Winter Squash and Sage Pasta

Two weeks ago, I was visiting one  of my favorite farm stands at the West Sacramento Farmer's Market, Moon River Farm. The farmer, Sara, was selling some beautiful, smooth-skinned butternut squashes. It was a hot August day and I thought it seemed a bit early for me to be making squash, which seems so autumn-y. After all, tomato season seems to last through September in Sacramento. But the squashes were so lovely, and the farmer, Sara, told me that it would keep on the counter for several weeks.

Sure enough, my squash was still in good shape today when I got around to chopping it up. I've been wanting to try a certain winter squash recipe ever since I read The Quarter Acre Farm by Spring Warren, who lives about 30 minutes away from me in Davis, CA.  The dish is a deconstructed version of butternut squash raviolis, only much simpler. For my take on it, I attempted to make it healthier, too, by cutting back the butter and cheese and using whole wheat, organic noodles. To add more flavor, I roasted my squash extra long, until the edges were brown and the squash was decidedly caramelized. The end result of my experimentation still felt indulgent and was totally delicious.

And can I just say-  roasted, caramelized butternut squash, where have you been all my life?! Oh... probably sitting on the shelf because I was too intimidated to cut you up and too lazy to prepare you.  I'm just glad that I've found you now, especially with fall and winter coming up. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 

Winter Squash and Sage Pasta

4-6 cups any winter squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1-2 cups sage leaves

8 oz. whole wheat pasta (I used penne)

1/2-1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 cube butter

2 T. brown sugar or honey

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the cubes of squash into a bowl. Drizzle squash with olive oil and sugar or honey. Stir until the moisture from the squash and the other ingredients form a thick juice to envelope each squash cube.

Pour the squash onto a lipped cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil, spreading the squash into a single layer. Place in oven and roast until squash is tender on the inside and browned on the outside, about 40 minutes. Put squash on the counter to cool slightly.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, adding your sage leaves. Allow the butter to barely bubble and cook the sage leaves until crispy, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta as the directions indicate. When the pasta is cooked and drained, place it in a large bowl. Add your butter/sage and a large handful of Parmesan. Toss together. Place the squash over the top of the pasta (to avoid having it gravitate to the bottom of the bowl). Serve with a green salad if desired. Mangia!

Rigatoni with Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella

From Leite's Culinaria

Some vegetables can be used year-round with similar results, like carrots and beets. Others are special; they must be eaten at their peak because they just don't taste the same out of season. Eggplant, I feel, is special and meant to be used in summer and summer only. I have, in my impatience, made the mistake of buying winter eggplant before....Ok, more than once. I have always found it to be disappointingly tough and mushy.

So when I found some awesome white eggplants at the Farmer's Market, I knew just what to do with them. There's this Jamie Oliver recipe I pinned on Pinterest quite a while back to my Summer Food board. (It's from Leite's Culinaria, an amazing website where famous chefs give you all sorts of cool recipes from their newest cookbooks for free. In other words, a very, very good idea - check it out!) 

 

Jamie describes this dish as one he ate many times while on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, and I could almost picture myself there as I ate it. Easy, unfussy, and ooey-gooey good, the sum of this recipe was greater than the total of its parts. As a bonus, it also helped me use some of my endlessly prolific basil, plus garlic and padron peppers from the garden. Nice one, Jamie! (Serves 6 generously.)

 

Rigatoni with Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella

By Jamie Oliver, From Jamie's Dinners

1 firm ripe pink, black, or white eggplant
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Two 14-ounce cans good-quality plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 fresh or dried chilies, chopped or crumbled, optional
Bunch fresh basil, leaves ripped and stalks sliced
4 tablespoons heavy cream (I used half-and-half)
1 pound rigatoni or penne (I used whole wheat rigatoni)
7 ounces cow’s-milk mozzarella
1 piece Parmesan cheese, for grating

1. Remove both ends of the eggplant and slice it into 1/2 inch slices, then slice these across and finely dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Some people prefer to season their eggplant with salt and let it sit for a while in a colander to draw out the bitterness, but I don’t really do this unless I’m dealing with a seedy, bitter eggplant. This dish is really best made using a firm silky one. 2. Now, put a large saucepan on the heat and drizzle in 4 to 5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. When it’s hot, add the cubes of eggplant, and as soon as they hit the pan stir them around with a spoon so they are delicately coated with the oil and not soaked on one side only. Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes on a medium heat.

