Vegan Cranberry Cake

Vegan Cranberry Cake scented with orange and toasty walnuts has a light and tender crumb with just the right balance of sweet and tart.  Festive and delicious, a perfect holiday dessert! ! Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees tha…

Vegan Cranberry Cake scented with orange and toasty walnuts has a light and tender crumb with just the right balance of sweet and tart.  Festive and delicious, a perfect holiday dessert!
Vegan Cranberry Cake scented with orange and toasty walnuts has a light and tender crumb with just the right balance of sweet and tart.  Festive and delicious, a perfect holiday dessert! ! Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more...

12 New Trader Joe’s Products Just in Time for the Holidays

Nothing feels more like Christmas morning than Trader Joe’s releasing new food and drink products to the masses. And while the beloved grocery chain has yet to debut the peppermint and gingerbread flavors we covet into December, there are still a dozen…

Nothing feels more like Christmas morning than Trader Joe’s releasing new food and drink products to the masses. And while the beloved grocery chain has yet to debut the peppermint and gingerbread flavors we covet into December, there are still a dozen new seasonal drinks, apps, mains, and desserts to celebrate the arrival of the holiday season.

Check out Trader Joe’s latest offerings below, any of which would be perfect for your next holiday get-together.

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21 Useful Gifts That Won’t Add Clutter, Courtesy the Afrominimalist

Having spent the past five years on a journey to live with less, I’ve become more mindful of what I gift to my family and friends. I always like to challenge myself to be creative, innovative, sustainable, and thoughtful, and it’s no different during t…

Having spent the past five years on a journey to live with less, I've become more mindful of what I gift to my family and friends. I always like to challenge myself to be creative, innovative, sustainable, and thoughtful, and it's no different during the holidays.

One of my favorite ways to tick all the boxes when it comes to gifting is to ask loved ones how they want to be celebrated instead of buying something that I think they'll enjoy. Even if you’re big on the element of surprise, consider asking for a curated list of gifts or experiences that you can use as a guide. Not only will they be curious and anxious about what you chose, but they'll be touched by the thoughtfulness and intention behind it.

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“Armenian” Pizza With Spiced Lamb Sausage, Armenian String Cheese, and Sumac

Lahmajun-spiced lamb sausage and string cheese are the stars of this Armenian-Italian pizza mashup.

Armenian pizza being cut with a pizza cutter
Andrew Janjigian

Lahmajun is an Armenian flatbread baked in a wood-fired oven that's topped with a spiced minced lamb topping, made bright red from the addition of tomato and red pepper paste. While it's often referred to by outsiders as "Armenian pizza" and it sort of resembles pizza, many Armenians (myself included) get a little annoyed by the comparison.

First of all, it—as with other related meat-topped flatbreads from the Middle East—likely predates the invention of pizza. I’m no food historian, so I have no idea if it's true, but I've read arguments that pizza may have been inspired by lahmajun—or the idea of it, as a thin, round, vegetable- and/or meat-topped topped flatbread—thanks to the migration of peoples from the Caucasus and Levant to Sicily via Greece. Secondly, while the two are superficially similar, there are differences: lahmajun is topped with a very thin layer of wet, meat-heavy paste, rather than a sauce; the dough is rolled out very thinly and baked in a very hot oven, which causes it to take on a crackly exterior with a tender interior; and lahmajun is generally eaten whole, often rolled up around a chopped salad, rather than sliced. 

To be clear, while I don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about how non-Armenians refer to lahmajun, the discourse around it (such as it is) made me recently wonder: What might an actual Armenian pizza—meaning a real Italian pie, topped with Armenian ingredients and flavors—look like? Which is how I came up with this one.

I gave it a nod to lahmajun by creating a lamb sausage mixture made from the same basic seasonings: parsley, hot red pepper paste, tomato paste, allspice, cumin, garlic, and paprika. In place of mozzarella, I used Armenian string cheese, which is very similar to mozzarella, but is formed into a rope that can be pulled apart into threads, and is spiced with nigella seeds. And I finished it with ground sumac—the tart red-hued spice that's essential to za’atar seasoning—and more parsley, an herb beloved to Armenians. 

Finally, this pizza recipe is meant to be baked in a blazing hot outdoor tabletop pizza oven, using an outdoor pizza oven dough I developed. But the topping combination can be used on a home oven pie, too, using a dough formulated for that purpose.

Remove dough from refrigerator and allow to rest in proofing containers, covered, at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before baking. Dough temperature should reach 60°F (15.5°C) before stretching and baking; exact timing will depend upon ambient temperature.

