Sweet Potato and Brie Flatbread

4 pieces Naan or other premade flatbread
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
4 ounces Brie, sliced



Heat oven to 425° F.

In a medium bowl, toss the sweet potato, shallots, thyme, oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Scatter the potato mixture over the flatbread and top with the Brie. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.




--Adapted from Real Simple

Zaatar Straws

Zaatar:
3 tablespoons sumac
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoons dried marjoram
1 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Combine all ingredients in a small food processor or coffee grinder. Pulse to combine.


Straws:
About 1/2 cup flour for rolling pastry
1/2 pound chilled puff pastry
About 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 tbsp. zaatar
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 2 tbsp. water)


1. Preheat oven to 375°. Flour a work surface and a rolling pin. Set puff pastry on surface, sprinkle lightly with flour, and roll out into a rectangle about 8 in. by 12 in. and 1/8 in. thick. Arrange pastry so that it's horizontal and trim edges even.

2. Brush pastry all over with olive oil. Sprinkle left half of pastry liberally with half of the zaatar and fold right (unsprinkled) pastry half over zaatar, like closing a book. Lightly sprinkle top of pastry with flour and roll back out into a rectangle almost as large as the one you began with. As before, brush pastry with olive oil, sprinkle half with remaining zaatar, and fold unsprinkled half over zaatar. Roll with the pin a few times to seal.

3. With a sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut pastry lengthwise into 1/3-in.-wide strips. Twist each strip loosely a couple of times and put on an ungreased baking sheet (push ends onto sheet to keep straw from untwisting; you may need 2 sheets). Dab tops of strips lightly with egg wash.

4. Bake straws until medium golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool 1 minute, then loosen gently from sheet with spatula. Serve warm or cool.



-- Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

French Toast Waffles

Cooking spray
1 cup fat-free milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
16 (1/2-inch-thick) slices day-old French bread (about 7 ounces)


Coat waffle iron with cooking spray, and preheat.

Combine milk and the next 5 ingredients (milk through eggs), stirring well with a whisk. Place bread in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; pour milk mixture over bread, turning to coat. Let stand 5 minutes.

Place 4 bread slices on hot waffle iron. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until done; repeat the procedure with the remaining bread.



--Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Almond-Vanilla Breakfast Ring

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
24 frozen unbaked yeast dinner rolls
2 tablespoons vanilla-flavored cook-and-serve pudding mix
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Heat brown sugar and next 2 ingredients in a glass microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 minute. Stir until blended; microwave 1 more minute or until bubbly.

Arrange frozen rolls in a lightly greased 10-cup Bundt pan. Drizzle sugar mixture evenly over rolls; sprinkle with pudding mix and almonds. Cover and let stand at room temperature 3 hours. (I made it the night before, and refrigerated overnight.)

Bake, uncovered, on lower oven rack at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 minutes. Invert pan onto a lightly greased plate. Serve warm.

--Adapted from Southern Living magazine

Grilled Green Onion Flatbread

1 loaf (1 lb.) frozen white or whole-wheat bread dough, thawed to room temperature ( NB: Pillsbury French loaf dough works well, but skip step 2)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup sliced green onions
About 1/3 cup all-purpose flour


1. With your hands, flatten bread dough on a board. Top with olive oil and green onions and knead into dough until incorporated (dough will be sticky).

2. Place dough in a bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, 50 to 60 minutes.

3. On a floured board, knead dough briefly to expel air. Divide into 12 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball and coat with flour. Roll each ball into a 4- to 5-inch round, sprinkling with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Space rounds evenly on two floured 15- by 17-inch baking sheets. Cover loosely and let rise until puffy, 20 to 30 minutes.

4. Lay rounds of dough on a lightly oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium coals or medium heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 4 to 5 seconds); close lid (open vents for charcoal). Cook until rounds are browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes; turn, replace lid, and cook until browned on the other side, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

5. Transfer breads to a bowl. Serve hot (cover with foil to keep warm up to 30 minutes) or cool.



--Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Pepper Jelly Bruschetta

36 (1/4-inch-thick) French baguette slices
1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (2 oz.) crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup pepper jelly



1. Broil French baguette slices on a baking sheet 3 inches from heat 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until lightly toasted. Remove baking sheet, and reduce oven temperature to 350°.

2. Stir together cream cheese and blue cheese in a small bowl until well blended. Spread a heaping 1/2 tsp. cream cheese mixture onto each baguette slice; top each with a rounded 1/2 tsp. pepper jelly.

3. Bake at 350° on middle rack for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.




--Adapted from Southern Living magazine

Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato Calzones

1 cup part-skim ricotta
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
3 ounces lean ham, chopped
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, drained and chopped
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
Cooking spray



Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine first 9 ingredients.