3. Then add the garlic and onion. When they have a little color, add the canned tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Stir around and season carefully with salt and pepper. At this point, if you wanted to give the dish a little heat you could add some chopped fresh or crumbled dried chilli, but that’s up to you. Add the basil stalks, and simmer the sauce nice and gently for around 15 minutes, then add the cream.
4. While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta, cook according to the package instructions until it is soft but still holding its shape, then drain it, saving a little of the cooking water. I like to put the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in with a tiny bit of the cooking water and a drizzle of olive oil and move it around so it becomes almost dressed with the water and oil.
5. At this point add the lovely tomato sauce to the pasta. By now the eggplant will have cooked into a creamy tomatoey pulp, which is just yum yum yum! Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper. When all my guests are sitting round the table, I take the pan to the table, tear up the mozzarella and the fresh basil, and fold these in nicely for 30 seconds. Then very quickly serve into bowls. By the time your guests start to eat, the mozzarella will have started to melt and will be stringy and gorgeous and really milky-tasting. Just lovely with the tomatoes and eggplant. Serve at the table with a block of Parmesan cheese and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.

Lunch at Biba

If you are ever in Sacramento and love authentic Italian cooking, or need an elegant place to enjoy a meal, you may want to check out Biba. The owner, Biba Caggiano, has written cookbooks on Italian cooking and is a local food celebrity. Her restaurant recently got a facelift, and my husband and I headed over for one afternoon last week to celebrate his birthday and check out the lunch menu at the remodeled location.

We went on a Friday. This is a very important detail, because Biba's most famous dish of all is her lasagna, which is made only on Thursdays and Fridays. This masterpiece consists of ten layers of spinach noodles, intertwined with Bolognese meat ragu and creamy bechamel sauce.

The texture of this lasagna was remarkable and unique. Cutting into it with a fork and knife felt like slicing cleanly through delicate tissue paper. Although these two squares don't seem overwhelming at first glance, the taste was very rich, and I was unable to finish more than half of my plate at one sitting. Leftovers, however, tasted just as good the next day!

Part of my reduced appetite was due to an appetizer that my husband ordered - mozzarella topped with roasted peppers, arugula, and olive oil.

 

Again, the texture was amazing in this dish. The skin around the edge of the ball of mozzarella was firm, but the center of it was soft and creamy. I totally dig that textural contrast - I mean, I'm the kind of girl who actually enjoys eating the skin that forms on the top of pudding. (Oops, did I just admit that? Here's my foodie card.) The bold, peppery olive oil stood out, and the whole salad felt indulgent and cohesive.

We were lucky enough to get a Groupon for Biba, but it is always a pleasure to visit. And now, having tried her famous lasagna and "real" mozarella cheese, I feel almost as if I had been to Italy in an afternoon.

Pumpkin Lasagna

The garden yielded us a total of 13 pumpkins. I'm pretty sure the packet of seeds we planted said New England pie pumpkins, but these guys are way bigger than we expected them to be! We are going to have plenty of pumpkin for Thanksgiving next month and more than enough to share with friends.

Now I'm on the hunt for pumpkin recipes, especially those that take pumpkin beyond pie status to the dinner plate. I have read that any recipe calling for butternut squash can use pumpkin instead, so I have lots of room to experiment with that hypothesis. Here is my version of a recipe that I tried this week for Pumpkin Lasagna.

