Ginger Garlic Rubbed Chicken with Honey Drizzle: More of the same but a little bit different

Son is allergic to many many things, including soy and sesame which are two staples of the Korean diet. For me, cooking proteins without soy and sesame is very difficult; my repertoire around grilled meats always involves soy and sesame. For this reason, I haven't been that inspired to cook for him. I give him simple meals that general revolve around rice and some sort of protein and vegetable.

But last week I posted on the Spice Rubbed Chicken with Honey Glaze and was fantastically pleased with the results; unfortunately Son was not. He did not like it and I wasn't sure if it was the honey glaze I had put on top or the spiciness of the cayenne in my rub. In either case, he did not eat it and I was disappointed, because I was so hoping to make something yummy for him that he would enjoy.

I liked the concept of the rub and the honey finish so I decided to come up with my own rub variation, based on what I had in the pantry and finish it with the honey glaze (I'm now calling it a drizzle). Upon a raiding of my spice cupboard, I decided to keep it simple and use paprika, ginger, and garlic. These were all in powder forms and I decided to give it whirl. I did get the rub on the chicken the night before I intended to cook, only because I knew that the day I was cooking I was also baking 200 cookies and 100 cupcakes. A little pre-planning on my part and it was so easy to put together the night before.

I grilled some on the bbq and I made the rest in the oven. For Son's chicken, which I cooked in the oven, I did not put the honey on top. The verdict? He LOVED IT! It was flavorful, moist and utterly delicious. He could not stop eating it and was shoving chicken pieces in his mouth as fast as he could.

My girls and I enjoyed the grilled one immensely - warm, succulent and tender - and totally easy to prepare. The honey drizzle at the end was the perfect touch and it all just tasted so good together. I served it with snow peas (Daughter #1's favorite) sauteed in garlic. Super easy. This would also be fabulous with the Cold Sesame Noodles.

As an additional note, make extra because this chicken is FABULOUS to reheat and throw on top of a salad. I had it with a lightly dressed salad the other day and I was thrilled to have some reheated bbq chicken to throw on top of spring mix, tomatoes and feta.

Ginger Garlic Rubbed Chicken with Honey Drizzle
6 servings

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

Broiler (oven) instructions
1. Preheat broiler.

2. Mix garlic, ginger, paprika, salt, and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well. Add chicken thighs and rub well so that the mixture coats all the chicken pieces evenly. (I use a disposable glove as I don't love rubbing up close to raw chicken.)

3. On a foil lined broiler pan, lay the chicken pieces. Broil until chicken is cooked - about 5 minutes per side. (I actually forgot to flip it and it was fine in there for 10 minutes, but watch your oven carefully as mine is not as hot as I think it is.)

4. While chicken is cooking, mix together honey and vinegar. If it doesn't mix well, you can microwave it for about 15 seconds to loosen things up.

5. Remove chicken from oven. Brush chicken with honey vinegar glaze. Cook for 1-2 minutes more.

6. Place chicken on a plate and drizzle remaining honey vinegar sauce on top.

BBQ grill instructions

1. Mix garlic, ginger, paprika, salt, and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well. Add chicken thighs and rub well so that the mixture coats all the chicken pieces evenly. (I use a disposable glove as I don't love rubbing up close to raw chicken.)

2. On the grill, place chicken over medium high heat. Cook about 5-7 minutes on each side.

3. While chicken is cooking, mix the vinegar and honey together.

4. Brush the honey vinegar glaze over the chicken pieces. Cook for an additional minute.

5. Plate chicken and drizzle remaining honey glaze over the chicken.

Printable recipe

Pink Radish Pickles: Balance your palate

For mom who figured out how to make something pink to please Daughter #1 and for Daughter #1 for being so amazed at pink pickles.

I had the opportunity to spend 3 years of my married life living in Seoul, Korea, my birthplace. I had Daughter #2 there, lived there, conceived Son there and all in all adjusted and enjoyed my time in Korea. It was a great experience and one that taught me a lot about food and life.

