There are some great food blogs out there, and with a mere 39 food blogs in my Feedly I know that I haven’t even scratched the surface. I keep discovering new ones and it’s so much fun to see the yummy and creative things people come up with and the amazing photos people take of their food! It’s both inspiring…and a little frustrating! Where do you find the time to make a meal in the middle of the day and photograph it so it looks beautiful?!
I came across Seasons and Suppers a few months ago and it never disappoints. The recipes always look and sound delicious. While some are totally approachable, others are those I plan to just drool over from afar rather than attempt myself. But this recipe for deep dish pizza was something I knew I had to try.
This pizza crust is crazy delicious and has a terrific chew thanks to the cornmeal. I didn’t make the pizza sauce from the original recipe, but plan to sometime! It seems simple and delicious. I used the sausage and bacon called for in the original recipe, but you could use any toppings (I guess they’re more like fillings in a pizza like this) that you like. Jennifer says to add a layer of pepperoni for a meatier pizza…genius.
I wouldn’t bake this ahead of time, it’s best right out of the oven, bu there are some things you can do to make dinnertime less stressful. Cook the bacon and the sausage and slice the cheese (if you need to) earlier in the day and store in the refrigerator. You can also do those things while the dough is rising.
I topped our slices of pizza with some fresh basil and a little extra parmesan. Paired with a green salad you have a dinner that won’t disappoint. Unless someone you’re serving doesn’t like pizza, in which case I’d reconsider your friendship…but not really…but maybe.
Check out Seasons and Suppers, you will not regret it. Thanks for the recipe, Jennifer!
Freshly grated Parmesan for topping, at least 1/2 cup, plus a little extra
Freshly chopped basil for garnish
Directions
Dough
Combine warm water, yeast and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl. Mix together then let sit for 5 minutes until it’s foamy.
Fit your stand mixer with the dough hook. Combine 1 cup of the flour with the cornmeal and sugar in the bowl of the mixer. Add in the yeast mixture and stir on low to combine. Stir in the oil. Add in remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough holds together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Oil a large bowl, then transfer the pizza dough to the bowl, cover with a clean towel and allow to rise for about an hour.
Pizza
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Grease a cast iron skillet with olive oil, then lightly dust with cornmeal.
Flour a clean work surface and dump out the pizza dough. Knead a little to bring it together in a nice ball. Then roll it out in a circle just larger than your skillet. Fit the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the skillet. Tuck excess dough underneath or trim it off.
Cover the bottom of the pizza with a layer of mozzarella cheese, but don’t use it all.
Layer the sausage and bacon next, followed by the rest of the mozzarella.
Pour the pizza sauce on top, then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
Bake the pizza, uncovered, for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes check the crust, if it is getting too dark, then cover the pizza with foil and bake for 5-10 minutes more.
Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing or removing from the skillet to a cutting board to slice.
Serve sprinkled with some fresh basil and extra parmesan.
Beauty surrounded the Daring Bakers this month as our host, Sawsan, of chef in disguise, challenged us to make beautiful, filled breads. Who knew breads could look as great as they taste?
When I saw this challenge I felt a little intimidated. I don’t feel 100% comfortable with bread, always fearing I will make a mistake somewhere along the way and the dough won’t rise or the end product will be dry and inedible. But I wound up with two wonderful loaves of beautiful bread that even my kids loved. It was referred to as the “special bread” by my son.
This challenge gave Daring Bakers the freedom to choose what they used to fill their bread and also what design they would create. Being the non-creative type I just used the suggested methods for twisting my loaves of bread. And if any part of you thinks, “I can’t do that.” trust me, you can. It’s easier than it seems. For fillings I made a savory bread and a sweet bread. I used the same dough recipe for each.
For the savory loaf I chose basil pesto and mozzarella cheese. My only regret is not adding just a little more cheese to the layers. But it was delicious and something I would definitely go through the trouble to make again. It would be a lovely and impressive bread to bring to a dinner party or pot luck.
For the sweet loaf I went with classic cinnamon sugar. We ate this bread for breakfast over the course of 3 days and Carson was sad when it was gone. Again, this is something I’d make again without hesitation. The method I used in twisting the dough was a little more complicated and tedious than the pesto bread, but baked up beautifully.
