What’s in the Middle? The White Stuff.

Let’s not talk about the events of last night.

So instead I’ll just talk about the food that I just happen to make for this particular Sunday night ;)

I made two items to bring over to my friends place, and one I’ve been dying to make since I first tried it back in September!

Pizza Monkey Bread!!  Elina made it for a little after-work shin-dig that she hosted back in September, and ever since then I knew it would be the PERFECT food to serve for a party!  I’d been waiting for a good opportunity and I' finally decided that the Superbowl (there, I said it) would be the best excuse to eat little hot balls of dough stuffed with cheese and pepperoni! 

I used the same recipe she used, from Confessions of a Foodie Bride, and since I was also making a dessert, I opted to purchase the dough and sauce to make my life easier.

I grabbed a ball of plain and a ball of multi-grain pizza dough from Whole Foods.

I also used the suggestion of weighing out the pieces for uniformity.

Brian helped me with this one, and as I divided up the dough, he started flattening each piece and filling them with a slice of pepperoni and a chunk of mozzarella cheese.

Teamwork!!  I then coated each piece in garlic butter, filled up the Bundt pan, wrapped it in plastic wrap and headed to our friend’s apartment where I baked it up hot and fresh!

Not surprisingly this was a huge hit!!  I mean, who doesn’t love pizza in bite size form!      

I also made something on the sweet side.

I knew I wanted to make a dessert, and this wasn’t actually my first choice, but my friends rave about these cookies from Flour Bakery and I have wanted to try my hand at them.  Plus I love making something I know people will get excited about!

Oh-Oreo’s, Oh-Oreo’s,   What’s in the Middle?   The WHITE stuff! (sung to the tune of NKOTB “The Right Stuff”…no?  no one ever sang that version back in the day?)   Nevermind…

Here in the Boston area, Flour bakery is pretty well known for these replica’s of the iconic chocolate wafer cookie.  In fact, they sell out often!  I remember one time I went to Flour, and really wanted an Oreo…the line was so long and in the time I was waiting someone phoned in an order and took them ALL!!  I WAS SO SAD!

No more sadness now, because these are actually quite simple to make.

Lucky for you the recipe is online here!  The cookbook also has an option for a Peanut Butter filling, so I did half and half. 

The dough comes together pretty fast and easy. 

Lots of butter and chocolate!

I used salted butter for everything, and just omitted the salt that the recipe called for…I usually do this when I bake and everything comes out great.

I forgot to grab a picture before I added the dry to the wet ingredients, but the butter, chocolate, sugar, egg mixture solidifies fast!  It’s still very soft and workable, I was just surprised.

At this point the recipe recommends diving in with your hands to mix the dough.  Make sure you WASH YOUR HANDS GOOD FIRST…then dig in!

Once the dough is mixed, it sits out for an hour to firm up.  Then form into a log on wax paper.

The recipe calls for a 2.5” diameter roll…I wanted my cookies smaller so I just made my log longer and narrower…mine was just under 2” in diameter.

At this point it’s hard to get the long nice and round, mine was more of a long rectangle.  But once you wrap it up you can roll it out a bit, and from there you chill it for 2 hours, taking it out every 15min or so to roll it and make sure it’s not getting a flat bottom.

I didn’t do that every 15 min…I did it maybe 2 or 3 times during the 2 hours and it turned out just fine.

I did this the night before, and this was my dough log the next morning.

(so many jokes…)

Ready to be sliced into cookies!

I actually used my measuring tape and scored off 1/4” slices to get them roughly the same size.

I found that my cookies baked up in 16-18 min.

Once cool, I arranged them in pairs, and tried to match them up by size.  They are all fairly uniform but some definitely were bigger than others.

The filling was a simple butter cream…my FAVORITE kind!

Your standard butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, milk.  Classic.

I filled about half of the cookie pairs.

Then used the same bowl to whip up the PB filling.

I can’t pick a favorite, both were delicious!!

My Oreo-loving friends were thrilled! 

Kind of want one right now with some milk…  Good night!! 

What was the best thing you ate last night???

Pizza & Beer at Stone Hearth

Hope you’re all having a relaxing Sunday night!  I don’t know why I always wait until now to post when I could have done it earlier…but then again I think I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember.  Sunday night homework anyone??

Last week was crazy busy!!  I participated in my 3rd Flashmob Thursday night at the State Room in Boston for a charity event hosted by Kevin Youkilis of  the Boston Red Sox. 

There were late rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday with the actual event on Thursday.  Throw in a blogger event Wednesday evening before rehearsal and I was one tired girl by Friday! 

In case you’re curious… 

I’m in the pinkish sequin dress splitting center in the beginning.  Space was tight, and I kind of think it’s hilarious we all blanked at one point in the beginning while up on the damn stage.  Never once in rehearsal did that happen, but what can you do…besides keep going.  We were all really squished for the other dances too but it was SO FUN!!  Plus we were able to enjoy this very nice event a bit before and after we performed. 

Moving on…back to Wednesday!

