Eggs and Kale in Puff Pastry

Last week we were getting ready to leave town for Christmas, so I didn't want to buy any groceries. That meant I had to get creative with what we had in the house. Luckily, I think I keep a pretty well stocked freezer and pantry. I had a couple eggs and some cheese in the fridge plus bacon, puff pastry and blanched kale in the freezer. The resulting meal was good enough that you would have thought I had planned it.

Actually, this turned out even better than I expected. The kale was a last minute addition (in an attempted to get more green veggies in us) and really turned it into a more substantial dish. The think that really made this so good though was the bacon, that flavor of smoky, saltiness in each bite made it sing. I almost used breakfast sausage instead and am so glad I didn't. It was a great brinner (breakfast for dinner), but would also make for a lovely breakfast or brunch.

Eggs and Kale in Puff Pastry

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 strip bacon, chopped
1/2 - 3/4 c grated cheddar
4 oz kale, blanched and chopped
4 eggs
salt
pepper
parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cut the sheet of puff pastry into 4 squares. Using a sharp knife score a line 1/2" border on each square, be careful not to cut all the way through (if you do when you fill it the egg will leak through). With a fork poke the inner square, also without going all the way through. Put in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Put the kale into the same skillet and sauté a few minutes until completely wilted.

When the pastry is done chilling, divide the bacon and cheese between the four pastries, placing them in the inner square only. Bake for 8 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Press the center squares down to flatten them, leaving the boarders puffed up. Divide the kale between the four pastries. Then top each with an egg. Season with a little salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Finally, sprinkle a little parmesan on top. Bake for another 6 - 7 minutes until the whites of the eggs are set. We like it with a soft yoke, but you can cook them as hard as you wish. (You may want to put them under the broiler for a minute.

Makes 4 (We each at two as our whole meal, but with a salad you could serve people one each.)

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Happy Holidays

Matt and I wish you happy eating and all the best for Christmas and the New Year.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Bourbon Pork with Apple Cider Syrup

This past weekend Matt and I had a sort of pre-Christmas celebration. We opened the gifts we didn't want to take with us while traveling, had a big leisurely breakfast and a lovely roast for dinner. Matt was in charge of the roast pork tenderloin. He had an idea for it that had been mulling around in his head for awhile.

The idea grew from an article he read about someone who was making and selling apple cider syrup. It sounded so good to him that he bought a gallon of cider to try it himself.

Making the syrup is pretty easy. Basically, put the cider in a pot, one with a large circumference to spread out the heat is best. Let simmer until it reduces and thickens to your desired consistency. It took almost all day to reduce it to a syrup. It'll look cloudy at some points along the way, but ends up beautifully shiny. Watch it carefully towards the end as it can become apple cider caramel pretty quickly. (Ours is actually slightly thicker than we wanted, but heated pours well). It has a wonderful flavor, sweet with a touch of tart. It'll remind you of a caramel apple. We got a little over 1 cup from just under a gallon of cider. This is actually a steal since it was selling for $30 for 3 oz.

The syrup can be used on pancakes or waffles, it would be amazing on vanilla ice cream, but Matt wanted it for a sauce for pork.

The pork is marinaded in bourbon and then roasted with apples and onions. It is a dish that is full of warm comforting winter flavors. And bonus, the apples and onions roasted with it become an easy side dish.

Bourbon Pork with Apple Cider Syrup
The pork needs to marinade for 4 - 6 hours before roasting, so plan ahead.

1/4 c apple cider vinegar
2 T honey
1 t kosher salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper
2 T olive oil
2 T bourbon
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 apples, cored and quartered (pick an apple that won't get too mushy when cooked)
Apple Cider Syrup

Mix the vinegar and honey together in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave until the honey is softened enough to stir in. Mix in the salt until dissolved. Add the cayenne, olive oil and bourbon. Put in a plastic zipper bag just big enough to hold your tenderloin. Add the pork. Seal the bag removing as much air as possible. Marinade in the refrigerator for 4 - 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Put the onion and apples on the bottom of a small roasting pan. Remove the pork from the marinade and place on top. Roast for about 30 minutes, until the pork is 165 F in the middle. Let rest a few minutes before carving.

