Flatbread with Pears and Gruyere #TwelveLoaves

The theme for #TwelveLoaves November is Apples or Pears. This baking group, led by Creative Culinary and Cake Duchess, links up recipes along a common theme each month. My comfort with yeast dough is increasing with each baking challenge.  Come bake with us!

My contribution for November is flatbread with pears, caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese. I tasted a similar dish as a restaurant appetizer some time ago. It was a shared dish among friends and I know I ate more than my fair share! That particular dish used blue cheese, a taste which a few friends found too strong for their liking, so I switched it up this time and used Gruyere. I associate Gruyere with French onion soup—one of my favorite soups—so I knew the onions and cheese would pair well. And what about those pears? I tried them two ways: first I cooked them in a saucepan as recommended in this recipe but I found the mushy texture wasn’t the ideal topping for this flatbread. The pears and the onions were too similar. My second try was more successful. I thinly sliced the pears and arranged them on top of the onions, cheese and dough then baked the flatbread. Top the hot flatbread with arugula and a few dried cranberries and you have a beautiful appetizer, if not a meal.

Thanks to Barb and Lora for hosting this baking fun. Be sure to click through here to see the rest of the November recipes.

Ingredients:
Dough recipe from the Seattle Times and the topping is adapted from the same recipe.
Sponge:
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Flatbread dough:
1/2 cup skim milk
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 pears, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 ounces freshly grated Gruyere cheese
Directions:
1. Sponge: In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let stand a few minutes then stir in 1/4 cup all purpose flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 40 minutes.
2. Stir the milk into the sponge in a large mixing bowl. Add the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt. Now combine this flour mixture with the sponge and stir well.
3. On a lightly floured workspace, knead the dough for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Coat the dough lightly with baking spray and place in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 45 to 60 minutes.
4. Topping: Heat the oil in a skillet, add the onions and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add brown sugar and vinegar then cook another 10 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. I also preheat a baking stone or baking tray at this time. Roll the dough into a rectangle or into a few smaller circles if you prefer individual servings. Spread the thyme on the dough, then the cheese, onions and finally the pears. Place the flatbread dough on parchment then on the preheated baking tray (check your box of parchment first to make sure it can withstand heat up to 500 degrees).  Bake for 12-15 minutes. Top immediately with arugula and dried cranberries.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookie season has arrived! Where as pies seem to take the headlines for Thanksgiving, in the weeks approaching Christmas it is cookies that take center stage. There are gingerbread cookies, cookie exchanges, cookies for Santa, and cookies to eat with a cup of milk or hot chocolate. Some might think a chocolate chip cookie is rather plain and not worth a special mention. I would disagree. Chocolate chip cookies are comforting and this version with browned butter is anything but ordinary.

Pumpkin Butter in the Crock Pot

Let’s hang on to fall flavors just a bit longer, shall we? You’ve seen loads of canned pumpkin at the grocery store and there is more to it than pumpkin pie. Stock up on a few extra cans before they disappear. Better yet, start with a (real!) pumpkin, roast it and then puree it to use in this recipe and many others. Some pumpkins are better for cooking than others. The small, pie pumpkins are suitable for cooking. Neighbors of mine gave us a few pumpkins from their garden which again confirms that food grows without trouble in Colorado and the fact that nothing grows successfully at my house is a reflection on me and not the soil/altitude/weather/etc. Maybe I’ll have better luck next year but I’ll choose kind neighbors over a plentiful garden any day! I knew I wanted to use their pumpkins in the kitchen to return the favor. I started with this pumpkin butter and also made a pumpkin bread. They were happy to see their garden labor transformed into such goodies!

Pecan Praline Ice Cream

I really enjoy using the pretty jars of jams, jellies, and sauces that I’ve preserved to make something even more special than the original contents of those jars. This ice scream is exactly that sort of recipe. When I came across the book, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer, I knew that I could transform my pecan praline sauce into a delicious ice cream.  Take a few moments first to read through Jeni’s story on her website. My mom found her ice cream book at the library and I saw it at Williams-Sonoma recently. Jeni started small—very small—and has followed quite an impressive road to now operate eight stores and a busy online business with her ice creams. Thanks for the inspiration, Jeni!

Cranberry-Orange Sauce

In the quest to make the perfect Thanksgiving dinner there always seems to be some panic when it comes down to crunch time: Will the side dishes be ready at the same time as the turkey? Did I make enough stuffing? Do I have the right serving bowls and platters for each food? In an attempt to cut back on the stress on the day of Thanksgiving, make a few items ahead of time and feel good that you’ve checked something off your endless to-do list. Start with this cranberry sauce. Make it a few days (or a week) ahead of time and this Thanksgiving staple will be ready, delicious, and waiting for you and your guests.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

My sweet friends treated me to a birthday lunch recently and there was a delicious slice of flourless chocolate cake to finish off the meal. It had never occurred to me to bake a flourless cake. To me, the "less" in flourLESS must have meant that something was missing. Taste, structure, familiarity-- something had to be wrong with that type of cake. Well I was certainly wrong about that! I found this recipe on Whole Foods' website. Not only was it flourless but gluten free too. Chocolate cake with a thick, chocolate glaze. If this is what a gluten free diet looks like I am slightly tempted to give it a try. Too bad this cake couldn't be breakfast, lunch and dinner too!

