Sally’s 2012 January 1, 2013

I love reading everyone’s year-in-review.  But I never feel that I have anything particularly interesting to share myself.  However looking back at where I’ve come since January 1, 2012, my year reads like the elevation profile of the 11.2 mile run through Percy Warner Park.

January
On New Year’s day I wake up with pain in my left shoulder.  It becomes very severe over the next few days and I begin many painful and expensive tests to diagnose it.  I eventually lose most of the strength and mobility in the arm altogether.  It is not for several months (see below) before we are able to diagnose the mystery condition.  But I take my first Caribbean vacation to Jamaica with my good friend Sara.  It is fantastic and just what we needed to thaw the dreary winter grays.  I also start training to Hoop the Half Marathon again.

February
I take a trip to Chicago to visit the city and see friends.  I begin planning my race calendar for the year.  But 2/3 of the way through the month I became very ill and take a brief stay in the hospital.  This sets me back physically and race and training-wise.  I eventually end up having to miss out on 4 different races this month and the next month due to illness and recovery.  I also support a friend during a difficult trial and witness that sometimes the judicial system doesn’t always work out the way it’s supposed to.

March
I miss out on the Triple Crown races due to the previous month’s recovery and post my first DNS ever, unfortunately it’s a 3-for-1.  I come up with an Athletic Bucket List and start working towards a plan to check off the items.  I tour the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and hit 7 distilleries in 2 days.  I attend an Olympic soccer qualifying tournament game.

April
I apply for the Nuun Hood To Coast team, though I don’t get picked, I still make a funny video.  I post some really high mileage with our hoop walking.  And eventually complete the Hooping the Half Marathon.  Many thanks to everyone who donates to the cause.  I finally really start training again in all 3 sports.  I also have my first swim lesson and find out that my self-taught freestyle form really isn’t that bad.  I also meet my Coach for the first time in a different swim lesson.  I witness my amazing friend Kira become ordained as an Episcopal priest.

May
I do my first open water swim ever, which also happens to be my first wetsuit swim ever.  I manage to survive both.  I compete in my first triathlon of the season and learn an important lesson of mental tenacity.  I have another minor surgery unrelated to my two previous medical issues earlier in the year.  I get a new fitting on my tri bike.

June
I make another trip to Chicago for a wedding and to visit friends.  I begin training with my Coach.  I go through a little bit of heartbreak.  I revise my race schedule for the year and really buckle down and distract myself with training.  I compete in the Du Run Run duathlon again and walk away with my first podium finish!  I also finally get back to the doctor for my left arm, and get a diagnosis of Parsonage Turner Syndrome.  I compete in the Muddy Buddy with a friend and have a great time, and once again somehow manage to never really get muddy in a mud event.  It’s a special talent.  I witness more heartbreak at the loss of a friend.  I also go to see Tenacious D with Sara and we have a lot of rocking out silliness.

July
I do a LOT of running, biking, swimming during the hot month, and put down more mileage than I ever imagined.  I compete in my first Olympic distance triathlon.  And I go to the Forecastle Festival after my race and get to see my favorite band play.  I volunteer at a major triathlon in my city and really get a chance to give back for all the racing that I do.  I run in a cape for beer.

August
My Coach comes to town and I get in another swim session.  I work on riding the course for my next big race, but the course keeps changing and I learn my lesson on some hills.  I get up way too early (even for me) to watch the Olympics for marathon and triathlon.  I compete in a Women’s super sprint tri and get misdirected on the course by a volunteer.  They throw out the run times and I end up with a podium finish, but maybe not the one I planned.  I begin physical therapy for my arm and shoulder.

September
I compete in my second Olympic Triathlon, in a torrential downpour.  This is my last tri of the season, but I don’t let that stop me because I sign up for my first Half Ironman race for the next year.  I attend my first Nashville Rollergirls bout and love it.  I buckle down on my running to train for my next few running races of the season.  I run my first 5k in probably 5 or 6 years, and walk away with another podium finish, once again a second place in my age group, which makes for a hat trick of podium finishes for the year.  My best friend has another baby, once again with a dramatic entrance.