Top with heated Apple Cider Syrup.

4 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Our Day on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Matt and I received a rather cryptic email from our favorite local pizza place, Pizzeria Lola. They wanted to know if we were available to be part of a shoot for a national television program the following week. Well, we were too intrigued to say no. We were told to show up Tuesday at 2:15 sharp prepared to be on filmed and interviewed and to keep the whole thing a secret. We went through the list of shows we thought it could be and in the end we guessed right with Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. If you haven't seen the show it features Guy Fieri visiting places around the country, cooking with the chef, trying the food and talking to the customers.

(Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods, Guy Fieri and Ann Kim of Pizzeria Lola. Photo from Pizzeria Lola)

We, along with twelve other people, were chosen to be the customers. This was our first time on a show like this and it was really interesting to see how it all works. First of all let me say, the photo above is a little misleading. We never say Guy Fieri. Each restaurant featured on the show is filmed two different days with Guy only there on the second day. We were there for the first day of filming.

When we arrived, we were asked to tiptoe in and quietly take a seat while they finished filming chef Ann Kim make pizza after pizza. It was 2:15pm and they crew had been there since 7:30am working with Ann. It was kind of funny hearing her call pizza after pizza out to an empty restaurant.

Next it was time for the "customers." The day we were there there were about 8 of us. I was so surprised because if you watch the show it always looks like it is happening in a restaurant that is busy and open for business. Apparently, they do this with a bit of tricky camera work. As the film crew filmed each group of people we were moved around to be background tables. Oh, it was tempting to ham it up in the background.

Our table was the first up. We were given drinks and allowed to chose our favorite pizzas. First they filmed the sequence of pizzas being delivered to our table, and delivered, and delivered until it was just right. Next, we had to eat, completely with close-ups of us taking bites of hot cheesy pizza. I'm so not sure I want to see that shot!

Then it was time for our interviews. As Guy isn't there, a producer asks us questions off camera. We are given instructions to answer making sure to include the question in the answer so viewers will know what we are talking about. That is so much tricker than you think. We ended up having to answer the same question a few times to get it right. Luckily, the crew was a lot of fun and kept us laughing and in good spirits (the free wine and beer helped too). The funniest bit was when we were each asked to take a bite of pizza and describe what we tasted. You really get a good idea of how hard it is for tv hosts to do that take a bite and talk right away thing.

We spent about two hours eating pizza, drinking and being filmed. Then the shoot was wrapped up for the day. The crew got to eat all those pizzas Ann made and she got to get ready for dinner service. She had to do another day of filming on Thursday and then we hear the crew came back for more shots on Saturday.

We'll hear about four weeks before the episode runs, so we'll be sure to let you all know. I would have loved to have take more pictures of the actual filming for you, but it really wasn't possible since we were on camera most of the time. We don't know if they'll use any footage of us, but it was certainly interesting seeing it all from the other.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 12/5 - 12/10/11

Well, look who's finally back. Yes, it has been a crazy couple of weeks.

I survived my first craft fair this weekend quite successfully, but oh did preparing for it take over my life for a month or so.

We also spent an afternoon on the set of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives at Pizzeria Lola. I'll tell you that whole story later this week...

(photo from Pizzeria Lola)

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Roast Chicken with leftover roast brussels sprouts and squash from Pizzeria Lola

Lasagna with Red Pepper Sauce

Tortilla Soup - Using the leftover chicken

Falafel - Using the falafel we bought from Foxy Falafel at the Kingfield Holiday Market.

Pork Roast and Squash with homemade Apple Cider Syrup - If we don't go out to eat.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Classic

It was time to make the whipped cream to top the pumpkin pie and my mom pulled out her hand mixer, the one she got as a wedding present 46 years ago.

A Deluxe Handmixer in a lovely shade of turquoise. It looks brand new and works like a charm (where I've gone through two hand mixers in the last 4 years).

