Cajun Shrimp Mini Loaf Pizza

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I mentioned the other day about going a little crazy during the past year buying things. Not only did I buy items, but I also bought services. Later, I’ll tell you about all of the services I purchased, mainly upgrades to the house as well as a room addition, don’t get me started. Anyway, before I digress too much, when you have work done in your home dust gets everywhere, and you are forced to do something you don’t want to do and that is clean. Now I know some of you out there do you like to clean. My mother loved to clean. Let me tell you that apple fell far from that tree, and rolled into the next county. Cleaning is not my thing. My mother was known for her immaculate home. I am known for blowing on the furniture just before company’s about to arrive. 

Where am I going with this you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. In the process of cleaning (and tossing, mostly tossing) I decided to go through a stack of flyers and magazines that I had saved for reasons long forgotten. I came across a flyer from my local market (shout out to Schnuck’s Markets), the March/April 2020 issue in particular. It had a recipe for Cajun Shrimp Mini Loaf Pizza. Huzzah! I thought to myself, a new recipe to try, plus one that uses shrimp. If that isn’t a fateful win-win I don’t know what it is.

So I tried it, and boy is it good! Despite having purchased the mini French bread loaves, I ended up using a thick slice of rustic bread instead. I think I prefer that to using the French loaf because there is a greater topping-to-bread ratio. Because I had cooked the shrimp the day before, there was nothing to putting this together, and it was elegant, intensely flavorful, unique, and satisfying. I also cut back the ingredients so as to serve one. You could easily do the same to serve any number you like. This would work very well for a ladies luncheon, or a nice side with a salad for dinner. Wonderful! 

Cajun Shrimp Mini Loaf Pizza
From Schnuck’s Markets

1 T. olive oil
1 T. Cajun seasoning
1/2 lb. medium cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
One mini loaf of French bread
1/2 c. spinach artichoke dip
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400° F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment or foil.

In a medium bowl mix olive oil and Cajun seasoning. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Halve mini loaf lengthwise and place on a prepared baking sheet. Spread with spinach and artichoke dip and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and bread is toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Top with prepared shrimp and bake to warm through, 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with parsley and crushed red pepper.

The recipe claims this serves six. Funny!

 

Shockingly Easy No-Knead Focaccia

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I cannot thank blogger friend, Monique (of the La Table De Nana blog), enough for letting me know about this crazy easy, amazingly delicious recipe for focaccia. After reading her Instagram post the other day, I found myself in the kitchen at 10:30 PM stirring the dough together. It took only a matter of minutes to come together; overnight it doubled in size. The following morning I dumped it into a pan, let it rise again, gave it a poke or two, topped it with flaky sea salt, everything bagel seasoning, and red onions and chopped Kalamata olives, and baked. Here is the end result, after brushing it with garlic butter. Incredibly good! I don’t know which topping is better, so I’m going to continue to experiment with toppings, and regularly bake this delicious bread. One final note, do NOT be put off by the length of this recipe. It is from the Bon Appetit Baking School and very detailed. Make this once, and you will no doubt have committed it to memory.

By the way Monique says that it halves beautifully, adding that she bakes her half amount in a cast iron pie pan. This is a must try! Your family will gobble it up!

Shockingly Easy No-Knead Focaccia

​1¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)

2 t. honey

2-1/2 c. lukewarm water

5 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. Morton kosher salt

6 T. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for hands

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for pan

Flaky sea salt

½ clove Melissa’s Elephant Garlic

​Whisk yeast, honey, and water in a medium bowl and let sit 5 minutes (it should foam or at least get creamy; if it doesn’t your yeast is dead and you should start again—check the expiration date!).

Add flour and kosher salt and mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.

Pour 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into a big bowl that will fit in your refrigerator. This puppy is going to rise! Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a silicone lid or plastic wrap and chill until dough is doubled in size (it should look very bubbly and alive), at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. If you're in a rush, you can also let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 3–4 hours.

Generously butter a 13”x9” baking pan, for thicker focaccia that’s perfect for sandwiches, or an 18”x13” rimmed baking sheet, for focaccia that's thinner, crispier, and great for snacking. Pour 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into center of pan. Keeping the dough in the bowl and using a fork in each hand, gather up edges of dough farthest from you and lift up and over into center of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat process. Do this 2 more times; you want to deflate dough while you form it into a rough ball. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over and turn dough to coat it in oil. Let rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot until doubled in size, at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours.

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°F. To see if the dough is ready, poke it with your finger. It should spring back slowly, leaving a small visible indentation. If it springs back quickly, the dough isn’t ready. Lightly oil your hands. If using a rimmed baking sheet, gently stretch out dough to fill. Dimple focaccia all over with your fingers, like you’re aggressively playing the piano, creating very deep depressions in the dough (reach your fingers all the way to the bottom of the pan). Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20–30 minutes.

