Pizza Dough & Sauce

From Todd Wilbur's A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes, pages 281-282 and 438-439.

This is a combination of the California Pizza Kitchen crust and the Pizza Hut sauce, and it's delicious!  Make sure you start the night before so the dough has enough time to rise.

Our cheese got a little overcooked, but it was still yummy!

Prep: 20 minutes + rising/resting (4-5 hours and overnight) / Cook: 10-12 minutes
Yield: one 10" pizza


CPK Crust:
1/3 cup + 1 Tbs. warm water (105-115F)
3/4 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup bread flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil

Start the day before you plan to serve the pizza.  In a small bowl or measuring cup, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water.  Let it sit for 5 minutes until the surface of the mixture turns foamy.

Sift together the flour and salt in a medium bowl.  Make a depression in the flour and pour in the olive oil and yeast mixture.  Use a fork to stir the liquid, gradually drawing in more flour as you stir, until all the ingredients are combined.  When you can no longer stir with a fork, use your hands to form dough into a ball.  Knead the dough with the heels of your hands on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, or until the texture of the dough is smooth.

Form the dough back into a ball, coat it lightly with oil, and place in a clean bowl covered with plastic wrap.  Keep the bowl in a warm place for about 2 hours to allow dough to double in size.  Punch down the dough and put it back into the covered bowl and into your refrigerator overnight.

Take the dough from the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before you plan to build the pizza so that the dough can warm up to room temperature.

Form the dough into a ball and roll out on a floured surface until very think and 10" in diameter.  Put your pizza crust on a baking sheet or pizza pan, spread with sauce and toppings of your choice, and bake at 500F for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is light brown.

PH Sauce:
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
Dash onion powder
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30-60 minutes until it reaches the desired thickness.  When sauce has cooled, store it in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

Notes:
- I kneaded my dough on a lightly floured Silpat-type silicone baking mat, and it was awesome!  The dough is somewhat sticky at first and stuck to my hands, but by the end of the 10 minutes, it was a smooth ball, and neither my hands nor the mat had any stray dough on them.
- The second time we made this pizza, we cooked it at 485 or 490 to keep the cheese from scorching, but the crust didn't get quite as crispy.  Just play around with it to find what you like.
- I have used the pizza sauce without allowing it to cool down, so don't worry if that's what you have to do, too!
- The sauce makes enough for a few pizzas, depending on how much sauce you like.

Oven-roasted Tomato Salsa

Yield: 3 pints

6-7 lbs. fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges
4 anaheim peppers, quartered
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium red onion, halved and cut into wedges
1-2 serrano chiles, quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
2/3 cup chopped cilantro
3 limes
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. oregano

Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil.  Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix tomatoes, garlic, anaheim peppers, serrano chiles, and onion in a large bowl.  Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Remove to baking sheets using slotted spoon; reserve liquid.  Bake for 1 hour.  Let cool to the touch.

Add half of vegetables to a food processor and puree until mostly smooth.  Pour into a bowl and set aside.  Add remaining vegetables to food processor and pulse until it reaches desired consistency.

Pour reserved liquid into a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add cumin, brown sugar, oregano, lime juice, vinegar, and cilantro.  Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Add both vegetable mixtures to pot.  Stir and heat through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Store in refrigerator.

Notes:
- It's been a little while since I created this recipe, and so I don't remember if the version I wrote down was the one I actually made or the one I thought would be better.  If you're not very fond of spicy, only use 1 serrano chile, perhaps not even the whole thing.

Mesa Grill Pretzels

Adapted from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes, page 33.

Yield: 20 pretzels

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 oz. yeast
2 tsp. light brown sugar
1 large egg
3-4 cloves roasted garlic, peeled and pureed
Kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
Cayenne pepper

Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat liners or parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, and sprinkle with an even layer of the cornmeal over each.

Combine the water and yeast in a large bowl and mix together with your fingertips until the yeast has dissolved.  Whisk in the sugar, egg, and garlic until combined.  Add 2 tsp. salt, the pepper, 3 cups flour (add more if necessary to form a smooth dough), and poblanos; mix until combined.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth.  Place the dough in a lightly greased large bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide in half.  On a floured work surface, roll each half out into a 12x12" square.  Cut each square into 10 even strips.  Hold the dough by the ends; stretch it to the length of one of the baking sheets, keeping the shape as uniform as possible.  Place the pretzels on the baking sheets, spacing 1" apart.  Let rise, uncovered, in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Season the tops with a combination of kosher salt and cayenne pepper.  Bake until crisp and golden brown, 20-25 minutes.  Remove to baking racks and let cool.

Roasting Garlic
Preheat the oven to 300F.  Separate the cloves of a head of garlic, but do not peel.  Drizzle the cloves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Wrap the garlic securely in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until very soft.  Squeeze the pulp from the skins, discarding the skins.  Roasted garlic will keep covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  (If you're doing less than 1 head of garlic, you'll want to check it before the 45 minutes.)

