Week of Oct 10-16

Sunday I went to see the Tennessee Shakespeare Company's production of Othello.  It was fantastic!  We're so lucky to have so many Shakespeare resources here.  The TSC has a great program going into local schools to introduce kids to Shakespeare.  Check it out.

I got home around 5:15 and, of course, Walter was starving.  So I made a pasta dish that I'd gotten from a weekly e-newsletter that I get from The Splendid Table.  It came together very quickly, but it was just ok.  It had a sauce that was basically ricotta cheese and we didn't care too much for it.  For a quick dish, I'd probably say do the pasta and the sweet italian sausage part, but use a good bottled marinara sauce instead of the ricotta cheese.  Here's the recipe, Rigatoni alla Pastora, so you can judge for yourself.


I was on my own again Monday night (do I even have a husband?) so just ate leftover salad before I went to class.  Ice cream afterwards, of course!

Tuesday 10/12/10

Chicken Saltimbocca
Orzo
Broccoli

I got the chicken recipe from a weekly email I get from one of my favorite recipe sources, Cook's Illustrated.  You can sign up for their Notes from the Test Kitchen here.  Like Sunday's pasta, it was a little bland for our tastes, but very pretty.  I cooked the orzo al dente, then tossed it with a little olive oil and some grated romano.  It was good.  Broccoli is broccoli.

Wednesday 10/13/10

Butternut, Goat Cheese & Argula Pizza

I cut this recipe out of the Commercial Appeal.  Shelley Baltz writes a cooking column for the paper and also has the blog, Morsels and Moments, which I have listed to the side.  Making this pizza is not for the faint of heart!  IF I do it again, I'll make the bechamel sauce and carmelize the onions ahead of time.  All in all this took me about an hour and a half and I was busy the whole time - and used lots of cookware, so cleanup was a lot.  Was it worth it?  I'm not sure, Walter said he liked it.
The good news is that I have leftover squash, onions & bacon.  Sounds like there's roasted butternut squash soup in our future!

Thursday 10/14/10

Leftover pizza (Walter was out of town again!)  The pizza actually tased better warmed up!

Tonight was the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis' Grants Showcase and Volunteer Recognition Event.   I'm very humbled to have been honored as Volunteer of the Year by this great organization.  Truly, when I think of the hundreds of hours invested by hundreds of volunteers, my contribution is very small.  My friends Becky Boone and Joyce Carter were there to share this honor with me.  Walter couldn't be there, but he arranged for flowers to be presented to me along with the engraved plate.  It was a special night.

I'm excited about this honor!

Joyce & me

Butternut, Goat Cheese & Arugula Pizza

Butternut, Goat Cheese & Arugula Pizza

CRUST
1 Tbsp. yeast
11/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
1 Tbsp. molasses
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups all-purpose flour

TOPPINGS
1 cup white sauce (béchamel) or Alfredo sauce
1 cup cooked, diced butternut squash
1/2 cup caramelized onions
4 Tbsp. crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 large handfuls arugula

2 Tbsp. aged balsamic vinegar* (see note)

For the crust: Place the yeast, warm water and molasses in a bowl and let set for 10 minutes until foamy. Add the remaining ingredients and knead for 10 minutes. Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile, after the dough has risen for 40 minutes, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Punch the dough down and form into 2 equal-size balls. Form the dough balls into 10-to-12-inch pizza rounds and place on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet or pizza stone.

Pizza assembly: Top each dough round with 1/2 cup of the white sauce. On top of the sauce on each pizza, sprinkle 1/2 cup butternut squash, 1/4 cup caramelized onions, 2 Tbsp. goat cheese, 1/4 cup bacon, and 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Bake one at a time for 15-20 minutes. Top each with 1 handful of arugula and drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar. Cut into 6-8 slices.

Yield: two 12-inch pizzas

*Note: Aged balsamic vinegar tends to be thicker than regular, salad dressing-type balsamic. If you don't have the aged or can't find it (it can be a bit expensive), simmer 1/4 cup regular balsamic on the stove in a sauce pot until it's reduced to 2 tablespoons.

Shelley Baltz received her culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University. She operates Taste Cooking Classes (tastecookingclasses.com) and morselsandmoments.blogspot.com. E-mail chefbaltz@comcast.net.