shout out to eli

ah, pizza. i haven't met a person who doesn't love pizza, especially homemade pizza. this weekend, i had leftover marinara sauce and roast beef, so after i picked up some pepperoni slices on my weekly grocery shop, we had pizza pockets for dinner. the kids went bonkers for them and happily ate their dinners. i'm happy they ate their dinners and the many veggies that were hidden inside their dinners- mwah ha ha ha ha! i have to give a shout out to eli for asking me for a pizza recipe- if he hadn't asked, i wouldn't have posted this recipe!

this is essentially a calzone, but my kids like to make up their own names for meals, so in our home, these are pizza pockets. you can stuff these with your favorite pizza toppings, just make sure you have a good pizza dough. i've tried a few and this one is by far my favorite.i wish i could remember where i found it- to whoever posted this dough recipe originally- thank you!

pizza pockets

for the pizza dough-

2 1/2 tsps of active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups of hot tap water

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

3 1/2- 4 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp of salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

optional- 1 tsp of dried rosemary

bring a large pot of water to boil on the stovetop. once the water starts boiling, turn to simmer. the humidity from steam will help the yeast to bloom.

combine 2 cups of flour, salt, and optional rosemary in a large bowl. set aside. 

in a stand mixer bowl, dissolve the sugar into the hot water. add the yeast and gently stir. place bowl near the simmering pot and let the yeast bloom- about 10- 20 minutes. once the yeast has bloomed, lock bowl onto the stand mixer and attach the dough hook. add the flour to the yeast and water and turn the mixer on low. add the olive oil keep adding flour until the dough is soft and no longer sticky. you might not use all the flour and that's totally fine. 

turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until dough forms a soft ball. place the dough into a well oiled bowl and cover with a cloth. let dough rise for an hour. after an hour, punch dough down, cover, and let rise for another hour. before using, punch dough down again and form separate dough balls, each about the size of a softball.

for the filling-

your favorite pizza sauce- i used my very versatile homemade marinara sauce

favorite veggies and meat- for these pizza pockets, i diced up a whole yellow pepper and 1 cup of pepperoni and mixed them into the sauce. and then i used whole pepperonis, too

favorite cheese- i used mozzarella, but you can use any combination

to assemble-

1. preheat oven to 425⁰F. if using a convection oven, lower to 400⁰F. 

 lightly flour a surface and roll dough out into a circle, about 12" in diameter

2. spread a layer of cheese on one half of the circle, leaving a 1/2 inch edge.

3. cover the cheese with a layer of sauce, more cheese, and then preferred meat 

4. cover meat with more cheese.

5. fold the top half over the filling and crimp edges using a fork

6. turn the edges so you make a nice crust

7. place onto a nonstick baking sheet and lightly oil the tops and edges of the pocket. 

8. bake for 18- 20 minutes or until the pizza pockets are a golden brown

i also made a philly steak pizza with some leftover roast beef. i made some balsamic onions*(see recipe below) to go along with the meat and sliced up some tomatoes for the topping. the sauce was the same sauce i used for the pizza pockets- marinara with peppers and pepperonis mixed in. hubby was very happy!

oh was dinner ever yummy tonight!

until next post- maggie

*balsamic onions-

1 onion, sliced into thin half moons

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3-4 tablespoons of water

salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder- i pinch these in with my fingers

1 tsp granulated sugar

2 tablespoon olive oil

in a saute pan, add onions to cold oil and turn burner onto medium heat. season with salt, pepper, garlic, and sugar. saute until onions are caramelized and add vinegar and water. simmer and taste. re season if needed- the onions should be savory, tangy, and sweet. 

everything can be used for something

after i make any type of pie, i always have a bit of dough left. you know- the pieces that you snip off the edges before you fold them together into a pretty crust. it's not enough for a pie and in a kitchen everything can be used for something...so, what do you do with that little bit of dough? make a crostata, of course! i first learned how to make this watching the ina garten on the barefoot contessa, and thought, not only does that look delicious and now i'm hungry, it's so simple to make!

all you need is leftover pie dough and apples. i'll use any apples that i have in my fridge- this particular crostata has a combination of honeycrisp and macintosh apples. i flavor the filling according to which apples i'm using. this means that the amount of sugar i put into the apple filling greatly depends on how sweet the apples are. in this case, honeycrisp apples are very sweet, so i used less sugar. same goes for the cinnamon and nutmeg- increase or decrease the amount of spice according to whatever suits your palette.

apple crostata

for the filling-

2 medium sized apples, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

optional- demerara sugar

for the crust-

leftover pie dough, at room temperature

preheat the oven to 375⁰F. if using a convection oven, lower to 350⁰F.

combine the apples, salt, sugar, and spices in a bowl and set aside. the sugar will macerate the apples while you roll out the dough.