October
I run in the Boston Half Marathon.  I get to visit my old friends and meet new ones, and see my best friend in a play.  I tour the Sam Adams Brewery finally.  I try Eritrean food, and of course eat lots and lots of lobstah!  I walk the Goo Goos Jog N Hog due to a painful injury.  That injury turns out to be peroneal tendonitis, and I also find out (on my 3rd Xray and MRI of the year) that I have a cyst in my heel, but the doctor doesn’t think it is affecting me.  I attend a Vanderbilt football game and watch them actually win!  I take a Motorcyle class.  I watch the Kona Ironman championships online and am amazed by the athletes.  I do the Color Run with a couple friends.

November
I make a road trip to tour the Calfkiller brewery and fall more in love with their beer.  I try to talk them into selling me a bike jersey with no luck.  I run in the Ragnar Tennessee relay race and tick off another Athletic Bucket List item.  I volunteer at the Flying Monkey Marathon and witness some truly hardcore runners.  I run the Boulevard Bolt and get another PR.  Coach comes into town again and we have a little team dinner and recap of the year and discuss the next year.

December
I start the month off with my first 12k, the 12 South Winter Warm Up, and finish the day with the 12 South Winter Warmer, one of my favorite beer fests.  Running and beer, what a perfect day!  Then I announce I’m doing something really crazy for my birthday.  I document all of my runs here, and follow it up with beers with friends.  I do one more Yazoo Barely a 4k Beer Run and earn a Yazoo Santa hat.  I find out I qualified for the USAT national championships for Olympic distance triathlon based on that Women’s race in August, which redeems the unfortunate results of that race.  I bake a monstrous cake and swear off buttercream forever.  I take a little New Year’s vacation and got to see my alma mater play in a bowl game.

2013
And what does 2013 hold?  I’ve already started working on my race schedule for next year.  Who knows what else it holds?  I’m hoping for a happy, healthy, and injury-free year.  Looking forward to ticking off more Athletic Bucket List items and maybe clawing my way to more podium finishes?  I’d also like to start trying to race more duathlons.  What are your plans and goals?

Pasta Surprise July 23, 2012

I have to admit, that before I made threw together this dish, I would have read this recipe and completely turned my nose up at it.  But I guess necessity really is the mother of invention.  When I have very little time between training and work and sleep, but still need to eat excessive quantities of healthy food I struggle to come up with something that doesn’t take much time, but can serve all my protein, carb, taste, etc fueling needs.

Too exhausted and hungry to think hard, I just grabbed the first things I could out of my pantry caveman style.  Protein – fish.  Carbs – Pasta.  Fiber – frozen veggies.  Grunt.  Cook.  Eat.  Fully expecting this to be gross, I was prepared to either choke it down or throw it out.  But the surprise was that this was actually pretty good, hence the name.

Pasta Surprise

1 packet of Starkist Tuna Creations (Herb & Garlic Flavor)
1/2 box of penne pasta
Zesty Italian salad dressing to taste
parmesan
1 bag frozen veggies of your choice, cooked your favorite way.

Cook pasta according to directions on box.  Drain and return to pot/sauce pan with heat on low to medium.  Add Tuna, mixing well and breaking up with fork.  Add Zesty Italian dressing to taste and to help mix the pasta and tuna together.  Add some parmesan to taste.

Serve with veggies on side (or mixed in with pasta) and top with parmesan.

I cannot believe how easy (and fast!) and tasty this was.  I was actually craving it the next day.

No-Fail Molasses Cookies December 12, 2011

When given the opportunity to participate in the Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I jumped on it!  I decided to finally share one of my closely guarded recipes.  And although it is a very simple recipe, it is always a crowd pleaser.  It is also one of my no-fail recipes.  It is really hard to mess up these cookies.  They come out looking perfect every time!

