The idea for this just came to me out of the blue over breakfast this morning. I did a little research on-line for ideas, but basically I just made it up. It came out surprisingly well. I'll definitely do it again. It could be done a lot more seriously (you could make the crust from scratch, which I've never done, or roast and puree the squash yourself), but this was about all I was up for after work. It took an hour start to finish.
Ingredients:
1 readymade sourdough pizza crust
1 can butternut squash puree
1 hunk smoked gouda cheese
1 green bell pepper
1 red onion
1/2 cup frozen corn
ground chicken (optional)
ground sage
cream
fine-grated parmesan cheese
lemon juice
1. In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, mix the butternut squash puree together with a little bit of cream, maybe a couple of tablespoons. (All the measurements are really approximate.)
2. Add two or three tablespoons of parmesan cheese and maybe a tablespoon or so of ground sage and a squirt of lemon juice. To taste. When everything's mixed and tastes right, turn off the heat and set aside.
3. Slice the onion in very thin rings. Slice the pepper in very thin crescents (or rings).
4. Grate the gouda, coarsely. Since I was using gouda instead of mozzarella I used a cheaper American smoked gouda, kind of soft and oily, instead of the hoity-toity Dutch import we get for snacking on. It worked well. I think a real hard gouda wouldn't have worked on pizza. Grate as much as you need, which will obviously depend on how much cheese you like on your pizza. A cup? Two cups?
5. If you're using meat, brown the ground chicken, seasoning it as you do with your choice of seasonings.
6. Thaw the frozen corn kernels in the microwave. Putting corn on pizza is, as some of you will remember, a Japanese thing, but in this case it really makes the pie: don't skip this ingredient. Be generous.
7. Preheat your oven to 450.
8. Ladle the squash mixture onto the pizza crust, spreading it evenly.
9. Arrange the onion and green pepper on the pizza all purty-like. Then put on your ground chicken, and then the corn. Finally, top it all with the gouda.
10. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until everything's melted and bubbly and the crust is starting to get crisp at the edges.
The sourness of the sourdough, the sweetness of the squash and the corn, and the smokiness of the sage and the gouda combine really well, and the fresh pepper and onion, while they're standard pizza things, really stand out against this background. This was a really good pizza, if I do say so myself.
Updated 4/23/11:
You'd think that using straight squash puree and cream like in the recipe above would be purer=better. But we tried it the other day with a readymade pasta sauce (Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce - real good on ravioli), which had tomato and spices mixed in, and it was real good. Used browned ground beef, liberally seasoned with mesquite, and some chopped olives I had left over from another recipe. It came out even better than the first time.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Vinegar
Lorien gave me some vinegar in my stocking this year and I just wanted to share its awesomeness with everyone:
Pompeiian Pommegranate Red Wine Vinegar.
So far I have only eaten this on veggies but it is just awesome. Scott and I enjoyed it over canned green beans (We share a profound love of canned green beans. Don't ask, I can't explain it.) with a little salt. I tried it by myself on a big bowl of frozen peas and it was such a good match that I had a whole second bowl :)
So yes, pommegranate red wine vinegar is the bee's knees.
Pompeiian Pommegranate Red Wine Vinegar.
So far I have only eaten this on veggies but it is just awesome. Scott and I enjoyed it over canned green beans (We share a profound love of canned green beans. Don't ask, I can't explain it.) with a little salt. I tried it by myself on a big bowl of frozen peas and it was such a good match that I had a whole second bowl :)
So yes, pommegranate red wine vinegar is the bee's knees.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Apple Cinnamon Waffles
A neighbor gave us some apple juice for Christmas, which has been going fast, but not fast enough to miss the day that I got around to making waffles. (There was a tantrum over the confusion between "waffle" and "falafel" but even that didn't stop me.) That made this recipe, which came with the waffle iron, even more appealing.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 medium apple, peeled and diced
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
This batter was very thick and sticky, almost doughy; it came out in large clumps instead of pouring, and the waffle iron had trouble closing over it. However, it spread well while baking, and plenty of steam poured out. Having so much moisture trapped in the diced apple would account for that.
