FV25-12-1010

I bought pizza dough weeks back and thought at some point we'll have cravings for pizza and it'll be fun to create our own. Last night was the night.

I'll make the real pizza dough from scratch next time but for now, these ready ones were so much fun.

My Only Tip: HAVE SO MUCH FUN

Toppings:
Artichoke (canned), base cut off and discarded
Olives (bottled)
Pepperoni
Ham
Feta Cheese
Baby Spinach
Mozarella cheese

Buy ready made pizza sauce as base.

It'll probably tastes so much better if everything is fresh, but when you're in a hurry, this strategy will be your lifeline... I think this is perfect for simple gathering with friends or just pizza night with the family.

I lost track of the time. All I know is we had soooo much fun

Bring your frozen pizza dough to room temperature before adding toppings. You want all the ingredients to be on even temperature to have better results.

To create your own pizza, spread as little or as much pizza sauce on the pie. This will be the base of your pizza.

Start adding toppings, again, as little or as many as you please.

We found out the following are yum-my!

Hawaiian - pizza sauce + mozzarella cheese + pineapple tidbits + ham
Meditteranean - pizza sauce + artichoke + sauteed mushroom + feta cheese + olives + baby spinach on top
Pepperoni - pizza sauce + mozzarella cheese + pepperoni
Usual - pizza sauce + mozzarella cheese + olives + ham + mushroom

More to add:
Ground beef, bell peppers, chicken left overs if any, smoked salmon, rocca leaves, capers, and so so many more choices to choose from!

Go to your nearest supermarket and start stocking for some ready pizza dough and pizza sauce. The rest will be up to what's in your fridge!

Oven Instruction:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake your pizza for 15-20 minutes and voila! Your instant pizza is ready to eat!

Serve your pizza with your simple salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I've added this to my list of recipes) 

Happy eating!


*Interested to make pizza dough from scratch? http://nina.aninias.com/1/post/2012/05/stuffed-crust-deep-dish-pizza.html

Enjoyed this post? Don’t miss out on Fave Recipes page updates

FV12-10-0910

Original Recipe:
Gourmet | October 2004 & January 2005

Baking Empañada is like... baking lasagna for me... scary idea but I have to try...

While searching for a recipe, I found out that what we have back home is not the authentic Empañada, like everything else, it was modified through the years to suit our palate. It make sense, we have to adapt so it's not going to be so tedious for housewives to create. Moreso, we're not as globalized as we are today, malls weren't available and imported ingredients were,,, well... not that common.

Okay, it was my twin sister who made that analysis,,, she's boring. So now, this recipe is amazing.... and the result.... Oh... My... Gosh, Heaven!!! Okay, maybe not so much as heaven, if my mom reads this she'll be giving me a lecture on blasphemy... you get my drift though, right?

Tip 1: You can use whichever chicken part you prefer, though the ones closest to the bone are tastier
Tip 2: You can make the dough in advance, freeze it up to one week. Thaw it for few hours in the fridge, then bring it to room temperature before using it.
Tip 3: You can make the fillings 2 days in advance. Again, bring it to room temperature before using it.
Tip 4: Because this dough is soooo amazing, you can play with it. You can choose whatever filling you want. I think as simple as hotdog and cheese to as complex as fruit preserves.
Tip 5: If you can't find the linked chorizo, just the tapa-sliced-type will do, just follow the weight

Dough Ingredients
4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons salt
2 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large eggs + 1 for brushing crust
2/3 cup ice water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

Filling Ingredients:
3 whole chicken legs, including thighs (2 to 2 1/4 pounds total)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1/3 cup finely diced Spanish chorizo (cured spiced pork sausage; 1 1/2 oz; casings discarded if desired)
1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (not hot)
1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (1 Knorr chicken cube will do)

Serves 24

This took me 3.5 hours active time, yes that might be 2 or less hours for you.

To make the dough
Sift flour with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.

Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. (Mixture will look shaggy.)

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.

To make the filling
Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken, turning over once, about 6 minutes total, and transfer to a plate. Sauté onions, garlic, and bay leaves in fat remaining in skillet, stirring frequently, until onions are softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add chorizo and paprika and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add olives, raisins, wine, and broth and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits. Return chicken to skillet along with any juices accumulated on plate, then reduce heat to moderately low and simmer chicken, covered, turning over once, until tender, 25 to 30 minutes total.

Transfer chicken to a clean plate. (Sauce in skillet should be the consistency of heavy cream; if it's not, briskly simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.) When chicken is cool enough to handle, discard skin and bones and coarsely chop meat. Stir chicken into sauce and discard bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, then cool filling, uncovered, about 30 minutes.

