Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica: An Eastern-European Supper

On the menu:
Charkhlis chogi (Roasted beets in a tart cherry sauce)
Katmis satsivi (Chicken in walnut sauce)
Pkhali (Spinach and walnut salad)

Here we have a hearty meal--one that took me almost three hours in the kitchen to turn out, but the time passed quickly, filled with glittering aromas of cinnamon, garlic, cherries, and my new spicy friend, fenugreek, among other things!

I'd never even heard of fenugreek before tackling Georgian cuisine (that is, Georgia the country, not the state. No peaches included.) But I was delighted to find that it smelled of roasted sugar, and balanced perfectly with the walnuts used in two of the above dishes.

My personal challenge this week was beets. My main association are the pickled sort from Thanksgiving. Not bad at all, but nothing I'd ever sought out beyond that holiday.

I wanted to do something a bit different, and when I found Saveur's menu for a "Georgian Supra," including Charkhlis chogi--or roasted beets topped with a tart cherry sauce--I rejoiced. Roasting tends to make any vegetable delicious, but I'd be able to put an exotic spin with flavors from an unexplored (culinarily speaking, but also in any other sense) country!

For the other dishes, I was pleased to find some shared ingredients, though the textures and resulting flavors were different enough to be complementary but not repetitive.

After I'd decided on the menu, the main issue was time management. I began with the beets, since their roasting would consume the most amount of time.

Pterodactyl!

About halfway through the beets roasting (at an hour and a half, the skin charred, but the flesh underneath was juicy and perfectly tender), I began cooking the chicken. I would recommend having the sauces for the Katmis satsivi and pkhali ready to go.

Walnut sauce for the chicken

Browning chicken

As the chicken simmered in the sauce, I moved onto the salad.

Then I removed the beets from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes in the freezer so I'd be able to peel and dice them.

After which I made the tart cherry sauce and finished off the walnut sauce by scooping out a ladle, beating it with an egg yolk, and then stirring the mixture back in.

Sprinkled with parsley and cilantro, and voila! Or whatever they say to show off in Georgia!

Lamazi--that means "beautiful."

Georgian Supra (adapted from Saveur)
Serves 3 - 4

Charkhlis Chogi (Roasted Beets in Tart Cherry Sauce)
3 medium beets, scrubbed
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. unsalted butter2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup dried tart cherries

1. Preheat oven to 400. Place beets in a small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
2. Cover dish with foil and roast in oven for 1 1/2 hours. Skin will be charred on outside. Place in freezer for five minutes until the beets are no longer too hot to handle.
3. Peel and dice into 1-inch pieces.
4. Prepare tart cherry sauce. Melt butter in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and  cook until golden. Stir in cherries and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and let cook for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Pour over beets and let dish rest until room temperature 

Pkhali (Spinach and Walnut Salad)
1 lb. baby spinach
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, roughly chopped

1. Blanch spinach in large pot of boiling salted water for 1 - 2 minutes, until wilted. Using slotted spoon, add to bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Then drain, squeezing out as much water as possible. Puree in food processor, then set aside.
2. Puree with walnuts with cilantro, parsley, spices, oil, vinegar, garlic, and onion. Combine with pureed spinach.

Katmis Satsivi
1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts, plus 1/4 cup roughly chopped for garnish
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cups roughly chopped cilantro
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 jalapeno slices, seeded and finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 ½" pieces
1 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. hot paprika
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground fenugreek
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1. In food processor, combine walnuts and 1/4 cup stock in food processor and puree until smooth. Then add half of cilantro, garlic, and onion, plus jalapeno, salt and pepper and puree until smooth again.
2. Brown remaining garlic and onion in olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown, turning, for 7 - 8 minutes. Add in spices and cook until aromatic. Then add walnut sauce and stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and reduce for 35 minutes.
3. Scoop out one ladle of sauce and beat in a small bowl with an egg yolk. Return to sauce, stirring to combine, and cook for five more minutes. 
4. Garnish with walnuts and cilantro.

Grilled Whole Chicken Stuffed with Sausage, Greens, and Peppers

Y'all.

I went to the farmers' market yesterday and watched a cooking demonstration in which the brilliant, confident chef stuffed up her chicken with a sausage mixture and then grilled the whole bird up. The presentation just made me so happy and inspired that I had to rush home and turn my market bounty into a damn good dinner.