lightly flour your surface and roll out the dough into a circle- about 12 inches in diameter. place onto a nonstick baking sheet or baking sheet with a silicone mat.

pile the apples into the center of the dough and fold the edges over the edge of the apple filling. there will be some exposed apple filling. 

sprinkle demerara sugar over the exposed apples for added crunch. lightly brush the sides of the crostata with an egg wash or oil.

bake for 20- 30 minutes, until the dough is a light golden brown. serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

now you always have a use for leftover dough!

until next post- maggie

flaky

i've had a nasty head cold for the past week so all i wanted was something warm, hearty, and filling. i was going to make chicken soup, but then my hubby suggested chicken pot pie. mmm...the thought of juicy morsels of tender chicken, steamy bits of potatoes, and savory veggies sandwiched between two layers of flaky pie dough...oh my, i was definitely in the mood. so i made chicken pot pie. for me, one of the most important parts is the crust. it must be flaky. it's taken me a few years to finally figure out how to guarantee a flaky crust every time, but i finally did it. the secret? ice cold water and frozen butter. viola. it doesn't get any flakier than that!

i don't have a fancy recipe for the filling- i use the same ingredients i use for chicken soup, but without the liquid portion. the filling can also be made the night before, if you're pressed for time during the day. 

chicken pot pie

for the filling-

two chicken breasts- roasted and shredded

1/2 cup diced onion

1 cup diced carrots

2 cups diced potatoes, skins on

1 cup of broccoli florets

salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder

1 tsp each of dried basil and thyme

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 tablespoons of all purpose flour

in a large nonstick pan or wok, add the diced onion to cold olive oil. turn the burner to medium heat and season onions with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. saute until caramelized. add the carrots, season, and saute until carrots are soft. add potatoes and saute until potatoes are slightly caramelized. add the broccoli and chicken and dried herbs and 1/2 cup of water. mix together, cover, and lower the temperature to a simmer. the water will help to steam the potatoes and make them tender. taste and re-season if needed. continue simmering until the potatoes are soft- a fork will easily pierce the potatoes. sprinkle flour over the filling and gently mix. the flour will thicken the remaining liquid. taste and re-season if needed. remove from heat and cool while you make the crust.

for the crust-

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

pinch of salt

pinch of dried rosemary

1/4 tsp of baking powder

4-6 tablespoons of ice cold water

1 cup of frozen butter or margarine

in a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, rosemary, and baking powder. shred in frozen butter and pulse until the dough resembles rough cornmeal. add the water all at once and pulse until the dough just comes together. dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and combine with your hands. divide and shape dough into two discs, wrap with saran wrap, and refrigerate for at least half and hour. before rolling out the dough, remove dough from fridge and bring up to room temperature. 

assembly-

preheat oven to 400⁰F. roll out the bottom dough and place into pie pan. pour filling into the pie, roll out top pie crust and cover. shape the edges and make an "x" the center of the pie crust to allow steam to vent. brush the crust with an egg wash or olive oil. bake for 30- 40 minutes, until the crust is a light golden brown.

there you have it- chicken pot pie. this picture was hard to take only because i was dying to eat the crust. it wouldn't even stay together for the picture because it was so flaky. oh my, was it ever delicious!

until next post- maggie

challenge

when we were first married, my hubby told me he had never had a peanut butter cookie that wasn't crunchy and that he would probably like peanut butter cookies if they were soft instead of crunchy. i sensed a challenge and i have been determined to make a soft peanut butter cookie since that first year of marriage. i've tried recipes where the cookies were soft, but too soft, or the peanut butter taste wasn't enough, or the sugar content was just too high. after 12 years, i finally made a peanut butter that was soft, but not too soft, didn't have an insane amount of sugar, and where the you could definitely taste the peanut butter.

there it is. twelve years of trying recipes, altering recipes, and i finally did it. i added chocolate chips because my kids requested chocolate chips- they like to sneak pieces from the bag and think i don't notice- and chocolate makes everything better.

soft chocolate chip peanut butter cookies

2 cups peanut butter- smooth or creamy

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups semi sweet or milk chocolate chips

preheat oven to 325⁰F- if you're using a convection oven, turn it down to 300⁰F. 

sift together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. set aside. 

in a large bowl or stand mixer, mix together the eggs, sugars, and peanut butter until smooth. add the dry ingredeints and chocolate chips and slowly mix until the flour is fully incorporated. the dough will be sticky. be careful not over-mix and activate the gluten! this will make the cookie hard. 

using two teaspoons, drop the cookies onto a nonstick baking sheet or a silicone sheet liner. the cookies will spread a bit when baking, so leave an inch in between.

bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are light golden brown. the tops will be pale. if you're using a convection oven, bake for exactly 8 minutes. leave on the cookie sheet for 1 minute for the cookies to firm up and transfer to a cooling rack. 

