Heather (Ghost Baker) « DinnerCakes

Pesto Pizza (hold the milkshakes… please)!

October 1st, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

You know those crazy people who don’t like sauce on their pizza (cough-my husband’s sister-cough)? Well this one’s for you!

Remember the other week when Morgan and I went to a neat gourmet store/cafe in Charlottesville called Feast? Well we also bought a little jar of basil pesto.

I have a great memory of going out late for food one night with a friend in college – for some reason we thought pesto pizza washed down with giant milkshakes at midnight was a great idea. We were wrong (dead wrong), but that doesn’t mean pesto pizza isn’t delicious!

Pesto Pizza

1 ball of dough
1 jar of basil pesto or make your own (see recipe links below)
1 tomato
1 cup of freshly grated mozarella
a little bit of oil and a bit of flour

We bought a delicious and inexpensive bag of pizza dough at Chandler’s Bakery in Charlottesville.

If you have a pizza stone, preheat the oven with the stone in there to 525F. Flour a baking sheet and roll out the dough – preferably on a baking sheet that will make it easy to transfer the pizza to the stone (that’s always the hardest part!).

Drizzle a small bit of oil on the dough and then spread your basil pesto over it. It doesn’t take much pesto, maybe 1/4 cup for a medium size pizza. If you’d like to make your own, I recommend 101 Cookbooks’ recipe; Simply Recipes also has one but I haven’t tried it.

Slice the tomato and then cut the slices in half (I hate it when you bite into a piece of tomato but can’t bite through it all the way… let’s just go bite-sized!). Spread the slices over the pizza. Grate your mozzarella and sprinkle gingerly over the tomatoes.

Pull out the oven rack as far as you can, and get another person to help you carefully transfer the pizza to the stone. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

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“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

September 29th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

It’s apple season! Check out this new collection of apple dessert recipes from Martha Stewart.

Yeah, I’ve got dessert on the brain.. so I know I could use a refresher on this – How to Find Time to Cook Healthy Meals.

Last, check out The 11 Most Important Rules For Healthy Eating for some great ideas.

Ever read The Omnivore’s Dilemma? It’s a pretty cool book. Here are 7 Rules for Eating from the author, Michael Pollan.

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Pumpkin Pie Without the Pie Dough

September 29th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

I told Morgan on Saturday night that it was pumpkin time, and there was nothing he could do about it.

We went to dinner and a play, and afterward we went by Harris Teeter. I’ve had a beef with Harris Teeter for a long time; we used to live next to one when we were in the DC area. For three years I would walk in to the store around this time of year with pumpkin on my mind… just a regular 15 oz can of Libby’s pumpkin. You would think that at the end of September and throughout October and November that pumpkin would be a grocery store staple… but you would be wrong.

Last year when this had happened for the third time in a row, I finally did something I never do and wrote a fussy letter to customer service. They apologized and said they had it now, but when I went back in that day there was none to be found and no one knew why. I can’t believe I was so stupid as to go back to a Harris Teeter this year, even if it was in a completely different city. Sure enough they had no Libby’s canned pumpkin. A helpful employee did take me to some organic canned pumpkin which, while $2-3 more expensive, at least they had something.

So I pulled out a recipe I made last year from Joy the Baker – Butterscotch Pumpkin Pie Bars. I thought I would love these bars when I made them last year, but I realized that I don’t much care for butterscotch, and I just wasn’t feeling the pumpkin and butterscotch combination especially.

I found the original recipe that Joy modeled hers off of – Pumpkin Pie Bars from Kraft Foods. I used non-fat cream cheese (I really don’t think you can taste the difference because there are so many other delicious things going on) and took out the pecan topping because I’m a pumpkin purist. I also took out a little bit of the granulated sugar – I love the granola bottom but I don’t think it needs to be quite so sweet. The result was a crunchy granola bottom, with pumpkin pie-like filling and topped with more granola. Pumpkin pie without dealing with pie dough. Please make this, and please send me some. 🙂

Granola Pumpkin Pie Bars
adapted from Kraft Foods

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1 cup old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1 package (8 oz.) non-fat cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and allspice.
dash of cloves

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 13×9 inch baking pan with foil (leaving some extra hanging out that can act as handles) and grease the lining.

Combine flour, brown sugar and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two knives until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture and set aside; press the remaining into the bottom of the lined pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes (my oven runs a little hot I think, so I did it for 12).

Beat softened cream cheese, remaining granulated sugar, eggs, pumpkin and spices in a small bowl with an electric mixer (or in a stand mixer) on medium speed until well blended. Pour over crust and sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes. Carefully lift from the pan using foil handles and cool completely. Cut into approximately 24 bars to serve.

