Grilled Pesto Pizza

I don't know why I've never tried grilled pizza before! It's so easy and tastes like you slaved all day in the kitchen! If you need a quick meal for entertaining, I definitely recommend this. You can make the dough ahead of time and then just throw everything together on the grill when the guests are there.

I used Emeril's pizza dough recipe below. It was easy and simple. I wasn't sure how long to keep the mixer going, but it took about 10 mins for the dough to ball up the hook and allow me to transport it into a bowl. 

Then I added the topping of my choosing. My basil has been thriving in my garden. So you know pesto was in the future! I paired it with some steak and peppadew peppers. If you're not sure where to find peppadew, check the salad bar area at your grocery store like Kroger. It's not really spicy, has a bit of sweetness to it. It was a great pairing with the basil pesto and steak. 

Grilled Pesto Pizza

Ingredients

2 c basil

1 clove garlic

1/2 - 3/4 c olive oil 

Salt and pepper to taste

5 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

5 oz smoked cheddar cheese, shredded

Arugula 

1 lb Sirloin steak

1 c Peppadew pepper, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil for drizzling

Directions:

Make the pizza dough ahead of time (see recipe at the end).

To make the pesto, combine the basil and garlic in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Then season with salt and pepper. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use. (Pesto is usually made with pine nuts. I usually add any nuts I have in the pantry but I didn't have any this time. Also usually like to add lime juice.  It still worked out well for this. But feel free to use any pesto you like.)

Next, season the steak with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Grill until it's done to your liking. Let it rest for a few mins, then slice into strips. 

To assemble the pizza:

Take your prepared rolled out pizza dough, brush both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Grill over medium heat for about 3 mins until you get nice chargrilled marks. Then flip the dough over. Layer with pesto, arugula, cheese, steak and peppadew. Grill until the cheese had melted, about 3 mins. If your dough is cooking too fast and your cheese hasn't melted, turn the heat to low and close the grill lid. Monitor your pizza though. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough Recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/pizza-dough-recipe.html

Ingredients

1 cup warm water, about 110 degrees F
1 packet dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/4 cups flour (may use a little more or less)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

To the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the warm water and yeast and sugar and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the olive oil, flour, and salt. Mix with the dough hook until the dough comes together and climbs up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the mixer and, on a floured surface, form into a smooth ball shape. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a clean towel. Place in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to desired size.

Artichoke Bacon Ravioli

When I worked at Comcast, one of my good friends would often eat Trader Joe's pasta. She loved Trader Joe's and so did many others. Unfortunately there isn't one too close to me so I never got to experience this "great" place. 

Until this weekend...we were in the area and in need of groceries. Trader Joe's had a lot more prepared items then raw ingredients. It was kinda difficult for me because I wanted to buy everything. And I ended up just picking up anything that caught my eye. Artichoke ravioli, pesto tortellini, truffled ravioli, bacon cheddar cheese, pesto cheese, curry marinated chicken, you name it!

When I got home though, I realized I didn't plan out my meals well. What was I to pair together? And I had a lot of carbs here! I decided to try the artichoke ravioli with the bacon cheddar cheese. Why not?

You can't really taste the artichoke in the ravioli. I get more of the olive flavor than artichoke. The bacon cheddar sauce was what made this dish. Its smoky flavor really was the star. They say everything is better with bacon, right?

Artichoke Bacon Ravioli

Ingredients 

9 oz pkg Trader Joe's Artichoke Ravioli

1 tbsp unsalted butter 

1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 c 2% reduced fat milk

1 c Trader Joe's bacon cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt and pepper

Chopped chives

Cook the ravioli according to the package's instructions. 

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir for about a minute to cook out the raw flour. Slowly whisk in the milk. Bring to a gentle boil then slowly stir in the cheese. Bring to a gentle simmer then reduce the heat to medium low. Cook until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the cooked ravioli and top with chives. Enjoy!

Golden Chanterelle Gnocchi

If you ever come across golden chanterelle mushroom, you must try them. Matt's coworker introduced us to these mushroom. His coworker found a ton on his hike and was nice enough to give us a couple bags. The mushrooms are meaty and very earthy. It adds a lot of flavor to this pasta dish. We really enjoyed them and are sad we don't see them at the stores around here. 

