2011, Recipe 80: Bacon, Mushroom, Carmelized Onion & Garlic Confit Pizza

I based this recipe on one from Epicurious.com.   

• 3 bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 6 large garlic cloves, chopped slightly larger than minced
• 8 ounces assorted fresh wild mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

•  1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 ball of pizza dough
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup mixed shredded Italian cheeses

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add onion to the pan.  Cook gently until onions are soft and brown.  Remove from pan.  Add oil and garlic to skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until garlic is golden, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and rosemary; cover and cook over high heat until mushrooms are tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 8 hours ahead; chill bacon and vegetables.) 

Preheat oven to 450°F. Sprinkle cornmeal on your rolling surface.  Roll out pizza dough.  Place rolled out pizza crust on baking sheet. Sprinkle cheeses, spread sauce, then top with vegetable mixture and bacon. Bake until cheese melts, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with a little more chopped fresh rosemary. Let stand 2 minutes. Cut and serve. 

Results: YUMMMMYYYYY!!! We loved this!  Ol delicious fancy pizza!  The garlic confit made it!!!  And you know what?  Didn't even really need the bacon.  Next time I'll use barbeque sauce instead of spaghetti sauce to change it up. 

Recipes 47 & 48: Black Chili with Butternut Squash with Cornbread

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard leaves (from 1 small bunch)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender and golden, about 9 minutes. Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, broth, and tomatoes with juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chard; simmer until chard is tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

 

Results: Y'all I read the recipe before going to the store and somehow missed Swiss chard!  So I made mine w/o.  Still delicious!  And vegan before I put all that cheese on top! :)  Other suggested toppings: diced red onion (YEAH RIGHT!!! Y'all know I don't do raw onion.) & cilantro (we had some... I should've done it).  We also (mom & I) squeezed some lime on top and it was quite good!

Cornbread recipe from the bag

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Combine dry ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Add to dry ingredients until smooth. Pour batter into greased (muffin for me) pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean. 

Results: Meh. My mom liked it.  I added an extra 3/4 tbsp of sugar and it still wasn't sweet enough for me.  I like my cornbread sweet.

And as a bonus, the next day (aren't all stews/soups/chilis so much better the next day!!? No matter how good they were!  It's awesome!), I had this for breakfast with two eggs over medium. LOVE.  I'm a little egg obsessed so that's why I accidentally focused on those more than the chili... lol