Happy Balumtine'th Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Traditionally for Valentine's Day Adam and I would leave work (Busy Season hours) around 7ish and get italian take out for dinner. Since this year i'm not working I decided to make an italian dinner for us instead of us going out. I found a few recipes that I wanted to try out so I made 3 different kinds of appetizers instead of a huge meal. Also thinking that a few appetizers wouldn't fill us up so we could indulge in a great dessert =) I mean it wouldn't be Valentine's Day with out some chocolate!!!

Ok, First appetizer was Sunflower Seed Pizza's. Unfortunately we were hungry waiting for the other two to cook and we forgot to take a picture before we gobbled them down...therefore you get the internet picture. I made these the size of crackers so they were easy finger food!

Sunflower Seed pizza

Below is the attached website where I got the recipe. It really is delicious!!
http://deliciouslyorganic.net/pizza-grain-free-paleo-primal-gaps-recipe/

Second appetizer was French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms. These were really good as well, probably my favorite of the 3 last night.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Here is a link to that recipe as well.  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/french-onion-soup-stuffed-mushrooms/

Third, was Arancini, which is fried Risotto Balls basically. Unfortunately I don't really like to eat fried things so I opted for baking them instead and they were still really good. My recipe actually comes from the Williams Sonoma Italian Cookbook Adam got over Christmas. Really though you just make a small portion of risotto, I made 1/2 cup of cooked arborio rice. Once it's cooked let it cook thoroughly so when you roll it into balls it sticks together. Then you roll the ball in flour, then in a whisked egg white, then in the bread crumbs. After you can fry it or bake it.

Arancini

Finally....DESSERT!!! I found this recipe on Pinterest and it is really really good!! They are Bourbon Pecan Pie Brownies. Actually I used scotch instead but regardless it was good.

Pecan Pie Scotch Brownies...all homemade by the way!!

Here is the recipe for probably now one of my favorite desserts. Beware though it is very very decadent so I wouldn't eat too much at one time =)
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/11/bourbon-pecan-pie-brownies/

This is the spread in the living room, very cozy and TVless!!

Adam was so sweet and bought me Truffle's

You can't have a Ward Valentine's Day without watching Dave Barne's Balumtine'th Day video's hahahaha.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY from the Wards!!

New Pizza Recipe

After getting back from Christmas Vacation Adam and I have been on a veggie detox. We stuffed ourselves on every kind of unhealthy food imaginable while we were home. The picture in the previous post will elude you to the gist hahaha. Now that we've been eating mostly veggies the last week we were ready for something different. We actually made the recipe twice and the tweeks the second night made the pizza much better. It is a Caramelized onion, mushroom, Brie, and Gorgonzola pizza.

To start it off I made the wheat pizza dough recipe I used in my other pizza blog. Just in case you don't have it here is a link to it on allrecipe.com

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amazing-whole-wheat-pizza-crust/detail.aspx

I have a recipe I followed for the pizza except I used my wheat pizza dough instead of the puff pastry. I looked at the ingredients for the puff pastry and decided I didn't want to eat a tub of butter. To make this quicker you can get a ready made pizza dough or puff pastry dough.

Caramelized onion, mushroom, Brie, and Gorgonzola Pizza


4 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tsp Thyme
3 Bay leaves
1 Tsp Garlic Powder or 1 pressed garlic clove
2-3 White Onions sliced longways
2 c sliced Portabella Mushrooms
Brie Cheese
Gorgonzola Cheese

1. Slice the onions into strips, like half moons.

2. Heat  2 Tbsp olive oil in a pot between medium low and medium. You don't want them to burn you want them to turn a nice caramel color so it takes a little longer at a lower temp.

3. Add in onions, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic. Give it a stir and mix it all together so all the onions are nicely coated with the olive oil. Then cover the pot for a few minutes so the steam can help the onions cook quicker. After about 3-5 min remove the lid and swirl the onions around to see if they are sticking, which they most likely are. Loosen them up and now you may have to keep your eye on them and continue to stir for the next 15 min. Then they should be finished. Total time for caramelizing is about 20-25.

4. Remove onions from pot and set aside to cool. Take out Bay leaves and discard.

5. Add the other 2 Tbsp to the same pot and then add the mushrooms to saute, about 7 min.

6. Roll out dough for the pizza, in the above recipe I only use half of the dough for a pizza for Adam and I so you can gauge yours on how many your feeding.

7. Put brie and gorgonzola cheese on the pizza first, then add onions, then mushrooms.

8. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 min if it's a convection oven and 18-20 min if a regular oven. Keep an eye on it.

Enjoy!

Extra info: Adam did this to the crust last night and it was awesome!!
Mix, 1Tbsp olive oil, 1/4tsp salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and a shake of red pepper flakes, together. When crust has risen and is at the spot right before it will brown, pull it out. Brush olive oil mixture on crust and put back in the oven for a couple of minutes. Then the crust will be a little more golden brown and the added flavors are really great.

Here are some pictures:

The Caramelized Onions at the end

Cooking the mushrooms

The End Result Yum!!

Cooking and Playing

Well Adam and I enjoyed a nice weekend in Zurich. I think we've established our favorite Zurich Summer activity...swimming in the lake and laying out at the park at Enge ( pronounced in gay). Friday night was my night to cook dinner and have our meat of the week. I took a recipe from the pioneer woman this week called Steakhouse Pizza...not gonna lie..it was Amazing!! I made a few adjustments though. Instead of her traditional dough I found a wheat dough pizza recipe. I finally...after 2 months of looking have wheat flour to make wheat breads. So I had to try it out. The dough was amazing.

The Dough:

• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/amazing-whole-wheat-pizza-crust/detail.aspx

The crust was perfect, chewy on the inside and crisp on the bottom...the way adam likes it. The dough was really easy and didn't cause a huge struggle as you attempted to roll it out which was really nice. The pizza toppings from the Pioneer Woman were fantastic. Adam's not a huge Balsamic Vinegar kind of person but he did like it. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/steakhouse-pizza/

Saturday we went to Letten...our favorite swimming hole on the river and hung out with new and old friends. We relaxed, jumped in and floated down the river, and enjoyed the sunshine. For dinner  that night we found a place that would play ESPN America so we could see some of the college football games. So a huge group of us went to...wait for it...Hooters...to watch football. The game was a blow out..Oregon vs. Wisconsin. But the wings and friends were great.

Sunday was again another lazy day laying out by the lake at Enge. Swimming and relaxing just the two of us. Our quality time together. We've learned that here in well possibly Europe but mostly switzerland that we've witnessed, people don't prepare ahead of time to go swimming. Meaning people just show up and change into their swimsuits at the park. They cover themselves with as towel as they are doing it but it's really strange. Sometimes there is a towel mishap but those are all to often the people that nobody wants that to happen to =) It's very very weird. Great weekend, possibly the last weekend of summer for us here in Zurich. The weather will probably change to fall soon enough and we are ready for it.