Caramelized Onion & Chicken Pizza

This is an oldie.

Remember... Rotisserie Chicken is your Friend?

This is a yummy recipe (slightly adapted) from Pillsbury Best Ever Chicken July 2009.



White Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Sweet Onions
2 TBLS butter
3 C thinly sliced sweet onions
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp thyme
2 oz garlic herb cream cheese
1 pre-baked pizza crust
1/3 C prepared Alfredo sauce
1 C shredded rotisserie chicken
1/4 C Italian blend shredded cheese

Melt butter in a skillet and cook onions and sugar for 20 to 25 minutes, until deep golden brown and caramelized; stir in thyme leaves.

Stir cream cheese & Alfredo sauce together. Spread over pizza crust. Top with chicken, then onions, then shredded cheese.

Bake in 450F oven for 10 minutes or until heated through.

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Still beautiful!


Shred some of that convenient chicken.


Caramelize the onions.


Stir together garlic herb cream cheese and Alfredo sauce.



Spread cream cheese mixture over pizza crust and top with chicken, onions and cheese.





And into the oven!


I really liked this a lot. But I think I'm the only one!

I used sweet onions, but think it would have been better with a sharper onion. But that's just me!

I KNEW Jon and Bobby would want nothing at all to do with it.

So I made this for them.


Tawny ate it, but I don't think she was a big fan. She loves onions, but prefers them raw.

Mmmm.... love caramelized onions!


I'd make this again. It would make a nice party appetizer.

Roasted Broccoli

I don't remember when I started doing this. But probably within the last year, I realized that veggies totally ROCK when you roast them.

They are ready super fast and don't take much prep either.

We used to eat a lot of steamed broccoli, but roasted is BY FAR the favorite now!



No real recipe.

Enough Broccoli for your family
A bit of Olive Oil
Seasoned Salt & Pepper

Sometimes I add some big onion rings or minced garlic or some parmesan cheese.

Just lay it all out on a baking sheet in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on seasoned salt & pepper.



Throw on some onions or garlic or parm.

Put it into a 450F oven, until the edges just start to brown.

Lots of little browned edges...


That's it!

It's so easy... but sooo tasty!

Only Tawny & I eat broccoli stems and normally I wouldn't cook them. I knew I'd be making some Broccoli Cheese Soup later in the week, so I roasted those too.

Quick easy and the only veggie that everyone in my house actually likes.

Stay tuned for Broccoli Cheese Soup!

Celeriac

I keep seeing Celeriac all over FoodTV lately.



The other day at the grocery store, on one of the little end shelves in the produce department, there were several celeriacs. (weird... my spell check doesn't like the plural version!) Celeriac, also known as Celery Root sounded like a fabulous fall food! I grabbed three!



What to make?

This is my own little personal cooking challenge. Find a new ingredient and use it.
(I still have a challenging bag of Chana Dal waiting to be made into something!)

I found a Tyler Florence recipe that sounded like the perfect dish!

Celery Root and Potato Mash with Horseradish
2 celery roots (about 1 1/2 pounds each), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
I needed 3 celery roots to get to 3 pounds
3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt, plus kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon grated fresh or prepared horseradish
I used 2 HEAPING tablespoons horseradish
Chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Extra-virgin olive oil

Place the celery root and potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water; add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to boil over medium heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the celery root and potatoes are very tender. Drain the water from the vegetables and pass them through a food mill or a ricer into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the cream, butter, and horseradish until the cream is absorbed and the mixture is smooth. Season with kosher salt and pepper and garnish with chopped chives. Drizzle with a healthy dose of olive oil and serve.

Ok.... first to peel the celeriacs/celery roots.

They are hard gnarly things!


This part was NOT easy. I don't own and have never really used a paring knife; however, I think it was definitely the tool I needed for this task.



First I cut off the top... it kinda reminded me of a pineapple.

I tried using a veggie peeler. Sometimes it worked ok, on slightly smoother sections. I was afraid of cutting them down to nothing with Tippy (my favorite chef knife) Also Tippy ironically has no tip... which made digging out little weird parts not so easy.

So I peeled and hacked and scraped...


Ewww... the bottoms of the root part have gnarly coarse hair like a coconut!




Finally... peeled and cut into cubes.


Raw, it tastes kind of nutty and celery-y


And into the pot with the much easier to peel and cut potatoes.


Let me just add... the recipe calls for celeriac & potatoes to be cut to the same size. But you really need to cut the celeriac much smaller than the potatoes, because it took MUCH longer to get tender.

Drain the veggies. I don't have a food mill or a ricer so I tried to hand-mash them.



Add butter, cream and horseradish.


I enjoy hand-mashed potatoes. I like some lumps. But the celeriac is a different texture, so I used the handmixer.


There were still some lumps but much smaller.

That's it!

Garnish with Olive Oil & Chives


Even though I had a lot of trouble preparing this, with the peeling and the mashing, I really loved the texture. It was very creamy, with some soft pleasant lumps.

