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We have a winner! (Wii Just Dance Kids results)

December 6, 2010 by 3 Comments

Hey there, we have a winner in the giveaway for a brand-spankin’ new copy of Wii Just Dance Kids. Looks like Sharon and her crew will be baking AND jiving this Christmas.

Sharon

December 2, 2010 at 9:13 pm

Really looking forward to baking for everyone, me included! Cant wait to make the chocolate toffee crunchies (even for breakfast!). Already compiling recipes for the holiday season. My 4 kids love to help too!

Sharon, please email me your mailing address and Ubisoft will get this to you in plenty of time to dance off those cookies.  Not that I’m implying you’re eating too many cookies.  This is what’s know as projection.  I’m projecting.  Onto you.  I think I need to bake some cookies.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Finnish Oven Pancakes (Pannukakku)

December 2, 2010 by 32 Comments

There is a certain type of weather that requires you to fire up your oven;  To combine flour, butter, eggs, milk and various other good things and apply heat. There is something in the low temperatures or rain or snow that obliges you to create baked goods and then eat them.  Since I am a slave to duty…

Finnish Oven Pancakes are a perennial forgotten favorite around our house.  Perennial in that we make them semi-often.  Semi-often in that I forget how simple a solution they are for last minute hot breakfasts, lunches or dinners until the children remind me.  I make them often enough that I remember there are 4 ingredients and I think I remember the quantities, but infrequently enough that I have to consult my human encyclopaedia de cuisine: my stepmother.  The conversations run like this.

(Phone rings and stepmother picks up the line.)

Val: Hello.

Me:  Hi, Val.  It’s me.  I am calling because I’m making Finnish Oven Pancakes again.

Val:  (chuckle)

Me:  I forgot again.  And I didn’t write it down again.

Val: (with the patience of Job) Four eggs, 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk, sugar, salt.

Me:  Thank you and I love you.

Val:  You’re welcome and I love you, too.

We have repeated this conversation about three times a year for about 16 years.  It’s not that I make this three times a year.  It’s that I make it in streaks, forget about it until the kids beg for it, smack myself in the head for having forgotten this recipe and hoist the phone to my ear once again. Thankfully, I have a very patient stepmother.

Thankfully, I say, because this is a recipe that should be added to your regular rotation and you deserve to know Val’s recipe.  And thankfully, too, because  finally, I am writing it out.  Writing it out so that I can share it all with you, yes.  But even more, writing it out means that I can stop annoying my beloved Val.  Well, at least about this particular recipe.  I’ll still call her for my knitting patterns, the-name-of-that-one-website-we-were-talking-about, the recipe for her oatmeal bread, that book title, which Mr. Bean episode had the hymn that they played while the Titanic was sinking, and the name of Hyacinth Bucket’s son.  Like I said, Val is a very patient woman.

But about these Finnish Oven Pancakes.  These fixtures of Finnish cuisine are prominent in many communities in the U.S. where there is a high population of Finn immigrants. The Upper Peninsula (Go, Yoop, eh?) has a huge Finnish community. They have graced us with all manner of cured fish and baked goods, but these?  These are one of their best. Finnish Oven Pancakes the love child of pancakes and custard.  They puff up like a Yorkshire pudding. They have structure -not wet, by any means- and texture, but they’re still soft.  Ranging from not-at-all-sweet to good-and-sweet and everywhere in between, Finnish Oven Pancakes can accompany everything from a simple sprinkle of sugar and squeeze of lemon to jam to sweetened whipped cream and Nutella to sausage gravy to stewed venison to seared mushrooms. Not all together, of course, but all this is to say it’s a very flexible meal base.

My boys prefer it with a little shake of confectioner’s sugar or brown sugar and a lemon wedge squeezed o’er top.  My husband likes it covered with sausage gravy like -as he is wont to say- “SOS, but much, much classier.”

It takes four ingredients; all of which will probably be in your pantry and/or refrigerator barring natural disasters or winter storms*.  Eggs, flour, milk, and salt.  Sugar is one-hundred percent optional.

*You will note that I don’t classify a winter storm as a natural disaster.  That is because I’m from Michigan.  We’re tough.  No whining about snow here, people.  Bring. it. on.

Finnish Oven Pancakes (Pannkakku)

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tablespoons (1/2 of one stick) butter, cut into three or four pieces
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk, preferably whole milk
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • up to 4 Tablespoons sugar, optional
  • splash of vanilla extract, optional

Preheat oven to 400°F.  When the oven temperature reaches about 300°F, place an 8- or 9-inch cake pan or 10-inch pie plate in the oven with the butter in it.  The butter should melt, but not brown, while the oven finishes heating.

Place the eggs, f lour, milk, salt, sugar and vanilla (if using) in the carafe of a blender.  Fix the cover in place and blend on high, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and even.  When the oven is fully heated, and the butter is fully melted, pull the oven rack out far enough to work safely and pour the batter into the hot pan.  Push the rack carefully back into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the oven pancake has puffed quite high and is a deep golden brown.  You can test the doneness by quickly inserting a butter knife in the center of the oven pancake.  If the knife comes out clean, the pancake is done.

