PLUM PERFECT

I found this recipe at Cannelle et Vanille. Aran is a gifted person who always has amazing pastries to share. She is a usual stop for me. Always something pretty and captivating at her site. These were so easy, they were ready very quickly and they disappeared rather quickly as well. If you haven't seen her site, you must check it out!

Plum and Almond Tart
Cannelle et Vanille, click the recipe and it will bring you to her site.

150 grams egg whites
155 grams sugar
70 grams flour
65 grams almond flour
190 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Whisk together the egg whites and the sugar until combined. Add the flour and almond flour and mix. Slowly add the melted and cooled butter until it is incorporated. Refrigerate the batter overnight. Place the batter in a pastry bag and pipe it into tart pan. Fill the pan about half way up and top with halved plums.

Bake in a 350F oven until golden brown, which will take approximately 30 minutes, but it depends on the pan.

POPPIES, POPPIES, POPPIES

Recently I came across a great deal on poppy seeds. I don't know if they are as expensive where you live but normally they are 14 dollars per pound here. I found six ounces for $2.60. Poppy seeds do go rancid so I started putting them to good use. I JUST LOVE FINDING A GREAT DEAL!

I made some poppy seed salad dressing and poured it over some nappa cabbage. I added green onions and some bacon. I used about a tablespoon of chopped bacon in a big bowl of cabbage. It was enough flavor to go through the whole salad. So you don't need much.

POPPY SEED DRESSING
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness Original

2 teaspoons ground mustard
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk ingredients together. Pour into glass container. Store in the refrigerator.

TWIRLING PIZZA DERVISH: A Daring Baker Challenge

Rosa of Rosa's Yum Yum's (a great blog by the way) is the host for this months Daring Bakers. She, and a few other gals have chosen this recipe and to have us do the toss, like the whirling dervishes that we are. At first I thought, she's crazy, there is no way, I can do this. It was kind of a comical thought. Ah, what the heck, this is the Daring Bakers, right? So glad I did because it was a lot of fun, I was giggling the whole time, but man it gives you the perfect thin crust pizza. My husband loved it!

I did an olive and hot pepper one. I also did a roasted peppers and cheese one. No sauce. Delicious. I ahve to tell you this dough is worth the days wait. It has a nice texture and flavor. Could we expect anything less from Peter Reinhart? I have my favorite that I use all the time but this crust will become a part of my pizza repertoire.

You can barely see the dough. This girl is camera shy.

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour
1 3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup (2 ounces/60g) olive oil
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 tablespoon sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting


Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

On the second day:
8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pan to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Sorry

I just recently realized that maybe I should not be posting pictures of my kids on this blog. I took all of their pictures off. So sad that it's like that.

BUTTERNUT SCONES, dip and eat

I'm sitting here enjoying my Butternut Scone and looking at food blogs. I went to Tartelette's site, one of my usual stops and lo and behold she had a teacup in her post. Last night while thinking about how I would take this picture of a scone. Yes, I think about these things at night, how else am I suppose to get my mind of the economy, elections, wars, kids colds ,etc. Anyway, I had this great idea of using one of the tea cups I bought at a thrift store (for my daughter's tea party). I had the image all set up. Then I see Tartelette has tea cups in her post today. I thought maybe I shouldnt go ahead with my scone on the tea cup shot because I don't want to look like a copycat. Then I thought no, I will do it. It happens a lot, I am sure it happens to you. You go to a site and someone has the exact recipe you were going to make or someone thought of the exact flavor combination that you were going to do. Or maybe you go to work and someone has a similar outfit on. These are some of the things that tie us together. Some commonality. If it's a copy, who cares, it's a high form of flattery.

Just like Grace of A Southern Grace, butternut squash has found it's place on my blog. Happily as it is one of my favorite squash's of Fall. Growing up, I never knew it was so versatile. Now, I know and I use it everywhere. It's economical and tastey!

