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Ham and Bacon Quiche

Humble Pie. I used to think of Quiche Lorraine as a fancy meal on a pricey menu. It’s really more of a deliciously smart use of leftovers! Technically, Quiche Lorraine is made with cream, Gruyére (a Swiss “Swiss” cheese), eggs, and crisped bacon bits. All of that is baked in a rich buttery pie shell. However, you don’t have to use Gruyére. You don’t even have to use Swiss cheese! You can use whatever cheese you’ve got! However, since you need 6 to 8 oz. of it, a strong blue cheese or salty parmesan would need to be paired with a milder cheese. I’ve used yellow and white cheddar, provolone, mozzarella, jack, goat, and Swiss cheese. Mixing whatever you’ve got works! An oil crust is very tasty and cheaper than a butter crust. Use leftover meats: ham, bacon, sausage, ground beef, turkey, chicken, or shrimp.

Oil Crust. Choose a generous 10” pie plate. Make an oil crust: mix 1 ¾ c. flour, 1 t. salt, ½ c. oil. Mix in 3 T. of cold water. Press the dough evenly into the pie plate. There’s no need to roll it out or make a crimped edge. This is actually a double-crust recipe. That much dough is required for a large pie plate. Preheat the oven to 350º.

Prepare Filling. Use a blender or food processor to mix 3 eggs, 8 oz. of cubed cheese, 1 ½ c. ½ ‘n ½ or heavy cream, ½ t. salt, pepper, and 2 T. of any kind of onion you have. No onion? Use a tsp. of tarragon or basil. Add the cheese little by little if your blender is not heavy-duty. The filling should be smooth, without lumps. Use whatever cooked meat you have but mince it. Sprinkle it over the pie crust. Use 6 slices of fried bacon or 2 slices of ham or a combination of both. If you have leftover cooked vegetables, chop and sprinkle them on top of the meat: potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, or corn! Pour the egg and cream mixture over all. Bake for 20 min., then turn the plate half way round and bake another 20 min. Cool 10 min. to set before serving.

Serving Suggestions. Quiche is great hot or room temperature. It’s a versatile dish to make ahead for a party entrée, hors d’œuvre, picnic, or gift! I often bake up a quiche for my aging parents. It’s so easy for them to slice and heat up a wedge in the microwave. They really feel like they’ve gone gourmet! One 10” pie generously serves 6 for brunch or a summer dinner. Add a soup, salad, or vegetable and fruit for a complete, budget-wise, yet elegant meal. A glass of wine adds French flair. If you have little tart pans or mini-muffin tins, you can make up little “pies.” Reduce baking time to 25 min. But, slicing the large pie into appetizer-size slices or cubes is much easier.

More Ideas. Get creative with filling combinations. Think Italian or Mexican quiche! Use mild, minced Italian sausage with mozzarella or provolone cheese and a little oregano. Put sliced tomatoes on top of the quiche to bake during the last 10 minutes. Or, use leftover taco-flavored ground beef and cheddar and/or jack cheese. After it’s baked and cooled, serve with sour cream, fresh chopped cilantro, and a tomato salsa. Let me know what combos you come up with! Corned beef or pastrami and Swiss cheese with a side of caraway-speckled sauerkraut? Spinach, mushrooms, and Gruyére? Wow!

Gift of Homemade Muesli

Baked vs. Raw.  Granola is a sweet, crunchy combination of baked rolled oats, nuts, and fruits.  Muesli is an unbaked, unsweetened mixture of several kinds of rolled or flaked grains with nuts and fruits.  Brand concoctions are often very expensive for very little substance!  And, sometimes they seem to skimp on the fruit and nuts you like best.  However, if you make a very big batch of either yourself, you should save money in the long run and get just what you want.  To start, a best bulk buy is the large 2-bag box of Quaker Oats at Costco or other discount store, like Smart & Final.

