When I Grow Up: Grilled Pear & Bacon Pizza with Balsamic Reduction

1. Dolphin Trainer
2. Jazz Singer
3. MAC Make-up Counter Woman that sprays you with perfume
4. Famous food blogger

So went the list of jobs we would have if money was no object, talents endless, and our lives different. We were five women in a minivan (so hot), headed away from the reality of our lives and towards Walla Walla, WA for a weekend of food, wine, and general gluttony (with a little karaoke and dancing thrown in for good measure).

Becky, Erina, Andrea, and Anna-Lea at Saviah Cellars (so good!) The Lovely Ila must be taking the pic.

TruCellars

 You can just imagine how many stops five women require (there’s coffee, snacks, and the comically unending stream of “10 minute warning until I need the loo!” shout-outs). Fortunately, one of those stops included Wine O’Clock in Prosser, WA. Once we got ourselves off the highway and began the highly sophisticated process of “follow the dot, follow the dot…nope, we’re going away from the dot…turn around” iPhone navigating, we finally found it. It is a darling spot and an excellent way to break up the drive. The wines are sold at retail prices, so they are very affordable and the menu itself boasts a great selection.

Perhaps the best item on the menu is their sweet and savory pizza, a pear, bacon, and cheese concoction that absolutely delights.

Having returned home and (not-so) stealthily snuck all my wine into the house so Matt wouldn’t see it, I set about re-creating this. The combination of the sweet pear, with the salty bacon, and pungent sheepsmilk is an absolute hit.  Throw that on top of a store-bought dough and you’ll seem pulled together and glamorous enough to maybe be one step closer to your dream job…whatever it may be.

Grilled Pear & Bacon Pizza with Balsamic Reduction

Grilled Pear & Bacon Pizza

1 store bought pizza dough, thawed and allowed to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes

8 pieces bacon

1 medium Walla Walla Sweet Onion, sliced into thin rings

3/4 TB Brown Sugar

1/3 lb cheese (you can do different options here. A gorgonzola would be good, although I opted for something a bit subtler and did a raw cowsmilk cheese from Switzerland that has some bite, but isn’t overpoweringly stinky)

2 pears, ripe but firm

4 TB Olive Oil

Balsamic Reduction Sauce

1. Cook the bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and set on paper towels to absorb grease. Coarsely chop. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, on very low heat in a small frying pan, cook the onions and brown sugar in 1 TB of olive oil until soft and carmelized. About 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
3. Shred the cheese and thinly slice the pear. Set aside.
4. Turn your grill on, and get as hot as possible.
5. Divide the dough in half and on a floured surface roll out until about 1 cm thick.
6. Brush one side with 1 TB olive oil, reduce flame on grill to medium, and put on grill, oil side down. Close top and cook 3-4 minutes until golden and puffing up. Remove from grill, brush 1 TB oil on un-grilled side, and put on a plate, grill marks up.
   

   One-Side Grilled, One-Side To Go

7. Brush remaining 1 TB olive oil on top of pizza and top with cheese, carmelized onions, bacon, and pear. Return to grill and cook another 3-4 minutes.
8. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Drizzle with Balsamic Reduction Sauce if you like and enjoy.

Day 5: Quiche Lorraine and Locust Pose

Quiche Lorraine

Forget Eat. Breathe. Love.

Try Eat. SWEAT. Love.

Today I did yoga with my lovely friend Angela, at Bikram Yoga Renton, aka The Hot One. And hot it is. The room is 105 degrees with 40% humidity, and the class is 90 minutes. I’m not sure when the last time I was silent for 90 minutes save sleeping was, and I wouldn’t say I exactly got a gold star today as I did get sternly hushed at our first water break for looking over at Angela and quietly whispering, “This is insane!”

Insane it is…but it also felt great to stretch and strengthen in ways I never have before. The added bonus? Rumor has it each class burns between 600 and 900 calories, which means I felt totally justified in my craving for burgers and beers afterward. I did abstain, since I’m still trying to stick to my booze-free-month, but the Quiche Lorraine I had made this morning was a close runner-up.

You can make this with homemade pie crust, or for a quick fix use puff pastry as I did here. Below recipe is for a traditional quiche but I also did these as mini quiches in muffin tins this weekend and they were just as yummy.

Quiche Lorraine

Great for breakfast, or serve with a simple salad for a light lunch or dinner.
Serves 6

Flaky Pastry Dough or One Sheet Puff Pastry, thawed and rolled out to 12 inches by 12 inches

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup half and half

3/4 cup fat free milk

Generous grating of salt and pepper

Dash of dill

4 slices bacon, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 oz goat cheese, loosely crumbled

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees, and position one rack in the middle and one closer to the top.
2. Prepare pie dish by lightly greasing with vegetable oil or cooking spray.
3. Lay pie crust across, turn edges in, and gently crimp
4. In a medium mixing bowl add the eggs, cream, milk, salt, pepper, and dill. Mix well until slightly frothy.
5. Sprinkle the goat cheese evenly across the bottom of the pie dish.
   
6. Follow with the bacon.
7. Pour the egg mixture over the bacon and cheese.
8. Add quiche to oven’s middle rack and cook for 25 minutes.
9. After 25 minutes move to upper rack, increase heat to 400 degrees, and cook another 10-15 minutes or until filling is nicely browned and set.
10. Allow to stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.
    