A perfect pairing with a blue pyrex bowl that I think may be just as old.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 11/21 - 11/26/11

This weekend marked the long awaited opening on the new Fulton Brewery in downtown Minneapolis. Fulton Brewing is one of those micro-brewery success stories you are hearing more and more of these days. Four guys start brewing in their garage with dreams of their own brewery. A few years later, here they are with beer on tap at almost every local bar and restaurant, bottles available in stores and now their own brewing facility with tasting room and growler sales. It couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people either!

A continuous stream of people braved the first snow of the year to celebrate the occasion and pick up their growlers of Sweet Child of Vine, Lonely Blonde and Libertine.

They've turned a 1950's warehouse into a clean modern brewery.

Matt is certainly happy with his growler of Libertine. The mayor of Minneapolis even declared November 18th Fulton Beer Day.

On to Menu Planning Monday...
It's a bit of a short week as we'll be with my parents for the holiday.

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Pizza Monday at Pizzeria Lola

Caramelized Onion and Gorgonzola Mac & Cheese

Dinner at Neely's BBQ

Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Maple Sweet Potatoes with Gorgonzola

I'm better leftovers!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Penne with Creamy Squash and Red Pepper Sauce

This is another one of those dishes that tastes a lot better than it photographes.

But believe me it is so delicious. Matt was a little leery of my adding red pepper to the sauce, but it pairs really well with the squash and I think keeps it from being overly sweet. In my mind, the red pepper actually makes this sauce.

This is a great busy day dinner as it has very little hands on prep time other than some chopping. The roasting gives the sauce that I spent all day in the kitchen flavor.

Penne with Creamy Squash and Red Pepper Sauce

10 oz butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
olive oil
kosher salt
cayenne pepper
1/2 c half and half (or milk or cream)
1 1/2 oz grated parmesan
4 - 5 oz hot cooked penne pasta (reserve about 1/2 c of the cooking water)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Put the squash, red pepper, onion and garlic in a small roasting pan. Add enough olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt and cayenne. Roast for about 30 - 40 minutes until the squash is tender.

Put the roasted vegetables into a blender. Add the half and half and parmesan. Purée until smooth. Thin with the pasta cooking water is desired. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper is needed.

Serve sauce over hot pasta.

Makes 2 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Maple Squash with Gorgonzola

I'm trying to get Matt and I out of our potatoes as a side dish rut, especially when we are having something like roast chicken. We always forget how much we love the orange vegetables, squash and sweet potatoes.

This side dish was inspired by a salad we saw in the deli case at our local grocery store. It is super simple to make with very few ingredients. But oh, do those ingredients pack a punch, sweet, spicy and salty with that special gorgonzola funk.

Looking for a different side for Thanksgiving, this one would be perfect. You could have the squash all prepared in the oil and maple syrup ahead of time and just roast it while the turkey is resting. I also think this preparation would be great with sweet potatoes instead of squash.

Maple Squash with Gorgonzola

10 oz butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
olive oil
1 T maple syrup
1 t cayenne
crumbled gorgonzola

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Put the squash in a small roasting pan. Add enough olive oil to just coat them. Stir in the syrup and cayenne. Roast for 30 - 40 minutes until the squash is browned and soft.

Serve topped with the gorgonzola.

2 Servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

It's the end of our farmers market season and one of the things we are going to miss is the sweet potato and black bean tacos from Chef Shack. We've tried making versions at home, but they were never quite right until this week. This time I think we really got it.

Roasting the potatoes with a spices and then turning them into a mash makes them the perfect sweet base for the savory beans, peppers and onions. I had a hard time stopping myself at just two of these!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

1 large sweet potato
olive oil
kosher salt
1 T ancho chile powder
pinch cumin
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 a yellow onion, sliced
5 flour tortillas
1 - 1 1/4 c cooked black beans (cooked then yourself or use canned)
sour cream or plain yogurt (optional)
monterey jack cheese, grated (optional)
hot sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Peel the sweet potato and cut into about 1/2" cubes. Put in a small roasting pan. Add enough olive oil to coat all the cubes. Stir in a pinch of kosher salt, the ancho powder and the cumin. Roast in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, until tender enough to mash. Mash with a fork or potato masher.

