Homemade Pizzas for BYOB: Buffalo Chicken and Spinach and Artichoke

I blame my newfound love of baking solely on Tyler Florence! Why, oh why do his baking recipes have to be so good that they inspire me to make my own creations? Ever since I made Tyler's parker house rolls, I have had an obsession with making yeast breads. I started making sandwich breads, soft pretzels, brioche, etc. After awhile, my husband requested homemade pizza dough. I'm sorry to say that I did not use Tyler's recipe. Instead, I used this recipe from the Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sara-moulton/pizza-dough-recipe3/index.html. I chose this recipe simply for its rating and it does not disapoint. I have wanted to try new recipes for pizza dough, but I just don't think you could improve on this recipe. It takes 1.5 hours in total and makes 2 - 14" pizzas or 4 small individual pizzas. This pizza dough rivals that of any fast food pizza and is better because you can make any topping you'd like, along with dipping sauces, and flavored crusts.

My husband loves the buffalo chicken pizza. We both love spicy food and thought it would make a great pizza. We always have leftover chicken in the fridge, so we just shredded it up and tossed it with some store bought buffalo sauce. This pizza can be topped with mozzarella or monterey jack or you could even put little bits of blue cheese on there.

The spinach and artichoke pizza was solely my idea. I had some spinach and artichoke dip in the fridge and kept wanting to eat it on a sandwich. Since this pizza dough recipe makes two pizzas, I decided to just slap it right on the pizza dough. It turned out fabulous and I was really proud. I had just cleaned out my fridge and made my own creation! If you love spinach and artichoke dip, try this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hot-Artichoke-and-Spinach-Dip-II/Detail.aspx. It was all the rave this past Thanksgiving. Everyone agreed it was restaurant-worthy. I usually add a clove or two more garlic to this recipe and it is much better after it has sat in the fridge for a day and the flavors have mingled.

This pizza dough is getting such rave reviews that we are dreaming up new toppings all the time. The problem is that all the toppings we've made are so tasty that we can't get away from them! We want to make a taco pizza, a meatball pizza, and several others. We are having so much fun with this one. I'd love to hear what you all put on your pizza too. Please share!!

Root Beer Bundt Cake - Bake Along #5

This is a delicious Root Beer Bundt Cake from the new cookbook, "Baked". I saw a post about this recipe on My Baking Adventures by Megan. She has a group of people who do informal bake alongs and was kind enough to share this recipe with me. I have been curious about the recipes from this new book, which has been featured on the Martha Stewart show. The people who wrote the book have a bakery in NYC and seem to have some unique combinations and flavors. After making this cake, I would love to buy the cookbook. I'm sold!

The base of this cake is root beer and dark chocolate. Overall, the cake has 2 cups of root beer (I used A&W). I think the dark chocolate compliments the root beer and helps to bring out the flavor. The frosting also consists of root beer, 2 oz. dark chocolate, powdered sugar, butter, salt, and dark unsweetened cocoa powder. My frosting was somewhat thick, so I added about another tablespoon of root beer to thin it out. This made the frosting capable of spreading. I have a small bundt pan, so I was also able to make 4 ramekins for individual servings later. I plan on taking the bundt cake to my in law's this afternoon. My father-in-law is a sucker for chocolate and has been known to keep Hershey miniatures in his t-shirt pocket to snack on throughout the day!

I thought this cake was fabulous and a great break from the norm. It was chocolately, but not too sweet and you could taste the root beer for sure. The frosting was also somewhat salty and I thought this was a great compliment to the cake. You have to have the vanilla ice cream with the cake because it really does taste a lot like a root beer float. I really liked this recipe and will probably make it again one day. For now, I am going to try and refrain from desserts for the next month. I'm getting ready to go on a cruise in a month and I need to fit in the bathing suit!!

Root Beer Bundt Cake

2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)
1 c. dark unsweetened cocoa powder
½ c. butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 ¼ c. granulated sugar
½ c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 c. all purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs

For the Root Beer Fudge Frosting
2 oz. dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
½ c. unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp salt
¼ c. root beer
2/3 c. dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ c. powdered sugar
To Serve:Vanilla Ice Cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously spray the inside of a 10” bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.In a small bowl, whisk the eggs just until beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy - do not overbeat it, as it will cause the cake to be tough. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time, until a small sharp knife inserted in the cake comes clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

Root Beer Fudge Frosting:Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth.Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving, with the ice cream on the side.