Typical Granola.  You can customize your granola and muesli to your liking.  Granola lovers usually prefer old-fashioned rolled oats (not “quick” oats).  To these, they add slivered almonds, walnuts, or cashews with coconut and brown sugar in the proportions they like.  A tsp. of cinnamon and dash of ginger are optional.  Add maple or rice syrup combined with an equal measure of oil and a bit of salt to the oat mixture.  You can mush the mix together to make it clumpy, if you like.  The mixture is then spread on 2 jelly roll pans, with or without parchment paper.  Some people bake it at 250º for 75 minutes, turning frequently.  Others bake it at 325º for 20 minutes.  Most add raisins after the granola has cooled and store it in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. 

Muesli Choices.  Rolled oats are usually the predominant grain.  Sometimes you have to go to health food stores (pricey), but check out ethnic produce markets for better prices to find other grains and ingredients.  Options include:  wheat flakes or bran, barley flakes, rolled tritacle (rye flakes), and quinoa flakes.  Use what you find at the best price to learn what you like.  Dried fruits could include any or all:  raisins, cherries, cranberries, blueberries, mangos, dates, prunes, apricots, and shredded coconut.  Also, add seeds:  flax, sunflower, even sesame.  Include some nuts:  walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, or hazelnuts.  I include a bit of Kosher salt in my mixtures, too.  Stored in an airtight container, it will keep in the refrigerator or freezer beyond 2 weeks. 

Ways to Enjoy.   Granola goes a long way.  Use it to top pudding or ice cream.  It’s a great snack.  Most people like it for breakfast with milk, soy milk, rice milk, or yogurt.  It can even be served with hot milk.  Allow it to become mushy!  I’m not a big fan of just snacking on muesli.  Pour milk over muesli and let it macerate in the refrigerator overnight for a yummy breakfast.  You could also add milk to your muesli before microwaving it for 3-5 minutes for a hot breakfast.

Gourmet Cereal.  Need an affordable and healthy gift for someone special?  Make a batch of granola or muesli and present it in a pretty screw cap container.  Save plastic and glass containers from pickles, mayonnaise, nuts, or biscotti for gift-giving.  Especially if your recipient doesn’t get to indulge much in fancy treats, this gift will be all the more appreciated.  Hand print or use your computer to fashion a label with a list of ingredients and suggested ways to serve.  Your thoughtful gift will be enjoyed and may spur your friend to make more, when it runs out!  Make it a once-in-awhile treat for family, too.

Kugelis, Potato Pudding

Summer Food Festivals. Learn how to create your own ethnic food festival this month, potluck style. Once upon a time 50+ years ago, my family would trek from Northern Indiana into Chicago to Dan Ryan Park in the summer. That was before gangs and the health department intervened in wonderful ethnic celebrations. Families in the Chicago area would set up booths in the park to sell their favorite traditional dishes. People flocked to these celebrations of diversity. I couldn’t wait to sample the Russian piroshkies, deep-fried doughnuts filled with savory ground beef and onions. Delicious! Why not invite friends to a summer melting potluck gathering in your backyard or at your local park?

National Foods. Almost everybody’s family in the U.S. can ultimately be traced back to some other land of origin. What ethnic food is like a national treasure to your family? All the ladies in my husband’s Czechoslovakian family would say pierogies! These are delicate kraut, potato, cheese, or prune dumplings served in butter with browned onions. Fantastically savory! Ask guests to cook up their family’s special recipe just before arriving for the food fest, keeping the food hot or cold, as required. Supply heating trays, an oven, stove, refrigerator, or cooler to be sure food is kept at a safe temperature.

Regional Selections. If guests all come from a similar region, then the menu will hang together, e.g., Easter European, Asian, or Latin. But, if they don’t, then you will have a melting pot of dishes, for which there is a fancy term—culinary fusion. Some restaurants are actually based on fusing ethnic cuisines at a high price. The great thing about a potluck is sharing the cost of feeding a crowd. Sharing ethnic food makes good cost sense, because most beloved ethnic food is made from simple, inexpensive ingredients. These are often the peasant dishes that filled a family’s stomachs and warmed their hearts.

