Fold a Pizza in Half

While driving home from Fayetteville, I was struck by an urge to make and eat a slew of calzones. When I called my mom to suggest this, she had already planned dinner, so I pushed the folded pizzas from my mind. However, my dad and I convinced her in the end to make some Italian fare for the night, and we made these really great calzones.



I used an old pizza dough recipe that was lurking in my computer somewhere. That means I don't know where it's originally from, unfortunately. This dough worked particularly well because it didn't require too much time to proof and we didn't have a lot of time to waste. I was a little disappointed that it didn't turn golden-brown and delightful in the oven, but the taste was unaffected, so I can't really complain.



Basic Pizza Dough
Makes three large calzones or two large pizzas

1 tablespoon yeast
1 pinch sugar
1 cup hot water (105 degrees)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, etc. (optional)

Sprinkle yeast in hot water, add a pinch of sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes. Mix in vegetable oil, flour, sugar and salt. Stir to make stiff dough. Knead 8 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn, let rise to double in a warm place (I like to do this in the oven turned to the very lowest setting.) Punch down.

Divide the dough in half (for pizza) or thirds (for calzones). Brush each crust with 1-tablespoon of oil. Cover and let rest for five more minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If using for pizza, bake crust for 15 minutes before removing from oven to add sauce, cheese, and other toppings. Then, bake for 15 more minutes. If you're making calzones, add the desired filling right away and bake for about 25 minutes.

Informative and Delicious

I took Advanced Composition this semester, a required class with a misleading name; instead of composing essays, we composed memos, business letters, resumes, and a big informative presentation. The basis of the presentation was that it needed to focus on someone or something who/that has been extremely influential in the field you plan to go into. Thus, I chose Martha Stewart.



Part of the project included bringing in handouts for everyone in the class - a piece of paper with trivia or a pie chart on it - to supplement your presentation. After sitting through about fifteen of the presentations, I decided to make my handout into a little ray of sunshine. I baked cookies, placed them in cute, individual treat bags, and handed them out along with the recipe. Needless to say, I made an A.



These cookies are really basic and have an after-school feel to them. They are just another kitchen sink cookie recipe for your never-ending cookie-book. My never-ending cookie book.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes 2 dozen cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, tightly packed
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until combined. Sift flour and baking soda together, and add to the butter mixture, beating just to combine. Fold in chocolate chips and peanuts.

Using a large spoon, form dough, and place on a baking sheet linedwith parchment paper, pressing down slightly to flatten. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Birthday Brownies

Because we celebrate Thanksgiving early in my family, I made a birthday dessert for my mom instead of traditional Thanksgiving fare. Back in August, she pointed the recipe out in an issue of Bon Appetit and insisted that she wanted the Layered Brownies with White-Chocolate Caramel and Cacao Nib Gelato for her birthday. Obviously daunted by the long name and the endless steps involved in their creation, I grudgingly agreed.



The recipe ended up not being as scary as I first thought. The creation of these brownies spanned a weekend, and I was able to work on one small part at a time. As long as you read the recipe ahead of time, you can tell which parts should come first if you aren't assembling the dessert all at once.



To tell the truth, the most difficult part of this recipe were the candied pecans. This was a little confusing to me; I've made them a few times using my mom's loose recipe (eye the pecans, butter, and brown sugar in a pan until they are perfect) and met with success. The recipe Bon Appetit recommended simply did not want to carmelize. After my third try with the pecans, I got an acceptable result; the pecans were just too hard and sugary for me, whereas my mom's are delicate, crunchy, buttery, and perfect.



My favorite part of the finished product was the bittersweet chocolate ganache. This was actually the first time I had ever made or eaten ganache and I was very pleased with the subtle sweetness and the deep chocolate flavor.



Layered Brownies with White-Chocolate Caramel
Makes about 16 servings

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup pecan halves, toasted

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons water, divided
3/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
4 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced, room temperature

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped

First, make the candied pecans. Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until sugar syrup is light golden, occasionally brushing down sides of skillet with wet pastry brush, about 8 minutes. Add pecans and stir until syrup coats pecans, about 1 minute. Immediately pour pecans out onto prepared baking sheet; spread in single layer with heatproof spatula. Cool completely. Coarsely chop nuts. The pecans can be prepared up to two days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

To make the brownies, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil. Butter foil. Combine 1/2 cup butter and bittersweet chocolate in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Whisk cocoa powder, flour, and salt in small bowl. Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Pour butter mixture into sugar mixture; whisk until blended. Add cocoa mixture; whisk until blended.

