I found my love of cooking many years ago. It started off with my original blog “The Common Sense Cook” where I shared all of my recipes that I often made up. This lead to researching, reading, and watching many different recipes from many cuisines. The one that caught the most of my attention was Julia Child. Her fun personality and warbly voice combined with easy instructions for any home cook became an obsession.My husband bought me both volumes of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” for Christmas and I knew exactly what to make. I instantly turned to bouef bourguignon (beef stew). It was the first video I had watched when I found “The French Chef” on YouTube. I followed her instructions intimately, as I rarely do, and I was rewarded with probably the most delicious French beef stew that could be put into existence by us mere mortals.
But, nearly two years ago I contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and as a side effect became allergic to all mammal meats. So yes, you guessed it. No more Julia’s Bouef Bourguignon. It didn’t bother me at first and sparked my vegan journey so in a way I’m grateful for this experience. There’s been so many great lessons, however… Cravings do happen. READ MORE
Ami Lee, author of Work Hard Eat Kind, is a busy mom and wife who blogs about plant-based recipes, body positivity, and family. She was inspired to go vegan after she was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and chronicles the failures and successes as she goes.
Arkansas Women Blogger, Keri Bucci who writes at My Table of Three, likes to keep it simple yet full of flavor. On today’s Foodie Friday, she’s sharing one of her family favorites – Mushroom Brown Rice. While Keri uses instant rice, you could easily prepare it my favorite way – Perfect Brown Rice Every Time – using Riceland’s Long Grain Brown Rice.
Or, you could use one of Riceland’s newer products – Premium Brown Rice Boil in Bag which cooks in only 10 minutes!
Features of Premium Brown Rice Boil in Bag:
Cooks in 10 minutes
Made from premium long grain brown rice
Cholesterol Free
Sodium Free
Gluten Free
Fat Free
No MSG
Rice kernels stay separate when cooked
Consistent cooking results
Grown by American family farmers in Arkansas and Missouri
(Photos courtesy of Riceland Foods)
For additional recipes using Riceland’s boil-in-bag white or brown rice check out the round-up of great ideas on Riceland’s web site. I’m anxious to give these suggestions a try soon.
I know we’ve shared this before, but I still absolutely love this video of the Martin Family, a former Cross County Farm Family of the Year, featuring former Miss Arkansas Rice, sweet Jenna Martin. If you can watch this without getting a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye, I’d be shocked.
A few years ago when we lived in Colorado we had a favorite place in downtown Boulder called The Med that had a fantastic happy hour. Sure, the drinks were good (sangria anyone?) but our favorite part was the fantastic tapas menu. There was a margherita pizza that we would order multiples of, and we always left so stuffed that there was no dreaming up dinner by the time we got home.
About a year after our first Med happy hour, we were lucky enough to get actual pizza making lessons from the founder in a traveling brick pizza oven, and it was at that point that I started dreaming up a backyard pizza oven for our future dream house. Much like the lovely Zaza’s Pizza here in Little Rock, this pizza oven fired out the good stuff in seconds flat, as a good hot pizza oven should.
While we don’t have our dreamy Pinterest-worthy backyard patio complete with wood-burning oven, I have perfected the art of pizza in our electric range. It requires no fancy equipment, no fancy pizza dough recipe, and you can choose any toppings you like. I love this cozy version with breakfast sausage, butter-sauteed leeks and sliced mushrooms all on a bed of super simple bechamel sauce. It sounds complicated, but it’s really all about rustic ingredients that will bring people closer to the table.
As for the pizza dough, I hardly ever make my own – I’ve found that Whole Foods (or a local pizza place) can supply that need in much quicker fashion than I can. BUT if you have a favorite dough recipe far be it from me to keep you from using it!
As with all food, this pizza is best served with loved ones, a nice glass of wine (if you like) and a fresh salad. Enjoy!
1 large ball pizza dough (enough for one large pizza - about 20 inches)
4 ounces breakfast sausage, browned and crumbled
1 large leek, white and light green parts only, cut in half and then cut into ½-inch half moons
4 large cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk (I highly recommend using cow’s milk of some kind for this)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a large cookie sheet OR pizza stone (whatever you have on hand) in the oven. You want it to be screaming hot.
In a small saute pan, melt one tablespoon of butter and add the leeks. Cook until the leeks are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes.
In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the remaining tablespoon of butter.
Add the flour and whisk together to create a roux, and cook for about 1 minute to let the flour flavor cook out.
Whisking constantly, pour in the milk and whisk until all lumps are removed.
Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg and whisk to combine.
Let the milk mixture come to a simmer, whisking occasionally, until very thick and then remove from the heat.
Roll the pizza dough out until it is large enough to completely cover the pan you’re preheating in the oven.
When the oven and pan are hot, carefully remove the pan and quickly (and carefully!) spread the dough on top.
Return the pan to the oven and bake for 5-6 minutes.
Remove the dough from the oven and spread the bechamel sauce evenly on top.
Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Sprinkle evenly with the crumbled sausage, leeks and sliced mushrooms.
Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese.
Return the pizza to the oven rack by sliding it gently off of the hot pan.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until the crust is slightly crisp and the cheese is bubbly and melted.
Remove from the oven and let cool for about 2-3 minutes before digging in.
Enjoy!
By Heather Disarro of Heather's Dish
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
Heather Disarro is a food-centric lifestyle blogger who is passionate about embracing the beauty that surrounds us with in our everyday lives. She is a Texan living the expat life in central Arkansas with her husband, son and two massive dogs. Heather writes her blog, Heather’s Dish, from an office filled with dust, dog fur, toys and plenty of love, grace and music. She specializes in creating delicious and creatively nourishing recipes. Cooking seasonally and with as many local ingredients as possible is an important component to Heather’s style of food, and she revels in the opportunity to bring the love of cooking to the world as a way to love others well!
My husband bought me both volumes of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” for Christmas and I knew exactly what to make. I instantly turned to bouef bourguignon (beef stew). It was the first video I had watched when I found “The French Chef” on YouTube. I followed her instructions intimately, as I rarely do, and I was rewarded with probably the most delicious French beef stew that could be put into existence by us mere mortals.