While in Korea, I was pregnant with two of my children - and the ONE thing I COULD NOT STAND....Korean food. I could not take the smell, the thought - everything about it just wanted to make me sick. We lived in a very Korean restaurant heavy neighborhood and all I did was think about moving out of there. I wanted anything not Korean, burgers, chili fries, burritos, tacos, ribs, corn on the cob, sandwiches - that was my craving. Husband took pity on me and escorted Daughter #1 and me to various restaurants, expensive and cheap to help me survive the pregnancy of hating Korean food.

I remember at the time, being both amused and bemused at the frequency of "pickles" at these non-Korean restaurants. A fine Italian restaurant? Have a bowl of pickles in the middle. Pizza joint - definitely need pickles at the table. Burger? Extra pickles with your fries please. I knew that for many Koreans, pickles were in essence, "replacing" their traditional kimchee, and the pickles helped these non-Korean, Western "greasier" dishes go down. Husband and Daughter always gobbled them up - I just looked at them, appalled that they needed pickles to eat anything. The food tasted really good - without pickles.

But essentially, pickles are good for the whole "balance" of a western meal. Many western dishes leave out acid, essential for helping to cut the richness of many foods and brightening the flavors. (There is nothing acidic on a pizza for example.) Pickles bring in the acid, brighten up the flavors, and balance the flavors of a meal. Clearly daughters and husband intuitively understand this notion, because if there is something non Korean on the table, they either ask for pickles or kimchee.

I've taken to making these VERY simple radish pickles - as they are so beautiful and wonderfully refreshing. They are somewhat Korean in their smell - only because they have a distinct order that comes from pickling radishes. They are a great addition to any table, and are so easy to make that you'll always want to have a supply on hand. They are a beautiful color (as Daughter says - Pink PICKLES mom) and are fun to eat.

The only thing slightly tricky about this is the scoring of the radishes - but if you can do that, the rest is a piece of cake.

Pink Radish Pickles
3 bunches of radishes, washed and trimmed.
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Mix the vinegar, water, sugar and salt and stir until sugar is complete dissolved in a glass container where you will store the radishes. (I like this big glass bowl that comes with a plastic cover.)

Score the radishes, about 1/4 inch mini cuts. Do not cut the radish complete, just cut them 3/4 of the way down. (see photo below) Add to the vinegar mixture. Store for several days in the refrigerator until the red from the outside of the radishes has completely bled out and dyed everything a beautiful pink.

Printable recipe

Photo Instructions

Beautiful, organic, washed radishes

Radishes trimmed

Radishes scored, about 1/4 inch apart cuts, 3/4 of the way down on the radish.

Radishes placed in GLASS storage container with 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt.

24 hours later, the pickles look like this. Notice the vinegar water mixture has now started to turn pink and the white surfaces of the radishes have also become slightly pink.
Pickles 4 days later...pink and perfect.

Summer Fruit Juices: Making lemonade out of lemons

I have this crazy refrigerator. It loves to randomly freeze things. I'll put some fruit in the fridge and every once in a while, it comes out frozen. Consequently it sort of ruins the fruit, because frozen fruit that is in the fridge is not appetizing. It is mush gross and slightly discolored. And my kids won't eat it.

But I also hate waste. I hate wasting food especially. When the fruit still tastes good but just has a funky look to it, I just get frustrated when my kids refuse to eat it. My solution is this - FRUIT JUICE! Watermelon and strawberry and honeydew and mango - you name it - a slightly funky looking but tasty fruit looks beautiful as a fruit juice. It's a great tasting yet economical way to use up fruits that you have in your fridge that are slightly not so cute. Daughter #2 LOVES watermelon juice and today I had a half frozen watermelon. I just chopped up the frozen portion of the watermelon, stuck it in a bowl and blitzed it with a hand blender.

This method also works for not so tasty melons. Although it is melon season, I got a not so great honeydew this week. The kids didn't want to eat it and so I decided to blitz it. Since it wasn't so sweet, I just added a tablespoon of honey and blitzed it with my handblender - voila- a refreshing, silky, slightly sweet juice - and again, went down very easily with lunch.

So this summer, when you find yourself with a handful of berries that are "not cute" or some bits of melon that haven't been eaten - don't throw them away - turn them into a fruit juice that everyone enjoys. If you make a fruit mosaic and have some leftovers after it's all been eaten, blitz those fruits for a juice. Feel free to stick the fruit juice in a popsicle mold and have a really delicious summer treat.

