Grilled pizza has certainly become the “dish of the summer” at my house. We’ve made it at least five or six times in only a few weeks. It’s really easy to make, and it’s a great dish to have others help and interact in the cooking process as each person gets to make their own individual pizza. People are often confused by the concept of grilled pizza, but once they see how it works, they really like it. It’s a great summer dish, and now that I have my KitchenAid Mixer, it’s easier than ever to make. The recipe is from Ina Garten, but I have taken a liberty with the toppings, changing it every time to what I’m in the mood for on my pizza.
Ingredients
For the dough:
1 1/4 cups warm (100 to 110 degrees F) water
2 packages dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons good olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 teaspoons kosher salt
For the toppings (select 8):
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 pound fresh mozzarella, grated
1/2 pound Italian Fontina, grated
1/2 pound mild goat cheese, such as Montrachet, sliced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and julienned
1/4 pound prosciutto, thinly sliced and julienned
1 bunch arugula, cleaned and dried
6 plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
4 pork or turkey sausages, cooked and sliced
1 bunch basil leaves, cleaned and dried
4 garlic cloves, roasted
Crushed red pepper flakes
For prep:
1/2 cup good olive oil
Cornmeal
Directions
For the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey, and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 3 cups flour, then the salt, and mix. While mixing, add 1 more cup of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough on low to medium speed for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking to the bowl.
When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it several times to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll each one into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a baking sheet and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
If you’ve chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature. Roll and stretch each ball into a rough 8-inch circle and place them all on baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. (You will be able to fit 2 pizzas on each 18 by 13-inch baking sheet.)
Light your grill and wait until it’s hot.
Place the pizzas directly onto the grill and cook on 1 side for 1 minute. Turn the pizzas over and brush with olive oil or garlic oil.
Top the pizzas with any toppings you wish, piling them high. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Put the lid on your grill and cook for 5 minutes more, until the crust is crisp and the toppings are cooked.
I love to open our drawer of spices in the kitchen and just make something up. Tonight, I asked my sister, “What kind of chicken do you want? Mexican, Asian, or Italian?” She chose Asian. While it might not be perfectly “Asian” so to speak, I try to make the main flavors used in their cooking. I marinated the chicken in one small can of pineapple juice and about 1 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce (all of my cooking is just done by eye, so these aren’t exact. I had six chicken breasts and just make sure that there is enough on each one so that the flavor will come out.) I sprinkled Kosher salt, pepper, allspice, cumin, garlic powder, and ginger on each piece of chicken. I cut up a few cloves of garlic to stick in the dish I marinated it in and placed it in the refrigerator for several hours.
I had planned on grilling the chicken, but due to the violent thunderstorms today, I opted for broiling. I served each piece over a slice of pineapple (the core in the center removed) and topped it with red onions and avocado.
Everyone always loves to cook and eat Italian food, but not many people pursue recipes from Spain. After living in both countries, I often recognize the disparity of the popularity of the foods. Everyone speaks Spanish, but everyone eats Italian (although I supposed most would “substitute” food from Spain as food from Mexico for the Spanish). Even a great number of students study abroad in Spain, but the cooking their cuisine once they return to America has not seemed to have caught on. Even after living in Spain for two months, I hardly have made Spanish food. Much of it is time consuming or involves seafood, which I don’t eat, and many people simply are not familiar with many of the ingredients and popular dishes. So finally first time since I came home from Spain, which was nearly two years ago, I made my parents a Spanish dinner.
White Sangria, Gazpacho, and Paella
Easy Lobster Paella
(A recipe of Ina Garten)
This recipe I changed up a lot. First, lobster never came anywhere close to my paella. I wanted to find one that used chicken, but not having a true paella pan (if I did, I would have use Alton Brown’s recipe) this recipe gave me a way to make it in a big pot.
Ingredients
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 to 6 cloves)
2 cups white basmati rice
5 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup licorice-flavored liqueur (recommended: Pernod) [After searching Kroger’s liquor section up and down with no success, I was later informed by my dad that I would have to go to the state run liquor store or across the river to Kentucky to get this. Not quite as accessible as it is in California, so I did not have any of the liqueur in the paella]
1 1/2 pounds cooked lobster meat [I substituted the lobster and kielbasa with cooked chicken breast that I had cubed]
Heat the oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell peppers and cook over medium heat for 5 more minutes. Lower the heat, add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in the rice, chicken stock, saffron, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. After 15 minutes, stir the rice gently with a wooden spoon, and return it to the over to bake uncovered for 10 to 15 more minutes, until the rice is fully cooked.
