Recipes
Grilled Flatbread Pizza
- Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Spring is coming, so it's time for some...
Grilled Flatbread Pizza
This crust is from Bobby Flay's Grill It! cookbook, and I improvise on the toppings. The crust turns out wonderfully if you cook it on a pizza stone that you have preheated on the grill (see comments below).
The crust:
3/4 c. warm water
1 tsp active dry yeast
6 T. olive oil (divided use)
2 c. AP flour plus extra for rolling
1 tsp. kosher salt
Mix the water and yeast and let stand until foamy. Add 2 T. of the oil, the flour and the salt and stir until combined. Transfer to a lightly floured flat surface and knead until dough is smooth. Grease the bottom and sides of large bowl with 1 T. of the remaining oil. Add the dough and turn to coat in the oil. Let rise covered with a cloth in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll into 2 8 inch circles. Place on a pizza palate or baking sheet sprinkles with fine cornmeal.
Cooking the pizza: Preheat the grill to high with a pizza stone. Brush the crust with olive oil flavored with minced garlic, sprinkle with kosher salt and cracked pepper.
I improvise with toppings-here are a list of my favorites:
Arugula, prosciutto and shaved parmesan (yum)
Basil, sliced garden tomatoes and feta cheese
Sausage, oregano, zucchini and onion
Spinach, scallions, artichoke hearts and Romano cheese
Cook the pizza on the stone for about 5-7 minutes.
Alternate method: Bobby actually grills the crust for 3 minutes on the grill rack without the stone, then flips it and puts on the toppings, and finishes it for another 2-3 minutes. I find that harder to do to be honest, so changed to cooking it on a stone more like a regular pizza.
Allison Liddell
Roasted Beet Pesto
- Wednesday, March 16, 2011
1 lb roasted mixed-color beets (roast on sheet pan at 375 for about 45 min depending on size)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 c sunflower or walnuts, toasted
salt to taste
Mix all the ingredients in the food processor until it reaches desired consistency, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and some crumbled feta. Serve with fresh vegetables, pita or on crostini.
Extra note: If you grew your own or bought the beets with the greens intact (the rainbow ones are really nice at Whole Foods), the greens are terrific just cooked in a little broth with garlic and olive oil.
Culinary Herbs PDF is now available
- Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Composting Basics
- Monday, July 13, 2009
Composting is like cooking, with many variations and recipes. Here is the basic approach:
All composting "ingredients" generally fall under one of two categories - "browns" or "greens." Browns are dry materials such as wood chips, dried leaves, dried grass and other plants. Greens are fresh, moist materials such as grass cuttings and food scraps (avoid meats, fats and grease.)
1. Collect as much browns and greens as you can to start your compost pile. An optimal size is about 3'-4' square. Larger piles tend to hold moisture better and decompose faster.
2. Place equal amounts of browns and greens in a heap or bin. Always cover food scraps with others composting materials.
3. Soak with water to create uniform dampness (damp as a wrung-out sponge.) Cover pile with tarp or other material to keep moisture in and prevent over soaking from rain.
For quicker composting (1-3 months)
- Chop materials into smaller pieces
- Alternate 3" to 6" layers of greens and browns
- Mix the pile by turning and stirring every 10 days
For slower composting (3-6 months)
- Just keep adding materials to the pile or bin - it's that simple!