Eggplant Pizza

If you are like me and can’t live without pizza; you should try this recipe. In this recipe I substituted traditional pizza dough for eggplant based dough. Eggplant pizza dough reduces the calories in half and it taste delicious. Ingredients: 2 large eggplants 1 egg white 1 TSP powdered vegetable stock 20 slices of light turkey ham (optional) 2 sliced tomatoes 1 TSP shredded light parmesan cheese 1 TSP oregano 2 minced garlic cloves 1 slice of whole wheat bread (shredded) Cut the eggplants lengthwise or round (it’s just preference). Wash it and let it soaking in salted water for 1 hour and dry it very well. Eggplant should be totally dry. Put the eggplant on a cooking sheet without crowded it and bake it @ 350 F for about 30 minutes. After that arrange the eggplant on a pizza pan one piece besides the other, all in one only layer using the egg white with a brush to keep it together. Sprinkle powdered vegetable stock, the turkey ham if using it and tomatoes. Sprinkle parmesan cheese, oregano, minced garlic and shredded whole wheat bread. Bake it on a 350 F preheated oven for 30 minutes and enjoy it! An excellent choice: 1 Normal slice of pizza = 485 cal 1 Eggplant pizza slice = 289 cal

Half Moon Pie

 

2 cups of flower
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS butter
1 TBS yeast
½ cup milk
1 egg
Salt to taste
Make a wheel with the flours and add the other ingredients, (I used my kitchen aid mix), but you also can mix it slowly with the tips of your fingers until you obtain a homogeny shaped ball.

Cover it and let it stand for at least 2 hours.

On a flowered surface, roll out the dough and mold it into you spring form.

The filling again can be made chicken meat or vegetables. (Just be careful to not use a too moister filling, you don’t want your dough to come out soggy).

After you've placed you filling, let it aside for another 30 minutes.

Brush it with an egg yolk and bake it at pre heated oven on 350 F. for 25-35 min or until your pie obtained a beautiful golden colors. (It depends on your oven).

Bon appétit !!

Sangria

I’m already missing the delicious Sangria we’ve had in the beautiful warm Summer evenings

 

1 bottle good red wine
2 cups berry juice
1 can tonic water or soda water
~ ¼ sugar or honey (to taste) (I used none)
Ice cubes and frozen berries
Just mix and enjoy it…

Let me know how it turned out!

Stuffed Caramelized Onion Bread and Onion Turnovers'

 

 

Basic Recipe for Stuffed Bread that can be also used to make delicious turnovers.

This is a very simple and basic stuffed bread recipe (you can use any kind of filling) – just make sure your filling choice is not too wet, otherwise the dough will be soggy.
Stuffed Bread: Dissolve 1 tablespoon of yeast (Not Baking Powder)in 2 cups of warm milk.
To the milk mixture you add 1 cup of flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of oil, 3 eggs plus 1 egg white (reserve 1 egg yolk for brush over the bread before baking for adding a beautiful color and shine to your bread).
Then, add 5 cups of flour and 1 tablespoon of salt. Mix the dough and add more flour if necessary until the dough is no longer sticking to your hands. (I used my kitchen aid mixer – it’s quicker. But, if you don’t have it, it not a big deal, it’s still easy…
Leave dough in a warm dark place (I normally put it inside the oven with the light on). Until it rises. - To know when dough is ready, before setting it aside, take a small piece and roll it in a ball and place the ball in a cup of water, once the ball rises to the surface of the cup, the dough is ready to be rolled out.

Now, if making bread,cut the dough in three or four equal parts – It really depends on the size of breads you want and amount of filling you’ve prepared. I prefer my bread dough tin… with lots of filling. (The filling should be room temperature, never hot). It can be prepared a day before.

Place some flour on your counter top and have it ready for rolling the dough out in a rectangular shape.

Add one layer of cheese, then another layer of ham (or tuna, or chicken, caramelized onions or whatever filling you choose have handy), then if you wish, add another layer of cut up tomatoes (make sure the insides are removed so the dough does not get soggy).

After filling has been put in place, roll dough in a cylinder shape, and put it aside on a very lightly greassed cooking sheet until dough rises a little more.(about 30 min) - (When comes to bread, every time you work with the dough, its best to let it “rest” for a while before baked it (1 hour or so).
When bread is ready to be baked, Brush it over with the yolk and sprinkle dried onion on top of it and bake it in a 350F for 25-30 min or until its golden brown. (Again, it depends on your oven).

