Eggplant (yes egglplant!) Pizza

Thursday night is CSA night. This is the night our CSA box is delivered. For those of you who don't know what a CSA is ( I don't think I knew until last year), it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Essentially when you purchase a CSA "share" you are essentially investesting in a local farmer. In return for your investment, you receive a weekly box of veggies from the farm. This year, Sarah and I bought a share from a farm from Wisconsin called Driftless Organics. Its really been a great adventure and I have learned a lot about new vegtables that I had never had or enjoyed...such as eggplant!

Anyway, so on Thursdays, after picking up our box in Linden Hills, Sarah and I set out to make something with our fresh new veggies. Lately, we have been meeting over at Alyssa's house. Since Alyssa lives on the other side of the world (well at least from where we pick up our CSA share), we usually don't eat a little later. So this time, we decided an appetizer was a must.  In the end, the appetizer was soo good and filled us all up that dinner was kind of an after thought.

So for our "appetizer" we went with the Pioneer Woman's favorite pizza- eggplant pizza!

We had to make a few changes to the recipe (i.e. store bought crust), and instead of tomatos, we used zuchinni. It wase really a yummy pizza and I was actually suprised by how much I enjoyed it since I'm a traditionalist when it comes to pizza. But I strongly urge you to branch out and use some of those veggies that are soo fresh in the market now! If your not a strict vegetarian and like some meat to your meal, this pizza would be excellent with some sausauge on it, as suggested by Troy, Alyssa's husband,

Enjoy!

Eggplant/ Zuchinni Pizza

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Favorite Pizza

 Pizza Crust  (either store bought or homemade- recipe below)

1 whole Large Eggplant (or Two Medium Eggplants)

Kosher Salt, For Sprinkling
1 Large Zuchinni (or 2 smaller ones)
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
8 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Very Thin
½ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Drizzling
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven broiler.

Slice the eggplant thinly. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and place into a strainer in the sink. Allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse eggplant lightly in cold water, then pat the slices dry between layers of paper towels.

Slice zuchinni thinly and toss into a bowl with minced garlic and some olive oil.
Slice mozzarella very thinly.
Cut eggplant slices into fourths, and toss with olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and place 8 inches under the broiler.

Broil for 3 minutes, then toss around and broil another 3 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add zuchinni/garlic mixure, Broil for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove and set aside. (May do this 1 hour in advance.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
If using homemade pizza dough, roll out the dough on a pizza pan. Parbake the crust by placing it in the over for 3-5 minutes to create a crisp crust.

Lightly drizzle olive oil on the crust.Lay mozzarella slices over the surface of the dough. Spread vegetables all over the surface of the cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from pan and slice with a pizza cutter. Serve immediately!

My Favorite Pizza DoughFrom Eating Well

To make 12 ounces dough:

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2-2/3 cup hot water, (120-130°F)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

To make 1 pound dough:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup hot water, (120-130°F)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a stand mixer outfitter with the dough hook.Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the stand mixer running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Mix until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.

Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack; preheat oven to 450°F, Roll  pizza out and parbake crust by placing in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Take pizza out and top the pizza as desired. Bake the pizza until the bottom is crisp and golden, 10 to 14 minutes. Serve immediately.

Carnitas!

Here is a quick recipe for you and your crockpot. I made these yeterday and they were DELICIOUS! 

I put the pork on homemade tortillas (see what not being employed does to me?), and topped it with some fresh cilantro, some mozzerella and fresh tomatillo salsa made from the tomatos we got in this weeks CSA box. Alas, I was so excited from smelling the carnitas that I forgot to take a picture.. but I thought I would share the recipe with you anyway. I'll even throw in the tortilla recipe if you are so inclined to make tortillas as well. Adam raved about them! If you are watching this season of Top Chef, you will recognize the recipe from the winning  challenge when they had to make school lunches.

Next time I promise to remember to take atleast one picture :)

Pork Carnitas
From Stephanie O'Dea at a Year of Slow Cooking
2 pounds pork shoulder ( I used boneless ribs because thats what I had on hand and they still turned out fine!)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime)
7 cloves garlic (whole intact)
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 cup beef broth

The Directions.
Use a 6 quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the salt and cumin. Rub mixture all over the pork, then plop into the slow cooker. Add whole garlic cloves. Squeeze on the citrus, and pour the beef broth evenly over the top.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork shreds quite easily with a fork. If your meat is still fully intact after 8 hours, remove and cut into chunks, then return to the crock and flip to high for about an hour or two.

Shred meat fully and serve on warmed corn tortillas with desired toppings.