Transfer brownie batter to prepared baking pan; smooth top (layer will be thin). Bake brownie until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow brownie to cool slightly, then gently press down on edges to form flat, even layer. Cool completely in pan on rack.

Next, prepare the white-chocolate caramel. Spoon 1 tablespoon water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over and stir to blend. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tablespoons water, sugar, and pinch of salt in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup is deep amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 8 minutes.

Slowly add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Reduce heat to low. Stir to dissolve any caramel bits. Remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes. Add gelatin mixture; stir until gelatin dissolves. Add white chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in butter. Pour caramel atop cooled brownie; spread evenly to cover completely. Chill uncovered until caramel firms slightly, at least 8 hours or overnight.

For the bittersweet chocolate ganache, bring cream to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Cool until mixture is slightly thickened but still pourable, about 15 minutes. Pour ganache atop caramel on brownie; spread just to edges. Sprinkle chopped candied pecans evenly over. Chill uncovered until ganache is firm enough to cut, about 4 hours. The ganache can be prepared up to two days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Using foil as aid, lift brownie out of pan; place on work surface. Fold foil sides down. Using sharp knife, trim off about 1/4 inch of brownie on all sides. Cut brownie into eight 3 1/2-inch-long, 13/4-inch-wide bars. Place 1 brownie bar and scoop of Cacao Nib Gelato on each of 8 plates and serve.


Cacao Nib Gelato

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cacao nibs
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar

Combine 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1 cup whole milk, and 1/2 cup cacao nibs in heavy large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean; add bean. Bring mixture to simmer. Remove from heat. Cover and let mixture steep 30 minutes. Uncover and return to simmer.

Whisk 5 large egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in large heatproof bowl until mixture is pale yellow and slightly thickened. Gradually add hot cream mixture to yolk mixture, whisking until well blended. Return mixture to same saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and coats back of spoon when finger is drawn across and instant-read thermometer inserted into custard registers 170 degrees, about 5 minutes (do not boil).

Transfer custard to medium bowl. Cover and chill overnight. Whisk 5 large egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in large heatproof bowl until mixture is pale yellow and slightly thickened. Gradually add hot cream mixture to yolk mixture, whisking until well blended. Return mixture to same saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and coats back of spoon when finger is drawn across and instant-read thermometer inserted into custard registers 170 degrees, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Transfer custard to medium bowl. Cover and chill overnight.

Pour custard through fine strainer set over bowl; discard solids in strainer. Transfer custard to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer gelato to freezer container. Cover and freeze until ice cream is firm, at least 8 hours or overnight. This can be made up to 3 days ahead; keep frozen.

Fröhliches Oktoberfest

I took three years of German in high school, and every year we celebrated Karneval and Oktoberfest (sans booze) in class. I learned how to make spaetzle and how to eat so many undercooked snickerdoodles that I felt like throwing up afterward. Plus, I discovered Nutella for the first time. Needless to say, I am pretty fond of those Germans.



When the October issues of my cooking magazines showed up, they all mentioned Oktoberfest in some way; Rachael Ray had the biggest spread - Oktoberfest in 15 Minutes or something over-simplified like that. This planted the seed in my mind; what if we celebrated Oktoberfest this year?



My mom was all for it and my Aunt Nettie was coming into town with her friend Marilyn halfway through October, so we worked them into the plan as well. My mom was in charge of the beer and sausage and I was in charge of picking recipes and making dessert (of course).



The only challenge I faced was my Aunt's gluten-free diet, which I was more than happy to accommodate. When I'm given limits, it makes it easier for me to think up new dessert inventions.



After wracking my brain, I finally invented something similar to a parfait, served in custard cups. Basically, chocolate pudding (not too sweet) with the filling found in German chocolate cakes on top, along with some freshly whipped cream. I really wanted to make homemade pudding, but it was a very busy weekend, so I ended up just buying chocolate pudding and adding a little extra cocoa powder to it to pull down the sweetness.



And, in the end, Oktoberfest was a hit! The pretzels were gone in an instant and everyone ate and felt quite German.

The dessert ended up being just alright; I prepared the cups before dinner, with the topping and whipped cream, and put them back in the refrigerator, when I should have just left them out or waited until serving to put room-temperature topping on the pudding. Because the puddings were so cold, the topping was very hard. Other than that, the flavor was perfect!



I'm not going to post the recipe for the pudding because it was so simple. Just find a filling for a German Chocolate Cake and make a third or half recipe. And then slop it on top of some pudding.



Giant Soft Pretzels
Makes 8 pretzels

1 cup water, plus
2 tablespoons water (70 to 80 degrees)
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 quarts water
½ cup baking soda
Kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place water, flour, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix and knead this dough for 5 to 10 minutes. If needed, add 2 tablespoons of flour after a few minutes. Turn dough onto a lightly-floured surface.