Please do yourself a favor and try this one!!

Honey Pork Tenderloin and Homemade Applesauce

I woke up Monday and did the same thing I always do. Get the kids ready so I can take my daughter to school. Only this Monday I was in for quite a surprise! When we were ready to walk out the door, I couldn't find my keys. I remembered that my husband moved my car before he left for work on Sunday. I looked everywhere. Finally, I called my husband and found out that my car keys were in Charlotte, NC!! He put them in his pocket after he moved the car and forgot about them!! He drove all the way to Charlotte with my keys. Since we live in Georgetown, KY I knew I was going to have to wait at least one day, if not two to receive them again so I made last minute arrangements for my daughter and made do without a car for a day and a half.

I didn't have too much in my fridge or pantry. I had a pork tenderloin and some apples that I needed to use up. This meal came about while I was searching online for pork tenderloin recipes. I really like website http://porktenderloinrecipes.net/. If you haven't checked it out, you should. I found a recipe for Honey Pork Tenderloin and had all the ingredients so I went ahead with it. For every pound of pork tenderloin you make a paste of:

4 Tablespoons Honey

2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

Rub about half of the paste onto the raw pork tenderloin and bake @ 375F for about 35-40 minutes, basting every so often with the leftover sauce. The basting is the key to getting that real sticky sauce. I really loved this recipe. The sauce was a lot like a barbecue sauce, but a little more sweet. The outside of the pork was crusty and sticky and just delicious sliced thinly and served on a homemade roll. I would make this one again and again, and again......I would make it and serve it on little rolls at a party or a baby shower, even a bridal shower. They were like little pork sliders!

I made a homemade applesauce to go with the pork. My 2 year old loves applesauce and we were out of it, so I figured why not?? I usually don't care for applesauce, but I have to say that this was very good when it was fresh off the stove and warm. There is a HUGE difference between jarred applesauce and homemade!! It is ridiculous how much I liked this applesauce! If you have never made homemade applesauce, you would be surprised at how quick and easy it really is. It doesn't take very long, only 20 minutes, and is great served warm. You can flavor it with cinnamon or any other spice you like. You can also add in other fruits if you wish.

Recipe - Homemade Applesauce:

4 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

3/4 cup water or apple juice *I used water, apple juice would make it sweeter overall*

1/8 to 1/4 cup sugar

squirt of lemon juice

Put everything in a saucepan and cook, covered, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until apples are softened. Remove from heat and mash with fork or potato masher. I used almost 1/4 cup sugar and it was pretty sweet, but not overly sweet. Next time, I would cut back a little to about 1/8 cup sugar. I think you could even use honey or other sweeteners.

The next afternoon I received a knock at the door and it was the Fed Ex man with a present for me......car keys!! You would never think car keys would make you so happy : )

Bourbon and Chocolate Pecan Pie *Recipe #32 - Page 196*

This chocolately pecan pie is rich, decadent, and sinfully delicious!! It is gooey, sticky, and creamy all in one pie! The crust includes finely ground pecans and has a very light, airy and nutty flavor. The filing is sweet, but not too sweet and the chocolate is just the right balance. I served the pie with some homemade whipped cream, but this would be even better with vanilla ice cream. This pie should come with a warning: Make sure you have people to share it with you......or you will eat the whole pie by yourself!!

Pastry:

1 cup all-pupose flour, plus more for dusting

1/4 cup finely ground pecans

1 tablespoon sugar

pinch kosher salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed

Filling:

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup dark corn syrup or sugar cane syrup (such as Steen's)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoons bourbon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1- 1/2 cups pecan halves

1 pint heavy whipping cream, whipped - you can flavor with maple syrup, honey, sugar or bourbon. I used up some cool whip I found when cleaning out my freezer and then also made fresh whipped cream flavored with honey and both were great.