Transfer the paella back to the stove top and add the licorice-flavored liqueur. Cook the paella over medium heat for 1 minute, until the liqueur is absorbed by the rice. Turn off the heat and add the lobster, kielbasa, and peas and stir gently. Cover the paella, and allow it to steam for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley, garnish with lemon wedges, and serve hot.
Traditional Gazpacho
(A recipe of Margaret Ball)
Ingredients
4 ripe, red tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced (set aside 2 tablespoons for garnish)
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced (set aside 2 tablespoons for garnish)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 slice French bread, diced
1/4 cup chopped, fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano and/or flatleaf parsley (set aside 2 tablespoons for garnish)
1 cup ice water, or as needed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, or to taste
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Place the tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic, and bread in a food processor and process to a smooth puree.
2. Add the herbs, water, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Correct the seasoning, adding salt or vinegar to taste: the gazpacho should be highly seasoned. The gazpacho should be thick but pour-able. Add water as needed.
3. To serve, ladle the gazpacho into chilled bowls.
4. Garnish each with a sprinkling of the reserved cucumber, onion and herbs
White Sangria
(A recipe of Ellie Krieger)
Ingredients
1 (750-ml) bottle white wine [I use Chateau Ste. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc]
In a pitcher combine the wine, brandy, orange liqueur and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the orange juice and club soda. Add the orange and lemon slices, and chill. Serve over ice.
These were surprisingly easy to make and turned out to be full of flavor. I made a few changes by not using the bulgur wheat - I didn’t have time to let it soak and I had 19 ounces of turkey meat instead of the 12 ounces called for in the recipe. I was able to make 6 medium sized burgers. I also made my own hoisin sauce, knowing that I don’t like too much spice. You can find that recipe here. I also didn’t want to buy Chili Garlic Sauce just to use one teaspoon of it in a recipe, so I improvised and used chili powder and garlic powder. I just did it by eye and taste, and did not use a full teaspoon of either ingredient. If you want the yogurt spicy, you can use hot sauce and garlic powder. This recipe is from Food Network Kitchens. I served it with steamed edamame.
Ingredients
1/4 cup bulgur wheat
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 seedless cucumber, sliced 1/8-inch thick, 1 cup
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
12 ounces lean ground turkey
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus 1/4 cup whole leaves
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 whole wheat hamburger rolls
Directions
Put the bulgur in a medium bowl and add the boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until the bulgur is tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk the vinegar and sugar with a generous seasoning of salt and pepper until dissolved. Add the cucumber and onion, toss well and set aside to marinate for about 30 minutes.
In a separate small bowl combine the yogurt and chili garlic sauce. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Drain the bulgur and put into a large bowl. Add the turkey, hoisin, scallions, ginger, garlic and chopped cilantro and mix until just combined. Form into 4 equal sized patties.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until very hot. Lightly brush both sides of each patty with oil and place in the skillet. Cook, turning once, until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Drain the pickled vegetables and toss with the whole cilantro. Spread some spicy yogurt sauce on the top and bottom of each bun and top with a burger patty and some pickles.
1 pound tricolor pasta, such as bow tie or fusilli
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 to 3 teaspoonsdijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper
2/3 to 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned
1/4 cup diced onion
2 large pickledpepperoncinipeppers, diced [I don’t like spicy foods, so we left this out]
3 tablespoons halved black olives
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano [We couldn’t find fresh oregano at the grocery store but used the dill that we had for the Tzatziki instead]
1 1/2 ounces fetacheese, crumbled
1 1/2 tablespoons gratedromanocheese [We used a lot more cheese than the recipe called, for both types]
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook untilal dente; drain, then rinse with cold water to cool.
Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in enough of the oil to make a smoothdressing; season with salt and pepper.
Combine the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, onion, pepperoncini, olives andoreganoin a bowl. Add the cooked pasta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add thevinaigretteand both cheeses and toss. Chill until ready to serve.
A Rachael Ray recipe that is easy for a busy night. The recipe says it makes four servings, but we had a lot of leftovers. You can always adjust the spices and flavors for your tastes. For example, I do not like capers, so I just left them out.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoonsbutter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whitewine
1 lemon, juiced
1 cupchicken brothorstock
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked toal dente
Chopped or snipped chives, forgarnish
Directions
Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, thegarlicand shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes.Whiskin wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisklemonjuice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers andparsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to thesauceto give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hotpastawith chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snippedchives.
Having little kids over for dinner and not sure what to feed them? Or are you like me and just like to eat what little kids eat, too? Then Ina Garten has a tasty recipe for you. The bow ties are a fun shape that help make kids interested in what they are eating, and the broccoli provides a bright color. If the kids you are feeding don’t like broccoli, try a different vegetable - zucchini, cauliflower, asparagus, or any vegetable that they will eat.