Kugelis. Such a dish very dear to my Lithuanian father, is potato pudding. We make it for birthdays. Preheat the oven to 350º. First, in a food processor, finally chop ½ large onion and whir in ½ c. matzo meal, ½ c. sour cream, 4 eggs, 2 t. salt, 1 t. baking powder, ¼ c. melted butter, and 4 crumbled slices of crisp bacon. Set this aside in a large bowl. Peel and quarter 7 large potatoes. Grate them in the processor. Remove and squeeze out liquid in towels. Return grated potatoes to processor to chop finely. Add potatoes to onion mixture. Mix well. Pour into a buttered 11/2 to 2 qt. casserole. Bake for 1 ½ hrs. Serve hot with sour cream. Slice and fry leftover kugelis in oil or butter as a side dish.

Experiment. There are probably as many recipes for kugelis as there are Lithuanian cooks! Hot milk can be substituted for sour cream in the mix. Some people use farina instead of matzo or bread crumbs or none of these. But, the trick is to work with the potatoes at the last minute quickly, so they don’t turn pink. Some squeeze the liquid from the potatoes, letting it sit awhile. They pour off the liquid and put the remaining white starch into the mixture. Vary amounts of ingredients to your liking. Enjoy with friends.

Favorite Fruit. Need some new way to celebrate a loved one’s special day? Dining out can get pretty pricey. Cater your own bash. Base your party around their favorite fruit, hopefully one in season. May is definitely strawberry season in southern California. Oxnard and Santa Maria ship their strawberries all over the U.S. My mother’s favorite fruit is strawberries, so I based her Mother’s Day celebration around them. You could easily use the same theme for a birthday, graduation, or wedding party. Tomatoes or grapes, avocados, olives, or even corn are still other theme possibilities. Decorate your party table in red and white polka-dots with white and green accents for a strawberry party. The following dishes were made with 4 pints of strawberries.

First Course. My mom is of the belief that the best part of a meal is dessert. She’d rather have that first. So, I served fresh whole strawberries to dip in a cocktail glass of mock Devonshire cream. Combine a pint of sour cream with brown sugar to taste and ¼ tsp. of vanilla. Chill the dip, but not the strawberries. They lose flavor quickly in the refrigerator. Leave the leaves on for dipping handles.

Brunch Selections. I tried a new recipe off the Internet, French toast stuffed with strawberries and banana slices and whipped cream cheese. These were assembled in a 9 x 13 pan. Eggs beaten with milk flavored with cinnamon and vanilla were poured over all and allowed to set overnight. They were then baked for ½ hr. at 350º. My family enjoyed this dish, but I did not. I would much rather have made regular French toast or waffles and topped them with fresh strawberries and banana slices, passing a bowl of whipped cream. The spinach salad was dressed with strawberry and red onion slices and champagne dressing. We found a strawberry white zinfandel at our local market to offer, too.

Dessert. Yum, a strawberry rhubarb pie was a delicious finale. But, make it the day before your party for it to set properly. I doubled my single oil pie crust recipe to make a generous 10” pie. Combine 3 c. sliced strawberries with 2 c. finely sliced rhubarb. Stir in 1 c. sugar and ¼ c. cornstarch and a pinch of cinnamon. Fill the prepared pie shell, dot with butter, and cover with crust. Crimp the edges, put slits in the top and foil around the edges. Bake in a preheated oven at 425º for 15 min., then at 400º for 45 minutes. Cool.

Presents. I had the great fun of treasure hunting for gifts for Mom that featured strawberries. My sister also joined in. She found a sweet old-fashioned strawberry-covered apron (not cheap at Sur la Table). But you could make one. I found a hand-painted white tray with strawberries, a strawberry covered teapot, and a little strawberry garden in a box. Strawberry seeds and a prepared strawberry, terra cotta pot would have been a good choice, too. My best find was a strawberry pin made with red crystals. Have fun putting your creative talents to work. Center your next celebration around a favorite fruit, even if you are just treating yourself. Pineapples, anyone?

Gourmet Sandwiches

Tri-Tip Value. When shopping for just 2 people, buying 2 tri-tip beef roasts in a CostCo package for $21 may seem like a huge splurge. However, stretching those dollars over five meals is the trick to getting the most bang for your buck! First, though, you need to like roast beef enough to eat it for a week! I think it is better to use it up than freeze one roast for later, but you could do that. I prefer to season the meat well with salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder and oven roast it all at once on a cake rack over a jelly-roll pan at 350º for about 30 minutes: medium rare, to well done at the tips.

