Pizza Party!

So, we've been into pizza lately. REALLY into pizza. We usually just pick up a dough from the best local pizzeria, Transmetropolitan. BUT, since we have some friends who make pizza for us fairly often and make their own dough, we decided that we needed to have a joint pizza party. Fun, right?! We used a bunch of local ingredients (tomatoes, basil, rosemary and FIGS!!) and made two ridiculously delicious pizzas--one that was more savory and one that was a little on the sweet side.



Our good friends Tim and Kate are excellent cooks and we've been impressed by their culinary prowess on many an occasion. Kate is great with dough--the girl makes home-made naan that is out of this world. Here's the recipe she uses, which is an adaptation from "Baking Illustrated":

1/2 cup warm water
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoon) instant yeast
1 1/4 cup water (room temp)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cups of bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Dump the 1/2 cup of warm water and yeast together in a bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It should start to swell a little. Add the room temp water and the oil.In a standing mixer combine the flour and salt with a paddle attachment. Slowly pour in the liquid mixture while it is still going. Sometimes I have to add a little flour to keep it from being too runny. It should be somewhat of a cohesive mass of dough. Replace the paddle with a dough hook and let it go for about 6 minutes. It should be fairly elastic. Sometimes I'll let it go up to 8 min.

After this go ahead and cut the dough into 2 pieces. Lightly oil 2 bowls and put the balls of dough in each, turning them over so they are covered in oil. Cover each with plastic wrap. They will double in about 1 1/2 hours. Sometimes I will turn the oven on warm and put the bowls near it. This will shave off about 45 minutes. Do not cut the dough after it has risen. It will be really difficult to stretch it out if you do. After the dough has doubled take each and roll them on a floured surface. Form them into balls and let them rest with a wet cloth on top of them for about 10 minutes. Then you can roll them out or flip them up in the air whatever works.



The first pizza was what Tore's family has always called "Salt Pizza", because of the salty anchovies. It's ingredients are very simple; home-grown tomatoes and basil are the perfect match for garlic and salty anchovies.



1 can of flat anchovy filets, cut into smaller pieces
4-6 tomatoes, sliced thin
5-7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
a good handful of fresh basil, chopped
olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
black pepper
mozzarella
parmesan



Start by heating the pan you're going to use. You should make pizza at the highest temperature your oven will go or about 500 degrees. Once your pan is good and hot, toss in a pinch of yellow corn meal to keep your dough from sticking. Lay your dough into the pan and then liberally drizzle olive oil over the whole thing. Next add your chopped garlic, then the tomato slices, then the anchovies, then the herbs and black pepper, and then top it with the cheeses.



Bake for about 10 minutes or until it starts to brown.

For the second pizza, we used a local ingredient that's in season right now (FIGS!!) and if you have access to them, you need to make this pizza right away. Do not delay.



20 fresh figs, sliced thin
1 sweet onion, sliced and carmelized
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
4 oz. goat cheese
black pepper
mozzarella

Prepare your pan the same way and then start with the goat cheese. Put it onto the dough in pats and be careful spreading it--you don't have to really spread it, just make sure you can layer on top of it and it covers most of the dough. Next layer on your fig slices, the carmelized onion, and the rosemary and black pepper. Finish with the mozzarella.

Bake for about 10 minutes. Salivate.



(thanks, Kate, for helping with photos too!)

Mexican-Style Venison Meatballs with Chipotle Sauce

That's right, folks.  The venison is back!  Y'all know we couldn't be happier.  This particular meat was given to me by a friend and coworker.  The meat came from a deer that was killed in Madison County--about 2o miles away from Athens.  

I got a new Mexican cook book last weekend and we've been dying to try some things.  This recipe, dubbed "albondigas", really stood out to me because it wasn't the standard Mexican fare that you usually find in cook books.  This was really simple to make, but the sauce tastes like it's been cooked all day.  We improvised here and there and we added cilantro (luckily, we both have the 'love cilantro' gene), which really sealed the deal for this one.  The original recipe was for pork and beef meatballs, so use whatever you have--just try to know where it came from!

For the Meatballs 

1 lb ground venison

1 onion finely chopped

1 cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 egg, beaten

oil for frying (we just used a little olive oil)

Mix ingredients well until combined.  Form into balls.  Fry in a shallow pan, turning often.

