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.

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

These may look like plain, old, unassuming pancakes to you, but don't let the simple appearance fool you.  These are delicious!  It's another winning recipe from Ina Garten, and she certainly knows her pancakes.  These are easy and flavorful, with just the right amount of banana so as to be tasty but not overwhelming.  Add more or less lemon zest to your taste (I added more), or if lemons aren't available, add orange.  Toss in some blueberries if you happen to have them, they go well with the bananas as do strawberries.  But before you get creative, try these just as they are.  Fluffy and satisfying, they are equally good as "silver dollar" pancakes. The perfect Sunday morning breakfast!

I got one of those Cuisinart Griddlers for Christmas and I LOVE it. It has interchangeable plates for either grilling/paninis or using as a griddle and it works just great. The plates come off and go right into the dishwasher for easy clean up. Here are a couple of banana pancakes awaiting flipping.

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

2 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Unsalted butter

2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving

Pure maple syrup

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

This recipe comes from:

Nancy Drew's Chicken Salad

"In the old days, chicken salad was served either to children, or at tea rooms to ladies who had been shopping and wanted a light lunch. If you remember your Nancy Drew mysteries, you will recall that Nancy and her chums, wearing their sport frocks, would jump into Nancy's roadster and after chasing a nasty thief or smuggler, would stop at a tearoom and eat chicken salad and homemade rolls with iced tea." --Laurie Colwin

Two of my loves are food and mystery, and I'm passionate about them both.  The story surrounding the above stack of books that I encourage you to read here, is what made me decide to make chicken salad today, and share this wonderful recipe with you.  It is not Nancy's recipe, of course, but it is one of which I have no doubt she would have approved.

 The recipe is from Remy's Wine Bar in Clayton, MO, and can be found in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch publication SPECIAL REQUESTS (that I have mentioned many times before because, truly, it does not contain a recipe that is not exceptional).  A very tasty and different chicken salad. I loved the addition of the pistachios. I also liked the vindaloo paste, but I like things a bit spicy so next time will probably double it.

RED CURRY CHICKEN SALAD

Yield 8 servings

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoons vindaloo paste or more to taste

2 teaspoons minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup shelled pistachios

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

2-1/2 pounds baked, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Fresh tomatoes, for garnish

In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, vindaloo paste, garlic, salt, pepper and wine; whisk thoroughly until combined.  With a rubber spatula, fold in pistachios, raisins, onion and celery.  Gently fold in chicken cover and chill.

To purchase a copy of SPECIAL REQUESTS

(and get the second volume MORE SPECIAL REQUESTS for FREE), please click here.
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New Jersey Coffee Cake

 

I have been thinking...BRUNCH.  The reason I've been thinking brunch is that just one week after celebrating my son's birthday with a dinner, I need to do the same for my husband.  His is scheduled for this Sunday at 2:00, but word has it that we're going to add to our already ten inches of snow on the ground with an additional accumulation scheduled to hit the area at, you guessed it 2:00 on Sunday.  We both watched the weather forecast this evening, looked at each other, and I brightly said, "Brunch!" as though I'd just come up with the answer to the mystery of the universe.

As my husband is from New Jersey this will be the perfect sweet to serve.  And let me tell you it's easy and bakery-shop delicious.  Try this and your friends will be amazed at your culinary talents.  You don't even have to tell them that it's a box mix.  So don't!  Let them be impressed!  We all need a few little secrets up our sleeves, do we not?  It also makes three so you can freeze two for later, or give the others as a gift (which is what I generally do and people are so grateful they fall all over themselves thanking me).

Doesn't this just look like something from a bakery shop window?

Look at that crumb topping!  Is your mouth watering yet?

 

New Jersey Coffee Cake

1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix 

Prepare cake mix as directed; pour into 3 eight-inch round cake pans. Bake for 15 minutes at temperature specified on box.  (Cake will look wet.)

While cakes are baking, prepare the following crumb mix by mixing the following ingredients together until crumbly:

 4 c. flour

4 sticks of butter, softened

1 1/3 c. sugar

2 T. cinnamon

1 T. vanilla

 Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the cakes once they have baked the first 15 minutes, and bake them another 17-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely and sprinkle thoroughly with powdered sugar.

 I always make these in the 8" clear-lidded disposable pans (conveniently sold in sets of three) as it makes it easier for giving.

The perfect accompaniment to the morning paper.

  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

A Birthday Buffet

I had a simple buffet last Sunday for my son’s birthday.  After all of the clutter of Christmas, lovely though it may be, I wanted something quite the contrary: simple, colorful, and with clean lines and a sense of freshness that promised spring.

