Monthly Archives: January 2012

P is for Pizza

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Call me crazy… but this pretty thing…


Yes, that, is not just your ordinary pizza! It is a coconut flour crust with oodles of yummy toppings and a touch of melty cheese on top. I found some great Paleo recipes over at Caveman Strong and have been trying them out. This was an exciting one because David and I love our pizza nights :)


So the pizza crust… it reminded me more of a flatbread pizza but fluffier. If that makes sense… here is the original recipe- Caveman Strong: Paleo Pizza Crust.


The line-up…


5 ingredients: 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of coconut flour, 1 cup of organic full fat coconut milk, 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda


Combine wet ingredients then mix in with your dry ingredients. Place on a coconut oiled piece of parchment paper… on a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Form into a crust!


I left mine about an inch thick…


This will not be your typical pizza dough… just keep that in mind. So throw it into a 375* degree pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Take it out… should be pretty golden.


While that baked we sauteed veggies and cooked some chicken for fun toppings :)


So the pizza has baked and you have it out of the oven, now for the fun part! Flip it over… you can use a pizza spatula or you could try placing a plate under it then using your oven glove flip it then place it back on the pan (that sounds confusing typing that but you know!).
Add your sauce of choice (we chose green over red). Then for those previously mentioned veggies, we sauteed these earlier in coconut oil and garlic (while that crust was golding in the oven)…


In that mix– a hefty amount of onions, red bell peppers, and mushrooms!


We layered more on than appears in that picture. I placed a few spinach leaves then loaded up the pizza with some chicken! And now for the special treat part… mozzarella cheese and fresh tomatoes!


We made a pretty cool design that we were very excited about!


Then we threw that LOADED down pizza back into the oven under broil for about 5-7 minutes. Just under the edges started to brown and the cheese was nice and melted! We took the parchment paper off for the broil setting… I just had a feeling it might catch fire. But I have no idea… maybe it would be fine. But when David even said it might I knew it was a real concern! So… take a look…


Prettiness in a pizza! Had some new wine too to complete the ultimate pizza night… it was a perfect Pinot Noir for a pretty pizza night!


P is for Pinot Noir too… not just pizza :)

Have a Perfectly good start to the week,
Courtney


The French Won

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I am talking about my own personal dessert competition I have had going on for the past 23 years… The French won with their macaron. Macarons are my VERY favorite sweet treat!


Now if you want my favorite easy dessert (that is a sub category)… fresh fruit crumbles! I have many posted here on the blog so just use that handy search box to the right and type in “crumble” or “blueberry.” Should pull up a few variations on peach, blueberry, and whatever fruit I could get my hands on! Here is a quick link to Berry Crumble Surprise. I have even gotten crazy and instead of a crumble I did a cookie on top (Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookie Crumble)!


Livin’ on the wild side there… anyways back to the BEST dessert, macaron.


We attended a Christmas Dessert Party last year that was filled with so many delicious sweets… but I remember spotting the macaron and taking the first bite. Since then, I have seen these beauties on The Pioneer Woman, Kevin and Amanda (the Christmas ones are adorable!!!), and many other websites. I hope to give them a go for Valentine’s Day and give them a visit in NYC! David has declared them the best little thing to eat– maybe that was a hint for V-Day?? Hahah his gifts are always hard to top, last year he made bacon-chocolates in the shape of X’s and O’s and a heart (and we all go, ahhhh). He is super right?


Anyways, the sweet hostess (she does CrossFit) of the Christmas party brought David a bundle of her amazing macarons this week (she had made them for her husband’s b’day). When he texted me a picture, I am pretty sure I squealed with excitement (and begged him to wait for me to open them, gotta throw caution to the wind, one bite and I knew he would be devouring them!)!


So as soon as I got home I saw them and knew I needed to photograph them ;) They were too pretty not to snap a few (or 50) pictures! For my first macaron (yes, I waited on David to share the experience!), I had a little coffee to enjoy along side.


Then I dove in! Wow, delicious! I must master these before Valentine’s Day. Look at this…


It was hard to put that macaron back down after the first bite… but I did… hurried and snapped a photo… and enjoyed the rest of it. So why do I love them?
1. They have a crispy outside.
2. Soft and chewy inside.
3. That (#’s 1 and 2) is doubled since it is a “sandwich” style.
4. You have a creamy layer of goodness between.


So when you bite into one of these jewels- you are hit with crispy, chewy, soft (like a pillow), and creamy (like butter). Do I need to justify why the French won any further? Good. Now I am ready to give it a try in my own kitchen… and know no matter how they turn out I will get to dive into some macarons in New York (I leave at the end of February for a conference).


French Macaron is the champion in my book.

Sweet macaron dreams,
Courtney

P.S. If you don’t want to attempt the macarons this weekend, I highly recommend whipping up the Ch-Ch-Ch-Chili. It is delicious and might inspire you to go for it with the macarons! Have a great weekend :)