Remove the pan from the oven, cut immediately (it will deflate some, so don’t worry!) and serve topped as desired.

Here are some topping ideas:

If you add the sugar to the batter…

  • Powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice
  • A handful or two of fresh or frozen berries
  • A sprinkle of brown sugar and drizzle of maple syrup
  • A dollop of fruit jam
  • Apples sautéed in butter and caramel sauce (oh help.)
  • A dollop or five of sweetened whipped cream

If you omit the sugar…

  • Sausage gravy and chopped green onions
  • Beef or venison stew
  • Gravy

Did you get a chance to read about my Wii Just Dance Kids giveaway?  The sky has not fallen, I’m actually giving away a brand-spankin’ new copy of this great game.  You have until this Sunday morning (the 5th of December) to enter. See here for details.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Print
Finnish Oven Pancakes (Pannukakku)
Author: 
Recipe type: Breakfast, Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

This high-rising traditional Finnish dish is a crispy exteriored cross between a pancake and a custard. Perfect for topping with both sweet and savoury goodies
Ingredients
  • 4 Tablespoons (1/2 of one stick) butter, cut into three or four pieces
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk, preferably whole milk
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • up to 4 Tablespoons sugar, optional
  • splash of vanilla extract, optional

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. When the oven temperature reaches about 300°F, place an 8- or 9-inch cake pan or 10-inch pie plate in the oven with the butter in it. The butter should melt, but not brown, while the oven finishes heating.
  2. Place the eggs, f lour, milk, salt, sugar and vanilla (if using) in the carafe of a blender. Fix the cover in place and blend on high, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and even. When the oven is fully heated, and the butter is fully melted, pull the oven rack out far enough to work safely and pour the batter into the hot pan. Push the rack carefully back into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the oven pancake has puffed quite high and is a deep golden brown. You can test the doneness by quickly inserting a butter knife in the center of the oven pancake. If the knife comes out clean, the pancake is done.
  3. Remove the pan from the oven, cut immediately (it will deflate some, so don’t worry!) and serve topped as desired.

Notes
Here are some topping ideas: If you add the sugar to the batter… * Powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice * A handful of fresh or frozen berries * A sprinkle of brown sugar and drizzle of maple syrup * A dollop of fruit jam * Apples sautéed in butter and caramel sauce (oh help.) * A dollop or five of sweetened whipped cream If you omit the sugar… * Sausage gravy and chopped green onions * Beef or venison stew * Gravy

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Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Breakfast Foods, Component Foods, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, kid food, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A video game giveaway. What?!?

December 2, 2010 by 13 Comments

Please be sure to read to the end for details on the giveaway! And come back first thing tomorrow.  Will I post a savory or a sweet recipe?  I’m still undecided, but I have one of each in the works, so if you have a preference this is the time to tell me. Speak now, or forever hold your peace. Or something.

If you’ve been hanging out here for a while, that title probably threw you for a loop. It’s no secret that I’m not the world’s biggest lover of video games.  In fact, I have a self-imposed set of rules that effectively eliminates nine out of every ten of the games on the market from our home.

  1. No games that turn you into couch potatoes.  Exercising your thumbs is not equivalent to exercising your body.
  2. No games that turn your brain off.  Exercising your hand-eye coordination from a sitting position does not improve your cognitive abilities overall.
  3. No games without redeeming qualities.  (And now you understand why we own a grand total of 3 video games.)

So when the Clever Girls Collective and Ubisoft got together and sent me a copy of the Wii game “Just Dance Kids” to review, I was pretty sure I was going to be donating it to the Salvation Army in short order.

The boys agreed to help me review the game.  Here is the result of our collaboration.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHND_dZPRiQ&feature=youtube_gdata[/youtube]

Now some nitty-gritty details:

  1. It is definitely a game skewed to the younger crowd.  If you kids are in the Winnie the Pooh/Blue’s Clues demographic, then they’ll probably enjoy this game.  Any older and you might face a mutiny.
  2. The older boys had to be ordered convinced to keep still about some of the faces pulled by dancers in the video game.  If you’re familiar with some of the “WOW! GEE! My legs are doing something that completely shocks me!” expressions used in ballroom dance then you have a good idea what I mean. And you probably have a good handle on why the older kids reacted that way.
  3. This game provides some honest-to-goodness exercise. The choreographed moves look deceptively simple.  I challenge you to give “A-B-C” a try and tell me otherwise.
  4. My three youngest kids have clocked some serious time on this game and it hasn’t lost its charm.  It’s a good value.
  5. You can have more than one player dancing at a time.  (My kids prefer to play solo, but the game doesn’t restrict them to that.)

Now the giveaway.

Ubisoft  provided me with a copy of the game to give to one reader.   Interested in scratching one item off your gift list?  Here are the rules:

  1. Leave a comment about your plans for the upcoming holidays.  What are you looking forward to the most?
  2. That’s it.  You know I’m not crazy about convoluted contest rules.
  3. Happy Hannukah
  4. Merry Christmas
  5. Get out your dancing shoes and prepare to busta move.*

*Does saying ‘busta move’ date me?

I’ll pick and announce the winner this Sunday afternoon, November 5th.  Good luck!

