Cauliflower pizza crust

Here's another fun recipe to try from the always-entertaining blog, "Eating Our Words".

Cauliflower Pizza Crust a Delicious Work in Progress

By Christina Uticone Thu., Jan. 17 2013 at 10:00 AM

Photos by Christina Uticone

Not exactly finger food.

Like many, I'm trying to take this first month of the New Year to detox a bit, by making better food choices and upping my workout schedule. We tend to throw it down during the holidays, and the cumulative effects of rich food, plentiful booze, and sleep deprivation had me scouring the Internet for some new, healthy recipes. After seeing a dozen Tweets and Facebook status updates about cauliflower pizza crust, I set out to give it a try. My husbandloves cauliflower, and I liked the idea of a lower-cal version of a favorite dish.

The recipe is pretty simple, especially if you have a food processor (which we do not) but even if you have to chop the cauliflower yourself, it's a pretty fun project.

I looked at a few recipes online -- see them here, here, and here -- and got started. You'll need:

• One head cauliflower
• One egg, beaten
• Salt, pepper, herbs & spices to taste (dried or fresh)
• One cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Toppings of your choice

Pre-heat the oven to 400° F. After chopping the entire head of cauliflower into rice-sized pieces (this is where a food processor would have come in awfully handy) I put everything into a microwave-safe bowl and nuked it for about eight minutes, until the cauliflower was translucent. One of the recipes calls for boiling the riced cauliflower and then draining the water, and then further squeezing out moisture with a dishtowel, claiming that this method will result in a drier crust, one that can be picked up and eaten like a regular piece of pizza. After ricing an entire head of cauliflower by hand, that sounded a little labor intensive so ... maybe next time.

After the cauliflower was softened in the microwave I added the egg, salt, pepper, cheese, some dried basil, and three cloves of minced garlic. Onto a pizza stone, I pressed the mixture into a pizza crust shape approximately 1/3 inch thick, and then popped the whole thing into the oven for about 25 minutes, until the crust browned on the edges and top. I removed it from the oven, added toppings--not a lot, as a veggie crust didn't seem likely to hold much weight--and the whole thing went back into the oven, where I broiled it for about three minutes. (In addition to a schmear of Don Pepino pizza sauce I added some chopped olives, spinach, and cherry tomatoes, plus another quarter-cup of mozz.)

The crust stays quite moist, so it doesn't exactly make a clean getaway from the stone.

On the plus side, this is truly a yummy alternative to a traditional pizza crust. On the negative side, there was no way to eat this with our hands -- the dough was still somewhat wet, and didn't easily separate from the pizza stone. This was definitely a fork kind of meal.

It was a nice change of pace, though, and filling enough to count as dinner, especially with a side salad. A bit of experimentation is in order -- especially if the claim that the crust can be prepped for a drier outcome is true. Overall, one of the better versions of a healthy pizza I've tried, and great for anyone who is going for gluten-free.

Atomic Deer Turds

When I saw the name of this dish, I just had to share it.*  This comes from a food blog I follow, "Eating Our Words", a feature of the Houston Press, and I thought you might enjoy it!

Texas Tailgating: Atomic Deer Turds

Sausage Fest

• 1

Note: This is a rerun of a post from 2008 in which former Houston Press food critic Robb Walsh shares a favorite tailgating recipe in honor of game day.

Tailgaters love to stuff jalapeños with cheese (usually cream cheese) and wrap meat around them. To make "atomic buffalo turds," you stuff a half a jalapeño with a "cocktail smokie" sausage and cream cheese, wrap it with bacon, secure with a toothpick and grill until the bacon is crisp. Then there's "armadillo eggs," made by wrapping pork sausage around a cream cheese-stuffed pepper.

In Texas, where tailgaters, trail drive riders and hunting camp cooks have lots of venison on hand, variations on this theme use deer meat. I've seen butterflied venison backstrap and venison hamburger meat used as the outer layer around a stuffed jalapeño -- but the most common meat for this use is venison sausage. These are known by a number of names including "atomic deer turds," or, in polite company, "venison sausage balls."