Molasses Cookies
Adapted from “A Taste of Heaven” (Westview Baptist Church Cookbook, Kingston Springs, TN)
Makes about 7-8 dozen

4 cups flour
2 cups sugar (plus extra in a bowl or plate for rolling)
1 1/3 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup molasses
4 tsp baking soda
1+ tsp (plus a pinch or two*) salt
2 tsp cinnamon (plus extra to taste*)
2 tsp ginger (plus extra if you prefer more of a gingerbread cookie*)

Preheat oven to 300°.

Mix all ingredients until fully incorporated.  It will all stick together in clumps in the bowl.  Scoop out a chunk of dough and roll into a 1″ ball in your hands.  Then roll the dough ball in sugar, coating evenly.  Place on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper about 2″ apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes (12-14 for airbake cookie sheets).  After about 1/2 time, rotate cookie sheet and sprinkle extra sugar on top of cookies.  Do not overbake the cookies, they will get really hard if you do.  Bake until the tops just start to crack open.  Remove immediately and transfer to wire cooling rack.

*TIPS:

• I like to add extra salt, cinnamon, and ginger to the recipe to taste.  An extra pinch of salt or two gives it a nice sweet and salty taste.
• This is easily cut in half for about 3-4 dozen cookies.
• If you overbake, the cookies will get hard like gingersnaps, which you may prefer that texture.  But if they get too hard, put them in a container with a slice of apple for a day or so to rehydrate them.
• The cookies will continue to bake a while on the cookie sheet after you remove from the oven.  Keep this in mind since you take them out a little underdone, but also don’t leave them on too long or they will get crispy.
• Let the cookie sheet cool a little between batches for a more even batch.  I alternate cookie sheets to allow for this.
• Your palms will get a nice exfoliation and moisturizing from the oil and sugar as you wash off the cookie from your hands.
• Church cookbooks are incredible gems for recipe inspiration.  They are usually collections of recipes from the church members for tried and true recipes.  It’s like digging into someone’s recipe box.

Get a napkin September 28, 2011

Let tell you something shocking.  It is actually possible to over-indulge in chocolate.

Last weekend, I had a fantastic dinner party planned, and I was in charge of making dessert.  The only request was that it had to be chocolate and very dark chocolate at that.  I love my chocolate dark, so I had no problem working on this task.  After much drool-worthy painstaking research, I came across this recipe.  The richness of the chocolate, paired with the intense molten center made it impossible to finish one on your own.  I recommend sharing these, or making in much smaller oven-safe containers.  For those of you with any gluten issues, the good news is this is gluten free!  I opted to serve this warm dessert with some spumoni gelato from our local Bravo Gelato to pair the hot and cold with the cake texture and the molten center.

And make sure you have a napkin ready, because I was telling my friend Tabbulous about the recipe while she viewed the picture on my phone, and she threatened to lick my phone!  You might need to wipe off your computer screen.

Baked Chocolate Pudding (Gluten Free)
adapted from Jamie Oliver recipe

4 120z oven safe ramekins (or 6-8 smaller ramekins)
1 ice cube tray

16-17.5 oz high quality dark chocolate. (minimum 70% cocoa solids, I used Green & Black’s 85%)
1/2 cup hot very strong coffee or hot espresso
1 stick + 1 Tbsp of butter, plus extra for greasing ramekins
6 eggs, separated
1 cup + 2 Tbsp of sugar
3.5 oz almond meal
3.5 oz rice flour

Brew the coffee/espresso, then melt 4.5oz chocolate (about 1.5 bars of a 3.5oz Green & Black’s) with the coffee.  Very dark chocolate won’t melt entirely with the coffee, so after mixing, I microwaved the mixture for 30 seconds at a time while stirring until totally mixed.  Pour chocolate coffee mixture into ice cube tray and freeze until hard.**