Pizza dough balls in three takeout containers on a wooden surface
Andrew Janjigian

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine 4 teaspoons parsley, biber salçasi, tomato paste,  garlic, allspice, paprika, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir with spatula until smooth paste forms. Add lamb and knead gently with hands until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate until needed; mixture can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

Collage of steps for making lamb sausage mixture for topping Armenian pizza
Andrew Janjigian

Using a countertop or immersion blender, process tomatoes until a coarse but evenly blended sauce forms, about 10 seconds. Transfer to a 2-cup liquid measuring cup; if needed, add reserved tomato liquid to yield 2 cups (475ml) sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

Whole canned tomatoes being blended with an immersion blender in a measuring cup with reserved tomato liquid alongside
Andrew Janjigian

Preheat pizza oven to 800°F (425°C). When ready to bake, coat one dough ball generously on both sides with flour and place on well-floured surface, seam side down. Gently press out dough into rough 8-inch circle, leaving outer 1-inch higher than the rest. Gently stretch dough into a 10- or 12-inch circle (final dimension depends upon the size of your oven) about 1/4-inch thick by draping over knuckles and gently stretching. Transfer to floured wooden or perforated metal pizza peel.

Collage showing portion of pizza dough being stretched into round and placed on perforated metal pizza peel
Andrew Janjigian

Working quickly, spread an even layer of tomato sauce over pizza, leaving outer 1/2-inch rim untopped. Spread string cheese evenly over sauce, then dollop meat mixture over pizza in small chunks. Drizzle with olive oil.

Collage showing topping of Armenian pizza with tomato sauce, Armenian string cheese, lamb sausage, and olive oil
Andrew Janjigian

Transfer pizza to oven and bake, rotating pie regularly with a metal peel for even cooking, until rim is lightly charred and bottom is crisp, 90 to 180 seconds total. Retrieve pizza with a metal peel and transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle with parsley and sumac, slice, and serve immediately.

Collage showing Armenian pizza being put in outdoor pizza oven, rotated to ensure even cooking, and the pizza coming out of the oven
Andre Janjigian

Repeat steps 5 through 7 for remaining pizzas.

Special Equipment

High-temperature outdoor pizza oven, wooden or perforated metal pizza peel, metal pizza peel.

Notes

Biber salçasi can be found in Middle Eastern grocery stores or online. If unavailable, increase tomato paste to 3 tablespoons, paprika to 4 teaspoons, and add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.

If Armenian string cheese is unavailable, substitute 8 ounces (225g) low-moisture mozzarella, shredded, tossed with 1/4 teaspoon nigella seeds (if available).

Ground sumac can also be found at Middle Eastern markets or online.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Lamb sausage mixture can be made in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.

Gingerbread Spice Spritz Cookies

These gingerbread spice spritz cookies were gone the first day we made them! A classic buttery, spritz cookie recipe with gingerbread flavor and spice. They’re totally addicting and once you taste 1, you’ll eat 15! Spritz cookies are great …

These gingerbread spice spritz cookies were gone the first day we made them! A classic buttery, spritz cookie recipe with gingerbread flavor and spice. They’re totally addicting and once you taste 1, you’ll eat 15! Spritz cookies are great holiday cookies that are made with a classic spritz cookie press. You can also make beautiful […]

The post Gingerbread Spice Spritz Cookies appeared first on Sugar and Charm.

Lacinato Kale and Pecorino Salad

A base of finely shredded Lacinato kale to which and abundance of toasted pecans, pecorino cheese, and shredded Brussels sprouts are added. A strong lemon-tahini dressing is leveraged to brighten things up and take the raw edge off of the kale.

Continue reading Lacinato Kale and Pecorino Salad on 101 Cookbooks

You’re looking at one of my favorite winter salads and if you feel up for shredding a few ingredients, it won’t disappoint. It’s the most wintery of kale salads – an especially good one. Buckle up for a hearty, filling, and nutritious salad that happily makes a meal on its own. It also plays nice with others and is brilliant over a bed of pasta, or platter of roasted vegetables, or a grain bowl.
Lacinato Kale and Pecorino Salad
The salad is easy enough, without being obvious or predictable. It builds on a base of finely shredded lacinato kale to which and abundance of toasted pecans, pecorino cheese, and shredded Brussels sprouts are added. Don’t skimp. A strong lemon-tahini dressing is leveraged to brighten things up and take the raw edge off of the kale.

