I'm spicy and I've got skills.

 Spicy Flatbread

Ingredients

Dough: (enough for 4 smallish rounds)

2 TB. yeast– 2 packages

2 tsp. sugar

1 Cup warm water

3 TB. olive oil

2 3/4–3 Cups flour

2 tsp. salt

Topping:

2 tsp. Turkish Oregano

2 tsp. cracked rosemary

1 tsp. dehydrated minced garlic (2 cloves fresh, minced)

1/4-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper or Aleppo pepper

3 TB. olive oil

1 tsp. coarse salt (sprinkle on to taste)

Directions

Mix yeast, sugar and warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy brown. Mix in olive oil. 

Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, along with the salt, blending in with a spoon. 

Stop once you have added 2 1/2 Cups of flour, and use the rest of the flour on the table while kneading. 

The dough will be a bit sticky; dust the dough and your hands with flour and work it into the dough. 

The dough will go from wet and sticky to smooth and elastic while kneading - don’t add too much flour, it should be a soft dough, as then the dough will be dry and hard once baked. 

Divide the dough into four pieces for bread or small pizzas, two pieces for larger pizzas, knead each one briefly into a nice round shape, then place on an olive oil covered baking sheet. 

Roll the dough balls over until covered with oil, then let stand for 20 minutes. The dough will start to get puffy as it rests.

While the dough is resting, prepare the topping if using. 

Mix all ingredients except salt. 

Stir to blend, let stand. 

After 20 minutes, pat the dough into shape. 

Just start patting with palms from the center out, circular shapes roughly 6-8” across. The dough should be about 1/4” thick.
At this point, follow your pizza recipe if using the flatbread as crust. 

A fair amount of olive oil on the baking sheet will help the crust to not stick if it is weighted down with toppings, but it is till best to not be too heavy handed with the toppings.

To bake the bread, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Brush olive oil on the baking sheets and place 2 bread rounds on each one. 

Spoon 1⁄4 of the spice mixture onto the center of each piece of dough and spread the spice/oil mix out to the edges.
Once the spices are spread over the top, let rest again for 20 minutes. 

Sprinkle with coarse salt and then bake for about 15 minutes, until the bread is golden brown.
Remove, cool briefly, cut into wedges and serve.

I am not an intellectual. An intellectual is someone who looks at a sausage and thinks of Picasso, whereas I just say 'pass the mustard'.

Cranberry-Pear Mostarda

½ cup dry white wine 
½ cup sugar
1 Bosc pear, peeled, cored, cut into ½-inch pieces
12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed, divided
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Cook wine and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture boils, about 4 minutes. 

Add pear and half of the cranberries and cook, stirring frequently, until cranberries have burst and pears begin to soften, 5–8 minutes. 

Stir in remaining cranberries and bring to a boil.

Remove pan from heat and stir in mustard seeds, dry mustard, and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. 

Let sit, uncovered, at room temperature until cool (flavor will develop as it sits). 

Transfer to a medium serving bowl and serve at room temperature.

Do Ahead: Mostarda can be made 5 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

You can't serve up hearts like cherries jubilee

 Cherry Almond Refrigerator Cookies

½ cup sliced almonds

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped maraschino cherries

Finely chop the almonds in a food processor; set aside. 

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. 

Add the egg and almond extract and beat again until combined. 

With the mixer running on low, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Add the chopped almonds and cherries and stir with a spatula to combine.

Divide the dough into two halves; shape each half of dough into an 8-inch log. 

Wrap each dough log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Slice the dough into ¼” slices and place on the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned along the edges. 

Allow to cool on the baking sheets for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Age is not important unless you're a cheese

Herbed Baked Brie

1 2.2-pound wheel of brie (or 8-ounce rounds)

6 sprigs rosemary

6 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil

Cranberry-Pear Mostarda*, Thyme-Roasted Walnuts, sliced pear, crackers, and sliced baguette (for serving)

Place brie on a plate and freeze until very firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut off top rind of brie with a sharp knife (it’s okay if you can’t get the rind off in one piece; brie will smooth out as it bakes).

