Veggie Wednesday: Pissaladièra

Pissaladièra

Pissaladière (pissaladiera in Provençal) is a beautiful onion tart from Nice that is typically made with sautéed onions on a 'pizza' crust and crisscrossed with anchovies and dotted with black olives before being baked. As fond as I am of anchovies, I don't like their tiny little bones and so, I make my pissaladière with a puree of anchovy and olive spread beneath the onions.

I made this yesterday and it was so delicious. My older girls raved about it and the almost-three- year-old ate his fair share as well. The rest of the kids (as can be expected) turned up their little noses and ate something else for dinner.

Printable Recipe

I use my own 'recipe' for pizza dough, which isn't a recipe at all; it's one of those things I throw together until it 'feels right'. The crust yesterday was superb, if I do say so myself. I can only share with you that it starts with one packet of dry yeast, a cup or so of warm water, about a 1/4 cup of oil (olive, if you have it!), a healthy pinch of sugar, a fair amount of salt and enough flour to make a pliable dough. Once the dough is formed, let it stand for about half an hour under a towel and in a warm spot in your kitchen. Punch it down and form into a 'pizza' round. I have a 16" pizza pan, and that was perfect.

The olive and anchovy paste is similar to tapenade, but not exact.

1 cup of pitted oil cured black olives
1 tablespoon anchovy paste
1 garlic clove

Blend this all together until a fine paste forms. Spread onto the pizza dough.

Before any of this, and while the pizza dough is rising, slice up 3 large yellow onions and mince 2 cloves of garlic. Sauté the onions in a large pan in olive oil until limp. Add the garlic, a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and a tablespoon or so of sea salt. Continue sautéing until the onions begin to caramelize; don't overdo on the coloring.

Spread the onions over the olive and anchovy spread and top with more black olive halves. Bake in a hot (400 degree F) oven until the crust is browned.

Summer Cooking 101 Part VI, Desserts

Summertime desserts are the best ... as long as you don't have to bake them! It doesn't have to be all fruit, either. Several websites are out there with great no-bake dessert recipes:

Kraft.com -- the list here is to-die-for!

About.com -- Recipes and tips both.

Foodnetwork.com -- Not just desserts! A list of no-cook recipes from start to finish.

A few of my favorites ingredients to keep on-hand for easy summertime desserts:

• Non-dairy whipped topping in tubs
  
• Heavy cream
  
• Yogurt
• Ice cream
  
• Vanilla wafers
  
• Chocolate chips
  
• Sandwich cookies (Oreos)
  
• Graham crackers
  
• Different flavors of gelatin and pudding mixes
  
• Marshmallows
  
• Fresh Fruit
  
• Lemon and lime juice
  
• Honey
  

I posted a really great and simple Honey Lime Melon recipe over at Short Order Mom, and these recipes here are awesome examples of no-cook dessert bliss!

My favorite "Snow Dessert" is within this post.

Mocha Trifle

2 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup instant coffee-dry
2 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix (3.5 oz)
16 ounces non-dairy whipped cream, thawed
2 loaves pound cake--cubed
Grated semisweet chocolate-about one ounce.
Ground cinnamon

Mix together milk and coffee granules until dissolved-set aside one cup.
Add pudding mixes to the remaining milk mixture. Beat until thickened.
Fold in half of the whipped topping.
Place a third of the cake cubes in a trifle bowl.
Layer with a third of the reserved milk mixture and pudding mixture
and a fourth of the grated chocolate.
Repeat layers twice.
Garnish with remaining whipped topping and chocolate.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Serves 16
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rocky Road Freeze
This is all over the 'net with no real author credited.

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup chocolate-flavored syrup
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped

In small bowl, combine condensed milk and
chocolate syrup until blended.

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat
cream just until stiff peaks form. Fold chocolate
mixture, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and peanuts
into whipped cream just until combined. Cover bowl
and freeze overnight.

To serve, let mixture stand about 15 minutes
at room temperature for easier scooping, then
scoop into dessert dishes.

I'm a GIRL!

I have been awarded a Rockin' Girl Blogger award by Rippin Kitten!

What she says of me: "...as a self-proclaimed foodie, her site has a lot of great recipes & insights. This is one of her three blogs. Oh, and she has seven children! Seven…whew! "

Now it's MY turn to choose 5 "girl" bloggers. If you've been tagged, place the button up on your site (only if you'd like, of course) and choose 5 other women to be given a Rockin' Girl Blogger Award!

My choices for this award are:

KFarmer at KFarmer & the Dell--K is one of my oldest and dearest "blog buddies". She is a true beauty--inside AND out, a generous and kind spirit. Her garden is to-die-for, her writing is as soothing as a mint tea on a hot day. Her posts make my day--often.

Jenni at One Thing--What's NOT to say about Jenni? She writes in a very enviable way; I wish I had half the talent she does, and this woman is a mother of ELEVEN! Beautiful, scary intelligent, and witty beyond belief ... you must read for yourself.

Krista at Going Gluten-Free--Krista is the other half of my brother, Bobby. She is one heck of a mama; smart, funnneeeeeee, beautiful, and man ... can she COOK! She doesn't just blog gluten-free recipes, she retro fits recipes that she loves and makes them her own.

Dalene at Compulsive Writer-- Another of my oldest "blog buddies", Dalene writes about life-in-general in a not-so-general way. Her stories of kids, friends and day-to-day life along with photos of it all are something you don't want to miss.

Mary at Fireflies and Frogs-- Yet another mom of many, she deserves and award (or two or three). She is steadfast and REAL, and doing it alone. Give her a look.

Balasia-A Green World Cafe

Local vegetarian hot-spot, Balasia, is celebrating it's One Year Anniversary! Wendy Landiak, former owner of The Green Cafe in South Side Bethlehem has reprised her role as an expert in vegetarian cooking with her newest venture, Balasia-A Green World Cafe. There is now a website (!!) that covers everything you could possibly want to know about the restaurant. Click on over and have a look. With daily menu changes, it's a must to check back often!

There's a special offer for members of Lehigh Valley Vegetarians, so stop by, offer congratulations, and sample some of the best vegetarian offerings available!

Fruity Cheerios Contest Winner

Remember those Fruity Cheerios? There was also a contest mentioned and the winner has been chosen! Click Here to see the winning photo at ModernMom.