Filed Under: Giveaways!, Rebecca

Grandma’s Famous Cornbread Stuffing

November 17, 2010 by 9 Comments

…Kind of.

I call this Grandma’s Famous Cornbread Stuffing, but in reality this is my version of her recipe. It’s not precisely how my Grandma makes it, but it’s close.  I’ve added fresh sage to the required powdered sage, sautéed the onions and garlic in a generous amount of butter instead of putting them into the stuffing raw, dropped in a few more dry bread cubes and made the beaten eggs mandatory. One thing is certain; this is the be all and end all of stuffings.  This is what other stuffings long to be.  This is the apotheosis of stuffing-hood. We’re talking about moist but crisp-on-top-and-around-the-edges sweet cornbread, herb-saturated, onion and celery laden dressing.  In short, it’s pretty darned good*.

*This stuffing comes fully endorsed by my step-mom, Val,  who helped me test this stuffing this afternoon.  If you have an image of two very happy women sitting at a table with a pan full of hot cornbread stuffing and a couple forks you have it about right.

But there’s something else about this stuffing -or dressing, whichever term you prefer- that you need to remember. You cannot smell this without feeling like there are generations of Southern Grandmas cooking Thanksgiving dinner just for you. There is no way to taste it without feeling a big warm hug from my little sweet Grandma. And me. You’ve been warned.

Grandma’s Famous Cornbread Stuffing

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups crumbled cornbread (For the love of the South, don’t use a super sweet cornbread here.  Please. I prefer my Grandmother’s Buttermilk Cornbread recipe.  You can read it here.)
  • 3 cups dry bread cubes (Homemade bread is best.  Any type will do, but herb-laden choices make stuffing that is particularly flavorful.)
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken or turkey stock (Again, homemade is best, but a low-sodium store bought broth will be good, too.)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage
  • 1 teaspoon powdered sage
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • freshly ground pepper and kosher salt, to taste

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan or skillet.  Add celery and onion with a good pinch of salt and stir well. Cook gently, not allowing the celery and onion to color, until the vegetables are nearly translucent, about 6-10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Gently grease a 8″x8″ baking dish and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to toss together the crumbled cornbread, dry bread cubes, minced fresh sage, powdered sage, and poultry seasoning. Toss in the softened celery and onion.  Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Crack the eggs into another mixing bowl and whisk until evenly colored.  Add the chicken or turkey stock and whisk to combine.  Pour the liquid mixture over the bread mixture and use a wooden spoon to gently toss it until everything is evenly moist. Scrape the contents into the prepared pan and slide the pan into the oven.  Bake for 40 minutes in the pan or until the internal temperature of the stuffing is 160°.

*You can freeze this stuffing ahead of time.  To do so, cool the stuffing on a rack until the pan is cool to the touch.  Wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until it is cold through.  Wrap the pan with foil and freeze.  To reheat: Remove pan from the freezer at least 24 hours, but no more than 48 hours, before you plan to serve it.  Remove the foil and plastic wrap, replace the foil, and reheat in a 350°F oven until the internal temperature reaches 160°F.  Remove foil for about 10 minutes of baking if you wish the top to become crisp.

Print
Grandma’s Famous Cornbread Stuffing
Author: 
Recipe type: Side
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 8
 

Crunchy on top and moist throughout, this is the cornbread stuffing I grew up eating and the one I will always turn to for special occasions. This is a true classic!
Ingredients
  • 4 cups crumbled cornbread (For the love of the South, don’t use a super sweet cornbread here. Please.)
  • 3 cups dry bread cubes (Homemade bread is best. Any type will do, but herb-laden choices make stuffing that is particularly flavorful.)
  • 3½ cups chicken or turkey stock (Again, homemade is best, but a low-sodium store bought broth will be good, too.)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage
  • 1 teaspoon powdered sage
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • freshly ground pepper and kosher salt, to taste

Instructions
  1. Melt butter over medium-low heat in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan or skillet. Add celery and onion with a good pinch of salt and stir well. Cook gently, not allowing the celery and onion to color, until the vegetables are nearly translucent, about 6-10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Gently grease a 8″x8″ baking dish and set aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to toss together the crumbled cornbread, dry bread cubes, minced fresh sage, powdered sage, and poultry seasoning. Toss in the softened celery and onion. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
  4. Crack the eggs into another mixing bowl and whisk until evenly colored. Add the chicken or turkey stock and whisk to combine. Pour the liquid mixture over the bread mixture and use a wooden spoon to gently toss it until everything is evenly moist. Scrape the contents into the prepared pan and slide the pan into the oven. Bake for 40 minutes in the pan or until the internal temperature of the stuffing is 160°.

Notes
*You can freeze this stuffing ahead of time. To do so, cool the stuffing on a rack until the pan is cool to the touch. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until it is cold through. Wrap the pan with foil and freeze. To reheat: Remove pan from the freezer at least 24 hours, but no more than 48 hours, before you plan to serve it. Remove the foil and plastic wrap, replace the foil, and reheat in a 350°F oven until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Remove foil for about 10 minutes of baking if you wish the top to become crisp.