Grease the ramekins with butter and place in the fridge (to keep from melting) until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Melt remaining chocolate with the butter in a bowl over a pot of boiling water, constantly stirring.  The chocolate  will melt faster than the butter, but keep stirring until mixed.  Allow the chocolate butter mixture to cool so as not to cook the remaining ingredients.  I placed it in the fridge for a few minutes, but don’t let it get cold and harden.  Whisk the egg yolks and fold into the chocolate butter mixture.  Add almond meal and rice flour and stir/whisk by hand until fully mixed.  Your mixture should look a lot like brownie batter.

Whisk egg whites with sugar until stiff in a separate large bowl with a stick blender or hand mixer with a whisk attachment.  Note, I recommend begin whisking the egg whites and slowly add sugar.  I whisked them together and my mixture looked more like marshmallow cream rather than meringue.  I don’t think it made a huge difference in taste or texture, but next time I will opt for this method.

Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites gently until completely  mixed.  Spoon the chocolate pudding mixture into the ramekins, filling about 1/3-1/2 full.  Push one of the chocolate coffee ice cubes into the pudding mixture, with the narrow portion of the cube towards the bottom of the ramekin.  Spoon the remaining portion of the pudding over the ice cube until fully covered.

Bake 18-20 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the side will indicate if done, but do not insert in the middle as it will always be gooey and yummy.  Carefully turn ramekin upside down and remove baked pudding while still hot.  If you allow the pudding to cool, even while still warm, it will stick to the bottom and may break apart.  Serve immediately while still warm.

 

** Bonus – use the extra chocolate coffee ice cubes in your coffee or hot milk the next morning!

 

 

Return of the Hot Toddy September 26, 2011

One of my most popular posts as well as one of my most requested cocktails.  The Hot Toddy. Fall is here, which means, cooler weather, fireplaces, and Hot Toddies!  And right now, it is entered into a cocktail contest for one of my favorite local restaurants, Rumba, and one of my favorite places to get a cocktail!  So I’m reposting the link for the recipe here, but also begging groveling kindly requesting that if you’re so inclined, please go vote for it on their contest!

Enjoy!

Apple Cider Hot Toddy

Spiced Cider (I prefer Trader Joe’s)
Caramel
Turbinado Sugar
Whiskey (preferably Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey!)

Heat the cider.
Rim a mug with caramel.
Dip the caramel rimmed mug in turbinado sugar.
Add a dollop of caramel to the bottom of the mug.
Pour the heated cider in the mug.
Top off with whiskey.

The omg omelette July 7, 2011

My garden has really been humming along.  Every day I pull off several fruits of my labor, usually cherry tomatoes.  No really, every day I have a huge handful!  I recently pulled quite the bounty and as it was filling up the shelves in my fridge, I was trying to decide what to do with it all.  In particular I had my first shiitake mushrooms I harvested, some poblano peppers, onions, and more cherry tomatoes and herbs than I know what to do with.

Hm, how can I get all of those flavors together.  An omelette!  Little did I know it would turn into an omg, so good moment!  I made enough for 2 full servings.  I may have eaten the entire thing.  All of it.  Could not get enough!  But I biked 20 miles that morning, so I was replenishing carbs and protein right?

Feel free to add other seasonings.  I had intentions of using several different kinds, and partly forgot to add them, and partly decided it just didn’t need anything else.  The feta and the dill really added so much to really flavor everything.  Plus, add in the mild heat of the poblano and the smoky, earthiness of the shiitake and it’s such a surprisingly wonderful complement of flavors!

