It occurred to me that while I make pizza quite often, I’ve never written a blog about it. So I decided to start with one that’s easy to make and is actually one of my favorites: PAN PIZZA.
This recipe calls for mixing in a food processor, but you could use a heavy-duty mixer, such as a Kitchen Aid, or even knead by hand – although I have no idea how long that would take. And don’t worry – there’s no tossing the dough involved!
Plan 3 hours start to finish – most of that time is hands off.
Note: You’ll see some measurements are underlined. This is to indicate it’s a portion of the total amount called for.
PAN PIZZA – makes 2 9″ pizzas
- 16¼ oz (3¾ cup) all-purpose flour – it’s best to weigh for accuracy
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 2¼ tsp sugar, divided
- 2¼ tsp (1 packet) dry active yeast (any kind will do)
- 1¼ cups water, room temperature
- 9 T butter, divided
- 1/4 cup onions, finely minced
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, discard stem ends & chop tomatoes
- 4 T fresh basil, chopped, divided
- 5 T + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 12 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 4 T Parmesan cheese, grated
Melt 3 T butter. Also, set out 3 T butter to soften – cut it up to speed up the process. Set this aside for later.
Into the food processor put flour, 1½ tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar, and yeast. Pulse a few times to mix. Pour the 3 T melted butter into flour mixture and turn on machine. Then slowly add the water through the pour tube. Let processor run until the dough clumps together – about 45 seconds or so.
Put 1/2 tsp oil in a bowl and coat bottom and sides. Smash dough ball into bowl, then flip it and smash down again (this will coat both sides).
Cover with a plate and let rest about 30 minutes.
While dough is rising, prepare the marinara. Into a saucepan melt 2 T butter. Add in the onions, oregano, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, until onions are golden. Add in garlic and cook 30 seconds more. 
Stir in the tomatoes and remaining 1/4 tsp sugar. Bring to simmer and cook uncovered over medium/low flame 25 minutes. 
The sauce will be thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 T basil and 1 T olive oil. Set aside. 
When the dough has risen for 30 minutes, roll it out on a NON-floured surface to a rectangle 15″ x 12″. Spread on the softened butter that you set aside earlier over dough to 1/2″ from edges. 
Starting at one of the short sides, roll up all the way into a cylinder. 
Roll cylinder into a rectangle 18″ x 4″. 
Cut in half (so now there are 2 9″ x 4″ pieces). 
Fold each piece in on itself in thirds – like a business letter, pinching ends to seal. 
Spread 1/2 tsp oil in bowl and place in the 2 dough balls. Cover with plate and place in refrigerator for 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425º Fahrenheit. Place rack about 2″ from bottom of oven.
Pour 2 T olive oil into each of 2 9″ cake pans (don’t use the kind where the bottom is separate, such as a springform – the oil will leak out). On NON floured surface, roll each dough ball into 13″ circles . Carefully, place each piece into a cake pan, pressing dough into corners and up the sides about 1″. Divide the mozzarella, sprinkling half onto each crust. Spread half the marinara over each pizza on top of cheese. Sprinkle with 2 T Parmesan each. 
Place in oven and bake 20-30 minutes (rotating halfway through), until crust is well-browned. 
Sprinkle on remaining 2 T basil and let set in pan a couple of minutes, then remove to cutting board. Slice and serve immediately.
There are certain kitchen appliances I can’t live without – such as my food processor. But one-trick pony gadgets – like a rice maker – have literally no place in my kitchen.
Add in the 2 quarts of water and bring to boil. Cook for 15 minutes – until rice still has a little chew. 
Immediately drain in a sieve and spread out onto a parchment lined, rimmed cookie sheet to dry and cool.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, orange juice, black pepper, zest, garlic, and oregano. Set aside. (Yes, I know it’s not pretty – but, it’s delicious!)
Now it’s time to peel the oranges. TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THIS SO YOU DON’T CUT YOURSELF! Slice off the tops and bottoms of oranges – this will stabilize the orange so it doesn’t roll. Using a sharp knife, remove peel down past the wedge skin. Try to remove all the bitter white parts. 
Hold the orange in one hand or lay it on a cutting board, and carefully slice along the inside of the skin that encases each segment down to the core. Do this on both sides of each segment. Removing the skin will allow the juice to blend into the rice. Cut segments in half widthwise, and set aside.
To assemble, put rice into a large serving bowl. I would suggest transferring the bulk of the rice via a spatula – the parchment will be wet and may tear if you lift it with all of the rice. Add in the oranges, feta, cranberries, and dressing. 