You might wonder why I am sharing this deeply delicious chocolate cake in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Where is the apple, pumpkin or pecan pie? Yes, those are staples of a Thanksgiving feast but this chocolate cake will steal the show. You cannot go wrong with chocolate plus more chocolate. Try it, you'll see!

Sweet Potato and Pear Soup

One of my favorite soups is a curried butternut squash soup which combines the obvious ingredient of squash with the subtle sweetness of apple and this soup follows the same pattern.  Sweet potato melds with pear in a smooth pureed soup.  If you take the extra step of roasting the sweet potatoes first, the flavor is even deeper and well worth the effort. This soup could easily be a beautiful first course on your Thanksgiving menu.  Make it ahead of time and reheat it in time for your feast.

Ingredients:
2-3 roasted sweet potatoes (2 large or 3 regular)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 small onion, diced
2 pears, peeled, cored and diced
small bit of freshly grated nutmeg
3 cups chicken stock
3 Tablespoons cream (optional)

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add in the roasted sweet potatoes, the pears, nutmeg and chicken stock. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. If the consistency is too thick, add a small bit more of chicken stock. Take the soup off the heat and add the optional 3 Tablespoons of cream. Mix well and serve.

Tomato-Vegetable Soup

Comfort food: in times of need sometimes you need a friend to make you a cup of soup, or a loaf of bread, or a bowl of spaghetti. Food can comfort but it is not always enough. For so many people who were affected by Hurricane Sandy, a blog post about a comforting food is just not enough to help right now. So the food blogger community is wanting and ready to do more. 

Barb at Creative Culinary and Jenn of Jenn Cuisine have organized and inspired a group of food bloggers who wish we could do more to help those in need. We come together as a virtual group with intentions to help. Here are some ways you can reach out to those in the most need.

• American Red Cross is providing food, shelter, and other forms of support to hurricane victims. You can donate directly to the Red Cross or you can also text the word “Redcross” to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
• The Salvation Army is also focused on providing food, shelter, and support to victims, and takes donations for storm relief.
• Feeding America is providing food, water and supplies to those who need it as part of their disaster relief program.

Here is a vegetable soup that I would share with someone who might need the comfort of a warm bowl of soup. 

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 green zucchini, diced

1 yellow squash, diced

1 TB salt

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 TB tomato paste

a few springs of fresh thyme

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups pasta, uncooked (I used mini Farfalle)

Directions:

While you could saute the onions first then add the other ingredients, I tend to throw everything (except the pasta) into a large saucepan or dutch oven and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add the pasta for the final 8-10 minutes and serve. If the pasta soaks up too much liquid, add more chicken stock or water if necessary.

Ginger-Pear Bundt Cake #BundtaMonth

Welcome to November! This month’s bundt-baking-get-together, hosted by Baker Street and Cake Duchess has the theme of SPICE.  When I came across this recipe for a pear-spice bundt cake by Martha Stewart, I knew I was ready to start baking! The recipe was based on a caramel-pear sauce that was made with fresh pears and sugar then it was incorporated into the cake batter. I was one step ahead of the game as I had a ginger-pear sauce that I made with this great recipe. I changed the spices slightly but basically stuck with the cake recipe and then finished with a cream cheese icing. The cake was dense but in a good way, filled with bits of pear and hints of ginger then cooled with the cream cheese frosting. This would be perfect to serve on a Thanksgiving dessert buffet as an alternative to the traditional pies. You’ll find it will be requested for years to come!

Pear-Ginger Jam

Make this pear-ginger jam once and I know that you will be surprised by how many uses you find for it: serve it with a beautiful cheese platter, eat it for lunch in a panini of brie and jam, bake a cake with it (stop back for a recipe this Wednesday!), or give it as gifts. This jam may be one flavor that you haven't found on the shelves of your local grocery store but it is one that you won't forget. With a short list of ingredients you can make this pear-ginger jam then preserve it with a boiling-water canner then enjoy the fruits of your labor for months to come.

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Yes, just one "chocolate" in the description relating to banana bread would have been enough to make a special loaf of this quick bread...but TWO "chocolates" make it even better! I took the suggestion of Nigella Lawson, whose recipe for Rum Raisin Banana Bread is a favorite of mine, and added some cocoa powder in place of 2 Tablespoons of flour and threw in the chocolate chips as well instead of the raisins. The result is, well, very chocolate-y and a welcome variation to the traditional banana bread. This chocolate-chocolate chip banana bread was eaten quickly at my house and will be making another appearance in my kitchen very soon!