OMG Omelette
2 servings (unless you’re me)

3 eggs
1 small poblano pepper, diced (they don’t grow to full size here, so about the size of your palm is good)
2 shiitake mushrooms sliced into short strips
1/2 cup (or so) of yellow and purple cherry tomatoes, quartered from the stem side
3 small onions (like scallions), sliced
fresh parsley, chopped
fresh rosemary, chopped
fresh dill, chopped
olive oil
salt
pepper
soy milk
sundried tomato feta, crumbled
shredded parmesan/asiago/romano cheese mixture

In a very small frying pan, heat a teaspoon of olive oil over med-hi heat.  Add the onions, peppers, and mushrooms. (Save the tomatoes until last!)  Lower temperature to medium or med-low and continue to cook until mushrooms just start to brown.  Do not overcook any of the veggies.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs with salt and pepper and add milk just as you would for any omelette or egg dish.  Then whisk in the herbs.

In an omelette pan or medium sized frying pan, heat a couple teaspoons of olive oil over med-hi heat.  Add the egg mixture.  Watch this carefully, you may need to lower the temperature.  You do not want the eggs to cook on the bottom too quickly.  I am not a master omelette maker, so I recommend you google omelette cooking techniques.  I certainly made some mistakes this time.

Once the omelette is mostly cooked through (will still be a little runny on top), and you are able to slide a spatula around the edges and up under it, place the cooked veggies, the tomatoes, and the cheeses on half of the omelette on the side closest to the handle on the frying pan, adding the cheeses as well.  Holding the handle angle the pan downwards and use the spatula to flip the other side over the veggies and cheeses.  Allow to cook a little longer and to heat up the veggies and melt the cheese.  If you’re really talented you can flip the whole thing over to cook some more on the other side so you don’t get too brown on one side.

When cooked to your desired amount, serve with some extra tomatoes and feta on the side.  omg so yummy!

(As you can see, mine was not pretty, nor is my picture, but damn it was good!)

Fresh easy smoothie July 6, 2011

I’ve been saving up some food posts forever.  And I’m just giving in and posting them now.  Last weekend I made the best smoothie from scratch.  I love smoothies, but they are actually not as healthy as most people think. They’re usually loaded with sugars, calories, fat, protein (adding on more calories), etc.  The best way to avoid that is to keep it as simple as possible and make your own.  At a smoothie store, you don’t know what they are putting in it, how fresh the fruits are (or if they’re even using real fruit), or what kind of additives and supplements they include.

So, keep it simple.  Keep it as close to just fruit and ice as you possibly can.  Keep in mind a banana can add a lot of body and substance to a smoothie without loading it down with milk and powders.  The basic ingredients are ice (duh), fruit (berries work well, but just any soft-ish fruits are great), banana (if you’re so inclined), and then you can add juice or water to make it more liquid and if you’re inclined include some milk/soy milk/or yogurt.  For this smoothie, I was in a hurry to run some errands, but needed to eat my morning yogurt, get some other food in me since it was pushing past lunchtime already, and I wanted something cold because let’s face it, July in Nashville = purgatory heat!  So this is a great way to do all those things, especially beat the heat.

Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of this lovely pink strawberry banana smoothie.  It was so delicious, I sipped it down before I could get a picture.  Plus you don’t want it to melt right?

Strawberry Banana Yogurt Smoothie

1.5-2 cups ice (adjust to your frozen preference. I like mine pretty icy/crunchy for more texture)
6-8 medium to large strawberries (adjust to taste)
1 large banana
1- 4oz. container of strawberry fat free yogurt.
3/4-1.5 cup of Pear Cinnamon Cider (this came from Trader Joes but regular apple juice or cider would work)

In a blender, add 1/2 of the ice, capped strawberries, banana cut into pieces, yogurt, 3/4 cup cider/juice.  Pulse to break up ice and blend ingredients.  Add more ice and cider to taste and more strawberries if necessary.

Tip: Pulsing will break up the ice and move it down to the bottom, rather than leaving it on one setting where the bottom gets blended more than the top and wears out the motor of the blender.

Pour and enjoy!!

