Triple Onion Dip

Impossible that it is already Nov. 17th. Somehow I thought I had a few days left to make the Bread Baking Babes bread...will do it tomorrow if I can. This has been a crazy month with too much travel and doctor's appointments (routine) and dentist appointments (not routine) and there is a big event on Wednesday and yesterday was a retirement party...so I made a delicious dip but not the bread. Just glad that I don't have to host Thanksgiving this year! I will make the dip again for Sweetie though.

The holidays are upon us. Still seems too soon, but I guess if Christmas decorations are showing up in stores before Halloween these days, it's not too surprising that Thanksgiving will be gone in a flash. Still, we usually need things to serve our near and dear ones on turkey day, including old favorites.

Does someone in your family love the dip made with onion soup mix and sour cream? I've got a recipe for a dip that has a taste quite similar, but made from scratch...fresh onion, leek and shallot instead of that 'what ingredients are in this packet anyway?' dry soup mix. Instead of sour cream and mayo, we substitute slightly healthier Greek yogurt. This dip tastes very familiar with potato chips, but just as delicious with baby carrots, celery sticks, snow peas and red pepper strips. I won't lie and tell you that it is quick and easy, but I assure you that once you try this you'll never go back to the soup mix version. If you are bringing it to a party, remember to bring breath mints, too. This wonderful triple onion dip has a true onion flavor...big time! I saved about a tablespoon of the onion mixture to put in the center as garnish, but that's optional.

Today was really beautiful here with sunny skies and brilliant color on the trees because it has been getting cold enough at night for good fall color. I was able to find some time to start cleaning up my vegetable/flower garden of old squash plants and morning glories that had gone to seed. Grateful that I have the energy and strength to do gardening and pulling and pruning and lifting...just wish I had a little more. Soon (in a day or two) I should have a post for you of a delicious crown bread, then another post a few days later...or by the weekend... of a main dish salad perfect for friends and family who have or choose to eat gluten free, dairy free, egg free, low salt, vegan. I'm preparing ten of them for the event on Wednesday and I'll be prepping for them Tuesday. Hope our power company doesn't turn off our power. Tough to roast veggies in the quantities I need over the BBQ!

So here is the delicious, fairly healthy three onion dip from Feed Me Phoebe blog. Thanks Phoebe!

Healthy French Onion Dip with Leeks and Shallots
from #feedmephoebe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, peeled and diced
1 large leek, green and white parts only, halved and thinly sliced
2 large shallots, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt, preferably full fat
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Saute' the onion, leeks and shallots in the oil about 7 minutes, stirring often, until translucent and beginning to brown. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until dark and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add the tamari or soy sauce and continue to cook for 2 minutes to evaporate the liquid.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the onion mixture, the Greek yogurt and the salt. Stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Use at once or chill. Return to room temperature to serve.

Serve with chips or crudites.

The Comfort of Soup

Xam, the Bread Dog, decided that Christmas wrapping tissue is actually meant to be dog toys...and he did enjoy shredding this ball of red tissue on Christmas Day.

It's been a wonderful week! Lots of quality time with our daughter, visiting from the land of drizzle for the holidays, fun with many relatives and some friends, walks along the beach and in the redwoods and at the Laguna, a mellow day for Christmas day with rain outside all day but a lit tree and gifts and good food and laughter inside. Hope that your holidays were magical!

Now things are quieter and something simple like a good comforting soup can fill the body with warmth and even some healthy ingredients...often a missing element in the delicious but rich spreads of the holidays. The great thing about soup is that besides being easy it can use up leftovers from the feasts.

Try this one which has leeks, corn, red pepper, sliced mushrooms , red potatoes and some cooked salmon (can you guess what we had for dinner one day this week?) I used canned chicken broth but if you have home made, by all means use that. I wouldn't use turkey broth because it is too strongly flavored so you will miss what the salmon contributes to the taste. Don't forget the lemon juice to taste...it sparks the salmon flavor perfectly. If you don't have any cooked salmon, canned salmon would work, just see if you can get good sized chunks from the can and leave the bones and mushy bits for some other dish.