Meal 1. My husband loves his tri-tip hot. So our first meal is 3/8” slices of the roast, after it has rested for about 15 minutes from the oven. I heat a beef bouillon cube, red wine, onion powder, and thyme to make au jus to dip the beef into as we enjoy it.

Alternate Meal 1. Instead of eating tri-tip after it’s roasted, chill it overnight. Then slice it paper thin along with a sweet onion. This can be done by hand. However, an electric meat-slicer makes the job easier. (We bought one at a garage sale very reasonably priced.) For Mother’s Day last year, we served the sliced beef on halved croissants dressed with champagne dressing and the onion rings. It was delicious! Assembled before the party, wrapped in plastic wrap, these were chilled in the refrigerator until the meal was served. For another party, we served the meat in smaller sandwiches on steamed Hawaiian sweet bread rolls, as sliders. Potato salad or chips are tasty sides.

Meals 2, 3, 4, and 5. Today, people eat smaller portions of red meat than they used to. If you have meat left over, use it to make a stir-fry, fajitas, vegetable/barley soup, or salad! To prevent the beef toughening up, add the beef at the very end of your cooking time.

Stir-Fry. For the stir fry, slice all the vegetables before stir-frying them one at a time in an electric wok set at 375º, pushing up each as it softens a bit. Include: onions, green onions, broccoli flowerets (green beans or asparagus), and mushrooms. Add ¼ c. soy sauce, ½ cup beef broth, 1 T. brown sugar, 1 T. cornstarch–then the beef “matchsticks.” Serve with hot rice.

Fajitas. Fry sliced onions, green and red peppers, and zucchini. Add a sauce of chicken bouillon, chili pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and paprika–then the beef “matchsticks.” Serve with sides of refried beans, guacamole, and sour cream to spoon on flour tortillas.

Soup. Sauté chopped onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes in olive oil in a soup pot. Add 4 cups of chicken or beef stock. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, basil, marjoram. Add ½ cup barley. Simmer covered for 1 ½ hours. Add beef before serving.

Steak Salad. Arrange beef and Swiss cheese “matchsticks” on crisp torn romaine lettuce. Garnish with hard-boiled egg halves, tomatoes, and cooked asparagus and/or ripe small avocado halves. Serve with your favorite dressing, such as champagne or Italian.

Affordable Luau

Decorate Hawaiian Style.  With warmer weather coming, plan a Polynesian party outdoors.  It doesn’t take much to decorate for such a party.  If guys wear tropical print shirts, you’re halfway there!  Pull out those old shell necklaces or find cheap leis to greet guests.  A 99¢ store near us had 6 plastic ruffle leis for, of course, 99¢!  Bring out shells you may have collected to decorate your table.  Real and beautiful faux orchids are a bit pricey.  Instead find inexpensive orchid garlands from Big Lots.  Divide them up and “plant” them in potted plants that are not currently flowering.  Mix different colored cloth napkins, if you don’t have a tropical pattern.  There’s a Hawaiian music station on satellite radio (Sirius).  Or, pull out some old records you may have.  Annette Funicello’s rock and roll hit, Pineapple Princess, will get you in the mood!

Save on Piña Coladas.  Ready-made drink mixers can be expensive.  Make your own mixers.  Smart and Final, the smaller discount food warehouse, has cream of coconut in a can.  That, together with canned pineapple juice, beats their off-the-shelf piña colada mixer.  The directions on the cream of coconut can tell what proportions of the cream, pineapple juice, and rum to use per drink with cracked ice in a blender.  Big Lots has little drink umbrellas (and other decorations) reasonably priced.

Pupu (Appetizer) Ideas.  My guests enjoyed Hawaiian Kettle Potato Chips, from Smart and Final, served with a tropical avocado salsa.  The salsa was made with chunks of avocado, diced tomatoes, chopped onion and green onion, chopped cilantro, minced fresh ginger (1/4 tsp. finely minced), lime juice, a little peanut oil, and hot sauce.  If you like it sweet, add a splash of pineapple juice or mirin (sweet cooking rice wine).  Banana chips and macadamia nuts are great, too, if the budget allows. 

