Tex-Mex Pizza with Poblano Ricotta

Like most people, pizza is one of my absolute favorite foods. I could eat it cold for breakfast and lunch, and hot and crispy for dinner every day. My only dilemma with pizza is finding vegetarian proteins to add. I tend to make an awful lot of tempeh-bacon and pineapple pizza, but occasionally I'm in the mood to switch it up. 

As I sorted through my fridge last Friday night (the eve of grocery shopping), I had just a few options for dinner vegetables: poblanos and cherry tomatoes. I though about making a poblano pesto pizza, but found some ricotta and decided to whirl it up as the base. I love the occasional white pizza with gobs of creamy ricotta! I thought the creamy ricotta paired with the spicy peppers, acidic tomatoes, and earthy beans would make for an interesting (and hopefully delicious!) pizza. 

While it's incredibly nontraditional, it was so delicious. I was eating spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture while I made the dough, something I'll have to revisit for another recipe soon! 

Tex-Mex Pizza with Poblano Ricotta

Whole wheat pizza crust:

1 packet fast acting yeast

1 tbsp. honey

3/4 cup warm water

2 c. white wheat flour (or 1 c. whole wheat pastry and 1 c. unbleached all purpose)

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. EVOO

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a standing mixer with the dough hook on, add water, honey and yeast, stir to combine, set aside for 10 minutes.

Add flour, salt, and EVOO.

Turn on low and begin to mix. Add more flour as necessary if dough is too sticky, or 1 tsp. water if it's too dry. 

Knead for 5 minutes, roll into a ball, set into the bottom of the mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel.

Poblano Ricotta:

3 large poblano peppers

1 c. part skim ricotta

1 tbsp. cilantro

Salt and pepper

Halve poblanos and place on a lined sheet pan. 

Place under the broiler, and broil until skin is black and charred, about 8-10 minutes.

Cool, peel off charred skin.

Add poblanos, ricotta, cilantro, salt and pepper to a blender and blend on high until mixture is creamy and smooth.

Prepare remaining pizza ingredients:

1 c. black beans, drained and rinsed

2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese

1/4 red onion, sliced

1 c. halved cherry tomatoes

Preheat oven to 425* and warm pizza stone (or place a metal pizza sheet pan in the oven to get very hot)

Roll out pizza dough into a circle, place on a piece of parchment.

Slather on ricotta mixture, top with cheese, beans, onions and tomatoes.

Place in the oven on stone or cookie sheet, bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp on the bottom and cheese is melted and browning on top.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

One of my coworkers recently told me she was tired of coming to my blog and seeing green beans. While they were delicious, I've decided to post something new, just for her. And you all get to reap the benefits, because this cake is delicious! 

In case you didn't know, the best week of the year is going on right now. Not only is it the week leading up to my birthday, but it's the week before my 1st Mother's Day as a mom, and, best of all, It's Frappy Hour week! The lovely people at Starbucks bless us with a week of half-price Frappuccinos from 3-5pm each year. And I have to admit that I've been each day since the promo began. Since everyone else and their mom is also going, the drive-thru line is a mile long, and I'm forced to go get my coffee inside, where I'm tempted by the pastry case. Specifically, the Reduced-Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Cake. 

Back in the days of my barista service, this cake was introduced (along with the banana mocha frappuccino, which was actually delicious!) and I took my job of cutting up samples for patrons (okay, myself) very seriously! I loved this cake then, and I love it now. But rather than spend $3 on one slice, I decided to use up the browning bananas at home and make this cake for free with pantry staples. It was moist, chocolatey, and subtly flavored with banana. It goes perfectly with my 4 o'clock coffee frappuccino pick-me-up! 

For the recipe, I went to a trusty source, Dorie Greenspan! I used her Banana Bundt Cake and simply added a handful of chocolate chips!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

a few slight changes from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

4 ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2+ cups)

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*

Butter a 12 c. bundt pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and eggs until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time until mixed well, then add vanilla and bananas.

Turn mixer off, scrape down sides.

Add the baking soda and sift in half the flour.

Beat until absorbed. 

Add the sour cream, then the rest of the flour and beat until just absorbed and batter is no longer curdled.

Turn the mixer off, fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into bundt pan and smooth out top with a spatula. 

Bake 60-75 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes, invert on a place and cool to room temperature. 

Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole

I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's of 2010 quite sick due to my pregnancy, and was unable to enjoy the delicious meals and treats throughout the season. That was my reasoning for pigging out this past holiday season. However, I tried to keep it semi-healthy, beginning with this dish! I'm a huge green bean casserole fan. The canned beans and condensed soup version just don't cut it though, fresh beans, a quick cream sauce, and a sprinkle of fresh onions are a million times tastier! 