The cinnamon smells wonderful during cooking. The apple flavor is more subtle; a berry syrup highlights it well.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Cry for Help--Fish Edition
So we had a Jesus dinner for Christmas Eve and the kids got their hearts set on fish. They were still set on it even after I said it would be real fish, not fish sticks, so I got some frozen tilapia and Eric grilled it with some lemon pepper. And the kids actually ate some and Emmy was really into it.
But here's my (Eric's) problem. We have several more fish fillets and pretty much zero fish recipes because of that thing where I do all the cooking and I don't eat fish. So I'm hoping you guys will have some nice ideas for sauces or spices to go with fish so Eric (and maybe the kids) can eat them up without getting bored. Thanks. :)
But here's my (Eric's) problem. We have several more fish fillets and pretty much zero fish recipes because of that thing where I do all the cooking and I don't eat fish. So I'm hoping you guys will have some nice ideas for sauces or spices to go with fish so Eric (and maybe the kids) can eat them up without getting bored. Thanks. :)
Friday, December 24, 2010
Orange-maple glazed ham
I can't remember where I first found this recipe, and I've modified it quite a bit over the years. This is what I usually make for Christmas; we're going over to friends' tomorrow, so I made it tonight instead, and I thought I'd write it down finally.
Ingredients:
1 ham
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
12-oz bottle real maple syrup
powdered mustard
powdered ginger root
black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Empty the can of o.j. concentrate into a saucepan, and melt it over medium-low heat.
3. While you're thawing the o.j., add maple syrup to taste. I use 8-10 ounces.
4. When the o.j. is fully melted, and it and the maple syrup are blended nicely (don't let it boil), add about a tablespoon of mustard and a tablespoon of ginger. Mix well. Add pepper to taste.
5. Place the ham in a glass baking dish. With a sharp knife, score the surface of the ham. I usually take a fork and poke a bunch of holes in the surface after scoring it with the knife. The idea is to make it really easy for the glaze to sink into the meat. Poke a meat thermometer in so that the tip is in the middle of the ham.
6. Pour the orange juice-maple syrup mixture over the ham, making sure the surface is entirely coated. Depending on how big your baking pan is, you could have as much as an inch of glaze pooling around the base of the ham. That's okay.
7. Bake the ham until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees. Depending on how big the ham is this could take anywhere from an hour to two hours. I bake the ham uncovered because this helps the glaze condense and concentrate; the glaze, in turn, keeps the ham from drying out, so you don't need the foil that some recipes call for. At least in my experience.
8. Every half hour or so during baking I take the ham out and spoon more of the mixture from the bottom of the pan over the ham.
9. When the ham is done, transfer it to a serving dish, spoon as much of the glaze over it as you like, and pour the rest into a bowl to use as a sauce as needed. The maple, o.j., and spices will be enriched with ham drippings, and the result will be awesome.
Ingredients:
1 ham
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
12-oz bottle real maple syrup
powdered mustard
powdered ginger root
black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Empty the can of o.j. concentrate into a saucepan, and melt it over medium-low heat.
3. While you're thawing the o.j., add maple syrup to taste. I use 8-10 ounces.
4. When the o.j. is fully melted, and it and the maple syrup are blended nicely (don't let it boil), add about a tablespoon of mustard and a tablespoon of ginger. Mix well. Add pepper to taste.
5. Place the ham in a glass baking dish. With a sharp knife, score the surface of the ham. I usually take a fork and poke a bunch of holes in the surface after scoring it with the knife. The idea is to make it really easy for the glaze to sink into the meat. Poke a meat thermometer in so that the tip is in the middle of the ham.
6. Pour the orange juice-maple syrup mixture over the ham, making sure the surface is entirely coated. Depending on how big your baking pan is, you could have as much as an inch of glaze pooling around the base of the ham. That's okay.
7. Bake the ham until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees. Depending on how big the ham is this could take anywhere from an hour to two hours. I bake the ham uncovered because this helps the glaze condense and concentrate; the glaze, in turn, keeps the ham from drying out, so you don't need the foil that some recipes call for. At least in my experience.