Main Course.  Make it easy to serve everything buffet-style by piling food onto a large platter.  I made pork ribs in the oven (350º for 1 ½ hr. with homemade barbecue sauce).  The rice was cooked ahead of time, then fried with green onions and canned coconut milk, kept warm in the electric frying pan until show time.  Roasted with the ribs for ½ hr., baby sweet potatoes, slit open, need only melted butter with lime juice.  Chicken satay was made on the grill, cooking for about 5 min.  Sliced chicken breast was marinated and basted with a sauce of peanut butter, ginger, sesame oil, onion, and soy sauce whirred in a blender.  Spring asparagus dressed with lime butter and grilled pineapple skewers (dipped in peanut oil first) add a fresh touch.  Not necessary, but an added treat is a fruit salad of canned mandarin oranges, fresh papaya and mango chunks, and a sprinkling of sweetened coconut.

Dessert Choices.  A store bought coconut cream or banana cream pie is a splurge.  I served banana-nut bread slices with fresh, sliced strawberries and whipped cream.  Or, save the fruit salad for dessert.  Instead of sprinkling it with coconut, serve macaroons.  Another thought is to heat banana slices in butter, brown sugar, and rum to serve over vanilla ice cream.  “Vacation” at home with friends at your island party.

The Very Best for Less. Handmade gifts always say “I love you” best. These are the kinds of gifts money can’t buy, like the credit card ad says, “priceless.” Knowing how much I love to entertain, my sister very thoughtfully gave me the gift of charger plates for my birthday. In and of themselves, the chargers are wonderful! Any hostess, I think, would love to have them in green, red, gold, or silver. (If you’re lucky, you can sometimes find them at Big Lots marked down from what they would be in fancy retail shops.) But, what made this gift particularly “over-the-top” was the gorgeous handmade gift box presenting the chargers!

Keeper Boxes. My sister has given me gifts before in lovely hat boxes that function not only as gift boxes, but also as storage and beautiful art objects, pretty to display all the time. I think she got the idea of decorating a gift box with cloth from the hat box idea. It took time, pretty fabric, lace trim, and finding a flower and matching card to complete the look. And, oh, what a look! She covered the entire box, inside and out, with interesting, unexpected colors and patterns. I absolutely love it. What fabric scraps and embellishments might you have on hand? With a glue gun and cardboard box, you might create a masterpiece, too, for just the cost of glue!

Exchange Bags. Once upon a time, my creative sister and I sewed “Victorian Decorator Gift Bags” out of beautiful satins in different colors, from jewelry size to standard bed pillow size, with the idea of selling them at craft boutiques. They were slightly ahead of their time. So, we kept most of them to give gifts in back and forth in the family. We saved on buying gift wrap for every occasion over the years. They work particularly well for odd-size gifts. They always bring back memories of our entrepreneurial efforts together, plus they’re beautiful!

Reusable Gift Containers. Whether you are giving a party for people celebrating a birthday, anniversary, shower, engagement, or wedding, where gifts will be given, think about making your gift “wrap” part of the gift. Spending money on wrapping paper might be better spent on a reusable container.

My mother-in-law used to send us gifts wrapped in pretty dish towels. My sister gave my husband Good ‘n Plenty in a glass Eiffel tower bottle with a “fireworks” bow made of sparkly silver and pink pipe cleaners! Wrap an awkwardly-shaped object in a fitted or flat sheet. “Plant” your gift (whatever it is) in a terra cotta pot from the 99¢ Only Store. Present a collection of used paperback mysteries in a small bookshelf found at a yard sale or thrift store.

Your Thoughts? What homemade gift or gift wrap that you made or received brings back fond memories? Please share your ideas on gift giving with our readers!

Fry Up a Fritter. Here’s an economical, versatile recipe that can be the base for breakfast, lunch, a side dish, or hors d’oeuvres! It’s almost as easy as making pancakes. Although just about any firm chopped fruit or chopped and cooked vegetable can be added to the batter, my favorite is fresh white corn. Fresh corn cut off the cob, micro-waved for about 3 minutes, retains its crisp crunch when added to the batter. Don’t tell your guests what it is. Let them be surprised. They’ll ask, “What is this?” It’s unexpected and delicious!