I drizzled this bread with a simple milk and powdered sugar glaze before serving. Almost like eating a cinnamon roll, possibly better.
Here are a few pictures of the process, none of the actual twisting of the bread since I am my own photographer and could not manage to get any action shots.
The instructions I am going to try to write for how to shape your bread will probably fail in perfectly communicating how to do it. So here are a few links that will help you.
This one has a good video on the entire process. This is not the twisting method I used, but I think it looks beautiful and wish I’d found it before I made my bread!
And this one is what I used. I found the pictures and instructions to be very helpful.
Pesto Star Bread
Ingredients
Dough
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (start with 3 1/4, add more if you need it)
Filling
3-5 tablespoons basil pesto, store bought or homemade
3-5 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
Topping
olive oil
faked salt
Directions
Dough
Heat butter, milk and water just until butter has melted and mixture is between 100 and 110°F, warm but not hot.
Put milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk in egg and sugar, then sprinkle yeast on to the mixture, stir once then let sit for 10-15 minutes. Mixture should be foamy after this, if it’s not your liquid was too hot and killed the yeast or your yeast was no good to begin with.
Place the dough hook on your mixer and begin mixing, adding about a cup of flour at a time. Once all the flour has been added, mix until dough comes together.
Place in a large greased bowl, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
Filling and Shaping and Baking
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 4 equal sized pieces.
Roll one dough piece out, just big enough to fit your template. I used an 8-inch cake pan, but I think if you can manage to roll your dough out well enough you could get a 9 or 10-inch circle out of the dough. 8-inch was a nice size, though.
Place the template onto the dough and trim off the excess. Transfer to the cookie sheet.
Spread with a heaping tablespoon of pesto, just about to the edge, then sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of cheese.
Repeat with the remaining balls of dough, but not topping the top layer with pesto and cheese. Press and tuck the edges of the top piece to enclose the bread somewhat.
Brush the top layer with olive oil.
With a small sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the bread into 12 wedges, leaving the outer edge intact, making sure to cut all the way through the layers.
Take one triangle and twist it gently 3 times and place back in the center. Repeat with the rest of the wedges, twisting in the same direction.
Let rest for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 450°F. Sprinkle with flaked salt and bake for 5 minutes, then lower oven temp to 375°F and bake for 10-15 more minutes until bread is golden brown. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t get too dark.
Cinnamon Star Bread
Ingredients
Dough
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Topping
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
Glaze (enough for 4 pieces, double for the entire loaf)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
Directions
Dough
Heat butter, milk and water just until butter has melted and mixture is between 100 and 110°F, warm but not hot.
Put milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk in egg and sugar, then sprinkle yeast on to the mixture, stir once then let sit for 10-15 minutes. Mixture should be foamy after this, if it’s not your liquid was too hot and killed the yeast or your yeast was no good to begin with.
Place the dough hook on your mixer and begin mixing, adding about a cup of flour at a time. Once all the flour has been added, mix until dough comes together.
Place in a large greased bowl, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
Filling and Shaping and Baking
Whisk sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 4 equal sized pieces.
Roll one dough piece out, just big enough to fit your template. I used an 8-inch cake pan, but I think if you can manage to roll your dough out well enough you could get a 9 or 10-inch circle out of the dough. 8-inch was a nice size, though.
Place the template onto the dough and trim the excess. Transfer carefully to the cookie sheet.
Brush bottom layer with butter, then sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining dough, but only brush the top layer with butter.
Using a small sharp knife or a bench scraper cut circle of dough into 8 equal-sized wedges, making sure to cut all the way through the layers.
With a small knife cut a slit in the center of each triangle leaving space at the top and bottom, the cut should not reach either the base or the tip of the triangle.
Take the tip of the triangle and gently bring it up, over and through the slit, then repeat once more making two twists. Place the triangle back on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces.
Take the outside edge of each triangle and pinch the ends up and together.
Whisk together the milk and sugar and brush onto the bread.
Let rest for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 450°F.
Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Glaze
Sift powdered sugar into a bowl.
Whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.