Summer Fresh Fruit Juice
Serves 4

2 cups your choice of fruit - watermelon, mango, kiwi, strawberry, honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, peach
1-2 tablespoon of honey, if your fruit is not that sweet
Ice (optional - if you like your juice a bit more watered down - my kids prefer no ice but super cold fruit that has been blitzed.)
Mint (optional)

Put fruit in a blender and puree or alternatively, put fruit in a bowl and blitz with a hand blender. Add ice if desired. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve in a pretty cup.

Printable recipe

BLOG Giveaway! THE WINNER...

and the winner is - Halim!

She wins for sheer VOLUME of recipes tried from the blog and for being a great commenter.

For those of you who worry that I may have played favorites and chosen someone I know - I KNOW EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED!!! (which I find amazingly funny and heartwarming.)

Thanks for participating. Watch for the next blog giveaway which will come soon!

Hannah - you get props for the most entertaining post, but no points of not actually COOKING enough... (pssss...come over to my house for some more egg rolls.)

Thanks for everything folks!

Joanne

School Birthday Treats: It's okay to rock the boat

For my mom who taught me it's okay to be different and for TR - who pushed me saying that sometimes things need to be said.

I am going to vent, just a little.

I am the mother of three small children - 5 years, 3 years, and 16 months old. One of the MOST important things to me in terms of their rearing, is what things go into their bodies. Yes, I know that many of my blog posts have been cookies and cupcakes - but in reality, my kids eat very little of them. (Friend JRC asked me, "How do you kids stay skinny when you bake like that?" Response, "They don't eat it.") Aside from the occasional birthday treat or oatmeal raisin cookies, my kids don't eat cupcakes and cookies on a regular basis. They don't eat candy on any sort of regular basis and I like it this way.

Friend TR is a child obesity expert and whenever I mention how I feel like a "mean" mom, always saying no to requests for candy, she reminds me, "Being a good parent is setting limits." When daughters get candy at birthday parties or holiday parties, I cringe inwardly, because I know that I'll be the one monitoring how much gets eaten and when. After a party, I'll allow one, and then I'll take the rest. Most recently however, daughter #1 had a HUGE BAG of candy from too many parties in a row, and I couldn't deal with the constant, "Can I have one candy today Mom" questions, because I just preferred not having to answer it. I came up with a solution - I offered two small gifts in exchange for the entire bag of candy. Daughter #1 agreed and voila! NO more candy. (Gave it far far away.)

Which brings me to the other point of this post. Daughters both attend the same school, and the school has a wellness policy - that clearly has not been adhered to this year. I was thrilled when I saw it as it clearly said, "No overly sweet snacks, no frosting, no candy, no ice cream" for birthday parties and general lunch rules. I was happy to see that the school was encouraging good healthy eating habits for its school. I was disappointed and somewhat dismayed however, when repeatedly, Daughter #1 would come home from school reporting how she had cupcakes, ice cream and candy for a child's birthday in class. Because it happened on more than one occasion, I figured out that the wellness policy was not being followed. I followed up with the head of the school. I asked that next year the wellness policy be more tightly followed and to make sure each teacher enforces it in her class.

When you have a child's birthday at school, it is so tempting to go out to your local supermarket and simply purchase cupcakes or cakes a sugary sweets to bring to share at school. It is slightly more difficult, but not much, to bring something healthier and equally enjoyable to school. Growing up, I remember being slightly embarrassed, because on my birthday, my mom would make a BEAUTIFUL vegetable plate and a delicious cream cheese dip. She would show up during the day at some point, and pass out vegetables and cream cheese dip to the tune of "Happy Birthday" and I would feel slightly odd. But the night before, my mom always assured me saying, "Don't worry. They are ALL going to eat it." And eat it they did. All of it. I even remember one kid sticking his face on the plate to lick up the remaining cream cheese dip after having finished all of his vegetables. I remember in those moments feeling a certain sense of pride at having brought something healthier and better and still enjoyable.

