The toaster oven is one of the most versatile appliances to have in the kitchen. In college, I would use my toaster oven for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and pizza bagels were always a favorite and easy recipe–bagels, marinara sauce and cheese, it really didn’t get any easier than that. Blogger Bellpeppers & Bokchoy has taken that simple idea up a couple of notches by making Spinach, Prosciutto and Garlic Pizza Bagels in the toaster oven! How perfect for a portable picnic!

Bellpeppers & Bokchoy says: “My suggestion is to toast the bagels once before you put the toppings & sauce on, otherwise it gets kinda soggy. after that, roughly chop a couple of cloves of garlic, and the prosciutto. Throw the garlic in a hot pan with a bit of olive oil in it and let it saute for a few minutes. Then add the prosciutto and let it get crispy. Add the spinach at the very end, as it cooks really quickly. If you notice the mixture getting dry, rinse the spinach right before you throw it in the pan to add some moisture.”

Black and Decker 4 Slice Stainless Steel Toaster Oven

Oster Inspire Convection Stainless Steel Toaster Oven

It’s fall and all my favorite TV shows are officially back in session! That means staying in and catching all my favorite shows. There’s no better food to nosh on than pizza, and this Caesar Salad Pizza from Annie’s Eats looks too good. Here are her directions:

For the crust:*
1½ cups warm water (105-115˚ F)
5 tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast
2 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for brushing
2 tsp. honey
4-5 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. semolina flour (optional)
1 tsp. coarse salt
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
¼ cup coarse cornmeal
Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

For the dressing:
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 anchovy fillet
2 large eggs, beaten (or ½ cup pasteurized egg product)
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad:
1 large head romaine lettuce, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Garlic croutons
Parmesan shavings

Directions:
To make the crust, combine the water, yeast, olive oil, honey, and 3 cups of the flour in the bowl of a mixer (KitchenAid Professional 620 Stand Mixer, Satin Copper) fitted with a dough hook.

KitchenAid Professional 620 Stand Mixer, Satin Copper

Add the semolina flour, salt, and red pepper flakes; mix on low speed until combined.  Add in 1 more cup of the flour and mix until a soft dough comes together.  Mix on low speed about 5 minutes to knead.  Add additional flour, 1-2 tablespoons at a time as needed until the dough is smooth and tacky but not sticky.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover and let rise at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.

Coat 2 baking sheets with olive oil.  Sprinkle the sheets with cornmeal.  Preheat the oven to 450˚ F.  (You can also use a baking stone, preheating it with the oven – no need to oil.  Sprinkle with cornmeal just before adding the crusts.)  Divide the dough into four equal pieces, transfer to a work surface, cover with a damp towel and let rest 10-15 minutes.  Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 hours.

With a rolling pin (OXO Plastic Rolling Pin) on a lightly floured surface, flatten each dough ball into an 8-inch circle.

OXO Plastic Rolling Pin

Brush (Cuisinart Basting Brush) each dough round lightly with olive oil.

Cuisinart Basting Brush

Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan.

Transfer to the prepared baking sheet or stone and bake until browned and crisp, about 10-15 minutes.

To make the dressing, combine the garlic, anchovy, eggs, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and mustard int he bowl of a food processor.  Process until smooth.  With the processor running, add the olive oil through the feed tube in a thin, steady stream.  Pour the dressing into a bowl, stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make the salad, combine the lettuce and cherry tomatoes in a large bowl.  Drizzle with some of the dressing and toss to coat; add more dressing as needed.  Place a generous amount of salad on top of each warm pizza crust.  Top with croutons and Parmesan shavings, and freshly ground pepper if desired.

*For thin crusts, halve the amount of dough but roll to the same diameter.  They will need less time to bake.

A $20 cast iron skillet will last a lifetime. I like those numbers!

Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

Perfection: home fries and over easy eggs cooked in a cast iron skillet. The Parsley Thief makes a ho-hum breakfast into something really beautiful with her simple recipe and drool-worthy pictures. The Parsley Thief’s cooking instructions below:

“Begin by peeling 1 1/2 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes. Cut them into 1/2″ pieces & add them to a pot. Fill the pot with water & bring it to a boil. Simmer them for just 3 minutes. You just want them parboiled & not cooked all the way through.”