Glaze entire loaf (with a doubled recipe of the glaze) OR glaze each piece individually. If you don’t plan to eat all the bread in one sitting I’d recommend waiting to glaze the remaining bread until you plan to eat it.
Store any leftover bread wrapped in foil at room temperature for 3-5 days. Re-warm in a low oven, toaster oven or microwave. You could also freeze this bread, wrap it well in plastic wrap, then foil. Thaw then reheat in a low oven.
How can something so simple be so good? You probably have every almost every ingredient for this in your kitchen right this very moment. Add to that the minimal amount of time it takes to get this on the table, pair with a green salad and some crusty bread and you have the perfect meal. Make it for a casual family weeknight or for weekend company. It’s easy to make 2 servings or 10. This is one of those recipes to go to when your mind isn’t working well enough to think too hard about dinner (this happens to me a lot) or when you’re having last minute guests and don’t have much time to shop for or prepare dinner. The drizzle of glaze isn’t just great for flavor but it’s also beautiful and adds a touch of fancy to an otherwise very simple dish. I’m real excited that this chicken found its way into my life.
Since there are only a few ingredients, make sure they’re all fresh and of good quality. Get the best looking tomatoes you can find. Romas are a good choice and usually a good size. They are what I used. If the heirlooms at the store look good, splurge on them. You only need 1 or 2 (to serve 2-4 people) so go for it! Get fresh mozzarella, the kind packed in water, and make sure to slice it generously. Now the basil. If you have some in your garden then just grab your shears and head out the back door. If not, get the fresh kind at the store. Don’t use dried basil. It will just not be the same.
This really could not be simpler. Grill the chicken (or cook it in a pan on the stove), and in the last couple minutes place the cheese on top so it has time to melt. If you do this in the oven you might turn the broiler on for a minute or so to melt the cheese. Top with a slice of tomato, sprinkle with the chopped basil and drizzle with balsamic glaze.
The glaze is probably the most time consuming and complicated part about this. It’s not hard, it just requires time and some patience. But it’s worth it. The recipe below makes more than you will probably need, but you can save it, keep it in the fridge, and use it for other dishes. Drizzle on top of a caprese salad (just what you’re using in this dish minus the chicken) or as a finishing sauce for grilled pork tenderloin or other meats.
Below are the ingredients that will serve at least 4 using 4 chicken breasts sliced in half horizontally to make 8 total pieces, 2 per person. But some of your lighter eaters may just eat one piece. If you end up with leftovers I HIGHLY recommend reheating and serving some of the chicken on warm crusty bread with some arugula or other green to make a chicken caprese sandwich. Enjoy!
Grilled Caprese Chicken with Balsamic Glaze
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced horizontally into 2 pieces
1-2 medium to large tomatoes, or 3 to 4 small (you want to try to almost cover the chicken with the tomato slices
8 slices of fresh mozzarella (again, you want the mozzarella slice to almost cover the chicken breast)
kosher salt and pepper
fresh basil leaves, 8-10 (leave them whole or chiffonade)
1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Directions
Balsamic Glaze
Pour balsamic vinegar into a small, heavy saucepan. Bring the vinegar to a low boil over medium high heat. Adjust heat as needed to keep it at a low boil. Stir occasionally until vinegar begins to thicken and coat the back of a spoon, 15-20 minutes.
Stir in brown sugar and mustard and cook an additional 5 minutes, remove from the heat and let cool slightly before serving. This will thicken a bit as it cools.
Chicken
Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
Grill the chicken, 4 minutes on the first side, then flip the breasts over and let cook for another minute or 2. Place one piece of mozzarella on each chicken breast and let cook for another 3-4 minutes until chicken is done and mozzarella is melted.
Transfer chicken breasts to a serving platter and immediately place basil leaves on top of the cheese followed by the tomatoes. Drizzle lightly with balsamic glaze and serve additional glaze on the side.