Basic Fritter Recipe: 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 2 eggs, ½ cup milk or cream, 1 tsp. oil, 1 cup cooked or canned corn, 1 tblsp. minced onion (optional additions: 1 tblsp. minced green pepper or green chili). Mix all the ingredients. Heat vegetable oil in a hot frying pan and drop two large spoonfuls of batter in for each fritter. Brown on one side and flip to brown on the other side. Drain on towel paper. Good news: these can be made ahead and reheated in an oven or microwave. I make a double batch (18 fritters) and store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for use over several days.

Breakfast Variation. Add minced ham or crumbled crispy bacon to the basic batter. Serve with melted butter and hot syrup. A baked apple topped with cinnamon and brown sugar makes a fancy accompaniment for overnight guests.

Luncheon Variations. Corn fritters make a hearty side dish alternative to potatoes or rice with pork chops, ribs, or steak. Or, they can be the star of the show. Some people like ketchup on corn fritters! Tomatoes are a natural accompaniment. Or, offer an assortment of toppings for your corn fritters, hot off the griddle. Include some or all of these options: zesty tomato/onion/cilantro salsa, chopped avocado, shredded lettuce, grated jack cheese, chili-seasoned ground beef, and sour cream. A corn fritter is “meatier” than a simple corn tortilla shell and far more satisfying.

Hors d’oeuvres Ideas. Drop tablespoon size dollops of the fritter batter into the frying pan to make appetizer bases. I find that these are delicious hot, room temperature, even cold. Here are some ideas for a tiny topping on appetizer size corn fritters: hot pepper jelly, apricot jelly, whole cranberry sauce, sweet pickle relish, Ranch dip, refried beans, grated cheddar cheese, crisp radish slice, ground ham salad (mixed with mayonnaise and pickle relish), or half of a grape tomato (cut-side down).

Deep-Fried Fritters? You betcha! Try deep-frying this thick corn fritter batter in your deep-fryer to make puff balls. They take on a southern-fried comfort appeal, perfect with deep-fried fish or fried chicken with a bowl of celery-seed flavored, crunchy cabbage and carrot slaw and orange slices. Mmm. I’m making myself hungry just thinking about the possibilities. Let me know if you discover some more tempting combinations, like maybe with buttered spinach and caramelized butternut squash cubes! Enjoy!

Low-Cost Meal. Celebrate Valentine’s Day all week with quick treats. Start with a delicious, affordable dinner centered on juicy, tender chicken breasts. Buy a bag of frozen chicken breasts to keep handy in the freezer for just such a dinner. Discount markets offer the best deals on frozen chicken breasts. Partially frozen chicken breasts are easier to trim and cut than fresh ones. Slice them length-wise into 3 or 4 cutlets. Once they are breaded, 2 or 3 chicken breasts may be enough to feed a family of four!

Chicken Piccata. The meaning of the word “piccata” varies according to whom you ask! It seems like a particularly apt culinary word because of all its meanings. Traditionally, a veal cutlet is pounded, breaded, cooked in butter, and served with lemon, parsley, and capers. Piccata means speared, larded, and savory (with lemon and capers). Chicken is an affordable alternative to veal. Sliced thin, it doesn’t have to be pounded. If you can’t slice it thin, then pound it with a rolling pin between two sheets of plastic to ¼” thick.

Breaded Chicken. Prepare three bowls to dip the chicken cutlets in, each one seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. First, dry the cutlets and dredge them in a bowl of seasoned flour (1 cup). Second, dip them into seasoned eggs (2) beaten with a little cream or milk. Third, coat them in fine, seasoned bread crumbs (1 ciabatta roll or stale French bread, whirred in a food processor). These can be made ahead, covered, and chilled until you are almost ready to serve them. They cook very quickly in a moderate to hot frying pan heated with olive oil (3 Tblsp.) and butter (1 Tblsp.). When the breading is browned, they are done (about 3-4 minutes per side).

Sides. Rice or pasta makes a tasty accompaniment. Or, offer both by serving chicken flavored Rice-a-Roni, “The San Francisco Treat,” usually a real family favorite. If you want to get fancier, instead fill and bake cooked large pasta shells with creamed spinach smothered in marinara sauce and parmesan cheese. Super markets are beginning to feature asparagus at good prices. Our Ralph’s Market had asparagus for 99¢/lb. this weekend, while Vons offered it for $1.98/lb. Read newspaper ads for market specials!