Put 1 T olive oil in a skillet. Heat over high heat. Add the peppers and onion. Sauté until everything is starting to get brown around the edges.

Heat the tortillas either in the microwave or on a griddle. Top with the sweet potato mash, beans, and vegetables. Add optional toppings as desired. I like just the yogurt and don't think it needs the extra calories from the cheese. Matt likes the cheese and extra spice.

Makes 5 tacos.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 11/7 - 11/12/11

I think we might be getting to the end of the construction here at chez Good Appetite, well at least the major indoor stuff, we still have a roof and gutter being replaced and then all the windows and doors in January. Hopefully, that means we'll get the house back to normal and feel like getting in the kitchen to do some experimenting soon.

I've sewing reindeer pillow after reindeer pillow these days.

I'm also preparing to be in my first holiday craft sale ever which means I've been as busy as one of Santa's little elves sewing, crafting and making soap. Seems like dinner time sneaks up on me and I need to whip up a quick meal. Are you all feeling as busy as we are this time of year?

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

One day only Pot Roast Pizza at Pizzeria Lola - I think Matt is dreaming about this pizza

Sea Salt and Thyme Turkey Burgers - I actually forgot to buy the turkey to make these last week

Pasta with Squash and Red Pepper Sauce

Turkey Chili

Leftover Beef Stew Pasties

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Pumpkin Beer Tasting

Recently, Matt and I got a couple of friends together to taste a bunch of the different pumpkins beers currently in stores.

You can read all about it on CBS Minnesota.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Biscuits with Sausage and Coffee Gravy

Sun Street Bread had buttermilk biscuits at the farmers market on Sunday, so we decided to pick some up and make biscuits and gravy for dinner. Yes, yes, I can make my own biscuits, but with such fantastic ones easily on hand there is no need to.

Ok, there is really no pretty way to photograph this dish, believe me I tried, but what it lacks in looks it totally makes up for in taste.

Sausage gravy is really pretty basic, sausage, milk, flour and lots of pepper. Matt thought we should add one more ingredient to give it an extra kick, instant espresso. Coffee is the secret ingredient in my grandmother's recipe for Swedish meatball gravy, so it made perfect sense to me. What you end up with is a dark rich gravy with a hint of coffee flavor. I loved it. Matt thought there was a little bitterness from the espresso, but I didn't notice it at all.

Biscuits with Sausage and Coffee Gravy
Do not skimp on the pepper in this gravy!

1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage
olive oil, if needed
2 T all-purpose flour
1 c milk
1/2 t instant espresso or coffee
30 grinds fresh pepper
salt
3 biscuits

In a large skillet, sauté the sausage over medium heat until cooked through. If your sausage is lean and doesn't release much fat add about 1/2 T olive oil. Sprinkle with the flour. Stir while cooking for 1 minute.

Mix the espresso into the milk. Stir slowly into the sausage. Cook while stirring until thick and creamy. If it is too thick stir in a little more milk. Stir in the pepper. Taste and add salt as needed.

Cut biscuits in half and top with sausage and gravy.

Makes 3 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Farmers Market Finds and Weekly Menu 10/31 - 11/5/11

Happy Halloween everyone!

Where the heck did this year go? Here we are showing the the final haul from the Kingfield Farmers Market for the season.

Seeing all this bounty makes me sad to see it over for the year. Here's what we got...

Yukon Potatoes
Squash - These store nicely in a cool, dark place for quite a while.
Red Peppers
Leeks
Eggs
Parsnips
Garlis
Green Bean
Ground Beef - To stock the freezer
Italian Sausage
Ribeye Steaks
Foxy Falafel Hummus
Sun Street Buttermilk Biscuits

There will be a Holiday Market in November where we'll be able to stock up on a few more things and our meat vendor has monthly winter drop-offs in the city which is great.

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage and Coffee Gravy

Chicken Enchiladas - Because I never made it last week

Potato and Leek Soup

Thyme and Sea Salt Turkey Burgers

Red Wine Beef Stew

Sausage and Peppers Pasta

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Korean-Style Crock Pot Short Ribs

We've had some short ribs in the freezer for awhile that I had mental tags for Korean short ribs. I know they are often gilled, but I wanted to do them in a chock pot. Why? Because cooking in the crock pot is so easy.