“Drain them & heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil to the skillet, add in the potatoes & arrange them in a single layer. Let them sizzle away, undisturbed for 5 minutes, or until they begin to brown. Give them a toss, arrange them back into a single layer & cook for another 5 minutes.
Once they begin to get golden, crack 2 eggs {gently} over the top. If you want the yolk to stay perfectly in tact, you can crack them into a small bowl first.”

It sounds unconventional, but Panini Press Brownies are an awesome idea! I saw this recipe on Panini Happy and flipped, because it gives me a reason for the homemade blueberry syrup I wrote about earlier, too! Panini Happy’s picture alone makes my mouth water.

Panini Happy’s Directions:

Brownies:

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat panini grill to 300 degrees.

Try, Cuisinart Griddler Panini Maker

Cook sugar, butter and water in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils.  Remove from heat.  Immediately stir in chocolate chips, stirring until melted.  Stir in egg and vanilla until blended.  Combine flour and baking soda; add to chocolate mixture.

Spoon brownie batter onto the panini grill in 8 equal portions (depending on the size of your grill, you may need to do this in batches).  Close the lid of the grill, leaving about 1/4″ of space between the brownies and the upper grates.  Grill for 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a brownie comes out clean.  Carefully remove brownies from the grill (they will be a bit soft).

To assemble each sundae sandwich: Scoop frozen yogurt on top of one brownie.  Sprinkle nuts on top of the frozen yogurt.  Close sandwich with another brownie.  Drizzle blueberry balsamic syrup over the top and finish with a dollop of whipped cream.

My husband does most of the cooking in this house because he actually enjoys doing it —  and is quite incredible at it.  I am one of the only wives I know that comes home from work to a hot dinner, and when I say dinner I am talking everything from chicken cordon bleu to moussaka to slow roasted pork.  But I feel bad about letting him do all the cooking, so I’ve been trying to learn to cook (I can do the basics, but not much more).

One night I was trying to think of something that I might be able to make on my own.  After looking at a number of recipes online it sounded like a casserole could be doable.  I combined that with my love of Mexican Food and came up with a really easy Mexican Nacho Casserole that I am sure anyone could make!  I’ll give you the recipe, but honestly a big part of this can be experimentation, as its quite easy and you won’t screw things up if you change the ingredients around a bit!

KitchenAid 2-pc. Santoku Knife Set

Kohl’s

$29.99

The first step is too cook some chicken.  You can either cook whole chicken breasts or you can use a good knife, like a santoku, to chop them into pieces before you cook.  You can start by just adding a little bit of olive oil or cooking oil to a pan before you put the chicken in.  You can add your own seasonings, or if you are like me and don’t even really know what to use, you can fill the pan with a little bit of water and then pour in a package of fajita or taco seasoning mix!  I recommend waiting until the chicken is mostly cooked to the do this. 

While you’re cooking the chicken, pre-heat the oven to 350.  While the chicken is simmering a bit in the seasoning mix, chop some onions and throw in the pan.  They’ll cook down a lot, so if you are a new cook, I’d use more onion then you think you need because you’ll see how little you’re left with after they cook down.

Take a square casserole dish and spray the bottom a little bit with some Pam.  Then pour a can of black beans into the bottom.  Crush up about 1/3-1/2 of a bag of Tostitos (or other tortilla chip) and cover the beans with a layer of the chips.  Now pour your chicken on top of the chips.  If you cooked the chicken as whole breasts, I recommend shredding the chicken instead of chopping (but either will work).  Spoon a liberal amount of salsa on top of the chicken.  If you like jalapeno peppers, you can also add some to this layer. 