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9 Ways to Cook Lazily and Still Get Rave Reviews

September 26th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

DinnerCakes is about cooking and baking for busy people… not really lazy people 🙂 But I think these tips may still be useful for many of you!

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I Love Friday

September 25th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Well, I have one of my first big tests of my nursing program today starting at 8:00AM! So please send good thoughts my way, and instead of a kitchen tip, here are some little treasures to explore today and this weekend!

Foodzie.com – An online marketplace where you can discover and buy food directly from small passionate food producers and growers.

Celebrating the first day of fall that occurred this week, Fall Harvest Desserts from Martha – I hope to enjoy at least one of these this weekend in my downtime!

In health news – the Federal ban on flavored cigarettes took effect this week.

It doesn’t appear that eating certain foods will keep swine flu away.

And if you’re a Charlottesville resident, don’t forget that tomorrow (Saturday) is the 13th Annual Vegetarian Festival, featuring lots of vegetarian and vegan food, a silent auction, pet adoptions and more.

Happy Weekend!

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Tough Decisions!

September 23rd, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Heading to a Brazilian restaurant in Cville for dinner tonight and checking out the menu online beforehand. What looks good to you?

Sautéed Scallops in Sherry Wine & Cream Sauce Served with Orzo Pasta & Vegetables
Molusco com Molho Branco e Xerez Servido com Macarrã e Vegetais

Chicken Breast & Shrimp in Spicy Brazilian Sauce Served with Angel Hair Pasta & Vegetables
Frango com Camarão e Molho Branco Baiano Servido com Macarrão e Vegetais

Grilled Chicken with Hot & Sour Pineapple Sauce Served with Potatoes & Vegetables
Frango com Molho de Abacaxi, Servido com Batatas e Vegetais

Angel Hair Pasta Tossed with Scallops & Julienne Vegetables in Beer Curry Sauce
Massa com Molusco e Vegetais com Molho de Cerveja e Caril

Grilled Copacabana Combo on Skewer: New York Sirloin, Chicken & Pork Served with Rice, Black Beans & Collard Greens
Churrasco Misto Servido com Arroz, Feijão Preto e Couve

Chomp, chomp!

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Food Photography – Gâteau à la Carotte

September 23rd, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, courtesy of Ukrop’s – mine and Edwin‘s favorite grocery store in Richmond.

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Score!

September 22nd, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Guess who scored a waffle iron at a yard sale on Saturday? I could have haggled on the price, but I’m skittish! Let’s hope it works!

The opening games kick off this weekend, as I plan to stuff my face with Belgian waffles.

Anyone have a delicious & dependable Belgian waffle recipe? This one from Emeril looks pretty good.

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The View From My Window

September 21st, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Wow. Charlottesville is amazing.

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Spiced Chicken Kebabs

September 21st, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

I’m still trying to get the hang of the grill pan Morgan and I bought a few months ago. We don’t have an actual grill, so we were hoping the grill pan would give us similar results without having a massive, expensive grill in the yard.

So far, not quite, but I’m still glad we have it. It’s fine with fish, shrimp and thin cuts of meat, but it can be a little tricky with chicken (if anyone has tips on how to cook the inside of something perfectly without scorching the outside – I’m all ears!). I pulled off today’s Spiced Chicken Kebabs using the grill pan, but if you have a real grill you’ll probably want to use that. If you do use a grill pan, make sure that the chicken pieces and vegetables you add to the skewers are roughly the same size – otherwise one side of the skewer might not be getting cooked as well as the other.

Aside from horsing around with the grill pan, this dish turned out really well and it’s not difficult to make! Just make sure you’re checking your chicken so that it’s thoroughly cooked.

Spiced Chicken Kebabs
adapted from Great Food Great Beer

1-1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into one inch pieces
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
dash of cinnamon and cloves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, cut into one inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into one inch pieces
1 orange bell pepper, cut into one inch pieces
1/2 tomato, cut into one inch pieces

Quick Raita
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tomato, diced
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cumin
dash salt, pepper and chili powder

In a large ziploc bag combine all spices and the garlic. Add the chicken, seal the bag (try to squeeze out the air) and turn the bag to coat the chicken. Marinate for at least an hour.

Soak skewers in water so that they don’t scorch. Heat grill pan on medium and add a little bit of oil once it’s hot.

Thread pieces of chicken, onion, bell pepper and tomato alternately onto the soaked skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay the kebabs on the grill pan and turn as needed. Your cook time will vary depending on how everything is sitting on the pan. Check chicken periodically to make sure it’s cooked throughout.

Prepare the raita while your kebabs are cooking – simply combine all the ingredients and stir. Serve with kebabs as a dipping sauce.

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