I was invited to, what sounded like, a delicious and fun event at the new Stone Hearth Pizza location in Allston!

I was even more excited to learn it was a stand alone building with a parking lot and I wouldn’t have to deal with trying to park in Allston center.

There was a nice big group of us bloggers, and we were seated at a long table ready to dive into some appetizers, salads, pizza, and dessert.  All of this delicious food was also accompanied by some fantastic beer from Clown Shoes. 

A representative from Pete & Gerry’s eggs was also there to tell us about their eggs and one of our desserts was made specially with Pete & Gerry’s eggs!

Centerpieces of heirloom eggs

 

When I arrived, some appetizers were just being brought to the table. 

We sampled their Parmesan Flatbread (thin chewy flavorful cheesy!)

Cheddar Covered Olives (loved these!!)

These were so different!  A salty olive covered in a cheese coating and baked.  They had a nice little kick to them as well. 

And we had all three varieties of their Meatball Poppers

Basically, they are their housemade meatballs (made with locally raised beef) stuffed with mozzarella cheese!   

They came with signature tomato sauce, spicy tomato sauce, and also creamy roasted onion and herb sauce

I loved them all!  I’m a sucker for a good meatball, especially when I can order them as an appetizer.  The tomato sauces were delicious, and the herb sauce ones reminded me of beef stroganoff…YUM!

To accompany these appetizers, we all sampled some Clown Shoes  Clementine.  I’ve tried some of Clown Shoes’ beers before, and this is one of my favorites.  I love how refreshing white ale’s are. 

Next, there were 4 beautiful salads brought over to the table.

I didn’t get photos of them all, but the one above is the Spinach and Avocado which also has red onion and lightly dressed. 

This salad had romaine, pears, shredded celeriac, and walnuts.  Loved the flavor combinations on this one! 

There was also a classic Caesar salad, and an Arugula and Portobello salad. 

Our next beer was another that I knew I liked…Tramp Stamp!

They have some really funny names for their beers! 

Tramp Stamp is a Belgian Style IPA.  I’m usually not crazy about IPA’s (some are much too bitter for my liking), but I do love Belgian Style ales, and I really like this one as well.  It’s citrusy and refreshing but a bit more bite than the Clementine.   I believe I heard this uses some West Coast hops, and after our trip to San Fran in November I know I like West Coast style IPA’s much better than other IPA’s. 

Pizza time.

 Farm Fresh Garlic oil, cherry tomatoes, charred red/yellow peppers, Yukon gold potatoes, artichoke hearts, green olives, fresh mozzarella, and topped with a salad of arugula, red onion and prosciutto

Bacon & Blue Garlic oil, julienned zucchini/squash blend,
mozzarella/provolone blend, smoked bacon, blue cheese, cherry tomatoes, and finished with fresh basil

 

The Divine Goddess Our healthful version of a white pizza. Garlic oil, topped with a mixture of fresh spinach, broccoli, local ricotta cheese and finished with our cheese blend and a pinch of parmesan

This was their current special, and also probably my favorite of the night, it had leeks, maple sausage, gouda, kale, and cilantro.  I didn’t really taste the cilantro but that’s ok because it was AMAZING.  The best part was how the pieces of kale got all crispy on top.  This is making me so hungry right now!

We also tried The Bean:  Garlic oil, white bean spread, fresh mozzarella, sautéed red onion topped with a spinach, red onion, and pesto salad

I don’t think I’ve ever had a pizza with bean spread on it, but I loved this. 

I actually really loved them ALL!!  The crust was super thin and chewy, the vegetables and other toppings were SO fresh, they weren’t overly inundated with cheese, didn’t leave my hands greasy, and the flavor combinations were unique and delicious!

I was lucky that Shannon agreed to go half-sies with me on all the slices so we could try them all without getting too full!

Best Plan Ever.  The Bacon and Blue was a close second favorite, by the way. 

The last two beers we tried were the Brown Angel, American Brown Ale, and the Supa Hero! 

The Brown Angel was smooth, slightly sweet and went down nice and easy.  The Supa Hero, on the other hand, was more of the type of IPA that’s a little too bitter for me!  Good flavor, but I only had a few sips. 

Dessert.

Stone Hearth Pizza has partnered with Pete & Gerry’s by providing a delicious Custard for a Cause dessert.  Stone Hearth will serve a seasonal custard dessert using Pete and Gerry’s eggs, and all proceeds go to a local charity called Community Servings.  Community Servings prepares, packages, and delivers fresh meals for people who are too sick to shop or cook for themselves.   

Our custard was served with organic maple syrup from Schoolyard Sugarbush and walnuts. 

I was a BIG fan of the custard…love the creaminess and the flavors. 

The other dessert was Sweet Potato gelato!!  We had to guess the flavor, and it was so subtle at first I had NO idea…but as soon as I heard sweet potato, I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth.  Normally I’d love it, but I think I’ve OD’d on the sweet potatoes lately…my taste buds need a little break…I know, I didn’t think it was possible either!!

