BB: Meringues Chantilly

I loooove meringue cookies, despite the fact that when I first started making them, I was not so good at it. I've come a long way since then, and they are such a nice, light dessert - I love making them! This recipe combines an already great item with whipped cream and stewed berries - how can you go wrong? I loved it!




Meringues Chantilly
Chosen by BMK of Reservations Not Required
from Barefoot in Paris, page 176

Orange Sorbet

After my success with pear sorbet, I found some ripe oranges on sale at the grocery store and decided to continue my foray into the world of sorbets. I based this recipe on one from Cook's Illustrated, but omitted the zest, increase the alcohol, and went with simple syrup rather than straight sugar. Sorbets are wonderful because they are so light, with a fresh and bright fruit flavor... this is no exception! It's such a nice break from ice cream (my all time love). Now, I'm eyeing that pineapple on the counter... maybe pineapple sorbet will be next!



Orange Sorbet
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (I peeled 6 seedless oranges, ground them in a blender, and pressed the juice through a seive because I don't have a juicer)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tablespoons vodka or orange flavored liquor

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan, heat over meduim low heat until sugar is dissolved. Combine sugar mixture with orange juice, lemon juice, and vodka. Chill until completely cooled, preferably 4 hours. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Evelyn's Favorite Pasta

I recently had a dish by this name at the Cheesecake Factory and totally fell in love! Normally, I am all for having sauce with my pasta, but this had so much going on that I didn't miss it at all! I immediately wrote down everything that was in the dish so I could recreate it at home. Of course, I loved the combination of flavors, but the other great part was the combination of textures. Soft pasta and roasted eggplant contrasted by crunchy pine nuts and roasted broccoli. This is definitely a new favorite in our house.





Evelyn's Favorite Pasta
Based on the dish from The Cheesecake Factory
Serves 3-4

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced, pressed or grated
salt and pepper
2 chinese eggplant
1 large head broccoli
1 can artichoke hearts, halved or quartered
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (choose low fat to make it clean)
1/3 cup prepared pesto
8-12 ounces penne pasta (choose whole wheat or multigrain (we like Barilla Plus) to make it clean)
handful of fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

Directions:
Remove the ends from the eggplant. Slice the long way, in thirds, and lay on a cutting board. Salt cut sides of eggplant very well, cover with paper towel and then another cutting board. Place a weight on top of the board. Let stand for 30 minutes, then rinse the eggplant well and cut into 2 inch long pieces.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. When the eggplant is ready and chopped, place in a large bowl. Add chopped broccoli, artichokes, and tomatoes. Combine garlic and olive oil in a small bowl with about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; mix well. Add olive oil mixture to the vegetables and toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with olive oil. Roast vegetables for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, start heating water for the pasta in a large stock pot. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat, and add the pine nuts. Heat for a few minutes, tossing frequently, until nuts are lightly toasted, then set aside the nuts. When the pasta water has come to a boil, salt generously and add the pasta. Cook according the time instructed on the box.

When pasta is done, drain and add to a large bowl. Add roasted vegetables, kalamatas, cheese, pesto, and toss to combine. Serve and garnish with toasted pine nuts and basil.

Deep Dish Pizza

My husband happens to love the deep dish style pizza, and when I mentioned that I was making pizza last weekend, this was his request. I turned to my trusty Baking Illustrated and was pleasantly surprised to see they had a recipe for the dough. I was definitely intrigued when I saw how different it was from the regular pizza dough recipe. A potato? Really? Ok... if you say so!


The crust was worth the skepticism. It was SO good! Spongy, thick, and with a wonderful flavor, thanks to the potato. I didn't poke mine well enough and had a mountainous rising dough after the initial bake, but in the end it wasn't a big deal. I used some of Linda's Sauce that I had stashed in the freezer, and a combination of cheeses tailored to my husband's tastes.



Deep Dish Pizza
Dough source: Baking Illustrated, directions adapted slightly

~1 medium russet potato, about 9 ounces, peeled and quartered
~3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (17 1/2 ounces)
~1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
~1 3/4 tsp salt
~1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
~4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the bowl
~1/2 cup sauce
~1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
~1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
~1/3 cup grated/crumbled mexican cheese

1. Bring 1 quart water and the potato to a boil. Cook until tender. Drain and cool until it can comfortably be handled. Press through the fine disk on a potato ricer, or grate through the large holes on a box grater. Or, if it crumbles in your hand when you try to do this, as it did for me, take out a fork, smash it to bits, and call it a day. Measure 1 1/3 cups lightly packed potato and discard the rest. Reheat remaining potato for a few seconds in the microwave, and enjoy with a little butter.

2. Adjust one oven rack to the highest position and the other to the lowest. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Once it reaches 200, maintain the heat for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat.

3. Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor or stand mixer. With the motor running (low for the mixer), add water and process until until dough comes together in a shaggy ball. Add the potato and process for several seconds, then add 2 T. of the oil and process several more seconds, until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky. Transfer to a lightly oiled medium bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the warmed oven until the dough is soft and spongy and about doubled in size, about 30-35 minutes.

4. Oil the bottom of a 10-inch deep-dish pizza pan with remaining 2 Tbsp of oil. Yes, it seems like a lot of oil, but the oil is what browns the crust while it's baking in the oven. Remove the dough and gently punch down on a clean, dry work surface. Divide in two, and pat one of the halves into a 9-inch round and transfer to the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest about 10 minutes, until it no longer resists shaping. Repeat with the other half, or wrap it well with plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer bag.

5. Place a pizza stone or rimless baking sheet in the oven on the lowest rack (do not use an insulated cookie sheet) and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Uncover the dough and pull it into the edges and up the sides of the pan to form a 1-inch lip. Cover again, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about 30 minutes, until about doubled. Uncover and pierce generously with a fork. (Yes, do this. Then do it some more.)

6. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees and place the pan on the heated stone or baking sheet until the crust is dry and lightly browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.

7. Add sauce and cheese to baked crust and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes. Move the pizza to the top rack and bake until the cheese is golden brown in spots, about 5 minutes longer. Mine was already browned and good to go after 13 minutes on the bottom rack. Using a spatula, carefully lift the crust out of the pan to check the crust for done-ness. You are looking for a few brown spots on the bottom. Let it sit about 5 minutes before cutting, unless you enjoy the pizza sauce massacre on your cutting board.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

For a few months, I've been wanting to try the pizza dough recipe from Baking Illustrated that I've heard people rave about. This weekend was finally the right time, and I am so glad I finally got to make it. My pizza stretching skills leave something to be desired, so the bottom of the crust was extra thin and the outside edge ended up quite large (good, I suppose, if you love the crust like I do!). I also had some leftover pesto in the freezer that I wanted to use up, so I searched and quickly found this recipe for Chicken Pesto Pizza on Allrecipes. We aren't ones to shy away from cheese, however, so I supplemented the fontina cheese with some mozzarella. We loved it! I found the addition of artichokes to be pure genius. :-)


I only used one third of the dough recipe, the other two thirds were wrapped well in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag in the freezer for another time.


Chicken Pesto Pizza
Adapted slightly from Allrecipes.com

~1/2 cup pesto basil sauce
~1 (12 inch) pizza crust (recipe follows)
~1 roasted chicken breast, chopped
~7 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
~1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
~1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven and a baking stone to 500 degrees F for 30 minutes.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef’s knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into three pieces. Form each piece of dough into three pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.When stone is ready, remove from the oven. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal. Lay stretched pizza crust over cornmeal. Spread pesto sauce over the pizza crust. Arrange chicken pieces and artichoke hearts over the sauce, and sprinkle with cheese.
3. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and lightly browned at the edges.


Pizza Dough
Source: Baking Illustrated, pages 153-155; instructions slightly adapted

Makes enough for 3 medium pizzas.

We find the food processor is the best tool for making pizza dough. However, only a food processor with a capacity of at least 11 cups can handle this much dough. You can also knead this dough by hand or in a standing mixer (see the variations that follow). Unbleached all-purpose flour can be used in a pinch, but the resulting crust will be less crisp. If you want to make pizza dough in the morning and let it rise on the counter all day, decrease the yeast to 1/2 teaspoon and let the covered dough rise at cool room temperature (about 68 degrees) until doubled in size, about 8 hours. You can prolong the rising time even further by refrigerating the covered dough for up to 16 hours and then letting it rise on the counter until doubled in size, which will take 6 to 8 hours.

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

1. Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room-temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

2. Process the flour and salt in a large food processor, pulsing to combine. Continue pulsing while pouring the liquid ingredients (holding back a few tablespoons) through the feed tube. If the dough does not readily form into a ball, add the remaining liquid and continue to pulse until a ball forms. Process until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds longer.

3. The dough will be a bit tacky, so use a rubber spatula to turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for a few strokes to form a smooth, round ball. Put the dough into a deep oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef’s knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into three pieces. Form each piece of dough into three pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes. Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the others covered, shape the dough into a 12 inch circle. Repeat with remaining dough, or wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer bag.

Pizza Dough Kneaded by Hand
Follow the recipe for Pizza Dough through step 1. Omit step 2 and instead combine the salt and half the flour in a deep bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the remaining flour, stirring until a cohesive mass forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic 7 to 8 minutes, using as little dusting flour as possible while kneading. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proceed with the recipe.

Pizza Dough Kneaded in a Standing Mixer
Follow the recipe for Pizza Dough through step 1. Omit step 2 and instead place the flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proceed with the recipe.

Pear Sorbet

On a trip to Las Vegas, I enjoyed a wonderful trio of sorbets for dessert at a wonderful restaurant: concord grape, coconut, and pear. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the pear sorbet. I've been thinking about it for months, wanting to make some at home, and I finally got the chance last weekend. I should have made this sooner! It has such a wonderful bright, fresh, pear flavor! I'm not sure if it was because of the alcohol, the sugar, or living on the door of my freezer, but mine has stayed soft even days later! I chose to only strain a portion of the puree, I kinda of like having the texture of a pear in the sorbet.



Pear Sorbet
Yield: about 2.5 cups

3 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp pear brandy

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Combine sugar/water, lemon juice, brandy, and pears in a food processor or blender and puree. Strain half of the puree through a sieve, pressing to extrude all the juices. Mix well with remaining unstrained puree. Refrigerate mixture until well chilled, at least 4 hours. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Braised Chicken with white wine, tomatoes, and peas

This is a very lightly flavored dish. The lemon adds a nice, simple flavor, and the thyme is subtle. Naturally, I think it could use a little garlic or onion. ;-) But overall, it was a nice, light dish that would probably please many palates, making it great for company. I thickened the leftover wine and drippings in the pan with some cornstarch to make a little sauce.


Braised Chicken with white wine, tomatoes, and peas
Adapted from Everyday Food
~ 4 bone-in, skin on chicken breasts
~ Coarse salt and ground pepper
~ 2 tablespoons olive oil
~ 1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
~ 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
~ 1 box (10 ounces) frozen peas
~ 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (of course I picked this after shopping, so I used 2 plum tomatoes)
~ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken until browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Add wine and thyme. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, until chicken is opaque throughout, 10 to 15 minutes. (Mine took a lot longer). Add peas and tomatoes to pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken and vegetables over rice, garnished with thyme sprigs.