I (or rather my cousin Wade) heated up one side of the grill to medium-high, leaving the other side unheated so we could perpetrate some indirect grilling. This method allows you to semi-slow-cook the fowl beast into tender perfection without burning the outside first.

Then I removed the innards of the bird and rinsed it out, then set it aside.

For the stuffing, I heated up two tablespoons of olive oil in my skillet till shimmering. I tossed on the peppers and sliced sausage and let them sizzle for 3 - 5 minutes.

Then I added the greens and let them wilt (as they are wont to do). I kept adding chopped greens until I'd gotten a fair amount in the mix. I also added a bit of Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere's if you can get it.)

I took the mixture off heat once all the greens had wilted, the sausage had cooked, and the peppers had grown tender.

I rubbed the chicken with olive oil and oregano.

Then I opened him up and stuffed him!

I probably had too much fun with this part.

For the stuffing, I used the sausage mixture and intermittently added garlic chevre. I packed the stuffing in there tightly.

Then I put it on the grill!

We closed the grill and let it cook for 30-40 minutes on the unlit side of the grill. It was able to get lots of good heat and browning this way.

Then we flipped the bird (unintentional!) and let it cook covered for another 30 minutes.

We took the chicken off the grill and let it rest for ten minutes before carving it.

Amaaazing!

Grilled Whole Chicken Stuffed with Sausage, Greens, and Peppers
1 whole chicken (mine was a bitty one, just 2 lbs., but I'd recommend 4 or 5 lbs.)
2 - 3 cups sliced Cajun sausage
3 small red and/or yellow sweet peppers, diced
3 handfuls mixed greens, chopped
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons oregano

Chicken alla arrabbiata (aka ANGRY BIRD)

Mmmm, another dish selected by Andy, so of course it's the best. He's got an eye for the delicious (lasagna timpano, for instance.) Tonight we sought out to make penne alla arrabbiata, but with a little meat added in order to make it an entree (for carnivores.)

To begin with, I heated up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in my cast-iron skillet, then added the chicken, cooking it for 6-7 minutes on each side until it was well-browned.

Meanwhile I cooked my pasta according to the directions. I used strozzapreti, which is a kind of wheat semolina pasta. It looks a bit like a long macaroni. After the pasta was done cooking, I drained it and set it aside.

Once the chicken it was browned, I reserved it on a plate. To the same skillet I added the chopped onion and cooked it till it was translucent. It began to brown quite quickly because of the residual oil from the chicken, so I was careful to lower the heat a bit below medium to keep the onion from burning.

I then added the minced garlic and a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper to the skillet. I cooked the garlic for a minute or two before pouring in white wine and raising the heat up to moderately high. I waited a couple of minutes to let the wine reduce, after which I returned the chicken to the skillet, along with the peeled tomatoes, oregano, parsley, and shredded salami.

I lowered the skillet to a simmer and covered it for 40 minutes. Then I removed the lid, raised the heat to medium-high, and let it cook for an additional ten minutes while the sauce thickened.

Then I poured the sauce into the pot with the pasta and stirred it all together. I topped each serving with a sprinkle of pecorino romano and chopped green onions.

Too good.

Chicken alla Arrabbiata (adapted from Italian Food Forever)
Serves 4
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
16 oz pasta (something like penne or semolina or strozzapreti)

1 small onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced

2 dashes cayenne pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
4 slices Genoa salami, shredded
Salt and pepper

Chicken Pita Pockets with Apple and Brie

This is a bit of a Blog-Lite today, not because this is enormously healthy for you or anything, but because my laptop is currently revolting and I'm borrowing (St.) Andy's. So I've thrown my technology-related frustration into cooking and emerged with these delicious little nuggets (Disclaimer: These are not nuggets.)

I began by marinating the chicken tenderloins in cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, onion powder, basil and sage. I covered the dish and let it sit for thirty minutes at room temperature. At this point, I preheated my oven to 350.

I then took a large skillet and heated a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high. Once the oil was hot (but not smoking) I added half the tenderloins--browning them for 5 minutes per side--and then reserved them to a plate to cool while I cooked the other batch.

Then I took a large mixing bowl and added my apples, onion, brie, raspberry vinaigrette, spinach and 3 tablespoons honey. Once the chicken had cooled, I chopped it into bite-size pieces and stirred these into the mixing bowl. I made sure to toss the mixture well, to evenly distribute all the little pieces.