Salmon Corn Soup

Serves 4

1 leek, split and washed well to remove grit
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup red pepper in a small dice
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (or more, to taste)
about 20 oz chicken or vegetable broth (1 1/2 cans)
2 cups red potatoes, scrubbed, cut in 1 inch dice and boiled just to tender, then drained
1 cup fresh, frozen or canned corn kernels
1/2 cup - 1 cup flaked cooked salmon
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
lemon juice to taste

Cut the leek into four lengthwise and slice into thin slices, using all of the white and some of the green parts...all of which you have washed well first. Discard the thicker outer leaves.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute' the leeks until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the red pepper, mushrooms, and carrots, stir to coat with oil, and continue to cook another two minutes.

Add the thyme, salt, pepper, broth, cooked & drained potatoes and corn to the pot. Cover and heat over medium heat until heated through. Add the salmon and parsley and continue heating for a minute. Taste, add lemon juice to taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Continue to heat until hot enough to serve. Ladle into bowls and serve very hot.

Butternut Squash Calzone with Sage and Leeks

A week has passed since my last blog post (over at the Bread Baker's Dog), which isn't surprising to me. I don't know how all you full-time working people, especially ones with children, too, find the time to blog and take gorgeous photos and everything. I worked every day this week, but not full days on Monday and Friday and I still seemed to not have a spare moment for blogging, nor the energy. My hat is off to y'all who do it all!

The garden has also been calling. Seeds were pre-sprouted over a week ago and were finally put into soil filled little cells yesterday. Today some had already sprouted above the soil! The sugar snap peas sprouted more quickly, so they were tucked into soil filled paper coffee cups mid-week and will be ready to plant by this Wednesday...if I can find the time.

Yesterday and today were full of shopping for plants weeding, planting seedlings and sowing a few seeds directly into soil outside.

There is still a whole lot of weeding to do while the ground is still soaked...they come up much easier...and then mulch to put down. Plum trees are blossoming and spring seems to be coming. I know that there is deep snow in many parts of the country and world, but I am a spoiled Calgirl who expects spring flowers in mid-February.

Also woke early this morning and went west to the beach. There was a very high tide today and big surf so lots of surfers were having fun in the water. Going places with Sweetie is always the best and we both love Doran beach. Xam would have like it better with less surf...too much noise.

Since not much cooking or baking of note has been going on, I'm going to post a dish that I baked over a month ago. Sometimes good things come with time :)

Squash is a vegetable that I love, both summer squash and winter squash. Butternut squash is a favorite because of the deep orange color, mellow taste, and because once you prepare the whole squash, you have a lot of ready to cook with deliciousness at hand.

You can read about the other things I made with the squash here. That is also the post where I give tips for roasting halves of butternut squash.

This calzone was inspired by a pizza I had at a restaurant in January. It combines squash, pancetta, cheese and sage. I also added sauteed leeks that I cooked down with a splash of white wine. With pizza dough both over and under it seemed like a good idea to boost the flavor elements of the filling. I didn't have any pancetta and do believe that it would have been even better with the intense and savory flavor pancetta provides. I used some crisp cooked bacon instead and it was delicious but mellower. You can also eliminate the bacon/pancetta for a vegetarian version.

If you don't have a pizza stone bake this n a parchment lined baking sheet or jelly roll pan turned upside down and placed in the lower part of your oven. Just watch either way to make sure the bottom crust doesn't burn.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~ To Use for Calzone
Original recipe for the dough taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 12 calzone or 6 pizza (9-12 inch) crusts
Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).
2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.
The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces for calzone(or 6 pieces if you want to make pizzas).
NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.
NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil (a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make calzone, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO
8. On the day you plan to eat calzone, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

Note: In case you would be having trouble rolling the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.

On a lightly floured surface roll each dough ball into a circle about 8 or 9 inches in diameter. Place on a sheet of baking parchment paper. Fill as desired. For the Butternut Squash with Sage and Leeks Calzone, fill as described below.

