Ordered Chaos

As a result of our “broke-as-a-joke” status and our love of cooking, for the past couple years Al & I have decided to do a bake-for-all instead of a buy-for-all. There are many consequences of this decision, some of which are as follows:

1. Indoor heating switches from furnace to oven.
2. Star quality singing changes genres, from wailing emo to “Simply havin’ a wonderful Christmastime”…yes, it’s played so much that it’s actually considered a genre. Oh, and our duets are good. They’re really good.
3. Household scents alternate between heavenly cinnamon swirl bread and “what the hell was on that burner?!?”
4. A quick trip to the gym teaches us that we smell much worse than everyone else, like whatever the hell was on that burner…and sweat, of course.
5. A four-bedroom house feels so much smaller with two crammed in a one-person kitchen.
6. We should have jousted for kitchen time…better yet, we could Wii-box!
7. If flour were makeup, I’d totally be into drag…or goth.
8. Our favorite holiday treats are even more delicious before they’re baked. Raw eggs – they’re perfectly safe!
9. Stomach aches and gritty teeth are all part of the experience, like Audrey being frozen from the waist down in Christmas Vacation.
10. Thank god no one else will see our screw-up cookies.

In the end, we feel satisfied knowing that we’ve dedicated an entire weekend to baking for those we love. And if we’re lucky, everyone will still love us after our cat’s fuzz ball toy is recovered…a toy that disappeared in one of our cookie doughs. Just kidding…we think.

Sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to vent. Other times, it just flows naturally, not as much like a babbling brook as an exploding volcano of catastrophic proportions. In the right company, commiseration can manifest itself in an emotional rebirth, and even more so when accompanied by chocolate. Granted, some may call my love of chocolate outright proof of my feminine side. My argument: well…I shouldn’t talk with my mouth full. I was surprised at the simplicity of this recipe, and I dream of endless variations and fine tuning. Check it out:

Decadent Chocolate Truffles

What you need
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tbsp liqueur (blackberry brandy, peppermint schnapps, Grand Marnier, Kahlua, etc.) or
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Toppings: sifted powdered sugar, sifted cocoa, coconut flakes

What you do
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until it’s smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until well mixed. Stir in melted chocolate and liqueur or vanilla until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Scoop out and roll 1-inch balls from the mixture, and roll the balls in one of the toppings. If a topping won’t stick to the truffle, then give it a spray or two of water and rub that around the truffle before rolling in the topping.

Enjoy.

Want to know what happens when I get too excited? I’ll tell you. Pizza! Stile Italiano, that is. Okay, so maybe not purely Italian style, but close! I opt for homemade everything, except yeast of course. Now let’s say that you think I over-analyze everything. And let’s imagine for just a moment that you’re correct. What does that mean in this situation? That means that I have a philosophy about pizza! Yep, that’s right. You see, “pizza” to me is like a fill-in-the-blank question without a correct answer. It’s a crust made of (fill-in-the-blank), topped with (fill-in-the-blank) and garnished with…well, you get the idea. Alton Brown might call it a vessel for endless possibilities, and I’d agree.So what exactly did I do with my time? Check it out:

Dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp quick-rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients with a whisk in a large bowl, and add the water and oil. Stir with a dough whisk or wooden spoon until a mass forms.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes, adding a little flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands.
3. Gently form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled large bowl. Swirl the bowl around to coat the dough in oil, cover with plastic and put it in a draft-free area. I like to put in an unheated oven and place a pan underneath it with hot water. This ensures the oven stays just slightly warm and moist. Let the dough rise until doubled, hopefully around 30 minutes (more if you’re using active dry yeast).
4. Remove plastic wrap, gently massage large air bubbles from dough, and turn out onto floured surface. Cut in half, form each half into ball, and flatten them into discs. Cover them lightly with the plastic wrap and let them rest for about 10-15 minutes (a good ole “bench rest”). If you’re only going to make one pizza, only give one the bench rest, bag the other in a ziploc sprayed with cooking spray and refrigerate. Better yet, just make two pizzas.

Garlic Pepper Oil
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Put the oil in a skillet or small saucepan and add the garlic and pepper flakes while the oil is still cool.
2. Turn on the heat to medium and let the oil come to a slight sizzle. As soon as this happens, turn off the heat and let the oil sit until you’re ready to use it.

Marinara Sauce (from America’s Test Kitchen)
2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes , packed in juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/3 cup dry red wine, such as Chianti or Merlot
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 – 2 tsp sugar, as needed

1. Pour tomatoes and juice into strainer set over large bowl. Open tomatoes with hands and remove and discard fibrous cores; let tomatoes drain excess liquid, about 5 minutes. Remove 3/4 cup tomatoes from strainer and set aside. Reserve 2 1/2 cups tomato juice and discard remainder.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden around edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add tomatoes from strainer and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring every minute, until liquid has evaporated and tomatoes begin to stick to bottom of pan and brown fond forms around pan edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Add wine and cook until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Add reserved tomato juice and bring to simmer; reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally and loosening browned bits, until sauce is thick, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Transfer sauce to food processor (or transfer to saucepan and insert immersion blender) and add reserved tomatoes; process until slightly chunky, about eight 2-second pulses. Return sauce to skillet and add basil and extra-virgin olive oil and salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

(makes 4 cups)

Other Toppings
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drain & sprinkled with salt in strainer
1/4 lb Fontina cheese
1 box frozen spinach, defrosted & ringed dry
Fresh basil, chopped

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Roll dough into circle. Brush with garlic pepper oil.
3. Bake for about 6 minutes, or until just crispy but not yet golden brown.
4. Remove from oven and brush with more garlic pepper oil. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce (not too much!), about 2/3 cup or so. Top with tomatoes, spinach and Fontina.
5. Throw it back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
6. Remove from oven, sprinkle with basil, slice like a warrior, and devour with vino (or a Peroni). Buon appetito!