Arugula-Mushroom Pizza

I had a final dinner with one of my besties before she went to San Diego to ignore me forever hahaha. Arugula-topped pizza is so light and fresh (for a pizza)– I just love the bitter, peppery arugula that’s slightly wilted from the hot and earthy pizza. So good. I’ll have a recipe for thin-crust pizza dough up as soon as I can because pillsbury isn’t cutting it. The both of us were in such a rush to make it to pick up the boys and watch Toy Story 3! WHICH WAS AWESOME! (Mostly because I hate when movies drag a series forever, i.e. Rambo 45, but this was legitly a good third installment).

Anyways, I can’t understand why the guys I know hate thin-crust. What’s their deal? Thin-crust is awesome, crunchy and like, the opposite of soft, fluffy, and ultimately soggy. that’s right. I said it. This is a light(er) pizza. I can’t have a heavy crust weighing it down.

Arugula-Mushroom Pizza
1 roll thin-crust pizza dough (homemade preferably)
tomato sauce
10 crimini mushrooms, chopped
1/4 red onion, sliced
mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
parmesan cheese, thinly sliced in cheese grater
1 package baby arugula
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
(lemon juice)
(proscuitto)

Put sauce on crust, sparingly (preferably a parmesan-tomato sauce). When I’m in a hurry, I always get Buitoni’s Tomato-Herb Parmesan sauce. It’s amazing– otherwise, I’d make my own. Top with cheese, then onion and mushroom (and proscuitto, if using) and bake according to directions.

The arugula salad is so simple. Just add a few tablespoons of olive oil to barely coat each arugula leaf. Too much and it will taste too much like olive oil so add incrementally and taste. Be generous with salt but add a bit of pepper as arugula is already very, very peppery. Lastly, toss the salad with some thin sliced (or grated) parmesan. If desired, you can squeeze a very, very little bit of lemon juice to make the salad pop. It’s a very simple and one of the most basic dressings you will find for any type of lettuce– especially one for peppery arugula or dandelion greens. When you remove the pizza, generously top the pizza with arugula so that the heat wilts and cooks off a little peppery flavor, especially if you didn’t use baby arugula.

Serve with a side of fresh fruit salad (mango, strawberry, pineapple, grapes) and vanilla yogurt.

1 pound (or about 3 1/2 cups) high gluten flour
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Braised Short-Ribs with Lardons and Vegetables

I’ve been craving something stew-y for a while and finally got the chance to make it while at a friends house. Sure, I couldn’t start til 5PM and it took nearly 4.5 hours to finish and is an extremely time-consuming, complicated dish but it was so worth it. So, so, so worth it– Fall off the bone short-ribs, salty, sticky stew, and sweet veggies. So great.

Lardons are such a great addition to this– technically, lardons are a cube or strip of pork fat but they can be attained by using cured belly meat such as bacon. Although lardon meat is not typically smoked (it’s cured), I think crunchy bacon adds a salty tang and crunchy bite to the stew. And it’s bacon. Come on. Bacon.

Braised Short-Ribs with Lardons and Vegetables
adapted from chef Barbara Lynch
4 – 5lbs bone-in beef short-ribs
1 pint (~1/2 quart) (low-sodium) good-quality beef stock (try using stock, if possible, or reconstituted beef-veal demiglace)
3 c. water
1 small onion, chopped roughly
7 carrots, chopped (or 4 carrots and 4-5 carrots-worth of baby carrots)
4 celery stalks, chopped
(2 parsnips, chopped)
(1 turnip, chopped)
1/2 summer squash, chopped into bite-sized cubes
2 c. dry red wine (such as a Merlot, Pinot, or Cabernet)
1/2 c. tomato paste (~ 5- 6 oz)
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 turkish or 1/2 california bay leaf
a whole pack of (slab) bacon
4 thyme sprigs
EQUIPMENT: 5 – 6 quart dutch oven (or some deep pot that can go in the oven at like, 350F) (mines like 4 quarts)

5 hours before dinner…

Preheat oven to 325F.