Pizza Pot Pie November 1, 2010

While waiting to get my oil changed, I caught a bit of a cooking show.  The host brought up a really great idea.  Why not combine my pizza rolls and pot pie recipes?  I admit I only marginally paid attention to the TV while in the waiting room, so I didn’t really follow her recipe exactly.  But what I created was delicious and I can’t wait to try other flavors!

Pizza Pot Pie
adapted from Food Network recipe

2 – 12oz (2 cup) ramekins
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion diced
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 pepper diced (I used peppers from my garden)
1 can of diced tomatoes, Italian Style
chopped fresh basil (optional)
chopped fresh oregano (optional)
chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
Mozzarella, diced in cubes
pizza dough
parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese, grated

Your favorite toppings:  for this particular pot pie, I made it a Hawaiian pizza
pineapple tidbits
2 slices Canadian bacon, chopped (for the meat eater)
3-4 mushrooms, chopped (for the veggie)

1.  Preheat oven to 425º (or according to the directions on the pizza dough).  Grease ramekins with cooking spray.
2.  Heat olive oil in a 2 quart saucepan.  Add onions and garlic.  Cook on medium high heat until onions begin to turn translucent.  Add peppers.

3.  Add tomatoes and herbs and continue to cook, stirring occasionally.*

4.  Add pineapples and continue to cook, stirring.

5.  Roll out pizza dough on a floured surface.  Using the ramekins as a guide, cut circles much larger than the ramekins.  (They will need to be larger to fold over the edge of the ramekin.)

6.  Here you can either combine all the favorite toppings with the cubed mozzarella and the tomato sauce in one bowl and dish out into the ramekins.  Or, as I was making one veggie and one meat, you can fill them separately:  spoon 1/2 the tomato mixture into the ramekins.  Add the mozzarella and ingredients.  Stir to mix well.  Add remaining tomato mixture and mix.

7.  Stretch out the pizza dough circle to cover the top of the ramekin and fold over the edges.  Brush olive oil on the top of the dough.  Cut a small slit in the middle to allow the air to escape.  Grate your favorite cheese over the top of the dough and olive oil.

8.  Cook for 15-20 minutes until dough is lightly browned.

Enjoy!

* Note, I recommend using canned tomatoes rather than regular pizza or pasta sauce.  You do not want this too soupy, but rather it is better a little chunkier, and it takes longer to cook down the liquid.

Lobster Pot Pie August 15, 2010

Yes, you read that right.  I not only made pot pie, but Lobster Pot Pie!  Here is the special dinner I made for July 4th for Beloved, who loves lobster.  It was a big hit and actually not very difficult.  Well, it’s not too difficult as long as you have some experience with getting the meat out of a lobster.  Fortunately this Southern Girl was actually born a Yankee and I was cracking open my own lobsters before I could even sit in a full-sized adult chair at the dinner table.  However, if you do not possess this skill or don’t have the time or patience to learn, you can usually find cooked lobster meat at a seafood counter, but you’ll have to ask nicely and probably pay a little more for it.

Lobster Pot Pie
adapted from Cosmopolitan (don’t laugh, I came across the link from another unrelated online story)

2 – 2 cup (at least 12 oz.) individual ovenproof  ramekins (These were very hard to find. I finally found them very cheap at Big Lots, thank you Lesley!)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot diced (I bought carrot sticks and just chopped into cubes)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (or soy milk)
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth, I prefer low sodium)
1/2 lb cooked lobster meat*
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt
pepper
1/2 of 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (keep refrigerated until ready to use and freeze the remaining)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375°.
Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add diced onion and carrot.  Cook, continuing to stir for around 5 minutes.  Add corn and peas.  Stir in flour.  Cook for 1 minute.

