Onion Pizza

Onion and Cheese Pizza Right Out of the Oven

Sticking with the onion theme I wanted to share with you one of my favorite pizza recipes for Onion and Cheese Pizza that I posted quite awhile ago on my old blog Threads of Wonder.  The pizza has a homemade whole wheat crust, mustard, caramelized onions and fontina cheese.  Don't be thrown by the mustard - it gives a nice tang which is offset by the sweetness of the onions and the saltiness of the cheese.  If I could still eat dairy I would be making this tonight.  Here is the link to the recipe.

Onions

Assortment of onions - yellow, white and red, shallots, pearl and green.

I've been thinking for awhile about posting some kitchen basics.  Utensils and kitchen equipment were a possibility but settled on foods I can't be without.  On the top of my list is onions.  Most of my favorite dishes start with sauteing some onion....soup, curry, pasta sauce and hamburgers get topped with a large helping of sweet fried onions. They are versatile and can be eaten in every way imaginable from strong and raw all the way to golden brown, sticky, caramelized deliciousness. 

One of the major drawbacks in cutting onions is the burning and crying that results from the chemical allyl sulfate that is released.  Using a sharp knife helps but I have been known to wear my swimming goggles if I have a large number of onions to dice.  It looks weird but it doesn't sting! On the bright side the more allyl sulfate an onion contains the longer its shelf life.

Roasting is one of my favorite ways to prepare most any vegetable, and onions are no exception. I tried these out and they were delicious.  However, I must warn you the oven temp is very high  and it caused a bit of a calamity when all of our smoke detectors went off.  I hope the tasty soup I'm going to make with these will make my husband happier than the alarms did.

These would be great served as an appetizer with Ranch dressing or a great addition to soup, pizza or pasta.

Roasted Onions

Roasted Onions

3-4 white onions, peeled

4 Tablespoons olive oil

*Preheat oven to 475 F

Put 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a 9 x 13 pan and coat the bottom and sides.

Cut the bottom off of the onions so they will stand upright.  Cut an X into the top without cutting all the way through.  Oil the outside of each onion.  

Roast for 30 minutes.  Check to see if there is still oil in the bottom of pan and drizzle the remaining oil in pan and onto onions.  Roast for 10-15 minutes more.  

They may be charred at the tips but just cut the blackened parts off.  

Onions ready to go into the oven.

Rosemary Chocolate Chip Wonderfulness

For the last few weeks I've had the blahs.  Some of that is the long winter (which, happily seems to finally be at an end) but also lack of sleep has contributed.  So today I decided to do something to get cheery.  There is a recipe that I found in one of my new favorite cookbooks that I've wanted to make for some time.  The cookbook is Isa Does It by Isa Chanda Moskowitz creator of Post Punk Kitchen and Vegan chef Extraordainaire and the recipe is for Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies.  If you have read my blog you might remember that I brought in six rosemary plants to winter in my dining room and I'm happy to say they are flourishing, so a very interesting way to use some of it.  Now you may think this is an odd combination but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how good they are. Chocolate chip cookies for grown ups, I say!  

 Isa also has a video showing how to make the cookies if you dont have the cookbook and you can find it here.

Pizza Without

I discovered about 8 months ago that I'm allergic to dairy products.  Seeing as cheese was one of my all time favorites it was a bit disappointing.  I like to cook I have been thinking about the qualities dairy, especially cheese, adds to the foods I like and how to substitute something else.  Mostly I have been discovering that just making things very flavorful keeps me from even noticing the absence. 

 I recently made a pizza and it was so great that I wanted to share.  I bought a ready made crust (Mama Mary's was the brand, Boboli's have milk in them) and I added sauce, pepperoni, mushrooms, red pepper, some chopped olives.  The winning ingredient was roasted onions and garlic.  To roast, slice 5 onions into eight segments (like an orange) and put them in an 8x8 glass pan with about 8 cloves of garlic, skins still on.  Tossed them in olive oil and roasted them in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.  After I took them out I covered the pan tightly with some aluminum foil (be careful, the pan is very hot) and let it sit for about 10 to 20 minutes.  This step isn't really necessary but I wanted them to cook a bit more and I was afraid if they stayed in the oven they would start to char.  I peeled and chopped the garlic and sprinkled it all over the pizza and voila!  It was delicious and it makes enough for two pizzas.  You will notice in the photo that half of it has cheese...that's for my husband.

Easy Cupcakes

Happy February! Last night a friend mentioned that we are halfway to spring! As if that wasn't enough reason to love the month there is also Valentine's Day. Time to pull out the lace, pink and red decor and figure out ways to make the days special for your loved ones. It was also 25 years ago that my sweetie and I tied the knot. Yes, it was on Valentine's Day!

