5 Cheese Pizza with Honey, Prosciutto, & Truffle Oil (Copy Cat Finch's Dordogne Pizza)

There are many things I love about Bloomington: the gorgeous landscape, the culture, the diverse (temperamental...) climate, the architecture, and most of all the food.  Bloomington boasts some absolutely delicious local restaurants; so knowing that my time here is waning, I've taken a greater interest in copying my favorite dishes.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, no? 
One of my absolute favorite menu items in town is from Finch's Brasserie, a restaurant that 'features local and organic products from area farms and cheese artisans'.  They have a really great seasonal menu, but I pretty much can't resist ordering my favorite pizza every time.  It's called The Dordogne, named after a region in France.  Their version has four cheeses, truffle honey, and prosciutto.  While my recipe isn't exactly the same (Anyone know where to find truffle honey in Bloomington?), the flavor is all there.

Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing

So, I have this sister-in-law and she's magic. Seriously. I like ANYTHING she feeds me, even things that have spent decades on my list of least favorite foods.  She's converted me to mayonnaise (although I still won't spread it on a sandwich), mustard (which I eagerly spread on sandwiches), enchiladas,  pasta salad, and a bunch of foods I previously considered offensive for one reason or another.  This conversion isn't a small feat either, I was the pickiest child in the world.  I basically lived on refried beans and plain noodles as a kid--gourmet, I know.
Ever since I discovered mustard is actually really good, I've been finding ways to include it in everything and even made my own (which despite the simplicity of making mustard was a total fail, 4 entire cups of total fail that are still sitting in my fridge, to be precise...).  My new favorite use for mustard, however is this creamy, tangy, sweet and surprisingly healthy salad dressing.  Its great on lettuce (or should I say with lettuce... I practically use a 1:1 ratio...), as a dressing for pasta salad, or as a veggie dip.  You should probably try it :)

Sweet Chili Roasted Broccoli

Ever had P.F. Chang's Spicy Green Bean appetizer?  If you haven't, you should.  Or you can just make this broccoli and not go through the trouble of getting off the couch, changing out of your sweatpants, and driving to your local P.F. Changs.  Wait, you're not wearing sweatpants, you say?  Well, the kitchen is still closer than P.F. Changs.  This broccoli has all the same delicious flavors of their green beans; the sweetness balances impeccably with the salty spiciness of the chili paste.  This broccoli makes an excellent side, or if you're not a carnivore like me, a healthy serving of this deliciousness over brown rice makes an incredibly satisfying meal.  Now, how do I say "bon apétite" in Chinese?

 

Honey Tahini Dressing

I'm currently facing a dilemma--an utterly disastrous dilemma.  I have no bread. [Unless you count the soft pretzels I made on Sunday as bread... but let's face it I can't really make a PB&J with a soft pretzel...]  I also don't have much other food, since my time in Bloomington is coming to an end I'm trying to let my pantry dwindle (and it's taking a serious amount of self-control at the grocery).  I do have lettuce, lots of freezer food, and some incredibly stale pita bread, which lent itself perfectly to a deconstructed felafel salad :)  This creamy dressing tied it all together, the rich tahini harmonizes perfectly with the sweet honey and acidic lemon striking a refreshingly satisfying balance.  I found myself scraping the left over salad dressing off my plate with the pita chips and tomatoes--it was that good.

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

• 1 roasted red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.  VOILA: salad dressing.

(So I played the viola for like 10 years... and have to type the word voila like nine times before I am certain it's right... at least I have mastered "its" and "it's"...)

Yields 12 servings.

Baklava

 Everything so wrong and so wonderful about dessert comes together in this tasty creation.  Crispy, delicate layers of phyllo dough, loads of buttery goodness, crunchy aromatic nuts, and then in case you weren't already salivating, a sticky, sweet glaze coating the entire morsel.

Whether you've had baklava, or don't even know how to pronounce it- this is a simple and decadent dessert.  Just whatever you do, plan on giving some away, because it is tasty enough to eat a few squares too many :)

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts- I use walnuts
• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a bowl mix the chopped walnuts and cinnamon. Unroll phyllo dough and cut in half to fit the pan. Cover the phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, brush thoroughly with melted butter. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Notes:

• Cool the glaze as much as you can before coating- it keeps the baklava crispier.
• Serve in cupcake or mini-loaf papers for more convenient eating.
• Use any mix of nuts you like including almonds, pecans, walnuts, or pistachios. I wouldn't recommend peanuts.  Also dried chopped apricots or golden raisins make a delicious addition to the nut filling.
• If time permits, roast the nuts in a dry skillet a few minutes before layering the baklava.  Keep a careful eye on them though- nuts burn quickly and you can't salvage a burnt nut.
• Store loosely or uncovered, storing it airtight causes it to get soggy.

Yields 3 dozen.

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baklava/