Spinach-Artichoke Heart Pizza

We have had a wood-fired oven in our backyard for three years now.  With the exception of a few main course dishes, we have mostly used it for pizza.  On my to-do list is to utilize the oven more.  I especially want to bake bread in it. But, we really enjoy making pizza.  It's a fun and easy way to entertain.  I prepare the dough and toppings ahead of time and we have our guests form their pizza dough on a wooden paddle and then accessorize with their choice of toppings. Lots of laughter as people, form their dough into rounds. Some aren't so round but they all taste good! My Hubbers mans the fire and cooks the pizza.  The cooking part only takes a few minutes as the oven is very hot! The oven temperature is over 700 degrees so if it's really warm outside, we bring him a cold beer every now and then!

I always have toppings for the traditional red sauce/pepperoni pizza.  Everyone loves the classic combination. I like to experiment with my pizza, trying new combinations.  I really enjoyed this spinach-artichoke topping. The white sauce makes the perfect base for the sautéed spinach. More fresh spinach, lots of cheese, and artichoke hearts made for a great combination. If you are one of those who must have meat on your pizza you can also add some roasted or grilled chicken pieces.

Homemade pizza is easy to make in a kitchen oven, too.  A baking stone and a very hot oven will do the trick! If using a pizza stone, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place pizza stone in the preheated oven and let heat for 20 minutes before transferring pizza to the stone. You can use parchment paper under the dough to help prevent sticking.  It's not necessary in the wood oven, we turn the pizza quite frequently to prevent sticking and provide even cooking time near the burning wood.

Spinach-Artichoke Heart Pizza

1 batch homemade or store-bought pizza dough
8 oz. fresh spinach, divided
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 oz. shredded or finely chopped provolone cheese
4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (16 oz.) can artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained well, quartered if large

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add 3/4 of the spinach and the minced garlic, and
sauté until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a layer of paper towels and gently press some of the water out. Finely chop the spinach mixture and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat (do not brown).  Whisk in the flour and onion powder and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the milk and increase temperature to medium high and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and stir in the spinach mixture.  Chop the remaining spinach and set aside.

Stretch or roll out pizza dough to desired thickness on a floured wooden pizza paddle (flour well so the pizza will easily slide off the paddle into the oven).  Spread the spinach sauce evenly over the pizza, leaving a one-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle fresh spinach over the sauce, then top with provolone and mozzarella cheeses. Add chopped artichokes (and cooked chicken, if using) and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Using the pizza paddle, slide the pizza onto the surface of the wood oven or the hot pizza stone. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. 

Strawberry Country Cake

As my son says, he always knows tax season is behind us when I have a Sunday family dinner and serve a strawberry dessert!  My favorite strawberry patch opens up right around April 15, perfect timing! I drove out early in the morning and got some just-picked berries from the field.  Over the last few weeks we have had some spring storms; lots of rain, wind, and even hail, which wrecked havoc on the patch, the berries aren't as big as in past years.  But they are still so juicy and flavorful!  I will return to the strawberry patch soon as it's time to make my annual batches of strawberry jam for my grandchildren.

This cake is adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook. She makes two 8-inch cakes.  I decided to get fancy and make a four-layer cake.  It's all in the presentation, you know! The cake is a cross between a traditional biscuit-type shortcake and a fluffy cake.  It's a dense cake with lots of flavor, due to the addition of lemon and orange zest in the batter. If you're only using one of the cakes, the second cake can be frozen and used on another occasion.

I can cook, bake, sew, garden, drive a race car, but my photography skills are minimal, at best. They were even worse on this occasion as I tried to take pictures before serving our dessert.  My family wanted their cake and they were laughing as we joked about how we can't eat until I get a food pic! My little blog depicts my real life, nothing fancy, including my pictures!

The aftermath!

Strawberry Country Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Filling for EACH cake:
 1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy whipping cream, chilled
2 tablespoons sugar**
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract**
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour (or use baking spray) two 8-inch cake pans.

Cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix well.  Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda.  On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth. 

Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature.

To make the filling for one cake, whip the cream in a mixer until soft peaks form; add the sugar and vanilla and mix until firm. Combine strawberries with sugar, let sit about 10 minutes for juices to form.

Slice one of the cakes in half with a long serated knife.  Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter and spread with half the whipped cream. Using a slotted spoon, scatter the the sliced strawberries over the cream. Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream.  Decorate with strawberries.

I doubled the filling recipe and decorated the top with the sliced strawberries.

** I used vanilla sugar.

Lemon Pound Cake

My little blog has been very quiet the last 6 weeks! Tax Season 2018 took over my life. We did good to have groceries in the house and dinners were very basic. Most days we had big lunches and no dinner. My work load started to lighten up last week and I managed to get in the kitchen one evening and bake. I was exhausted but it felt so great to be back in my kitchen and not working with numbers!

I didn’t have much in the way of exotic baking ingredients, not even a bag of chocolate chips, but I had lemons withering away on the counter.  My Hubbers likes the lemon loaf cake slices at Starbucks so it was an easy decision to bake a cake for him.  This small pound cake has lots of lemon flavor, first with lemon-infused sugar and later with a lemon syrup that is brushed over the cake.  Finally, a glaze flavored with lemon juice adds even more lemony flavor.  It went fast at the office!

We have one more day of tax season, then I’m back to a part-time work schedule.  I have so many projects planned at home, I’m almost overwhelmed with what I should tackle first. Getting in the kitchen, and baking again, is high on the list!

 

Lemon Pound Cake

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sour cream
1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten

Syrup

 

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

Glaze

½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream and lemon juice.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the lemon zest and sugar. Rub together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter to the bowl and beat the butter/sugar mixture on medium speed until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the eggs in 3 additions, beating well after each addition until the mixture is smooth (stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary).  With the mixer on low, alternately add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the sour cream in 2 additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Once all the ingredients have been added, scrape down the bowl then beat on low for another 30 seconds to fully combine. Use a rubber spatula, if necessary, to make sure the batter at the bottom of the bowl is fully mixed.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the top then tap the pan on your work surface to release any air bubbles. Bake the cake for 55-65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted near the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack.

While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow to simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.

After removing cake from the pan, brush the tops and sides with the lemon syrup.  Let the cake cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir until smooth, adding more lemon juice, if necessary, to get a thick glaze.  Pour over the top of the cake.  Let the glaze set for at least 15 minutes before serving.