Today there is a Pizza Party around the world that is being hosted by Zoë François and Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. , the authors of “Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day.”

For the last year or so, Rick and I have been working on a wood fired pizza oven in our back garden. So this was a fun event to unveil the (almost) completed oven and share this great book with you too. To family and friends who have been (patiently) waiting for a pizza party- it’s on its way- I promise.     We’ve just been working on the practical aspects of using the oven. The doughs in the book will be helpful because we can mix up different batches of dough without a lot of time or effort and have them on hand for when the time is right to fire up the oven.

I have a separate post planned for when the last bit is complete on the oven to show you how we made it  and the different stages of completion- so more on that later. Right now let’s party with some pizza!

First gather the book and a few ingredients. I used four litre buckets to mix each dough in,  instead of the 5 quarts recommended because it was either them or a 6 qt which takes up too much space in my fridge.  So here are the ingredients. I made the “00″ flour variation of the Ultimate Tender Neopolitan Crust from page 73- because I happen to have about 40 lbs of Caputo “00″ flour from Central Milling on hand. It’s in the 5 Gallon bucket with the red lid pictured. The blue crock is my salt cellar.

I also made the “Cornmeal Olive Oil dough” on page 86, although I substituted purple cornmeal for the yellow listed. I know- I’m a rebel. Plus I had some to use up.  :)

I like to use my King Arthur (thingamajig)  mixing tool that my sister, Tonya, gave to me a few years ago for mixing things up in the buckets. It works great! Funny note:It’s in a gift box on their site featured with Bread in 5′s book.

This is what the doughs look like after raising and being chilled overnight:

So fire up the oven…

Rick just finished the spire on top of the onion dome. There is more to do but it works and more on the pizza oven to come in a later post.

It makes a great fire.

Toppings:

San Marzano tomatoes that I bottled this Summer from our garden, whizzed in the blender with a little salt and then strained make a delicious sauce.

I make pesto during the summer and freeze it in flexible ice cube trays. Just thaw and use.

Cubed Turkey Breast, Goat cheese, Brie, Ricotta,  Fresh and shredded Mozzarella, BBQ sauce, San Marzanos, pesto, homemade Bechamel, Ambrosia Apple, artichoke hearts, cooked sweet Italian sausage and pepperoni, shallots, onions and red peppers.

Prepared Margherita, San Marzano tomato sauce and fresh Mozzarella on "00" dough

Margherita out of the oven and topped with fresh Basil from the windowsill

Prepared Apple, Bechamel and Brie on Cornmeal Olive Oil Crust

After the fire:Turkey Breast on BBQ Sauce Before and after:

An “Italian Flag” one third each Margherita, Pesto and Bechamel Ricotta Before and after firing:

This is an "Italian Flag" before cooking

I had another pizza and some wood fired Naan to show you but I’ve lost this post twice running out of room so I’ll save those for another day. Party on and check out the other parties over at the Artisan Bread in 5 site.

Enjoy!

Got Bananas you need to use up? Tired of that same old banana bread? Try these Banana Bars made with Fage 0% Fat Greek Yogurt instead. They are made just that much more delicious here, by being topped with a Browned Butter Glaze.

Afternoon delight!

The original recipe for these came from my Aunt B as the most delicious Sour Cream Banana Bars (she is an awesome baker) so feel free to substitute sour cream for the Fage 0% Greek yogurt I use here if you want. I also increased the pecans and vanilla extract to my taste in the recipe below.

Banana Bars - my way (makes one half sheet pan)

• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup Fage o% fat Greek yogurt (may substitute sour cream or low fat Greek yogurt)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (throw out any overly bruised parts before mashing)
• 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts of your choice or leave out if you don’t like them)

Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter and flour a jelly roll pan (half sheet pan aka 11 x 17 x 1″ pan) Cream the butter with the sugar, add the eggs and yogurt and beat at high speed for one minute. Add the banana and vanilla extract, beat 30 seconds more. Combine the flour with the salt and baking soda and mix into the batter. Add the nuts. Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake in oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and springs back when touched in the middle. Cool completely and then frost with browned butter glaze.

Browned Butter Glaze

• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans or other choice of nuts (optional)

Brown the butter in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat until it turns a light golden brown. Mix in the other ingredients and beat with a whisk until smooth and spreadable. Spread evenly over cooled cake and top with chopped nuts if desired. Cut into bars.

Hope you enjoy!

