Thursday, August 18, 2016

waffler pizza recipe



I have been intrigued with pizza made in a waffle iron ever since I saw Ree Drummond make one on the Pioneer Woman.  Something about using your waffle iron more than twice a year and not having to turn on the oven were strong motivations to make this idea work!  I have practiced a couple of times and it really is quite easy.  I use fresh store bought pizza dough--I use about a 1 1/2 cup size portion, let it rise and roll it out on a floured board to the approx size of my waffle iron. My iron is a square Cuisinart waffler that I LOVE.  I also love my JK Adams French rolling pin---gets the dough as thin as you like with no effort! I linked Ree Drummond's recipe but I made a few variations and you can too. Spray your waffler with non stick spray and let the waffle iron heat up as normal.  Lay your rolled out dough on the iron and close the lid and cook dough till the green ready light comes on. I then brushed the dough with olive oil, layered on pepperoni slices, grated mozzarella and Mexican blend cheese, chopped artichoke hearts, more cheese, dash salt and pepper and closed the lid---for about 1 minute till cheese melts. Open lid, brush down any bits that might have stuck to the top (actually much less than you would think for all that cheese) and lift out with a large spatula to your cutting board. For clean up, let the waffle iron cool, and brush away any bits with a pastry brush and layer paper towel on the grates and close lid to absorb any excess oil.  The BEST way to clean it just to make a batch of savory waffles the next morning---spotless!!  Other combinations I have tried are cooked sausage with thinly sliced baby zucchini and onions and sliced black olives. Overly wet/heavy toppings don't work.  You can use pizza sauce, but use a light hand.


Wednesday, August 10, 2016

book club dinner at iThai in san francisco

Just had another great meal at iThai in San Francisco!  iThai is one of our Book Club destinations when we don't feel like cooking--but want delicious dishes with super fresh ingredients.  Some of our favorites are the panfried chive dumplings, the crispy calamari (pictured above), larb salad,  BBQ chicken with cashews in a Thai country style glaze and wok-fried filet mignon with basil and peppers, all served with jasmine rice. Make a visit to the Post Street restaurant for many more great dishes.