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Filed Under: Holiday Food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Coming Wednesday…

November 15, 2010 by 5 Comments

Hey folks! I haven’t forgotten you. No, no, no. I’m just enjoying a visit from my Dad and stepmom extraordinaire, Valerie. And I have two kids with birthdays this week.  Yeehah!

Check back in with me on Wednesday for my Grandma Shaffer’s World Famous (in my mind) Cornbread Stuffing. Trust me. It’s worth the wait!

In the meantime, look back in my archives at this sweet baby. Have you met my Hot Chocolate on a Stick?

It’s an awfully good time of year to whip up a batch or four of these to give away.  Have one more look.  Hello gorgeous!

See you Wednesday!

Mucho Smoochos,
Rebecca

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Spicy Cocktail Nuts and a Giveaway! (Updated)

November 3, 2010 by 76 Comments

We have a winner!  Connie… You were picked by the random number generator.

“Connie

I am surprised you are out of the competition. Your recipes are so delicious and extremely helpful. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.”

Contact me for instructions on how to redeem your prize!  Congratulations!

Aw, nuts!

…Or so I said when I learned that my tenure in the Project Food Blog competition was done. After a brief spell of sitting on my bar stool at my counter indulging in self-pity, I came to three conclusions.

  1. I was truly proud of each and every entry I submitted to the competition because each one represented my approach and attitude toward food.
  2. I was kind of relieved. I had a pumpkin carving party to attend that night and that meant I could really have fun without worrying about a deadline.
  3. I have the most loyal, kind, sweet, and hilarious readers ever created. The emails and messages of support left on the Foodie With Family fan page were and are much appreciated.  And truth be told, you guys kind of choked me up a little bit.  Thank you for all your support for me both during and after the competition.  You are awesome.

Now, that being said, I thought the most appropriate way to say ‘thank you’ and express my opinion about being foisted from the competish was to make some nuts.  As in aw, nuts.  As in I’m nutty.  As in I’m nuts for you guys.  As in…  let’s just make these nuts already, eh?

Spicy, sweet, salty, and totally addictive, these nuts will become an instant necessity in your holiday food arsenal.  You will dream about these.  Years ago (and we won’t say how many because I might be having an aging crisis), a friend brought these to an event that I organized at the office*.  Let’s just say that these didn’t make it past my desk to the buffet table.  They stayed with me.  And my friend wasn’t allowed to pass the desk until he jotted down the recipe for me.  Because I’m just that kind of person.

*The aforementioned event -my brainchild- was “PigFest” wherein we spent each Friday in November bringing in dishes to pass with the express aim of expanding our stomachs to better hold the bounty that would be lain before us at upcoming holiday events.  Who ever said advertising people were impractical?

Let’s talk about these nuts for a moment.  You can serve them warm (kept that way in a little slow-cooker) or room temperature; either way has its advantages. You can change out the seasonings used to spice them up.  You can ratchet up or scale back on the heat.  You can swap out walnuts, cashews, peanuts, Brazil nuts or whatever floats your boat for the almonds. You can pour a bunch of the cooled nuts into a clean canning jar, wrap some ribbon or rafia around it and give it as a fabulous hostess gift.  But what you can’t do is skip making these.

Before we go any further, let me tell you about this giveaway.  Aside from the nuts, it is another way of saying thank you for being here!  The nice folks at CSN (and have you LOOKED at their sites?  They have over 200 of them!  It’s like my own personal candy store! That bar stool link above is to one of their sites.) have offered a $50 gift certificate just in time to stock up with the gear you need to turn out the best holiday meals you possibly can.  Thank you, CSN!  So the rules.  First, I’m tired of contest rules so we’ll keep it simple.

Da Rules

  1. Leave a comment.
  2. That’s it.  You’re entered.
  3. If you really need more rules, perhaps you should make them up and leave them in the comment area.
  4. I love you guys.
  5. Really.  Those are all the rules.
  6. Oh geez, you slave drivers.  Okay.  One more thing.  I’ll pick the winner at random on Saturday morning at an as-yet undetermined time.  Because I told you, tired of the rules.

Now, we cook.

Aw, nuts.

Spicy Cocktail Nuts

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Recipe by Emeril Lagasse

  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 4 cups raw almonds (…or raw walnuts, pecans, or peanuts)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Emeril’s Essence, recipe follows (or whichever spice blend you prefer…)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together egg white and water until frothy. Add the nuts and toss to coat. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, cayenne, and salt. Add to the nuts and stir to coat evenly. Spread the nuts on the prepared pan and bake until dry, about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to separate. Let cool on the baking sheet. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Essence (Emeril’s Creole Seasoning)

Recipe by Emeril Lagasse

  • 2- 1/2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container. Yield: about 2/3 cup

Print
Spicy Cocktail Nuts and a Giveaway! (Updated)
Author: 
Recipe type: Snack, Appetizer, Hors d’oeuvres
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: Lots
 

