Hamlety Pizza

Hamlet and pork products?  I know, it's corny.  But it works!  And I think I cheated a little bit...I used my favorite version of ham: prosciutto and pancetta.  And to be even more Italian I decided to make pizza.  I've actually never made my own pizza, except for one effort that went seriously awry.  This time I used baby steps; I purchased the pizza dough from a local Italian grocery store.  I then tried three different pizza recipes all on the recommendation of my favorite food blog, SmittenKitchen.  And she didn't disappoint.  Below are my attempts at fresh ricotta and red onion pizza, bacon, onions, and cream pizza, and shaved asparagus pizza.  With a few tweaks.

"Oh that this too...would melt" Asparagus Pizza
 You'll Need:
1 medium sized ball of fresh pizza dough, uncooked
1/2 pound uncooked asparagus
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
2 tbsps olive oil
1 scallion
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Take the asparagus and starting from the base, peel upwards in strips (like with a cucumber).  No need to snap the ends off.  Get as many peelings as you can, and press firmly for thick slices.  Toss peelings when complete with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper to season.  Set aside in a bowl.
3. Roll out and stretch dough until correct size with ends slightly higher for crust.  Cover the dough with remaining olive oil and a tsp salt.  Cover baking sheet with tin foil and then place pizza on a square of parchment paper.
4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese, then mozzarella, over the dough.  Top with asparagus.  Bake in the oven 10-15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and asparagus slightly browned.  Immediately top with sliced scallion and set aside to cool.

"Goodnight, sweet prince" Prosciutto Ricotta Pizza

 You'll Need:

1 medium sized ball of fresh pizza dough, uncooked

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 1/2 tbsps golden brown sugar

2 tbsps olive oil

2 tbsps balsamic vinegar

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 pound prosciutto

1 tsp fresh sage

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in medium saucepan.  Cook onions with brown sugar until dark brown and tender, about 15 minutes.  Mix in vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until thickened, about 2 minutes more.  Turn off heat.
3. Roll out and stretch dough until correct size with ends slightly higher for crust.  Cover the dough with remaining olive oil and a tsp salt.  Cover baking sheet with tin foil and then place pizza on a square of parchment paper.
4. Spread the onion mixture over the center of the dough within a 1/4 inch of the edge.  Top with ricotta and then place prosciutto over the top.  Sprinkle with sage.
5. Bake in oven for about 12 minutes, or until bread is brown and crusty.

"To die: To sleep" Pancetta and Cream Pizza

 You'll Need:

1 medium sized ball of fresh pizza dough, uncooked

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/4 pound pancetta, cubed

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cook pancetta with 1 tsp olive oil until slightly browned.  Then remove pancetta and set aside.  Add onions to the pan and cook until slightly softened, about 10 minutes.  Turn off heat.
3. Roll out and stretch dough until correct size with ends slightly higher for crust.  Cover the dough with remaining olive oil and a tsp salt.  Cover baking sheet with tin foil and then place pizza on a square of parchment paper.
4. Whisk together ricotta, sour cream, and flour.  Add salt and pepper to season.
5. Spread the cheese mixture over the center of the dough within a 1/4 inch of the edge.  Top with onions and pancetta.
6. Bake in oven for about 12 minutes, or until bread is golden brown.

Different in their own ways, but incredibly yummy.  Pizza was a success!  SmittenKitchen never leads me wrong.  I keep changing my mind about my favorite, but the asparagus was very good.  Well then... until next time?  For now...I'll enjoy the melted cheese...

Welsh Rarebit (Actually doesn't involve any rabbits...)

Welsh Rarebit is the only Welsh recipe I'd ever heard of.  Unfortunately, I had no idea what it was.  After extensive Googling, I was able to determine that Welsh Rarebit is a dish made with a sauce of melted cheese and served hot over toasted bread.  So for dinner one night I prepared the best version I found, from Simple Bites.  Here it is!




Welsh Rarebit
You'll need:
1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pilsner beer, or other light beer
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, coarsely grated (about 1-1/2 cups)

1. Lightly beat yolk in a medium heatproof bowl.

2. Melt remaining 2 Tablespoons butter in a small heavy saucepan over moderately low heat.
3. Add flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute.

4. Add beer and milk, whisking constantly, then whisk in mustard and pepper. Bring to a simmer, whisking, and cook, whisking frequently, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Gradually add cheese and cook, whisking, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk into beaten yolk until combined.

