Cooking With Kristin

It’s easy to bake away those coronavirus blues

Throughout these last few months, I’ve 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano had this mantra, “when stressed, baking 1/2 teaspoon salt is best.” Baking cookies for my crew has 2 garlic cloves, minced put a smile on my face. The kids love it, 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes too. 1/4 teaspoon sugar In our house another baker has emerged and she is rocking all the recipes she’s tried. My 12-year-old daughter, 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil 1 tablespoon olive oil freshly ground black pepper Lauren, has been pouring over old cookbooks and searching the internet for new and interesting recipes to try. There’s been a lot of hits and a few misses; but COOKING WITH KRISTIN By Kristin Kveno toppings: 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 4 cups) pepperoni, as much as you like most importantly she’s having a 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese blast baking the day away. Make the dough: Whisk together the

We have two pets in our house: Jack, our flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in a 18-year-old rescue mutt, and Ole, a onelarge bowl. Add water and melted butter year-old rescue Maine Coon cat. These and mix on low speed, using a dough hook, guys are spoiled by Lauren as she loves to until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scrapfind homemade treats to make for them. ing sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. This one features ham and cheddar and Increase speed to medium and knead until was a winner for both our four-legged the dough is glossy and smooth and pulls friends. My kids thought they were tasty away from sides of the bowl, 4 to 5 mintoo! utes. (You can easily make this by hand, Ham and cheese biscuits http://doggydessertchef.com/2010/07/19/ mixing in the water and butter with a spatula and then kneading by hand.) ham-and-cheese-biscuits/ Coat a large bowl with 1 teaspoon olive 1 cup cooked and chopped ham 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1-1/4 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup milk 1 tablespoon wheat germ oil. Using a greased spatula, transfer the dough to the bowl, turning to coat the dough in oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Allow cheddar cheese to warm to room temperature and in a large bowl combine all ingredients until well mixed. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with the cutter of your choice. Place treats on an ungreased cookie sheets and Make the sauce: While dough rises, heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, oregano and salt; cook, stirring occasionally until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Stir in tomatoes and n Friday nights are always pizza night at the Kveno house. Lauren was tired of our usual frozen pizza, week after week, so she found a Chicago-style deep dish pizza recipe. It was amazing! We all agreed it took us right back to a small pizzeria in Chicago when we devoured thick, cheesy, delicious deep dish there. sugar, increase heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to about 2½ cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and olive oil, then season with Deep dish pizza salt and pepper. www.southernfamilyrecipes.com/2020/04/homemade.html Laminate the dough: dough: 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons sugar 2-1/4 teaspoons instant yeast Turn the dough out onto dry work surface and roll into a 15×12-inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along the edges. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten the cylinder into an 18×4-inch rectangle. 1-1/4 cups water, room temperature 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1 teaspoon plus 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided Cut the rectangle in half crosswise. Working with one half, fold into thirds like a business letter; pinch seams together to form a ball. Repeat with the remaining half. Return balls to the oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in refrigerator sauce: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup grated onion until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake the pizzas: Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with

2 tablespoons of olive oil each.

Transfer 1 dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch circle. Transfer dough to the pan by rolling the dough loosely around a rolling pin and unrolling into the pan. Lightly press dough into the pan, working into corners and 1-inch upsides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with remaining dough ball.

For each pizza, sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella evenly over the surface of the dough. (If you’re using any meat or veggie toppings, add them now, on top of the cheese.) Spread 1¼ cups tomato sauce over the cheese (or toppings) and sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over the sauce. Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove pizza from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Lauren and I were feeling mighty brave after the success of her deep dish pizza so we decided to dive right into the world of sourdough bread making. That. Was. A. Mistake. We followed the recipe to make a starter and every day for five days you add more water and flour. There was bubbling the first few days. That was the sign we were looking for in knowing the starter was coming along nicely. Then on day four a liquid formed at the top. Smelling it, I knew something was off. Of course, I went right to the trusty Google to see what was going on. I quickly discovered that the liquid on top was named “hooch.” Yup, that was basically alcohol which was formed by the fermenting flour and water combo. While we like to create a lot of things in this house, making moonshine with my 12-year-old isn’t one of those things. I read you can pour off the liquid and keep going. Unfortunately, the starter never recovered from its hooch phase.

Lauren was undeterred in the baking department and simply went another route. Here’s a recipe she tried for some un-sourdough buns that were absolutely delicious! Homemade buns 3/4 cup warm water 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature 1 egg 3-1/2 cups flour 1/4 cup sugar 1-1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon instant yeast

Mix all ingredients. Cover dough and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours. Shape into buns, bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.

We’ve had some winners and losers in Kveno baking, but man, have we had fun! If you’re feeling baking adventurous give one of these recipes a try with your family!

Kristin Kveno scours the internet, pours over old family recipes and searches everywhere in between to find interesting food ideas for feeding your crew. Do you have a recipe you want to share? You can reach Kristin at kkveno@thelandonline.com. v