I wanted to start the month out with a special treat and I was inspired by all sorts of beautiful food on the Internet. However, I got a bit overwhelmed with the effort it would take to make the cakes and deserts. I remembered the white cake mix I had in the cupboard and decided to make some cupcakes. I decided to make it a bit special and took out half of the batter and added some red food coloring. I filled the cupcake papers with half white and half pink batter and swirled it around. I did get a little decadent and made a cream cheese frosting (1/4 cup butter, 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 pound powdered sugar and tsp vanilla all whizzed up with the mixer). Personally desert just doesn't count unless there is chocolate involved so I topped each one with a kiss and some sprinkles. It was easy but makes for a special treat. So, find a cake mix and whip up some cupcakes for your sweeties!

My Favorite Christmas Cookies

As the song goes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. The tree and decorations are up and yesterday I baked my favorite cookies, Fudge Peppers. They are a chocolate cookie with a chocolate mint inside. I was introduced to these delectable bites when I was a teenager. My mom's friend Jeannie used to make them and when I would babysit for her around the holidays I would eat as many as possible without getting found out. It was kind of like going after the brownies by "evening out the edges" of the rows. Then my mom made them and I also gobbled down as many as possible. The recipe calls for Rockwood Mints, a brand that is no longer manufactured, so for awhile, no Fudge Peppers. Then last year I got an idea to try Hershey Mint Truffle Kisses and voila! They were great! This year as I was making them I felt my mom and her good friend Jeannie, both who have passed, present in my kitchen. It was a nice baking day. Most importantly I want to pass this recipe on to you, but with a warning! If you have a babysitter hide your Fudge Peppers!

Fudge Peppers

Cream together:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

Add:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cupt brown sugar
Add:

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Sift and add:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt (I think this is a bit much, I reduce it to 1/2 tsp)

2/3 cup cocoa

Place Hershey's Mint Truffle Kiss or other chocolate mint in center of a teaspoon full of dough. Seal edges and roll into a ball. Roll in white sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes. Makes approximately 3 dozen.

Summer Sandwiches

I made these great sandwiches a few weeks ago. They were simple and tasty, perfect for a hot summer day. I got the idea from looking through a cookbook by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa but I made a few changes.

Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

3-4 Roasted peppers

vinaigrette dressing

goat cheese

chopped red onion

basil leaves

party rye bread or baguette

Roast the peppers in a hot oven (500 degrees) for about 30-40 minutes. You can also use a jar of roasted peppers. Whip up your favorite vinaigrette or use a good bottled dressing like Newman's Own and marinate the peppers for a few hours. Spread the goat cheese on the bread, top with peppers, red onion and basil.

These were especially good with a nice glass of dry, fruity white wine like a sauvignon blanc or pinto grigio (my favorite wines) Enjoy!

Beef Bourguignon

After I posted the Brunswick Stew recipe a friend asked me if I had a good beef stew recipe. At the time I didn't, but I took it as a challenge. I immediately thought of using a slow cooker because the longer a stew cooks, the flavors become richer and deeper. I found a recipe for Beef Bourguignon in The Slow Cooker Ready and Waiting Cookbook by Rick Rodgers. He maintains that you can't just throw a bunch of ingredients into a slow cooker and expect it to taste good. Rather the cook should treat the ingredients just as you would if you were going to put them in the oven. Hence, there is a lot of sauteing and searing before you put the ingredients in the pot. The preparation is longer but the result is fantastic. So here is the recipe for Beef Bourguignon.

Bistro Beef Bourguignon

1 pound baby carrots, peeled

1 pound small boiling onions, peeled

4 ounces slab bacon cut into 2 inch pieces

2 pounds boneless beef bottom round, cut into two inch pieces and well trimmed

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

10 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered

4 shallots or scallions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup double-strength beef broth, canned or homemade

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Place the baby carrots and boiling onions in a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the bacon and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for 2 minutes. Drain well, rinse under cold running water, and pat dry with paper towels.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon strips, turning often, until crisp and browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.

4. Increase the heat to medium high. Add the beef, in batches without crowding, to the fat remaining in the pan and cook, turning often, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker, add the bacon and season with the salt and pepper. Mix well, but leave the carrots and onions undisturbed.

5. Add the vegetable oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms have given off their liquid and are beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the slow cooker. Add the red wine, broth, parsley, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf to the skillet and bring to a simmer, stirring to blend in the tomato paste and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add to the slow cooker.

6. Cover and slow-cook until the beef is tender, 7 to 8 hours on low (200 degrees F). With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef and vegetables to a serving bowl, discarding the bay leaf, and cover with foil to keep warm. Skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid.

