Apple Cinnamon Streusel Dessert Pizza

 To download a copy of the recipe for Apple Cinnamon Streusel Dessert Pizza, click HERE.

I’m ba-a-a-a-a-a-ck

Although I “retired” from posting weekly recipes back in August, it remained my hope to continue to post recipes on an occasional basis. It took seven months, but this weekend I once again got to cook with a camera in one hand and a pen in the other.

 

A long time staple of pizza chain restaurants, dessert pizza is not a new concept. Made at home, by you, with the kind of attention to detail and ingredients a mass-production chain restaurant could never provide, however, it can be brought to a higher, and frankly pretty delicious, level. (Even the recipes you’ll find on-line often use canned apple pie filling for the topping. I don’t get that. Isn’t having a dessert that’s fresher and better than the one you buy from a chain restaurant the reason you’re making it yourself in the first place? But I digress…)

Of course, if your household is anything like mine, a dessert pizza will probably be used as a breakfast pizza. Dessert pizza just sounds more grown-up; in private, we know better.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin:

• This recipe makes a 16 inch pizza. For smaller or larger pizzas, adjust the amounts of each ingredient proportionately. 
• For a less sweet dessert, reduce the amount of sugar in the apple-cinnamon topping.

This recipe makes one 16” pizza (approximately 12 portions).

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the pizza dough base: 1 pizza dough (purchased or home made); 1 Tbsp melted butter substitute

For the Apple-Cinnamon Topping: 4 Granny Smith apples; ¼ cup sugar; ½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed; 2 Tbsp AP flour; ¼ tsp salt; 1/4 tsp nutmeg; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 1/8 tsp lemon zest; 2 tsp lemon juice

For the Streusel: 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour; 1/2 cup white sugar; 6 Tbsp brown sugar; 2-1/2 Tbsp firm textured butter substitute, very cold; 3 Tbsp flavor-neutral oil

For the Icing: 1-1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar; 3-1/2 Tbsp skim milk; 3/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Lightly coat a pizza pan with butter substitute.

Pat the dough into a pizza pan.

Coat the pizza dough with 1 Tbsp melted butter substitute.

Peel and cube the apples.

Combine the apple-cinnamon topping ingredients.

Spread the apple-cinnamon topping mixture all around buttered crust.

Combine streusel ingredients with a fork. (Avoid using your hands, since your body heat will soften the butter substitute.)

Top the pizza with the streusel mix. (You’ll probably have some streusel mix left over.)

Bake for about 13 minutes until crust is lightly browned. When done, let it cool to warm or room temperature.

While the pizza is cooling, combine icing ingredients. (The amount of milk shown is approximate. Start with a little less, and add a little more at a time until the mixture has a drizzle consistency.)

Drizzle the icing on the pizza.

Cut into slices to serve.

To download a copy of the recipe for Apple Cinnamon Streusel Dessert Pizza, click HERE.

Whether you enjoy this easy-to-make sweet treat for dessert, Sunday morning breakfast, or as a naughty midnight snack doesn’t matter. Just enjoy it!

You never know when the next great-tasting, home-cook friendly recipe will be posted, so please look in once in a while! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Sage Aioli

To download a copy of the recipe for Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Sage Aioli, click HERE.

In this week’s recipe, three of my favorite things – tuna, food that’s low-fat and nutritious, and fresh-cooked burgers – are combined into one delicious meal that’s easy to make and satisfying to eat. Whether you’re cooking dinner for your family or feeding friends at a summer cookout, Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Sage Aioli are a great alternative to the usual ground beef or ground turkey burger. And the natural goodness of tuna – including high quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids and the antioxidant mineral selenium – is made even better when you serve them on whole grain rolls with turkey bacon, low fat cheese, cooked onions, or any other low fat topping you like!

The nutritional value of tuna in its many forms is worth checking out. Many on-line sources are available; the Livestrong site (http://www.livestrong.com/tuna-nutrition-information/) is one I continue to recommend for useful nutritional background information.

This recipe makes 4 meal-size burgers.

Here are the ingredients you need:

For the lemon sage aioli: ½ cup low fat mayonnaise; 2 cloves garlic; 1 tablespoon dried sage; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

For the tuna burger patties: 1 pound fresh (preferred and strongly recommended) or good quality canned; 2 egg-substitute eggs; 2 Tbsp grated carrot; ¼ cup chopped green onions; 2 Tbsp minced celery; 1-1/2 Tbsp prepared horseradish; 2 Tbsp prepared sweet pickle relish; ¼ tsp Worcestershire; ¼ tsp ground ginger; ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper; 2 tsp dried parsley; ½ cup corn meal; olive oil for sauté.

Other Items for Serving: 4 whole grain burger rolls; burger toppings as desired (e.g. low-fat cheese, turkey bacon, tomatoes, reduced fat potato chips, etc.).

First, we’ll make the aioli:

Chop the garlic cloves. Use the flat of the knife blade to press them into a paste.

Combine the remaining aioli ingredients with the garlic paste in a bowl.

Whisk until smooth. Cover and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Next, we’ll prepare the burgers patties:

If using fresh tuna, use a very sharp knife to cut the tuna into a ¼” dice.

Combine the tuna, egg, onion, carrot, green onion, celery, horseradish, pickle relish, Worcestershire, ginger, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup of the aioli in a bowl.

Mix well.

With the corn meal and parsley combined in a bowl, divide the tuna mixture into four equal parts. (It will feel a little loose, but that’s ok. Just handle it carefully.) Using wet hands to keep the tuna mixture from sticking to them, form each into a patty and gently dredge in the corn meal mixture until lightly coated.

Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To cook the burgers:

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary (depending on the size of the pan), place the patties in the pan.

Cook the patties till cooked through and well-browned; this will take about 3 – 4 minutes per side if you’re using fresh tuna, and a bit less if you’re using canned. Set aside when done.

 To serve the burgers:

Use the same pan to lightly toast the burger rolls, applying a little more oil if needed.

Place each patty on a toasted bun, and top with 1 Tbsp of the aioli and any other desired toppings.

To download a copy of the recipe for Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Sage Aioli, click HERE.

Hope you and your family and guests enjoy having these very special burgers!

Please visit again next week for another easy, delicious, kitchen-tested recipe. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Irish Oatmeal-Banana Pancakes with Sweet Apple Topping

To download a copy of the recipe for Irish Oatmeal-Banana Pancakes with Apple Topping in cookbook-style format, click HERE.

With St. Patrick’s Day rapidly approaching, it’s once again a good time to look to our Irish friends for a wee bit of inspiration. As we’ve done here in the past, it’s again a great pleasure to present something in time for St. Patrick’s Day that doesn’t involve regrettable stereotypes or green food coloring.

This week’s recipe is for oatmeal-banana pancakes served with a sweet apple topping. From a culinary standpoint, one of the things I find so interesting about this traditional Irish approach to pancakes is that the oatmeal is not used as is, but rather is ground to a flour-like texture and combined with whole wheat flour. Once the other ingredients are added and the batter ladled onto a hot griddle, the result is a delicious pancake with a very pleasing texture.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin.

• Although the recipe you can download from the link above is done in a traditional cookbook format (ingredients list first, then cooking method), I’ve heard from a number of readers that they prefer to cook directly from the recipe as it’s posted on this site. To make it easier for anyone who would like to do that, beginning today each new recipe post will include an ingredients list.

• Regarding the oatmeal itself, in this recipe I’ve used rolled oats, the general use oatmeal found in most households, including mine. For true Irish authenticity, you might instead want to use steel cut Irish oats, a fuller grain also known by the funny-sounding (at least to my infantile sense of humor) name of Pinhead Oats.

• If the buttermilk called for in the recipe is not available, acidulated milk can be substituted. (Add 2 Tbsp of white vinegar to 2-1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp room temperature low-fat milk, and let rest for a few minutes.)

• These pancakes are well accompanied by a side of eggs and/or bacon. (In the photo above, I’ve added simple scrambled eggs with the decidedly American topping of ketchup.)

This recipe makes 5-6 servings.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need.

Topping: ¼ cup firm-textured butter substitute; ¼ cup packed brown sugar; 4 large apples, peeled and sliced; ¼ tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; ¼ tsp salt; and 2 tsp fresh lemon juice.

Pancake Batter: ¼ cup uncooked oatmeal; 2 fresh egg whites (not the kind in a carton); pinch cream of tartar; 2 cups whole wheat flour; ¼ tsp salt; 3 egg substitute eggs; 2-1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

Other Ingredients: firm-textured butter substitute (for coating the griddle); 2 bananas, sliced into thin circles; and pancake syrup (optional).

To prepare the topping:

Melt the butter substitute over moderate heat in a medium saucepan.

Add the sugar and stir until melted.

Add the remaining topping ingredients, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the apples are soft but not mushy. Set aside until ready to put on the pancakes.

To make the pancake batter:

Place the oatmeal in a mini-processor and process into a flour-like powder.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl, and whisk until soft peaks form.

In a bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal and salt.

Add the egg substitute and buttermilk to the bowl, and stir until combined and smooth.

Fold in the beaten egg whites to form the batter.

To prepare and serve the pancakes:

Working in batches, ladle pancake-size portions of batter onto a hot griddle that has been coated with melted butter substitute. Cook until the tops are bubbly and the bottoms are browned, about two minutes.

Place some banana slices on each pancake.

Turn each pancake over, banana-side down, and cook until the bottoms are browned, about another minute. Place on a plate and repeat, cooking in batches until all the batter is finished.

To serve, place a serving of pancakes on a plate and top with some of the apple topping. Add syrup if desired. Serve with eggs and/or bacon.

To download a copy of the recipe for Irish Oatmeal-Banana Pancakes with Apple Topping in cookbook-style format, click HERE.

There’s an Irish proverb which says, “A cabin with plenty of food is better than a hungry castle.” Here’s hoping your cabin is always filled with the comforting aroma of good food, including Oatmeal-Banana Pancakes with Sweet Apple Topping.

Please visit again next week for another tasty recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)