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2. desserts and baking

C2
TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013
POST-BULLETIN • www.PostBulletin.com
Mealtime
Try cauliflower crust on homemade pizza
cart smarts • KAITLIN ANDERSON
life@postbulletin.com
The
first time
I heard
about it was
from a dietitian friend who
said she was serving it to her
dinner guests. I just thought
she was being a “typical
dietitian,” trying to include as
many vegetables as possible.
But then another dietitian
friend shared a recipe for it.
Wait — is this a popular thing?
Turns out it’s all over the
internet: cauliflower pizza. I
had to try it. So I took a chance,
and put it on our weekly menu
last week.
Instead of flour, the pizza
crust is made from cauliflower. I have tried the mashed
potato trick at home with a lot
of success, so I was fairly confident that cauliflower could
be hidden in pizza crust, too.
But trust me, I was still pretty
hesitant. Still, I pulled out the
food processor and started
cooking.
First, I finely shredded the
cauliflower in the food processor. Then I microwaved it for
eight minutes to cook it. Then,
I missed a valuable step — I
never absorbed the excess water from the cooked cauliflower. Instead, I went to mixing. I
added eggs, whole-wheat bread
crumbs, parmesan cheese and
Italian seasoning to the cooked
cauliflower.
I spread the mixture out on
two cookie sheets and baked the
crust for a half-hour. Then we
topped with marinara sauce,
part-skim mozzarella cheese
and our toppings of choice. I
chose pineapple for me and
Owen, and my husband chose
turkey pepperoni, red peppers,
onions and spinach.
While the pizzas cooked,
I sliced up a fresh mango
because our son was getting
impatient for dinner. We finally
tasted the pizzas at 7:45 p.m.
We agreed the flavor was
great — we especially loved the
Italian seasoning in the crust.
The texture, however, was
pretty different from regular
pizza. The best part was the
edge of the pizza, where it was
nice and crispy, but the center
was somewhat soggy because
I made the mistake of not
absorbing all the excess water.
It was an eat-with-a-fork kind
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
• 1 head of cauliflower, washed and leaves removed
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Finely shred the cauliflower in a
food processor. Place shredded cauliflower in a glass bowl and
microwave (uncovered) for 8 minutes. In the meantime, blend
cheese, eggs and Italian seasoning in the food processor. Place
the cooked cauliflower in a clean, thin dish towel. Wrap it up in
the middle and twist closed, squeezing out all the moisture.
Return dry cauliflower to a bowl and add cheese/egg/
seasoning mixture. Stir until ingredients are evenly combined.
Divide the mixture in half. Place the cauliflower “dough” onto
two baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or baking sheets
coated with cooking spray) and spread the mixture with your
hands until it is about 3/4-inch thick. (This recipe will make 2
pizza crusts.)
Bake the crusts for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and
firm enough to hold its shape. Remove crust from oven and top
with your choice of toppings. Return to oven and bake for 10
minutes or until cheese is melted.
Patrick Farrell / Miami Herald / MCT
Wine poached salmon served with vegetable medley makes for a
quick meal.
Wine-spiked bath yields
moist, flavorful salmon
By Linda Gassenheimer
Associated Press
• Cherry tomatoes can be
used instead of grape tomatoes.
Countdown:
Try a new sauce for your mini meatloaf
Poaching salmon in white
wine produces a moist, flavorful result. Broccoli and carrots,
poached with the salmon, add
to the flavor and the resulting
sauce. Sauteed grape tomatoes
complete the dish.
All that’s needed is a quickcooking rice to finish the fast
and easy dinner. I use brown
rice that can be microwaved in
1 to 1½;-minutes, depending on
the brand. You will need 3/4;
cup for each serving; save the
rest for another use.
This meal contains 633 calories per serving with 35 percent
of calories from fat.
By Susan M. Selasky
Associated Press
Helpful hints:
Meatloaf is the king of comfort
food.
It’s also one of those dishes that
yield sought-after leftovers. When
I mention meatloaf to a friend, she relishes the thought of a leftover meatloaf sandwich.
