Pizzettas

We (my sister and I) bought handmade pizza dough at the Italian Deli. Rolled it out and used a plastic container (as a cookie cutter) to cut 4” circles. Pinched/stretched them out a little and put them on a cookie sheet. Brushed them with EVOO. Topped them with fresh tomato slices, sea salt and cracked pepper, basil ribbons and shredded mozzarella. We put them in a 400° oven for about 25-30 minutes (until the cheese was melted and bubbly and the dough looked cooked).

Patti's Notes: This is a non-recipe. My sister had seen them in a magazine but they had all kinds of stuff on them she doesn’t like so we used the idea and did our own thing. You could really experiment with these and use your favorite toppings. Make your own dough or use the pop can of pizza dough. The only limitations are your imagination.

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Health-o-Meter: It's up to you, depending on what you put on them. Load them up with meats like pepperoni and sausage would be higher in fat and calories. Use turkey sausage to bring that down some. Top them with veggies for a healthier, guilt free version.

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Easy Meter: PDN (pretty darn easy).

Cranberry Almond Scones

Orignal recipe for Dried Cherry Almond Scones:

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 lemon, zested
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into pea size pieces
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/2 cup heavy cream
Turbinado sugar, for garnishing

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon. Add in the butter and rub with your fingers into the dry ingredients until a coarse meal forms. Add in the cherries and almonds. Add the heavy cream and combine it into the butter flour mixture.
Form the dough into a 1-inch thick disk and cut it into 6 wedges. Sprinkle each wedge generously with the turbinado sugar. Transfer the wedges to a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 17 to 18 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. Serve warm with Honey Butter.
~Source: Anne Burrell, Food Network

Patti’s Notes: I made Dried Cranberry Almond Scones because I had dried cranberries on hand. A few comments on the Food Network site said the dough was too dry. Mine was a little dry so I added a splash (maybe a teaspoon and a smidgeon) of almond milk and remixed. It was perfect.
I formed the disk on the parchment paper. That way I didn’t have to pick them up and move them to the pan. I cut the disk into 8 pieces (instead of 6). Then I used the knife as a spatula and lifted the wedges to separate them on the pan. Mine took 20 minutes to bake. When they came out of the oven they were a little crumbly. Once they cooled they set up perfectly. Half of a scone was plenty for me so I’ll say this recipe made 16 not 6. I did not make the honey butter. I ate mine plain. I would also say cut the dough into 8 wedges. After they are baked, then cut them in half.

Health-o-Meter: Not so bad if you can exercise portion control. Here’s the breakdown for 1/16: Calories 304, 16g Fat, 39g Carbs, 4g Protein. If you only made 6 from the recipe it would be a whopping 810 calories per scone. Seriously, that would be one mighty ginormous scone.

Cranberries and almonds are both antioxidants. Almonds have cholesterol lowering effects. We won't talk about the sugar! Since I've given up chemicals I try not to bake with Splenda anymore.

Easy Meter: The recipe is rated “easy” by the FN kitchen. I thought it was easy. The only thing is knowing the texture was too crumbly. FYI, Turbinado sugar is just a fancy schmancy name for sugar in the raw. You know, the brown crystals.

My Mis en plac:

A little too dry above; just right below.

Gigot a la Moutarde aka Herbal Mustard Coating for Roast Lamb

6 lb leg of lamb
½ cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove mashed garlic
1 teaspoon ground rosemary or thyme
¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil

Blend mustard, soy sauce, garlic, herbs and ginger together in a bowl. Beat in the olive oil by droplets to make a mayonnaise like cream.
Paint the lamb with the mixture and set it on the rack of the roasting pan. The meat will pick up more flavor if it is coated several hours before roasting.
Roast in 350º oven, 1 to 1 ¼ hours for medium rare; 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours for well done.

~Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child

Patti’s Notes: We don’t care for leg of lamb so I used this sauce on a rack of lamb. I used about 1/3 cup of Dijon but didn’t decrease the other ingredients except the olive oil. I added about a teaspoon. I added the oil all at once instead of droplets. I made the sauce and smeared it all over a rack of lamb. Did not do this several hours prior to roasting. I used fresh thyme because that’s what I had on hand. Rack of lamb has a built in "rack" so no need to put it on a rack in your pan. I roasted it at 350º for almost an hour. We like it medium-plus. A little past medium but not well. I had a little extra sauce so I dabbed it on the plate and set the meat on top of it. M-M-De-lish!

Health-o-Meter: Along with the obvious protein, lamb is rich in niacin, zinc, selenium and vitamin B-12 as well as iron, calcium and potassium. With only one teaspoon of oil added, spread amongst 7 chops, it’s pretty much guilt free. Lamb chops are pretty small so the rice and the biscuit look ginormous in the picture above. That was only ¼ cup of rice.

Easy Meter: Mashing the clove of garlic was a difficult as this one gets. Added plus, I had all the ingredients to make the sauce without adding to my grocery list.