Skillet Flatbread

I recently saw a post on Pinterest about cast iron skillets being one of the most useful tools in your kitchen. I was lucky enough to get a nice one at a wedding shower last year, and I really have enjoyed using it. When I found a recipe for a soft flatbread made in a skillet, I knew I had to try it.

This flatbread is not of the crunchy cracker variety but is instead a soft, pillowy vehicle for sopping up sauces (we had it with baked ravioli last night), piling on the hummus or other dips, or great on its own (as we had it the first night with our maple eggplant). The bread itself is versatile, we have experimented with two different herb mixes in the past two nights.

You can either use a store-bought pizza dough, or use the quick'n easy recipe included below. Making it from scratch means starting this about an hour earlier than if you use store-bought (yeast proofing and dough rising times), but I always prefer to make things from scratch. No judgement from me if you choose to go the store-bought route though!

Quick'n Easy Flatbread Dough (good for pizzas too!)
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water (plus a bit more if needed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups flour (combination of all purpose, wheat, whatever your pleasure is good!)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt

1. Place yeast, water and sugar into the bowl of your mixer. Stir to combine and set aside for about 10 minutes, or until mixture is frothy.

2. Place the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and knead with a dough hook attachment on low speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Remove dough from the bowl and knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for another minute. Pat into a circle.

4. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside, flipping once to coat with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Skillet Flatbread
(adapted from Sunny Anderson's recipe)
16 oz pizza dough (store-bought or homemade)
assorted fresh or dried herbs, chopped (whatever you fancy- we've done herbs de Provence, Italian blend)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for coating bowl
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, smashed

1. Cut the dough into thirds. Roll out each piece of dough to about ½ inch thick. Sprinkle evenly with herbs. Fold into quarters and knead 3-4 times to evenly incorporate herbs. Reform the dough into a ball and place into a small bowl lightly coated with olive oil. Repeat with other dough sections. Let rest about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the garlic. Remove from heat and keep warm.


3. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Roll dough out to about ⅛ inch thickness. Brush one side with olive oil and put oil side down on the skillet. Cook until golden, about 4-6 minutes. Brush the other side of the dough with oil, flip and cook another 4-6 minutes. Remove from pan, brush one side with the garlic butter and sprinkle with salt. Cut into 2 inch strips.

Cute Cut-out Tortilla Chips

Ghosts, pumpkins and bats, oh my!

Although I made these fun semi-homemade tortilla chips for Halloween, you can use any kind of cookie cutter you like and have these for any occasion. I stumbled upon these fun chips while searching for an appetizer to take along to the costume party that our friends throw every year. But this year it couldn't be just ANY appetizer. I had to go all out and make something truly ridiculous. You see, I was Martha Stewart (sans ankle bracelet) for Halloween this year. I wore the homemade apron with classical composer names my mother made me for Christmas last year (because I don't sew... I'm not that crafty) and a fabric flower that looks homemade, but I really bought it. I rounded out the "costume" with these delicious tortilla chips, homemade guacamole and the mango-lime black bean salsa I love to make when there is any kind of excuse.


These chips are delicious and the only hard part about making them is getting the cookie cutters to fully cut through the tortillas. Mine are plastic and I had to pound on them with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer to cut through. I imagine that metal cookie-cutters may cut easier. 


Ingredients:
cooking spray
24 assorted large tortillas- I picked up sun dried tomato, spinach and herb, jalapeño cheddar and plain
coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Using a few Halloween inspired cookie cutters, cut shapes from tortillas. Arrange as many shapes as can fit in a single layer on oiled sheet. Coat tortillas with cooking spray, and season with salt. Bake until slightly darkened and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining tortilla shapes, using a clean, cooled baking sheet.


That's it! They are seriously good and simple. 

Aunt Lisa's Baked Crab Rangoons

For my bridal shower, my mother in law had all the guests bring along a favorite recipe written on a card for me. I got a lot of really great recipes and I'm finally trying them out. The first one we tried was from Dave's Aunt Lisa for baked crab rangoons. Dave LOVES crab rangoon. It is the one thing he has to order every time we go out for chinese.  He saw this recipe and was instantly excited about trying these out.

They were super easy, a little time consuming, but totally worth it.

Baked Crab Rangoons
8oz crab meat
8oz cream cheese
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 pack wonton wrappers (can be found in the produce section- Thanks Lisa!)

1. Preheat oven to 400˚ F. In a bowl, mix crab and cream cheese together throughly.
2. Add green onions and garlic to crab mixture, blend well.

3. Add Worcestershire & soy sauces to crab mixture and stir well.
4. Spray two mini-muffin pans with non stick spray and place a wonton wrapper in each section.

5. Add one heaping teaspoon of crab mixture into the middle of each wonton.
6. Fold flaps of wontons to cover mixture.

7. Bake for 7 minutes

These little guys are tasty!

White Sweet Potato Fries

Today has been a rainy, gloomy cold day. Luckily, I love weather like this (in moderation, of course) and had the day off to enjoy said weather from inside the house. I would almost say that Fall is my favorite season, but then I start thinking about the beginning of winter when snow is still something I love rather than something I dread shuffling through and shoveling. I think I just love the fact that there are four distinct seasons here and each one has its own charm.

We've had white sweet potatoes sitting around since my dad came to visit. He brought some up from home where they are called "New Jersey sweet potatoes" at the store (can someone explain that one? I can't figure out why they'd be called this.) I had already bought some sweet potatoes to bake with the chicken, so these have gone untouched for a while. It's about time to find something do with them!  These are not quite as sweet as regular sweet potatoes, but have a lighter texture.

The final verdict? I loved these! They won a "we have to do this again" vote from the fiance. Luckily I still have two more white sweet potatoes! I think an interesting twist may be trying different spice combinations- these would be great with a little bit more of a kick to them too! I think the sweet would balance out the spice really nicely.

White Sweet Potato Fries (can also be made with regular sweet potatoes)
1-1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into  1/2 inch wide strips.
3. Place sweet potatoes into a plastic bag. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. Seal the bag and shake well to coat fries. Spread the potatoes onto a single layer on baking sheet .
4. Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until slightly browned and crispy. Transfer immediately to a paper towel lined plate and serve warm.

Mango-Lime Black Bean Salsa

This is a fantastic, simple recipe that is my go-to for work potlucks or picnics, or really any occasion that calls for snacking. Plus, the array of bright colors in the salsa brighten up any event!

When I lived in a small town, it was a little more difficult to make spur-of the moment since mangos were not typically available at the small town grocery store. I'm still searching for canned mangoes (so much easier than cutting up fresh, although, if you have the right tool, I hear that's not too hard either) here in the city, but you take what you can get, I guess.

15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can mangos, drained and sliced into small chunks (or tackle slicing a fresh mango!)
11 oz canned corn with peppers (look for "Mexicorn" at the store)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons lime juice (or juice a fresh lime- yum!)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, make sure you stir well to get all the spices and juices mixed evenly. The salsa tastes great right after you make it, but if you can resist, wait until the next day and you will find that it is heavenly after everything has time to "cure"!