NOTE: I did not add bourbon to the pie. I had all other ingredients on hand except for the bourbon and did not have time to run to the county line to buy a little for this recipe. I also used 2/4 cup light corn syrup and 1/4 cup maple syrup. I am not fond of corn syrup because although "corn"' is natural the process of corn syrup is not. I am nowhere near overly obsessed with this, but try to make adjustments when I can. Additionally, I love real maple syrup and honey and they are all natural. I had read somewhere online that maple syrup and honey could be used as replacements for corn syrup.

To make the pastry, in a large bowl combine flour, ground pecans, the 1 tablespoon sugar, and the salt. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Sprinkle in the ice water, tossing the mixture with a fork until it is just combined. Squeeze a small amount of dough together; if it is too crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tbsp. at a time. (Do not allow dough to become too wet or sticky). When dough comes together in a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Carefully roll circle of dough around rolling pin, then unroll it on top of the 9-inch pie plate, gently pressing it around the insides of the plate. Trim excess dough (I did not have excess, I was almost a little short) and leave a 1/4 inch overhang. Place the pie on a sturdy baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 350F. To make the filling, melt the butter and chocolate in a double broiler; remove from heat and let cool. Beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until frothy. Set the mixer on low speed and gradually add the sugar. Stir in the syrup, vanilla, bourbon, salt and the melted chocolate mixture. **make sure your chocolate is cool or you will scramble your eggs and that is not so tasty**

Arrange the pecans on the bottom of the pastry and carefully pour the egg mixture over them. Bake about 45 minutes, my oven took more like 55 minutes, until the filling is set and slightly puffed. Do the toothpick test to make sure the pie is done. It should come out clean. Transfer the pie to a rack and cool completely before cutting. Serve with whipped cream/ice cream.

NOTE: The pecan halves make the pie look pretty, but they are not necessary. In fact, it made the pie a little harder to cut and serve neatly. You could use any combination of pecans you had. Whatever floats your boat. Also, this pie was even more tasty fresh out of the refrigerator served cold with whipped cream. Maybe I'm wierd, but I love cold pies.

If you have a pecan pie lover in your life you should try this recipe. It was awesome!! Enjoy!

Lamb Shank Stew with Russet Potato Top *Recipe 31 - Page 118*

I have to say that this was the least favorite of the Tyler recipes so far. The picture in the book looked very tasty. I mean how can you go wrong with stew topped with potatoes, right? While the dish wasn't bad, it was something I would never make or serve again.

This recipe is mainly a braised dish cooked in the oven for about 3 and a half hours. You flour the lamb shanks and sear them on the stovetop. Once they are browned, you add garlic, carrots, onion, cloves, thyme, and a bay leaf. Cook this mix for 2-3 minutes, and then add a bottle of red wine and 1 quart of beef broth. Cover and braise 2 hours. After braising 2 hours, you peel 6 potatoes and halve them. You place them over the stew, cutting potatoes if necessary, and baste them with a garlic-parsley butter and cook, uncovered, for another one and a half hours.

I bought the lamb shanks at Whole Foods and they in turn bought the lamb from a local source here in Kentucky. The lamb was fresh and looked great. When the dish was complete, the lamb did fall off the bone, but it was somewhat fatty and you could still see a lot of connective tissue. Each lamb shank was mostly fat and connective tissue therefore it didn't net very much meat in the end. I spent quite a bit of time before serving trying to separate the meat and arrange it on a serving dish.

The barley had soaked up quite a bit of the red wine and was almost purple. Although it looked slightly strange, it was okay to eat. It did however taste a lot like drinking red wine, which was also strange. My husband made the comment that the whole dish tasted like barley and reminded him of drinking beer! I wouldnt' say this was a bad thing, but I think the barley was something we just weren't used to eating.

In addition to the lamb being so fatty, and the barley tasting so much of red wine, the potatoes were rather hard and never really got very soft. I followed Tyler's directions and basted them with quite a bit of butter and then even added more butter because I felt like it couldn't hurt anything.

We each had one serving and when we were done I knew that I should not save the leftovers. I was happy that I had halved the recipe and only bought 3 lamb shanks. I took the potatoes off the top and saved them for breakfast this morning and then we tossed the rest. I am not fond of throwing food away and probably only do this once or twice a year, but there was no point keeping it.