I was a little trepidatious when I first envisions a pumpkin lasagna, thinking of cutting into a square and finding a thick layer of pumpkin filling, but it wasn't how I imagined it - it was much prettier and tastier. The pumpkin puree is blended with soft ricotta and other cheeses for a creamy golden layer that sits besides your traditional layers of pasta sauce, noodles, meat and vegetables. I love the versatility of lasagna as a season dish that you can throw zucchini and eggplant into in summer, then pumpkin in the fall. This is definitely a recipe I would make again.

Pumpkin Lasagna

1 medium onion, chopped

4 to 6 garlic chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef or Italian sausage, casings removed
4 handfuls baby spinach
2 jars of prepared pasta sauce
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and spices, to taste
1 pound low-fat ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese + extra for topping
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 pound no-boil lasagna noodles

In a large heavy skillet, over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add meat and cook until brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add spinach and cook for 5 more minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl mixing together the ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Add eggs, pumpkin puree and salt and pepper, to taste. Mix very well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Build your lasagna in a large (9 by 12-inch) starting with a layer of sauce, a layer of pasta, a layer of half the sausage and a layer of half the filling. Add another layer of pasta, sauce, the remaining sausage and the filling. Finish with a layer of pasta and a layer of sauce. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Sourdough Panzanella with Chicken

While walking through Lowe's for the 29th time this week (shopping for house stuff, of course), my eyes fell upon a magazine called Fine Cooking. I purchased this publication due to the fact that I wanted to eat nearly everything I saw in it. The first recipe I tried did not disappoint - Sourdough Panzanella with Chicken.

This simple summer meal is the perfect excuse to use fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs from the garden, the farmer's market, your CSA box, or wherever you go for the best produce summer has to offer. And it doesn't even require you to turn on an oven. Score!

The only problem now is - what do I do with the rest of the package of anchovies that I opened to make this recipe? I'm new to the anchovy game. I may need to do some research for ideas.

Sourdough Panzanella with Chicken
From Fine Cooking

1/2 cup olive oil; more for the grill
4 3/4 inch-thick slices sourdough bread
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. smoked sweet paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 anchovy fillet, rinsed
1 small clove garlic
4 medium tomatoes, cut into 3/4 inch pieces (3 cups)
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 3/4 inch pieces (1-1/2 cups)
1/2 small red onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mixed herbs, such as basil, parsley, cilantro, or mint

Prepare a medium-high charcoal or gas grill fire. Clean and oil the grill grate.

Brush the bread on both sides with 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Grill the bread until well marked, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a cutting board, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the oregano, smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Sprinkle evenly over the chicken breasts. Grill, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of each breast registers 165°F, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board, let rest for 5 minutes, and then cut into 3/4-inch cubes.

In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 6 Tbs. olive oil and the vinegar. Press the anchovy fillet and garlic clove through a garlic press into the bowl (or mince by hand). Add the bread, chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and herbs, and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Tortellini with Italian Sausage, Fennel and Mushrooms

With homegrown fennel and Swiss chard on hand, I found out this recipe, switched the spring spinach for summer chard, and it was a delicious one-pot meal.

Tortellini with Italian Sausage, Fennel and Mushrooms
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, halved through core, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 3 cups), fronds chopped
1 pound spicy Italian sausages, casings removed, sausage coarsely crumbled
1 8-ounce package sliced fresh crimini (baby bella) mushrooms
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 16-ounce package fresh tortellini with 3-cheese filling
1 c. Swiss chard, sliced into ribbons
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional (for serving)

Preparation

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced fennel bulb, sausage, and mushrooms; sauté until sausage is brown and cooked through and fennel is almost tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Stir in cream, then 1 cup broth; boil until liquid is reduced and very slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook tortellini in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain tortellini; return to same pot.

Add sausage mixture to tortellini in pot. Toss over medium heat until blended. Add chard; toss gently until chard wilts. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese; add more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten if dry. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped fennel fronds, and serve, passing additional cheese.

Ravioli with Pea Shoot Pesto

Photo courtesy of Sunset magazine

Confession #1: I have never made my own pesto before.