Golden Chanterelle Gnocchi

2 tbsp butter

2 c golden chanterelle mushroom

2 tbsp flour

1 pint heavy cream

2 c morel and leek cheese, shredded

1 lb gnocchi, cooked

Salt and pepper

Chopped parsley

Heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 mins. Add the flour and cook for a couple of mins to cook out the flour taste. Slowly whisk in the cream. Bring to a simmer. Slowly add the cheese, a little at a time so it can all incorporate. Cook over medium-low heat until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the gnocchi and finish with some chopped parsley. 

For the gnocchi, I tried Marc Forgione's Gnocchi recipe in Food Network Magazine's April 2012 Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage. It was really easy. And I was able to freeze the rest and cook it up real nicely. It wasn't gummy like another gnocchi recipe I tried. Below is the gnocchi recipe I used:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour a mound of kosher salt onto a rimmed baking sheet. Prick 3 large russet potatoes (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lbs) all over with a fork and nestle them in the salt; this prevents the potatoes from browning and draws out their moisture. Bake the potatoes until fork-tender, about 45 mins. Let sit until just cool enough to handle. 

2. Halve the potatoes lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a bowl; discard the skin. Break the flesh with a fork. Put into a floured cutting board. Let cool 3-4 mins. Spread out the potatoes slightly. Beat 1 large egg with 1/2 tsp salt in a small bowl and drizzle over the potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes mixture with 1 c flour and knead until a smooth dough forms, adding up to 1/2 c more flour if the dough is sticky. When you press your finger into the dough it should come out clean. If it doesn't, continue to knead. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 10 mins. 

3. Lightly flour your surface. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll into "snakes," about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut into 1/2-to-1-inch lengths with a knife; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly dust with flour. 

You can transfer to a gallon sized bag and freeze any gnocchi you won't be cooking right away. 

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi; wait until they float to the surface, then simmer 30 more seconds. Scoop the gnocchi from the pot with a spider or slotted spoon.

Crispy Chicken Tenders

Quick and easy crispy chicken tenders:

10 chicken breast tenders
Dried Oregano
Dried Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Flour
1 large Egg, beaten
Panko
1/4 c Black pepper parmesan

Heat oil in a deep fryer.
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper the chicken. Season with oregano and thyme. Set up your breading station: add some flour to one bowl, the beaten egg to another, and the panko, parmesan and pinch of salt to the third bowl. Coat a chicken tender in the flour, then dip in the egg, then coat in the seasoned bread crumbs. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Fry until golden brown.

Pan-Seared Scallops

At first I was just gonna sear up some large scallops. Then I thought I could make a quick white wine reduction to go with it. Next thing you know I'm whipping up some creamy polenta as well. Our meal went from being a simple dish to a more fancy one in just 30 mins. And the best part was I only had to buy the scallops. I had everything else in the fridge or pantry already. Don't you love it when that happens??

Pan-Seared Scallops
over a bed of creamy polenta, all topped with a decadent white wine reduction

My personal food critic said this was the best thing he's ever eaten, and not just from what I've cooked. But he may be a bit biased since he's my husband :)

Ingredients:
2 c milk
2 c water
4 tbsp butter
1 c yellow cornmeal
1/2 c ricotta
2 tbsp Romano cheese, grated
12 large scallops
1/2 c white wine
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil

1. Prepare the polenta: Bring milk, water, 2 tbsp butter, salt to taste to a boil in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the cornmeal and simmer for about 30 mins, partially uncovered. Add a little bit more water or milk if the polenta looks dry. When finished cooking, stir in both cheeses. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Prepare the scallops: Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the scallops. Sear the scallops about 2-3 mins on each side. Set aside on a cooling rack while you prepare the sauce. (Setting the cooked scallops on a cooling rack helps keep the crispy sear on the scallops.)

3. Prepare the sauce: Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the garlic. Let it reduce by half. Then stir in the remaining butter and the parsley.