The flavor was awesome! Even with all of the extra horseradish, it wasn't over powering at all. It was creamy, celery-y, buttery, nutty with a bit of the kick from the horseradish! Total YUM! Jon really liked it too!

I served it with Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Broccoli.


Bob of course, didn't even try it. Tawny doesn't like celery. Since she slept through dinner, she didn't know what it was. To look at it, it just looks like mashed potatoes. So I heated up a plate for her when she woke up. I did mention there was horseradish and she likes that. She took one bite and looked at me. Then asked what it was. I told her Mashed Celeriac & Potatoes with Horseradish. I thought if I didn't say 'celery root' she might not be instantly put off. She replied, "Celery Ass??!!!!" YUCK!!!!!!!!! I said no... celerIAC... Ok... not a winner in Tawny's book. But she doesn't like celery and it really does have a strong celery flavor. (She did LOVE the pork tenderloin, even though every time I tell her I'm making it, she's says she doesn't. She always likes roasted broccoli)

I did love this, but probably won't make it again, unless we're having company or I cut down the recipe drastically, because this makes a lot.

I think I'd like to try celeriac roasted or maybe in a stew next!

Oh yeah...

Dear Santa,
I've been very very good this year. And I know I said that I didn't want anymore knives for Christmas, but I think I've changed my mind and would really really love a 6in Wusthof Classic Chef Knife and a 3in Wusthof Classic Paring Knife. Please browse through my blog and let me know what kind of cookies you'd like me to leave out.
Love,

Super-Tuscan White Bean Soup

I picked up Progresso Soups & More Magazine; October 20, 2009 edition.



I flip through these little magazines at the grocery store all the time. It's rare that I can resist them. I usually end up buying a few a month.

Jon says I need to make at least one recipe from every one that I buy.

So here's the one from this one!

Actually... there are a couple others I'd like to try too.



Super-Tuscan White Bean Soup
Soup:
4 slices bacon, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, cut coarsely
1 medium carrot, cut coarsely
1 medium celery stalk, cut coarsely (I used two)
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed (I used four)
4 15oz cans cannellini beans, drained
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 C dry white wine
4 C chicken broth

Topping:
2 TBLS olive oil
1 TBLs garlic, finely chopped (I used more)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 basil, sliced
salt & pepper

In a dutch oven or stock pot, cook bacon, onion, celery, carrot and garlic for 5 minutes.

Add beans, wine, broth and bay leaf. Cover and cook for 20 - 25 minutes; until veggies are tender.

While that's cooking, heat olive oil in a hot skillet. Add garlic and cook until just golden. Add crushed red pepper; cook for a minute. Add basil and cook until wilted.

When veggies in the soup are tender, blend soup with a stick blender, until there are no chunks of anything left.

Ladle into bowls, top with a big pinch of basil mixture and enjoy!

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Cook veggies and bacon for about 5 minutes.


Add broth, wine, beans and bay leaf.




Cover and cook for 20 - 25 minutes or until veggies are tender.


While the soup is cooking, make the topping.



That only took a few minutes... so while you're waiting for the soup to finish cooking you totally have time to whip up a couple of refreshing POM Spritzers ala Gypsy Girl Gourmet.

So the soup should be done now.

I used my stick blender for this, but you can definitely use your food processor.

Don't forget to pluck out the bay leaf.


Now let 'er rip!






It's the consistency of pea soup when it's all blended.

Ladle it into a bowl and top with some of the basil topping.


I served it with Scallion Cheddar Panini. I love love love those little cheesy scallion sammies!


Jon and I really enjoyed the soup. He said he would have preferred whole beans in his bean soup, but still liked it. Bobby is pretty picked and he didn't like it; but I didn't expect him too. Tawny said it "smelled like meat"... "kielbasa or something". I told her it was the bacon and she'd probably really like it. I think she got kielbasa stuck in her head (she is not a fan) and didn't like the soup... however she does LOVE the little sammies!

This soup is definitely a winner. Thick, hearty and warming. A perfect meal as the nights start getting colder.

I'm not the only one with soup on the stove. If you're ready for some satisfying fall soups, here are few that caught my eye!

There's Potato Onion Soup simmering on Joanna's stove over at go ahead and snicker.

Heather from girlichef has the wonderful aroma of Orecchiette, Sausage & White Bean Soup wafting through her house.

Dajana over at Baker's Corner... somewhere in my kitchen can't make enough of her Chickpea Cream Soup, because it's such a family favorite.

There is no shortage of FABULOUS soups coming out of Natashya's kitchen at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies... Vietnamese Chicken Pho, Autumn Barley Soup, and Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, just to name a few... but Natashya has DOZENS and you should really browse through.

Cathy over at Accountants can cook? has a hearty Gumbo ready to take the chill off.

I could go on and on! Are you ready to get your soup on?