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!

An Ode to Roquefort

   
     The smell of Roquefort, that notorious salty blue fungi speckled French cheese, baking in the oven is heady. I feel almost drunk as I sit and write this, all off that smell. Man oh Man. So rich and salty and tempting me with things to come. That is only one of the good smells that came out of the oven today.

     The first, only half an hour ago, was of roasting acorn squash. That was slathered in balsamic vinegar and honey and olive oil and pepper and laid on a foil lined pan, placed in the oven, and yum. But you see, I couldn't eat it all off the pan - I stopped myself after only two pieces. Because today I made a flatbread.

     What is the difference between a pizza and a flatbread? I don't know why I feel the need to call this a flatbread, but can we let it slide? Because pizza or flatbread, this is just pure deliciousness. It came out of the oven by the way. I ate almost half of it standing over it telling myself I still need to save some to photograph tomorrow in the morning light. Do we all understand how this flatbread is a conglomeration of many good things together?

   
     Roasted acorn squash. Check. Spinach that was mixed up with lots of Roquefort and a little honey. Check. Then globs of Roquefort on Top. Oh My God. The sweetness of the squash against the saltiness of the Roquefort is more than divine. The spinach became almost creamy in its Roquefort bath and biting through the cheese and tender squash and spinach to the crunchy crust....Heaven.

    
     The irony behind all this is that before this summer you couldn't have paid me to touch blue cheese. Yet, post the most awesome trip to France with the loveliest people who I miss so so so much, I am a blue cheese person. But most specifically, a Roquefort person. The Roquefort eating (orgies) we had this summer were definitely inappropriate in the amounts of Roquefort sometimes consumed per day.

     Be warned that this recipe is an ode to those moments, and the taste of the cheese really comes through here. If you are not a blue cheese person, I would cut down on the amount you mix with the spinach, and just sprinkle less on top. But this recipe, the way I made it, is dedicated to my France trip companions....you would like it.

Roquefort, Spinach, and Acorn Squash Flatbread
Adapted (a lot) from Smitten Kitchen

1 1 pound Acorn Squash
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Olive Oil
A generous grinding of black pepper
A light sprinkle of salt
1 cup Spinach
1/2 block Roquefort (about 1/4 cup, plus more for sprinkling)
1/2 Trader Joe's Pizza Dough OR enough dough for an 8'' Diameter Thin Crust Pizza

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut your acorn squash in half, scoop out the middle, and then cut it into half-moons. Peel these, then cut the half moons into chunks (about 1 inch, they can be rough).* In a medium bowl, mix together the balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp of the honey, olive oil, black pepper, and salt. Dump in the chunks of acorn squash, and mix them around, until they are all thoroughly coated. Lay them flat on a baking tray (covered with foil if you don't want it to get dirty). Pour any remaining liquid over them. Place them in the oven and let them roast for about 20 minutes until they are just fork-tender. Take them out and let them cool while you finish the rest of the steps. Raise the heat of the oven to 425 degrees.

Shred your spinach and place it in a bowl with the Roquefort, crumbled up, and the last tablespoon of honey (I used the same bowl again to get those last drips of marinade). Massage the spinach into the cheese, until it looks almost like a spinach dip.

Stretch out your pizza dough (I generally just drizzle some olive oil on my baking tray and stretch the pizza dough until its as thin as possible, without tearing, and fits in the middle of the tray) or roll it out to an 8'' diameter pizza. Top it with the spinach and cheese mixture and the pieces of acorn squash. Dot with some extra crumbles of Roquefort cheese if you would like, and place it in the 425 degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is crispy and the cheese is golden on top. Let it cool on the pan for ten minutes, transfer to a cutting board, cut and eat!

*Note: You can tell by my pictures that I forgot to peel them. Peeling all those little chunks when they were hot out of the oven? Painful.