I used Alton Brown's "Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole" as my starting point, but green bean casserole really isn't rocket science. This side dish will definitely be gracing our table all year long, not just at the holidays. Here's an extra tip - make double, or triple the onions - you won't be able to stop snacking on them while making the rest of the dish! 

Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole

from Alton Brown (slightly adapted from link above)

2 yellow onions, sliced 1/4" thick, separated into rings

1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. Italian style breadcrumbs

1/4 c. panko breadcrumbs

2 lbs. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" segments

1 tbsp. butter

8 oz. button mushrooms, chopped

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt and pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

2 tbsp. flour

1-2 c. 2% milk

Preheat oven to 450*

Add onions to a bowl, toss in flour, remove and place in another bowl, toss in buttermilk, remove and place in a final bowl of breadcrumbs, toss gently to coat.

Spread out on a lined cookie sheet, bake for 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes to ensure even crisping.

Remove from the oven, set aside.

Bring 1" of water to a boil, place a steamer basket over water and steam beans for 7-10 minutes, until tender and still bright green.

In a deep saute' pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic.

Saute' for 5 minutes, until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft.

Sprinkle with flour, stir to coat, add 1 c. milk and nutmeg, whisk and bring to a bubble, cook to desired thickness of sauce, adding more milk as necessary.

Add green beans, toss to coat in sauce, taste and adjust seasonings.

Remove from heat, pour into a dish, top with onions and serve immediately.

Butternut Squash Gratin with Poblanos and Cream

When I first saw this recipe on Elly's blog months ago, I starred it in my Google reader. Then, when she had it listed in her Favorites from 2011 post, I decided it was about time I make it! It's an unusual combination, poblanos and butternut, but it's a match made in heaven. Coincidentally, butternut squash is one of my absolute favorite foods, and poblanos are one of my husbands. Not so surprisingly, we both absolute loved this, and it will be a staple in our "what do you want for dinner this week...?" conversations.

When it comes to poblanos, in my opinion, it's a crap shoot. Sometimes they're pretty spicy, like an overgrown jalapeno, and sometimes they're really mild and almost sweet. Just as I had hoped, JJ picked out 2 of each, so our dish was a little spicy, a little sweet, and super cheesy. I made this dish pretty much as written, but didn't have any farmer's cheese (Elly used queso fresco) so I used goat cheese. I also omitted the cream completely, so the dish actually wasn't exceptionally rich, and the vegetables really were the star of the show. 

Butternut Squash Gratin with Poblanos and Cream

adapted from Elly Says Opa and Food and Wine

4 poblano peppers

1 large butternut squash, about 2 lbs, peeled and sliced

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Salt and pepper

1/2 c. light sour cream

1 c. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1/4 c. crumbled goat cheese

Heat broiler to high. Slice poblanos in half, seed and place skin side up on a lined cookie sheet.

Broil for 5-10 minutes, until entire skin is charred and blistered. 

Remove from the broiler, turn broiler off and oven on to 400*

Place poblanos in a tupperware container and set aside. 

Place butternut squash slices on another lined cookie sheet, season with salt and pepper, roast for 25 minutes, or until edges begin to crisp.

Heat a skillet over medium heat, add EVOO, onion and garlic, saute' for 5 minutes.

Peel skin off poblanos, slice and add to the onions and garlic. 

Turn heat off, season with salt and pepper. 

Add sour cream, use a spatula to fold it in the vegetable mixture.

Remove squash from the oven.

Grease a casserole dish. 

Place a layer of squash, followed by 1/2 the poblano mixture, and a sprinkle of the cheeses.

Top with another layer of squash, poblanos and cheese.

Finish with one final layer of squash and the remaining cheese.

Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and brown. 

Vegetarian Zuppe Toscana

If you read many food blogs, you'll see lots of 2011 "best of" and "top 10" posts... not here! While 2011 was a wonderful year for me personally, it was very quiet on the blog front because of pregnancy + newborn. This year, I plan to make blogging a top priority as I have been cooking up some delicious dishes and want to share them with you!  

On New Years Day, I planned to make Black Eye Peas, Collared Greens and Cornbread for dinner. I put the peas in the crockpot with vegetable stock, garlic and onions and let it cook while we went to church and the beach. Yes, we went to the beach on January 1! It was a gorgeous day and I knew we'd be watching football all afternoon. I told JJ it was time we take Violet to the beach and enjoy the day before planting ourselves in front of the TV. No need to be jealous, friends in the north, it's now in the 40-50's here...

After we got home from the beach, we both grabbed a bowl of peas from the crock pot. And then another, and another. And soon enough, 1/3 of our dinner was consumed at lunch time. So I had to go to plan B. 

Zuppe Toscana is one of my favorites, but I never thought to make a vegetarian version. It's usually made with sausage, so I used the flavors of sausage for the broth (as I did with this soup), and lentils for meaty part of the soup. I also have seen cream or milk in Zuppe Toscana, but I found the starch from the potatoes made the broth thick enough that it was unnecessary. This soup was just as delicious as it's meaty counterpart, and much healthier. 

