Meal Monday
Since becoming a mom, I've identified the few meals I'm still able to get on the table despite my hectic schedule. I don't have much time to comb through the cookbooks anymore, or get artistic, so right now I'm working with 15 or 20 dinner options from my old repertoire that still work. These recipes are the culinary equivalent of the basic black dress. They have to meet a set of fundamental criteria (tasty, easy, nutritious) and able to be dressed up or down, and work with a variety accessory ingredients that add a little spice to the outfit.
Rachael Ray refers to some of her 30-minute recipes as "methods," and that's what I'm talking about here. Although there's always a set of core ingredients, the meal is made complete by optional ingredients which open the door to flexibility in execution.
Below I present my take on the most basic and, most likely, familiar, method meals: pizza. Pizza is the working mom's perfect meal. You can get veggies, protein and dairy in the same place and still lure even the pickiest of eaters. Prepared at home, you can make it as you like it – including really keeping down the fat if you choose. And it's ready – ready – in 20 minutes. We're talking 5 minutes of preparation time if you plan ahead. Switch it up each time using the basic crust and sauce (or, no sauce!) and adding exciting new toppings.
Given the flexibility a method recipe offers, I include tips throughout the recipe – and a few at the end -- to help ensure a more consistently good pizza, regardless of the toppings.
Pizza, the method:
Ingredients:
Store-bought pizza crust (raw, refrigerated, not frozen; or, get it from your local pizzeria)
Store bought-tomato sauce (If your store has it, buy the stuff they make on the premises. Much better than the jarred stuff, and likely lower in sodium.)
6-8 oz. of your favorite cheese(s) (see note below)
1-2 cups (loosely packed) of your favorite toppings (see below)
Olive oil
Salt
¼ - ½ tsp. dried oregano
To prepare:
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Pull out pizza dough first and let it rest on counter while you prepare other ingredients.
3. After pulling out sauce, cheese and toppings, prepare the crust: spread a very thin layer of olive oil out on the cookie sheet using a paper towel or brush. Stretch the crust out onto the cookie sheet to whatever size and shape pleases you. The more spread out, the thinner the crust. Using the brush, spread a bit more olive oil on top of the crust. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt (or less) on the crust.
4. Using a fork, poke a few holes in the crust so it doesn't puff up and cook unevenly.
5. Spread the sauce evenly across the crust, leaving an inch or so around the periphery without sauce. Sprinkle the oregano on top of the sauce.
6. Sprinkle some cheese (about 2/3 of what you plan to use) evenly across the pizza.
7. Drop toppings evenly across the pizza.
8. Spread rest of cheese across pizza.
9. Place pizza into oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Oven times and temperatures vary. So, here's what to look for: You want a nicely browned crust, bubbling, and slightly browned cheese, and thoroughly cooked toppings. The olive oil should make the edges of the crust brown nicely within 10 minutes. If that happens too quickly – before the cheese is also bubbling and a bit brown – turn the oven down a bit and let it cook a bit more slowly.
10. Remove the pizza.
11. This might be the most important step: After you remove the pizza, LET IT SIT for 4-5 minutes. It makes slicing it considerably less messy.
12. Slide a spatula under the pizza to release it from the cookie sheet. Then, guiding it with the spatula, slide it into a large cutting board and slice.
A Note On Cheese: I find pizza with only one type of cheese is boring, especially if it's gluey mozzarella (exception: a fantastic fresh mozzarella on a tomato and basil margarita pizza!). So, try a mix of cheeses to suit your toppings. If you're doing black beans, try a bit of Monterrey Jack with jalapeno and cheddar with the mozzarella. If you're including artichokes, use a bit of parmesan.
Other tips:
Try frozen veggies. I tried frozen broccoli recently and was amazed at how well it worked.
Slice the toppings into pretty small even pieces. This will ensure a more consistent pizza.
I am always looking for good weeknight dinner ideas - thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Kristie | Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 01:49 PM