For the sauce

1 chipotle chile, seeded

1 onion finely chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

3/4 cup stock (we used chicken stock, but the recipe called for beef)

14 ounce can tomato sauce

7 tablespoons passata (tomato puree)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Soak the dried chile in hot water for fifteen minutes and then seed and chop it.  Heat the oil and then add the garlic and onions and saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add the chile to the pan and fry for another minute.  Stir in the stock, tomatoes, and passata.  Bring to a boil and then simmer.

Serve the meatballs over rice and cover with the chipotle sauce.  Garnish with chopped cilantro. 

Spaghetti with Pork Sausage Meatballs

This was the second time we used some local, breakfast-style, pork sausage to make meatballs.  Soon, we will be out of the sausage we've had in our freezer since the Fall, so look forward to a lot more vegetarian recipes in the near future.  

So, for all of you carnivores out there, don't forget that "breakfast sausage" is versatile and not just for patties that go on your biscuit.  We've used it on pizza, in casseroles, in split pea soup, and lots of other goodies.  It's all about dressing it up with the right herbs and seasonings...

Spaghetti with Pork Sausage Meatballs

For the meatballs:

1 lb. pork sausage

1 egg

fennel seed, dried oregano, and dried basil to taste

3/4 cup bread crumbs

olive oil

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl and form into meatballs about 1 to 1 and half inches in diameter.  Cook in a shallow frying pan (with a little olive oil) on medium heat, turning often, until cooked through.  

For the sauce:

1 large can crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen is my favorite!)

6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 lb. mushrooms, chopped and sauteed

about a handful of chopped fresh basil

black pepper

olive oil

Saute the garlic in a little olive oil until it sweats.  Add the tomatoes, basil, and black pepper and simmer.  Toss the cooked mushrooms in right at the end.  If you aren't using organic tomatoes, I suggest you also add about a teaspoon of sugar to your sauce.

Serve with organic whole wheat spaghetti, al dente.  Top with grated parmesan.  Swoon.

So, how do we look in white?

I've been frustrated with only being able to post tiny photos here, so I tried like heck to figure out how to just edit the template I was using before (loved it!), but I failed in doing so.  

Instead, we're trying this one on for a while.  I don't love the bright white, but I do love being able to post larger photos like these:

A Local Okra Valentine's Dinner

Sorry we've been so slack lately with posting.  It's not for a lack of delicious meals though, I can assure you.  We've been a little busy around here with all sorts of things, one which happens to be planning a wedding!  We've also had the pleasure of dining with friends quite frequently, which is always fun.  Thanks Michelle & David and Lauren & Shil!

Tore and I have a tradition to stay in on Valentine's night.  Right from the beginning we loved to cook together, so what better way to celebrate Cupid's commercial holiday!  We typically like to do hors d'oeuvres or tapas, small plates, whatever you like to call it.  This dinner was no exception.  We planned the meal around making one of our favorite dishes...gravlax.  Basically, it's Scandinavian cured salmon with lots of dill.  It's ridiculously easy to make, but it takes several days to cure.  

Menu

Gravlax with boiled egg and mustard-dill sauce

No-knead bread

Parsley pesto-stuffed cremini mushrooms with grape tomatoes

Picholine olives marinated with olive oil, pink grapefruit and fresh marjoram

Aged Vermont cheddar

Camembert

So, we obviously didn't make that cheese or get it locally, nor did we catch the salmon from a local stream.  BUT, we made the gravlax ourselves with wild-caught salmon instead of just buying it in the tiny little package at the grocery store.  If you like smoked salmon, you'll love gravlax, so try this out.  It tastes a billion times better and you definitely get more bang for your buck.

To make the gravlax:

Cut a large salmon filet in half

Rub (very generously!) both sides with a mixture of equal parts salt & sugar

Add black pepper to taste

Put the two pieces on top of one another so that the flesh sides are touching with a large bunch of dill between them

Cover tightly with foil

Place a brick, a heavy casserole dish, etc. on top of the foil and refrigerate for 3 days

You will want to pull it out and drain the liquid after the second day.  

To serve, just slice very thin pieces off the skin & discard.  

Mustard-Dill Sauce

4 tablespoons plain yellow mustard

1 bunch of dill

juice of one large lemon

2-3 tablespoons honey

3 -4 tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper

This sauce could also be used for a salad dressing--just add some white wine vinegar.