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By Michelle Abendschan, on March 21st, 2014%
Well, this French Fridays with Dorie was a little different — but in a really good way. I didn’t quite know what to expect but it seemed sort of like a scallop pizza to me. And what does pizza need? A little cheese. I know some people do not like to mix cheese with seafood but — I am not one of those people.
I also decided to add a little color to the top, by way of some chopped arugula leaves. The pop of green was exactly what was missing, I thought, plus the peppery greens added a nice contrast to the buttery scallops.
This recipe is also easily halved for two people – just cut the puff pastry dough in half, roll that out a bit, and save the remaining dough in the refrigerator for another use. And really, who can’t find something to do with a little puff pastry dough?
You can of course, find the original (and no doubt superior) recipe in the cookbook, Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Check out how the whole FFwD group did this week – here’s a link to . . . → Read More: FFwD: Scallop and Onion Tartes Fines
By Michelle Abendschan, on September 5th, 2013%
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie is one of my favorites – Fresh Tuna, Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza and the recipe is even online here. So delicious!
I did change some things though — I made individual sized pizzas (8-inch) rather than the appetizer-sized 4-inch ones. Also, instead of puff pastry, I made actual pizza dough. This recipe, which is a favorite (with half AP flour and half spelt flour). And, let’s see….oh yes! I added the mozzarella and onions to the top of the dough for the initial 15 minutes it was baking. Because, come on, you need bubbly, golden mozzarella and roasted onions on a pizza, right? Right.
I also added artichoke hearts (because I had some I needed to use). But that’s really all I changed. I thought the 2-3 minutes after adding the tuna was even a bit too long — on the first one the tuna got a bit more done than I wanted, but I gave the second pizza closer to 1-1/2 minutes back in the oven and that seemed to be good. Both jwa and I thought the fresh ginger gave it a surprising kick. And as . . . → Read More: FFwD: Fresh Tuna, Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza
By Michelle Abendschan, on April 30th, 2013%
This was a recent meal at our house and even though I accidentally made two “errors” with it, the meal was still delicious. So, I think we’ll call this one both forgiving and versatile.
Error number one was not realizing this recipe made two cake pans worth of polenta (not a big deal as the other polenta is safely in the freezer awaiting a dinner soon) and error number two was baking the polentas in the cake pans. Also not a big deal since, as far as I can tell, it worked out fine. Lessons learned: if you’re just trying to feed two, just make a half recipe of the below and for possibly crispier polenta, turn them out onto a baking sheet. But you know, no big deal.
That all said, the versatility comes in by really being able to top these pizzas with anything you might normally put on a pizza. Mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, lamb sausage, feta — it’s completely adjustable to the season and whatever you’re in the mood for eating!
 . . . → Read More: White Polenta with Sausage, Chard and Fresh Mozzarella
By Michelle Abendschan, on April 22nd, 2013%
In the last few months (year, maybe? I am bad at judging time), it seems that my stretch of SE Division street has just exploded with new places — Ava Gene’s, Xico, Lauretta Jean’s, Sunshine Tavern, Cibo. And I’m sure there’s more I’m even forgetting. Of this group, we’ve been to Cibo twice so far and I can’t wait to go again. It was a bit crowded on a Tuesday night for our last visit, so we started at the bar and moved to the table when one opened up.
Cibo
3539 SE Division Street
Portland, OR 97214
On that visit, we split the octopus dish as a starter and I think it’s my favorite plate featuring octopus in Portland right now. A great char, nice and tender, on a plate full of creamy beans, herbs and lemon. It changes from time-to-time (right now I think it’s on a bed of potatoes) but it’s definitely worth checking out no matter what version it is.
We also split the Caesar salad, which was also good and recommended, but the pizza. Oh my! Get the pizza. They are definitely big enough to share, but if you get one per person, you can try . . . → Read More: Cibo Italian Restaurant in SE Portland
By Michelle Abendschan, on October 9th, 2012%
Occasionally, I find myself coming home from work, feeling very hungry and having absolutely no idea of what to make for dinner. I do know that I want it to be relatively easy and super, super good, though. Just such an evening was the beginning of Naan pizza. See, I really wanted pizza and we had everything to make pizza except pizza dough or even a boboli crust stashed somewhere in the fridge.
“Think, me. Think,” I thought to myself. I even searched the fridge for some english muffins, for the in-college-favorite, english muffin pizza. Nope. I didn’t even have that option. Aggghhh! Then, I poked my head in the freezer and the evening was saved. Naan! We had naan. Garlic naan, even. To be specific: Trader Joe’s Frozen Garlic Naan. “Yes, that would make awesome pizza,” I thought or possibly even said out loud. And it certainly did.
This could easily be made with whatever pizza topping-whatnots you had on hand. I just happened to have everything that I listed below but I really think this would work with whatever combination you felt like trying out. I embraced the Indian-influence of the naan by adding curry . . . → Read More: Naan Pizza with Garlicky Yogurt & Greens
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Meals for Winter Hibernation
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