Addictive. That’s the only word to describe these spicy, sweet, crunchy, roasty-toasty cocktail nuts. Make with almonds, cashews, peanuts, walnuts… You choose!
Ingredients
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 4 cups raw almonds (…or raw walnuts, pecans, or peanuts)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Emeril’s Essence, recipe follows in notes (or whichever spice blend you prefer…)
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together egg white and water until frothy. Add the nuts and toss to coat. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, cayenne, and salt. Add to the nuts and stir to coat evenly. Spread the nuts on the prepared pan and bake until dry, about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to separate. Let cool on the baking sheet. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes
Essence (Emeril’s Creole Seasoning) Recipe by Emeril Lagasse * 2- ½ tablespoons paprika * 2 tablespoons salt * 2 tablespoons garlic powder * 1 tablespoon black pepper * 1 tablespoon onion powder * 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper * 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano * 1 tablespoon dried thyme Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container. Yield: about ⅔ cup

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Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Gifts, Holiday Food, Instructional, kid food, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Non-food recipes, Party Food, Project Food Blog 2010, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Ham and Swiss with Caramelized Onion on Rye Pizza

October 17, 2010 by 30 Comments

Here we are in Challenge #5 in Project Food Blog from foodbuzz.com!  Thank you all many times over for the support you’ve given me in the comments here, via email, and on the Foodie With Family Facebook fan page. (That’s an awful lot of effs.) The competition has been more fun than I ever expected it to be.

This prompt for this challenge stated, “One recipe, 100 variations! We’re challenging each of you to put your own spin on the same recipe. How you do it is up to you.  …You’ll be asked to put your own spin on Pizza. For the purpose of this contest and challenge, we are defining pizza as having a solid base, a sauce and at least one topping.” Oh my.  We are in my wheelhouse on this one, folks. My middle name is “Put My Own Spin On Pizza”.

Pizza. Can we pause for just a second?

(Contented sigh and wistful expression stealing over my face.)

I say -without a touch of hyperbole- that I could happily eat pizza every day of my life.  From pepperoni-and-cheese to Hawaiian pizza to Chicago deep dish to more outlandish combos, I love it all, but, and this is a biggie*, I am choosy about my pizzas.

*I mean a big ‘but’ not to be confused with a big ‘butt’ which would be the inevitable result of me eating pizza daily.

I don’t order pizzas because I am, ahem, a little high-maintenance when it comes to pizza.  If I’m going to pay twenty dollars for one meal, it had better be the best representation of that meal that ever was.  And -God love them- the pizza joints around here just don’t measure up.  Good pizza can take some serious planning and time, but my last minute cravings still have to be obeyed. So how does such a picky-pants get a quick pizza on the nights when you really need one?

Enter the freezer from stage left.  You probably already know that it’s a good idea to keep frozen pizza dough on hand, but did you know that you can keep frozen partially baked pizza crusts, too?  I’m sure you’ve seen the variety of pre-baked pizza shells you pick up in shrink wrap at the grocery store near the bread section.  These are like that, except that they’re -wait for it- tasty.

There’s no real mystery to the process. On days when you find yourself with a little bit of time to spare, whip up your favorite pizza dough, portion it out and roll it or stretch it out like you’re going to make a pizza. Bake it for just a handful of minutes and remove from the oven before the crust starts to color to cool. Then freeze and wrap the crusts individually.  Here are a few helpful things to keep in mind when making partially baked pizza crusts:

  1. For the best results, use a pizza stone that preheats with your oven. Transfer your dough to and from the oven on a cornmeal dusted peel. If you don’t have a pizza stone, the next best option is a parchment lined pan dusted with cornmeal or semolina.
  2. Get generous with the cornmeal or semolina. Use a good layer of cornmeal or semolina flour on your pan, peel or parchment; whichever vehicle you use to get your crust in and out of the oven. Since you’re not completely baking the crust, it is crucial to prevent the dough sticking before or after baking. This step provides a little insurance against sticking dough.
  3. Cool crusts completely before stashing in the freezer. This simple step improves the final baked pizza, so don’t skip it.
  4. To save room in the freezer, make a stack of crusts, separating each layer with parchment paper. After stacking, wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap or a large, resealable freezer bag.  You can use the parchment separating the crusts beneath them during baking, too.

Frozen crusts ready to be topped.

 

When time is short and pizza calls your name, simply pull a crust from the freezer, top, and bake.  It doesn’t get much easier than that.  You can have a pizza done before the local place could have delivered one. There are a couple of tricks to getting the perfect pizza from your homemade frozen shells.

  1. Use pre-cooked or mostly cooked toppings on pizza shells. Since the crust is already partially baked, you aren’t going to need to cook it as long.  That means that your toppings aren’t going to cook as long, so you need the head start cooked toppings will provide. This means cooked, chopped meats are good (as is pepperoni since it’s already fully cooked.)
  2. Don’t overload the crust! Okay, this rule applies to using fresh dough, too, but it bears repeating.  As tempting as it is to put half a pound of cheese on your personal pan pizza, it just doesn’t work. The crust would be blackened before your cheese was all melted and bubbly. If you have too many toppings, your crust will suffer for it. Resist!
  3. Break out the olive oil. Lightly brush the outer edge of your pizza crust with olive oil before topping.  This helps develop a deep brown, crackling crisp crust.  (Of course, if you prefer the paler variety, this can be omitted!)

