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Tag Archives: Martha Stewart Living Annual Recipes 2003

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Tessa

 

 

I made a huge buffalo chicken pizza for myself  last night and I don’t even feel guilty.

It’s not my fault though.  One day last week I posed the question “What should I make for dinner tonight?” on my Facebook wall.  I noted that all I really had on hand were frozen chicken wings, frozen shrimp, cheese, and chocolate (I’ve always considered the last two staples like rice and eggs). Well my friend Regina was the first to reply “Buffalo wings!”.  I thought that was a great idea since I had probably not made buffalo wings in years. Then I realized that neither my stomach nor I had the patience to defrost the frozen wings, but that shrimp would defrost quite quickly.  So that night I enjoyed shrimp and pasta in a parmesan and asiago creamy sauce. YUM!  I also decided that I needed to take Regina’s advice, but instead of wings I would try a buffalo chicken pizza.  So you see the blame lies at Regina’s feet.

This is such a quick and easy weeknight dinner if you use store-bought frozen pizza dough or the flatbread kind.  It was my plan to make a quick and easy pizza but the three supermarkets I went in looking for frozen pizza dough did not want to cooperate.  Foiled again!  I turned to my trusted Martha Stewart cook book and found a great recipe for pizza dough.  Once the dough was formed, I did have to let it rest for an hour so the yeast could do its magic, but all in all it was worth the wait.  If you do make your own dough, the chicken can be prepared during the last 30 minutes of the dough’s wait time, or you may choose to languish in a hot bath, read a few chapters in the new James Patterson book. Perhaps catch up on Real Housewives of  Beverly Hills. Oh my goodness! Did you see the showdown between Kyle and Kim?!!   I know!

Back to the pizza. This is basically blue cheese dressing slathered on dough, chicken cooked in hot sauce slathered on top of that and cheesy goodness.  If this doesn’t sound delicious to you, then you and I are cut from a different cloth.  Now you know why I don’t return your text messages.  To be my friend, you must love dogs, chocolate, and slathering things (mainly food) upon other things (can also be food).  If you’re wondering what the R.V. (resident vegetarian) ate, I whipped him up his very own barbecue “chicken” pizza with this meatless pulled chicken substitute.  Kinda scary but also pretty cool.  Anyway, get to slathering and enjoy!

 

For pizza dough (adapted from Martha Stewart Living Annual Recipes 2003)

Yields: One 15-inch pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 envelope active dry yeast (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing on pizza crust
  • Non-stick cooking spray is using a metal pizza pan

Directions:

  1. Place warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle yeast into water.  Let it stand for about 5 minutes until it gets foamy.
  2. Combine flour, salt, yeast mixture and olive oil in a food processor. Process until dough just comes together.
  3. Turn dough out onto floured surface and lightly knead for about 1 minute
  4. Shape dough into a ball and place in lightly oiled bowl.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until dough has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
  5. Lightly punch down dough and stretch out to fit 15″ pizza pan.  If dough is not easy to stretch, you can lightly roll it out with a rolling pin.  Do not over work dough as it may become tough.
  6. Spray pizza pan with non-stick spray and place dough in pan.  If the dough is hanging over the edges of pan, fold dough over to create a crust.

 

For topping:

total time:  25 mins.

Ingredients:

  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
  • 5 tablespoons buffalo wing sauce like  Frank’s Red Hot Wings Buffalo Sauce
  • 3 oz blue cheese dressing
  • 8 oz Mozarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat.
  4. Saute onions for a minute.
  5. Add chicken and garlic.
  6. Cook chicken for about 4 minute, stirring occasionally.
  7. Add hot sauce and cook for another minute.  Remove from heat.
  8. Spread blue cheese dressing onto uncooked pizza dough, leaving a 1/4 inch border.
  9. Next, spread the chicken mixture over the dressing and top with cheese.
  10. Brush olive oil on pizza edges.
  11. Place pizza on bottom rack in oven
  12. Bake for 15 minutes or until dough is crisp and cheese is bubbling.

 

           

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Croque Monsieur/Madame (Cozy Comfort Food part 3)

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Tessa

Grilled cheese sandwiches! That’s all these sandwiches are. Fancy grilled cheese sandwiches. They’re French, so of course they’re a bit pretentious, but don’t hold that against them. Like their American counterpart, they can transport you to another world.  You didn’t know food could do that? What have you been eating all your life, rice cakes?