Oat Tortillas
By Kelly Liken Top Chef Season 7
¾ cup oats, pulverized (put them in your food processor and pulse about 10 times)

1 ½ cup AP flour
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup cold water
1 Tbl salt

Place dry ingredients in a stand mixer with dough hook. Add wet ingredients and knead for 5 minutes. Allow dough to rest for at least 20 minutes.

Make golf ball size balls from the dough.Then, if your like me and don't have a tortilla press to make them pretty, press them as flat as you can with your hands. Then give up and decide who needs a tortilla press when you have a rolling pin :) Roll out into tortilla spheres.

On a dry griddle over medium-high heat, cook tortillas until lightly brown

Tonight’s Dinner: Korean Beef Rice Bowl

Tonight for dinner we had Korean Beef Rice Bowl. I highly recommend it! Its super easy and would be a perfect weeknight dish! This dish is great right now because the veggies are so fresh! I used a few from my CSA, but sadly still had to buy a few from the grocery store. I also love this recipe because it uses wilted greens (spinach in this case). Adam won't eat a salad on its own so lately I have been trying to wilt greens and add them to our main dish, like a pasta or in this case a stir fry so he can get the nutrition some other way. So this will be the first of many posts that will include some sort of wilted greens.
A few tips to go with this recipe:

• Be sure to have all the veggies cut up before you start. As with any stir-fry, things will cook fast so you want to be ready
• Use any meat you have on hand- I used a sirloin that I picked up on the cheap at Target but you could use any beef or even chicken.
• I marinated my beef only for about 20 minutes but it probably could have been done longer-even overnight if you are thinking ahead.

 
Here is the finished product:

 
I hope you appreciated the healthier post this time! Till next- happy eating!

 
Korean Rice Bowl
From Steamy Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 pound beef
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks (or 1 cup matchstick cut carrots)
1 small zucchini, diced
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Cook the rice according to package instructions.
2. For the beef, if using flank steak: Cut the steak into very thin slices ACROSS the grain. If using other steak: Cut the steak into very small cubes, about 1/2-inch. If using ground beef: leave as-is.
3. In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and brown sugar. Add the beef and toss to coat. Let marinate while you prep the vegetables. Steps 1 and 2 can be done ahead of time up to 1 day before.
4. Heat a large saute pan or wok on medium heat. When hot, swirl in the oil. Add the onions and saute for 1 minute. Turn the heat to high and give it just a few seconds to heat up. Add in the beef, spreading the beef all over the surface of the pan, tossing with the onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes until just barely pink.
5. Add in the carrots, zucchini and toss. Cook for 1 minute. Toss in the spinach and cook for an additional minute. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

 

Introducing Cookin' with Court!

So I've finally caved and decided I needed to enter the blogosphere. Blame it on boredom...Anyway, the idea of the blog is simple- share what I've been cooking. Lately I have been asked by a lot of people for ideas on what to cook...so this is my answer! Instead of trying to convince everyone simply to follow my reader account, I have decided to share what I have been cooking here. That way I can include those recipes I find in cookbooks, magazines, etc...

Now I feel I must preface this all with the fact that I am no expert at cooking. Rather, I am just simply learning my way through recipes that are driven by my passion to eat :) I will do my best to provide suggestions but this blog will really be a way for people to expand their cooking repertoires with me. I may/may not post pictures of my creations. First, because I am not that talented of a photographer. Second, I'm still working on my "plating" techniques. But I will do my best, and most likely will be able to link to someone else's blog who has more talent at the picture end of the process...

So to start of the blog- I will share with you the dessert I made tonight.

As I have just gotten back from a wonderful trip to California, I still have yet to restock the fridge or really let anything from the freezer thaw. So, much to Adam's surprise, I actually agreed to a taco bell run...I know really. BUT they have been advertising these new Cantina Tacos and they are actually pretty good for fast food tacos..

So since the tacos are only about 160 calories each...I figured I could splurge on making a dessert at home. I decided I wanted to make something to go with the vanilla ice cream I had in the fridge. Now I am not one to usually buy just plain vanilla ice cream, but this picture should explain everything-

 

Obviously I couldn't resist this tub of ice cream..especially since I had a coupon!

So to go with my JOE MAUER vanilla ice cream tonight, I made a chocolate cobbler. My friend Sarah made it for me once and it was perfect with ice cream. Even better, you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry as we speak! Go make it now- and next post I promise to post something more healthy :)

Chocolate Cobbler

By Susan Hawkins on Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 7 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder, Divided
• 1-¼ cup Sugar, Divided
• ½ cups Milk
• ⅓ cups Melted Butter
• 1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1-½ cup Hot Tap Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.
Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish. I prefer my small oval Corning Ware glass dish.
In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (it should be 1/2 cup), the brown sugar, and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.
Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set.
Let stand for a few minutes if you can hold yourself back. Serve with homemade ice cream using the gooey sauce to spoon over all.