1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen and Progresso are excellent)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Set aside at room temperature for up to several hours.
(sauce may be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days)
1/2 cup warm water
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temp.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups bread flour, plus extra for dusting hands and work surface
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Veg. oil or spray for oiling bowl
1. Measure warm water into 2-cup measuring cup. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until yeast dissolves and swells, about five .minutes. Add room temp. water and oil; stir to combine.
2. Pulse flour and salt in workbowl of large food processor fitted with steel blade to combine. Continue pulsing while pouring liquid ingredients (hold back a few tbs.) through feed tube. If dough does not readily form into ball, add remaining liquid, and continue to pulse until ball forms. Process until dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds longer.
3. Dough will be tacky, so use rubber spatula to turn out dough onto lightly floured work surface; knead by hand with a few strokes to form smooth, round ball. Put dough into deep oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about two hours. Punch dough down with your fist and turn onto lightly floured work surface. Divide and shape into rounds. Cover with sauce and toppings.
notes: I roll the dough into rounds and then stretch it by tossing or whatever means you can use so that it doesn't tear. It helps if you let it relax for five minutes during the process. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a pizza peel or onto a flat cookie sheet. Put the dough rounds onto the parchment. Spread sauce and toppings, except for cheese, onto the dough. Slide the parchment with pizza onto a preheated pizza stone. The oven should be hot...450 degrees or so.
I bake for 10-12 minutes and then add the mozarella cheese. If you put the cheese on right away, it will start to brown and you don't want that. Continue baking until the crust is crisp. You can lift an edge and check for desired degree of browning. Remove by pulling the parchment with the pizza onto a peel or cookie sheet. If you have more time, reduce yeast to 1/2 tsp. and let the dough rise for eight hours. This is supposed to make a more flavorful crust. Slow rising and less yeast is better for flavor in bread.
Croque Monsieur, a Continental cross between French toast and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, feeds a crowd when you bake it casserole-style in the oven.
Sixteen (1/2" ) slices fine-grained white bread
1/4 cup Dijon style mustard (optional)
3/4 pound sliced or grated cheese (Gruyere, Swiss or Cheddar)
3/4 pound sliced ham
1 med. to small onion, thinly sliced
6 large eggs
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tsp. Herbs de Provence (or mixed dried herbs of your choice)
1 tsp. salt
Topping
1 1/2 cups Panko (Japanese style coarse bread crumbs), or homemade dried breadcrumbs
3 TBS. butter, melted
1/4 cup grated cheese, parmesan, swiss, or cheddar
Butter a deep 9X13-inch baking pan. Remove the crust from the bread, if desired. For firmer texture, toast the slices lightly. Spread eight of the slices of bread with mustard. Place them in the baking dish, mustard side up, cutting the slices in half, as necessary, to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the cheese, all of the ham, all of the sliced onion and then the remaining cheese and the remaining bread slices. Press the sandwiches together. Beat the eggs, milk and seasonings together. Pour slowly over the bread. Cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
About 1 hour before serving, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the breadcrumbs with the melted butter and the grated cheese. Sprinkle over the casserole. Bake 42-48 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the eggs are set. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Yields generous 8-10 servings. You could easily get 12 brunch size servings.
When I made it, I toasted the bread, used mustard, used Herbs de provence, used fewer bread slices (12), used Gruyere cheese, used Panko crumbs available from Asian section of grocery store. I loved it! Maybe my bread slices were bigger then the ones they used in the original.
This is a wonderful french stew. I got this recipe from cookbook that Ross gave me last year for my brithday. It is the American Heart Association One Pot meals cook book. It is really yummy with a crusty loaf of bread and a big green salad
1 medium onion. diced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces low-fat turkey sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 large portobello mushrooms, caps coarsely diced
3 large tomatoes, (I used one 15 oz. can stewed)
2 15 ounce cans no-salt added navy beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup no salt added beef broth
2 strips turkey bacon, minced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
3/4 t. thyme, crumbled
3/4 t. dried sage
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 c. snipped fresh parsley (I forgot this last time and it was fine)
1/4 c. plain dried bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned)
Heat a stockpot over medium heat. Remove from heat and lightly spray with vegetable spray. Cook the onion for 3 to 4 minutes or until translucent, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the sausage. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the casings are lightly browned, stirring frequently. Stir in the mushrooms. Cook, covered, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mushrooms start to release their liquid and begin to soften.
Stir in the tomatoes, beans, broth, bacon, rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, sage and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
Stir in the parsley and bread crumbs. Increase the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serves 4, scant 2 cups per serving
Per serving 415 calories, 12 g. fat, 556 mg. sodium, 50g. carbohydrates, 12g. fiber, 13g. sugar, 29g. protein