Now take a cheese grater and grate about 1 cup of cheese.  I use either cheddar, or a spicier cheese like jalepeno jack.  You can also cut down on your workload by buying pre-shredded cheese, in which case I recommend a Mexican blend (most of the supermarkets have them).  Take half a cup of the cheese and sprinkle it on over the chicken and salsa layer.  The either crush or lay flat the remainder of the bag of Tostitos onto the top of your dish.  Sprinkle the remaining half of the cheese on top of the chips and bake. 

Since the chicken is already cooked, you’re mostly heating this dish as opposed to truly needing to bake it, so you can bake anywhere from 10-20 minutes. 

I like to serve this with some sour cream and guacamole, but its really quite good without it.  To review, here are all the ingredients you’ll need:

-Cooking oil
-1 regular jar of Salsa
-Chicken breasts (I’d recommend 1 per person you are serving)
-1 cup of cheese, shredded (or more if you like a super melty dish)
-1 can of black beans
-1/2 an onion
-A bag of tostitos
-Sour cream & pre-made guacamole (I love the one from Costco) to top

Good luck and have fun!

Chorizo and Eggs | photo: Cooking with Lady Bez

Lately we’ve been cooking in my house with chorizo.  Chorizo, according to Wikipedia.com can refer to many different types of pork sausage, depending on the country of origin.  I am referring to Spanish or Portugese chorizo, which typically has dried smoked red peppers in it.  It’s not a fennel filled sausage like you’d have with your pasta, instead it has a mildly spicy flavor and you might recognize it if you have eaten paella (which is the only dish I’d ever had it before).

My husband I and discovered that chorizo can be used in lots of different types of cooking however.  Last night, we used a Food Processor to grind up the chorizo into a kind of ground meat, and then we mixed it with ground beef to make meatloaf.  We’ve also done something similar with our hamburgers, and the Chorizo just gives the burger a great little kick. 

You can also add Chorizo to eggs.  For an omelette, I wouldn’t recommend grinding up the Chorizo, I’d just use a Santoku and chop the chorizo into small pieces and add it to the omelette.  You can also use a cheese like queso blanco or pepperjack cheese for a more mexican style omelette. 

One of my favorite things to do with chorizo is to slice it really thin like pepperoni and put it on a pizza.  We bought a pizza stone from King Arthur Flour (one of my favorite speciality cooking & baking stores on the web) and it makes it very easy to prepare your own pizza at home, which is nice for someone like me, since I have celiac disease and can not have regular pizza (I have to make it with gluten free pizza dough). 

I am sure there are people who do even more interesting things with chorizo then we do, but if you’re just starting out with this ingredient, I think the four recipe ideas I’ve given you should provide plenty of rave reviews from you and your family and friends!

Check out this  Vogue Hommes Japan cover with Lady Gaga covered in beef–I bet they used one mighty big butcher block for all that meat! Lady Gaga is so outrageous!

Here at Cooking & Blogging, our minds went straight to the red meat draped over Gaga. Really, did they use this huge John Boos Counter Butcher Block?  Because there is no way some poor intern sliced up that beef on John Boos Maple butcher block!

John Boos Cucina Grande Butcher Block Top Kitchen Island

Anyway, I haven’t had a really good steak in a while, and am fixing to make a juicy one. It’s raining here in Los Angeles, and there is no better comfort food.

Trissalicious has the right idea–a porterhouse steak with garlic chips, fingerling potatoes and warm crusty bread.

Steak with Garlic Chips by Trissalicious

How great does this look? I’ve never had garlic chips, but I just love the way they taste in my head!

Beef with Garlic Chips
* 300 grams porterhouse steak (or other good quality cut)
* 2 plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
* salt and pepper to taste
* 3 large garlic cloves, finely sliced

1. Marinate the steak with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce for 30 minutes
2. Heat the pan over high heat and sear the beef on each side for around 3 minutes each side (depending on the size of the steak)
3. Allow the steak to rest for half of the cooking time.
4. In the meantime, heat the rest of the olive oil and add the garlic. Fry off until golden brown.
5. Pour the garlic chips and flavoured oil over the steak. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve with baked potatoes or warm crusty bread.