If you wish to make turnover, use the same method, but instead of cutting the dough in 3 or 4 equal parts, you’ll cut it in several triangles in order to be able to make the turnovers.

I’ve made turnovers with cheese and caramelized onion and just with caramelized onions. If using cheese, be careful with amount of salt you’re putting on caramelized onions. Remember the balsamic vinegar is salty already, so is the cheese.

Caramelized onions: 4-5 (I love onion) large sweet onions, thinly sliced, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, balsamic vinegar (only a few splashes), 1 teaspoon sugar, 2-3 cloves garlic, minced ( I also love garlic, but you can leave it out if you don't like it).

In a large skillet,over medium heat, melt the butter. Toss in the onions and garlic; cook it for about 15 minutes add sugar and splashes of balsamic vinegar. Stir it occasionally.
Cook it until they are deeply caramelized. This can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your stove. Add a tablespoon or so of water as needed to keep everything moist and prevent burning.

I hope you enjoy it!

Caipirinha

 

1 large lime
2 Fl. oz. of cachaça
Sugar and ice to taste

Wash the lime and roll it on the board to loosen its juice. Cut the lime into pieces as "cross", discard the white parts in the middle and place them in a shaker. Sprinkle with the sugar and crush the pieces (pulp side up) with a pestle. (We have a, wooden pestle boughtin Brazil, made for exclusively for this purpose - I believe there's caipirinha kits for sale). Just enough to release the juice, otherwise it'll get bitter. Add the cachaça and ice and shake it well. f you don't have the shaker, you can use a glass, stiring very well.
The beauty of this drink it’s the right alcohool, as its such unique. I strongly recommend you trying to find it. However if you can’t find it, use a very good vodka; If you use vodka, the drink will be called caipiroshka.
You also can use kiwi, strawberries and pineapple instead of limes... But the original caipirinha should be made with limes, good limes. I particularly think that's a shame to make the substitutions.
The “bad” of caipirinha is that you should make individual drinks. I don’t mind it, but it can be a bit of work for some people.

Sea Food Risotto

 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
Salt to taste
Freshly ground white and black pepper to taste
3 cups water
3 cups chicken or seafood stock
3 grated garlic gloves
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups ( 2 LBS) Arborio rice
1 LBS or 908 grams sea food mix
1 LBS or 9008 grams cooked shirimp
1/2 cup freshly grated good rate parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped green onions, green part only
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Small can tomato paste

Directions

In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onions and garlic. Sauté until the onions are slightly soft.
Add the rice and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until rice is lightly brown, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper; keep stirring.
Stir in sea food mix and shrimp and frozen peas. Keep stirring it.
Add stock and water and bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 15 minutes. When the rice is starting to dry, add tomato paste; stir well carefully until tomato paste is fully incorporated to the rest of the ingredients and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes. Stir in cheese, and green onions. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Spoon the risotto in the center of each shallow bowl. Garnish with parsley and don’t forget your preferred salad to go with this delicious entrée.

P.S. It should yield 8 to 10 servings, but I’m afraid you’ll get less than that as everybody would go for seconds.

Real Baked Macaroni & Cheese

 

2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup hot milk
1 cup cream
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 minced garlic gloves
1 cup cheddar cheese, diced
1 cup grated good grade Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese
2 cups of your preferred Macaroni, cooked and drained
1 or 2 TBSP bread crumbs



Preheat oven to 400°F.

Grease a 9 x 13 x 2 inch rectangular baking Dish.

Blend butter, flour, salt, pepper and hot milk and cream (in this order) until obtain smooth liquid blend it for less than 1 minute.

Add to the liquid mixture your finely chopped onions, minced garlic, parsley and cheeses.
Add this mixture to your cooked macaroni and place it baking dish.
Sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
Bake it for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbling.

This recipe is a bit rich due to the amount of cheese used. Please make sure to have vegetables to go with it.

You can make this delicious recipe in advance and freeze it in Ziploc bags.
After mixing macaroni with the cheese sauce, allow it to cool to room temperature before adding to your freezer - When you fell like having a treat; pull it out of freezer the night before and allowed it to thaw. Then, add the macaroni and cheese to a buttered baking dish sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake it for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bubbling.

Picture features Kale as side dish.

Total time preparations will be about 40 minutes and this recipe serves 6.