Places to Go

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Star Struck

     

     I am a little star struck...or maybe a lot. Because what happened today was not just that Deb from Smittenkitchen responded to one of my comments on her blog...it was that I actually got to meet her! Isn't it funny how things you think are impossible can sometimes come true? How it helps you realize that if little things you thought could never happen can happen, then maybe those big impossible things looming ahead will happen too.


     Life is full of surprises and little blessings. Today I went to hear Deb talk on a panel, and I got to talk to her afterwards. And she is so sweet and so nice that she didn't even mind when we crazy star struck college girls mobbed her after the talk. Instead, she responded to all our questions! And talking to her and hearing her talk about her blog, I realized what a lovely thing a blog can be. Not just in that it can get one cookbook deals or panel invitations, but because it brings so many people together. Two girls I work with were at the talk today, and we got to discuss something non-work related! One person's writing did that for us.



     And not just one person's writing, but one person's cooking. Making food is such a communal experience. I feel like even if you are cooking for one, the process of buying the food from somewhere, transporting it, picking a recipe from cookbooks or blogs - everything turns it into a social experience. Listening to Deb talk about how she is constantly thinking critically about how food can be improved reminded me of how much food can mean. It can mean sharing, it can mean thinking critically and analyzing, it can mean traveling or scavenging to find ingredients (generally the latter if you're me).


     All this inspired me again, to create my own recipe. I love adapting recipes, and I often don't have the time to tweak them and give them my own spin as much as I would like. But Deb's idea of thinking of things You want to eat and then going on to create those really struck me. Enough that as soon as I got home, I made this flatbread. I love goat cheese, I love peaches, and in my mind they sing together. My go-to Trader Joe's crust stretched thin topped with drizzles of honey, peaches, goat cheese, a little black pepper and basil was thus born. I can imagine this as a lovely summer treat, when there are real peaches and not the frozen ones I have. Crispy and light and refreshing but with the melting creaminess of warm goat cheese, it was the perfect lunch (maybe not my most balanced meal...but that's OK). And above all, it reminded me of what I can do and come up with, and what blogging and being here lets me do. So thank you.


Peach and Goat Cheese Flatbread

1/2 Trader Joe's Pizza Dough (or enough dough for an 8'' Diameter Thin Crust Pizza)
1/2 Cup Sliced Peaches (I defrosted sliced, frozen peaches - I'm sure fresh would be better)
1 tsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Honey (You could use less if you have really sweet peaches)
3 tbsp Goat Cheese
1/4 tsp Black Pepper (This is to taste: just a few grinds is what you want)
1/4 tsp Basil (Ditto)

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Drizzle a little olive oil on an 8'' by 10'' baking tray and stretch or roll out your pizza dough until it covers the pan, i.e. it is as thin as possible without tearing (or roll it into an 8'' diameter pizza and use a pizza stone). Next, slice your peaches thinly. If you use pre-sliced peaches like me, just slice them each in half again lengthwise. Drizzle your pizza dough with a little bit of olive oil and 1 tsp of honey, making sure to cover the whole surface. Lay your slices of peach out on the dough trying not to overlap them. Then, put the tray in the oven and let it bake for 10 minutes until the crust is golden and crispy. Take the tray out and dollop the goat cheese all over the flatbread and around the peach slices. Place it back into the oven for 2 minutes, and then take out. Sprinkle it with black pepper and basil, and drizzle the remaining teaspoon of honey all over. Let it cool on the tray for 5 minutes, put it onto a cutting board, and serve!

1 comment:

  1. wow yummy recipe i like this recipe very much i'll try it at my home
    Delicious recipes

    ReplyDelete