This year, after a slew of cupcakes, ice cream and candy handouts from Daughter #1's class at school, I committed to not making anything of the same for her birthday. I informed Daughter #1 that her birthday treat for her class would be a fruit mosaic and oatmeal raisin cookies (1 small one per child.) She looked at me with big round eyes, and asked, "You aren't making me cupcakes for my class?" and I said, "No, but you can help me design your fruit mosaic." And she did. She came up with the flower design, told me what fruits to put where and decided what fruits were going to be what part of the flower. At one totally personal brain dead moment, in a conversation with my daughter I said, "Oh no. There aren't any green fruits to use as the stem." Daughter looked at me and said, "Mom. Honeydew or grapes. But I want honey dew." It took me 25 minutes to put together the night before but it wasn't hard and it was somewhat soothing. The next day, Daughter took it somewhat apprehensively to school, but at pick up was beaming when she related to me that the two "popular" girls (who incidentally had brought cupcakes and ice cream for their own birthdays) said, "Wow! That is soooo beautiful!" As another side note, all the fruit was eaten. I encourage you, to please find other ways to celebrate your child's special days aside from sugar treats and sweets. You'd be surprise at the impact your small act an have on a few other kids.

Here are some ideas of ways you can celebrate a child's birthday in class without overstepping the bounds with sugar and artificial colors and flavors.

1. Fruit Mosaic
Here are a few samples.

This crazy artistic one was not done by me, but friend SJ who is just super artistic. I could not produce this myself. (She is also the person who first started doing these and inspired me to make these.)

This one is also done by the same fruit artist SJ.

Created by JEL for Daughter's 5th Birthday Party

I did this one for a fish themed party

This one was planned by Daughter and executed by me for her classroom party.

Made by me for Daughter's "Beary Party" (made with berries)

2. Ice cream cones (cake cones - the ones with the flat bottom) filled with fruit salad.

3. Fruit kebabs with yogurt for dipping sauce.

4. Fresh cut vegetable plate with dip (spinach or otherwise.)

5. Hummus and pita chips

6. If you want to bake something, make something small, that doesn't have chocolate.
Chewy Crispy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (only 1 per child)
Banana Muffins (make mini ones)
Pumpkin Muffins (make mini ones)
Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins (mini)
Blueberry Corn Muffins
Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Muffins

Sesame Noodles with Cilantro and Scallions: Better as it goes along

In light of summer's arrival, I thought it appropriate to search out an easy pasta salad that could be chilled and done ahead of time - and I thought of these sesame noodles. I've tried quite a few versions, including creamy ones done with peanut butter, but since Daughter #2 suffers from a peanut allergy, as do many other children, I decided that I needed to find something that was less likely to put Daughter or other children into the hospital. I've also tried a creamy version with tahini but wasn't entirely thrilled with that either. I wanted something lighter, cooler and more refreshing. I spent a bit of time fiddling with the proportions in the dressing, because I was seeking that perfect balance of salty, sweet and tart. This is one of the salads that tastes better after chilling in the fridge, so make it ahead, and relax. This would be perfect with any grilled meats or a part of any potluck.

Sesame Noodles with Cilantro and Scallions
Dressing
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I like canola)
2 tablespoons sesame oil (100% sesame oil - I prefer Kadoya brand)
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

The Rest
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup thinly chopped green onions
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Pepper to taste -if you have only adults eating, then you can also you red pepper flakes to kick up the heat
8 oz thin spaghetti or angel hair (I recommend getting Barilla's whole wheat thin spaghetti as it has enough bite to withstand the marination in dressing)
Salt for boiling the noodles

Optional Additions (choose one or more)
1/4 cup carrots, julienne
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup cucumber, julienne
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1 cup baby spinach

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. (don't forget to salt the water.) Drain pasta, but do not rinse.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat in a microwave bowl or a saucepan, honey, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar and pepper (or red pepper). This is to help melt the honey to incorporate it. (I generally just mix this up in the same pot as I had cooked the noodles - and save a dish from washing.)

3. Pour dressing all over pasta. Toss together and then add cilantro, scallions and sesame seeds. Cover and chill for a few hours.

4. If adding options, add them before serving to ensure crisp vegetables.

Printable recipe

Spice Rubbed Chicken with Honey Glaze: faster than a marinade

When I think grilling or flavor, I always think marinade. It's the first thought that crosses my mind. If we're bbqing, I think marinade. If I want flavor, I think marinade, which is why many of my recipes ask for a marinade. But I thought I'd mix things up and try a new technique for flavor - and that is the rub. It's not a new technique for many, but for me, it was the first time and I was a bit apprehensive.