BUTTERNUT SCONES
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness Original

2 cups cooked butternut squash or pumpkin (I roast mine and puree it)
2 eggs
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups self rising flour (had to use it, my Mom gave it to me)
1 cup allpurpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Beat butter till fluffy then add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add eggs and then pumpkin and vanilla. In a seperate bowl stir flours and spices together. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix just until combined. Spoon onto sprayed or greased baking sheet. Or you can lay it out and cut circles or make a round and cut into triangles. Whatever you want, this is your scone. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, depending on size and thickness.

BUTTER NUT SQUASH SOUP

My parents lived through the Great Depression. They taught me all my life not to waste. I reduce, reuse, recycle but I have been doing that before it was "cool". Just recently I picked up a dresser at someone's curb to pretty up for one of my daughters. Why? Because we needed it, two because it's better if I or someone else uses it rather than it going to the dump. I will show you a picture of it, came out pretty nice.



You know some people would turn their nose up at me but you know I don't care. I use to worry about someone doing that to me but these days I just don't care. What do I care about? Being mindful of our real needs, not a need that some commercial put forth to make me buy something. I no longer care whether or not I have the latest fashion find or the coolest pants or la la la. Because you know it doesnt matter. I think when I look at beautiful homes, I'm talking off the charts beautiful. I think how someone could have fed their whole community for the rest of their lives with that money. I'm thinking why are so many people living high on the hog when so many cant even afford to eat. There are children right in your own community who are sleepeing on the floor, they dont have a bed. I dont mean to be depressing but geez lets remember humanity, instead of our "imagined needs".

So I offer up this simple soup, that will keep some money in your pocket and put some goodness in your belly.


BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness original

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup apple cider
2 cups of roasted butternut squash
3 cups chicken stock
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon sour cream
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil

Saute the onion in olive oil and butter. (I find this combination produces good flavor while also using a more healthy oil). When the onion is clear add the garlic (I find the garlic burns quickly as it is so sticky, so I add it near the end of the onion saute). Cook one minute then add cider, squash and chicken stock. Add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Cook for about twenty minutes. Puree and add sour cream. You can also add a doolop of sour cream to each bowl instead.

And some good news. Lucy from Sweets, Savories Etc. sent over the blog award. Thank you Lucy that was real sweet of you (and savory too). YEAH!

So I want to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who visit my blog and leave comments. Thank you. I love reading the comments. They're like little gifts in my inbox. I love visiting all of you as well. Love to hear about whats new, get ideas, and see what you are all up to. It's a great sense of community being apart of the food blogging world! No matter how far we share a common bond.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH GIANTS

(Not exactly a stellar picture. It disappeared real fast.)

There are some serious butternut squash's taking over our local market. I went there today and seriously some of them were 24 inches or more. The one below is from last week and it looks like a runt compared to the others. I love them. They only have a few seeds and they are just loaded with sweet squash meat. This particular squash here gave us three meals. At 3 for 2 dollars how can you go wrong?

So with all the risotto's around from the Barefoot Blogger group I have been so dying to make the risotto. I had some saffron on hand but no pancetta and I really did not want to run to the store and purchase expensive meat at this time. I looked around and lo and behold on Kevin's blog, Closet Cooking, I found this recipe. Of course I didn't have all the ingredients for his either. So I went the middle road and threw in a few touches of my own. It was delicious. THe apples sprinkled over the dish at the end were a last minute idea and I am so glad I did it. It was a nice contrast in the risotto.

Butternut Squash Risotto with Apple
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness Original

1 cup of risotto
1/2 cup of dry white wine
5-6 cups of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
s and p to taste
pinch of saffron threads
2 cups roasted and cubed butternut squash
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 medium sized apple, chopped

Saute onion in olive oil, when it is transluscent add minced garlic. Cook that until the garlic is lightly golden. Add risotto, s and p, and saffron threads. Cook one minute. Add wine and cook over medium high heat until the liquid has evaporated. Add 1/4 cup of broth and heat until it has evaporated. Keep going adding around 1/4 cup to a half of a cup at a time. At first the risotto will just take in the liquid and become larger. After a while though you will notice that it is getting more creamy, that's when you know it is done. It should be a little toothsome instead of like porridge. Add squash and chicken and cook untilt hey are heated through.

Spoon risotto into dish and sprinkle with chopped apples.