You can’t argue with the raw ingredients here. Who doesn’t love pesto, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and freshly grated parmesan? The time and effort this takes is another thing to love about this recipe. I recommend this to anyone who doesn’t have the luxury of tons of time to make dinner but still wants something that didn’t come from the freezer or got picked up on the way home from work. But I sure do enjoy Ben walking through the door with a pizza box every now and then…
While wasting time on Pinterest, I stumbled upon this recipe from Skinnytaste.com. I took the basics of the recipe, kind of ignored the measurements, and whipped this up in no time last week. We loved it and will have it again I am sure.
I had everything I needed for this meal already in my kitchen except for the chicken. The version of myself I aspire to be would’ve used the pesto she’d made last summer with the basil from her garden and then froze in matching labeled containers (see post on Skinnytaste). Instead I used a jar of Giada pesto from Target. And while lacking in fresh from the garden flavor, it was good.
This can easily be adapted to serve 1 person or a dozen. You can slice fresh mozzarella or use the bag of shredded mozzarella, but provolone would be a great choice as well. If you have a different type of pesto, try it out. I think a nice sprinkle of fresh chopped basil would be a great and beautiful finish. The ingredients below are what you will need, but the amounts are merely suggestions. If you want a healthier option, use the measurement from skinnytaste. I didn’t even measure. So use your judgement and make it how you like it.
Skinnytaste slices each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 cutlets. For her this may be portion control, but I think it’s a great way to prepare the chicken even if you aren’t concerned with all that. The chicken cooks more evenly this way and with some of the ridiculously thick chicken breasts I’ve bought in my time it makes a lot of sense to slice them this way for cooking.
Pair with pasta and steamed veggies or crusty bread and a nice green salad. Enjoy.
Tomato & Pesto Chicken
Slightly adapted from Skinnytaste
Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 per person), sliced lengthwise into 2 thin pieces if breats are especially thick
Basil pesto, 2-3 teaspoons per chicken breast
Small tomatoes such as roma or campari, about 1 per chicken breast depending on their size, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Shredded mozzarella cheese, 1-2 tablespoons per chicken breast
Freshly grated Parmesan, to taste
Salt and Pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
Arrange in pan sprayed with non-stick spray or foil lined and sprayed for easier clean up.
Spread desired amount of pesto on each breast and bake for 10-12 minutes, a few minutes longer if you did not slice the chicken into thinner pieces. Chicken should be almost done.
Remove from the oven and place sliced tomatoes on each chicken breast. Sprinkle with mozzarella and then Parmesan cheese.
Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.
While in college at Texas A&M in College Station, I used to meet a friend at a pizza place near campus that served pizza by the slice called Antonio’s. I always got the margherita. Nice thick slices of fresh mozzarella, perfect slices of red tomato and fresh basil on top of a delicious crust. If I’m ordering pizza at a restaurant, margherita is always on the short list. And when we make pizza at home, it’s one I know will be devoured. There’s something wonderful about the fresh ingredients, the contrasting textures of smooth and creamy cheese, juicy tomato and the slight crunch of the spicy basil leaf. And the bright colors can’t be beat either.
I made these small bites as part of an Italian appetizer spread. Just take a small ball of mozzarella, snack size tomato and fresh basil leaf. Add the sweet tang of balsamic vinegar and you have the perfect bite. You want the mozzarella and tomato to be close to the same size. Bocconcini are too large, so look for ciliegine, which are cherry sized balls of mozzarella and are perfect in size. If you can’t find these, you could always cut the bocconcini into small chunks. When I was skewering these I thought that the basil was going to be overwhelming since I had to use such large leaves to hold everything, but it was just right.
Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Bites with Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
12 snack size tomatoes, cherry, grape, etc.
12 small balls of mozzarella packed in water, patted dry with paper towels
12-15 large basil leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
12 long toothpicks (2 1/2 inches)
Directions
Make balsamic glaze: simmer vinegar in small saucepan over low heat for 10-15 minutes until thickened and reduced. Swirl periodically, and be careful not to let it boil. You will have a burnt mess on your hands. I know this because I had to make two batches…
While heating vinegar, make skewers. Slide one end of the basil leaf on the toothpick, follow with mozzarella and tomato, keeping basil leaf underneath to create a boat. Then attach the other end of the leaf. Be careful not to tear the leaf. Keep a few extra leaves on hand just in case.
Lay bites on a platter, then drizzle each with glaze. A little goes a long way.
