Our Menu This Week

Sunday - Big salads with chicken
Monday - Black bean soup, creamy lime slaw
Tuesday - My Birthday! (Eat out.)
Wednesday - Chicken with quinoa, tomatoes, and broccoli
Thursday - Shrimp skewers, couscous-green bean salad with dill pesto

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

You may notice that Amuse Bouche got a little makeover. My fabulously talented husband Jason (whose portfolio will soon be found here) is helping me with a major facelift of the blog.

He started by surprising me with an all-new header. Isn't it fab?

Lentil Love

I don't have a recipe to share, just some ideas on making a simple, yummy dinner.

Cooked inky-black beluga lentils, sliced and cooked spicy Italian turkey sausage, and fresh spinach...sauteed together in a healthy splash of olive oil, and enlivened by 1 grated clove of garlic, red-wine vinegar, and a dollop of Dijon mustard. Serve with extra mustard on the side.



Easy, quick, healthy...what's not to love?

Roll Out

Last week when I was cooking from my freezer, I found the other half of this great whole-wheat pizza dough I made some time before the wedding. I never got around to blogging about it the first time around, but it's definitely worth telling you about. The whole-wheat flour adds a wonderful chewiness and nuttiness that you don't get with regular white pizza dough. It's definitely not traditional Italian-style crust, but we loved it.

I made a quick fresh tomato sauce by halving and seeding, then roughly chopping 4 fresh tomatoes. I simmered them in a glug of olive oil with 1 grated clove of garlic. Instead of salt, I added about 2 teaspoons of anchovy paste. The one I have has butter in it (or some such thing) which added a lovely creaminess—but just a touch. Off the heat, I stirred in a few big pinches of fresh basil chiffonade.

Plain and simple mozzarella was sprinkled on top, and the whole pie was baked at 400° until the cheese was bubbly. Belissima!

Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
{From Cooking Light magazine}
Especially since it's been so hot out, our air-conditioned kitchen isn't exactly warm and free from drafts. So what I like to do it fill a pan or bowl with superhot tap water, and put the dough and the water-filled bowl in the oven (but don't turn the oven on!). It creates a nice warm spot for the dough to rise.

1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (100° to 110°)
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Cooking spray

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, oil, and salt to yeast mixture, stirring until well-blended. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a 12-inch circle on a floured surface.

{katie note} We always par-bake the crust because we like our pizza extra crisp. If you do, too, place the un-topped dough on a preheated pizza stone or a baking sheet on which you've sprinkled a bit of cornmeal. Lightly prick the dough with a fork, and bake at 400° until it's lightly crispy. Top, then bake again until crust is brown and toppings are hot and bubbly.

Also, as I mentioned, the dough freezes quite well. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then in foil. Then place the dough in a freezer bag, mark it with the date (and with what it is), and freeze for up to 3 months.

Like a Schoolgirl

{photograph from zazurestaurant.com}

As you might remember, I have a major food crush on the California-based sister restaurants Zazu and Bovolo. Today as I was drooling over my monthly Bovolo email, at the very bottom in teensy tiny font, like oh by the way, it's not big deal, but... it said "Out and About: DISNEY WORLD's PARTY for the senses at Epcot, Florida on Saturday, November 7. come with us!"

Yes, hello— Party for the Senses is only the coolest, most swoon-worthy of food parties out there. It's a gathering of some of the most incredible restaurants around the country, all offering bite-size tastes of their cuisine. It's a pleasure I've been fortunate to indulge in only once. And now, knowing that Zazu and Bovolo will be there...well, let's just say Southwest just booked two more passengers on its Nov. 6 flight from Birmingham to Orlando.

I'll hopefully get to meet the chefs...here's hoping I'm not too geeked out to make intelligent conversation. I'm that excited. It's like a first date with a really dreamy boy, only this boy tastes like bacon.


{aside to Jon and Jason: haha, the e-mail from Bovolo says Epcot, Florida.}

edited to add: I just realized that my first post on these gems was almost exactly one year ago. Fate.

Chez Nous

Our French bistro-inspired dinner was magnifique. The sauce tasted pretty close to the ones we had in Paris, the filets were tender and delicious—I didn't get the skillet hot enough to get a nice, crusty sear on the steaks, but I think that was the only hiccup in an otherwise delicious meal.

I'll just link to the recipes I used...I followed everything to the letter for the green peppercorn steak sauce and the clafoutis. For the individual potato gratins, I just sliced Yukon golds thinly with the mandolin, layered them in the buttered dishes, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and then poured a mixture of heavy cream and whole milk over them. Topped with a bit of Gruyere, and baked for 45 minutes. Voila.

Here's a glimpse of our lovely evening...

{our delicious red}



{salade vert with classic vinaigrette}

{nice and rare}

{the guys}

{plum clafoutis}

What a Guy

So the other weekend, as I was busy making homemade hash browns in my new cast iron skillet, Jason was busy with a project all his own.

I turned around just in time to see him putting the finishing touch—a fresh, plump strawberry—on some bright, bubbly mimosas.

What a dreamboat.