Butternut Squash Calzone with Sage and Leeks
Makes 6

1/2 recipe of the pizza dough described above

12 thin slices cooked and peeled butternut squash, about 3 1/2 to 4 inches by 1 1/2 to 2 inches
1 cup ricotta cheese - if very moist, drain for 1/2 hour in cheese cloth over a sieve
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 egg,lightly beaten, divided
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 large or two small leeks, washed well, quartered, and sliced in thin slices
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine
1/4 lb bacon or pancetta
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
additional Parmesan if desired

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, fresh sage, Italian parsley, half of the egg (reserve the other half to glaze the tops of the calzone), and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, over low heat cook the leeks in the olive oil until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the white wine, adjust heat to high, and, stirring constantly, cook the leeks until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.

Wipe out the skillet and cook the bacon until crisp. If using pancetta, cook until crisp, but watch carefully to not burn it. Once crisp, remove to paper towels and let the towels absorb any fat.

To assemble the calzone, roll out as described above and place on pieces of baking parchment. Spread about 1 - 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture over half of the dough circle. Top with a sixth of the leeks, distributing the leeks over the ricotta. Do the same with the bacon or pancetta, breaking the crisp pieces into small pieces as necessary.

Top with one or two of the butternut squash pieces, having the curved side toward the outside of the circle and the flat side toward the middle of the circle of dough. Sprinkle on one sixth of the mozzarella cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Fold the plain half of the dough over the filled half. Run a finger that you have dipped in water around the edge of the filled section and press the top dough to seal. Use the tines of a fork to press all around the edge to seal further. If desired, glaze the dough with some of the beaten egg and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Set aside and make the other five calzone. If there are dough balls left, save for pizza or more calzone. They can be frozen to be used later, too.

Once all the calzone have been filled, check to make sure that the pre-heated oven is hot.
If you are using a baking stone, slide the calzone, still on its parchment onto the stone and bake until the dough is golden brown. Repeat with each of the other calzone.

Let cool a couple of minutes, then remove from the paper to a cutting board and cut each into four pieces. Serve at once.

Comfort Food

The rains showed up, so I'm happy. There is something cozy about sitting in a comfy chair with a good book and a cup of tea and listening to the rain and wind beating against the house. I did have to go out in it to go to work today, but it wasn't too stormy at the time. We had lots of rain last night, too and more wind.

When the weather is cold and rainy I turn to comfort foods. The baked garnet sweet potato I had last night seemed particularly good since it was wet out and dry inside. Another great comfort food is meat loaf. I start with my Mom's recipe which used ground beef and oatmeal, onions, parsley, herbs and spices and tomato juice with egg as a binder.

My updated version uses ground pork and turkey instead of ground beef. I also added leeks and mushrooms and flax seed, used some diced tomatoes instead of part of the tomato juice and added dried thyme because it goes so well with mushrooms. Sweetie was quite taken with this meat loaf and I liked that it seemed lighter and more tender, but still savory and comforting.

Served with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, it makes an old-fashioned meal with a twist.
One of the great things about meat loaf is that you mix all the ingredients together, then put it in a loaf pan to bake...and you can do other things while it bakes since it needs no further help from you.

Notes: I tend to mix the oatmeal, onions, leeks, mushrooms and the ground meat and poultry together with my hands in a large bowl, keeping the mixture light, not packed, then add the rest of the ingredients except for the egg, mix some more, then add the egg and mix until everything seems well distributed. I use a light touch when packing the loaf pan, too. If you prefer a heavier meat loaf, just pack the mixture in more firmly.

Take a look at the photo: you can see the parsley and mushrooms and flax seeds and tomatoes and onions...but now imagine how wonderful it smells! Guess you might have to make some for your own taste of comfort. This loaf makes great leftovers, too.