Hold off on the last step until your ready to serve the focaccia:

Melt 4 T. unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Peel and grate ½ of the elephant garlic clove with a Microplane grater. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until garlic is just lightly toasted, 30-45 seconds. Brush onto focaccia.

Olive Parmesan Tart

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Those of you who read last week’s post on the Brandied Mushroom Steak Tarts know that I had a bit of trouble getting a jar of olives open. Finally, after carting that jar all around town, I stopped by the house of a friend who’s currently employing the use of a builder that I used to create my deck. If anyone could get that jar of olives open, I knew that Joe could. As with every man I encountered on this journey, he tried to unscrew the lid right off the bat assuming, no doubt, that I was too weak to do so. Now, I’m not saying that I’m not too weak, but having tried everything and everyone, that was not the place to start.

What did work was using a paint can opener to break the seal where the lid met the jar, and then it unscrewed with no problem. Had this not worked, my plan was to get out my concrete drill bit, and drill straight down through the top. I wanted those olives!

The recipe below is the reason why. I spotted this in a current issue of Sweet Paul magazine. I love everything that he makes, and this recipe was no different. It is so easy to put together, and so delectable, you’ll feel as if you are dining in some high end, wood-fired pizza place. It works equally well as appetizers, you just need to cut it into smaller squares. It’s a great party dish because it tastes good hot from the oven, or at room temperature.

Olive Parmesan Tart

Sweet Paul

All-purpose flour
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 c. cured olives, coarsely chopped
½ c. grated Parmesan
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
½ t. dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Sprinkle work surface with a little flour, and roll out the puff pastry to double its size. Transfer to a baking tray covered with parchment paper.

Top with olives, Parmesan, red onion, thyme, and pepper.

Finish off with a drizzle of olive oil.

Bake until golden, about 18–20 minutes. Serve with another little drizzle of oil.

MEXICAN PIZZA & A WINNER is Announced!

More years ago than I care to remember, I took my oldest son, Christopher, to a Mother and Child cooking class that was conducted by the cooking school within Dierberg's Markets called "It's a Pizza Party".  I guess he was about nine at the time, and he was also the only boy in a class full of mothers and their giggling young daughters. Recognizing that he might feel uncomfortable about these odds, the instructor put him to work as her assistant, pouring drinks and handing out utensils (duties that he performed with an equal amount of seriousness and enthusiasm), while she demonstrated a variety of kid-friendly pizza recipes. Just the other day I came across the packet of information from that class along with the recipes. I remembered enjoying the Mexican pizza the best, so, as today's host of our monthly craft luncheon, I decided to have pizza for the main course and pizza for dessert. Both were delicious and very well received.  (Not one to leave well enough alone I added a first layer of refried beans combined with chopped onion and a teaspoon of cumin.) Here is my version:


MEXICAN PIZZA
Crust:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)


Toppings:
1 pound ground chuck
1 package taco seasoning 
1 cup water
1 can refried beans
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
2/3 cup taco sauce
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions


To prepare crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 14" pizza pan; set aside.  Place flour, cornmeal, yeast and salt into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with steel knife blade; pulse to mix.  With machine running, pour oil through feed tube.  Stop machine and add 1/3 cup of warm water; process to combine.  Stop machine and gradually add more water; process to until dough forms into a ball (you may not need all of the water).  Pat dough into prepared pan, spreading to edges.  Bake for 10 minutes.


To prepare topping: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground chuck until browned; drain fat. Add taco seasoning and water; cook until water is absorbed.  Empty can of refried beans into a small bowl, stir in diced onion and cumin.  Spread beans over partially baked crust almost to the edge.  Place meat on top of bean mixture, covering entirely.  Spread taco sauce over meat and sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until cheeses are melted.  Top with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, and green onions.  Slice into wedges.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings


Come back tomorrow for the dessert recipe, it is equally as good. 

Ready for the oven.

Out of the oven, bubbling hot, it is then topped with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Ole!

AND THE WINNER IS... 

Since it was my husband's birthday I let him do the honor of selecting the winner.

Congratulations to TRACY WOOD. who won the drawing!  Please email me your address and I'll get your issue into the mail to you this week.
~~~~~~~~~~

Where Women Cook is the newest quarterly magazine from the publishers of Where Women Create and Somerset Studio. This premier issue features Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman; Robin Brown of Magnolia Pearl; Serena Thompson, The Farm Chicks; Mamma Agata's Cooking School on Italy's Amalfi Coast; CAKE, Celeste Shaw's newest restaurant & bakery…plus so much more! Creative storage ideas, eye-catching décor, delicious food and drink recipes, and inspirational stories will all be shared within the pages of this magazine.

If you didn't win this giveaway, don't despair, there will be more in the offing including baking equipment and blog-related DVDs.




This post is linked to Mouthwatering Mondays.