8. Every half hour or so during baking I take the ham out and spoon more of the mixture from the bottom of the pan over the ham.
9. When the ham is done, transfer it to a serving dish, spoon as much of the glaze over it as you like, and pour the rest into a bowl to use as a sauce as needed. The maple, o.j., and spices will be enriched with ham drippings, and the result will be awesome.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Pork-ginger miso stew
You may have noticed that most of the recipes I post here are things I'm trying for the first time. I'm kind of using this blog as my recipe book. Sorry. Here's one, for a change, that I've actually made enough times to swear by. An honest-to-goodness tried-and-true go-to recipe, and I sort of even invented it. I first tasted it in Hokkaido when I was on my mission, and tried to re-create it on my own.
Ingredients:
Potatoes - 2 big ones, cut into large pieces
Carrots - handful of baby carrots, cut into small pieces
Green onions - 1 bunch, chopped, including as much of the green parts as look edible
Boneless pork chop(s) - cut into big chunks
Shiitake, fresh - 2 handsful, sliced
Dashi (bonito soup stock) - 2 tbsp or so
Miso (if you have a choice in the store, go for "awase" miso - pure white will be a little bland and pure red will be a little salty, but "awase," which is a blend, will be just right)
Ginger root, grated - maybe 2 tbsp
1. Cook some rice in your rice cooker.
2. Cut all your veggies and the pork.
3. Put some water in a big stewpot - maybe four or five cups? Add a couple of tablespoons of dashi powder, stir, and bring to a boil. I never measure the dashi, just add to taste.
4. Sear the pork in a frying pan until the outside is white, but the inside is still pink. Put it in the boiling water. (Searing it first helps keep the pork from drying out while it boils, which sounds paradoxical, but happens.)
5. Add the potatoes and carrots. (Cutting the potatoes in big chunks and the carrots in small chunks helps them to get done at the same time.)
6. A few minutes later add the onions and shiitake.
7. While everything is boiling, peel and grate your ginger. In Asian groceries you can get grated ginger in tubes, and I used to use that, but now I realize fresh is better. Grate a lot of ginger.
8. When everything's tender (the potatoes should be almost crumbling), turn the heat down so that the water is almost boiling, but not quite.
9. Add miso, a little bit at a time, to taste. What I usually do is scoop a big spoonful into a ladle, then dip some of the broth into the ladle, and start smashing and stirring the miso in the ladle to dissolve it. Do this a few times until all the miso in the ladle is dissolved, and then repeat. This helps dissolve all the miso without having to stir the soup energetically and crush the potatoes. I usually use maybe four tablespoons of miso, but I never measure. Use more than you would for a proper miso soup: for this stew it's better if you can really taste the saltiness. Don't let the soup boil after you've added the miso. You're not supposed to boil miso.
10. Add your grated ginger. The ginger taste should almost be strong enough to overpower the saltiness of the miso.
11. Your rice should be done by now. Scoop some into a bowl, and ladle some of the soup over it. And there you are.
The point here is the combination of the salty-sweet miso and the ginger: the taste goes incredibly well with pork, and the whole thing is a really warming, soothing winter dish. Especially over the rice. We make it when one of us has a cold. And it's really easy to make, as you can tell.
Of course it could be made vegetarian. You can find a shiitake-based dashi (I think I've mentioned it before), and tofu is a good substitute for pork. Use soft tofu (silken tofu). Tofu goes really well with grated ginger anyway. Sometimes I even add it when I'm using pork.
Ingredients:
Potatoes - 2 big ones, cut into large pieces
Carrots - handful of baby carrots, cut into small pieces
Green onions - 1 bunch, chopped, including as much of the green parts as look edible
Boneless pork chop(s) - cut into big chunks
Shiitake, fresh - 2 handsful, sliced
Dashi (bonito soup stock) - 2 tbsp or so
Miso (if you have a choice in the store, go for "awase" miso - pure white will be a little bland and pure red will be a little salty, but "awase," which is a blend, will be just right)
Ginger root, grated - maybe 2 tbsp
1. Cook some rice in your rice cooker.
2. Cut all your veggies and the pork.
3. Put some water in a big stewpot - maybe four or five cups? Add a couple of tablespoons of dashi powder, stir, and bring to a boil. I never measure the dashi, just add to taste.