And finally, since I’m on a hint-sharing binge, I want to let you in on some of my favorite ways to use pre-baked crusts.

  1. Get creative. Experiment a little. I’ve found that most of my favorite sandwiches (Reubens, Smoked Turkey with Cheddar, and French Dip Sandwiches, just to name a few…) translate very well to the pizza medium. Have fun with it.
  2. Make a build-your-own-pizza bar on movie night. I have not yet met a kid who isn’t in love with the idea of building his or her own pizza.  Lay out bowls with toppings and sauces and give each person their own pre-baked crust.  I guarantee happy faces.  (Psst… It’s a great way to use up odds and ends from the refrigerator, too.  Got a little leftover cooked chicken and some hot sauce?  Hello, Buffalo Chicken Pizza!)
  3. Miracle last minute bread. I have, on more than one occasion, pulled a pizza shell from the freezer, topped it with cheese and tossed it (on its parchment square) straight onto the rack of a hot oven until the cheese was melted and bubbly.  Ta da! It makes almost instant crispy bread to serve alongside hearty soups in lieu of crackers.  Dunked into a steaming bowl of sausage and white bean soup or a humble tomato soup, this really shines!

To help get you started on stocking your freezer I’m sharing one of my favorite pizza crusts; onion rye.  Rolled thin, this crust gets cracker-crisp and holds up well to all kinds of pizza toppings.  It is an obvious choice for my favorite game of “turn this sandwich into a pizza”.

This crust serves as a perfect compliment to the  flavors of a classic deli Ham and Swiss on Rye. Tender balsamic caramelized onions provide the sauce on a pizza that is so good that you’ll be ready to bake another one as soon as you take a bite of the first.  And what’s to stop you since you already have all those crusts in the freezer?

For a printer friendly version of this recipe with no photos, click here!

Ham and Swiss with Caramelized Onion on Rye Pizza

Ingredients for Onion Rye Pizza Shells:

Yield: 4 individual sized crusts, 2 small crusts or 1 medium-large (note: Yield has been modified to to reflect the quantities specified in the recipe.  I always double recipes -yes, even my own- and based my original yield on the fact that I doubled my recipe.  I’m sorry for any confusion!)

  • 1-1/4 cups water
  • 1 Tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2-1/4 cups bread flour
  • 2 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup rye flour (Use light, medium or coarse, depending on how strong you like your rye flavor.  I use coarse.  Rye?  Because I love it.)
  • 1 Tablespoon malt powder or sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • pinch of white pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • Optional: 1 egg white whisked with 1 teaspoon water until frothy, caraway seeds and coarse salt for sprinkling over the edge of the crust.

Bread Machine Instructions:

Combine water, oil, egg yolk, bread flour, white whole wheat flour, rye flour, malt powder, salt, pepper, onion flakes, and instant yeast in the pan of your bread machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Program for a simple dough cycle and press start.

Stand Mixer Instructions:

Combine water, oil, egg yolk, bread flour, white whole wheat flour, rye flour, malt powder, salt, pepper, onion flakes and instant yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Turn the mixer on the lowest setting.  Continue mixing until a smooth and elastic dough is formed.  Place in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Hand-prepared Dough Instructions:

Use a whisk to combine bread flour, white whole wheat flour, rye flour, malt powder, salt, pepper, onion flakes and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl.  Add the water, oil and egg yolk and mix with a sturdy spoon until a cohesive dough forms.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

To Prepare the Pizza Crusts:

Preheat the oven (with a baking stone, if you have one) to 425°F.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter, punch down to deflate, and divide into 4 equal pieces.  I find a bench knife is the easiest tool for this job.  Form each piece of dough into a ball.

Gently flatten the dough balls and cover with a tea towel.  Remove one dough ball from beneath the towel and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch it into an approximately 10-inch circle. A rolling pin gives you the super thin, cracker-crisp crust which I prefer in this recipe.

Dust a peel (or parchment lined pan) generously with cornmeal or semolina flour, lift the dough circle and place on the cornmeal.  If desired, brush the outer 1/2-inch of the crust with the egg wash then sprinkle with caraway seeds and coarse salt.  Use the peel to slide the dough directly onto the stone (or place pan in the oven.)  Bake for 4 minutes, or until air bubbles start to puff up on the dough.  Remove the now partially-cooked crust from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Gently pierce any air bubbles in the center part of the crust (the part you will top) while the dough is still hot. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

When all are completely cool, place each on a square of parchment that is the same size as the crust.  Stack the crusts and parchment and wrap tightly with a double-layer of plastic wrap or put in a large, resealable freezer bag before freezing.  These are best when used within 3 months of being made.

To Make a Ham and Swiss with Caramelized Onion Pizza

Ingredients for Two Personal Pizzas :

  • 2 frozen Onion Rye pizza crusts
  • 4 large cooking onions, peeled, cut in half and thinly sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • a pinch each of salt and sugar
  • balsamic vinegar
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 12 thin slices of good quality deli ham (I used honey baked ham.)
  • 2-1/2 thin slices of Swiss cheese
  • Optional, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard mixed with mayonnaise for dipping

Begin by making the caramelized onions: Melt the butter over low heat in a heavy-bottomed mid-sized saucepan.  Put onions in the pot, sprinkle the pinch each of salt and sugar over the onions and toss to coat with the butter.  Stir occasionally until onions begin to become soft and start giving up their juices.  Continue cooking over low for about 35 minutes, adding a splash of balsamic vinegar any time the onions begin to look as if they’re drying out.  The onions are done when they are so tender it seems they’re melting.  They should be moist, but not sitting in pools of liquid.  Remove from the heat.