Toss rosemary, thyme, and oil on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet until coated. Spread herbs evenly on parchment. Place brie in the center so that it covers about half of the herbs. Bake until cheese is melted, 15–20 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest to firm up slightly, about 5 minutes (if you skip this step, you risk spilling molten cheese all over your cutting board).

Strip leaves from uncovered herbs and sprinkle over brie. Using parchment and a wide spatula, carefully slide brie and covered herbs onto a cutting board.

Arrange mostarda, walnuts, pear slices, crackers, and baguette slices around cutting board; serve brie warm.

* Cranberry-Pear Mostada can be found by searching on this blog

I find it harder and harder every day to live up to my blue china

Grilled Chicken with Blueberry-Tarragon Sauce

2 cups blueberries
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup dry red wine or pomegranate juice
½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons honey
8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 lemons, halved
8 cups zucchini noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil



For Blueberry-Tarragon Sauce: In a large saucepan combine blueberries, 2 tablespoons of the tarragon, the garlic, wine, broth, and honey.

Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until sauce is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups.

Season with salt and ground black pepper. 

While the sauce simmers, season chicken thighs with paprika and 1/4 tsp. each salt and ground black pepper.

Grill chicken, covered, over indirect heat 30 minutes or until 175°F, turning once.

Add lemon halves to grill rack directly over heat the last 5 minutes. 

To serve, toss zucchini noodles with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, the remaining tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper.

Serve chicken with zucchini noodles, lemon halves, and sauce. Serves 4.

Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets.

Charred Lemon Chicken Piccata

2 small lemons, cut into thin rounds
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
4 garlic cloves, halved
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 3/4-inch thickness
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 teaspoon grated shallot
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
1 oregano sprig
1 thyme sprig
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup unsalted chicken stock
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Combine lemon slices, sugar, and garlic in a medium bowl.

Sprinkle chicken with 3/8 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add 2 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat.

Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done.

Place chicken on a plate. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add lemon mixture to pan; cook 1 minute or until lemon slices are lightly browned, turning occasionally.

Return lemon mixture to bowl.

Wipe pan with paper towels.

Heat pan over medium heat.

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons butter to pan; swirl until butter melts.

Add shallot, 1/2 teaspoon grated garlic, oregano sprig, and thyme sprig; cook 1 minute.

Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.

Add remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, stock, and flour to pan, stirring with a whisk.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 2/3 cup.

Remove pan from heat; discard oregano and thyme sprigs.

Stir in remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and capers, stirring until butter melts.

Return chicken and any juices to pan; turn to coat with sauce.

Top chicken with lemon mixture. Sprinkle with parsley.

Oh, my friends, be warned by me, That breakfast, dinner, lunch and tea, Are all human frame requires

Easy Skillet Breakfast Potatoes

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

pinch of cayenne

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

optional: rosemary, thyme, garlic clove

POTATOES: 

Peel and quarter the potatoes. 

To steamer potatoes: bring 2-3 inches of water to a rolling boil, add the potatoes to the basket and let cook for 6-10 minutes or until they’re almost cooked through. There should be a little resistance when pierced with a knife.

Let potatoes cool to room temperature. 

Potatoes can be refrigerated once cooled and use the next day. 

Just dice the potatoes up into roughly 1/2 inch pieces before adding them to the skillet. 

COOK: 

Using a 12-inch skillet or larger, place the butter, olive oil, and if using the rosemary, thyme, and 1 smashed garlic clove into a large skillet over medium-high heat. 

Allow the butter to melt and the olive oil to heat through. 

When the herbs start popping and sizzling, remove them and the garlic clove, discard. 

Add the potatoes in a single layer, season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika, toss to coat evenly. 

Cook the potatoes for a total of 8-10 minute, flipping and tossing them every 2-3 minutes to ensure even browning. 

Taste for seasonings and adjust to preference. Serve immediately.