Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Simplifying Things

Reducing something to its simplest form is not always an easy task. For a class once, I had to draw a vegetable of my choice, in this case a mushroom, and make a detailed drawing of it.

Then, step by step, make that drawing into a pictogram. This was when we were doing everything by hand, computers came in a few years later. I sort of liked the process of it all, with the tracing paper and the pencils and then the markers. Man, when 20 of us were using those markers in a closed room, we left with quite a buzz!

Anyways, the whole thing reminds me a lot of cooking, the idea of using a vegetable or any other food and bringing out it’s essence. You don’t need a pinch of this or a pinch of that to make mushrooms tasty. All you need is a hot pan, a pat of butter and thinly sliced mushrooms sautéed until golden brown and delicious. Same goes for onions. Simple things that don’t need much to get even better.

Add a batch of pizza dough, a little goat cheese and it becomes Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Pizza with Goat Cheese. Sounds elegant but really, it’s a simple dish, with simple ingredients. Just add a glass of wine for the buzz…

CLICK!: The photo at the top will be my entry for this month’s CLICK! Event : Au Naturel. Visit jugalbandi for the details.



Pizza Dough
I use Ricardo’s pizza dough, which I love because it’s so soft and easy to work with. It’s enough for 2 pizzas so I keep the rest in the fridge and usually make foccacia or whatever the next day. Or you can make 2 pizzas, it’s up to you!

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Pizza with Goat Cheese
2-3 yellow onions, thinly sliced

1 package of button mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

about 100g firm goat cheese (I used La Patte Blanche from Fromagerie Bergeron)

Place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat it to 500F.

In a skillet heat 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion slices and let cook over medium heat until nicely caramelized. Give it a good 45 to 50 minutes, it’ll be worth it, I promise. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

In the same skillet, heat the remaining butter and olive oil. Add the mushroom slices and sauté until nicely browned. The time this takes depends on how high a heat you’ve got your skillet on, so watch carefully. Once they’re done, let the mushrooms cool a few minutes.

Divide your pizza dough in two and roll one piece to your desired thickness. Place the rest in the fridge for later use. Spread caramelized onions onto the dough, followed by the mushrooms and goat cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, let it rest a few minutes then dig in!

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17 comments:

RecipeGirl said...

This is my very favorite kind of pizza!

(I can never be around those markers for too long. Back when I was teaching, I had to request the no-odor markers. The others gave me migraines!!)

bee said...

great mushroom sketch. the cut mushroom looks exactly like the sketch. wonderful pic

Brilynn said...

Sometimes simple is great, that looks delicious!

Ginny said...

Pizza looks fabulous! Some of my favorite things! :)

Manggy said...

Great pictogram :)
I have to say, caramelized onion just makes everything a million times more delicious :)

LyB said...

RecipeGirl – When my daughter was in preschool, the teacher had specified fruit scented markers for the whole class, I thought she’d gone nuts!

Bee – Thank you, I was pretty proud of that sketch at the time, it was more than ten years ago, imagine that! :)

Brilynn – Thank you! I love simple things.

Ginny – My favorites too! :)

Manggy – Don’t they? They get so sweet and delicious!

grace said...

brace yourself: i detest mushrooms. can i still call myself a foodie? there's just something about their texture and flavor that makes me want to spit 'em right back out. this just means more for you i guess. :)

Anonymous said...

Great pics, and love the pictogram with the "real thing" right below. And you know me and pizza...this one combines three of my favorite ingredients! Sounds so delicious!

Madeline said...

Mmmmmm, I make a goat cheese and caramelized onion tart that I absolutely adore. I imagine this pizza will fall into that category as well. It looks wonderful I can't wait to try it.

test it comm said...

Pizza with caramelized onions, mushrooms and goat cheese sounds so good!

Helene said...

You put foward only the best so yes, simplicity was the way to go and the result is outrageously good!!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

J'aime bien ta pizza. Elle a l'air très bonne.

maybelles mom said...

wow, I just came upon your blog. love this entry--it reminds me of concepts my husbands says all the time. (I am afraid I am a bit of a pinch of this pinch of that sort.)

Mama Mia said...

That pizza looks simply divine! I love mushrooms!

Alfie said...

I always love reading your blog so I’ve left you an award for creativity and design for all your lovely pics (it’s on my blog if you’d like to pick it up!)

LyB said...

Grace – That’s OK, I used to be the same with olives but I’m working on that!

Amy – Thank you, I love pizza too!

Madeline – I hope you do try it!

Kevin – It’s just delicious!

Helen (Tartelette) – Thank you so much!

Helene – Merci, c’est gentil!

Maybelles Mom – Sometimes, you need a pinch of this a pinch of that! :)

Lina – Thank you!

Alfie – Thank you so much, it’s so nice of you to think of me! :)

transporte de carro said...

Thanks for the recipe. This way I'll have something to bring to my husband's in-laws.