Recipe Redux: Oscars In The Kitchen

Happy Oscar Awards Weekend!

This month, Recipe Redux'ers have been tasked with creating a recipe from our favorite "food" scene in a movie. One that stood out to me was Julia Roberts eating pizza in Italy in "Eat Pray Love". Now, in my opinion, the book far surpassed the movie, but I digress.

Pizza is an interesting food for me. It is one of my favorite things to make, but having a dairy allergy makes ordering pizza a bit tricky. There is one fantastic place up the street that doesn't disappoint (Matt's Italian for you Jax locals), but ordering a pizza doesn't give me credit for this blog :)

A wonderful member and client of mine, Tawnya, shared her recipe for homemade pizza dough with me and I've been (dough) hooked ever since (ha!). Tawnya graciously allowed me to share this recipe with y'all, although I have made one adjustment to her original recipe which is noted below.

First, to make homemade dough, you need yeast! This step is very important, and I am not ashamed to admit that I've had to re-do this part a few times in the past.

Mix 1 packet of active dry yeast with 1 cup of warm (not hot) water in a measuring cup. Add 2 tablespoons of honey and leave it alone. Seriously- don't touch it! Allow it to activate. The honey feeds the yeast, and it will make you feel like a food scientist in the kitchen! See below:

While the yeast activates, mix 3 cups King Arthur ("high gluten content- makes the best dough" says Tawnya, and she's right!) flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a stand mixer with dough hook attachment. The recipe calls for unbleached flour, Tanwya uses half whole wheat and half unbleached white. I've found success with all 3 cups whole wheat, but my favorite is using King Arthur Brand "White Whole Wheat".

Now, you may be asking, "how will I know when the yeast is ready?" The best method I have is my nose. When I can smell the yeast from across the kitchen, I know it is ready. It takes about 10-15 minutes. It also looks like this:

When you have reached this stage, start your mixer with the flour, salt and oil in it and slowly stream in the yeast mixture.

Continue mixing, allow your mixer to run 10 minutes. Dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball. After the 10 minute mixing time, cover with a towel in a warm, dark place (I put mine next to my stove) for at least an hour to proof.

It will at least double in size. The longer you allow to proof, the better it is. Tanwya also mentions that you can proof the dough overnight in the fridge.

This is a great recipe to double and put half in the fridge. You will want to defrost in your refrigerator and then bring to room temperature before rolling out.

Joe likes when we make homemade pizzas because I buy him "real cheese"! Ha! It's the little things :)

Top your pizza with whatever you like. You can channel your inner Bobby Flay and grill your pizzas or bake in the oven on a pizza stone. No pizza stone? Spray a baking sheet with PAM or rub olive oil on the bottom, roll your dough out to fit your pan and bake. I like to bake the dough a little before flipping it over and adding ingredients.

Add whatever you'd like! We use a lot of vegetables- onions, peppers, sundried tomatoes, spinach, tomatoes, olives, etc. and we love very thinly sliced Prosciutto on our pizzas. Yum-O! Turkey Pepperoni is also a hit.

Whatever healthy topics you chose, enjoy this delicious and healthy dish this Sunday while you watch the Oscars. Maybe you'll even watch "Eat Pray Love" before the red carpet. Enjoy!

Recipe Redux: A Trend in Every Pot

Happy 2013!

Let's talk about food, shall we? How about food trends, in particular? The 2013 Food Trend Predictions are in (see them for yourself: http://www.srg.com/permanent/2012/10/2013-culinary-predictions) and we have some exciting things do discuss.

First, expect to see sour, tart, bitter and acidic flavors coming out. Healthier dishes (yay!) are also increasing their portfolio in 2013. Asian influence will be prevalent in restaurants and blogs this year along with veggies as entrees (think beyond tofu... care for a cauliflower steak?) and grown up kids menus. Expect to see American Artisians pop up in your local square, along with tapas/small plates making a stand. Fruit will appear in savory dishes and popcorn will be a trendy snack. The trend I am MOST excited about is that in 2013 there will be "all inclusive menus". Think vegan menus, gluten-free menus, dairy-free menus, etc. This may not seem very exciting to you, but if you have a food allergy, this is fantastic news!

In celebration of these trends, I have created a creamy squash soup that is dairy free. And now, onto the recipe:

You will need an acorn squash (butternut would also be delish), a small onion, 1-2 cloves of garlic (I used two, but I love garlic), curry powder, turmeric, salt & pepper, chicken (or vegetable for a vegan dish) broth and unsweetened plain almond milk.

First, chop the squash, onion and garlic. No need to fuss about perfect sizes. It will all be blended in the end.

Then, add 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp earth balance butter (you could just use 2 tsp olive oil if you prefer) to a heavy pot and heat over medium heat. Add chopped veggies and spices.

Cook, over medium heat, 5-8 minutes until onions are slightly tender and squash begins to soften. Do not overcook, it will burn the garlic. Then, add 1 1/2 cups broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes until squash is tender.

When the squash is cooked through, remove the pot from heat and blend using an immersion blender (one of my favorite tools) or carefully blend in batches in a stand blender.

Normally I like my soups to have a little "chunk" in them, but for this recipe, it is so smooth, you will like it completely pureed. Once you have the soup completely pureed, stir in 1/2 cup unsweetened, plain almond milk.

Stir...

Then, when completely combined, serve into a bowl or mug and enjoy with a crusty whole wheat baguette toasted and rubbed with garlic clove. Enjoy!

"Creamy" Squash Soup:
1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded and diced (*Note- I usually cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds, then place cut side down on a microwave safe plate and microwave 90 seconds to just soften the squash ever so slightly. This is a tremendous help in removing the skin!)
1 small onion, diced
1-2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 1/2 cups low sodium, preferably organic chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup unsweetened, plain almond milk

Heat olive oil and earth balance in a heavy pot (I use my dutch oven) over medium heat. Add squash, onion, garlic, curry, turmeric, salt and pepper. Saute 5-8 minutes, until onions are tender and squash just begins to soften. Then add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes, until squash is cooked through. Remove from heat and blend with immersion blender until completely smooth. Stir in almond milk and enjoy!