 

my kids have already devoured half the batch. good thing the recipe made almost 4 dozen cookies! these definitely have my hubby's approval. he said they tasted like reese's peanut butter cups!

until next post- maggie

serendipitious food fun

my daughter saw a recipe in a magazine and asked if we could have it for dinner. once i saw what it was, i happily acquiesced. she wanted a fruit pizza. luckily, berries were on sale this week, sooo... i bought masses. fruit pizza in the middle of winter? how very serendipitous.

this is more of an assembling project than an actual cook recipe. perfect for children! the only "difficult" part was adding some whipped cream to the cream cheeses to lighten and sweeten them a bit. it's completely optional. if you can wash fruit, hull berries, and peel clementines, you can make this scrumptious fruit pizza. a little bit of summer in the middle of winter. 

cream cheese flavors, top to bottom- chocolate, strawberry, plain

i used whole wheat pitas as the pizza base, but you could use sugar cookie dough or regular pizza dough. just bake them ahead of time and cool them off before assembling the toppings.

fruit pizza

assortment of fruits- i used my kids' favorites- strawberries, blueberries and clementines

choice of cream cheese- i had to buy the chocolate cream cheese, because, well...chocolate

whole wheat pitas

1 cup of whipped cream- optional- i had some whipped cream that needed to be used

for the cream cheese- 

beat together 1/3 cup of whipped cream to 1 cup of each cream cheese flavor until smooth. refrigerate until ready to use. 

for the pizza- 

spread as much cream cheese onto a whole wheat pizza as you like. top with preferred fruits. enjoy. 

the kids had so much fun assembling these pizzas. overly excited would be the perfect description of their eagerness to make the pizzas. much licking of spoons and fingers took place. can't say i blame them though.

until next post- maggie

kitchen MVPs- baking essentials

one of the questions i'm most often asked is about my kitchen gadgets. i don't have many and the ones i do have get used- a lot! so, here's my top 5 MVP list of baking essentials- click on the bold for the link!

1. my kitchen aid mixer

i love my mixer, or as my kids call it "mommy's shasheen." this beauty gets used at least twice a week- bread, pizza dough, whipped cream, cookies, cakes, muffins, cupcakes- pretty much everything that needs mixing.

2. silicone sheet mats

these are pricey, but so so worth it. they keep everything from sticking to pans that are supposedly nonstick. i love them.

3. spoonula

something about the shape of this- not quite a spoon, not quite a spatula- makes it perfect for mixing dough and batter, scraping down  the sides of my mixer, or scraping every last bit of batter from a bowl into a pan.

4. nonstick baking sheets

i have four of them and they are used almost every day.

5. stainless steel mixing bowls

what don't i use these for? the ones with lids are fantastic. if i make anything that requires refrigeration, the lid makes the bowl stackable. 

until next post- maggie

tasty goodness

i made this one up after seeing triangoli pasta at the grocery store, and thought to myself- " i could make those." so i did. i had some leftover wonton wrappers and some yams which, in my head, became brown butter yam triangoli. wonton wrappers are essentially chinese ravioli and, just like the italian cuisine, they can be filled with whatever your appetite desires. i used yams, but i've also used butternut squash- yum- and mashed potatoes and made perogies. i usually end up with lots, so i freeze them, on a baking sheet, overnight in the freezer and then put them into freezer bags. they'll last about three months. i'll boil them and serve them with a bechamel or alfredo sauce. or i'll pan fry them and dust them with powdered sugar. anyway you serve them, they are little triangles of tasty goodness.

these are super easy to make and don't require any equipment other than a fork and some water.

wonton wrapper triangoli

1 double pack of wonton wrappers- they're sold in a double pack

2 yams- butternut squash, pumpkin, potatoes are all good alternatives- ooh and some ricotta too!

1/4 cup brown butter

1/2 cup warm milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup of water

boil the yams until soft and mash together with the brown butter, milk, and cinnamon until smooth. allow the filling to cool. then open the wonton wrapper packs and start folding. 

1. assemble the ingredients

2. turn the wrapper so it's a diamond. spoon about a 2 teaspoons of filling into the center of the wrapper. dip a finger into the water and run it along the edge of the wrapper.

3. fold into a triangle. the water acts as glue and holds the edges together.

4. use a fork to press the edges together for a crimped effect.

5. and you're done!

wasn't that easy? now just finish the rest and you should have something like this in amount-

you cook these as you would any ravioli- boil for 2-3 minutes and serve with an alfredo sauce and grated parmesan cheese. or you could pan fry them. i like to pan fry them- they get a crispy golden outside with a sweet filling that is just so so good. i use a nonstick pan and about a tablespoon of olive oil. on medium heat, fry each side of the triangoli until it's brown, then cool and serve. 

don't they look delicious? i'm ready for lunch!

until next post- maggie