Flatbread Pizza On The Fly.

(or Yummy Goodness that's Good for the Whole Family)

by Mary Courtney Blake

After last week's grocery adventures, I came home to find that, in my excitement, I had bought Naan twice, at two different stores.  This left me with the challenge to find interesting and yummy things to do with this Indian flatbread.  Mostly, I simply and deliciously ate it as a side with my meals as it is more or less intended to be eaten.  However, as I was sifting through the remnants of the week's food in the refrigerator, hungrily trying to find any ingredients that might make up a meal, I had a wonderful thought... Naan looks an awful lot like prepared pizza dough, except it is yummier and and much more nuanced.

So, I dug out all of those little bits of leftover veggies and random ingredients that were left over from an variety of other lunches and dinners.  Here is a list of the bits of things I found:

Almost Wilted Broccoli

Kalamata Olives

Red Onion

Capers

Goat Cheese

Garlic

Prosciutto 

and lastly Hollandaise Sauce (don't be intimidated... this is not a staple of my refrigerator and in this scenario, olive oil will do quite nicely)

Being that this little improv is "Pizza on the Fly", meaning it can and should be able to be done quickly, the construction is straightforward.  Simply set your oven to 350 degrees F.  Get out your stoneware or a baking sheet and lay out your Naan.  Brush your Naan with butter or olive oil.  Top with all of your refrigerator goodies.  Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and place in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes (until your cheese is all melty or your pizza just looks sizzling yummy and hot all the way through).  When your pizza is ready to serve, drizzle olive oil across the top (or hollandaise in my case) and enjoy!

Let's Talk Salads.

(Blackberry Avocado Salad)

by Mary Courtney Blake

It is summertime in the South and what I crave more than anything in our sauna-esque weather are salads.  However, salads can be tricky in their simplicity and I often get caught tripping over the same old savory story.  My mother, on the other hand, has a way with salads.  In college I used to say that my mom could make a salad that you would crave.  So, this week I have taken a cue from my mom to toss up a beautiful and quirky summer salad for you to impress your friends with at your next dinner party.

Ingredients:

1 Pint Fresh Blackberries

1 Ear Corn on the Cob

1 Ripe Avocado

1 Head of Romaine Lettuce

1 Orange

1 Lemon

Approx. 1 Tbsp of Honey

Olive Oil

Salt to Taste

The Salad:

Start off by washing all of your fruits and veggies and peeling your corn on the cob.

Chop your lettuce.  For Romaine I tend to just take the head and cut it perpendicularly across in 3/4 inch sections so that I end up with strips of lettuce 3/4 inch wide by however wide the leaves are.  Take your chopped lettuce and put it in your serving bowl.

Cut the corn kernels off of the cob directly over your lettuce by running a knife down the cob lengthwise (just like your grandma used to do for you when you were tiny).  Uncooked corn adds a delightfully sweet and crunchy surprise to this dish.

Cut your avocado in half and remove the pit.  Now take a knife and cut each half into 1/8 inch thick ribbons.  Place your avocado on your salad.

Top your salad with the blackberries.

The Dressing:

Juice your orange and lemon and put the juice in whatever container you will be using for your dressing.

Add the honey.

Now add probably somewhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of olive oil.  Start with a little and go from there because you don't really want an overly oily dressing for this salad.

Salt to taste.  Stir/Shake thoroughly.

Enjoy!  

What do you call that? Delicious.

 (Petit Strawberry Tartlets)

by Mary Courtney Blake

On one particularly sun-filled day this week, I found myself suddenly pulling into the parking lot of my local farmer’s market, my mouth watering in anticipation of deliciousness.  I was not disappointed.  This happens to be the glorious time of year in Carolina when the Piedmont blooms red with strawberries.

Purchasing my pint of perfectly ripe strawberries, I rushed home to transform them into one of my friends’ favorite springtime treats.  I use these pastries when I want to impress, when I want to really offer something special.  I offer them now to you, my faithful readers so that you too may impress.

Petit Strawberry Tartlets

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry

Strawberries

Cream Cheese

Chevre/Goat Cheese

Powdered Sugar

Vanilla

Spearmint Leaves (optional garnish)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out your favorite puff pastry to a thickness of approximately 1/8” to 3/16”.  I suggest that you make your own dough as you can make it up to a day or two in advance.  However, if time is a concern use a store bought dough if you must.

Using a cookie cutter (or the lid of a jar or rim of a glass) cut out circles that are approximately 2” in diameter.

Lay out your pastry circles on a baking sheet. 

Bake them at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until they have puffed up and are slightly golden.

While your pastry is in the oven, gather your ingredients for the cream cheese frosting: Cream Cheese, Powdered Sugar and Vanilla.

Put the cream cheese in a bowl (I use 4 oz. for 16-20 pastries) and vigorously stir in powdered sugar and vanilla to taste.  (A little vanilla goes a long way.)

Now it's time to gather your strawberries!

Placing them on a cutting board, take a sharp knife and cut off the tops of your strawberries then slice them length-wise into approximately 3/16" widths.

Now, it's probably time to take your pastry out of the oven.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer your pastry circles to a cooling rack.

While your pastry is cooling, load a piping bag with the cream cheese frosting (if you don't have one, a quart sized zip-top storage bag with a snipped corner will do).  Once the pastry is cooled, frost liberally.

Assemble your Petit Strawberry Tartlets by placing a strawberry slice vertically (wide end down) into the frosting.

Now take the goat cheese and scoop tiny dollops next to the strawberries using a 1/8t measurer.  Garnish with slivers of fresh mint.  Enjoy!