Smoked Salmon and Caper Grilled Flatbread

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups bread flour
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
olive oil for greasing the bowl

8 oz smoked salmon
2 1/2 cups shredded smoked gouda
1/4 cup capote capers


Directions:

Place all ingredients a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix until the dough becomes a fairly smooth ball. At this point you can fold the dough onto itself a couple of times if you'd like. Coat the inside of a large bowl with additional olive oil, and place the dough in the bowl, smooth side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and place in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Remove plastic wrap, and use your fist to push down on the center of the dough. Fold the dough in half four or five times. Turn dough over, folded-side down, cover with plastic wrap, and return to the warm spot to rise again. Wait until the dough has doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prep your grill.

Punch down the dough and transfer to a clean surface. Divide the dough in fourths, and knead each half four or five times into a ball. Place one of the dough balls back in the oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Lightly flour a clean surface, place the dough ball on top, pat into a flattened circle, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let rest at least 5 minutes. Begin to flatten and push the dough evenly out from the center until it measures about 7 to 8 inches in diameter. Leave a 1/2 inch border of unflatted dough around the edges of the circle.

Place the dough on the grill and cook until just starting to brown, then flip. Grill until it looks 3/4 way cooked. Sprinkle with cheese and top with salmon and capers. Grill until the cheese melts.

My thoughts:

I love smoky flavors and this flatbread is full of them. The gouda, the salmon, the smoky crisp dough all make for a savory delight. We had this as full meal, but I think sliced up it would be a wonderful appetizer. Just take care that your coals aren't too hot and that you keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Besides that, easy-peasy.

White Peach & Fresh Ginger Jam

Ingredients:
8 cups finely diced white peaches
6 cups sugar
1/4 cup bourbon (optional)
1/4 cup bottled lemon juice*
1 6 oz box liquid pectin (2 packets)
2 inch chunk ginger, peeled

Directions:
Add the sugar and peaches to a large pot. Prep jars/lids for canning. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stab the ginger a few times with the tip of a knife. Add the lemon juice, bourbon and ginger. Boil for 15 minutes or until thickened. Carefully mash, using a potato masher, any remaining large chunks. Add the pectin (both packets!). Continue cooking at a low (rolling) boil for 5 minutes. Remove the ginger. Fill the jars. Wipe off the lip and sea Process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Yield: about



Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Or check out this online guide.



*I used bottled lemon juice instead of fresh because peaches, especially white peaches, are a low acid fruit and not every lemon has the same acid level. It is important to add an acid to low acid fruits so it is safe to water can.

My thoughts:

What is better than a fresh, in season peach? We went to a pick your own place and while Matt did most of the picking (peach fuzz makes my skin itch) we ended up with more than enough peaches to eat out of hand and to make some jam. Peaches, especially white peaches, are a low pectin, low acid fruit so even with the added pectin it is a softer jam and you need to make sure to add acid (lemon juice) to make it safe for water canning. But neither takes away from the wonderful flavor of this jam. It is as close to biting into a peach as you can come without actually eating the peach. The ginger adds a background note of spice that really accentuates the peachiness. I can't wait to have it on toast, swirled into yogurt or baked into pastries.

Shu Mei Sliders with Hoisin Mayo

Ingredients:
for the burgers:
5 oz water chestnuts, drained
.5 oz dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated
1 lb peeled shrimp
1 lb ground pork
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons shaoxing
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper



for the hoisin mayo:
2 1/2 tablespoons hoisin
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds


slider rolls
1 cucumber, thinly sliced


Directions:
Place all of the mayo ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together. Refrigerate until ready to use. Place all of the burger ingredients in a food processor, pulse until well combined. Prep grill. Lightly oil your hands, a platter and the grill rack. Form into small burgers. Grill until cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side. Place on buns, top with cucumber and mayo.

Yield: about 18 sliders

My thoughts:

This going to be a quick post because I am in Seattle at the International Food Bloggers Conference! These sliders are awesome, they are my favorite kind of dumpling in burger form. They stay amazingly juicy and really do taste like dumplings, except smokier and crisper. I think they would be perfect for a party, they are small so you can cook a ton at once and serve them quickly.

Hot Slice (of Pickle)

Ingredients:
4 lb pickling cucumbers, sliced
3 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup pickling salt
6 teaspoons peppercorns
6 dried pili pili peppers
3 teaspoons crushed red pepper
3 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large shallots, minced


Directions:
Bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil. Prep the lids/jars. Evenly divide all of the spices, shallot and garlic between 6 pint jars . Add the cucumber spears. Pour in the vinegar mixture. Close the jars and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Allow to sit 2 weeks before eating.

Yield: about 6 pints

Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Or check out this online guide.

My thoughts:

Can you stand more canning? I have done so much canning this year, I barely have any non-canning recipes saved up to post. I am actually a little annoyed that it is suddenly so cool and I have nothing to can right now. I did a ton of canning during the long stretches of high heat and humidity we've had recently and it was pretty brutal, even though I was canning late at night so I could go to bed and escape the hot kitchen and downstairs. Anyway, these pickles are really good. I wanted to make a sandwich slice that was different than the spears I had made and came up with the idea of a hot and spicy pickle. They are so good on a hamburger and I can't wait to have them in the middle of a grilled cheese sandwich. YUM!

Tip: It is a little harder to gauge how many slices fit in each jar since they are sliced and not always evenly so make sure you prep a couple of extra jars just in case.

Broccoli & Sun-dried Tomato Dip

Ingredients:
4 cups broccoli florets
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
8 oz sour cream
1/3 cup minced sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 minced shallot
2 cloves garlic
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Steam the broccoli. Drain thoroughly. Finely chop or pulse briefly in a food processor. Saute the shallot and garlic in the olive oil. Allow it to cool slightly. Add the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, shallot, garlic, cream cheese, sour cream and spices to a large bowl. Use a mixer or spoon to combine. Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.

My thoughts:

When I tried these Terra Chips that had carrots, blue potatoes and kobocha in them, I knew I had to make a vegetable-y dip. We had an abundance of broccoli so I steamed some up until it was tender then gave it a whirl in the VitaMix. I had some some sun-dried tomatoes so I added that along with some reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream. I mixed it together in my stand mixer using the whisk attachment and it came out really light and creamy. I normally don't use a mixer for dips but I might always now, it really combined everything in just a few seconds.

The broccoli flavor in this dip is mild and contrasts nicely with the sharp sun-dried tomatoes. I like that is so packed with vegetables because then it doesn't seem like such an indulgence to have some dip and chips with my lunch!

Pears in Sweet Tea Syrup

Ingredients:
10 Bartlett pears
5 cups water
2 cups sugar
3 Tazo Vanilla Rooibos tea bags


Directions:
Prep 3 quart jars. Peel, core and halve the pears. If you'd like, float them in water mixed with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice, to help retain their color. Pack them into the jars. Meanwhile, bring the sugar, tea bags and water to a rolling boil. Do not let it reduce. Pour the hot syrup into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Run a knife or a jar scraper to dislodge any bubbles while turning the jar slightly. Seal. Process in a hot water bath for 25 minutes.

Note: This recipe yields a bit more syrup than you will probably need. I scaled it this way because while my 10 pears fit into 3 quart jars, you might have some leftover. There should be enough syrup leftover to can a pint of extra pears if need be.

Tip: I highly recommend the Blue Book Guide to Preserving for learning how to can.

My thoughts:

This week's Tazo secret ingredient was pears. I was trying to think of something that wasn't too autumnal to make. Pears are just coming into season but I am more into peach-berry-tomato mode than pears and apples right now. So I was turning that around in my head for a while and decided I would pair them with the quintessential summer drink, sweet tea. I thought about making some sort of granita or some other frozen dessert but the sort of grainy texture of Bartlett pears made me think it might not be as smooth as I'd like. So I decided to can them in a light sweet tea syrup. Most recipes I found for canning pears use the hot pack method where you heat the pears through in the syrup but I think that makes the pears a little mushy. Instead I decided to process the pears more like peaches so they would hopefully retain the shape and texture better after the long processing time.

Grilled Cheesesteak Subs

Ingredients:
16 slices provolone cheese
8-12 very thin steaks*
8 sub rolls
1 large onion, halved and sliced
8 oz sliced crimini mushrooms
1 tablespoon oregano
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Prep grill according to manufactuers' instructions. Lightly oil the grates of your grill and a grilling pan. Arrange the onions and mushrooms on the grilling pan and cook, tossing occasionally, until soft. Towards the end of the cooking time, grill the rolls directly on the rack. Set aside. Push the onions and mushrooms to one side. Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper and oregano on both sides. Arrange the steaks on the grill.




Cook until very nearly cooked through. Stack 2-3 steaks on the the grilling pan. Top with cheese and allow it to melt. Place on rolls and top with onions and mushrooms.



*1/8-1/4 inch thick. Our local store sells them 3-4 to a tray labeled as "rolling steaks".

My thoughts:

This is a fun and fairly easy recipe to help ease us towards the end of the summer grilling season. The only tricky part is that since the steaks are thin, they can go from delicious to overcooked pretty quickly. The same is true of the rolls so stick by the grill for this one! The whole meal takes on a lovely smokey flavor and who doesn't enjoy a cheesesteak now and again? I know in Philadelphia there is much debate about Cheez Wiz vs real cheese and what toppings are acceptable but at home you can be your own mini food truck and make them as you see fit. I am a fan of the onions, mushrooms and provolone combination and luckily mushrooms and onions grill very nicely. The onions caramelize quickly and with little effort. I do find that slices of steak are much easier to grill at home so resist the urge to do the shredding/chopped style that many cheesesteak shops sell, the meat cooks too quickly and tends to fall into the flames.