Gently mix well. Let set for, at least, 20 minutes to blend flavors. Add in almonds at serving time to keep them crunchy.
Lasagna is one of those dishes that’s good on many levels: it’s easy to put together, it’s a potluck favorite, it can be made ahead of time, and it’s fabulous leftover.
Remove and discard the stem ends, peels, and any imperfections from canned tomatoes. Pulse in food processor or chop by hand. Add to onion mixture along with tomato paste, and 35g (1/2 cup) (1 1/4 oz) Pecorino. Bring to boil, then lower flame to keep a simmer for 20 minutes UNcovered.
Boil at least 4 cups of water. Place dried noodles in 9″x13″ casserole dish. When water is boiling, pour over noodles so they’re immersed. Gyrate them so they don’t stick. Let set 15 minutes to parcook.
While the noodles are softening and the sauce is cooking, mix together cottage cheese, 113g (4 oz) (1½ cups) Pecorino, cream, garlic, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, and 1 tsp cornstarch. Set aside.
When 15 minutes for the noodles is up, place them on tea towels in a single layer. Pat tops to dry. Cut 2 of them in half widthwise (so they’re each about 5″ long). Empty and dry casserole dish.
Preheat oven to 375º (190°C) Fahrenheit.
Lay 3 long noodles, all touching the same short side of casserole. Take one of the short noodles and lay it along the opposite short side. (This will fill in the gap.) 
Carefully spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over noodles. Sprinkle on 39g (1/2 cup) Fontina.
LAYER TWO: Place 3 long noodles on top, this time touching the opposite short side. Take 1 short noodle and place it along the other short side of casserole. 
Pour and spread 429g (1½ cups) sauce. Sprinkle on 39g (1/2 cup) Fontina.
LAYER THREE: Place 3 long noodles on top, touching the same side as layer one, followed by (you guessed it) 1 short noodle on the opposite side. 
Spread on the remaining cottage cheese mixture and sprinkle with 39g (1/2 cup) Fontina.
TOP LAYER: Place 3 long noodles touching the same side as layer two, and the remaining short piece on opposite side. 
Pour on remaining marinara sauce. With your fingers, mix together the remaining 39g (1/2 cup) Fontina with 1/8 tsp cornstarch. Sprinkle on top of sauce. Finally, sprinkle on remaining 21g (3/4 oz) Pecorino.
Cover with foil and bake at 375ºF (190°C) for 35 minutes. Increase oven to 500ºF (260°) and remove foil. Bake 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let lasagna rest on stovetop at least 20 minutes to set. Sprinkle on basil.
With the weather heating up and bulky clothes coming off, I’m always looking for ways to appease my hunger but shred the pounds. Soups are generally my go-to diet food since they fill you up without a lot of calories. But hot soup in hot weather doesn’t really appeal to me, so I look to chilled soups.
Once I fine-tune a recipe to my liking, I move on. However, I’m not a gal so set in her ways that I’m not willing to be flexible about revisiting a recipe. (This does NOT apply to household activities in which I’m constantly suggesting (okay, nagging) that my husband put his keys and wallet in the same spot so he doesn’t have to spend 15 minutes daily looking for them.)
In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Stir in cinnamon until blended. Then, using a large spoon, add in brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
Lightly beat together the whole egg and yolk, 
Stir in the flour mixture until most of flour is incorporated.
Finally, stir in oats and butterscotch chips.
Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
Bake at 375º F for 9-10 minutes. The key is to look at the edges, not the center. The edge should start to look baked, but the center should not be browned. Because the cookies will continue to cook on the hot sheet out of the oven, if you wait to remove them from the oven until they look baked, they’ll be overcooked.
Let cookies cool on cookie sheet before removing them to a wire rack.
I’m always interested in new salads – one can only eat so many lettuce and tomato dinner salads. My ISRAELI COUSCOUS SALAD combines Israeli couscous (aka pearl couscous) with arugula, mint, dried cranberries, pistachio nuts, and feta cheese with a tasty vinaigrette.
It’s tricky business when you have guests for dinner. I usually gear my meal to be ready half an hour after the designated arrival time. But there’s the rub. Sometimes people are late, or worse, early. They’re hungry, but you don’t want them to fill up on weighty appetizers.
It’s that time of year again when spring is just beyond the horizon. Soon we’ll be able to leave the house without bulky sweaters and coats. This means, of course, we won’t be able to hide those holiday pounds anymore.
Company was coming and I needed a bread – fast! I flipped through my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook and found this Kalamata Olive Bread recipe made in a cast iron skillet. (To those under 35, cookbooks are how people used to get recipes!)
Vegetarian Cooking For Carnivores BLOG 