I made some of these on my backyard grill for breakfast this morning. The initial burn of the jalapeño was intense enough to wake me up, but it quickly subsided into a pleasant mouth buzz that went great with my morning coffee. The trick to taming the heat is to clean out as much of the white inner membrane as you can before you stuff the pepper with cheese. If you really want to tone it down, you can also cut the pepper in half.

Atomic Deer Turds

I usually use aged gouda or jack cheese, but you can use whatever you have handy. Cream cheese works, too. Substitute pork sausage and you've got "armadillo eggs."

• 2 small jalapeños
• 2 one-inch chunks of cheese
• 6-8 ounces venison sausage, cold
• Cooking spray

Cut the the tops off the jalapeños, leaving one and a quarter inches of the bottom end of the pepper. With a butter knife, hollow out the inside of the pepper, removing all of the seeds and as much of the white pith as possible without puncturing the chile. Cut some cheese so that it fits inside the pepper.

Photo by Robb Walsh

Flatten a cold 3- to 4-ounce patty of venison sausage on a cutting board with your palm. Peel it up and fold it around the stuffed pepper, squeezing to form an oblong shape. Spray some oil on a grill or griddle and cook the stuffed sausage over medium heat, turning often, for about 15 minutes or until well-browned on all sides.

Allow to cool enough to handle, then, with a sharp knife, cut each oblong in half so you can see the pepper and cheese. Serve immediately.

Makes 4.

Maude's Tucker's Christmas Date Pudding

My grandmother made old English date pudding every single year for Christmas dinner.  This "pudding", which is really more like a moist cake, was served with whipped cream over it.  This is the stuff of childhood memories for me.
My grandmother was an incredible cook, a farm wife who measured intuitively (much to the chagrin of her daughter-in-law, my mother, who was not an inspired cook by any stretch!).  Over the final years of my grandmother's life this recipe began to change, and not for the better.  The moist pudding became a dry, less-appetizing cake.  I tried, tried, tried! over the years to reproduce the earlier, original version of her pudding, but never achieved it.

Then, by chance, I stumbled upon another recipe for date pudding and even though the ingredients were identical, the preparation was quite different.  Shazam!  I had it again!

So, here is the recipe for my grandmother's date pudding, back in its original format.  Served with lightly sweetened whipped cream, it is absolutely a taste of my childhood with my very English grandparents.  Please enjoy!

DATE PUDDING SYRUP: 1 c. brown sugar 2 c. water 1 tsp. butter PUDDING: 1 c. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 c. chopped dates 1 c. brown sugar (additional) 1 tbsp. butter 1/3 c. milk 1 tsp. cinnamon To prepare syrup, bring to boil 1 cup brown sugar, 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon butter. Pour into baking dish*. To prepare pudding, mix flour, baking powder and all other ingredients. Mix well. Drop by spoonful into syrup. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm. (NOTE: Batter will spread, dates settle on bottom.) *This is the part that got lost.  It seems very odd, I realize, to pour this into the dish first.  Trust me.

Priscilla's Tesuque Pinon Dressing

My late sister made this incredibly delicious stuffing for the first time at our Thanksgiving celebration in 1991.  She still lived in Tesuque, New Mexico, and we had a wonderful time visiting her there.  I have great memories of that particular holiday.  Over the years I made the dressing even when my young children (and who can blame them?) turned up their noses at the nontraditional ingredients found in the recipe.  

Now, it is a ritual for me to make this dish.  I think of my sister while I make it, think about the fun we had making it together for the first time, and really, that is all I require of it.  The fact that it is absolutely delicious is a bonus!

I have taken a few liberties with the original ingredients.  I substituted red peppers for green because green peppers do not agree with me.  Why I can't eat them and love all the other, hotter peppers, is a great mystery to me.

Also, I have substituted craisins for raisins.  The taste and color are more appealing to me.

Recipes are "suggestions", really.  Play around with this one and "tweak" it to satisfy your own palette.

My sister would expect nothing less from you!