I coated a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, then filled each pita with a healthy dollop of the chicken mixture, making sure each had a fair amount of cheese in strategic places.

I could fit about six pitas onto the baking sheet, though the mixture would have filled eight (I refrigerated the remainder.) I put the filled pitas into the oven and cooked them for 9-11 minutes--or until the cheese had melted.

Chicken Pita Pockets with Apple and Brie
1 lb. chicken tenderloins
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon sage
4 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 apples, chopped (I used Granny Smith, because I couldn't find sweet cooking apples)
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cups spinach, chopped
8 oz brie, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup raspberry vinaigrette
4 pitas, halved

Chicken Vindaloo

I'm from Louisiana, and it's not too often that we have stew or gumbo weather. But so delicious and aromatic are these dishes that sometimes you've just gotta turn down your air conditioner and curl up under a blanket as you enjoy the scent of your simmering dinner and later the hearty taste! Sacrifices must be made for proper sensory overload.

To start with, I chopped up one onion (or rather Andy chopped it) and combined it in the food processor with curry powder, chili powder, turmeric, ground mustard, minced garlic, ground ginger, cumin, white wine vinegar, and ground cloves and blended the ingredients until they were smooth.

Full disclosure: I forgot to chop up the chicken thighs before I coated them all with the spice mixture. So that had to happen post-coating and was rather messy and not at all noble. Chop up the chicken first! 1/2- to 1-inch pieces should do the trick. THEN throw them in a bowl and coat with your spice mixture. Now to return to the first-person narrative...

Andy chopped up the remaining onion. Then we heated up two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high. I added the onions and sauteed them until they were golden (about 5-7 minutes.) Then I added in the chicken (and all of the spice mixture) and stirred it in with the onions for about 3 minutes.

Next came the can of diced tomatoes (including all the liquid) and a cinnamon stick. Once the sauce came to a boil, I covered the pot, reduced the heat to low, and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring on occasion.

After that, I removed the lid and added a tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds. I raised the heat to medium and let it simmer for another 8-10 minutes so the sauce would thicken.

Meanwhile I boiled up a pot of orzo on which to serve the stew. Basmati rice would be really delicious too.

Before serving, I fished out the cinnamon stick and seasoned the stew with salt and pepper. Then I stirred in my cilantro, ladled the vindaloo over bowls of orzo and curled up on the couch in front of a movie. Three cheers for makeshift stew weather!

Chicken Vindaloo
Serves 4.
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground mustard
6 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 tsp cumin
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 onions, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 3/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cinnamon stick
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
Salt and pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Orzo or basmati rice or whatever you choose to serve it on!

Israeli Schnitzel Sandwiches

Allow me to guide you through the assembly of a tasty sandwich! The highlights here are the two sauces, and it's always fresh (both in the "not-stale" and "sassy, in a gender-neutral sort of way" senses) to produce your own.

First things first, I marinated 12 chicken tenderloins in a bowl with olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. I covered the bowl and placed it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

For the pesto, I first toasted three tablespoons of pine nuts in the oven. I preheated the oven to 400 and then spread the nuts onto a cookie sheet and let them bake for three minutes. I got to the store too late for fresh basil, so I was forced to substitute dried basil. The recipe called for 6.5 cups of packed basil leaves, which seems like an awwwwful lot. I opted to rely more on my sense of taste. I poured an inch or so of olive oil into the bottom of a cereal bowl, then I used about 8-10 tablespoons of dried basil. I'm not totally sure of the final amount. I just added the basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, salt and pepper to the food processor, ground it up, and then added a little more salt, basil, and garlic until the taste was where I wanted it.

For the chimichurri sauce, I roasted a red pepper--though on a second-go-round, I would use two. I always roast mine in the oven, but there are all sorts of methods you can find on the internet. I started off by halving, coring, and seeding the pepper, then I laid each half flat onto the baking sheet and pressed them down with the heel of my palm. I set my broiler to high and roasted the peppers until the skin began to blacken, about fifteen minutes. Afterwards I placed the peppers into a plastic bag and tied it tightly, letting them cool for ten minutes before chopping them up.