Forming and baking of empañada
Form dough into a ball, then wrap in oiled plastic wrap (oiled side in) and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 2 15x10-inch shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) with 1 tablespoon oil.

Form smaller balls roughly 2x2 inch. Spread a tablespoon or more of filling, evenly and leaving 1 inch border. Moisten border with water then fold to make a half moon shape. Press the edges together and sill. Roll the edges in and press to form a decorative rim. Roll out remaining dough in the same manner.

Bake empanada 15 minutes, then brush crust with the beaten egg. Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes more. Remove from oven and brush empanada with remaining egg. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a rack, then slide empanada onto rack using a wide metal spatula and cool to warm.

I didn't think I'd ever say this,,, but this one made me realize... this is why I want to learn how to cook.... so I can eat good food like this one.

Impress your love ones, enjoy eating and most especially,,, happy cooking!

Acoustic Chef, cookin’one tune at a time!

Enjoyed this post? Don’t miss out on Fave Recipes page updates

FV11-09-0910

Original Recipe:
Nancy Hawley | January 1999

This was the last salmon I made for a three in a row salmon dish that has to be as inconspicuous as possible.

The third one has to be special, otherwise my boys will probably not even put it in their mouth.

This was perfect... the maple syrup aroma was all over the kitchen... my kids got so curious and even watched it with me while I make sure the oven temperature doesn't burn it to dryness.

Tip 1: Don't dip the salmon bites to pepper. Use your finger to control how much pepper you want on your salmon bite. Have just enough pepper to have a little kick...
Tip 2: Make half the portion without pepper. Kids will love it!
Tip 3: I think this will also work well with boneless chicken pieces.

I did this in a jif.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup soy sauce
700 grams skinned salmon fillet
1/8 cup freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable or canola oil spray

Cut salmon into bite-size cubes. Combine maple syrup and soy sauce in a medium-size bowl and add salmon. Make sure the fish is fully immersed in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Grease a sheet of aluminum foil with the oil spray. Preheat oven to 500°F. put pepper in small plate and using your finger tip, tap a little pepper on one side of salmon. Place each peppered piece on foil, then cook in oven for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately. 

This is perfect appetizer for gatherings... even guests who are picky and not fish eaters will like this a lot. It's yum-my...

FV08-06-0910

I love pasta. I love everything about it. Pasta dishes rarely disappoints me, so it's a staple in my top 3 back-up food whenever we dine out.

I don't regard pasta the same way if I have to cook it at home though. Unless it's Macaroni and Cheese or Spaghetti Bolognese, I'll pass. Needless to say, baking Lasagna gives me chills.

I always have this worrying visual in my head whenever I think of baking lasagna,,, a huge baking dish that tastes awful and it was either going down the trash or I'm sitting on the kitchen floor, eating it all by myself because no one else will touch it. 

So, yes, I finally faced my fears and I'm quite happy to report that my first lasagna was a success. Only a small piece was left and got rave reviews. They said it's moist, not too salty, not too cheesy, the flavours didn't compete with each other, it was just perfect!

Tip 1: If you're using no-cook lasagna sheet (I used Barilla), don't leave it as is but also don't boil it, because it's thinner than normal sheets. Soak the sheets in pre-boiled hot water with 2 tablespoons butter for 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry and set aside. 
Tip 2: Make extra sauce if you want your lasagna with sauce on it.
Tip 3: Adjust the amount of dried pepper flakes as you wish.
Tip 4: Lasagna can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cling film and keep it in the fridge.

This took me an hour and a half to bake... yes, yes, you'll take maybe an hour.

INGREDIENTS for Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
450 grams ounces lean ground beef
30-ounce crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes

INGREDIENTS for Lasagna
15 lasagna sheets/pasta
850 grams ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
2 large eggs, beaten
4 3/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Serves 6-8 hearty portions

Directions For Sauce:
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and garlic; saute until softened, about 12 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 6 cups, stirring occassionally, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool.

Directions For Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 350F. Soak no-cook lasagna sheets in a pre-boiled water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Mix ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese in bowl. Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs.

Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13x9x3-inch glass baking dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over pasta. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over cheese spreading with spatula to cover (careful, sauce will be thick). Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese evenly over lasagna. (May refrigerate at this stage)

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 10 more minutes. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving.

Serve this with Garlic Toast on the side, Tabasco sauce and extra Parmesan cheese and let your guests enjoy!

Acoustic Chef, cookin’ one tune at a time!

Enjoyed this post? Don’t miss out on Fave Recipes page updates