The key here is your knife work. For this salad to really pop, really shred the kale and Brussels sprouts and green onions finely, delicately. It’s leads a feathery texture that makes all the different in a robust salad like this one.
Lacinato Kale and Pecorino Salad on an Antique Serving Platter

Variations

I tend to make this salad the way it is written below. The combination of pecans, green olives, and pecorino is a winner in my book. But walnuts are great too if that is what you have on hand. If you have celery, I like to add it as well. Again, sliced whisper thin. A finishing kiss of lemon zest from the lemon you used to make the dressing is nice as well.

There is no shortage of kale recipes on the site, so have a look around. On the salad front, I love this Genius Kale Salad from the Food52 Genius Recipes Cookbook. This Salad Booster is fun, and this Kale Market Salad (xo Ragazza!) is such a fave. Also! Don’t miss Bryant Terry’s Amazing Green Rice.

Continue reading Lacinato Kale and Pecorino Salad on 101 Cookbooks

When Everything’s Wrong, Only Baked Pasta Feels Right

Lasagna, like all baked pastas, is a dish that suggests being warm inside on a cold day. It is the kind of food that numbs pain and softens edges, turning a sharp and bitter world toward small, sense-based pleasures. The blurring effect of heavy carbs …

Lasagna, like all baked pastas, is a dish that suggests being warm inside on a cold day. It is the kind of food that numbs pain and softens edges, turning a sharp and bitter world toward small, sense-based pleasures. The blurring effect of heavy carbs on the nervous system is much the same as a blasting radiator. And in a certain kind of cold weather, sometimes it’s hard to know if food is actually good, or just warm. Baked pasta is almost always both, but sometimes the temperature matters as much as the taste. That warmth itself, as a key ingredient in baked pasta, points to how these dishes act as a material form of unconditional love.

I started making lasagna, mac and cheese, baked ziti, and other variations on the theme about a year ago, during an uncertain fall that chilled into an oppressive winter. I love cheese and pasta and always have, but I hadn't made them myself all that often until 2020. It seemed like these sorts of dishes required an occasion, a big family holiday with a heaving table. Dare I make one in my own home, on any normal day of the year, just because I wanted to show someone I loved them, or feel like I was loved? Just because I wanted the brain-smoothing comfort of a vat of pasta and cheese? I dared.

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How Instagram’s Granola King Earned His Name

Like so many millions of people, Tom Bannister developed a new hobby during the pandemic. But Bannister didn’t opt for sourdough baking or weaving. Instead, the advertising executive started experimenting with baking homemade granola for his wife—who h…

Like so many millions of people, Tom Bannister developed a new hobby during the pandemic. But Bannister didn’t opt for sourdough baking or weaving. Instead, the advertising executive started experimenting with baking homemade granola for his wife—who happens to be former beauty editor Eva Chen and his “granola muse”—and their three kids. After a few months of experimenting with his recipes and sharing the results on Instagram, he began to receive DMs from followers asking if they could buy his granola. He wasn’t anywhere close to selling—nor did he even have intentions of doing so—but he realized there was a huge demand. His social media presence grew and Bannister, who was affectionately known as the “Granola King” among his followers, eventually found a commercial kitchen in Queens that he started renting so he could test his recipes on a larger scale.

He mixed and matched dozens of different flavor combinations, with the first success story being “Ginger Zing,” which is granola made with ginger-infused Vermont maple syrup and candied ginger.

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Pizza Dough for an Outdoor Pizza Oven

A pizza dough specifically formulated for a high-temperature tabletop pizza oven.

Hands shaping outdoor pizza oven pizza dough on a floured counter
Andrew Janjigian

I’ve been making pizza for nearly 40 years, and after all that time I thought I had my dough formulas dialed-in. More than a decade ago I developed a recipe for a New York-style pizza dough for Cook’s Illustrated magazine, which was a big hit and served as the jumping-off point for dozens of subsequent pizza and flatbread recipes. While most of my pizza recipes are optimized for use in home ovens that can't exceed 550°F, I've baked them regularly in blazing hot wood-fired ovens, where they've worked wonderfully. That always made sense to me since, generally speaking, with all else being equal, the hotter and faster you cook a flatbread, the better it comes out, since the interior stays moist and tender while the exterior gets nicely browned and charred.

Which is why I was stumped when I started baking pies in an Ooni Koda tabletop outdoor gas oven—which easily achieves wood-fired-oven temperatures of 800-900˚F—and they kept burning before the toppings and underside were fully baked. I don’t mean that they charred, mind you. Charring—or leoparding, as the constellation of irregular dark-brown spots on the rim of a well-made pie are commonly referred to—is a good thing, adding welcome Maillard and caramelization flavor to the crust. What I'm talking about is more like incineration, where the rim would be solidly black and unpleasantly bitter in large swathes, oftentimes because they literally caught on fire as the pie baked.