I was inspired by a recipe in Cooking Light magazine that called for a spice rub and then finished off with a honey vinegar glaze. I thought I'd take the same concept and try a spice mixture that appealed to my kids and use the honey glaze. Their recipe asked for a broiler and I also was curious about grilling it on the bbq. I did both versions and both were equally good. I did slightly prefer the grill (only because I am a grill girl after all) but not by any significant amount to make it absolutely imperative that the food gets grilled. So feel free to put it in the broiler and enjoy it.

This pairs excellently with Sesame Noodles with Cilantro and Scallion

Spiced Rubbed Chicken with Honey Glaze (adapted from Cooking Light magazine)
Makes 12 chicken thighs (about 6 servings, 2 thighs each.)

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 cloves of garlic minced or crushed
2 tablespoons of paprika
1 teaspooon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (add more or less if you are concerned about the spiciness)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablepoons olive oil

1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

Broiler (oven) instructions
1. Preheat broiler.

2. Mix garlic, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well. Add chicken thighs and rub well so that the mixture coats all the chicken pieces evenly. (I use a disposable glove as I don't love rubbing up close to raw chicken.)

3. On a foil lined broiler pan, lay the chicken pieces. Broil until chicken is cooked - about 5 minutes per side. (I actually forgot to flip it and it was fine in there for 10 minutes, but watch your oven carefully as mine is not as hot as I think it is.)

4. While chicken is cooking, mix together honey and vinegar. If it doesn't mix well, you can microwave it for about 15 seconds to loosen things up.

5. Remove chicken from oven. Brush chicken with honey vinegar glaze. Cook for 1-2 minutes more.

6. Place chicken on a plate and drizzle remaining honey vinegar sauce on top.

BBQ grill instructions

1. Mix garlic, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well. Add chicken thighs and rub well so that the mixture coats all the chicken pieces evenly. (I use a disposable glove as I don't love rubbing up close to raw chicken.)

2. On the grill, place chicken over medium high heat. Cook about 5-7 minutes on each side.

3. While chicken is cooking, mix the vinegar and honey together.

4. Brush the honey vinegar glaze over the chicken pieces. Cook for an additional minute.

5. Plate chicken and drizzle remaining honey glaze over the chicken.

Printable recipe

Chicken with Sesame Noodles

Meal in a Muffin: a muffin shaped calzone

In the continuation of my attempts with homemade pizza dough, I made for daughters and me a muffin shaped calzone. The only thing that makes this remotely muffin is that it is baked in a muffin pan. I'm not exactly sure if it is better to bake in the muffin pan but it certainly is interesting. Since I am a muffin morpher (doffins and chuffins) I figured why not mealuffins? (A meal in a muffin) It's really the only reason why I made them in this shape and most likely I wouldn't do it again. I think I would have preferred just the regular calzone shape for ease, but it was fun making the muffin shapes just for presentation.

The idea is off of epicurious.com and it is taken from Cookie, the magazine. I didn't do anything close to the original in terms of filling and just filled it with things from my fridge that I thought would go nicely together. I did a garlic spinach ricotta mozzarella marinara sauce filling...wow a mouthful to write and just as much of a mouthful to eat.

I found working with the leftover pizza dough from yesterday's post really easy - it was stiffer after it been in the fridge, but I just let it warm up a bit until it was pliable. Today, for more a more uniform shape, I opted to use a rolling pin to get the dough into round disks. It was a breeze to work with and I thought it was nice having the dough all ready and all it required of me was to stuff.

Spinach, Sausage, Ricotta, Mozzarella Mealuffins
Makes 8

8 golf ball size portions of pizza dough
8 oz baby spinach
2 sausages diced
4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1 tablespoon of milk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375.

In a frying pan, over medium heat, cook sausage in garlic and olive oil. Add spinach and cook until wilted.

Roll out 8 pieces of pizza dough into 5 inch diameter disks, about 1/4 inch thick.

Grease muffin tin. Place each disk into individual muffin tins. In each dough-lined cup, put 1 tablespoon marinara. Then place 2 tablespoons of sausage spinach mixture, 1 tablespoon ricotta, and 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese. Seal up the dough.