As I contemplated what I would make for my third and final installment for this week’s comfort food recipes, I thought about what I loved as a kid. More desserts came to mind, but then I remembered the most delicious and my favorite dishes are so simple like a BLT or grilled cheese sandwich. I couldn’t post a recipe about just any grilled cheese sandwich though. Everyone knows how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, right? So I thought back to what started this week’s recipes of comfort food, a lazy Sunday. To me weekend mornings, especially Sunday mornings, equal BRUNCH!!!!  Like a lightbulb over my head the Croque Monsieur flashed in my memory.

I promise this blog is not going to be like the one that inspired that movie “Julie & Julia”, but again I turned to Martha Stewart Living Annual Recipes 2003.  A Croque Monsieur is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich usually made with Gruyère cheese and covered with a bechamel sauce (a white sauce made with butter, flour and milk). The name literally means Mr. Crunch and Mr.Crunch’s wife (?) is Croque Madame. That sandwich is usually made with chicken and topped with a fried egg. I first saw these recipes in the cookbook and the photographs alone made me want to make the sandwiches.  Yeah, they’re decadent, but so delicious you won’t regret it. I think they’re perfect for a Sunday brunch, and hope you will try to make one or both of the sandwiches.

A Note: If you can’t find Gruyère, another Swiss Cheese can be substituted, even the Swiss Cheese produced here in North America works well with the sandwich. Any cheese that you like and melts well can be used.  I used Gouda for the Croque Madame and I think my eyes crossed when I took a bite. Oh, and forewarned is forearmed- these are fork and knife sandwiches, unless you’re home alone with nary a soul to judge you and a stack of napkins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Makes 4 Sandwiches

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for bread room temperature
  •  2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup  milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 thick slices rustic French or firm white sandwich bread
  • 12 thin slices of ham
  • 1/3 pound Gruyère cheese, thinly sliced, plus 1 cup freshly grated (about 2 ounces)
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard or whole grain mustard

Directions:

  1. Make bechamel sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until just starting to bubble.  Add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth but not browned, about 3 minutes.  Whisking constantly, slowly add milk; continue whisking until mixture has thickened, about 3 minutes more. Remove from heat, and add salt, nutmeg, cayenne, and black pepper. Transfer to a bowl; place plastic wrap directly on surface of sauce, and st aside.
  2. Heat broiler. Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Smear one side of bread slices with mustard. Layer ham and cheese over 4 bread slices; top with remaining slices, pressing gently to adhere. Generously butter outer sides of each sandwich, spreading it to the edges.
  3. Place sandwiches on griddle or in skillet. Cook until golden brown and cheese has melted, 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning once. Transfer to work surface; divide bechamel sauce over tops. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
  4. Transfer to broiler ( in the cast-iron skillet or on a baking sheet), and cook until topping is melted and golden,    2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Cookies (Cozy Comfort Food part 2)

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Tessa

An after-school snack, perfect picnic dessert, holiday treat- these are just a few of the things I think of when I think about chocolate chip cookies. Oh, and I think of them often. That’s why I decided they should be included in my comfort food recipe collection this week. Just the sight, scent or thought of them can put a smile on most people’s faces. Whether they’re from a packaged supermarket brand, a frozen tube of dough, or fresh from the bakery, I love chocolate chip cookies.   A few years ago, though, I wanted to master homemade cookies that I could eat all by myself  share with family and friends. Once again, the Martha Stewart Living Annual Recipes 2003 Cookbook came to my rescue. This recipe is pretty simple and is a good base for adding other ingredients like chopped nuts.  With the relatively large amount of butter these cookies will be thin and crispy making them the perfect cookie for dipping in milk. Click Here For Soft Chewy Cookie Recipe  I almost forgot to mention the butterscotch chips. Mmmm mmm mmm. Okay I mentioned them. Kidding, they can be found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores, but if you can’t find them, this recipe is perfect with the chocolate morsels alone.

4 notes:

  • If you don’t have a mixer or don’t really feel like lugging out your stand mixer, the batter can be prepared by hand (the way your mother did with a spoon) pretty quickly and easily.
  • Margarine can be substituted for the butter
  • If you’re like me and always forget to take the butter out of the refrigerator beforehand so it can be room temperature, you can microwave it for about 20 seconds.  Just soften the butter, don’t melt it.
  • Because these cookies  will spread in the oven, they bake quickly. They should be ready in 8-10 mins, not 12 (sorry Martha).

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living Annual Recipes 2003.

Makes about 4 dozen

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup butterscotch chips
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until just combined. Stir in chips.
  3. Drop tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets, two inches apart. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes (more like 10 mins.). Transfer to a wire rack to cool on baking sheet, one minute, then transfer cookies to rack to cool slightly. Repeat until all batter has been used.

 

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