Aimee Wimbush Borque from Simple Bites uploaded this amazing recipe along with images for Homemade Blueberry Syrup. Jams and preserves, yes, but I never thought to make syrup! Imagine pancakes and waffles on winter mornings and the familiar summer taste of blueberries to remind you of warm weather past!

Homemade Blueberry Syrup

Makes about 4 cups.

* 5 cups organic blueberries, washed
* 3 cups water
* 1 cup Turbinado sugar, firmly packed (or white sugar)
* 1 organic lemon, whole, washed

1. Using a sharp paring knife, peel three or four strips of lemon peel from the lemon. Skin should be about 1/2 inch wide and not have too much of the bitter pith or white part on it. Then juice the lemon, and set both zest and juice aside.
2. Place blueberries and 1 cup of the water in a medium pot. Don’t worry about stems or leaves; they will be strained out later. Using a potato masher, crush the berries.

3. Over medium-high heat, bring the berries and water to a boil, then lower the temperature to medium-low. Simmer berries for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. They will darken considerably.
4. Remove pot from heat and ladle berries into a fine sieve set over a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup. Using the back of a smaller ladle, press on the berry solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard solids.

5. Wash out your pot, then add the remaining 2 cups of water, lemon peel (not juice yet), and the sugar. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly for about 15 minutes until the mixture thickens (or reaches 225°F).
6. Add blueberry juice and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and stir to combine. Boil another minute or two. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove lemon zest.
7. Using a funnel, pour syrup into clean jars. Top with lid and store in the refrigerator for up to six months.

Serve the syrup or honey table top with a really chic Honey and Syrup Dispenser.

WMF Kult Honey and Syrup Dispenser.

My friend Bobby loves Lo Ro Fan. It’s a dish I never tried until very recently. In this fantastic post, Jessica from Food Mayhem lays out the recipe with step by step picture instructions for a Taiwanese food newbie like myself. It’s a perfect mix of textures (crispy chunks of pork belly, crunchy greens, all atop a bed of fluffy rice), temperatures and sweet and savory flavors.

Here are Jessica’s images and recipe:

Lo Ro Fan

Instructions -

1. Dice pork belly in 1/2″ cubes. Set aside.
2. Make a sachet with ginger, star anise, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok (like this T-Fal 14″ Wok) on medium heat. Add pork belly and stir until just turning color.
4. Stir in soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. Add the sachet and 2 cups of water (I like to use OXO Steel Measuring Cups). Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
5. Allow to boil for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with fried shallots and Chinese 5 spice powder. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 1 hour, or until meat is tender. Remove sachet. Serve on rice with pickled mustard green relish.

Diced Pork Belly

Ginger, Anise, Cinnamon

Bobby doesn’t use a sachet and instead just picks the ginger, anise and cinnamon out of the simmering pork belly mixture. It’s up to you!

Hands down, my favorite thing from Mediterranean cuisine has got to be Tzatziki sauce; the cool yogurt, the crisp cucumber pieces and flavorful garlic all meld into one of the most versatile dips ever. I put it on my hamburgers, use it as dip for chips, and over course with lots and lots of warm pita bread.

I always end up paying some premium prices for it at organic stores or buying it at restaurants. With this super simple Tzatziki recipe, I may start making it from home!

• 1 pound of cucumbers, ends removed and sliced lengthwise (6 “baby” cucumbers)
• 2 cups of strained yogurt (Greek or otherwise)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced fine
• 1 large handful of dill, minced
• Juice of one lemon

PROCEDURES

1. With a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds of the cucumbers. You should be left with a neat half-moon shape. Slice them thin, but not paper-thin—they should still have some crunch.
2. Add the cucumbers to a mixing bowl along with the rest of the ingredients. Taste for acid and seasoning, then either serve, or (preferably) cover and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Recipe and image via Serious Eats

And here are a couple of items that will help you achieve a perfect tzatziki sauce, and my personal favorites for kitchen items:

A sharp knife is always necessary to prevent any accidents in the kitchen!

Global 2-Piece Knife Set, G-5838

Chef n’ Fresh Force Citrus Juicers from Sur la Table

Williams-Sonoma Garlic Press