Mix together egg and milk. Brush the eggwash mixture on each mealuffin.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until outside is golden brown. Serve with extra marinara (my kids wanted it) if desired.

Printable recipe

This is a photo step by step for those who like visuals.

Golf ball sized balls of dough. (avocado is there as a size reference)

Flattened dough being filled with delicious fillings.

Mealuffins sealed and brushed with egg. Don't they look like Chinese Bao? I started laughing.

This is another shape I attempted - a more potsticker top in its styling.A mealuffin cut open.

Parmesean Crusted Flatbreads with Antipasta Salad: Storing Dough in the Fridge

For JRC who proved me wrong, yet again.

I hate being wrong. I really do hate it. I loathe it, despise it and avoid it all costs.

I have a friend, actually a cyber friend, a woman whom I've never met. (we communicate through facebook, and MSN chat quite a bit - I've "known" her for 4 years now...WOW) She has, however, met my husband and taken him shopping for diamonds to go on my finger which he bought, in her presence, therefore making her my friend. HAHA. She is the person who regularly proves me wrong but when she proves me wrong, I'm actually pretty happy about it. She is the whole reason I got on Facebook when I adamantly swore I would never because I thought it was horrible (you all know I'm an addict now, right?) and she is the reason that I made this bread. She has been going on and on about the greatness of pizza dough that she made, and all the great uses she could get out of it. I listened, but in the back of my mind thought, I can get pizza dough pre-made from Trader Joe's or elsewhere - WHY BOTHER. But since she has regularly proven me wrong, I gave in and said WHY NOT.

And now, I ask myself, WHY DID I WAIT THIS LONG? Making breads at home is fun and easy and dare I say it - totally worth it! And this is the first post of many where I will be using the this olive oil master dough, and turning it into many other things. This master dough recipe comes from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. This book will change the way you think about baking bread - and turns it into something that is doable, non-challenging and fun.

Olive Oil Master Dough (from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)
Makes 4 1lb loaves. This recipe is easily doubled or halved
 
2 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (I bought the Fleishman's Yeast in a jar, and then stored it in my fridge after opening)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar (I substituted 2 tablespoons of honey)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used 4 cups regular unbleached all purpose flour and 2 1/2 cups whole wheat white flour)

1. Mix the yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil with the water in a 5-qt bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2. Mix in the flour without kneading, using a large wooden spoon. (because of my hand problem, I did use my stand mixer with the dough hook. You do NOT need a stand mixer, just mix with a large wooden spoon.)
3. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. It will rise and get super big. You can use the dough at this point, or refrigerate and use over next 12 days.To make one flatbread, pinch off a grapefruit sized piece of dough. When you do this, your dough will deflate. This is okay, as it will rise again later. Loosely cover and refrigerate the rest to use over the next 12 days. (or less if you are a motivated flatbread maker like me!)
** Preparation tip - make this Sunday night, after the kids are in bed...it'll take you 15 minutes to make. Let it rise and then stick it in the fridge to have hand for the week of food you can make with it.


Antipasti Salad Flatbread
Serves 4

The actual inspiration for the topping of the flatbread came from my fridge - it's what was inside. I had some mozzarella cheese, some salami, basil, cherry tomatoes, and arugula - all leftover, and it sounded like a good combination to put together. Play around with the flavors of what goes on top and don't be limited by this recipe - try new things and new flavors to put together.

1 grapefruit sized chunk of olive oil master dough (put the rest in the fridge, loosely covered.)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/4 lb salami
4 cups of arugula
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup basil, chiffonade
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 500. Place inside the oven an inverted baking sheet. (If you have a pizza stone, good for you!) You want this baking sheet to get good and hot so that you can crisp and brown the bottom.

2. Lightly flour your work surface and the grapefruit ball of dough. Gently work the dough. If the dough has been refrigerated, it may need 10 minutes or so to warm up slightly to be more pliable. If it is dough that has been freshly made, then it should be easy enough. You want to stretch and work the dough as thin as possible. I figure out towards the end the best technique of doing this - and that is using two fists under the dough and gently working it. I wasn't too concerned about the shape because I figured I could cut it into squares neatly for serving later. I had some tears which wasn't ideal, but didn't stress out about it. When the dough is ready, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and place the dough on top. (I heard a soft sizzling sound which made me feel good for some reason.)
3. Brush olive oil on top of the bread. Sprinkle evenly with the mozzarella cheese.

