Thursday, May 1, 2008

Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Squares

I'm not good at doing crusts, or basically dealing with dough is a big deal for me, so I had to change this recipe from Bon Appetit according to what I can do. If you are comfortable making crusts, I think the recipe below should do it. But keep in mind, I have not tried it:)

Trade Joe's sells a wonderful pizza dough ready to be used. Most markets today have them, or any local Italian eatery should be able to sell the dough to you.

After trying it as squares and seeing that it didn't really look appetizing, but the taste was great, I decided to use puff pastry squares and use only the filling from the recipe. This way I can close them like a calzone, so I don't prepare them as squares.

If you do want to serve them open faced, cut the puff pastry squares into smaller 4 squares, otherwise it's not an appetizer anymore:)

Simply prepare the filling, and then just put it in the middle of the puff pastry and wet all four sides of it with water. Close it, forming a triangle, and use a fork to push the edges down. It helps adhere the pastry tightly, otherwise it will open during cooking. Then prepare an egg wash and brush it on. I also add Nigella seeds which gives a really nice bite. Then follow the cooking time on the package of the puff pastry, which is usually between 20 to 25 minutes.

You will need a crock pot to be able to caramelize the onions. Regular pans will take too long, and the onions will burn long before they are caramelized. If you don't have a crock, add a little bit of balsamic after sauteing the onions for a while, it will help caramelize the onions.


BLUE CHEESE AND CARAMELIZED-ONION SQUARES

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Topping:
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions (about 2 pounds), halved, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Directions:
For crust:
Preheat oven to 425°F.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Make well in center of dry ingredients.

Whisk milk, olive oil, and melted butter in liquid measuring cup to blend. Slowly pour milk mixture into well in dry ingredients, stirring until just blended and smooth.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 10x13-inch rectangle. Transfer dough to rimmed baking sheet.

Re-form dough into 10x13-inch rectangle (dough will shrink when moved). Pierce dough all over with fork. Let dough rest while preparing topping.

For topping:
Melt butter with oil in large skillet over high heat. Add onions. Cook until onions are soft and beginning to brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.

Add rosemary, sugar, and salt. Season onions to taste with pepper. Reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook until onions are soft and dark brown, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes; cool.

Spread onion mixture evenly over dough. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 42 squares.

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