I only recommend this dish if you know that you love lamb shanks and barley. If you do decide to make this dish I would also recommend that you try baking your potatoes or cooking them in some other method to ensure they are soft when the dish is complete. The recipe is not included in this post, but I would be happy to email it to anyone if they wish to try this dish.

Tyler's Pulled Pork and Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Pulled pork is one of my favorite things to eat if it is done well. I first tried this recipe a couple months ago, but I only had a 2 pound pork shoulder and we didn't have that much pulled pork when it was all said and done. Ever since then I have had my eye out for a large pork shoulder/boston butt. I finally found a 4 pound pork shoulder at Whole Foods last week and I knew immediately that I wanted to make this recipe again.

This pulled pork begins by creating a simple and easy dry rub for the meat. It can marinate overnight, but can also marinate for as little as one hour. The dry rub are things that are typical pantry spices and nothing that I had to buy special. The meat cooks for 6 hours and is a dream to shred. In fact, I was able to shred it all in less than 5 minutes. The dry rub creates a wonderful flavor throughout the meat and carried over after shredding. It wouldn't be necessary to have any barbecue sauce with this pulled pork because it has a wonderful overall taste. However, I had all the ingredients on hand for Tyler's barbecue sauce, included in this recipe, so I decided to go all out. I am so glad that I did! I loved his barbecue sauce and again it is made from items that are usually in every pantry. It was easy to make and easily the best barbecue sauce around. It was sweet, tangy, and spicy and it is almost gone!! I'm wishing there was more of it because it would be nice on other things as well.

I attempted to make some sandwich buns from the King Arthur website and I am sad to report that they did not turn out. This was very upsetting to have pulled pork and no bread/buns. I have to say that I was very dissapointed with the King Arthur directions and recipe and probably will not use their website for future recipes. However, I must admit that their flour is the best and the only one you'll see in my pantry. The next day, I decided to use Tyler's recipe for Parker House Rolls, which was successful. I paired these sandwiches with the peach salad I had made the same day and the flavors were very complimentary.

Everything about this recipe makes it a total keeper! If you like barbecue foods and want to try pulled pork, please check this recipe out online at Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tylers-ultimate/pulled-pork-sandwich-recipe/index.html.

California Peach, Shaved Fennel, Mozzarella, and Crispy Prosciutto Salad *Recipe #30 - Page 238*

Let me start by saying that that this is a beautiful and delicious salad! Anyone who likes salad, will love this unique combination of peach, fennel, mozzarella, and prosciutto with a balsamic viniagrette. This salad will satisfy your sweet and salty palate. Tyler says that he put this salad together as one of his first dinner parties when he moved to California. He says it was a hit from get-go. I believe it. I will have no problem gobbling this salad up and I can't wait to share it with my mom. I have a group of picky eaters in my house and my Mom is the only one who eats my salad/veggie recipes.

RECIPE
8 thin slices prosciutto (about 1/2 lb) - cook more if you have it. I love good prosciutto!
4 peaches, firm but ripe, halved and pitted
1/2 fennel bulb
2 balls (8 ounces each) fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups fresh hydroponic watercress or other peppery green (I used arugula)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Lay prosciutto slices out flat in a single layer on a baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crispy and golden. Remove from tray and drain on paper towels.

Cut peaches into thick wedges; set aside. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, shave fennel into paper-thin crescents. Drop fennel slices in a large bowl of ice water for 1 minutes to crisp; drain and dry on paper towels. Toss peaches, fennel, mozzarella, and watercress(or peppery green) together in a large salad bowl.

To prepare the dressing, put balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in oil until mixture emulsifies slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle individual servings of salad with dressing; top with crispy prosciutto.
NOTE: If you have Tyler's book you will notice that the dressing looks different in the book. I think he reduced some balsamic vinegar for the picture. The dressing in the picture is thick and brown and looks a lot like reduced balsamic. Mine is nowhere near as pretty, but it was very tasty.

I encourage everyone to try this recipe. It is the ultimate in spring/summer salad and I really enjoyed it and think anyone who is a salad lover will love it!