2013: A Foodie's Year in Review

With 2013 in the past, I think now is the time to reflect on some of our favorite results from the Barr Kitchen.  We tried several gadgets and new techniques that improved our cooking and came up with some awesome dishes in return.  Here are just a few:

1. We renovated our outdated kitchen from the 1950's, which involved ripping everything out and replacing all appliances, cabinets, and counter tops.  It ended up adding about 7 feet of counter space... a big deal when before we were functioning on about 1 foot of cooking area.

Before and After view of the kitchen

2.  Our backsplash is actually made up of bricks from a building that was demolished in Dallas.  We had fun handpicking them out of the brickyard.

3.  We discovered the deliciousness of cooking with Organic Ghee.

4.  Open Nature Seaweed became a staple for snacking in our household.

5.  Nick began cooking steak sous vide.  It became our favorite way to eat steak.

 

6.  Our favorite kitchen gadget is the Egg-Genie.  Perfect hard boiled eggs every single time.  

 

7.  My favorite salad became a combination of kale, apple, avocado, red bell pepper, carrot, sunflower seeds, rice vinegar, olive oil, and garlic.  Fabulous!

8.  The versatile nature of flax meal and chia seeds.  I used them to make everything from pie crust to dark chocolate cherry energy bites.

 

9.  Dark Chocolate Avocado Brownies... yes, avocado was the magic ingredient and I'm slightly obsessed.

 

10.  Spaghetti Squash with Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella. 

 

11.  Scotch Eggs-Texas Style were the best thing Nick came up with this year.

 

12.  We traveled to St. Louis in June and enjoyed some of the best Smoked Duck Hummus with Pita Bread at Morgan Street Brewery.  To die for.  

 13.  Nick got a new smoker for Christmas.  I have a feeling that we will be enjoying more smoked meat in 2014.

 

Hummus and Roasted Vegetable Pizza

I consider this recipe my specialty.  My husband always goes back for seconds and thirds when I make this particular pizza.  I can't exactly explain, but what the hummus does in the oven is complete magic, especially coupled with all of the roasted vegetables.  Mushrooms replace the need for meat, so it is a vegetarian recipe, though I have added shrimp before and it tasted great.  Enjoy this one... it is a treat.

Hummus and Roasted Vegetable Pizza

Ingredients:
Your favorite pizza dough (can be store bought or made with Bisquick and cornmeal)
1 small container hummus (I have sampled all flavors with this recipe, but our favorite was the Roasted Red Pepper)
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 small zucchini, sliced thin
1 small yellow squash, sliced thin
1 container sliced mushrooms
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1/3 of a 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1.)  Prepare and knead the pizza dough. Place the ball of dough in a bowl, loosely covered, in a warm place to rise for one hour.

2.)  Wash the vegetables. Slice the squash and onion into half inch thick pieces. Place the squash in a bowl and drizzle with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Preheat a skillet and then saute the squash for about 5 minutes. Wipe excess oil out of the bowl the portabello cap and onion pieces. Cook them in the same manner as the squash. After the vegetables are cooked, cut into bite sized pieces. Also, cut one of the roasted red peppers from the jar into strips.

3.)  Once the dough has risen to about double its original size (about one hour), begin to preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a pizza pan with non-stick spray and a generous sprinkle of cornmeal.

4.)  Punch the dough down and, using floured hands, stretch it into a 16 inch circle. Using the back of a spoon, spread about half of the batch of hummus over top of the dough and 1/2 cup of the Mozzarella cheese. Top with the grilled vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

5.) Bake the pizza for 20-25 minutes or until the outside edges of the crust are golden brown. Cut into 8 pieces and enjoy!