4. Put inverted baking sheet back into the oven. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until golden brown and lovely.

5. In a mixing bowl, mix cherry tomatoes (cut in half if necessary), basil, salami, and arugula. Quickly whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Toss all together and salt and pepper to taste.

6. Cut flatbreads into attractive shapes. Portion the salad on top. Serve and enjoy!


Printable recipe

A Princess Butterfly Ball: Party Ideas

For the entire "R" family, who drove 11 hours to come and for JRC who told me to write this.

I really love planning birthdays for my girls. I wrote about a Yellow Birthday Party which was for Daughter #2 and last week had birthday party for Daughter #1, a Princess Butterfly Ball.

I decided that this party would NOT be a luncheon -because I had to focus on the crafts and the decorations more for this one than I did for the Yellow Birthday party.

The kids menu was:
Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting or chocolate ganache frosting
Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting or chocolate ganache frosting
I experimented with fondant for the first time. I bought the wiltons, premixed, prepackaged one in pink, and rolled it out and cut tiny stars from it. I would have preferred a crown or a butterfly (to go with my theme) but did not have a chance to find it. It was a nice decorative touch, although I personally find fondant not so delicious. (the kids really liked eating it)

Butterfly Fruit Mosaic
This was made by friend JEL who had promised to make it for me after I helped her with her son's fishing party. Isn't it just gorgeous? (Again, fruit mosaics can take on a number of different forms and ideas...don't be afraid to experiment.)


I had an adult snack table -which COMPLETELY was not used until the end of the party because I had made it a drop-off optional party, and at the last minute, many parents chose to drop off. I'm sure if I had the chance I would have also. Again, I kept it simple, but satisfying. I definitely think it was nice having a separate adult table on which to graze.

Salami and brie cheese and crackers
Guacamole and chips
Crispy Chewy Oatmeal Toffee Chip Cookies


WARNING - What you are about to read next is NOT related to food, but simply about the entire party. I'm perhaps overstepping my bounds here as a food blogger, by describing the entire party, but I've had more than a few requests of people asking me for my ideas. I'm happy to have people take this exact party, pick it up and stick it in their own house - because no one should have to reinvent the wheel.

I do love going overboard and doing things to excess - and I'm really good at it...HA. Daughter #1 wanted an incredibly feminine girly party, so we invited all the girls from her class as well as a few special guests. I decided on this Princess Butterfly Ball theme, mainly because there was a decoration I really wanted to do - and it had butterflies on it. I also thought I might gag from the girliness of a purely princess party, so mixing it up with the bugs helped me relax a bit.

I made my own decorations - with ideas gotten from Martha Stewart. Mind you, I'm not a crafty person but I do enjoy feeling like I am. Therefore, I choose foolproof decoration ideas, so I can make them and feel successfully crafty without feeling like an idiot at the end of it. My point is this, anyone can feel crafty if they choose the right craft. (anyone can do the crafts i have done) Here is the room and how I decorated.
Close up of the decorations - butterfly lanterns and circle streamers (both from Martha Stewart) You will need a circle cutter (a really fun, cool tool) and a small hole punch for the streamers craft. The lanterns only requires you to choose some nice paper, print out the template and attach them to lanterns. Self adhesive dots, or "zots" make this a very simple activity.




I had five main activities planned for this 2 1/2 hour party and this is the order in which I executed. (1-3:30 to avoid the lunch issue.)