6. Serve hot, with bread and/or vegetables.

Now, the traditional way to eat Welsh Rarebit is with bread.  The recipe I found says to pour it over vegetables instead (asparagus and mushrooms).  Rarebit is actually very similar to fondue in this way; you can eat it with pretty much anything.  Melted cheese is always good.  I made a pot of it and decided to put it by the dinner table.  We ate it with bread, vegetables, even chicken!  Delicious.
Keep in mind the one thing that gives this recipe its flavor: the beer.  Because I didn't have a wide variety of beers available, I used Magic Hat.  That beer has a distinct, smoky flavor, and therefore so did the rarebit.  Be very conscious of which beer you select because that will ultimately determine the flavor.  Other than that, this cheesy goodness is easy to make with ingredients that I already had in my kitchen.

Try it on a cool evening with just about anything!

Grittier than Scarlett...

When I thought of Southern food, my brain immediately went to grits.  I had never tried grits.  In fact, I really had no idea what they were other than some vague idea they had something to do with cornmeal.  But what better reason to make them?  I invited some friends, luring them with promises of fried chicken, while trying to hide the fact that they were about to undergo a four hour movie.  Everyone contributed, bringing corn muffins, fried chicken, creamed spinach and sangria.  And I made the grits from an Alton Brown recipe, which turned out well...like grits...

I'm not sure if this is a good thing.  Perhaps I just neglected to add enough cheese.

It was hard to compare, these being my first grits.  My friends insisted that these were grits, and were in fact, quite good.  And they weren't exactly bad, more like glorified polenta than anything else.  My final verdict?  Not bad, not good, just a kind of starchy side dish.  Next time I add jalapeno.

The Grits
You'll Need:
2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter
4 ounces sharp Cheddar, shredded

1. Place the milk, water, and salt into a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

2. Once the milk mixture comes to a boil, slowly add the cornmeal while continuously whisking. 

3. Once all of the cornmeal has been absorbed, decrease the heat to low and cover. 
4. Remove lid and whisk frequently, every 3 to 4 minutes, to prevent grits from sticking or forming lumps; make sure to get into corners of pot when whisking. 

5. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is creamy.  Remove from the heat, add the pepper and butter, and whisk to combine. Once the butter is melted, gradually whisk in the cheese a little at a time.

Remains of the southern fried meal...

Serve immediately and enjoy!   Side note to this recipe: like with most things, you can never have enough cheese or butter with this recipe.  Feel free to experiment!

And now for something completely different...

This doesn't have anything to do with the movie, except that I really wanted to make it!  But it is one of my favorite appetizers to make for guests, especially around the holidays.  I guess this falls into Capra's "happy family" mentality in You Can't Take It With You.  Holiday Brie en Croute is easy, fast and delicious.  But I can't take any credit for it, my mother and I got the recipe years ago from the Pepperidge Farm's Puff Pastry box.  Read my instructions or go to website and see for yourself!

http://www.puffpastry.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeID=24034&rc=181 

You'll Need:

1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets  (1 sheet), thawed
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/3 cup dried cranberry
1/4 cup toasted sliced almond
1 (13- to 16-ounce) Brie cheese round

1. Heat the oven to 400°F.   Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork to make egg wash.
2. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  If it's too frozen, it will crack, but too warm and it will squish together.   Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. 
3. Spread the jam on the pastry to within 2 inches of the edge in a circle. Sprinkle with the cranberries and almonds.Trim the sides so the entire pastry is a circle.
4. Brush the non-jam part of the pastry with the egg wash.
5. Place the cheese in the center of the pastry. Fold the pastry up over the cheese to cover. Trim the excess pastry and press to seal. 
6. Brush the seam with the egg wash. Place seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Decorate with the pastry scraps, if feeling fancy. Brush the entire pastry with the egg wash.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

The recipe says to let stand for 45 minutes, but I've been fine serving it after only letting to sit for 10.  You can serve this with crackers, crustini, or other forms of bread.  Or...you can just eat it!  But try to have more than two people eating, otherwise, as CAS and I discovered, you'll eat the entire thing and hate yourself for it.

 I also tend to vary the jam I use.  Pepperidge Farm recommends apricot preserves or seedless raspberry jam.  But feel free to use whichever jam or preserve strikes you.  This time I used "Raspberry Peach Champagne Jam" from Stonewall Kitchens.  Yum.  Still confused on the process?  Watch this helpful video from Pepperidge Farm.