Preheat oven (and baking stone, if available) to 500°F.

Take two Onion Rye Crusts (and their parchment squares) from the freezer. Divide the caramelized onions evenly between the two crusts, spreading near the edges.  Fold the ham slices gently onto the crust, covering most of the onions.  Arrange the Swiss cheese slices evenly over the top and use a peel or your hands to slide the parchment and crust onto the pizza stone or directly onto the oven rack.  Bake for 6-9 minutes, depending on how crispy you prefer your crust.  Six minutes will give you a softer, lighter colored crust, while nine minutes will yield a pizza like the one in the photographs here.

Let cool 5 minutes before slicing.  If desired, serve with the dijon mayonnaise for dipping.

This is my fifth entry in Project Food Blog over at Foodbuzz.com. Did you like this recipe and the post?  I’d appreciate your vote of support! Voting is now open.  To show your support for Foodie With Family, you can click here or on the orange “Vote for Me” tab in the Official Project Food Blog Contestant widget in the upper right sidebar. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for getting me this far and for your continued support!

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Getting Creative With Leftovers, Instructional, kid food, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Main Dish, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Pretzel Wrapped Smoked Sausages & Cranberry Mustard

October 10, 2010 by 36 Comments

I’ve made it to Challenge #4 in Project Food Blog from foodbuzz.com! I am having so much fun being part of this competition and I need to thank you so much for your continued support!  The prompt for this challenge was: “Sure, you can take a pretty picture. But your task here is to go above and beyond and use photography to create a step-by-step, instructional photo tutorial. It could be anything from how to bone a chicken to how to make your favorite recipe, but your photos need to guide the reader through the steps.”

The only chickens around here are quite alive and would probably not appreciate having their bones removed just now, so I’m opting to share one of my family’s all-time favorite foods.  Tighten up those apron strings and join in because this recipe is a must have for football or hockey viewing and upcoming holiday parties.  Maybe you should make it just because you can.  I’ve been known to do that…

A sausage in the hand is worth two on the fork.  Or so I’ve heard it said.

That everyone loves finger food is one of the immutable laws of the universe.* Portable and filling, hand-held foods are a real kid,  husband and crowd pleaser.

*The law -as written by me- states that any food that may be transferred from plate to mouth by way of hand or stick is exponentially more appealing and tasty than one which requires utensils or cutlery. I have yet to meet anyone who contests the law.

Soft pretzels and cocktail sized smoked sausages are in the upper echelon of snackery.* Soft pretzels at their best are a chewy, salty, satisfying contribution from the bread world. Cocktail sized smoked sausages offer a low-effort delectable umami punch in a cute little package.

*Their superiority is also an immutable law.  I offer proof.  What disappears first on a party buffet? If they are present, the answer is unquestionably soft pretzels and cocktail sausages. On another note, is snackery a proper word?  If not, I claim this newly coined word in the name of Foodie With Family.  I have a flag and everything.

These morsels?  These are the cream of the crop.  Pretzel Wrapped Smoked Sausages (with or without the divine Cranberry Mustard) combine the best of everything from the grab-and-go food world into two savory, chewy, dunkable, adorable-to-behold bites.  And oh, what bites they are!  This is far and away the most requested birthday, special occasion, just-because-I’m-craving-it recipe in my arsenal.

A word of caution… Make the whole batch.  Don’t be tempted to halve or quarter this because you will eat more than you thought you would and so will anyone standing around you.  That tray of pretzel sausages above was cleaned in 5 minutes flat. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about leftovers.  But, leftovers -if, by some miracle, you have them- freeze beautifully when wrapped in foil and a resealable bag.

Don’t think for a moment, though, that in the presence of such glorious snack food that this Cranberry Mustard is a throw-away recipe.  You have never had a mustard quite like this one before.  Ruby-hued, tart, thick, and sweet with that mustard pop, it compliments everything from smoked sausages to venison to roast turkey.  More unique than its lovely color is the fact that, unlike most homemade mustards that have to age for weeks, this one is ready to eat straight from the pan.  May I make a suggestion that will have you naming your next-born children after me? Have Cranberry Mustard at your next Thanksgiving table.  I have six words to say  that will convince you: Leftover turkey sandwiches with Cranberry Mustard. I believe that says it all, no?

For a printer-friendly, photo-free version of these recipes, click here!

Pretzel Wrapped Smoked Sausages

Yield: About 76 pieces.