7. In a medium skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, without browning, for 1 minute. Whisk in the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking often, until thickened and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the beef and vegetables, mix gently, and serve immediately.

Brunswick Stew

The first time I had Brunswick Stew was at the Virginia State Fair at the Brunswick County Fire Department Booth. I immediately knew I wanted to know how to make it and fortunately for me they had kindly printed out copies of the recipe free for the taking. It is the perfect stew for a rainy day when you want to stay home and nest. This stew takes awhile to make and if you think you could scrimp on the cooking time, don't. I've tried that. The flavors just don't blend and it is really pretty terrible. If you have the time to simmer it for a full five hours, do it. It only gets better!

Brunswick Stew

2 1/2 - 3 pound chicken

2 pieces celery

1 small onion

2 quarts tomatoes, fresh or canned

1 cup chopped onion

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 quart green butter beans or lima beans (I use frozen limas)

1 quart whole kernel corn (again, I use frozen)

5 Tbsp sugar

Salt to taste

Red and black pepper to taste

Place chicken, celery and small onion in a large kettle. Add water to cover chicken. Simmer until meat is tender or begins to loosen from bones. Lift chicken from broth. Cool the broth and discard the celery. Remove meat from bones and cut into small pieces.

Add tomatoes, chopped onions and potatoes to broth. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Add cut-up chicken, butter or lima beans, corn and sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil while stirring. Cover, lower heat and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 3 to 5 hour or until tomatoes have cooked to pieces.

Makes about 6 quarts.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce

Yesterday I turned some of my garden produce into a summery treat to be eaten in the dead of winter. The roasted vegetable pasta sauce filled the house with a deliciously rich aroma all day long. The recipe comes from The Complete Book of Year Round Small Batch Preserving, which I mentioned before when I made bread and butter pickles. The thing I like about this book, aside from the delicious recipes is you don't have to have 40 pounds of anything, although it is quite easy to multiply the recipes up in case your garden is wildly prolific. You can make just a few jars at a time and my husband loves it because he doesn't get called in to heave-ho any heavy pots of boiling liquid. Here is the recipe:

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce

2 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, unpeeled

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 onions, unpeeled

1 sweet red pepper

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried

1tsp granulated sugar

1tsp salt

Prepare jars for canning by boiling them in a canner for about 10 minutes. Also boil both parts of the lids in a separate pan. This sterilizes the jars and lids. Leave them in canner until you are ready to fill them.

Place tomatoes, garlic, onions (I halve them) and red pepper on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Roast in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes, removing the garlic after 12-15 minutes or when soft. Remove remaining vegetables when they are soft and the skins blistered. Let stand until cool enough to handle.

Peel tomatoes, being careful to catch all the juice. Squeeze garlic and onions to remove soft centers. Peel and seed pepper. Place all vegetables in a food processor, process until smooth.

Place vegetable puree in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Add vinegar, oregano, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover and boil for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch of rim. Put lids on jars. Process 35 minutes for pint jars and 40 minutes for quart jars.

*I have found that this recipe makes two pint jars and every pound and a quarter of tomatoes you add you will get another pint. Of course if you increase the tomatoes you must also increase the other ingredients proportionally.

After making this sauce for a few years in the heat of my kitchen I decided to try freezing it instead.  It works wonderfully!  I freeze it in quart containers which is enough for four servings.  Enough sweating already!!!!

Bread and Butter Pickles

I went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and cucumbers were everywhere. It is pickle season!!!! I bought two pails and made some dill pickles and bread and butter pickles. I remember my mom making bread and butter pickles when I was a kid. The distinct smell of warm vinegar and spices filled the air. I didn't much care for the smell when I was a kid but my sense of smell seems to have matured and now I love it. Here is the recipe I used from The Complete Book of Year Round Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. It is a nice book with all sorts of recipes for jams, chutneys, relishes and pickles that use, as the title suggests, small amounts of fruits and vegetables.

Best Bread and Butter Pickles

4lb small pickling cucmbers

4 small onions, thinly sliced

1 sweet green pepper, cut in thin strips

1 sweet red pepper, cut in thin strips

2 Tbsp pickling salt

4 cups cider vinegar

3 cups granulated sugar

2 Tbsp mustard seeds

1 tsp celery seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Cut a thin slice from the ends of each cucumber and cut into medioum thick slices, about 3/16 inch. Place cucumbers, onions and peppers in a non-reactive container, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 3 hours; drain. Rinse twice and drain thoroughly.

Combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric and cloves in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add vegetables and return to a boil for 30 seconds or just until cucumbers are no longer bright green.

Remove hot jars from canner. Remove vegetables from liquid with a slotted spoon; pack into jars. Pour liquid over vegetables to within 1/2 inch of rim. Process 10 minutes for pint jars and 15 minutes for quart jars.

