I’ve been riding my bike, you just wouldn’t know it from my blog. I end up sneaking rides in to cold and early mornings where I don’t want to take off my gloves to snap any photos. It ends up being a lot easier to snap a picture of a meal I just made, so here you go… more of the same. I hope some of you enjoy it anyways.

Squash, Spinach and Blue Cheese Risotto

Squash, Spinach and Blue Cheese Risotto (adapted from Epicurious)

I love making risotto. It is kind of a comfort food for me and is really adaptable for a wide range of seasonal flavors. This one uses some easy to find fall/winter vegetables like butternut squash.

Variations on original:
• Slightly larger squash. It filled out the dish well.
• Normal chicken broth. If you want lower sodium, just buy use 4 cups of normal and cut it with 3 cups of water to save money.
• Fresh spinach. Wash well.

This was actually made on Halloween. We invited our neighbors over to help us with it. It feed 4 at dinner plus enough left for a lunch for 2.

Jane's Pizza Party

Chanterelle and Caramelized Onion Pizza
Quattro Formaggi Pizza

Dough (enough for 2 large pizzas):
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups white flour plus more for dusting
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 package)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water

Mix dry yeast in with 1/2 cup of the warm water. Leave it for about 10 minutes. The yeast should foam up in the water.

In a large mixing bowl, add 3 1/2 cups of flour, salt, olive oil, the rest of the water, and the yeast mixture. Beat the mixture together to pull together a loose dough. It will be sticky, but not too wet. Add flour as needed until you can pull it all together into one mass. Dust a board with a little bit of flour. Knead the dough (about 8 minutes) until smooth, adding a bit more flour as needed to prevent it from sticking to your hands.

Put the dough into an oiled bowl, making sure to coat the dough with oil. Cover with a towel and set aside to rise until doubled in size (about an hour).

Punch the dough down and cut it in half. Shape each half into a ball and cover with a towel again for another 20 to 30 minutes. If not using one right away, wrap it in saran wrap and place into freezer.
Work the dough flat out with a rolling pin. Everyone seems to have their own technique. It doesn’t have to look pretty, just try to keep the dough as even as possible. Obviously, the larger the pizza, the thinner the crust.

Chanterelle version:
• 4 to 6oz of chanterelle mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 large yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Swiss Gruyere
• 1/4 cup grated Raclette (could sub either with mozzarella)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 can of San Marzano tomatoes – diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. The longer you preheat your pizza stone, the better (an hour is preferable).

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, a bit of salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until they start to brown. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the onions are golden, about 15 minutes longer. If you have the time, reduce heat to low and cook for another 15-20 minutes. The longer they cook, the better they get. Remove from heat and allow to fully cool.

In the same pan, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and heat to medium-high. Add chanterelles and sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat and set aside with onions.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized sauce pot, cook mined garlic with 2 tbsp of olive oil for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Smash larger tomato chunks down with a spatula or wooden spoon as the tomato sauce reduces down. The longer the sauce cooks, the more intense the flavor gets.

Spread dough on to a pizza peel and top with sauce. Add chanterelles, onions and all cheeses. Transfer to your pre-heated pizza stone. Cook for 10-12 minutes.

Quattro Formaggi version:
• 4 to 6oz of chanterelle mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Gorgonzola
• 1/4 cup grated Mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/4 cup Ricotta

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. The longer you preheat your pizza stone, the better (an hour is preferable).

Cook garlic in olive oil over medium high heat until golden (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat.

Spread dough on to pizza peel and coat with garlic olive oil mixture. Top with cheeses and cook for 10-12 minutes.