Happy New Year!

Vegetarian Zuppe Toscana

Veggie by Season Original

2 tbsp. EVOO

1 yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

1/4 c. sherry

4 c. vegetable stock (I love these stock cubes)

4 small/medium russet potatoes, sliced in 1/4" rounds

1 1/2 c. brown lentils

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground fennel seed

1 tsp. dried rubbed sage

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

4 c. kale leaves, chopped

Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat.

Add EVOO, onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and saute' for 5 minutes.

Add sherry, scrape bits off the pan.

Add stock, potatoes, lentils, oregano, fennel, sage and red pepper flakes.

Bring to a simmer, then turn to low and cover.

Simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes and lentils are tender.

Add kale to the top, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Kale should be wilted, carefully mix into the soup - some potatoes will break, but try to keep them as in tact as possible. 

Taste, adjust seasonings, and be sure lentils are tender.

Serve with grated parmesan.

Apple Cider Snickerdoodles

Just when I thought I was finished making Christmas cookies for the year, I realized Violet and I never made any to leave out for Santa! While I know she won't remember making them for the next several years, I will, and I love creating traditions with her. 

While Skyping with my sister in Geneva, she told me I should make Apple Cider Snickerdoodles, she saw the recipe pop up in the Food Network's 12 Days of Cookies. It just so happened that I had 1/2 gallon of apple cider in the fridge to use up, these cookies were meant to be! 

I strapped Violet in the Bjorn and we got to work!

These cookies were delicious. The apple cider added such delicious, fresh flavor, which can be hard to get in a cookie. Thanks for the recommendation, Becky! Santa loved these cookies.

Apple Cider Snickerdoodles

adapted from Food Network

1 1/2 c. apple cider

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter at room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar, plus more for rolling

1/4 c. packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. apple pie spice (or 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/8 tsp. cloves, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg)

Preheat oven to 400*

Bring apple cider to a boil in a small sauce pot, reduce to medium and simmer until reduced to about 2-3 tbsp. of syrupy liquid.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Scrape down sides, add apple cider and egg, beat until mixed well.

Add remaining ingredients except apple pie spice.

Beat on low until mixed dough comes together.

Mix 1/4 c. granulated sugar with apple pie spice in a shallow dish.

Break dough into walnut sized balls and roll in sugar, place on cookie sheet lined with parchment, and press gently.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake cookies for 12 minutes, cool on pan for 2-3, then on a wire rack until they're at room temperature.

Store in a cookie jar, or on a plate for Santa!

Gingerbread Loaf Cake

Last weekend, my husband and I hosted an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. I told everyone there would be a prize for the winner. After the votes came in, my husband won! However, I didn't want him to get the prize, so I gave it to his two friends tied for second. When I told them what the prize was, a loaf of delicious gingerbread, they were less than excited. Crazy talk, right? 

JJ told them that it was really good, and they should at least try it. He cut them each a piece, and of course, they loved it! Silly boys - what's not to love, spicy ginger and cinnamon, tender cake all topped with cream cheese frosting and bits of candied ginger. This loaf cake is reminiscent of my favorite Starbucks loaf cake, but it's a bit less dense. Perfect to whip up with simple ingredients from the pantry and spice rack. I love it as a holiday breakfast treat without the icing, but it's a little more fancy and dessert worthy with it. 

Old Fashioned Gingerbread

adapted from allrecipes.com

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 egg

1 c. molasses

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 c. Guinness or hot water

Optional:

Cream Cheese Frosting

(cream together 2 oz. cream cheese with 2 tbsp. butter, add 2 c. powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla, whip until incorporated, thinning with milk if necessary)

Candied ginger pieces

Preheat oven to 350*

Grease a loaf pan, line with parchment.

In a stand mixer, cream sugar and butter.

Add egg, molasses and vanilla, mix until light and fluffy.

Turn mixer off, add flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt, turn mixer on slow until flour is just absorbed, add the Guinness or water and mix until it's absorbed, do not overmix!

Pour batter into loaf pan and place in the oven.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool on a rack until room temperature.

Smear with frosting and dot with ginger pieces.

Sell Your Soul Pumpkin Cookies

When browsing through "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar" for Christmas cookie recipes, I flipped past this recipe without giving it much thought. Then I saw the picture that accompanied the recipe, and had second thoughts. The cookies looked chewy and dense, not cakey and round like more pumpkin cookies. After reading the description, the author claims to make a chewy pumpkin cookie, you can sell your soul, or you can reduce the moisture content in the pumpkin - genius! 