Today’s recipe came about, in part,
because I found mini ceramic loaf
pans at a local HomeGoods store. They
are the perfect size for making individual, but generous meatloaves. They
also are ideal if you’re trying to pay
attention to portion control.
And, I had ground sirloin and hot
Italian sausage tucked away in the
freezer and wanted to re-create a
meatloaf I sampled some time ago at
the Kona Grill in Troy, Mich.
I remembered that the recipe had a
mix of beef and Italian sausage — a
good combination for producing a
juicy, tender meatloaf. After searching
the Internet, I came up with today’s
recipe: Mini Meatloaves with Shoyu
Cream Sauce.
The meatloaf recipe is fairly basic; what sets it apart is the Shoyu
Cream Sauce. It’s a simple mixture of
heavy whipping cream and soy sauce,
brought to a boil and thickened with
slurry — a mixture of cornstarch and
water. You can substitute regular or
reduced-fat whipping cream or fat-free
half-and-half.
Shoyu is Japanese sweet soy sauce.
At many grocery stores you will find
several varieties of soy sauce. Not
all soy sauces have the same flavor
profile. Some are sweeter; some are
darker, and some are slightly thicker.
It is a salty condiment, and some
brands can be saltier than others. For
this recipe, I used Kikkoman reducedsodium soy sauce.
One technique I learned some time
ago when making meatloaf is to saute
any vegetables first, so they get nicely
caramelized and take on a sweet flavor.
If you put the vegetables in raw, they
will steam. Also, let the meatloaf rest
before slicing. If you slice it right
away, it may crumble and likely will
be dry.
If you use a hot Italian sausage, the
cream sauce will help cool off your
taste buds.
Having the right equipment, such as
these loaf pans, helps but isn’t necessary for this recipe. You can shape the
meat into individual loaves and place
them on a foil-lined baking sheet with
sides.
This recipe makes enough for four
generous meatloaves and is hearty
enough that you will probably have
leftovers. Any leftover meatloaf also
can be frozen.
If you’re not into cream sauces with
meatloaf, an optional glaze is 1/2;
cup ketchup, 1/2; cup chili sauce and
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar. Mix
and spoon it on before baking.
If you use a hot Italian
sausage, the cream sauce will help
cool off your taste buds.
of pizza.
After reviewing several cauliflower crust recipes, I have
learned the trick to the perfect
crust is absorbing that excess
water. Next time, I won’t miss
this valuable step.
Overall, it was a fun experience to try something new for
dinner. Next time you walk
past cauliflower in the produce
section, consider turning it
into pizza crust.
Kaitlin Anderson is a registered dietitian at Hy-Vee North in Rochester.
This information is not intended
as medical advice. Please consult a
medical professional for individual
advice.
• Use the same pan to cook
the salmon, vegetable medley
and tomatoes.
• Start salmon dish.
• While salmon cooks, prepare rice.
Shopping List:
To buy: 1 bottle dry white
wine, 1 container ground
allspice, 1 container ground
thyme, 1 bunch broccoli florets,
1 package sliced carrots, 3/4;
pound salmon fillet, 1 package grape tomatoes, 1 package
microwave brown rice.
Staples: Canola oil, salt, black
peppercorns.
Linda Gassenheimer is the author,
most recently, of “Fast and FlavorfulGreat Diabetes Meals from Market
to Table.” Her website is dinnerinminutes.com. Follow her on Twitter @
lgassenheimer.
White wine poached salmon with
vegetable medley
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 3/4 pound salmon fillet
• 3 teaspoons canola oil, divided use
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
Combine 2 cups water, white wine, allspice, thyme, broccoli and
carrots in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook 5
minutes. Add another 1/2 cup water and salmon. Simmer gently,
5 minutes. Remove vegetables and salmon with a slotted spoon.
Remove saucepan from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon canola oil and add
salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over salmon and vegetables.
Add 2 remaining teaspoons canola oil to the same pan along with
grape tomatoes. Sauté 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
to taste. Arrange around salmon and vegetables. Makes 2 servings.
