Cornmeal Deep Dish Pizza

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Andrea

Last week for Pizza Thursday I went all out and created something completely new.

New crust, new sauce, and new cooking method.

Experimenting time!

The results were interesting and a little surprising.

I had some greens that needed used up and everything just snowballed from there.

I decided I was going to create deep dish style pizzas using a cornmeal crust.

One pizza was going to have a butternut squash puree as the “sauce” and the other was going to have a BBQ and tomato base.

The cheese and toppings would all be the same with the addition of local bacon to the BBQ one.

I got out my cast iron skillets (Note to ~~self~~ Scott: We need more cast iron.) and greased those with a bit of butter.

I used my basic pizza dough recipe as a guide to create the cornmeal crust. The changes were:

1 1/2C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2C Cornmeal

Everything else, yeast amount and water was the same. I did notice that this crust needed a little more AP flour, about 1/4C more to make it easier to handle.

Read more on Cornmeal Deep Dish Pizza…

Leftover Idea: Potato and Green Bean Hash

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Andrea

Scott and I had boiled potatoes and green beans for dinner one evening and I made a huge batch of it. I knew I was going to use it for leftover purposes but I initally thought that I would be reheating and eating.

As dinner apporached the next day, I wasn’t feeling the reheat and eat method. I wanted a little something different and I started thinking about what I could do with those leftovers.

Make a hash! Hashes are my new favorite dish. Kale and potato hash rocks my world and I knew that I could use that concept to create something with these leftovers.

I chopped up some onion and pepper and got busy.

Andrea’s Potato and Greenbean Hash

1/2 A Medium Onion, finely chopped

1/2 Red Pepper, finely chopped

1/2 Green Pepper, finely chopped

1 Carrot, shredded

Leftover boiled potatoes, chopped (can use leftover roasted or baked potato as well)

Leftover Green Beans, chopped

Coffee and Cocoa Rub

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Andrea

You all know that I love a good rub down. Personally I’ll take a well rubbed hunk of animal over a marinated one any day of the week.

And twice on Sundays please.

Because of this I’m constantly creating new rubs and trying out different seasoning combos.

One that I couldn’t get out of my head was using coffee grounds in the rub.

If we had a compost pile or actually planted things around the house, those coffee grinds would be put to good use. For now they end up getting tossed and I feel like that is such a waste. I’ve been looking for new uses for them.

Some are to eat and some are for the body.

I decided to try out some of the grounds in a rub and both of us were pretty pleased with the results.

Andrea’s Coffee and Cocoa Dry Rub

1TBSP Coffee Grounds (whatever you used that morning is fine)

Cleaning Leeks

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Andrea

Several years ago I made the jump and tried leeks for the first time. I would see recipes for soup or recipes for pastas that had leeks as an ingredient. I never tried them though, always nervous about making that leap.

When I learned that they are basically just like a huge green onion then my mind was made up. I love green onions so I knew that I would love leeks.

I have been getting leeks ever since, typically in the fall and winter months though. I’m not sure what their season is but for me, my taste for them usually pops up around late September.

Which is now! Hooray fall!

While leeks have a similiar, though more potent, taste as green onions, they take a little more effort to clean. They grow up through sandy soil and have a ton of layers. All these layers usually will contain some of the soil which needs to be removed.

Fancy Tuna Salad

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Andrea

We didn’t go out to eat a lot when I was growing up. Occasionally we would get hoagies or pizza out. Sometimes hitting up the golden arches but that was rare and my mom really really really didn’t feel like cooking on those instances.

On the off chance that I was out at a restaurant some place, I noticed that the chicken salad and tuna salad sandwichs were always on croissants.

Being at a restaurant and seeing a croissant instantly equaled fancy in my mind. Dining out was a privilege and meant for special occasions. Croissants were exotic and Parisian, automatically labeling them as decadent.

I never ordered those sandwiches though, always admiring them but not connecting.

On a recent grocery trip, Scott noticed that the croissants were on sale and suggested picking some up. The thing to know about Scott is that he doesn’t often suggest getting food. The only requests are that he will on occasion ask me to prepare a specific dish but otherwise not a peep out of him.