These cookies are a bit of work because you have to cook the pumpkin down, but they're so worth it. I quadrupled this batch, and put the pumpkin in the crock pot to reduce all day while baking other cookies, but the original recipe calls for cooking out the moisture in a pan. Either method works, it just depends on how much attention you have for the pumpkin. 

My sister, the one I made the Nutella Thumbprints for, already told me these are her new favorite. Add some cinnamon ice cream and make yourself an amazing fall/winter flavored ice cream sandwich!

Sell Your Soul Pumpkin Cookies

from "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar"

1 c. canned solid pack pumpkin

1/2 c. earth balance (or butter, for the non-vegans)

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 c. oat flour (put some oatmeal in a blender)

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. baking powder

 1/2 tsp. salt

Pumpkin seeds, shelled, for garnish if desired

First, reduce the pumpkin.

Either place in a crock pot on high for several hours, stirring occasionally, or place in a saucepan over medium heat for about 45 minutes, stirring often. You can either weigh or measure, you want to reduce the pumpkin by half, ending with 1/2 c. or 4 oz. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350*

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, cream earth balance with the sugars, when soft and fluffy, add the vanilla and pumpkin, mix until incorporated.

Add all remaining ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Chill dough for 30 minutes.

Spoon walnut sized balls and roll in your hands, then press lightly on a cookie sheet.

Press pumpkin seeds on top, if desired.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden and no longer glossy in centers.

Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. 

Yield 24 cookies

Nutella Hazelnut Thumbprints

When I make my Christmas Cookie list each year, I keep a few traditional favorites, but then try to include some new cookies. I always keep my recipients in mind, and look for cookies I know they'd enjoy. My older sister is a Nutella fiend, so I thought rather than make my traditional jam thumbprints, I'd use Nutella. When I was contacted by Oh Nuts! to choose a few products to assist in my holiday baking, I decided on Hazelnuts because I thought I'd combine the nuts with Nutella somehow. I google searched Nutella Hazelnut Thumbprints, and this recipe popped right up! It was exactly what I was looking for, really showcasing the delicious Hazelnuts as well as the Nutella. The Hazelnuts get toasty in the baking process and encrust the cookies perfectly. Not a traditional Christmas cookie by any means, but I'm guessing Kristine will hope they stay in the rotation for years to come! 

Hazelnut Nutella Thumbprints

slightly adapted from The Curvy Carrot

(I quadrupled this recipe and got about 70 cookies!)

1/2 c. (1 stick) salted butter at room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 large egg, separated, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. unbleached, all purpose flour

1 c. Hazelnuts, chopped (I like bigger chunks, it's up to you how finely)

1/2 c. Nutella (or any other chocolate hazelnut spread)

Add butter and sugar to a stand mixer, beat until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolk and vanilla, beat until incorporated.

Scrape down sides, add the flour and beat on low until absorbed.

Cover with saran wrap and place bowl in the refrigerator for an hour.

Beat the egg yolk until it's frothy.

Add hazelnuts to a shallow dish.

Preheat oven to 350*

Pull off walnut sized dough balls, roll in egg white, then coat in nuts.

Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Repeat until all cookies are rolled in nuts, gently press a small divot in the center of each cookie.

Place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes, remove, press hole again, and bake for another 8 minutes, or until nuts are golden brown.

Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Press again in the center, if necessary.

When cookies have cooled, add Nutella to a piping bag and pipe a mound in the center of each cookie.

Cool for an additional hour or two, until Nutella has set, before placing in a cookie jar or packaging.

Christmas Cookies 2011

As always, I spent a December weekend baking dozens of cookies, and mailing them out to friends and family. I also have a few friends who purchase them as gifts. One of my loyal customers put in a special request this year, vegan cookies! I've never baked vegan cookies before, so I spent some time researching recipes and learning how to cut the butter and eggs. The end result was 7 batches of cookies that were fantastic! 

After each batch was baked, my husband and I sat down and did a taste test, as photographed above! The vegan cookies seemed a bit more dense than their dairy-full counterparts, but I don't think you'd realize their vegan unless you were told so. 

I'll be posting a few new recipes in the next few days, and linking to my trusty old recipes below. 

Merry baking to all :) 

Vegan Cookies, beginning with bottom left and going clockwise:

-City Girl Snickerdoodles

-Chocolate Chunkers

-Sell Your Soul Pumpkin Cookies

-Roll and Cut Sugar Cookies

-Gingerbread Men

-Cherry Coconut Oatmeal (adapted from Oatmeal Raisin Cookies)

-Blackstrap Gingersnaps

all recipes are from "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar"

Christmas Cookies, 2011 (non linked will be blogged soon!):

-Snickerdoodles

-M&M Chocolate Chip

-Almond Roca

-Butterscotch Walnut Chunk

-Cherry Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip

-Hazelnut Nutella Thumbprints

-Gingerbread Biscotti

-Gingerbread Men

-Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

-Sell Your Soul Pumpkin Cookies