Confession #2: I was a little late in getting my peas started this spring. Since they're all in a container and probably will never have the space to grow into full-blown sugar snap-pea producing machines before the hot weather hits Sacramento... I figured why not use them up with this recipe for pea shoot pesto?

The recipe is a great one for spring, as it uses young pea shoots (which can be grown or found at farmer's markets) and mint (I actually used freshly picked parsley), which is more likely to be available at this time of year, when basil is probably just a tiny transplant in your herb garden.

As for the pesto, it was as easy as figuring out how to adhere the food processor attachment to my blender. It came out simply delicious, rich and indulgent. I spooned it over spinach cheese tortellini and swooned.

Confession #3: I have garlic breath now.

Ravioli with Snap Peas, Pea Shoots, and Minty Pea Shoot Pesto
From Sunset magazine

1 small garlic clove
4 ounces parmesan cheese, cut into chunks
1 1/2 qts. lightly packed tender pea shoots*, separated into 4- to 5-in. pieces, divided
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound fresh cheese ravioli
2 cups sugar snap peas

1. Whirl garlic in a food processor to mince. Add cheese and whirl until grated. Add 2 cups pea shoots, the mint, and oil; pulse until coarsely puréed. Scrape into a small bowl and press plastic wrap against pesto.

2. Cook ravioli as package directs, adding snap peas during last 2 minutes. Drain; return to pot. Whisk pesto, then gently toss three-quarters of it with pasta. Add remaining pea shoots and toss gently. Serve immediately, with remaining pesto if you like (or save it for a sandwich).

*Find at farmers' markets or Asian markets.

Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

My husband made the pizza above last Friday and it was delicious. He made the sauce from scratch and topped it with fresh mozzarella, sauteed red bell peppers, and mild Italian sausage. (I kinda dreamed this combo up, but he made my dream pizza a reality!) We made the mostly whole-wheat pizza dough that morning and let it rise all day while we were at work. Here's the recipe below, thanks to Mark Bittman.

No-Work Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
From Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. bread or all-purpose flour (plus more as needed)
1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil

Combine first four ingredients plus 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 c. water. The dough should be relatively sticky and wet, like biscuit batter. If not, add a little more water.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover, and put it in a warm spot. Let the dough sit for at least 6 or up to 12 hours.

When you're ready, heat the oven. Generously oil a baking sheet or a large ovenproof skillet. Dust your hands with a little white flour and fold the dough over in the bowl a few times. It will be sticky, but don't use too much flour. Dust your hands again only when absolutely necessary and use a light, gentle touch. Gently press the dough into the skillet or onto the baking sheet.

Brush the top of the pizza with a little olive oil, cover, and let sit while you get the toppings together, but no more than 60 minutes or so.

Family Cioppino Fest

My mom's family is 100% Portuguese. Coming from the islands of the Azores where the local diet contains significant portions of seafood, they enjoy the fruits of the sea. My grandpa occasionally invites the extended family over for a big Cioppino Fest, and this weekend we were lucky enough to enjoy this special treat.

This year, BBQ-ed oysters were also on the menu...

Served in the shell with a tiny squirt of hot sauce.

As the food was being prepared under the covering of a sturdy patio covering, we watched the rain pour down. Portions of the roads in his neighborhood were flooded due to the inordinate amounts of precipitation. But grandpa soldiered on despite the weather.

Do you know how delicious a huge pot of steaming Cioppino broth smells on a cold, rainy day? MMM!

It only gets better once you start adding king crab legs...

Mussels and clams...

Dover sole fillets...

Calamari...

And finally, the jumbo shrimp!

Now give it a good stir with a special Cioppino spoon...


Now ladle your Cioppino into the largest bowl you can find,
and enjoy with fresh sourdough bread smothered in garlic butter!

As you can see, my grandpa makes a mean Cioppino! Many thanks to him for a great weekend, and thanks to the Portuguese and Italian fisherman of San Francisco for coming up with the idea of this delicious, fragrant, filling stew.

How to Cook a Pheasant

When my father and brother took up hunting several years ago, they automatically turned to me to find ways to prepare the pheasants they brought home. I tried several different ways of preparing the bird, but our family favorite has to be this rendition, based on a classic Italian recipe. I believe that this method could be used with other game birds, or even rabbit.