At first I assumed that it was user error on my part, or a flaw in how my particular oven worked. But then I remembered all the other people making wonderful, not-burned pies in similar tabletop ovens on my Instagram feed. Which made me wonder: Why would my doughs bake beautifully in larger wood-fired ovens but burn in compact tabletop ones like my Ooni when they both heated to identical temperatures?

It didn’t take long to realize that the difference came down to only one thing: size. In a wood-fired oven, the fire is nestled in one corner of a wide, tall space, leaving loads of room for the pies to cook at a safe distance from it. In a tabletop oven, the pizza sits just inches from the fire, which means it's subjected to a ton of intense heat, with no place to go to to escape from it.

To figure out what I was doing wrong, I decided to reach out to some of those tabletop pizza oven experts for advice. If they could make it work, then I needed to find out why straight from the source. Almost to a one, they told me this: Avoid adding anything to the dough beyond the four fundamental elements of any bread—flour, water, salt, and yeast—or the pies will burn.

Then it was obvious: That New York-style pizza dough recipe I mentioned above, the one that had launched countless others, was where I’d first gone astray. That’s because in addition to flour, water, salt, and yeast, it contains a few extra ingredients: sugar, oil, and—in later iterations and in several spin-off recipes—something called diastatic malt powder. 

All three of these ingredients are essential components in a pizza dough that is meant to be cooked at a much lower temperature in a home oven, where pizza takes awhile—8 to 12 minutes or so—to brown, because: 

  • Sugar promotes browning, since it's sugars—added or naturally found in the dough’s flour—that caramelize in the heat of the oven.
  • Diastatic malt is an enzyme that converts the starches in flour to sugar, and is often added to doughs to ensure that there is always enough sugar in the crust for good browning.
  • Oil serves to keep the finished pizza tender, since it lubricates the gluten network to keep it supple, even after a relatively long bake. 

But the combination of all three of these things is bad news when the pies cook in just 2 minutes: Sugar and diastatic malt both provide too much "food" for caramelization, and oil—in addition to its effect on tenderization—promotes heat transfer from the oven to the pie, speeding up browning all over again.

I ran a series of tests to confirm my suspicion. I made doughs with and without each of these ingredients, and in every case, the pies containing the “extra” elements were prone to burning before the toppings and/or underside were fully cooked. (I also timed how long it took each pie to cross the line between charred and burned, and the only one that lasted longer than 2 minutes was the one without all the add-ins.) 

Once I ditched these amendments to my formula, the rest was easy, especially since there were only four ingredients to consider, and because the remainder of my pizza dough chops were solid:

Flour: I landed on a medium-high protein flour here, one like King Arthur all-purpose—with about 12% protein—instead of bread flours, which are closer to 13%. The protein percentage determines the amount of gluten that forms in a dough and thus the texture of the finished pizza. That's because without oil to tenderize the dough, high-protein bread flour produces a pizza that's a little tough. Reducing the protein slightly helped to restore the lost tenderness. (That said, if you don’t have access to King Arthur all-purpose, bread flour is the next best thing.) 

Water: The percentage of water in a dough also has a profound effect upon the final texture of the pie, since water, like oil, also lubricates gluten. So more water is generally better if you want a tender, not-tough dough. But too much water can make a dough sticky and hard-to-handle, so there's a limit, especially if you're trying to create a formula that's easy for beginners and experts alike. I ended up with a 67% hydration dough (or 67g of water for every 100g of flour), a good compromise between ease of handling and maximum tenderness. One note: I actually prefer 70% hydration myself, though that dough can be a touch hard to handle. I offer instructions in the notes below if you want to increase the hydration once you're comfortable with this dough.

Yeast: Almost all of my pizza doughs are cold-fermented, meaning they spend at least a few days in the fridge before use (more on why below). Because of this I use a tiny amount of yeast—0.4%, or just 1/2 teaspoon for three to four pizzas worth—to avoid runaway fermentation. 

Salt: Most breads, pizza included, contain between 1.5 to 2.5% salt; I like a high percentage of salt in my pizza doughs—2.2% in this case—as it ensures the crust has the robust flavor it needs to stand up to toppings that are (often) intensely flavored . 