D- Seattle Summer…D- : Velvet Corn Soup with Crab and Bacon

You Call This Summer?

For those of you who live in Seattle, I think you will agree this has been a crap summer weather-wise. Granted, we were spoiled last year with weeks on end of perfect, sunny days and cool, clear nights, but this summer with its cold, rain, wind, and gray has been the sort of thing that gives our fair city a bad rep.

I’ve done my best to ignore the weather, cheerfully trudging through the rain with Onca the Cane Corso Mastiff in tow, but with Labor Day Weekend coming to a close and the rain pattering away outside the windows, I finally gave up and did what to me signifies surrender to Fall more than anything else. I made soup.

I’ll admit it, it was very fun to get chopping onions again, hear butter sizzling in skillets, and enjoy the changing of the culinary seasons. For me, each season signifies such different styles of food, and Fall is all about hearty soups, crusty breads, indulgent veggies, and big bold red wines.

This soup, adapted from Food & Wine, is quite indulgent, even after I made some modifications to make it simpler and more week night friendly such as substituting fresh corn of the cob with the frozen variety and swapping out prosciutto for bacon. It smells delicious, and for those of you that are lactose intolerant (or married to someone who is, ahem, ahem) the eggs in this soup give it a creaminess you’d swear was provided by a bovine dependent ingredient.

Make this soup when you’ve decided to give in to the Seasons changing, but are determined to go down in style.

Velvet Corn Soup with Crab and Bacon

Serves 4. Pair with a big, bold red such as a Malbec and a side of crusty bread and butter.

2 tablespoons salted butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, minced

Salt

1 lb frozen corn

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1/3 cup dry white wine

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock

4 strips bacon, cooked and coarsely chopped

2 large eggs

2 scallions, thinly sliced

12 ounces lump crabmeat, picked over

Chile oil, for drizzling

In a large pot, melt the butter in the vegetable oil. Add the onions, season with salt, cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring a few times, until the onions are softened, 5 minutes. Add the corn kernels and cook for 4 minutes, stirring. Add the ginger and wine and cook over moderately high heat until the wine is almost evaporated, 2 minutes. Add 3 cups of the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderate heat until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes longer.

Transfer the soup to a food processor and process to a slightly chunky puree; return to the pot. Pending on your preference you can puree this more or less.  Add the bacon, season with salt and bring to a bare simmer over low heat.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining 2 tablespoons of stock. Gradually add the eggs to the soup, stirring constantly, until the soup is very thick, 30 seconds. Add half of the crab meat and gently stir until all combined and to temperature.  Remove from the heat. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the scallions and remaining crab. Drizzle lightly with chile oil and serve.

Adapted from one of my all time favorite food magazines, Food & Wine: Velvet Corn Soup with Crab and Ham Recipe – Andrea Reusing | Food & Wine.

Slow down Sally: Baked Eggs with Bacon and Dill

Baked eggs with bacon and dill

When I was little I was notorious for going, going, going. I never wanted to miss a moment, miss a party, miss a chance to be the center of attention. I would rush from activity to activity, ignoring my mother’s admonitions to slow down. When I could go no further I would crash, falling fast asleep wherever I was, and like a light bulb, I was out.

I’m afraid that the years have made me only slightly better at understanding the importance and value of taking a moment to be quiet. I still find myself rushing, feeling a constant sense of urgency, whose source I can’t always identify. My mother will be able to hear it in my voice on the phone and quietly say, “Erina, Erina, Erina….you have got to take a breath.”  After 10 days of house guests, one half-marathon, an unbelievably intense work environment, and one book club, this Saturday morning I was finally ready to do nothing.

Nothing except cook, listen to music, read, and hang out with the dogs that is. (come on…like I said…I’m only slightly better).

These baked eggs are the perfect accompaniment to such a morning. They’re easy to prepare, but take a bit of time to cook, forcing one to make a cup of tea and just be for a moment. The recipe pictured here was me trying to do a ring of bacon in the ramekin, which I don’t think is really the best solution, which is why I’ve suggested chopping up the bacon next time.

Baked Eggs with Bacon and Dill

Serves 2. Perfect with crusty bread and butter, orange juice, and a cup of Earl Grey

4 eggs (organic if you can)

1 TB butter

4 strips bacon, lightly cooked, and coarsely chopped (plus more for munching while you wait for the eggs to cook)

Salt and Pepper

1 tsp fresh dill

2 TB heavy cream

Optional – shredded cheese (whatever you like, sharp cheddar, brie, Gruyere)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Divide the butter between two shallow ramekins and grease. Put a pinch of salt and pepper in the bottom of each ramekin.

3. Crack two eggs into each ramekin, being careful not to break the yolk. Add the coarsely chopped bacon and cheese if you like.

4. Pour over top, 1 TB of heavy cream for each ramekin. Sprinkle with fresh dill.

5. Set the ramekins in a bread pan filled with water, and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until yolks and whites are just set. (Pending how you like your eggs, cook longer or shorter for runnier or firmer).

Lazy Saturday morning breakfast