Be sure to let freshly hunted meat rest for at least 24 hours before cooking with it. Shortly after death, rigormortis causes the muscles to freeze up, making for a tough cut of meat. Letting the meat relax for a day or two produces a much more tender meal.

I sometimes throw in a little fresh thyme or other herbs. Pancetta, an Italian cured meat, keeps the meat moist and flavorful. Serve with pasta - I think orzo would be a particularly nice side with this dish.

Pheasant Farmer's Style (Faggiano Alla Contadina)

2 small pheasants

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

4 sage leaves

2 bay leaves

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 rosemary branches

1 (16-ounce) can peeled tomatoes and their juices, crushed by hand

½ cup chicken stock, preferably homemade

8 slices pancetta

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Quarter the birds and season with salt and pepper. In a 14 to 16-inch skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Sear the poultry on all sides, then remove to a plate and reserve.

Add the onion, sage, bay leaves, garlic, and rosemary and cook over high heat 5 minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes, bring to a boil, and return the poultry to the pan, each piece wrapped in pancetta (secure with a toothpick if necessary). Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes, or until juices run clear from a piece of the bird.

Remove bird pieces to a serving platter, check sauce for seasoning, stir in parsley and spoon over pieces.

Goat Cheese Pizza with Arugula

I love pizza. I am thrilled that pizza comes in all varieties these days. I made this version last week when my friend Allison was visiting and it was a huge hit. It features goat cheese in place of the more traditional mozzarella. Because products made from goat's milk are easier digested by the lactose intolerant, I can enjoy this pizza with no regrets. Unless I have more than two slices and can't fit into my pants. I might regret that.

You can start with store-bought pizza crust, or use this recipe which boasts a gorgeous flavor and wonderful texture. Smooth some pesto sauce over your dough, layer with thin slices of ripe tomato and coins of herbed goat cheese, then sprinkle with fresh garlic. When it comes out of the oven, a handful of peppery arugula greens adds the finishing touch. It's a beautiful thing! Don't be afraid to try something new - this one won't disappoint you.

Goat Cheese Pizza and Arugula

1 unbaked pizza crust
6 tablespoons prepared pesto sauce
3 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 (8 ounce) package seasoned goat cheese
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh arugula
1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven according to pizza package instructions. (If using homemade, crank it up to 500F to get as close to an authentic oven as you can in a home oven.)
2. Dab pesto onto the center of the pizza base, and spread toward the outer edges. Cut the goat cheese into thin coins, and spread or crumble across the pizza. Arrange tomato slices over goat cheese. Sprinkle with garlic. Brush the crust edges lightly with olive oil if desired.
3. Place pizza directly on preheated oven rack. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust edges are golden.
4. After taking pizza out of the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes so that the cheese has time to set. After a couple of minutes, cover the pizza with a few handfuls of arugula. Cut, serve, and enjoy!

Simple Bruschetta

Question: Could there be a dish more expressive of the explosion of summer flavors that occurs when blazing sun meets fertile earth than a simple bruschetta? (I had a college roommate whose father once lived in Italy, and she informed me that it was pronounced "broos- KET-uh". But I guess it's tomayto, tomahto.)

This week, a friend gave me a few of her amazingly sweet vine-ripened tomatoes. I knew my husband would love it if I made this Italian classic for him. We even had some fresh basil growing in our herb box which matched brilliantly with the tomatoes. The only tricky part about this simple dish is making sure it is served immediately to prevent the juices from the tomatoes making the bread soggy. I'll share the method of my bruschetta madness, but will leave out specific measurements, as the amounts are flexible.

Simple Bruschetta

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Remove the juicy seedy parts from tomatoes and finely chop. Combine in a bowl with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, thinly sliced basil leaves, sea salt and a few grinds of pepper.
3. Cut ciabatta bread into slices and place on a cookie sheet. Toast for about 5 minutes at 450F.
4. Rub a halved clove of garlic over the top of the bread slices. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the toasts with some extra virgin olive oil.
5. Top toasts with tomato mixture just before serving.