4. Sear the pork in a frying pan until the outside is white, but the inside is still pink. Put it in the boiling water. (Searing it first helps keep the pork from drying out while it boils, which sounds paradoxical, but happens.)
5. Add the potatoes and carrots. (Cutting the potatoes in big chunks and the carrots in small chunks helps them to get done at the same time.)
6. A few minutes later add the onions and shiitake.
7. While everything is boiling, peel and grate your ginger. In Asian groceries you can get grated ginger in tubes, and I used to use that, but now I realize fresh is better. Grate a lot of ginger.
8. When everything's tender (the potatoes should be almost crumbling), turn the heat down so that the water is almost boiling, but not quite.
9. Add miso, a little bit at a time, to taste. What I usually do is scoop a big spoonful into a ladle, then dip some of the broth into the ladle, and start smashing and stirring the miso in the ladle to dissolve it. Do this a few times until all the miso in the ladle is dissolved, and then repeat. This helps dissolve all the miso without having to stir the soup energetically and crush the potatoes. I usually use maybe four tablespoons of miso, but I never measure. Use more than you would for a proper miso soup: for this stew it's better if you can really taste the saltiness. Don't let the soup boil after you've added the miso. You're not supposed to boil miso.
10. Add your grated ginger. The ginger taste should almost be strong enough to overpower the saltiness of the miso.
11. Your rice should be done by now. Scoop some into a bowl, and ladle some of the soup over it. And there you are.
The point here is the combination of the salty-sweet miso and the ginger: the taste goes incredibly well with pork, and the whole thing is a really warming, soothing winter dish. Especially over the rice. We make it when one of us has a cold. And it's really easy to make, as you can tell.
Of course it could be made vegetarian. You can find a shiitake-based dashi (I think I've mentioned it before), and tofu is a good substitute for pork. Use soft tofu (silken tofu). Tofu goes really well with grated ginger anyway. Sometimes I even add it when I'm using pork.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tomato Cilantro Chutney Cheese Dip
Eric had a workplace Christmas party today and his friend Avishek brought this great curry cheese dip stuff, so I made Eric get the recipe. Yum!
- Very finely chop and saute one yellow onion in ghee till golden brown.
- Add 3 cloves of finely diced garlic.
- Add 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, 3 to 4 tablespoon of garam masala (depending on the potency) and 1 teaspoon of ground up chilli powder.
- Add 5 chopped tomatoes and saute till soft. If the masala has stuck to the bottom of the pan, use a few tablespoon of water to dissolve the masala out.
- Puree the mixture with a handful of cilantro leaves, and 2 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Break about 24 oz of cream cheese and beat it in with puree with a whisk until its all mixed in uniformly and is fluffy.
- Add salt according to taste and beat some more. And its done.
P.S. Eric brought jam-in-the-middle muffins with Glynne and Akiko's jam from Oregon. They turned out pretty nice, I should have him blog them sometime soon.
- Very finely chop and saute one yellow onion in ghee till golden brown.
- Add 3 cloves of finely diced garlic.
- Add 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, 3 to 4 tablespoon of garam masala (depending on the potency) and 1 teaspoon of ground up chilli powder.
- Add 5 chopped tomatoes and saute till soft. If the masala has stuck to the bottom of the pan, use a few tablespoon of water to dissolve the masala out.
- Puree the mixture with a handful of cilantro leaves, and 2 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Break about 24 oz of cream cheese and beat it in with puree with a whisk until its all mixed in uniformly and is fluffy.
- Add salt according to taste and beat some more. And its done.
P.S. Eric brought jam-in-the-middle muffins with Glynne and Akiko's jam from Oregon. They turned out pretty nice, I should have him blog them sometime soon.
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