As for the mechanics of dough mixing, kneading, and the initial fermentation, it’s all pretty straightforward. You use a food processor to quickly mix the dough, minus the salt, and then you let it rest for 20 minutes. This step, known as an autoylse, helps passively develop gluten so that the dough doesn’t overheat during machine kneading. Then you add the salt and knead the dough in the machine until it’s well-developed, which takes about 30 seconds. 

After that, you put the dough in a bowl and allow it to proof at room temperature until it's puffy, which takes about an hour or two, which gives fermentation a jumpstart before you divide the dough, shape it into balls, and move the balls into the fridge. 

Cold fermentation is a fundamental technique for dough-making for a few key reasons:

Flavor: Cold fermentation develops a complexity of flavor in the dough that a fast fermentation can't, thanks to the sorts of flavorful compounds that form only when a dough proofs at low temperatures. (At higher temperatures, those compounds get converted fully to carbon dioxide, the gas that gives bread lift.) 

Easy Stretching: This slow fermentation gives the dough time to relax, which makes it easy to stretch out into a nice round disk without the dough fighting back. Not only does this help improve the look of your pies, it keeps them tender, because an overworked dough yields a tough, chewy pizza. 

Convenience: While this method does require advanced planning, you can make pizza anytime within a 3-day window once the doughs are in the fridge, only an hour or two after you pull them out. 

The recipe makes four 225-gram dough balls—sized to make 10-inch pies, which I think are an ideal diameter for a smaller (12-inch) oven—or three 300-gram dough balls, sized to make 12-inch pies in a larger (16-inch) oven. 

I strongly recommend that you cold-proof the dough in individual containers—like the 7-inch plastic takeout container pictured above—rather than side-by-side on a rimmed baking sheet. This helps to prevent the dough balls from kissing one another, which will make them hard to separate without tearing, but it also it means you can handle each ball as gently as possible, which will help you to avoid overworking the dough before you shape it.

Combine flour and yeast in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 3 to 4 times until well-combined. With machine running, add water and continue to process until mixture forms rough ball and no dry flour remains, 10 to 20 seconds. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Pizza dough after just coming together in a food processor
Andrew Janjigian

Add salt to top of dough and process until a mostly smooth ball of dough forms, 20 to 30 seconds. Dough temperature should register 75°F (24°C) on an instant-read thermometer when mixing is complete. If not, continue to mix in 10 second intervals until it reaches the desired dough temperature. Transfer dough ball to a lightly oiled medium bowl and knead once or twice by hand until smooth ball is formed. Cover bowl and let dough sit for 45 minutes.

Instant read thermometer stuck in dough in food processor reading 75 degrees Fahrenheit
Andrew Janjigian

Using lightly-moistened hands, knead dough in bowl until uniform in texture, 5 to 10 seconds. Cover and let sit at room temperature until puffy and not quite doubled in volume, 60 to 120 minutes.

Collage showing dough being briefly kneaded then allowed to proof until doubled in size
Andrew Janjigian

Transfer dough to a lightly floured countertop and divide into four pieces of about 225g (8 ounces) each for 12-inch ovens, or three pieces of about 300g (10.5 ounces) each for 16-inch ovens. Form each portion into a smooth, round ball. Coat exterior of dough ball lightly with oil and place each in a 4- to 7-inch round, lidded plastic takeout container, or on a lightly-oiled tray, spaced at least 2 inches apart, covered loosely but completely. Refrigerate dough for at least 24 hours or up to 4 days (48 to 72 hours is ideal).

Collage showing shaping of pizza dough into either three or four equally sized balls
Andrew Janjigian

On the day you plan to bake pizzas, remove dough balls from refrigerator and allow to warm up, covered, 1 to 2 hours before baking. Exact timing depends upon ambient temperature; dough should reach at least 60°F (15.5°C) before stretching and baking.

Pizza dough balls in three takeout containers on a wooden surface
Andrew Janjigian

Special Equipment

Digital scale, jeweler's scale, food processor, round plastic takeout containers or dough-proofing boxes

Notes

For best results, use a digital scale set in grams to measure ingredients. For the yeast, using a jeweler's scale will give you the most precise measurement possible.

If King Arthur all-purpose flour is unavailable, bread flour may be used in its place.

Once you are comfortable working with this dough, you can try increasing the hydration. I really like this dough at 70% hydration, but it's slightly more difficult to work with, and inexperienced pizza-makers may find that it's more prone to tearing during stretching. To increase the hydration to 70%, use 375g (13.2 ounces) of water in step 1 (an additional 25g).

Make-Ahead and Storage

The pizza dough needs to be made at least 24 hours ahead of baking. It can be refrigerated for up to 4 days, but 2 to 3 days is ideal.