...first there are a few other things I need to throw in there.
I also know it has been quite awhile since last I posted, and for that I apologize. Blame it on a heavy travel schedule and a crowded social calendar - the combination does not leave much time for creative cooking.
An update in the world of baked mac and cheese - I made this again last week with brown rice pasta (I prefer quinoa pasta but did not have enough to make it with in the cupboard). I also did not have any butter so, substituted olive oil while making the roux as the base for the sauce, and used Bob's Red Mill all purpose GF flour instead of the rice flour I used last time. I went with the original ratio of 1:1 for fat to flour, and forgetting how differently GF flours react, used WAY too much flour (but only 3 tablespoons really). The flour/oil mixture behaved somewhat as it should have (aside from when I stirred too aggressively and ended up with a few boiling drops on my forearm - OWIE - that will leave a scar!) until I added the milk. It literally grew to 4x its should have been size into a sort of gluteny (ironic right?) porridge. I had to add almost half a container of milk, and still ended up dumping half of it out because it kept trying to eat my spoon. A word of advice for the future: MODERATION! Add the flour slowly!!! And wear long sleeves.
Now, back to GF pizza as promised. Over the last few months, GF pizza has been a regular on the menu in my house. We've tried ordering it once or twice from the few places in town that will deliver a GF pie, and although the delivery stuff is good, it is expensive ($25+ for a 12 inch).
We usually make it once a week, and have found that it is a great way to (1) use up the leftover veggies from my every 3 weeks farm produce delivery and (2) to keep my husband happy. I've not yet tried making my own dough (like I said, I've been BUSY), but have sampled a number of pre-made frozen crusts from both Whole Foods and the AHGSTCMTWF (see prior posts for explanation of this one). My husband may differ in opinion, but my new favorite is Conte's, which Whole Foods began carrying recently. The crust is thin, somewhat light (it looks aerated) and doesn't taste too powdery (a flaw of several other of the crust brands). Most pre-made crusts come frozen in 2-packs.
Husband and I agreed that last week's iteration was likely the best thus far. We made one veggie and one meat pizza.
For the veggie, I started by slicing up 2 small zucchinis (farm produce delivery), some frozen artichoke hearts, a couple of mushrooms, shallots, black olives and tomatoes. Everything but the tomatoes and the olives got sauteed in some olive oil for a few minutes - the shallots and the zucchini went in first to get a bit caramelized, followed by the mushrooms and the artichoke hearts. I brushed the crust with pesto sauce (store bought - will try making my own next time with the basil plant that is slowly dying from my influence on my patio), then covered with grated mozzarella, the sauteed veggies, the olive and the diced tomatoes. I topped that with some shaved Parmesan.
For the meat pizza, we had some chicken sausage (I think from Trader Joe's) in the freezer, which we sliced very thinly and popped in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil and some slice onion. We used red sauce (this one from the AHGSTCMTWF), topped with grated mozzarella, then sausage, onions and olives.
We baked both as the crust directions instructed (I think at 400 or 425) for about 15 minutes. I like to turn on the broiler for the last couple of minutes for super crispy pizza. Topped both with some chiffonaded basil and crushed red pepper, and added a couple of drops of arbequina olive oil to the veggie pizza.
Both were absolutely delish, both as dinner that night and as leftovers, and a super easy meal. We make it a habit now to keep frozen crust and mozzarella in the house, as the rest is pretty easy no matter what else is available.
So now you have pizza!
I'm back on a cooking kick, so more GF yumminess to come soon!
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