Ingredients
Kosher salt
8 cups broccoli florets (4 heads)
1/2 pound farfalle (bow tie)pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon mincedgarlic
1 lemon, zested
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezedlemonjuice
1/4 cup toastedpignoli(pine)nuts
Freshly gratedParmesan, optional
Directions
Cook the broccoli for 3 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon orsieve. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
In the same water, cook the bow-tie pasta according to the package directions, about 12 minutes.Drainwell and add to the broccoli.
Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemonzestover medium-low heat for 1 minute. Off the heat, add 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and lemon juice and pour this over thebroccoliand pasta. Toss well. Season to taste, sprinkle with the pignolis andcheese, if using, and serve.
To toast pignolis, place them in a dry saute pan over medium-low heat and cook, tossing often, for about 5 minutes, until light brown.
I do not like mushrooms, but I love mushroom risotto. After eating it in Spain and Italy while I was abroad, I decided I would try to make it at home. There is a huge variety of mushroom risotto recipes on the internet, depending on the type of mushrooms you want to use, if you want to smoke them, used dried mushrooms, or use truffles instead of mushrooms. This recipe by Tyler Florence was easy to follow and tasted great.
Ingredients
8 cupschicken broth, low sodium
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
1 pound fresh portobello and crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons freshthyme, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoontruffleoil
1-ounce dried porcini mushrooms, wiped of grit
2 cupsArborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshParmesancheese, grated
Fresh Italian parsley, forgarnish
Directions
Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 onion and 1 clove garlic, cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms,herbsand butter. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes until lightly browned, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle in truffle oil then add the dried porcini mushrooms which were reconstituted in1 cup of warm chicken broth. Season again with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Saute 1 minute then remove from heat and set aside.
Coat asaucepanwith remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Saute the remaining 1/2 onion and garlic clove. Add the rice and stir quickly until it is well-coated and opaque, 1 minute. This step cooks the starchy coating and prevents the grains from sticking. Stir inwineand cook until it is nearly all evaporated.
Now, with a ladle, add 1 cup of the warm broth and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time. Continue to cook and stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. Therisottoshould be slightly firm and creamy, not mushy. Transfer the mushrooms to the rice mixture. Stir in Parmesan cheese, cook briefly until melted. Top with adrizzleof truffle oil and chopped parsley before serving.
Unfortunately, I did not take a picture when I made this. This is a recipe to make on a day when you have a lot of time. Phyllo dough is difficult and tender to work with, but well worth it. This recipe is from I’ll Cook When Pigs Fly by the Junior League of Cincinnati.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
1 (16 ounce) package frozen phyllo dough
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 celery heart, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter
3 medium sized onions, minced
3 or 4 whole chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and black pepper, to taste
3 eggs, well-beaten
For the sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups hot chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 fresh lemon juice
3 eggs yolks, beaten
Directions
Thaw phyllo dough, in package, in refrigerator overnight. Carefully unroll and cover with slightly damp linen towel or plastic wrap until ready to use. Set melted butter aside.
In large skillet, saute celery in 1/2 cup butter for 5 minutes. Add onion and cook until onion is transparent.
Stir in chicken and broth. Cook until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand until cool.
Add parsley, salt and black pepper to chicken mixture. Fold in beaten egg.
Place phyllo dough on baking sheet. Brushing each with melted butter, stack 6 sheets.
Spread enough chicken mixture on top sheet to just cover surface, leaving 2-inch margin around edges. Roll up, place seam side down, seal edges securely, brush with butter and slice 3/4 of the way through the roll to make 8 equal portions. Prepare a second roll in the same way.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
As chicken rolls complete baking, prepare sauce. In saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Add broth quickly and stir briskly. Season with salt.
In separate bowl, blend lemon juice and eggs. Add small amount of hot sauce to egg mixture and stir, then add eggs to sauce and mix thoroughly.
Spoon sauce on individual servings of chicken roll.
This is typically a summer dish, but with the nice weather in Malibu after all of the rain, this sounds perfect. Ina Garten created a very easy dish to put together, and it tastes better after it sits for a little bit. When I made it, I used strozzapreti pasta. Strozzapreti is typically only used for pesto dishes in Italy, but since it is my favorite type of noodle, I decided to break tradition and use it in this recipe.
Ingredients
1/2 pound fusilli (spirals) pasta
Kosher salt
Olive oil
1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
3/4 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
1 pound freshmozzarella, medium-diced
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
For thedressing:
5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 tablespoons red winevinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1garlicclove, diced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly gratedParmesan
1 cup packedbasilleaves, julienned
Directions
Cook thepastain a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.Drainwell and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt, and pepper in afood processoruntil almost smooth.
Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and toss well.