The centerpiece was one of the apothecary jars that I'd used for candy on my Boxing Day table.  Here I simply filled it with lemons.  The color was perfect with the flatware and Williams-Sonoma tablecloth.

I have napkins to match the tablecloth, but thought I'd go with something a little bolder with this solid pattern.  This was my son's place setting, the little bag at the upper left contains his favorite chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

I made use of a new napkin fold called the Oriental shawl.

It was a very simple table setting overall.  Each guest, though, did have individual salt and pepper shakers.  I've had these for ages and use them as often as I can.  It saves so much passing back and forth during the meal.

I love this little fellow!

And his brother!  This set of unusual candlesticks was a wedding gift.

Plates - Old Time Pottery (50¢ a piece!)
Glassware - La Rochère Glass 1895Tablecloth - Williams-Sonoma
Napkins - Cost Plus World Market
Apothecary Jar - Crate & Barrel
Cups - Amazon.com


Be sure to check out my GIVEAWAY here. The premier issue of WHERE WOMEN COOK can be yours.

This is linked to Tablescape Thursday.

Whole Lemon Muffins

As I mentioned at the end of last year in this post, one of my plans for the New Year was to learn cuisines with which I was unfamiliar, so I started by requesting a lot (LOT!) of books from the library.  Many I have loved, and many have been hugely disappointing.  One series of books that I have quite enjoyed is by the Texas Pastry Queen.  Don't the covers alone make you salivate?  Wait until you look inside!

Today's recipe comes from her Entertaining book.  Now I know what you're thinking, a muffin is not exotic, and that's true, but this one is quite unique in that it contains a whole lemon: the peel, the pith, the fruit.  It makes for a muffin unlike any other I've ever had, with a dense, rich texture, a touch of sweetness, and a very complex taste.  Redolent of lemon, not tart, but with perhaps a tiny touch of the bitterness one might expect from the peel and pith of a lemon.

I am not one for leaving well enough alone, as you know, so thought these benefited greatly in both taste and appearance with a little lemon juice and confectioner's sugar drizzle, and then a light dusting with even more confectioners' sugar.  These are not overly sweet muffins, so these two small additions complemented rather than overwhelmed.

Be sure to check out my GIVEAWAY here. The premier issue of WHERE WOMEN COOK can be yours.

100th Post, a Recipe, and a GIVEAWAY!

Today I am celebrating two things, first, this is my 100th blog post and in honor of such I have a tasty giveaway (please see details below).  Second, and MOST importantly, it's my son's birthday, so Happy Birthday, Andrew, you handsome devil, and one of the best sons a mother could ever have!

Chef, foodie, & birthday boy

We actually celebrated a little early with a delicious dinner on Sunday.  In addition to the toothsome Brisket Braised in Porter (Brisket seemed an appropriate choice considering Andrew is a big fan of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory -- other BBT fans will know why), Gruyere Potatoes, and salad, I also served green bean bundles that were a big hit.  The beauty of all of these dishes is that they are make ahead - yay!  I think a good side dish is often hard to come by, particularly where vegetables are concerned, so give this one a try and let me know what you and your guests think.

Green Bean Bundles
Yields: 12 bundles


1-1/2 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon packed, dark brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 slices of bacon, cut in half


Fill a large saucepan with wanter and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.  Add green beans all at once and when water retruns to a boil, blanch for 3-4 minutes.  Drain the beans and immediately run under cold water.  Pat dry and place in an overproof casserole dish.


While beans are blanching, melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Add mustard, brown sugar, garlic and salt.  Pour butter mixture over beans in casserole dish.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Make bundles of green beans using between 8 and 12 beans depending upon size desired.  Wrap a half slice of bacon around each bundle and secure with a plain wooden toothpick (do NOT use colored toothpicks, or the color will bleed onto both bacon and beans).  Arrange bundles in a single layer in the same pan used for marinating.


Bake, uncovered for 35-35 minutes until the bacon is cook and the beans are roasted.


~~~~~~ GIVEAWAY DETAILS! ~~~~~~
I was fortunate enough to get one of the first issues of this excellent publication on women and their sacred cooking spaces.  Now I want to share one with you.

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.

To win this premier - certain to become a collectible - Winter 2010 issue, all you have to do is become a FOLLOWER of this blog and LEAVE A COMMENT at the end of this post.  That's it!

The winner will be selected on Sunday, January 23rd and announced in my posting on Monday the 24th.


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