Magic Pizza Crust³

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp sugar (white or brown)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (as hot as it comes out of the tap)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• OPTIONAL: garlic powder, parmesan cheese, other seasonings

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Stir salt and oil into the yeast solution (oil will be in globs). If you’re spicing up your crust with garlic powder, parmesan, or other seasonings, now is the time to add them. Next, mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

Turn dough out onto a well floured surface (be very liberal with your flouring) and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of flour– this dough is very moist. Just keep going until you don’t feel any sticky patches while kneading it. Put it in a well-oiled bowl (be liberal with this, too) and turn over a few times to coat the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let the dough rise for about an hour. It’s totally okay to leave it longer; just punch down the rising dough every once in a while so it doesn’t expand too much.⁴

When you’re ready to bake the crust, form the dough into a tight ball. Allow it to relax for a minute before rolling it out onto a pan or pizza stone. If you use a rolling pin, make sure that both it and the dough are well-floured. This dough is sticky. I usually just flatten it and press it out with my fingers/palms until it’s the right size and thickness. This recipe makes one very large pizza crust or two small ones. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Important!

• If you are using a pan or baking sheet (lightly oiled, of course), you’ll need to pre-bake the crust. This is to prevent the toppings from cooking faster than the crust later on. Bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove, add your toppings⁵, then put back in the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the crust is a lovely golden brown color. (It will be a little lighter on the inside and golden mostly around the edges.) Don’t overbake or you’ll lose this crust’s delicious fluffiness!
• If you are using a pizza stone, simply add your toppings and bake the pizza for about 20 minutes.

And there you have it! A low-maintenance, highly edible pizza crust. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

1. And if you aren’t, shame on you!
2. Pesto is NOT for swimming in, kids.
3. More photos on Flickr.
4. If it’s terrorizing Tokyo, you’ve waited too long.
5. I kept it simple with pesto, tomatoes, and parmesan, but this crust is delicious with all kinds of sauces and vegetables!

You know that saying? About what to do if you want something done well? And don’t have a celebrated Italian chef locked away in your kitchen cupboard?³ Clearly, the answer was to find a good pesto recipe and obsessively refine it over the course of several months.

There was only one obstacle remaining. I have this theory about people who love pesto. They say, “Hey! This stuff is great! But also really expensive at my local grocery store. Maybe I should save money and make my own.” And they get as far as the pine nuts, look at the price,⁴ then head straight for the refrigerated pasta section or even (gasp) reach for a jar. “Oh well,” they say, “It would have been nice to make my own fresh pesto.” Well, with this recipe, we could single-handedly revolutionize the way people consume pesto.  As long as almonds or walnuts never go up in price.

Poor Woman’s (or Man’s) Pesto⁵

• 3 cups fresh basil⁶
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup walnuts (you can substitute all almonds, all walnuts, or–if you are very wealthy–all pine nuts)
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (I love parmesan, so I used 2/3 cup)⁷

Toast the almonds and walnuts in a pan over medium heat until they begin to brown. Crush them with a mortar and pestle.

Grate the cheese and chop the garlic.

Chop your beautiful, fresh basil (we’re doing this last so the basil stays beautiful and fresh).

Stick everything (basil, garlic, cheese, nuts, and oil) in the blender. Pulse until smooth. The pesto should be thick, but still pour easily. Add oil a little at a time if it’s too dry.

Serve immediately over hot pasta.⁸ Remember, never heat pesto, as this ruins the flavor. It should always be served cold over just-boiled pasta, and the heat from the noodles will warm the pesto. If you’re as parmesan-obsessed I am, you can grate some extra cheese over your pasta.

To store your extra pesto, transfer to a jar or container and pour a thin layer of olive oil over the top. This is to prevent the basil from oxidizing and turning an unappealing brown color. You can also freeze leftover pesto. I usually pour it into an ice cube tray, then transfer the frozen pesto cubes into another container. (Much easier than gouging pieces out of a frozen vat of pesto, or having to defrost more than you need.) Each cube is about one serving.

1. Anyone who has lived with me, spoken with me, or seen me from afar probably already knows this.
2. And don’t even get me started on the abomination that is creamy pesto.
3. Something I’m working on.
4. My grandpa calls tomatoes “red gold”. I’d like to call pine nuts “off-white gold” or maybe “beige gold”, but it just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
5. more photos on Flickr
6. Got mine at–where else–the local farmer’s market.
7. Note for the vegans: this pesto is also fine without the cheese. Just reduce the amount of oil (otherwise it will be too liquid) and add a little salt.
8. My favorite pesto pasta is spinach fettuccine. Rotini and ziti are also great, and shells hold little pockets of pesto.

front page

project page

typography

lightboxed images

gallery

]]> http://serenae.com/2010/08/11/portfolio-redesign/feed/ 0 http://serenae.com/2010/08/10/last-minute-vegan-fruit-tart/ http://serenae.com/2010/08/10/last-minute-vegan-fruit-tart/#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:01:52 +0000 Serena http://serenae.com/?p=1103 Ever wandered, drooling,¹ past a bakery window and wished that you could have a tart of your very own? A tart to cherish, to love, to pile high with freshly sliced fruit? Well, now you can!

