Fig and Prosciutto Pizza

If you don't go to the Willimas-Sonoma web site to look for recipes, then maybe you should.  That is if you can't find it from Bitchy.  Here is perfect meal to pair with wine.

Here, sweet and salty ingredients come together to create a fantastic pizza topping. To make the fig preserves easier to spread, warm them briefly. The recipe was created for the Breville pizza maker. To bake the pizza in a standard oven, place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Roll out the dough as directed below, but don’t prick it with a fork. Add the toppings and bake on the pizza stone for 10 to 12 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 batch thin-crust pizza dough (see related recipe at left)
• 1/3 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) fig preserves
• 2 oz. (60 g) prosciutto, roughly torn into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces
• 3/4 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) crumbled ricotta salata cheese
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

Directions:

In a nonstick fry pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 18 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool to room temperature.

Preheat a Breville pizza maker on the preheat setting for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough into a 10-inch (25-cm) round. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork. Transfer the dough to a floured pizza peel. Spread half of the fig preserves over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch (12-mm) border uncovered. Top with half each of the caramelized onions, prosciutto and cheese.

Transfer the pizza to the pizza maker. Bake on the classic setting according to the manufacturer’s instructions until the crust is crisp and the cheese is lightly browned, 10 to 11 minutes.

Using the pizza peel, transfer the pizza to a cutting board and sprinkle with half of the thyme. Preheat the pizza maker again, assemble the remaining pizza and bake. Cut the pizzas into slices and serve immediately. Makes two 10-inch (25-cm) pizzas.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

French Onion and Blue Cheese Dip

This is soooooo good.  You can always leave out the blue cheese (sacrilege if you ask me) if you have blue cheese haters but there is so little, maybe you can slip it past them.  Like I did one night when I made 4 cheese ravioli that blue cheese in it...

Cooked slowly on the stove top, onions become meltingly tender and exceptionally sweet. Here, they’re combined with sour cream and other ingredients to create an updated version of a classic dip. A touch of blue cheese adds just the right amount of assertive tang.  

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter  
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced  
• 1 tsp. kosher salt  
• 1 garlic clove, minced  
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce  
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream 
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise  
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper  
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 oz. blue cheese 
• 2 Tbs. milk, plus more as needed  
• Potato chips and crudités for serving  

Directions:

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

In a fry pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the Worcestershire sauce and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Transfer the onion to a small bowl and let cool to room temperature.



In a food processor, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, black pepper, half of the cheese and the 2 Tbs. milk until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk 1 Tbs. at a time. Stir in the onion and the remaining cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 week. Serve with potato chips and crudités for dipping. Makes about 2 cups.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

Ligurian Panini

One of my favorite places to look for discounts is the Tuesday Morning retail stores.  If I'm in the market for high thread count sheets made in Italy or France, I always try there first.  But, I also try there first for home appliances.  I recently picked up a panini maker.  Not that I really needed it because using a stove top griddle with a cast iron skillet as a press, usually worked fine.  But, I often have golf luncheons and host couples' pre-tournament brunches at our house.  So, with the panini maker I can make a greater quantity more quickly.  I found this recipe at a Williams Sonoma store.  It's delicious.  Serves 6

Ligurian Panini

6 pieces focaccia, each 4 inches square
2 tbls olive oil
4 tbls black olive tapenade
6 oz fontina cheese, thinly sliced
18 thin slices salami
3 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced
2 roasted red bell peppers, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
2 oz arugula

Preheat the panini maker according to instructions.  Slice through the middle of each focaccia square to make a top and bottom piece.  Lay the pieces, cut side down, on a work surface and brush the outside with the olive oil.  Turn the pieces, cut side up, and spread 2 tsp. of the tapenade on the top half of each piece.  On the bottom half, arrange the cheese slices, dividing evenly.  Top each with 3 slices of the salami and 1-2 pieces of the prosciutto.  Arrange the bell peppers and the arugula on top, dividing evenly.  Top each with one of the remaining focaccia pieces, oiled side up.  Place the sandwiches on the preheated panini maker and cook according to manufacturing instructions until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted, 3-4 minutes.  Transfer to a cutting board and cut in half.  Serve immediately.  Bon Appetito!