Garnish. If you’re serving the breaded chicken “piccata style,” then lemon wedges (or lemon juice) is the finishing touch for the chicken and asparagus. Capers are nice but not necessary sprinkled into the pan and heated through, once the chicken is removed. Parsley (dried or fresh) and especially fresh cilantro are good on the Rice-a-Roni. To dress the meal for your sweethearts, slice a Roma tomato vertically to show off its heart shape. You may need to shape it a little more, by cutting out the stem end in a V-shape.

Dessert. A couple of large strawberries dipped in chocolate chips, carefully melted in the microwave oven, make a very romantic finish to this lovely meal. It’s always appropriate to serve a sweetheart dinner. You don’t have to wait for 2/14/11. Buon appetito!

Fresh Tomato, Feta, and Lemon Pizza

Homemade Pizza. If you buy in bulk, you can make two to six gourmet pizzas at home for about half the price of the same number of restaurant pizzas.  I’m a big fan of buying mozzarella and feta cheese at CostCo.  You’ll have cheese left over for other uses.  I also buy fresh Roma tomatoes there, but you could use inexpensive spaghetti sauce instead.  I keep a large package of yeast on hand, instead of small, expensive packets (2 ¼ tsp. of powdered yeast = 1 packet).  If you make a lot of food from scratch, it also pays to buy flour in bulk.  I get a 25 lb. sack at CostCo.  A bag of lemons there is more economical than individual lemons at the typical grocery store.  However, you could use lower cost bottled lemon juice instead.  Here’s my daughter’s favorite recipe.

Easy Pizza Dough. Preheat oven to 425º.  To make 2 medium pizzas, dissolve 1 packet of dry yeast in 1 cup warm water.  Add 1 tsp. sugar and stir.  Then stir in 1 tsp. salt, 2 tblsp. olive oil, and 2 ½ cups flour.  Knead in a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky to shape into a ball.  Cover with a cloth and let it rest, while you prepare toppings.  When the toppings are ready, divide the dough in half.  Sprinkle 1 tsp. cornmeal all over 2 pizza stones (best for crispy crusts).  If using metal pizza pans, lightly grease pans, instead.  Flour hands and divide dough and press it out into round shapes on the stones.  Let the dough rest a while, then it will be easier to push it further to the edges of the stone or pan.

Pizza Toppings. Traditionally, I spread bottled spaghetti sauce on the pizza dough, then add 1 c. cooked sausage, 1 c. cooked mushrooms, and then 1 c. shredded mozzarella to each pizza.  This is my husband’s favorite version.  But, my daughter prefers a gourmet, meatless version:  spread 1 c. shredded mozzarella on the dough, then arrange 6 sliced Roma tomatoes (seeds removed), then evenly sprinkle the zest from one lemon, sprinkle on 1 tsp. of dried basil and ¼ tsp. ground oregano, and lastly sprinkle on ½ c. crumbled feta cheese.  Both versions of the pizza are baked for 12 minutes, then turned, and baked another 12 minutes.  Use a wooden pizza paddle to shift and remove the stones.

Gourmet Additions. While my daughter’s pizzas are baking, I prepare the rest of the toppings:  ¼ c. chopped cilantro for each pizza and 1 clove of minced garlic (but you could sprinkle on garlic powder) soaked in 2 tblsp. olive oil.  She also sprinkles ½ of the juice from the fresh lemon on each pizza as she eats each slice.  If you have powdered or shredded parmesan cheese, it may also be added on the pizza, hot from the oven, but this is optional.

Party Tips. If you are making more than 2 pizzas for your party, bake them ahead of time.  Slice the pizza into eighths and refrigerate them in plastic bags.  Reheat the pieces on jelly-roll pans in a hot oven for about 10 minutes before serving.  Have back-up trays ready to go into the oven, as diners decimate the first round!  A large salad with Italian dressing (with or without provolone cheese, salami bits, and garbanzo beans) will round out the meal.  Dessert can be as simple as popsicles (American, instead of “Italian” ices) or ice cream.