Saturday, October 1, 2011

Hello MoFo!



I can't believe I almost missed the first day of Vegan MoFo 2011!  But, I made it, and just in the nick of time.  So, I thought this year I would try to have a theme for each and every day of the week to help keep me focused.  I came up with a different idea for each day of the week and entered it into the MoFo form when I signed up for this year's event.  But I didn't write it down...ha.  So now I am trying to remember what I put on my entery form.

Hmm, what was it?  Well, I think these are pretty close:

Mash up Mondays: Foods you might not think go well together, but actually do
Two for Tuesdays: Meals for two
Worknight Wednesdays:  Easy to fix dinners that double as the next day's lunch
Thoughtful Thursdays: Cookbook (and other vegan book) reviews
Freedom Fridays: Convenience and ready to eat foods (including restaraunts)
Wonderful Weekends: Whatever my little heart desires

And since this is a Wonderful Weekend post, I am going to write about last weekend's Naked Stromboli.
Naked Stromboli?  Well, the stromboli wasn't naked...For those of you who don't already know me, My husband and I have been together a really, really long time.  In fact, we celebrated 17 years together on September 17.  After 17 years, well, you gotta do things to keep it spicy.  On our anniversary we made Naked Pizza.  Well the pizza wasn't naked...  We had so much fun that we decided to go for stromboli last weekend.

Stromboli's can be decorated with Braids or other fancy cuts or weaving.

Now that's a pretty horrible picture, I know.  I took it with my phone, and the lighting was bad.  But it shows the "braid" of the bread which is really what differentiates a stromboli from a calzone. 

So, to make this bad boy, just use your favorite pizza dough recipe, and your favorite toppings.  In this one I used this recipe for the dough.

I rolled the dough into an oval that fit onto my baking sheet, lined with parchment.

Using a pizza cutter (or a sharp knife) I cut 10 equal slits in both sides of the dough, leaving plenty of intact space in the center for my fillings.  (Which in this Stromboli were: Walnut Basil Pesto, Pine Nuts, and Daiya Pepperjack cheese.) 

Stromboli Dough Slits Diagram
Cut 10 equal slits on each side of the dough.

After I put my fillings in the center I braided the bread.  It really is so easy, but looks so extravagent when it's all done.  To do this start at one end and fold up the rounded edge.  Then start braiding.  Kind of like lacing your shoes, take one slit, and bring it to the center, then one on the opposite side, then repeat, finally tucking in the other end.

Dough Braiding Diagram
Start "braiding" at one end, tucking in the final ends.
 
Please forgive my crude diagrams!

I saved a little cheese for the top of the stromboli and I brushed the whole shebang with olive oil, and sprinkled some garlic powder on top just for good measure, before baking it at 425 F for about 15 minutes, or until golden. 

I let it sit for a few minutes before slicing into it...and I apologize now for not getting an inside shot.

And that's it!  If you get yourself a premade dough ball from Whole Foods, Trader Joes (or even your local pizza shop!) then you can put this bad boy together in no time.  (So you can get to the naked part faster!)

Well, so It begins.  Vegan Mofo 2011 is here.  I am quite excited.  I can't wait to read the round ups, and try to keep up with all of the madness.

Happy MoFo'ing to you all!

10 comments:

KitteeBee said...

ha ha. we don't have enough curtains in our house to attempt this, but if i get sewing soon, who knows?

xo
kittee

KitteeBee said...

oh also,
http://nakedvegancooking.com/about/

xo
kittee

All about... (vegan) food said...

This looks great! And I'm loving to see that many MoFoers have weekly plans to this edition :)

Unknown said...

I cannot tell you how much I love your braid diagram! I'm tying this soon ^_^

celyn said...

Congratulations on seventeen years, wonderful! The stromboli looks super yummy.

Jenn said...

Nice! Great technique explanation. It looks awesome!

Allysia said...

Ahh, MS Paint. But your diagrams are perfect! At first when I saw the picture of the beautiful stromboli, I was all, "that's awesome but probably complicated as hell", but your diagrams were revelatory. Thanks so much!

Scissors and Spice said...

Definitely going to rock this. Thanks for the idea!

B.A.D. said...

This looks so good! And happy Anniversary you two! <3

adriennefriend said...

I don't think it was a bad picture at all - just glorious!

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