However, now that we are eating these things, it is nice to know that they do have some nutritional value. Apparently, they are higher in potassium than bananas. Potassium can help lower blood pressure. It is high in vitamin B, which can help boost energy. It also has a surprising amount of fiber and water, which help increase metabolism. All this, and they taste great, too.
Exotic species of mushrooms are scarce at my local Cub. I could have gone to Lunds, but I don't like to pay their prices on the regular items, and I like one stop shopping. The recipe called for "wild mushrooms". Whatever Cub had to offer this week was what I was going to go with. I ended up with Enoki mushrooms and Shiitake mushrooms. Enoki mushrooms look a little like bean sprouts. They are tall and skinny with a little ball on top.
Shiitakes look a little more like a traditional mushroom - big wide cap and short, squatty stems. The caps are somewhat thin, and the gills on the underside of the caps are feathery and white. They are much more delicate in texture than a Portabella or a button mushroom.
Adapted from The Everything Pizza Cookbook by Belinda Hulin
½ cup warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
½ cup wheat flour
1½ teaspoons + 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
7½ ounces of ricotta
3½ ounces Shiitake mushrooms
3½ ounces Enoki mushrooms
3 green onions, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
4 ounces shredded mozzarella
Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for at least five minutes. Combine the salt and flours in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir to combine well. Add the yeast mixture and 1½ teaspoons of olive oil. Set at medium speed until dough begins to cling to the hook and looks smooth and elastic on the surface. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or drape loosely with a piece of plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm dry place for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 500º F. Cut dough in half. On a cornmeal or flour dusted pizza peel or board, roll or stretch each dough half into a 10 inch circle. Spread half of the ricotta over half of each circle. Chop the mushrooms. Combine them with the green onions, garlic, and basil. Spread half of the mushroom mixture on top of the ricotta on each circle, still leaving the other half of the dough circle bare. Cover the mushrooms with the mozzarella (two ounces per circle). Fold the bare half of the dough over the filled half on each. Pinch the edges together to form a seal. With a sharp knife, make three slits in the top of each calzone for venting. Place the calzones on a greased baking sheet. Brush the tops of each calzone with olive oil. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until crust has firmed up and started to brown. Allow to cool for about five minutes before cutting and serving.
I made the dough for both pizzas the night before, froze them overnight, and let them thaw and rise on my counter all day while I was at work. I had also chopped all of the mushrooms and green onions and combined those with the garlic and basil. When I got home from work on Thursday night, it was mostly about assembly for the mushroom calzones.
Pam arrived first, just after I had sliced the apple for the Apple Brie pizza. I put her to work coring the slices while I rolled out the dough.
Adapted from All the Best Pizzas by Joie Warner
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1-3/4 cup bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Braeburn apple, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 ounces of brie (without the rind)
2 tablespoons butter
Freshly ground nutmeg
Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl and set aside for at least five minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir together the bread flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir at medium speed until the dough comes together, clings to the hook, and looks smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or drape loosely with a piece of plastic wrap. Set in a warm, dry place for an hour.
Preheat oven to 500º F with pizza stone inside, if using. Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice to keep them from browning. On a cornmeal or flour dusted pizza peel or board, roll or stretch the dough out to a fifteen inch circle. Spread the brie over the dough. Arrange the slices of apple over the brie. Dot the apples with the butter. Bake for 5 - 10 minutes or until cheese starts to brown. Remove from the oven and grate a little nutmeg over the top.
The original recipe instructed the brie to go on after the apples, but the brie was too soft to slice. I suppose I could have dotted the apples with the brie once they were on the crust, but I wanted to make sure I got good coverage of the cheese over the crust. It was spreadable, but if the apples were on first, I would have had to spread the cheese over the apples, and I didn't see that working either. So, I spread the cheese over the crust before putting the apples on it. I also decided that since the apples were now on top, they needed more than the original teaspoon of butter that the recipe had called for. I upped it to 2 tablespoons to make sure that my apples didn't dry out in the oven (even though they really weren't going to be in there for very long).
Jennifer arrived with snacks (vegetables and artichoke-spinach dip), and I put her to work on our drink.
2 measures gin
1 measure freshly squeezed lemon juice (about ½ of a lemon)
3/4 measure freshly squeezed orange juice (about ¼ of an orange)
dash of grenadine
Pour all ingredients into an ice filled shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange zest twist, if desired.
If I had known that my sisters were going to dress to match the drink, I would have joined in, but apparently I missed the memo.
We really enjoyed this concoction. It was tart and sweet at the same time, with a slightly bracing ginny finish. And it was a lovely pinkish/orange color. It was very festive.
With the drinks to urge us on, we assembled the mushroom calzones. Creamy, rich whole-milk ricotta was spread over half of each dough circle. The mushroom mixture, so gorgeous with its flecks of green onion and basil running through it, came next, followed by the mozzarella. Then, Pam did her magic calzone-sealing act, and we were almost ready for the oven. A quick swipe of a knife across the tops for ventilation and a generous brushing of olive oil for browning, and into the oven they went.
The crust goldened up nicely in the oven. The crust was golden a crisp. The filling was very rich and earthy. We detected an almost chicken-broth like flavor with the mushroom combination. It was hearty and delicious. Jeff, once again, declared his distaste for the wheat crust. He said he would have preferred something lighter, fluffier, and softer. I am not sure if Jennifer agreed or was peeling her crust off, because she was avoiding gluten, but I thought it was pretty good.
The apple-brie pizza was fabulous! Jennifer had reservations about trying it, because she doesn't like cooked apples, but she declared it delicious and perfectly cooked. The pizza had only been in the oven a short time, so the apples didn't have a chance to become mushy. They were hot, but still retained a firm bite. The contrast between the tart apples and the creamy, rich, cheese was amazing. A tarter apple may have even elevated it further, but the Braeburn was a fine choice.
While the pizzas and drinks were good, our special treat of the evening was that our long lost neighbor - Becky - was in town from Colorado with her new baby. OK, she wasn't ever really lost, we just hadn't seen her for a while (a little over nine months prior, when she told us she was pregnant again). Jennifer ensured that Becky would never have to hold the baby while she was here, as she monopolized the baby's time. It was a lovely finish to a lovely evening.
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