4. Prepare for eating: On your serving dish, add some polenta. Then top with scallops and the sauce. Enjoy!

Artichoke-Ricotta Chicken

I wasn't sure what to call this dish. Basically, I took some chicken breasts, topped  it with a ricotta and artichoke mixture, and broiled it in the oven until golden brown. I loved this dish so much. The ricotta gave the dish an overall light texture. But the star was the artichoke. It gave a bit of tang to the dish and you're left wanting more. You can always lighten this dish up more by using less ricotta or even low-fat. I didn't want any leftover ricotta to go bad so I used the entire small container.

Artichoke-Ricotta Chicken

Ingredients
2 large boneless chicken breasts
15 oz ricotta cheese
14.75 oz marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

My chicken breasts were pretty thick, so I sliced them in half to get 4 thinner chicken breasts. (This way, you can reduce the cooking time on the chicken as well.) Place a chicken breast in between saran wrap and gently pound out with a mallet. (I just wanted to increase the surface area a bit and tenderize the chicken. Don't pound it to mush.) Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and cook the chicken, about 10 mins on each side.
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, artichoke hearts, parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay the cooked chicken breasts in the baking dish. Then evenly top the artichoke-ricotta mixture on each chicken. Broil in the oven until golden brown, about 10 more mins. Enjoy!

Grilled Lamb Breasts

I had never worked with lamb breast before. Matt likes to buy meat from the UGA meat sale and this was one of the meats he bought. I actually thought they were ribs at first, but read the packaging and found out it was lamb breast. It looked very similar to ribs, so I decided to season it up and grill it as I would ribs.

I seasoned the breasts liberally with some salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and crushed red pepper. Because rosemary and thyme work well with lamb, I chopped some up and threw it in as well. I also decided to experiment with some ground cardamom. Cardamom is a very fragrant and sweet spice, like nutmeg. A little goes a long way. I thought it would be a nice balance with all the smoky, spicy seasoning and herbs though. I tossed the lamb with some olive oil as well and threw it on the grill. Medium heat, a few mins each side. These ribs were so flavorful. And the seasoning worked so great together. I would say the two stars were the fresh rosemary and sweet cardamom.

A note about lamb breast, it is hard to cut! I couldn't slice each rib because some of them had a spine that ran along the bottom. A butchers knife would be great here, but since we didn't have one, I just followed the bones. So my rib cuts came out a bit zig-zagged, but that didn't matter. These were tasty, cut beautifully or not.

Collard Greens with Ox Tail

When Matt said "I enjoyed that more than I thought I would. You've got me liking all kinds of things now!" I knew I succeeded. See Matt can be a picky eater, so I'm always trying to challenge that.

These collard greens are so flavorful. And it's an extremely hearty dish. There are 2 secret ingredients that make this dish...

The first secret is the ox tail broth. You can get ox tail at any asian farmers market, like Super HMart. There's not much meat on ox tails, but the little bit that's there is juicy. It makes a delicious broth.

The second secret is the use of "nước mắm " or I should say "fish sauce". Now, don't get turned off. Fish sauce is commonly used in many of your asian dishes. This bottled sauce adds so much flavor to asian cuisine, and it really shows here.

Collard Greens with Ox Tail



nước mắm aka Fish Sauce



3 lbs Ox tails

3-4 qt water

1 bunch collard greens

4 tsp salt

6 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp hot sauce



Add water to a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add the Ox tails. Bring to a boil again. Skim the fatty froth off the top layer and discard. Turn the heat to low and cover with a lid for 30 mins. Meanwhile remove the stems from the collard greens. Then slice the leaves, about 1 inch thick. Add the sliced collard green leaves, salt, fish sauce, and hot sauce to the broth. Simmer on medium to medium-low heat for 1 hr. Serve with more fish sauce and hot sauce to taste.

Anniversary dinner: Veal, Risotto, and Truffles

When you cook every night, what do you do for a special occasion? Cook a very fancy, expensive meal! That's what I surprised my husband with on our 3rd wedding anniversary. This meal turned out perfect. If I had a restaurant, I would definitely serve this.

This veal dish is very similar to a Veal Marsala. Instead of using Marsala though, I used Cognac.It was a nice touch, not overpowering. The mushroom cognac sauce paired so well with the veal. And the risotto was so creamy and delicious. You really get that nice, fragrant mushroom aroma from the fresh summer truffles. We really, really loved this dish and I hope you will give it a try to see why...