1. Make your own goody bags
2. Treasure hunt
3. Jewelry making
4. curtsy line
5. dance party

1. Make your own goody bags
I simply purchased clear bags (but you could easily do this with regular paper bags or plain gift bags) and had the girls cover them with the foam stickers you find at Michaels or JoAnn's Fabrics. They also have a selection available on amazon.com. The girls always love finding the perfect sticker and placing them on their bags. Total time: 15 minutes





2. Treasure hunt
This is actually a great activity because it uses up a lot of time and is just an extra activity that they LOVE. Just think of how much your child likes an easter egg hunt and this has that same feel. Rather that stuffing goody bags before the party, what I do is individually wrap goody bag items, and then use them for the treasure hunt. They kids don't really care what is inside but rather just get excited about the fact that they can hunt for treasure. I also do it as a "fair" treasure hunt where the kids have to bring all their finds back to one central location (me with a box) and then continuing to hunt. Later on in the party, I had my sister in law sort them and then we put them into the goody bags while the kids were eating cake. The treasures this year were fruit rolls, granola bars, boxes of raisins, pencils and erasers. (I had 16 of each of those items.) Total time: 20 minutes

This is a picture of the girls running around looking for treasure. The tended to mob certain areas altogether.

3. Jewelry Making
I am actually thrilled with the way this one turned out. It was an easy craft for me to decide upon, only because I had some of the materials already. But I bought, on sale, over the past few months, beads. I got a huge pink "bead box" for $6 (originally $10 but had a 40% off coupon at Michaels) and that was my foundation. Then I bought a few other small packs of beads - whatever was on sale.

I also bought memory wire, which is sold in coils and just used my cutters to cut them into the appropriate lengths. Then I had the girls string up their beads - and I would help them finish it off. This does require a bit of practice, because you have to be decent at using the jewelry pliers so that the kids don't lose it. Most of the girls had enough patience to finish BOTH a necklace and a bracelet and were all excited to do it. Total time: 45 minutes

These are some of the finished bracelets and necklaces. Aren't they so pretty?


4. Curtsy Line
As this was a princess butterfly ball, I had the idea that kids should curtsy before entering the ballroom (the living room where we were going to dance) I just had the kids line up and I showed them what I wanted them to do, and got them all lined up and each child walked up and curtsied as I announced them into the ball. For some reason, this was SOOO fun to the girls and it was really interesting watching them do their bows and curtsies. Total time: 10 minutes

5. Dancing
I simply wanted the girls to dance, but after sitting down and working on their jewelry for so long, they were clearly hyper. More than dancing there was a lot of screaming and jumping up and down - all fun, but REALLY loud. Husband got distressed at this point and quickly put an end to it. I actually think we could have gone for a good 15 minutes on it, but we ended it once there was too much screaming. Total time: 7 minutes.

The final parting gift, along with their goody bags was a CD that I burned with a bunch of princess butterfly songs. It was MUCH more interesting making Daughter #2's yellow CD - which was a selection of songs that had the word yellow in it. The Princess Butterfly Ball CD ended up being a collection of Disney songs, but the kids still loved it.

Corn Salad with Basil and Tomatoes: Easy and great for entertaining

For JJ who told me about it and for BKS who told her

I think that one of the most wonderful thing about recipes is that a lot of things are word of mouth - which means a lot of things are open to interpretation. This recipe is one that I've created based on a description that my friend, JJ, gave me. She had gotten the recipe from another friend, BKS. JJ described it as a "corn salad with tomatoes, basil and a a red wine and honey dressing." It sounded great to me, so I told myself I'd make it the next time I had some corn.

A week later, I had some leftover corn on the cob which I had steamed, sitting in the fridge. I gave it a quick look and decided to turn it into the salad - and I did and it was sooo yummy...but - sometimes corn on the cob is a pain to cut off all the kernels (okay not sometimes - ALL THE TIME) so I decided to give it a whirl using just plain frozen corn kernels. I did and although it didn't have the same chewy bite as the corn on the cob version, it was still a great salad and would be great next to the ribs, ginger soy chicken, or the flank steak. Now, I have no idea if this is anywhere close to the version my friend described to me, but it really isn't important, because this one is pretty tasty.

Corn Salad with Basil and Tomatoes
serves 5

16 oz frozen corn kernels (I like the white corn kernels at Trader Joe's) or 4 corn on the cob, steamed, kernels removed with a knife
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, and 1 tablespoon for cooking
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a heavy frypan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoons of olive oil and add shallots. Cook briefly and then add corn. Saute corn until all kernels are heated through and warm. Remove from heat. Cool briefly.

Mix 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and honey together in a bowl.

Add tomatoes and basil to corn. Toss with the dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature. (you can even serve it cold although I don't think it tastes as good.)

Printable recipe