Roasting Peppers and Chiles
Preheat the oven to 375F.  Brush the peppers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet and rotate until charred on all sides, 15-20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place the roasted peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 15 minutes to allow the skin to loosen.  Then peel, halve, and seed.  Treat chiles exactly the same way as the peppers.  Roasted peppers and chiles can be covered and stored for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Notes:
- The original recipe calles for 1 head of garlic, but that seemed like a bit much to me.  It also calls for jalapeno chile pepper, which I've never seen, so I used cayenne pepper.
- Bobby says to roll the dough out into a 12x12" square about 1" thick.  I honestly wonder if it was a misprint because I can't figure out how that would have been possible . . . unless my dough didn't rise nearly enough.  My squares were about 1/4" thick.

Marsh Pie

From Dad Larsen.

1 pkg (10 oz) Frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 pkg Knorr Vegetable Soup, Dip and Recipe Mix
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 green onions, chopped

In medium bowl, stir spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, soup mix, water chestnuts and green onions until well mixed.

Cover; chill 2 hours to blend flavors.

Stir well, if desired, spoon into round bread bowl. Serve with cut up vegetable or chips (or pieces of the bread bowl).

Serve with pieces of sourdough bread.

Other Variations:
Spinach and Cheese Dip. Add 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese with spinach.
Yogurt Spinach Dip. Substitute 16 oz plain low fat yogurt for sour cream.

Summertime Sweet Pickles

From Jenny Bond.

Prep time: 10 min. Ready in approx. 24 hours
Makes 1 quart

2 lbs. cucumbers

2 sweet onions

1 c. apple cider vinegar
1 c. white sugar
2 Tbs. salt
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. mustard seed

Combine cider vinegar, salt, sugar, turmeric, & mustard seed in saucepan over med-high heat. Bring to a boil; let cook for 5 more minutes.

Slice cucumbers & onion. Pack the vegetables in a 1-quart canning jar or other container. Pour hot liquid over vegetables in the container.

Refrigerate for 24 hours; enjoy! Keep refrigerated.

Spicy Refrigerator Dills

From AllRecipes.com, submitted by FairyFahrenholz.


Prep: 15 min. / Total: 10 days 2 hours 15 minutes

4 (3 to 4 inch long) pickling cucumbers
2/3 cup water
½ cup + 1 Tbs + 1 tsp. white vinegar
½ cup chopped fresh dill weed
2 Tbs. + 2 tsp white sugar
2 ¾ cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. pickling spice
½ tsp. dill seed
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 1/3 sprig fresh dill weed

In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, water, vinegar, chopped dill, sugar, garlic, salt, pickling spice, dill seed, and red pepper flakes. Stir, and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Remove the cucumbers to three 1 ½ pint wide mouth jars, placing 4 cucumbers into each jar. Ladle in the liquid from the bowl to cover the cucumbers. Place a sprig of fresh dill into each jar and seal with lids. Refrigerate for 10 days before eating. Use within 1 month.

Original recipe quantities:

12 (3 to 4 inch long) pickling cucumbers
2 cups water
1 ¾ cups white vinegar
1 ½ cups chopped fresh dill weed
½ cup white sugar
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ Tbs. coarse salt
1 Tbs. pickling spice
1 ½ tsp. dill seed
½ tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste
4 sprigs fresh dill weed

Sesame Chicken Bites

From Taste of Home (Dec./Jan. 2003), page 29.

Yield: 8-10 appetizer-sized servings

Chicken:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup sesame seeds
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
½ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the bread crumbs, sesame seeds, and parsley; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, onion powder, mustard, and pepper. Coat chicken in mayonnaise mixture, then add to crumb mixture, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat.

In a large skillet, sauté chicken in oil in batches until juices run clear, adding additional oil as needed.

Sauce:
¾ cup mayonnaise
4½ teaspoons honey
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard

In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Serve with the chicken.

Notes:
- Honestly, I never measure the ingredients for the honey mustard sauce.
- Sometimes I mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and roll the chicken pieces in it instead of shaking them in a bag.
- Baked version (I've started doing this instead of frying them): Place chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  (Easier, less fat, and no oil splatters to clean up!)

Nutrition Facts (fried):
1 serving (3 pieces) = 323 calories, 28 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 35 mg cholesterol, 239 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 11 g protein.

Sizzling Chicken Skewers

Prep: 10 min. + marinating / Cook: 5-7 min.
Makes 4 servings, 3 skewers each.

1/3 c. hot water
1/4 c. teriyaki barbecue sauce
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
2 T. honey Dijon mustard
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 12 thin strips

Mix all ingredients except chicken in medium bowl with a wire whisk.

Pour half the mixture into a large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken; seal bag. Shake gently to coat chicken. Refrigerate 1-2 hours to marinate.

Refrigerate remaining sauce for dipping.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Thread chicken onto 12 skewers in ribbon fashion. Discard any remaining marinade in bag.

Grill 5-7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with reserved dipping sauce.