano sauce, and a large dose of mozarella chunks make this dish. Some lessons learned here:

• Fresh buffalo mozarella is really what makes a caprese salad (of any sort) special- substituting for low-moisture reduced fat part-skim mozarella just isn’t the same. Though the fat content is considerably lowered, the price you pay is in taste and consistency- it may not be worth it.
• Finding whole wheat cappelini thin enough to really merit the name of angel hair seems to be difficult- I have yet to find some quite thin enough.

That title is a mouthful, I apologize, but it was an ingredient-filled dish! The main course of the boyfriend’s birthday dinner consisted of a really neat recipe by Giada. I was searching for lamb preparations that weren’t necessarily Greek (because when I think of lamb, that’s my first thought, usually) and happened upon this roulade. As prosciutto is another favourite of his (he fits well into the family in that regard, I’m the only one who isn’t crazy about it) and the fresh basil, if I couldn’t find any that was in good condition, could be substituted for some pesto, it seemed perfect.

This recipe was incredibly easy to follow! My one caveat is making sure you have kitchen twine or a twine-like substance prior to starting to assemble. That, and you may need to use some force in closing the roulade if, like me, you over-stuffed the pocket. Another plus is making friends with the butcher to get a good cut of lamb- they had no boneless loin, so he kindly suggested they take a small leg and de-bone it for me. Not wanting to waste the fat or other pieces I was trimming off- my mother taught me to conserve!- I made a stock (about 4 hours of simmering- I would have prefered to infuse it longer but had to go to sleep eventually) that I’ll probably use later in the week for some couscous (I doubt its shelf life is over a week or so).

I really do suggest this recipe if you have the time for it- there’s nothing too difficult about it. If you’re going to go with a sherry reduction for the sauce (which is my go-to sauce, anyway, so that was a nice surprise) have patience and wait it out until it’s bubbling like caramel, then spoon it over the lamb. I guarantee your patience will be worth the while! Also, to add a bit of flavour- and because I love them- I chopped in a white pearl onion while the lamb was browning, and threw in five more for the oiled baking dish to infuse the lamb a bit. And, sustainable bonus- when plating, I stored the pearls in a small container in the fridge and will re-use them later in the week for a planned vegetarian dish. Despite claiming he had barely eaten all day and was ravenous, the dish proved to be too much for one meal- making for a cutely-packaged leftover plate for dinner today when he came to visit. Cheers for leftovers! Paired with some warm rosemary bread (central market organics has a frozen one you can heat in the oven- make it as per serving suggestion with some brushed-on olive oil, sprinkling of sea salt and dried rosemary and it’s fantastic) it sent him into a food coma upon finishing :)

Lastly- I sauteed the vegetables in salt, pepper, a little coriander, and olive oil, but what really made their flavours stand out was the secret ingredient- a little less than a tablespoon of pear-infused vinegar. The sweet and salty notes made for an excellent combination!