In my food processor, I combined 1/2 cup of olive oil, the roasted red peppers,distilled white vinegar, paprika (I couldn't find sweet paprika at the store, so I substituted, but I will be adding this to my stockpile soon), red wine vinegar, one teaspoon of dried oregano (a tablespoon if you're using fresh chopped herbs), red chile flakes, pepper, cumin, garlic, and parsley. The bowl was most definitely brimming at this point, but it ground down easily into a delicious, colorful chimichurri.

To prepare the chicken, I first made an egg wash with six beaten eggs. Then I filled another bowl with flour and another with 4 cups of breadcrumbs mixed with 1/2 a cup of chile flakes. I heated canola oil over medium -high heat in a large skillet. Then I dredged each tenderloin in flour, egg wash, then bread crumbs. I fried three or four tenderloins at a time.

They really just took four minutes until they were completely done. I then placed them onto paper towels to drain. Once the chicken was finished, I added half of the sliced onions to the remaining oil and let them cook for about 6-8 minutes, until caramelized.

For the ultimate assembly, I lined each foot-long baguette with three chicken tenderloins, followed by the sauces, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, and cooked onion. Close the baguette and enjoy! For best results, pair with napkins.

Israeli Schnitzel Sandwiches (adapted from Saveur.com)

Pesto sauce:

6½ cups packed basil leaves (or 8-10 tbsps. dried)

¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbsp. toasted pine nuts

3 cloves garlic

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Red chimichurri sauce:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¾ cup roughly chopped roasted red bell peppers

¼ cup distilled white vinegar

1½ tbsp. kosher salt

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tbsp. sweet paprika (or regular if you can't find sweet)

1 tbsp. finely chopped oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)

1½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. ground cumin

3 cloves garlic

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley

Schnitzel:
3 cups flour

6 eggs, beaten

4 cups bread crumbs

½ cup crushed red chile flakes

12 ¼″-thick chicken tenderloins

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ cup canola oil

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced lengthwise

4 12″ French baguettes, split 

4 cups loosely packed shredded romaine lettuce

2 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

Chicken Tikka Masala

 So many posts lately! I should slow down, since there are indeed bills to pay. But I have an addiction to recipes, new and old. Tonight's blog features one of the first dishes I made with my boyfriend (also one of the first complicated dishes I tried. I use "complicated" as an antonym to "easy," as in Easy Mac.)

It was definitely interesting to see how much more comfortable I was in the kitchen. The dish turned out well the first time, but I think confidence and ease are great attributes in the kitchen (nowhere else, though. Shaky cowards unite!)

I couldn't find any garam masala at the store, so I began with making a substitute out of cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, crumbled bay leaves, cinnamon, and ground cloves--garnered from a useful Yahoo! Answer. My friend Andrew suggests adding freshly ground coriander next time and favoring it above the other ingredients.

For the marinade, I used yogurt, the garam masala substitute, lemon juice, a teaspoon of salt, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, freshly ground black pepper, and minced ginger. I took three boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut them into bite-size pieces, and stirred them into the marinade. Then I covered and refrigerated the bowl for two hours.

Once the chicken was ready, I threaded it into four long wooden skewers. Using my new stovetop grill pan, I heated it in high and drizzled olive oil onto the pan. I situated the skewers on the pan and let the chicken cook for about five to seven minutes on each side--it's done when the juices run clear.

For the sauce, I melted butter over medium heat in a heavy skillet. Then I added garlic and chopped fresh jalapeno. I sauteed these for a minute, then added three teaspoons of the garam masala substitute, cumin, and paprika and stirred the mixture to combine the seasonings. 


Next I added tomato sauce and coconut milk. I heated the sauce through, then reduced the heat to low and let it simmer for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.

After twenty minutes, the sauce had begun to thicken and I unthreaded the chicken from the skewers, stirring them into the sauce to coat. I let it simmer for ten more minutes.


Finally I served the chicken and sauce on a bed of rice, then I garnished it all with chopped cilantro. Wonderfully spicy and tasty. Enjoy!