Veal Scallopini with a Mushroom Cognac Sauce

4 veal scallopini

flour

1/2 c cognac

1 c beef stock
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pint bella or cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Lay the veal in saran wrap and gently pound the veal out a bit. Then lightly coat with some salt, pepper, and flour. In a deep skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp butter and olive oil. Brown the veal, about 3 mins on each side. Transfer to a plate while you make your sauce.

2. Deglaze the pan with the cognac. Scape up the browned bits, and let the cognac reduce by half. Add the beef stock, garlic, and mushrooms. Let the sauce reduce by half. Finish with a tbsp of butter. Spoon the sauce over the veal and serve alongside these creamy risotto:

Risotto with Asparagus and Truffles

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 shallot, diced
1 1/2 c arborio rice
1/2 c white wine
6 c chicken broth
1 bunch asparagus
0.3 lb brie
3 whole black summer truffles (1.4 oz jar)

1. Prepare your asparagus: Snap off the lower woody ends of the asparagus and discard it. (It will naturally break where it should.) Then using a vegetable peeler, peel off the outer layer on the bottom of the asparagus. (If you've never peeled your asparagus stems, I encourage you to do so. Ever since I discovered the tender taste of peeled asparagus I haven't prepared my asparagus any other way.) Cut your asparagus into your desired bite size. (Mine was about an inch long.) Blanch the asparagus in gently boiling water for 1-2 mins. Drain in a colander and run cold water over them to stop the asparagus from cooking. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, heat up the chicken broth. When it's warmed, keep the broth over low heat.

3. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Cook the shallots until translucent. Then add the rice and cook for a few mins. Add in the wine and cook until all the wine is absorbed. Then slowly add in a ladle of the warm chicken broth. Stir and cook until all the broth is absorbed. When the broth is absorbed, add another ladle of broth. Repeat process with the rest of the broth. (It will take about 30 mins.)

4. When you have a cup of broth left to add, go ahead and add your asparagus from earlier into the risotto. After all 6 cups of broth has been absorbed into the risotto, add 3/4 or all of the brie. (I, of course, added all the brie because we love cheese. But depending on your preference you can add as much as you'd like. I also tore the brie into smaller pieces to make incorporating easier.) Then with a microplane or grater, grate/slice the truffles into the risotto. Also add the truffle oil from the jar...you don't want to waste that flavor! Serve and enjoy your restaurant worthy meal at home.

Note: You can prepare your asparagus the day before like I did. Because the peeling can take some time and it was a workday, I wanted to prep the asparagus beforehand. And yes, do peel your asparagus. Even though it's time consuming it's very much worth it!





Matt surprised me with our wedding cake from Cecilia's Cakes...mmm!



And surprised me with flowers at work..so sweet :)



Baked Salmon with an Artichoke and Olive Sauce

Matt took a bite of this salmon and said I had to blog it :) Don't you love feedback like that?

I kept the salmon pretty simple, just baked with some olive oil, salt, and pepper because I knew I was going to pair it with a citrusy sauce. The main reason I made this was because I wanted some artichokes. Citrus always pairs nicely with fish, so I threw in some olives too that I had in the fridge. Wow, the olives were my favorite part. With each bite that had olives, you get that burst of citrus flavor. And it wasn't overpowering because the chicken broth and butter in the sauce helped tone it down. Everything complimented nicely with the fish. Very nicely...

Baked Salmon - with an Artichoke and Olive Sauce

Ingredients
4 salmon fillet
salt and pepper
olive oil
4 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c white wine
1 c chicken broth
1/4 c green olives, chopped
1/2 c artichokes, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a baking dish, lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place the salmon fillets skin side down in the baking dish. Season with salt and pepper and a little bit of olive oil. Bake for about 15-20 mins, depending on the size of your fillet. You'll know the fish is done if it'll easily flake off.

For the sauce, start by melting 2 tbsp of butter in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Stir in the white wine. Cook for a few mins so most of the alcohol can cook out. Then add the chicken broth. Let it come to a boil and reduce by half. Once reduced, turn the heat down low and add the olives, artichokes, and lemon juice. Cook for a few mins so the flavors can mingle. Then stir in the rest of the butter, 1 tbsp at a time. This will help the sauce thicken up and add some richness. Finish with chopped parsley. Spoon over the salmon and enjoy!