FYI: I did not receive any incentive from Fage to post this recipe and BTW if you head on over to their page, I think they are running a Greek vacation give away contest. Plus they have coupons. Just saying…

Have you read Joy Bauer’s “Slim & Scrumptious” or”Food Cures”?

Joy Bauer is the New York Times best selling author and Nutrition Expert for the Today show. I have been really interested in improving my nutrition of late. So I think it was excellent timing that the folks over at her website JoyBauer.com contacted me and offered to send me two of her latest books to look over and also offered to give away 4 copies of one book to some of you lucky folks.

I love the Food Cures book – it’s a nutritional approach to improving your health through nutrition with ideas, recipes and supplements to support everything from beautiful skin to irritable bowel syndrome, cataracts and macular degeneration.

I must say however, that as a cook and foodie, I REALLY LOVE the “Slim & Scrumptious” book. It is full of over 75 recipes for delicious, healthy meals. This is the one up for grabs.

“Slim and Scrumptious features more than seventy-five recipes for every
meal and every taste. Whether you want Double Chocolate Pancakes or Eggs
Benedict for breakfast, Sesame Chicken Tenders or Spicy Pork Tacos with Sassy
Slaw for lunch, or Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Chimichurri and Creamy Spinach
for dinner, Joy shows you that classic, rich food can still be made to taste
great with just a fraction of the fat and calories. She also includes fun
snacks, desserts, and appetizers that will keep you satisfied all day long, such
as Cinnamon Cheesecake Fondue, Frozen Hot Chocolate, and Banana Pecan Bread.”

Our favourite of the recipes we have cooked so far are the Chicken Lettuce Wraps on page 103. They are yummy! The whole book is full of eye pleasing and nutritionally balanced dishes. So if you are interested in great food and health leave a comment here for a chance to receive a copy of “Slim & Scrumptious” by midnight Mountain time on  July 5th and you might be one of four chosen! (Sorry, this offer is open to residents of the USA or Canada only.)

I will choose four random people who leave a comment and notify each of you on July 6th. JoyBauer.com will mail the books directly to those random readers.

This clean-eating and very tasty Asian inspired dish makes use of three highly nutritious “super-foods”- Maitake Mushrooms, Lacinato Kale and Quinoa. I was in the neighborhood Asian market and came across a selection of beautiful fresh Maitake mushrooms. Maitakes (Grifola Frondosa) are being studied for their beneficial effects on the immune system, for cancer treatment and for their effects on blood lipids, glucose, insulin and blood pressure. They are chock-full of vitamins and minerals and besides that they taste really good.

Lacinato Kale (also called Cavalo Nero or Tuscan or Black or Dinosaur Kale)  is one of my favourite vegetables, like all kale it is full of vitamins and minerals -particularly vitamins A,K,C and manganese as well as fibre and  deliciousness. It is also lovely in pasta dishes or as steamed greens.

Quinoa- I’ve written about how much I love it here before-is actually a seed (of the goosefoot plant- chenopodium quinoa) rather than a grain but it is generally assigned to the whole grains category. It has a complete protein- and lots of it- and is a bit nutty and delicious. I like it cooked a bit al dente so that there is a slightly chewy pop to the little curly-cued seeds when they are cooked. You cook it like rice- making sure to rinse it well beforehand as the seeds contain a naturally occurring saponin that makes them bitter. Just rinse and cook in a 2:1 of liquid to Quinoa for about 15 minutes after coming to a boil. Steaming is good too.

Stirfry of Maitake Mushrooms, Lacinato Kale and Quinoa

(serves two)

• peanut, coconut or avocado oil for pan
• 1 fresh Maitake mushroom* head, about 2 cups chopped (also called Hen of the Woods in your Asian Market)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1-2 cups Lacinato Kale washed, spun and cut into 1 inch ribbons
• Shao Hsing  cooking wine* (optional)
• Black Vinegar* (optional)
• Soy sauce
• Salt
• Szechuan Peppercorns, freshly ground, pinch (optional)
• 2 cups of cooked Quinoa (see above)
• chopped shelled pistachios

Heat a wok or a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. When hot add the oil then the mushrooms and onion, fry until the mushrooms render their juices and the onions are caramelized, add the garlic and cook being careful not to burn it. Add the kale and stir until softened. Add Shao Hsing, Black Vinegar (*found in most Asian Markets) and Soy starting with a Tablespoon of each and then adding more as needed to adjust to taste. Add the cooked Quinoa and some salt and ground Szechuan pepper or regular black pepper and stir all to heat through and serve in small bowls garnished with a Tablespoons chopped pistachios for a bit of crunch.

Good Eating to you!

xo