Chicken Tikka Masala (adapated from Allrecipes)


For the marinade:
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garam masala substitute
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
skewers


For the sauce:
1 15-oz can of tomato sauce

1 3/4 cup of coconut milk
1 fresh jalapeno, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon butter
3 teaspoons garam masala substitute
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika

Garam masala substitute:
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1.2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Chicken Garlic Pizza with Whole-Wheat Rosemary Crust

=

When I'm not cooking or engaging my computer screen in an hours-long conversation of slow blinks, I work at a pizza restaurant. Though I don't work in the kitchen, I come home nightly saturated in the scent of cornmeal and pizza grease--yet somehow I haven't gotten tired of pizza. (Though this is the same girl who has eaten a PBJ with a side of Cheetos and grapes every year for her birthday since she was 8...some foods just remain delicious.)

It's just such a versatile dish, with so many possible styles and toppings, that it's hard to think of a world in which I'd say "As God is my witness, I'll never eat pizza again."

Until last night, all I'd made within the realm of pizza  was flatbread topped with swiss, pancetta, and caramelized onions and a chicken alfredo pizza baked on panini bread. But I just came into possession of a pizza stone and was ready to tackle the actual dish. Not on my own, though. My co-chef (graduated from sous-chef) was able to offer some of the expertise he gained living in Italy for a total of seven years, for which I'm endlessly grateful.

Not that our pizza was full-on authentic, obviously, but we weren't trifling with no Lunchables, ya heard?

We decided to make the dough from scratch, despite my past tragic battles in this arena, because it's just more fun and rewarding, I think, then getting a pre-baked crust or a tube of dough. And how else are you going to learn if you don't just throw yourself in? (I'm going to move on quickly from this train of thought, before my blog starts sounding like a Grey's Anatomy end-of-episode pep talk.)

For the dough, we combined a cup of whole-wheat flour, active dry yeast, warm water, oil and brown sugar. Stirring this together, we then added three cups of all-purpose flour, a teaspoon and a half of salt, and the fresh rosemary, which Andy stopped me from throwing in before it was fully chopped and de-stemmed. Thank you, Andy! (To be said like the Dude addresses Donny after being informed that his phone is ringing. But for real, my co-chef is a blessing.)

I stirred this up with a wooden spoon, which was a little unwieldy, but doable. Afterward we turned the dough out onto a highly floured work surface. Do not skimp on flour! This is the main lesson I've learned. Otherwise everything falls apart and the dough tries to become your new skin instead of staying put on the counter.

I then kneaded the dough until it was well-combined and hardly sticky, just elastic. We then oiled the bottom of a medium bowl, set the dough inside, and then turned it a few times to coat. The bowl was set in a warm place with a dish towel over it to rise for about 45 minutes to an hour (I believe we let it go for about fifty minutes.)

After the dough's been rising for fifteen minutes, we put the pizza stone in the oven and preheated it to 500. The dough recipe advised that we preheat for at least an hour.

Now on to the toppings! (I'm so sorry about the length of this blog.) I seasoned the chicken breast with cumin, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper--using the helpful advice of a commenter on Allrecipes--and cooked it in a skillet. The original recipe called for the chicken to be cooked in bowling water, but that just seemed so bland to us.

The chicken, mid-cook

After the chicken was all-the-way-cooked (Andy checked), he transferred it to a plate, let it cool for a few minutes, and then diced it up roughly.

For the base, Andy melted butter in a small skillet. Once the butter had started to melt, he added chopped green onions, dried basil, and minced garlic. We had placed a bowl in the freezer to chill it, then retrieved it, poured in the herb butter, and put it into the refrigerator to set.

The dough had doubled by now, so I turned it out onto the now-oiled work surface and pressed down on it gently with my (not naturally) oily hands. Then I cut it in half. I divided one of the halves again, formed them both into balls, and stored them each in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator, where they'll keep for up to three days (though we already used one last night to make a second smaller pizza).

I formed the remaining dough into a "ball" (picture way, way above), covered it with a towel, and let it rest for twenty minutes. This was perfect time for the butter to set, the cilantro and tomatoes to be chopped, and the Parmesan to be freshly grated.

(Here I was going to rant about how Parmesan is just not a pretty cheese, but I'm certain I am barely holding on to your patience.)

The set-dough had a really nice texture to it--a little drier but still very elastic--and it was easy to push out into a thin flat circle. Andy kept calling for it to be thinner--Italian-style--and the crust and I conformed as much as we could.

For the toppings, we spread the herb butter over the pie using the back of a spoon. Next came the diced chicken, then I dotted clumps of ricotta all over, followed by the tomatoes and then the chopped cilantro. Over all this, Andy sprinkled a few handfuls of Parmesan cheese.