Priscilla’s Tesuque Pinon Dressing

(this recipe is adequate for a 10-12 pound turkey)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup craisins

1/3 cup tequila or mescale

2 large red peppers

2 green chilis (or one small can chopped green chili)

1 large chopped onion

1 or 2 minced garlic cloves

½ cup butter

4 cups dry bread crumbs

2 T minced cilantro

1 teasp salt, or to taste

¾ tsp dried oregano (or 1 Tablesp fresh)

½ tsp chili (I use chipotle or ancho for a smokier taste)

½ tsp dried sage (or 1 Tablesp fresh)

ground pepper to taste

1 cup pinion nuts, lightly toasted

Directions:

Soak craisins in tequila or mescale for at least 30 minutes.  Roasts and char skins of peppers, close in small paper bag and steam for 10-15 min.  Peel and remove seeds, pat dry, and chop coarsely.  Drain craisins and discard tequila.

Melt butter in large skillet over low heat.  Add onion and garlic, cook until tender.  Add mixture to dried breadcrumbs, then add cilantro, salt, oregano, chili powder, sage, and pepper.  Fold in pinon nuts, craisins, pappers, and chilis.

This can (and should!) be made the day before.  The flavors need time to meld.

Preheat oven to 500.  If stuffing turkey allow a bit more cooking time.  Otherwise,

350 to bake stuffing in casserole.

*Broth may be added to increase moisture of the stuffing and also as a way to reduce the butter content.  

Fantastic Fall Soup

Soup is good lovin' in a bowl, isn't it?  As soon as the weather turns chilly I'm thinking about a nice pot of soup.  I raided my just-delivered farm box for a lot of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

-Vegetable stock (mine was homemade and frozen in cubes).  You could use stock from the store, or even begin with a pre-made soup base found on most store shelves.  Anything will work!

-olive or grapeseed oil (about 2 or 3 Tablespoons)

-carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch segments

-potato (optional) cubed.  This will add some thickening to the soup base.

-yellow squash, cross cut into 1/2 inch segments

-grape tomatoes, cut in half (I used the equivalent of a cup, both red and yellow)

-2 bay leaves

-fresh cilantro (optional if you are a cilantro hater)

-3-4 baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced

-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

-1 cup yellow wax beans, snapped into 2 inch segments

-1 avocado, sliced into chunks

-salt and pepper to taste

(I would have added an onion but I forgot to get one at the store...duh)

I added the following to make it  a hearty soup.  Omit if you are vegetarian.  Add whatever you have available to increase protein.  It all tastes good!

-2 slices bacon, cut into 2 inch sections

-1 cup cubed roast beef

-1 cup pork

-1 lobster tail 

Other options as toppers:  

grated cheese

pesto

red sauce for more heat

sour cream

In a large soup kettle over a medium heat, allow pan to warm, then add oil.  Saute the garlic for a minute, and then if using protein add those ingredients to the oil and saute until cooked through.  

Add carrots & potato and allow to cook for several minutes to begin softening.  Add wax beans & tomatoes.  I like to "layer" the seasoning.  I added a small dash of dry curry mix (see link for recipe).  I did NOT add salt to this soup because I used bacon & lobster, which adds enough salt flavor.

Add squash, wait a couple of minutes, then add the mushrooms.  Once the vegetables have been "sweated" and begin to soften add the soup stock & the bay leaves.  Bring this to a slow, rolling boil and then reduce the heat and let the liquid reduce slightly.  The potatoes in the mixture will begin to thicken the soup base.

Prior to serving cut the avocado and cilantro and place in small bowls at the table.  Top the soup with these just prior to eating, if desired.   Some grated cheese or a dollop of pesto would be pretty fabulous additions, too.  The soup looks so colorful! 

One can add or subtract any combination of ingredients to suit your own taste.  Use what you have!

Taste, taste, taste with spoons (a new one each time!) to check the seasoning.  I suspect that my soup will be even better tomorrow, and I have enough to freeze a bit for later!  Isn't soup grand?

We ate our soup with a nice arugula salad, some noosa yogurt dotted with fresh blackberries for dessert.

Life is good!

Try some and let me know how it turns out!

-