Arugula

I planted arugula for one reason, a salad I had over 13 years ago while on vacation in St. John, US Virgin Islands. I had never had it before but after trying it I, occasionally, would re-create the salad. It was a very simple salad of arugula, toasted walnuts, goat cheese and a very mild vinaigrette. I have been enjoying this salad for a good while this summer, but last night I found myself without goat cheese (woe is me!) in the house, but I had a mango. So I made the exact same salad and sliced the mango into it. I actually think it is better than the original. The spicy arugula, tart and salty vinaigrette, earthy walnuts and sweet mango was an amazing combination. While I haven't measured exactly the ingredients, here is the recipe. Be sure to taste the vinaigrette as you make it so it suits your taste.

Arugula, Mango and Walnut Salad

large bunch of arugula, washed

handful of walnuts, toasted

1 mango sliced

1 clove garlic

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp mustard

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil or more to taste

salt and pepper

To toast the walnuts put them in a small pan over medium high heat and leave for about 3-5 minutes stirring often making sure they dont burn. When they start to brown and you can smell a nice toasted nutty smell they are done. Remove from pan and set aside.

To make viniagrette mash together the salt and garlic clove to make a paste. Add the garlic paste to the mustard, vinegar and stir. Slowly pour olive oil into vinegar mixture all the while whisking. This will form a nice emulsion. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put it all together. Put arugula walnuts and mango in a bowl and drizzle enough vinaigrette to coat but not drown salad. Toss. Serve immediately

Variation To make the original salad substitute crumbled goat cheese for the mango.

What's your favorite arugula recipe? As you can see, I have a lot in my garden!

Coconut Macaroons

This weekend we are going to a celebratory gathering for my nephews high school graduation. I offered to bring some cookies and so began a search through cookbooks for a good cookie. I believe there will be a lot of kid food there so I wanted to have something that would appeal more to the adults in the crowd. I was thinking I would make some frosted lemon cookies. I will admit the amount of work the recipe I found was going to take made me hesitate. But then, I found a recipe for coconut macaroons. I had never made them, but do really love them. The recipe called for only four ingredients, and while the baking time was long, the whipping up time was short. They are really sweet, but mmmmm, mmmmmm good!

A few notes on the recipe...first off it calls for cake flour but I used regular flour and it worked just fine. It also calls for loosely packed coconut, but I would pack it fairly well, my first batch was very flat and sticky. After adding more coconut I was able to get a nice mound shape that held. And finally, I used both parchment paper and a silicone mat for lining the baking sheets and the parchment paper was the hands down best.

So, here is the recipe which came from Baking in America by Greg Patent. Enjoy!

Coconut Macaroons

1/2 cup cake flour

2 1/2 cups loosely packed sweetened flaked coconut

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with cooking parchment or a silicone liner. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour and coconut, tossing well with your fingertips to coat the coconut with the flour. Add the condensed milk and vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. The mixture will be stiff.

Spoon rounded regular teaspoonsful of the mixture onto the baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart and making 20 mounds.

Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet from front to back once during baking. Increase the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 6 to 10 minutes more, only until the macaroons are golden brown all over; do not overbake. Carefully transfer to cooling racks and cool completely. Serve very fresh.

A Perfect Summer Meal

Last night I made a delicious meal of pasta with roasted vegetables. I took some summer squash, cherry tomatoes, red onions and garlic, seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil and roasted at 450 for 40 minutes. Then tossed the vegetables with pasta, some homemade pesto and a bit of parmesan cheese. It was great. I can't wait for the leftovers tonight!!!!!

Iced Coffee

In the summer, when the temperature is just so, I instantly get a hankering for a good iced coffee. The operative word here is good! I like it smooth without the bitterness that a lot of iced coffees have. The bitterness comes from brewing the coffee with hot water, and here is the trick...you cold brew it. Of course, you should buy the best coffee you can and I am partial to fair trade, shade grown and organic. It is a little more expensive but well worth it. Also, this takes awhile to make so be patient! Here are my directions to make fabulous iced coffee.

Cold Brewed Iced Coffee

1/4 pound of your favorite coffee beans, ground fine
2 cups of cold water

Mix the water and the coffee together and let it steep for 8 to 12 hours (overnight works well).

Line a colander with a large coffee filter and drain into a bowl or container. (This part can be a little tricky finding just the right size colander and filter) It might take as long as an hour for it to drain completely but the wait is worth it. Now you have a coffee concentrate. Put the concentrate in a pitcher that holds one half gallon and add water to the half gallon mark. (You should have a total of about 8 cups) This will make about 4-12 ounce servings. I like mine with a touch of half and half.