Divide dough evenly into 5 pieces; pat each dough piece into a 5-inch circle. Spoon about 1/2 cup spinach mixture onto half of each circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Fold dough over filling until edges almost meet. Bring bottom edge over top edge; crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim. Place calzones on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 450° for 12-14 minutes or until browned.




--Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Potato and Cheese Biscuits

These would be a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. I'm not much of a biscuit maker, so I didn't try to cut the dough into rounds. I just dropped it on the pan. Maybe it wasn't as pretty, but it tastes just the same.



1 cup (1-inch) cubed peeled Yukon gold or red potato
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup minced green onions



Preheat oven to 425°.

Cook the potato in boiling water 15 minutes or until very tender. Drain well; mash potato, and cool.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add mashed potato, cheese, buttermilk, and green onions; stir just until moist.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead lightly 5 times. Roll dough to a 3/4-inch thickness, and cut with a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until golden.






--Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Parmesan Black Pepper Crackers

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy. Add the Parmesan, flour, salt, thyme and pepper and combine.

Dump the dough on a lightly floured board and roll into a 13-inch long log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a sheet pan and bake for 22 minutes.

--Adapted from Ina Garten

Pineapple Upside-Down Biscuits

1 (10-ounce) can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick butter), at room temperature
10 maraschino cherries
1 (12-ounce) package refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 count)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease 10 cups of a muffin tin. Strain the can of crushed pineapple, save juice for later.

Combine the pineapple, sugar, and butter, and mix well. Divide the pineapple mixture among the muffin cups. Place a cherry in the center of each muffin cup, making sure cherry hits bottom of cup. Place 1 biscuit in each cup on top of sugar and pineapple mixture. Spoon 1 teaspoon reserved pineapple juice over each biscuit. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool for 2 minutes. Invert the pan onto a plate to release the biscuits. Serve warm.

--Adapted from Paula Deen

Cheddar-Dill Muffins

You can also roll these out and slice into triangles for scones. However, baking them in the muffin tins or as drop biscuits seems to yield a softer fluffier result. The scones turned out more like thick cheese straws.

4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, beaten lightly
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/2 pound extra-sharp yellow Cheddar, small-diced
1 cup minced fresh dill
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine 4 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.

Mix the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Combine until just blended.

Toss together the Cheddar, dill, and 1 tablespoon of flour and add them to the dough. Mix until they are almost incorporated.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it for 1 minute, until the Cheddar and dill are well distributed.

Roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 4-inch squares and then in half diagonally to make triangles (or after cutting dough into triangles, roll each triangle into a ball, and place in a well-greased muffin tin). Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or muffin tin) for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outside is crusty and the inside is fully baked.


--Adapted from Ina Garten

Garlic Chive Knots

This isn't so much a recipe as a method. You don't have to use garlic and chives. You could use cinnamon and sugar, and make cinnamon rolls. Still, it is a great way to dress up a simple meal.


1 1/2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated bread stick dough
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or green onions
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350°.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic; sauté 30 seconds or until lightly browned. Remove from heat; stir in garlic powder. Unroll the bread stick dough onto a lightly floured surface; brush dough with garlic mixture. Sprinkle the dough with chives and cheese.

Roll the dough back up. Cut the dough into strips (the knife will crimp the ends together, or you can separate the strips, and shape each strip into a knot). Place the knots onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 17 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.


--Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Friday Night Pizza Night

The pizza dough recipe below makes enough dough for 4 12" thin crust pizzas. I usually cook one and freeze the rest of the dough for next week.


PIZZA DOUGH

1 and 1/4 cups warm water
2 envelopes instant yeast
2 tsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups flour, reserving a few spoonfuls
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp kosher salt


Sift the flour onto a large sheet of parchment paper. (Sifting onto the paper makes it easier to add to the mixer, reduces mess, and eases cleanup.)

Combine the water, yeast, vinegar, honey, and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed until just blended, about 30 seconds.

Add 1 cup of the sifted flour and mix on low speed until completely incorporated.

Add the salt, and then the rest of the flour a half cup at a time, beating after each addition until thoroughly combined.

If the dough is still sticky, add the reserved flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, comes together in a ball, and feels soft to the touch. It should not be too sticky to handle. You need to be able to work the dough without adding anything to your hands.

Place the ball of dough in a well oiled bowl, and turn it several times.
Cover the bowl with a clean towel, and allow the dough to rise for at least an hour. Pat down, and allow the dough to rise again. Divide the dough, top, bake, and serve.




-- Adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Bride and Groom Cookbook.