I'm sure these are not traditional in anyway, but I looked at lots of different recipes for the sauce and they are seemed to have very similar ingredients. It's a pretty simple mixture yet full of flavor. Cooking the ribs in a crock pot braises them until they are fall off the bone tender. Perfect with just a little jasmine rice.

Once thing I will say is short ribs are quite fatty and a lot of that fat cooks into the sauce. We didn't use any of the sauce left in the pot, so it didn't really matter to us. Though I think that sauce would be really tasty if it was let to set for a bit, the grease skimmed off the top and then reheated.

Korean-Style Crock Pot Short Ribs
(You may feel like you are buying a lot of meat per serving here, but short ribs have a lot of bone and fat in them)

1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c rice wine
1 T honey
1/2 t sesame oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 scallions, sliced
1 - 1.25 lbs Short RIbs, cut into separate ribs

Mix everything but the short ribs in a small crock pot*. Add the ribs, they should be covered about half way by the liquid. Cover and turn the crock pot to high. Let cook for about 3 hours, turning the ribs once. When the ribs are starting to fall off the bone, turn the crock pot to low and let cook another 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

2 servings.

We have a small crock pot that we got at Target for like $7. It is the perfect size to fit these three ribs and have the sauce come up about halfway. If you only have a large crock pot and are doing a small amount of ribs you may need to make more sauce. You could also do this in an oven-proof pan in the oven at a low temp.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 10/24 - 10/29/11

Some of you may know I write a craft blog as well as this food blog. Recently, that blog changed names to Just Crafty Enough and I'm writing it with my good friend Susi in San Francisco. I've been doing a few posts over there about throwing an adult Halloween party which, of course, calls for a special cocktail.

Matt came up with this drink that he calls the Harvest Campfire. It features the fall flavors of apple and cinnamon, plus a very special ingredient, Smoked Club Soda. Head over to Just Crafty Enough to check it out.

Menu Planning Monday...

Pizzeria Lola Anniversary Dinner - Lola's anniversary not ours.

Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots and Onions - I love a roast chicken and it gives me leftover chicken for the rest of the week.

Creamy Chicken WIld Rice Soup - The favorite soup in our house

Braised Korean Short Ribs

Chicken Enchiladas - Using our Chile Verde Sauce

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Squash Pizza

Where did this week go? Oh, I know, it's been filled with home remodeling woes from upside-down light to tiles of different dye lots. Ah well, at least we had a really good pizza this week.

This is just one of those perfect fall pairings, squash, bacon and goat cheese. It doesn't look like enough toppings, but its full of sweet, salty, spicy and tangy flavors. Have leftover squash from dinner? That would be a great way to make this too.

Squash Pizza

Crust for one pizza
1 small squash, we used an Acorn, you can chose your favorite
1 yellow onion, sliced
olive oil
kosher salt
2 slices bacon, chopped
chevre goat cheese (if you like a really cheese pizza or don't like goat cheese you can use grated provolone like Matt did)
crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Peel and cube the squash. Put the squash and onion into a small roasting pan or baking sheet. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat everything. Sprinkle with salt. Roast for about 30 minutes until the squash is soft.

In a small skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Roll out the pizza dough to your desired thickness.

Crush the squash up a bit. Top the dough with the squash, onions and bacon. Crumble the cheese over the top. Sprinkle as much red pepper as you like.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted about 15 minutes.

Serves 2 - 3

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Eating and Drinking Madison

As I mentioned last week we are in the middle of remodeling both the bathrooms in our house. At the end of last week, we had no working bathroom for two days plus it was our fifth wedding anniversary, so it seemed like a good time to get out of town. We packed up the car and headed to Madison, Wisconsin for a beautiful fall weekend of tasty restaurants and microbrews.

Our first stop was Capitol Brewery just outside of Madison in Middleton, WI. Capitol offers a short tour with three tastings and a tasting glass you get to keep for $5.