As is often the case, I volunteered to provide dessert for a social occasion without actually knowing what I’d make. Or if I had the necessary ingredients. Or even the time. This tart is the result of an hour of frantic online recipe browsing, leafing through cookbooks, and running around Harris Teeter like a madwoman, and another hour of stirring, accidentally powdering all nearby surfaces with confectioners’ sugar, slicing fruit quickly rather than safely, and pouring hot jam. But it’s worth it for all the envious looks you’ll receive from your roommate, passers-by on the street, and even the normally surly DC bus driver who isn’t supposed to let you on with open dishes of food but makes an exception because it looks so scrumptious. Most of this recipe is taken from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The Joy of Vegan Baking.

Last Minute Vegan Fruit Tart²

SHORTBREAD CRUST:

• 1/2 cup (112g) non-hydrogenated, nondairy butter, at room temperature³
• 1/4 cup (25g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp ice water

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease the pie pan with canola oil or nondairy butter. I used this 9″ tart pan, but any similarly sized pie dish or square casserole dish will do. Use tartlet pans or even a muffin pan if you want to make cute little tartlets.

In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. (If you have an electric mixer, use it. If not, a spoon, employed vigorously for several minutes, is also sufficient. My mixture was creamy–rather than fluffy–and still turned out fine.)

Add the flour a third at a time and beat until the dough just comes together. If your dough, like mine, doesn’t just “come together”, stir in ice water one tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to form a loose ball. It’s okay if it’s still a little crumbly.

Press the mixture into the bottom of your prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Bake time will vary depending on your oven. Mine took about 35 minutes, so start out with 20 and check every 5-10 minutes after that. Remove from the oven and place somewhere to cool.

–

PASTRY CREAM (CUSTARD):

• 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp (16g) all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp (32g) cornstarch
• 1/4 cup (60mL) water
• 1 1/3 cups (315mL) nondairy milk (I used rice milk, but soy milk is obviously fine, too)
• 2 tsp vanilla or lemon extract (I used vanilla)

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and water on high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. (Again, I just used a fork for about 4 minutes, adding the ingredients one at a time.) Set aside.

In a saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer. Pour about 1/3 cup (80mL) of the hot milk into the sugar mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. This doesn’t have to be precise; just make sure the sugar mixture is a little liquid-y. Pour this sugar-milk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk. Return to the stove and heat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. This is important! Don’t stop whisking for anything, not even zombies or kittens! It will begin to thicken immediately. (They’re not kidding. It only takes about a minute or two, if that, for the cream to thicken sufficiently.)

Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan as you whisk. Cook until it begins to bubble, then whisk as vigorously as you can for 30 seconds, and remove from heat. (Mine never bubbled. If yours doesn’t either, just remove from heat when it seems about as thick as your average chocolate pudding.) Stir in the vanilla/lemon extract.

If your pie crust is baked and ready, go ahead and pour the cream into the crust, smoothing it flat with a rubber spatula or large spoon. It doesn’t have to be perfect, since the fruit will be covering it anyway. If your crust isn’t ready yet, you can store the pastry cream (covered) in the fridge for up to 3 days.

–

TOPPING:

• 3-4 tbsp (80g) jelly, jam or preserves (I used apricot jam. Peach is also good.)
• 2 1/2 cups fruit, sliced (I used about 1 1/2 cups of strawberries, 1 kiwi, 7 blackberries, and a handful of blueberries)

Arrange your sliced fruit on top of the tart. Even if you’re the worst pastry decorator in the history of the world, there’s no way this will look anything but delicious.

Heat the jelly in a small saucepan, whisking constantly. Once it’s hot, strain into a small bowl, mug, or measuring cup, leaving behind seeds or anything else solid. It should be liquid enough to pour. If it’s too thick, just reheat with a little water added.

Using a pastry brush (or a small spoon, in a pinch), brush the heated jelly over the top of the fruit. Everything should be covered with a thickish layer, but not overwhelmed. It should look moist, shiny, and wonderful. NOTE: it may be difficult to stop yourself from devouring the tart right then and there. (Another argument for tartlets.)

Serves 8, supposedly. It served three of us, with about 1/6 left over.