Country Style Pork Ribs with a Cilantro White Wine Reduction

Sounds different, huh? I don't think I've ever seen this combination before, but it worked.

I had a bunch of cilantro left over, which I would normally turn into my favorite pesto. But since I had made pesto the week before, I thought why not do something different. That's the fun in cooking, right?

So I took 6 country style ribs, salt and peppered it, and placed it in a large ziploc bag. I also threw in 3 smashed garlic cloves and about 2 tbsp of worchestire sauce. Next, I cut off the stem ends on the bunch of cilantro and added the stems to the ziploc bag (saving the leaves for the sauce later). Tightly close the ziploc bag up and then shake the bag around to mix the mixture. Let it marinate overnight in the fridge.

When ready to cook, I bought a deep skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Added some olive oil and seared both sides of the ribs. Then I covered the pan with a lid so it can finish cooking the inside. Total cooking time for the ribs was about 15-20 mins (depending on how thick your cut of ribs are). When the ribs are done cooking, I transferred it to a plate, tinted with foil.

Then I started on the sauce. I added a clove of chopped garlic to the same skillet. Then 1 cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. I let the wine reduce by half, then killed the heat and stirred in 2 tbsp of butter. Then tossed in the bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped. To plate, just spoon the cilantro white wine reduction over the ribs.

The cilantro and wine actually worked together. I wasn't sure if one would overpower the other, but the wine had a subtle kick, while letting the cilantro aroma also shine through. The sauce helped keep the ribs juicy as well.

Grilled BBQ Ribs

We had a ton of sides leftover but nothing to go with it. I saw we had a rack of ribs and decided to throw it on the grill since it was nice out. First I let it sit at room temperature, while the grill was warming up, marinading in the spice rub I threw together with some pantry items: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, red chili powder. I made sure to keep the grill around 300-400 degrees F. Grilled it for 30 mins total (covered) making sure to turn it constantly. You can adjust the time for smaller racks, mine was thick. (Note: When the top of the ribs where the fat is was grilled, I avoided having it contact the grill again - so it wouldn't burn.) During the last 10 mins I brushed some of my BBQ sauce I had made on all sides, reserving some for dipping. It turned out really good! The best part about it was that it was an impromptu dish with pantry items, and took less than 30 mins. You gotta love that!

Steamed and Roasted Whole Duck

So my mom gave me a whole duck. I love duck, but have never cooked it before. It's a very fatty bird, so I knew I wanted to find a way to extract that excess fat out. Looking around on Food Network's site, I came across some recipes that made duck broth, steamed it, or pricked the skin with a fork as a way to do just that. I decided to combine a couple of techniques, and let's just say my husband who wasn't crazy about duck fell in love with the end result.

I first removed any excess skin I could find on the duck, especially around the neck and cavity. Next I pricked the duck's skin with a fork, careful to not prick its meat. I created a spice mixture comprised of Smoky BBQ rub I had in the pantry, sugar, and salt. I used equal parts sweet and salty because I didn't want one to overpower the other. I wanted a nice balance. I rubbed the spice mixture all over the duck and its cavity. Also stuffed some garlic cloves in its cavity. I added about an inch of water to a roasting pan, and placed the duck on a v-rack in the pan. Covered the pan with aluminum foil and steamed it over 2 burners on medium heat for 45 mins.

Next, I started on my glaze. The duck came with an Orange Sauce packet which I decided to use. I also added some soy sauce to it, and equal parts vinegar and honey. Brought it to a boil and had it reduce down to a nice glaze. After my duck was done steaming, I basted the duck with the glaze I've prepared, and roasted it in the oven for an hr at 375 degrees F. Every 15 mins or so I re-basted the duck, just to make sure it was still juicy. And it was beautiful! I wish I took a picture but we dove right in. The duck was so juicy. My husband loved the glaze and mentioned that he wish he had some on the side for dipping. He loved that it was sweet and kind of tangy. Some other ideas I had for the dish was stuffing some orange rinds in the duck (if I didn't have the Orange Sauce packet). And maybe not basting the duck so close to the end, to get an even crispier skin.