Capitol is enjoying its 25th Anniversary this year so along with all their other beers we go to try the special 25th Anniversary brew, Eternal Flame, a blend of their limited Autumnal Fall and an Imperial Dopplebock. My favorite of their beers though had to be the Autumnal Fire, a rich doppelbock. Capitol has some beautiful tasting rooms inside that were being used for private parties, but we were happy to spend the afternoon in their large beer garden with a lot of other neighborhood folks.

That night we headed downtown to The Old Fashioned for dinner. Apparently so did half of Madison and everyone there for homecoming. Luckily, we were able to grab a couple of seats at the bar and dive into their list of 150 beers. The Old Fashioned patterns itself after traditional supper clubs, but an updated menu.

They have amazing sounding Lazy Susans full of cheese, sausages and other treats, but they all sounded too big for us, so we went with the Wisconsin cheese spread tray. Yes, cheese spread, horseradish, sharp cheddar and garlic, all very good. Since it was Friday night it was fish fry night with three different fish on order. I had the cod and Matt had the Walleye. If we lived in Madison I think we'd be among the half crowding it every night.

The next morning we went to the Dane County Farmers Market that surrounds the capitol building. A huge market full of cheese, meat, vegetables, flowers and tons of bakeries. It didn't have the prepared food vendors like the Minneapolis markets do, so we walked a block to Marigold, a restaurant recommended to us by a couple of different people. The had a duck confit hash on the menu so how could I refuse. A bright cheerful place with all the breakfast favorites and some interesting "gourmet" choices.

Later that day, we drove the 30 minutes to the small Swiss-style village of New Glarus to visit New Glarus Brewing. Their large, modern brewery really reminded us of California wineries. They offer a self-guided tour of the brewery which as nice as the brewery is would benefit from some signage for those of us interested in the brewing process. Really it seems like everyone is there for the gift shop, tasting room and beer depot.

New Glarus offers three tastings for $3 with a take home tasting glass. You can also purchase a pint glass for $6 with $3 refills or $9 for specialty beer with $8 refills. Since New Glarus beers are only available in Wisconsin we head to pick up s few six-packs at the beer depot to take home. Matt has been a fan of their Moon Man and Fat Squirrel, but on this trip I discovered my love of their Back 40 Bock.

That night being our anniversary, we had made reservations at what many people told us is the best restaurant in Madison, L'Etoile. A modern glass and steel building warmed with blond woods, white furniture and candlelight, L'Etoile is an elegant downtown spot. The menu is French, but definitely French influenced by what is in season locally. The whole back of the menu lists all the local farms where they get their ingredients. We had a beautifully prepared meal paired with wines that suited each course perfectly. On the pricey side, L'Etoile is not a place to eat out often, but for a special occasion it was worth it.

We capped off our weekend with a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin. Truly a perfect midwestern fall weekend.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Tearing the House Up Pizza Nights

I have to be honest with you, there is not a whole lot of cooking, especially interesting cooking, going on at Chez Good Appetite these days. We are currently in the midst of having both of the bathrooms in the house redone, we're talking gutted to the studs redone.

Everything is covered with dust, workmen are in and out and water gets shut off from time to time. Even better, the way the workers get in and out of the house is through the dining room and kitchen. Thus easy pastas, soups and pizzas seem to be our go-to dinners when we eat at home. Not to say some of those pizzas haven't been on the creative side....

First there was the smaked salmon pizza made with Matt's home smoked salmon. For this one we wanted a creamy cheese, so we went with Fontina. Then added red onions and capers both things you would normally serve with salmon. This one ended up getting mixed results. I really liked it, though thought it could use more capers. Matt on the other hand thought it wasn't great, but wasn't sure what would make it better.

Next up was the Muffaletta Pizza, this one was a hands down winner. Matt topped homemade pizza dough with some slices of salami and smoked ham then added some Olive Muffaletta that he ordered from That Pickle Guy. All of that was topped with grated provolone. So tasty! But so greasy from the olives, I felt guilty having a third slice. Next time we'll try to drain the olives a little more, but we will be making this one again.

We have three more weeks of construction on the bathrooms and then a some point all our windows and doors are being replaced. Who know when we'll get back to a complete normal house?

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski