GOAT CHEESE AND MUSHROOM PIZZA

1 1/ 2 cups thawed frozen spinach
2 tablespoons (or more) olive oil
1 cup chopped shallots
2 cups thinly sliced white mushrooms
1 1/ 2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/ 2 teaspoon sugar
1 Boboli (store bought bread-like pizza crust) - large size original or thin crust.
6 ounces herbed goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 425F. Squeeze the moisture from the spinach.
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan until hot and stir in the shallots, mushrooms, and garlic.
Cook just until golden brown, stirring constantly. Sprinkle with the sugar and mix lightly.
Remove from the heat. Place the Boboli on a nonstick baking sheet.
Spread the mushroom mixture over the Boboli. Top with spinach and sprinkle with the goat cheese.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until bubbly and serve hot. Serves 4.

SMOKED SALMON CHEESECAKE (from Sheilah's SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE: Easy, Elegant, Fearless, Fussless Cooking)

No matter what the occasion, it is great to have one of these in the freezer to use at a brunch or just for the out of town company that needs to be fed.

1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened to room temperature
4 large eggs
1/4 cup Half and Half
1/2 cup minced onions, sautéed
1/4 cup fresh chopped dill, or 1/8 cup dried dill weed
4 ounces grated Swiss cheese
8 ounces smoked Nova salmon

Preheat oven to 300 F.
In a mixer, cream together the cream cheese, eggs, and Half and Half. Add the sautéed onions, dill, cheese and salmon and mix to blend all ingredients together.
Pour mixture into a greased 9" spring form pan. Wrap the outside bottom and sides well with aluminum foil to prevent any leaks or water seeping in.
Place filled spring form pan in a water bath - another pan (that it will fit into) with boiling water coming at least half way up the sides of the spring form pan.
Bake at 300 F for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the oven. Remove from oven when cool, cover and refrigerate or freeze.
This can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold, depending on whether you want to spread it on bagels, breads, crackers, etc. Or, cut it in slices and serve it like a piece of cake. Serves 10 to 12. More as an appetizer.

Martinated Roasted Beets

According to Judy Rogers in her award winning (James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year, IAXCP Cookbook Award) cookbook The Zuni Cafe (WW Norton Co.) merciless commercial canning practices have made beets an unloved vegetable in many homes, but home cooked, nutty tender beets are a different matter. For the best flavor and texture, choose small beets about 1-1/ 2-2-1/ 2 inches in diameter. Try to roast and marinate the beets a day in advance; they seem to taste sweeter and richer after a night in the refrigerator. The Zuni Cafe is an award-winning restaurant in San Francisco and the book is a compendium of recipes and cooking lessons from this beloved restaurant.

12 golf ball sized beets, stems and leaves removed (about 1-1/2 lbs.)
Salt
1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 F. Scrub the beets, trim the stem ends flat, and cut off the tails. Place in a wide baking dish, about as deep as the beets are tall, and add 1/4-inch water. Cover tightly and bake until they feel barely tender, about 25 minutes. Don't cover, and to test for doneness use a cake tester and stab to the center of a beet. Remove from the oven and leave covered for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Uncover beets, rub off the skins, and trim the ends again. Cut into slices or wedges and taste. They should be nutty tender with a subtle, mineraly sweetness. Place in a bowl, season lightly with salt and about a tablespoon of vinegar, and fold to distribute. Fold in olive oil to coat well. Taste again. The seasonings should flatter, not overwhelm the subtle beet flavor you first tasted.

Stir and taste again just before serving. Flavor seems to become stronger as the beets cool, and they seem sweeter. If not serving the same day, cover, then refrigerate. They will keep for a week. Serves 4-6 as a side dish or a salad

Bukharan Rice with Fruit (Oshi Sabo)

In my search for sweet things for the New Year, I came across this recipe that appears in Matthew Goodman's Jewish Food. Rice is not generally thought of as a Jewish food in America because of the overwhelming preponderance of Ashkenazim here. "These Jews have traditionally only encountered rice inside a stuffed cabbage or as an alternative to noodles in chicken soup," writes Goodman, "this is a loss, but one that need not remain so."

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
3 cups water
2 quinces
1 Granny Smith apple
2 cups basmati rice or other long grain rice, well washed
1/ 2 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1 1/ 2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes and 2 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 30F. Peel, core, and chop the quinces and the apple. Add the rice, prunes, cut up quinces and apple, and the remaining 1 cup water to the pot. Season with the salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Transfer the pot to the oven and bake until the rice and fruit are very soft, 1 1/ 2 to 2 hours. Turn out onto a large serving platter. Serve hot. Serves 6.

BASIL AND RICOTTA TART

This very flavorful and unique tart, reminiscent of Italy, is a great addition to your appetizer repartee. This is a great recipe to double, freezing the extra tart for another use. The recipe is from Carol Dearth’s fabulous new book COOKING CLASS which besides being chock full of great recipes is loaded with marvelous hints and tips. Her pastry recipe is by far the easiest to work that I have ever found because it does not require chilling before it is rolled. And the result is flaky and tasty as ever.

pastry for two 8-inch tarts:

1 1/ 3 cups flour
1/ 2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter, CHILLED, cut in small cubes
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Sift flour and salt. Add butter cubes to flour, cut in until pieces are about half the size of a pea. By hand add 3 tablespoons ice water; bring mixture together with scraper. Add more water very slowly as necessary, taking care not to add too much. The dough should not be sticky or too soft to handle. Divide dough into two equal portions; shape into two balls, flatten into disks. If the dough is reasonably cool, you may work it immediately, or wrap and chill at 15 minutes. If you are preparing only one tart, freeze remaining pastry up to 2 months for another use.

On a lightly floured surface flatten and roll pastry, each time ROLL, SLIDE and TURN. Add flour as necessary. Check thickness; roll to 1/ 8 inch. Roll pastry around rolling pin; transfer to lightly greased tart pan. Cut off bit of excess, roll in flour, and use as a “pusher” to press edges to side of pan. Trim top with rolling pin. Go around top edge of pastry with thumb pushing up “thumbing up.” Chill on tray in the freezer 30 minutes. Prick bottom and sides of pastry shell with fork.

**To blind bake: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line pastry shell with baking parchment circle (cartouche). Fill with pie weights, pressing out to edge of pastry. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove pie weights and cartouche. Return to oven; continue baking 3 to 4 minutes longer. Pastry is done when bottom is dry. Cool on rack.

Filling for one 8” pastry shell:

2/ 3 cup fresh basil, or combination of basil and fresh spinach
2 teaspoons fresh parsley
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
1 egg
salt and pepper

Process basil and parsley in food processor until coarsely chopped. Add oil, ricotta, Parmesan, process just until mixed. Add egg, salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into cooled pastry shell, distributing evenly. Bake at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cut into wedges, serve at room temperature. May be prepared one day in advance and refrigerated or frozen for 2 months.

Serves 4 to 6.

TECHNIQUE For Rolling Pastry

If you struggle to roll pastry because it sticks to the rolling surface or rolling pin, or if you just can’t get it into the pan here are a few tips from the pros:

Although the recipe on the right does not require chilling most others recommend it. So, if you are using another recipe, make sure the dough has been well chilled before attempting to roll it. The hardened butter will be much less sticky, and the dough will hold together more easily.

After kneading the dough to even out the temperature, roll it into a ball and then flatten into a disk. Smooth the edges, then begin rolling with the pin.

Your rolling surface should be DRY and lightly dusted with flour. Rub a bit of flour on the rolling pin as well.

Place the flattened pastry disk in the center of your surface. Begin to roll from the center out. Roll toward you, then away. Lift the dough, slide and rotate it 90°. Then roll toward yourself, and away. Continue rolling, sliding and turning. You may need to occasionally add a bit of flour to the rolling surface.

When dough is desired size and thickness hold the rolling pin near one edge. Fold the edge of the pastry over the rolling pin. Hold the pin above the pastry and carefully roll the pastry onto the rolling pin. Transfer to the pan unrolling the pastry sheet from one side to the other. Shape and chill in the freezer at least 15 minutes.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice, Cranberries, Walnuts, and Hickory-Baked Tofu

Diane Morgan, DELICIOUS DIPS, (Chronicle Books) told me this is an adaptation of a recipe given to her by Stephanie Rosenbaum, a San Francisco based food writer. Stephanie is a vegetarian, and this is her favorite Thanksgiving entrée. The festive combination of wild rice with sautéed vegetables, fresh herbs, toasted walnuts, and dried cranberries tastes great and looks pretty on the plate. The addition of hickory-baked tofu adds a rich depth of flavor that complements the wild rice perfectly. I suspect you’ll have your turkey-eating guests asking for samples. . Cook’s Note: look for hickory-baked tofu in the refrigerator case of natural food stores.

4 acorn or dumpling squash
Freshly ground pepper
Freshly ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ cups wild rice
1¾ cups canned vegetable broth
¼ teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion (about 12 ounces), finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large ribs celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
½ cup minced fresh parsley
1 package (6 ounces) hickory-baked tofu, cut into ¼-inch dice (see Cook’s Note)
¾ cup chopped walnuts, toasted (see Cook’s Note, page XX)
¾ cup sweetened dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cut each squash in half crosswise. Scoop out and discard the seeds and strings. If necessary, trim the top and bottom so that the squash will sit level, and place on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side up. Sprinkle each half with a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, to taste. Using 2 tablespoons of the butter, dot each half with some butter. Cover the pan with foil and bake the squash just until moist and tender, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the rice, vegetable broth, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 cups of water, in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 40 minutes.

In a 10-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Swirl to coat the pan and sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Cover the pan, adjust the heat to medium-low, and cook the vegetables until crisp-tender, 5 minutes longer. Add the sage, thyme, and parsley and sauté 1 more minute. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, sautéed vegetables, tofu, walnuts, and dried cranberries. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if desired. Mound the rice mixture into the squash halves, dividing it evenly. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into small pieces. Dot each stuffed squash with butter. Cover with foil. Bake at 350ºF until heated through, about 20 minutes.

Serves 8

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