Season short-ribs with salt and pepper and brown all sides in a large dutch oven for about 6 minutes over moderate-high heat. Do not over crowd, do one batch and set the meat aside, then do the rest, remove, and let rest.

In the same pot, reduce the heat and cook the chopped onion, celery, and 4 of the carrots for about 7 minutes until softened and onions are slightly golden to make a mirepoix– a fancy name for a combo of uh, onion, celery, and carrots. Deglaze with red wine vinegar, wine, and tomato paste and boil until the alcohol has been removed and it is reduced by half. Add your stock, bay leaf, thyme, and water and bring to a boil. Add ribs and any liquid and blood that have accumulated.

Cover and stick the pot in the oven until ribs are extra-tender. This will be 2.5 to 3+ hours of sitting and waiting but it’s so worth it. The bones add so much flavor and the low temperature really make the meat tender. While the short-ribs are cooking, chop turnips, half a butternut squash, and the rest of the carrots and parsnips into bite-sized pieces and set aside in the refrigerator.

Remove the short ribs from the oven. Remove the short-ribs from the sauce and separate the meat from the bones, being careful not to tear the meat too much and discard the bones. Trim as much fat and connective tissue off as possible. Let the pot sit for 30 minutes to allow the beef oil and fat to rise. Skim AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE– it will be an orangish oil that rises to the top.

At this point, fry up your bacon until crispy and slightly burnt (or however you like haha). Dry on paper towels and chop into small pieces. Return short-ribs and bacon to dutch oven.

Boil the soup until the broth has reduced and become more sticky (10 – 15 minutes). This is also a good opportunity to skim fat as it accumulates to the center while it boils. Again, try and remove as much as possible. It’s pretty gross and fatty haha.

Meanwhile, take the rest of the chopped veggies and boil in salted water for 6 – 7 minutes, until very tender and dump them in iced water to stop cooking. Butternut squash and turnips should be in separate pots as they don’t take as long to cook. When finished, portion beef chunks into individual serving bowls and top with soft vegetables. Ladle some sauce and serve over mashed potatoes or celeriac puree.

Vegetarian Stuffed Crimini Mushrooms

This will probably be reedited or reposted because I was hoping for something far more juicy but this was still a super delicious vegemetarian stuffed mushroom recipe. I didn’t use mozzarella in mine because I have no mozz! My house is about to be FUMIGATED so I’m not allowed to buy new things– just use up the old stuff.

The one thing about mushrooms I love is that it can have a delicious meaty flavor while still being a non-meat product. Honestly, I’ve hated on mushrooms for almost my whole life (unless it’s on pizza) and found out that the common button mushroom is the culprit. I’ve never really tried using some stranger varieties of mushrooms until I bought and reconstituted a dried wild mushroom mix in a wild mushroom pasta dish: Oyster, Shiitake, Maitake– so rich and earthy! It’s seriously on a different level than those boring common mushrooms.

Stuffed Crimini Mushrooms
15 large crimini mushrooms and maybe 2 extra for stuffing
2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1/4 c. minced onions
1/4. c. shredded fresh parmesan and mozzarella, more for garnish
1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
s/p
(minced fresh parsley)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Remove the stems from the caps. Chop up the stems, very finely– onions and garlic should be the same size as mushroom stems. Remove some of the gills from the caps just for more room. You’ll want about equal parts onion and mushroom and you’ll probably need an extra whole mushroom or two as they will shrink during cooking. Chop up your vegs and grate the cheese.

In a saute pan, cook the onions over medium to medium-high heat in a bit of olive oil, stirring often until softened. Season with salt and pepper and add garlic and mushroom and cook until the mushrooms have shrunk a bit. Add parsley if you like and cook for 30 seconds to remove bitter flavor. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix in breadcrumbs and cheese, slowly, bit-by-bit. Taste, season with salt and pepper.

Stuff mushrooms and top with some fresh mozzarella. Place mushrooms on a oiled baking sheet. Cook in the middle rack for about 10 to 15 minutes, taking care not to burn the mushroom.