Divide dough into 8 equal-sized balls; roll each ball out into a 15- to 20-inch rope and form into a pretzel shape. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, bring water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzels into water, two at a time, and boil for 10 to 15 seconds.

Remove pretzels from water with a slotted spoons and drain on paper towels. Place pretzels on a greased baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden-brown. Lightly brush with water and sprinkle with kosher salt.

I Go Bananas; and Every Time I See Your Face, I SELF-DESTRUCT!

The coffeshop that I work at has a huge bookshelf on one wall, flanked by four or five other shelves, chock full of books and magazines. People donate to them, try to steal or buy them, and usually read them if they didn't bring one of their own. My favorite part of the assortment would have to be the large collection of Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines. Although I get Bon Appetit, there are lots of issues from before my subscription that I like to go through.



I was doing just that one Sunday, while waiting for customers to realize that we were open so I could make them some coffee, when I came across a new banana bread recipe in the copycat section. My tried and true recipe is great, but it takes butter; and I have found that when you want to bake a lot of something, butter slows you down, both time-wise and financially. But eureka! This recipe had vegetable oil to substitute.In the end, I discovered that butter is better. This bread ended up being lighter and less dense than my other banana bread recipe, but it had just as much banana flavor.



Copycat of Some Sort of Banana Bread
Makes 2 large loaves

5 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 to 8 large overripe bananas
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups nuts, toasted and chopped (optional)


Prehet oven to 350 degrees. butter and flour two 9-inch loaf pans.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Then whisk in sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Pour flour mixture into wet mixture and whisk just until combined. Stir in nuts.

Pour batter into prepared pans and smooth tops with rubber spatula. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Store at room temperature or wrap tightly with saran wrap and freeze.

Note: If I remember correctly, this made two loaves and then some. You could probably do 2 large and 1 small loaf, or 2 loaves and some muffins.

Hopes, Dreams, and Lemons

This story begins with a surplus of lemons. Although, it could possibly begin before that, when I bought the lemons in hopes of making lots of delicious, mildly-tart lemon poppy seed bread. I didn't want to rely on a mix any longer! Plus, I had at least two cups of poppy seeds that had been sitting on my counter for months. MONTHS. How long can those things last before they go bad?



Not wanting to tempt fate, I decided I had put the bread off for long enough and looked through my recipes on my computer for the file promisingly called "Lemon Poppy Seed Bread." When I opened it...alas! No lemons were used! Just a cake mix and a pudding mix. I know what you're wondering - why didn't I just look at the recipe before going to the store? Well, that would ruin the surprise, obviously.



So, I scrounged around and found a file named “Every Which Way Bread” that supplied me with ingredients to make just about every flavor of quick bread you can think of, excluding lemon poppy seed. This was when I decided to improvise; I have to improvise a lot. You can call it poor planning or creative expression, but baking has certainly helped me think a lot quicker on my feet.



This bread turned out to be quite delicious, and I got lots of pretty pictures from it. The only complaint I had was that it tastes exactly like the boxed mix. Seeing as how I made this bread specifically so I could get away from the mix, the only logical conclusion here is that I am cursed.



Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Makes 2 large loaves

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup poppy seeds
Zest of 1 or 2 lemons, to taste (optional)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 4 small or 2 large loaf pans with vegetable cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, lemon zest and poppy seeds; stir until completely mixed. Make a well in the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and vegetable oil. Add eggs and beat slightly. Stir in lemon juice.

Pour wet ingredients into well of dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Distribute batter among the prepared pans, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Can be stored at room temperature or wrapped in saran wrap and frozen.

Something Witty About Birthdays Here

I decided to go out on a kind of limb for my birthday cake, and I found a recipe in my mom’s cookbook/binder. I picked one of those inserts that all moms inevitably have in their recipe collections. This specific one, a cheesecake with a chocolate swirl, is from the Great American Home Baking collection. This was my first time making cheesecake, and I have to admit that I didn’t quite realize that it was baked.



My birthday chocolate cheesecake was, at first taste, a real let-down. Even though I blended the cream cheese at room temperature for at least fifteen minutes, I could not get the small lumps out. For whatever reason, the three packets of cream cheese I had purchased had decided to just bead up. This really took away from the overall attractiveness of the cake for me; when you sliced it, you could see a cross-section of cream cheese blobs, instead of a delightfully smooth and flawless surface.