Add milk and broth, constantly stirring.  Cook until sauce thickens (approx. 5 min).  Remove from heat, add lobster meat*, thyme, then salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

* Cooking lobster: If you choose to cook your own lobster, here’s how.  I don’t recommend attempting a whole lobster on your first try, but you can easily master 2-3 lobster tails to serve your purpose here.  You need 1/2 lb of meat, keep in mind that if you buy the tails, the shells add weight, but the seafood counter can help you get approximately the right amount.
Usually the tails will be frozen.  You can leave them out in your refrigerator overnight to thaw, or you can set them in a bowl of water until thawed.  Set tails top side (the dark side) down (little legs poking up) on a roasting pan, making sure to tuck in any meat into the end.

Broil on high for 6 minutes.  Remove tails and allow to cool.  Using kitchen shears, cut down the bottom side of the tail.  Remove the tail meat.  Here’s the gross part, you will need to devein and wash off the meat.  If you are ambitious you can attempt to remove the meat from the rest of the lobster.  Waste not, want not.  Cut or tear the meat into smaller bite-sized pieces.  Then add the meat to the mixture above.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator.  Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8″ thick.  (I just love my pastry rolling pin, it also works great for the pizza rolls recipe!  If you find one of these, I highly recommend them!)

Use the top of the ramekin as a guide to cut 2 circles for the top of the pot pies, cutting a little larger than the bowl.  Spray the ramekins with baking spray and place on a baking sheet or roasting pan to catch any runoff during baking.  Spoon filling into the ramekins.

Place one circle of the puff pastry on the top of each ramekin.  Press the edges of the pastry into the ramekin to seal.

Cut a vent or two in the center of the pastry to vent air and moisture during cooking, then brush the entire surface of the pie with the egg.

Bake about 35 min. until the pastry is puffed and turns dark golden brown.  Remove from oven, allow to cool, and wow your dinner partner with this special flare on a comfort food.

Pizza Rolls! July 8, 2010

I have made the pizza rolls from my foodie blogger friend One Particular Kitchen a couple times before.  And they are awesome.  I finally decided to branch out and try variations on her pizza rolls.  I made two!  Beloved requested a ham and pineapple Hawaiian version.  And for the second one, I was inspired by the pizzas a few weeks ago at a foodie event, and made a special veggie version too.

Pizza Rolls  (adapted from One Particular Kitchen)

Hawaiian Pizza Rolls
1 can of pizza dough
Crushed pineapple
3-4 slices Canadian bacon (or ham) (finely chopped)
1/4 onion (finely chopped), optional
Pizza/pasta sauce
Shredded cheese (I actually used Daiya cheese for Beloved)
Chopped sweet basil and oregano from my garden
Dental floss (hang with me on this one)

Baby Portabella/Brie/Mustard Pizza Rolls
1 can of pizza dough
Chopped sweet basil and oregano from my garden
3-4 baby portabellas (finely chopped)
Brie (cut into a few smaller pieces)
Mustard sauce (I used 1-2 tsp of Hickory Farms Sweet Hot mustard I had on hand and whisked with honey)
Dental floss (hang with me on this one)

Preheat oven according dough instructions.  (400°)
Prepare the ingredients.  Making sure all are finely chopped, especially any “meaty” ingredients so they are easily “cut-through” at the end.

Roll out dough on floured surface into a rectangle.
Spread a thin layer sauce (pizza sauce or mustard sauce) on dough.  Keep the sauce light so the rolls don’t get soggy.
Sprinkle other ingredients to a satisfactory level.  Less is better, because you don’t want it to be too stuffed.

Roll up the dough.
Slide a thread of dental floss under the roll.  Cross the ends and pull both ends away from the roll.  The floss will cut through the roll without mashing down the roll like a knife would! Awesome trick, huh?  Continue cutting through rolls until you have cut the entire roll.
Place the rolls in a cake/brownie/baking pan with the nice sides facing up.  Keep some space between the rolls as the dough will expand.
Top with some remaining cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the dough appears to be baked through and a light golden brown.
Enjoy!  (And try getting a picture of the final product before it’s all eaten.  Go ahead, I dare ya!)