Spring Linguine with Basil

Courtesy of Cooking Light

I have seen a few Meatless Mondays in my day, but here I present to you the kind of dish that makes you sigh with satisfaction because of its simple perfection, no meat even needed. I added garlic because I wanted a little more punch, and it was one of our favorite dishes so far. I also substituted a package of sugar snap peas for freshly shelled peas and cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Spring Linguine with Basil
Adapted from Cooking Light

Yield: 4 servings ( 1 cup)

Ingredients

9 ounces uncooked fresh linguine
1 cup shelled fresh green peas
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
2 ounces shaved fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add peas to pasta during the last 2 minutes of cooking time. Drain pasta mixture in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup pasta liquid.
2. Heat oil and butter in pan over medium heat 1 minute or until butter melts. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat; stir in pasta mixture, reserved pasta water, juice, salt, and pepper; toss well.
3. Divide pasta mixture evenly among 4 bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon basil and about 2 tablespoons cheese. Serve immediately.

The Best Pizza Dough You Have Never Tried

One of my favorite magazines, Cooking Light, did a piece on pizza this month. With it, they came out with a fantastic recipe for homemade pizza dough. Reasons to love this dough:

1) It's cheaper than store-bought pizza dough, which can run $4+.
2) The bread flour gives it an excellent, tender texture; the olive oil and kosher salt add an incredibly flavorful nuance. It rises like a dream and browns beautifully.
3) It's so versatile - you can use it on the grill or throw it in the oven on a pizza stone or even on an ordinary cookie sheet (sans ridges).
4) It's incredibly convenient - just mix up the ingredients one night, stick it in the fridge for 24 hours, and it's ready to go for dinner the next night.

We had this pizza tonight, topped with sauteed bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, and black olives. While it was setting for about 10 minutes after I removed it from the oven, I sprinkled it with freshly torn basil leaves and a little freshly ground pepper. Fantastico!

Basic Pizza Dough
Adapted from Cooking Light

1 c. warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
2 c. + 2 T. bread flour
1 package dry years (about 2 1/4 tsp.)
4 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Cooking spray
1 T. yellow cornmeal

Pour 3/4 c. warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and spoons; level with a knife. Add flour to 3/4 c. water; mix until combined. Cover and let stand 20 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 c. water and yeast in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add yeast mixture, oil, and 1/2 tsp. salt to flour mixture; mix 5 minutes or until a soft dough forms. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; cover surface of dough with plastic wrap lightly coasted with cooking spray. Refrigerate 24 hrs.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Let stand, covered, 1 hour or until dough comes to room temperature. Punch dough down. Press dough out to a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured baking sheet, without raised sides, sprinkled with cornmeal. crimp edges to form a 1/2-inch border. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap.

Position an oven rack in the lowest setting. Place a pizza stone on lowest rack. Preheat oven to 550F. Preheat the pizza stone for 30 minutes before baking dough. Cover dough with sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice; bake for 11 minutes or until the crust is golden.

Fettuccine, Linguine, Martini, Bikini...

It was a cold winter Saturday and I had a bit of time at home on my hands. I decided that a nice plate of pasta with homemade sauce sounded fabulous, so I paged through my cookbooks. I decided on a recipe from a Real Simple cookbook I have for Fettuccine with Bolognese Sauce. It's not too complicated a recipe. The most unusual ingredient is the pancetta, but even that was easily procured from Raley's grocery. I tweaked it to make it non-dairy and cut out the wine, and it came out delish! Best of all, there were leftovers for lunch, as well as enough to freeze and use later. Sometime in the next 3 months, I'm going to have a really easy dinner waiting for me in the freezer.

Fettuccine with Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 cups beef broth
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes, then add the beef and cook until brown. Drain mixture and return to pan. Add the beef broth and the remaining ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes. Serve with cooked fettuccine. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan if desired.