The really surprising part of this cake was the frosting. I had never heard of a cheesecake with frosting and my mom was skeptical, but it ended up not being too sweet, and it had a delicious tangy flavor, thanks to the sour cream.



Although the cake never smoothed out, the flavor kept getting better, which is actually an excellent thing to hope for with birthday cake. I only let my mom take a small portion to work, so that I could actually get to eat some of my own cake this year, and I ended up eating about half of it by the end of a week and a half. Which means: my birthday cheesecake was victorious! If I can ever find out what I did wrong with the cream cheese, I will definitely make it again.



Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes one 9-inch cheesecake

2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
5 tablespoons melted butter

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup sour cream

In a medium bowl, mix together chocolate crumbs and melted butter until well-blended. Press into 9-inch a springform pan.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Next, make the filling. Ina large bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, and eggs at medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Spoon half of cream cheese mixture into crust.

Stir chocolate into remaining cream cheese mixture until well-blended. Drizzle over batter in crust to make swirls.

Bake for 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool completely. Transfer cheesecake to a serving plate, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Uncover cheesecake and carefully remove the side of the pan. To make the frosting, mix chocolate and sour cream together in a small bowl. Spread over cheesecake and chill briefly until set.

ULTIMATE

Just to be clear, this wasn't dubbed the Ultimate recipe by me, but by these people. I have to admit, they are pretty amazing. This was another recipe that I made twice in one week; I had to try it out before I made it for a friend for commission. The yeast, etc. was pretty time-consuming, as it usually is, but it was definitely worth it. For the first batch, I didn't even have to proof the sliced rolls because they were already so big from the first proofing.



These were gooey on the inside, and soft and bread-y on the outside; the dough reached a lovely golden-brown color. The frosting was a little overpoweringly sweet, so I used it sparingly and I let it soak in overnight. And I made some dairy-free frosting for the two rolls I gave to Andrew by combining a little bit of soy milk and vanilla with powdered sugar.



Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Frosting
Makes 9 big rolls

1 ½ packages (about 3 ¼ teaspoons) dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
½ cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
4 to 5 cups sifted flour
Melted butter
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Raisins (optional)

2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 4 tablespoons milk or cream

Add the warm water to the yeast and soak 10 minutes.

Scald milk; pour over the shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool to tepid. Add the dissolved yeast and beaten egg. Add 4 cups flour adding one at a time beating after each addition.

Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle. Knead on floured board until elastic and smooth. Avoid too much flour. Turn dough into well oiled bowl. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.

Press dough down and divide into workable size. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Cover with melted butter. Layer with a generous thick layer of brown sugar. Sprinkle on cinnamon as desired. If you like raisins, layer on a layer of raisins. Roll up jellyroll fashion. For all of this stuff, I just sort of eyed the amounts; don't be afraid to add a lot of cinnamon.

Using scissors or a piece of string (I just used a knife), cut off slices about 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick. Place slices in an 9-inch square greased cake pan. Press rolls down to even out and fill pan. Let rise until rolls fill the pan generously, about another hour.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. If rolls get too brown, cover with a piece of tine foil until the end of baking. Do not over bake rolls.

Remove immediately from pan by inverting onto a plate and then tip over onto another plate to right the rolls.

To make the frosting, place sugar, butter and vanilla in a medium-sized bowl. Then stir in enough milk or cream to reach a thick, hardly-able to stir consistency.

Spread over warm rolls as soon as they are placed on a plate to let the frosting melt and run into the rolls.

Crunchy Chunky Chewy

This was the first recipe out of Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours that I got to try out. I have to highly recommend this book; it's the best baking book I've ever seen. I was so excited to cook these blondies that I promptly mis-measured the sugar and screwed up my first try.



Thankfully, the second ones turned out great, thick, chewy, crunchy, and filled with delicious-ness. However, be sure to keep a cautious eye on them because they can brown very quickly on top.



Dorie Greenspan's Chewy, Chunky Blondies
Makes about 32 bars

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or toffee bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees; butter a 9-by-13 inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts, and coconut. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies come out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blodies to room temperature right side up.

The Easter Coco-Bunny

This coconut cake I made for Easter was very pretty, but not very good. So, I'm not even listing the recipe. Here are the pretty, pretty pictures, though. However, the Seven-Minute Frosting was good; I'll post that.





Seven-Minute Frosting
Makes frosting for 2 layers

2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat egg white, sugar, cream of tartar, water, and salt in the top of a double boiler, using an electric mixer at top speed.

After one minute, cook over boiling water while continuing to beat with the mixer. Continue cooking and beating the mixture until firm enough to hold peaks.

Remove from heat, beat in the vanilla, and beat until thick enough to spread well.