Per serving: 413 calories (38 percent from fat), 17.5 g fat (2.7 g
saturated, 8.0 g monounsaturated), 78 mg cholesterol, 39.5 g protein,
14.5 g carbohydrates, 4.3 g fiber, 140 mg sodium.
Mini meatloaf with shoyu cream sauce.
Jessica J. Trevino / Detroit Free Press / MCT
Mini meatloaves with shoyu cream sauce
Makes: 4 / Preparation time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
For this recipe we used 4-by-2-by-1 1/4;-inch deep mini meatloaf pans. But you can
make this meatloaf in any size loaf pan. Increase the baking time for larger meatloaves. A
standard-size meatloaf will take about 1 hour to cook thoroughly.
• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (any color)
• 1/2 pound ground sirloin
• 1/2 pound sweet, mild or hot Italian sausage
• 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons no-salt -added tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon favorite all-purpose seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Shoyu cream
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream or low-fat or fat-free half-and-half
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush 4 mini meatloaf pans or individual ramekins with a little
olive oil. In a skillet, heat the oil with the butter. Add the garlic and saute 1-2 minutes or until
fragrant. Add the onions and peppers and saute 5 minutes or until onions are just beginning to
brown. Remove from heat.
In a mixing bowl place the sirloin, sausage, bread crumbs, egg, tomato paste, all-purpose
seasoning, black pepper and onion-and-pepper mixture and mix well.
Pack mixture into mini meatloaf pans or ramekins, making sure it’s pressed evenly in the pan.
Bake about 30 minutes or until the top is browned and crusty and the internal temperature in
the center of the meatloaf is 155 degrees. Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let rest for 10
minutes. While resting, the internal temperature will rise to at least 160 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan combine the cream with the soy sauce and bring to a boil. Stir
in the cornstarch mixture and cook 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until mixture is
thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
514 calories (55 percent from fat), 31 grams fat (14 grams saturated fat), 27 grams carbohydrates,
31 grams protein, 1,351 milligrams sodium, 167 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams fiber.
Author surveys
Kentucky barbecue
By Sharon Thompson
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Wes Berry’s goal was to eat at every barbecue place in Kentucky and write a travel guide. After hitting the
road, he realized that describing smoked meats and sauces dozens
of times began to sound like a broken record. So he changed the
focus of the book and wrote the stories of the people who smoke
the meats and concoct the sauces.
Berry, an associate professor of English at Western Kentucky
University in Bowling Green, wrote “The Kentucky Barbecue
Book” (The University Press of Kentucky, $27.95) “to rectify a
wrong.” It’s being released Friday.
Berry sampled barbecue at 167 joints and festivals (111 are in the
book), and his taste buds were never happier.
Who’s the best?
“People ask me time and again, ‘Who’s the best?’ I could probably give you a Top 20 list, but then I’d agonize over number 21,
which nearly made the cut,” he said.
When Berry started to write the book, he considered a rating
system similar to the one used by the authors of Real Barbecue, a
scale of “good,” “real good” and “as good as I’ve ever had.”
When people ask Berry to name the best, he usually says something like, “It depends on what kind of meat you want,” because
few places do everything at an excellent level.
Natural preference
Berry had eaten plenty of barbecue before he began this quest
and thought he knew what he liked. He was a fan of thin-sliced
pork shoulder grilled on an open pit over hickory coals and basted
with a vinegar-pepper dip.
“Even though I cut my barbecue teeth on thin-sliced, vinegary
pork shoulder grilled over hickory coals, my palate has always
been open to trying new foods, and therefore I’ve been delighted by
barbecue styles from far southwest Texas to Kansas City to middle
Georgia,” he said.
Mutton better
And he’s a fan of mutton.
“Smoky, tender mutton marries well with the tangy black dip
sauces you’ll find at the four Owensboro barbecue places and at
Western Kentucky Catholic church picnics,” he said.
Videos of Berry’s travels are at Wbko.com/golocal.