Pork and Turkey Meatloaf
based on Mom's recipe in Family Food, June 1994

1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup rolled oats, uncooked
1 medium leek, well cleaned and finely chopped
½ medium onion, chopped
¼ lb mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon flax seed (optional)
½ cup tomato juice
½ cup diced tomatoes, chopped in fine dice
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Combine all ingredients (see notes above). Pack firmly into an ungreased loaf pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 1 hour to 1 hr 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serves 8.

Al Fresco Florentine

One of the blessings about having Wednesday off is that we can have a mid-week luncheon with friends. Today we ventured north to sun baked Healdsburg for an al fresco feast...you know, a lunch eaten outdoors.

First we had appetisers and white in the shade of the gazebo in comfy chairs with wisteria vines overhead. Conversation meandered from mutual friends and family doings to politics and current events to gardening and restaurants.

For lunch we moved to the deck and enjoyed an excellent salad with red and butter lettuces, radish slices, garden fresh yellow tomatoes, sugar snap peas, asparagus and avocados. The dressing, a French vinaigrette, was sublime.

My contribution was a quiche. I call it Florentine since it contains chopped spinach, but it also was the first quiche I've ever made with leeks and it turns out that leeks, sauteed in butter, add a light onion flavor...quite nice. The filling also had crimini mushrooms,

bacon...shall I say it again?? BACON...and eggs and milk and some nutmeg, salt & pepper. The crust was my favorite 'cheat' of Pillsbury ReadyCrust (see notes with crust recipes below to see why), blind baked with some dry beans I use as pie weights.

This quiche is full flavored and could make a nice brunch or light supper dish, too. The crust recipe and general proportions for the quiche are from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt. Even though the day heated up to the mid-90s, the quiche eaten out of door was a great accompaniment to good conversation and great friends.



Florentine Quiche
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1 large leek, root removed and sliced into ½ inch slices, those slices halved, and all washed in a strainer to remove any sand or grit
1 cup sliced mushrooms – white or crimmini
½ pkg frozen spinach, thawed, excess liquid squeezed out
1 prepared Quiche crust (recipe follows)
1 cup diced Swiss cheese, divided
¼ cup bacon crumbles (about 3-4 slices, well cooked, drained, then crumbled)
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet melt the butter and sauté’ the leeks until translucent, about 4 minutes, stirring often.
Add the mushroom slices and sauté’ another 4 or 5 minutes while the mushrooms brown and release their juices. Add the squeezed spinach and stir well to distribute.

Sprinkle half the Swiss cheese over the bottom of the quiche crust. Spread the sautéed vegetable mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle the bacon crumbles evenly over the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over that.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add the salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Pour this mixture slowly over the ingredients in the quiche crust.

Place quiche in prepared oven and bake 20 – 25 minutes, or until just set and lightly browned on top.

Serve warm. Serves 6 – 8

Crust

After working all day, we went to dinner with friends. I started making this quiche at 8:30 at night, so making a crust from scratch was not an option. (The ‘from scratch’ recipe is below my substitution.)

I used Pillsbury ReadyCrust. One round was fitted into a 9-inch pie pan, the edges were crimped, a round of parchment paper was put inside and dry beans were used as pie weights. Crust was baked in a 450 degree F. oven for about 10 minutes. Pie pan was put on a cooling rack, parchment and beans were removed, and crust was left to cool.

Official Shell for Quiche
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cold shortening, cut into small pieces
½ cup (1 stick) frozen butter, cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cold water
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until dough holds together and starts to forma a ball, about 25 seconds. Do not over mix.

Remove dough and shape into a 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place disk on a lightly floured surface, and with a lightly floured rolling pin roll dough from the center out to the edges, changing the direction with each stroke, until the circle is 1/8 inch thick and about 1 inch larger than the pie plate. Fold dough in half and transfer to pie plate. Press gently to remove air bubbles. Fold edge under and flute. Do not prick dough for a quiche because the filling will seep under the shell. To partially bake the shell for a quiche, bake it for 8 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack. It should be slightly warm when filling is added.

Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F for the quiche.