Ingredients for the pretzel dough (Ingredients and bread machine method from the Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook):

  • 4 cups (1 pound and 1 ounce by weight) bread flour (High-gluten flour)
  • 1 tablespoon malt powder or sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

Ingredients for the pretzel bath:

  • 2 quarts water
  • 2 tablespoons baking soda

Additional Ingredients:

  • 2 (14 ounce) packages cocktail-sized smoked sausages
  • 1 egg white whisked together with 1 tablespoon of cool water until frothy
  • coarse salt

Optional:

  • melted butter for brushing the finished pretzels

To prepare pretzel dough with a bread machine:

Add all pretzel dough ingredients into the pan of the bread machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Program the bread machine for the dough cycle and press ‘start’.  Allow the machine to complete the cycle.

This is how the dough looks when it is completed.  If you are using one of the alternate dough preparations listed below, your dough should still be smooth and elastic like this.

To prepare pretzel dough with a stand-mixer:

Fit your stand mixer with a dough hook. Add all of the pretzel dough ingredients to the work bowl. Turn the stand mixer on using the lowest setting.  Keep the mixer on ‘low’ for 6 minutes.  After 6 minutes, remove the dough hook from the bowl.  Cover with a damp tea towel.  Allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy and doubled in bulk; about 35 minutes.

To prepare pretzel dough by hand:

Add dry pretzel dough ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix lightly with a whisk.  Add the milk and water to the bowl and stir well with a sturdy spoon until a shaggy dough forms.  Turn out onto a lightly floured counter top and knead until a smooth and elastic dough forms.  Place in a clean bowl covered with a damp tea towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy and doubled in bulk; about 35 minutes.

To assemble the pretzel wrapped sausages:

Empty the sausages into a bowl for easiest access. Line 3 half-sheet pans with parchment paper.  Spray the parchment paper lightly with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Turn the risen dough out onto a clean counter top. (Do not flour the counter top!)  Use a bench knife or spatula to pinch or cut off a piece of dough about the size of a ping pong ball.  Cover the bulk of the dough with a clean towel to keep it from drying.

Squash the piece of dough flat.  Using the pads of your fingers and the palms of your hands, roll the piece of dough back and forth, gently moving hands away from each other. If you call on your play-dough snake making experience to get the right feel for the movement you’re on the right track.

Continue rolling the dough until it forms a long cord with a diameter of about 1/4-1/2 of an inch.  Hold the end of the dough cord to the end of the cocktail sausage with one hand. Use the other hand to coil the pretzel dough around the sausage down to the other end.

Use a bench knife or spatula to cut the excess dough cord.

Wind the last bit of dough cord tightly at the end and pinch the loose ends  into the dough coil. Don’t worry about perfection.  You’re working with sausages and pretzel dough.  Whether it ends up a perfect finished coil or not it will still taste like a dream!

Place, pinched sides down, on the prepared parchment lined pans.  Let rise, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

To boil and bake the pretzel wrapped sausages:

While the pretzel dough is rising, preheat oven to 400°F and bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.  Add the baking soda to the boiling water.  Carefully lower up to 8 pretzel dough wrapped sausages into the boiling water with your hands.  Take care not to drop them from on high as that will cause the boiling water to splash.  Allow them to simmer for about 45 seconds. The pretzel dough will become puffy and some ends may come untucked.  As soon as you reach this stage…

…Use a slotted spoon to lift each piece from the water, drain and return to the pans.  Brush each piece with the frothy egg wash.

Remember that the sausage is already salty, so use a light hand in sprinkling the coarse salt.

Bake the trays for 16 minutes each, or until the pretzels are a glossy golden brown.  Remove from the oven.  If desired, brush the finished pretzels with melted butter and cool for 5 minutes before transferring the pretzel sausages to a serving platter.

Cranberry Mustard

Adapted gently from The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Yield: A little over 8 ounces.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 1/3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
  • 2 generous pinches ground allspice

Bring red wine vinegar to a boil in a stainless steel pan.  Remove from heat, add yellow mustard seeds, swirl the pan and cover tightly.  Let the pan sit at room temperature for about an hour or until the seeds have absorbed almost all of the red wine vinegar. Scrape the soaked seeds into a blender or food processor fitted with a stainless steel blade.

Process until most of the seeds have been crushed.  Do not process until completely smooth as you still want a grainy texture with some whole seeds.  Add the cranberries, Worcestershire sauce and water and process until the cranberries are finely chopped.  Here is where you start getting an idea of just how gorgeous this mustard will be.

Use a silicone or rubber spatula to scrape the cranberry/mustard seed mixture back into the stainless steel pan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil gently for 5 minutes.

Whisk in the sugar, mustard powder and allspice until completely incorporated. Simmer until reduced by third, about 5-10 minutes.  Transfer into a clean jar with a tight fitting lid.

The mustard is ready to use immediately, but can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. This is the only mustard I’ve ever found myself sneaking by the spoonful straight from the jar.  Yes, it is that good.

This is my fourth entry in Project Food Blog over at Foodbuzz.com. Did you like this recipe and the post?  I’d appreciate your vote of support! Voting is now open.  To show your support for Foodie With Family, you can click here or on the orange “Vote for Me” tab in the Official Project Food Blog Contestant widget in the upper right sidebar. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for getting me this far and for your continued support!

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Holiday Food, Instructional, kid food, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Meat, Party Food, Project Food Blog 2010, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , ,
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