Pure Food and Wine

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Andrea

While in NY, the ladies and I dined out Saturday evening at Pure Food and Wine. This was our big night out and Laura (NY resident) made our reservations two weeks in advance.

Pure Food is a raw restaurant, which means all their stuff is not cooked. Everything is veggie based and the menu also states that they are GF and vegan.

From their website (the “about” section):

June of 2004 is when we first opened our doors in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. Back then, not so many people knew the term “raw food” as a style of cuisine. Pure Food and Wine’s raw vegan menu is entirely plant based and does not use any processed ingredients. Nothing is heated above approximately 118 degrees in order to preserve vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Everyone always imagines a menu of just salads, but it’s much more than that.

They also list that they do not use tofu, tempeh, or seitan at all at the restaurant which I find refreshing.

Johnny Marzetti With A Twist

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Andrea

Recently, my friend John, contacted me and a few other local food bloggers about doing a blog post on the Johnny Marzetti dish. We each would create our version of the dish and then all post about it on the same day.

I immediately said I was in! Then I asked what the Johnny Marzetti dish was. Not being a Columbus, or even an Ohio native, this was completely new to me.

John directed me to this link explaining the dish. I knew exactly what it was once I read the description. Where I grew up, it was called Goulash. Some folks, mostly those from the New England area, refer to it as Chop Suey.

It’s elbow pasta with ground beef in a tomato sauce. We had this all the time growing up and it was one of the few ways I would be willing to eat ground beef. I made it for Scott when we started dating and he fell in love with it.

Spaghetti and Eggs

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Andrea

When one arrives back home from a trip away, I fully believe that a warm and comforting meal is a must. Whatever food is your favorite, whatever dinner makes you content, that’s what you should be eating.

When Scott got back home from being gone for a week, he said he was ready to eat some good food. He said he missed my cooking and couldn’t wait to sit down to a lovely dinner.

Is he fab or what?

And because of my belief mentioned above, I knew he needed something comforting. Scott has a lot of comfort foods and two of them happen to be pasta and fried eggs. I was going back and forth about what to make him.

Breakfast? Or a pasta dish?

Then it occured to me, why not combine them?

The measurements aren’t exact because this is a recipe that can easily be adjusted to serve one or 20.

Andrea’s Spaghetti and Eggs

Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Andrea

This is my newest obsession, the loaded baked sweet potato. A little while back I wanted to try creating a loaded baked sweet potato.

I love sweet potato and pumpkin as savory items more than I do sweet. Hence why I put pumpkin in just about every chili I make now and why I think sweet potato fries should contain chili powder.

Previous meals, I had a little bit of cheese mixed in with my baked sweet potato and it was glorious. I decided at some point I was going to jump in with both feet and make a savory baked sweet potato.

Last week I tried it out and will never go back to butter and cinnamon on a sweet potato again.

Andrea’s Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

Sweet Potato

Pepperjack Cheese

Sour Cream (I use Greek Yogurt)

Hot Sauce of Choice

Chopped Green Onions

Bake sweet potato in oven at 400 for about 1.5 hours. How long will depend on how big your potato is. Baking a sweet potato is similar to baking a regular potato. Poke holes in it first. I do not put anything on the skin of the sweet potato. I line a baking sheet with foil, spray with oil and bake the sweet potato as is.

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Quick Sidedish: Sauteed Greens With Beans And Corn

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Andrea

Sometimes life dictates dinner. We need something fast and quick to get on the table. Sometimes we need to bulk up leftovers or supply a quick dish to go along with something else we already have on hand.

Needing something quick doesn’t mean that it has to come from a box or be a processed food item. Or even something premade. We can make quick dishes at home with only a few ingredients.

This dish fits those requirements. It uses few ingredients and can be made very quickly.

I’m sharing an idea and a concept with you which means the measurements aren’t exact. The amounts are up to you!

Andrea’s Sautteed Greens with Beans and Corn

Greens, finely chopped (Whichever greens you like)

1 15oz Can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed

Frozen or Fresh Corn Kernels

Olive Oil for sauteeing

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Salt

In a sautee pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add in greens and start sauteeing. Sautee for about 5 minutes. Add in the beans and corn along with the seasonings. Continue to sautee for about another 5 minutes or until everything is cooked and heated through.