A BIG Thanks to Stone Hearth Pizza, Clown Shoes Beer, and Pete & Gerry’s!!  It was a fun, relaxing evening with some awesome pizza and beer, and even some trivia to keep us on our toes.   I can’t wait to come back so I can try all the different pizzas on the menu, they all sound incredible! 

This meal was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Is January really almost over???  How did that happen?!! 

How are those resolutions going??  Honestly I didn’t really make any…and I’m totally OK with that ;)

A Grilled Pizza Success!

Happy Thursday friends!

If you’re in the New England area, my guess is that you too are waking up to some GORGEOUS weather!  Last night was the first night this week without AC, and it’s even a bit cool waking up.

I even decided to make myself a hot cappuccino this morning.  A nice change from the iced versions I’ve been enjoying all week…

Iced cap with the rest of a container of 0% Fage + banana + raspberries + cereal + homemade blueberry sauce.

And…

FOAMY iced cap with a protein pancake topped with PB + AB, with bananas + raspberries.

I love how the cappuccino still has the espresso settled on the bottom and, then some milk mixed in, and foam on top…triple layered!

My workouts this week have all been DANCE! 
I love when that happens!

I know I’ve mentioned before, but I am in my friend’s dance company this summer.  It’s mostly contemporary, which is new for me, and so far I am loving it!  The show is Sept 9 & 10 in Milford, NH and it will be awesome!  If anyone’s interested just let me know ;)

Dance also makes me the most sore out of any exercise I’ve ever done…and the best part is that you don’t feel like your “working out'”.  But really, somehow the part of my body from my armpit down to my ribcage is SO SORE, its a struggle to just lift my arms!  It’s weird when you’re sore in a new place…I still don’t understand how it happened.

I had rehearsal Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday…each for 3 hours.  Then 3 more hours this coming Sunday.  At least I won’t feel bad if I don’t get any other workouts in!

Wow, talk about sidetracked…the star of this post is PIZZA!

I’ve always wanted to be able to make pizza on the grill.  However, I have only had many failed attempts. 

The worst was a few years ago when I was living with my bff in Somerville.  We tried on a charcoal grill that was clearly WAY to hot.  The dough just immediately charred the second it went on.  Fail.

Then my issue seemed to be flipping the dough.  See, you have to put the plain dough on first, cook one side, then flip, add toppings, and finish cooking. 

What I need is a huge spatula or maybe just a metal pizza peel.  Either way, the other night things actually went fairly well!

Grilled Steak + Caramelized Onion + Gorgonzola Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust

First the dough.  I used Sabrina’s recipe, only I used WHITE whole wheat flour instead of regular whole wheat flour.

I think I like using regular yeast better than instant.  I actually used this Hodgson Mill Active Dry yeast that is specially designed for whole grain flours!

I turned her dough recipe into 3 dough balls, 2 to be frozen for later use.

Other ingredients:

• Pizza dough of your choice
• Steak – either leftover, or we bought thin sliced steak, grilled it quickly before, then cut into pizza topping sized bites
• caramelized onions (the faster method)
• 1/2 medium onion (yellow or white) sliced thin
• Cook in 1T olive oil + 1 tsp butter over low/med-low heat
• cook, stirring occasionally and watch temp so onions do NOT brown.
• about 8 min later, add 1 tsp sugar
• cook for another 5 min, or until they seem ready and delicious to you :)
• part skim mozzarella
• gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• chopped fresh rosemary
• olive oil

I didn’t really give quantities, because everyone likes more or less toppings on their pizza!

1. Heat your grill to med-med high (I have a gas grill, so I’m not sure the best method for other types)
2. Roll out your dough, place it on a pan to bring to the grill, and brush one side with olive oil
3. Get all your toppings ready, and set them up right by your grill…you need to move fast once the dough is flipped.
4. Now, place dough OIL SIDE DOWN on grill, and turn down the heat to low/med low.  You’re grill will still be hot enough from the heat up to cook the dough just as fast.
5. Now quickly brush the other exposed side of the dough with olive oil.
6. About 1min or so later, or once the dough starts to get golden on the bottom…FLIP!  This took team work with Brian and I to make sure the dough flipped.
7. Now quickly top your pizza!!  Brian and I just grabbed toppings and went to town as fast as we could.
8. Get that lid back down to make sure the cheese melts!
9. Our pizza only took a few more minutes at this point.  Keep checking it so the dough doesn't burn!

We were SO excited that it was working!!

and in no time, we had fresh pizza!

Still not the prettiest thing in the world, but SO delicious.

We also had some grilled zucchini and summer squash (firsts from our garden!).

um, yeah we easily devoured that whole pizza :)  It really wasn’t as big as it looks.

I LOVE LOVED this pizza.  The toppings were so flavorful.  I think next time I’d double the caramelized onions…because really they were the best part. 

The dough was delicious as well.

We both couldn’t get over how good this was!  And now we’re no longer afraid of grilling pizza!

Have you ever grilled pizza??  Any tips?? 

Time to take my little Pup-cake for a walk!

Plans for the weekend??

• I have my friends baby shower Saturday
• Dance on Sunday!