With all this, we still had plenty of toppings left for the second, smaller pizza we made. All we had to do was remake the base.

The original pizza.

At this point, we realized we did not have parchment paper on which to rest the pizza atop the stone. The stone's not a necessity for your own pizza-making, of course, but the ceramic base does help distribute the heat, and I highly recommend it. Normal baking sheets will suffice, though, I'm pretty sure. (Here is where I point out that Google knows much, much more than I do.)

We awkwardly relocated the dough from the work surface onto a sheet of foil. The second time through, we made sure to do this before adding the toppings. Learn from your mistakes.

The dough recipe called for the pizza to cook for 8 minutes, but ours was in there for about eleven and the crust was perfectly crispy without burning at all.

The crust was ohhh, soooo yummmmy too. I'm usually not one for finishing the crusts on things, but I could not get enough. Flavored crusts are definitely the way to go.

So there you have it! Choose your crust flavors and toppings and bake away.


Whole Wheat Rosemary Pizza Dough (via Pinch My Salt)
1 1/2 C. warm water
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 t. brown sugar
1 C. whole wheat flour
1 package active dry yeast or 2 t. instant yeast
3 C. all-purpose flour plus extra for kneading
1 1/2 t. salt
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped

Chicken Garlic Pizza (via Allrecipes.com)

• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• cumin
• oregano
• garlic powder
• paprika
• ground black pepper

Curried Chicken Salad

I wanted something delicious for lunch today, and this ended up hitting the spot perfectly (with plenty of leftovers!). I've been wanting to make chicken salad for a long time, and my favorite part about this recipe is that I didn't have to shred any chicken. Plus all the fresh fruit.

It turns out that being out of school and hitting the market before noon results in you being the only person there under fifty. But we all got along marvelously, and I even convinced an elderly woman to buy some mangoes with me! One niggle that I'm working on: everyone else was saying hi to each other and having conversations except for me. But I will make them my friends (the same way I'll never go hungry again!)

Once home, I started off by coating my chicken quite thoroughly in kosher salt. I let it sit for fifteen minutes, turning it over every five minutes, then rinsed all the salt off the chicken.

Meanwhile I peeled, pitted, and cut up my mango. This proved difficult both because of the messy process itself and because I kept munching on the mango I had managed to surgically remove.

Then I poached the chicken for a year and a half. Seriously, this took forever. First I brought a large pot of water to barely-a-simmer. I think my mistake was that I had too much water and maybe I didn't get it hot enough in the first place. But it all worked out okay. The recipe calls for you to poach the chicken for six minutes uncovered, then remove it from heat and cover it and let it finish cooking for 10 to 12 minutes. 10 to 12 minutes is a lie. For me and my inadequate cooking water, it was more like twenty minutes. Then I took it out, cut it into smaller pieces, and let it cook for a little longer. In the end, I ended up with very tender chicken, all the way cooked, so it was a sort of blessing.

For the dressing, I combined mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt, curry powder, fresh-squeezed lime juice, honey, ginger, salt, and pepper in a bowl and whisked it together. The curry taste was a little overpowering, so I added a bit more yogurt and mayonnaise to even it out. (The remainder of the lime went into my Diet Coke.)

While the chicken was wandering around the desert with the Jews, I halved a bunch of red grapes, chopped a red onion, and chopped up the cashews as well, tossing this all into the same bowl as the mango.

I let the finally-cooked chicken cool for several minutes, then sliced it into 1/2-inch pieces. These pieces were stirred into the dressing, which was stirred into the mango mix, which was all shoveled into my mouth (practically).

Good for sandwiches too!

Curried Chicken Salad (via the Gourmet cookbook)
For salad:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 firm but ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup salted roasted cashews, coarsely chopped

For dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup plain yogurt
5 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Poach the chicken: Coat the chicken  with kosher salt in a bowl. Let stand at room temperature, turning once or twice, for 15 minutes.
Rinse the salt from chicken. Poach chicken in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan of barely simmering well-salted water, uncovered, for 6 minutes. Remove  from heat and let chicken stand in cooking liquid, covered, until just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and cool for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile make the dressing: whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, curry powder, lime juice, honey, ginger, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Assemble the salad: Cut chicken into 1/2-inch pieces and add to dressing. Add onion, mango, grapes, and cashews and stir gently to combine.