For an equally delicious, non-vegan version of this recipe, simply use real butter and milk.

1. Don’t be ashamed! There is nothing wrong with wandering droolers.
2. More photos on Flickr.
3. I cheated and used real butter, from happy farmer’s market cows.

When I scoured the internet for recipes, my limitations became immediately apparent. No ice cream maker, no corn syrup, not even an electric OR hand mixer. I mixed and matched, mostly following this recipe. So here it is,

Nearly-Unaided-by-Newfangled-Machinery Farmer’s Market Cantaloupe Sorbet²

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cantaloupe, in 1-1.5 inch pieces (watermelon or honeydew can be easily substituted)
• 1-2 tbsp lemon or lime juice³

Combine sugar and water in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Transfer to a deepish (at least 2 inches) casserole dish and chill until cold, about 2 hours. (I used a tupperware container with a lid and stuck it in the freezer for a half hour.)

MEANWHILE, puree cantaloupe in blender⁴ until smooth. This takes about 10 seconds, then another 10 to make sure it’s actually smooth and get over your disbelief that yes, it really was that easy. Stir in the lemon/lime juice. (I squeezed half a lemon into the mixture, but you may want to add more if your cantaloupe is especially sweet. I also read a few recipes that called for a splash of vodka or gin, for texture rather than flavor.)

Pour into the sugar syrup in dish/container and stir until well blended. Freeze until almost firm, stirring every half hour or so, at least 3 hours or overnight (if you freeze it overnight, it will become a SOLID frozen block and will need to set it out on the counter to soften again).

Transfer cantaloupe mixture to large bowl. Using electric mixer a fork, beat until fluffy. If you go with the fork method it’s going to be a little lumpy, so don’t FREAK OUT. Get it as fluffy as you can, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect. This sorbet is delicious in any shape. Return to freezer and freeze until firm (do not stir), at least 3 hours or overnight. Cover and keep frozen. Again, if you’ve used a fork rather than an electric mixer, you’ll want to give it a chance to thaw a little before serving, unless you enjoy chipping away at rock-hard sorbet.

Serves 6 / 1 ravenous person with a sweet tooth / 1 normal person for a week / a gaggle of sticky-faced children

1. Obtained at the local farmer’s market in Adams Morgan, my new Saturday morning ritual. Also the source of the tomatoes and basil on this pizza.
2. More photos on Flickr.
3. I used lemon juice because I didn’t have any limes.
4. A blender is the one thing I do have!

And oh boy, was I wrong! I spent that hour in the National Gallery watching one of the most artistic, imaginative films I’d ever seen. The integration of two-dimensional art with live actors was seamless, and the movie somehow bridged that gap between the limitless world of storybook illustration and the realism of live-action cinema. As the actors wandered through the extraordinary, ornate sets, I had to remind myself that it was all just made of magazines, cut out and glued in place. I had the surreal feeling of experiencing the story both on paper and on the screen.

Take a look at two of the sets:

Unfortunately, the DVD isn’t available in the US, so the only way you can see what I’m raving about is by watching the (very beautiful) trailer:

And in case you’re not already thinking of running away to Denmark to catch a screening of this film, here are even more gorgeous images:

1. I wish the National Gallery were actually on my doorstep. That would be fantastic.
2. Read it here!
3. The crown prince and princess, who happened to be in town, were there to introduce the film. Only in DC, right?

1. Yes, I know it’s wrong to eat crèpes in Japantown. But there were TWO crèperies there! What was I supposed to do, ignore them both?
2. It took me a good 10 minutes to pry open the tin with a nickel I had in my pocket. It turns out there is a beer-flavored version of the same candies. Who knew?
3. Surprisingly, it was right near our scary neighborhood.

1. Past a grouchy-looking prostitute and a gas station billboard with a J.D. Salinger quotation.
2. Watch all of them online here!
3. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie theater. It was small and a little shabby, but had exactly the kind of patrons I love to watch movies with. And is right across from a great thrift store.
4. It’s half Indian restaurant, half Irish pub, and the combination is exactly as weird as you’d expect it to be.

1. MUNI was increasing the price for monthly passes, which is already ridiculously high. We got this information from a very helpful woman sitting barefoot on the sidewalk and rattling things. Can we talk for a minute about things I hate? The MUNI logo is pretty awful. I mean, who thought that would be a good idea? Clearly someone was all like, “Oh, I know. We’ll make it all CURVY like Lombard Street but in the shape of the word MUNI. I’m so clever!” Bad choices. They should have stayed with the old logo, which was classic and charming.

1. They climbed the hill in silly costumes, with pantyhose over their heads, and began to play strange instruments. Pretty sure one of them was banging on a drum with an oversized kitchen whisk.