Grilled Pineapple and Pancetta Pizza with Queso Fresco and Caramelized Onions

I made this pizza on the grill without a pizza stone.  I normally use an amazing new stone from Emile Henry, upon which you can build the pizza directly, and put it right in the oven or grill, without pre heating.  The crust comes out nice and crunchy without the transfer of the dough to the stone – MUCH easier!    Anyway, the pizza was fabulous – and pretty easy to make.  Pre grill the pineapple, pancetta and scallions, so once the crust starts, it goes quickly.  I have a 4 burner grill, so the indirect heating method works pretty well on it.  Just keep the outside two burners on high, and place the crust in the middle.  I cheated a little and kept the middle two on low to speed the process a bit…. It really depends on the grill you are using.  So anyway, here is the process:

Ingredients:

1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into ½ inch ring slices ( you will be using 5 or 6 slices)

½ lb pancetta, cut thick ( about 5 slices)

2 Vidalia onions sliced thin

2tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter

½  10 oz package Queso Fresco, crumbled

6 scallions, root ends cut off, grilled, then rough chopped into about 1 inch pieces

1 ball fresh pizza dough

2 tbs flour

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions:

In medium fry pan, place slices of pancetta so they do not overlap.  Cook until just becoming crispy, about 3 minutes per side, then set aside.   Drain most of the grease.  In the same pan, melt butter, add olive oil , then add onions, and sauté until golden brown – about 5 – 7 minutes.  Set onions aside.

Brush pineapple slices with butter, and scallions with olive oil.  Grill until pineapple has nice grill marks, and scallions begin to blacken – about 5 or 6 minutes or so.  Set aside.

Pre heat grill to 400 degrees, the shut down middle two burners.  If a 3 burner grill, shut down 2 of the three burners.

Spread flour over rimless cookie sheet or cutting board.  Roll out dough until it is a fairly even 14 inch circle or so.  Place on grill, and close cover.  Grill covered for about  5- 7 minutes, depending on your grill, or until bottom of crust begins to crisp.  Transfer crust to rimless cookie sheet.

Spread caramelized onions over entire pizza.  Crumble Queso Fresco cheese over onions.  Place the pineapple slices evenly around the pizza, and top each with a slice of pancetta.  Top everything with the grilled scallions – roughly chopped, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

Return pizza to grill, and grill until crust edges are crisp – about 20 minutes or so, again depending on the grill you are using. 

Cut pizza into slices so each slice has a piece of pineapple….. and enjoy!

Yummy Coconut Ice Cream

Ok, so I bought my wife an ice cream maker ( Cuisinart, about $49 bucks) for Christmas, and we just started using it..... LOVE IT!!!  OMG, it is so simple to make awesome ice cream.  We have made Sweet Corn and Blackberry, Mexican Chocolate and more!  I will post those recipe's shortly, but here is a simple one for Coconut Ice Cream  that I made last night - just the right amount of sweet, with natural coconut taste - serve it with Chocolate Sauce, and you will be in heaven!  I mix my ingredients in my stand mixer with the whisk attachment - does a great job!


1 cup whole milk
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1/4 cup sugar

Blend all ingredients with a hand mixer or stand mixer until well blended. Pour into ice cream maker, and freeze until thickened. Put in an air tight container in the freezer until hard.
Enjoy with a little chocolate syrup......mmmmmm

Linguine with spicy red clam sauce

So Jereme and I were discussing my "blog-worthy" recipes, and it turns out most of them are Italian dishes.  Go figure.  We moved to Cape Cod about a month ago and while quality beef is lacking here, there is an abundance of incredibly fresh seafood. He asked me to make him linguine with clam sauce, which turned into "how to use random stuff in your fridge".  Very easy, company-quality, and ready in 15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Linguine with spicy red clam sauce
1 package fresh linguine (we used Bertoli)
1 lb fresh littleneck clams, in shell
1/2 large red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
3 pickled hot cherry peppers, chopped
4-5 tomatoes on the vine, chopped with juices saved
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes ( to taste - a little goes a long way!)
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano

Cook pasta according to directions

In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add red peppers and cook until soft and beginning to blacken,  about 3 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and cook until tender and shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice, wine, lemon juice, pepper flakes, hot peppers, rosemary, and oregano; simmer on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.  Add clams and cover; steam until clams open over low heat, about 5 minutes.  Discard any unopened clams, stir in parsley and serve over pasta.  Serve with Italian bread, and enjoy!

Alabama Style White Barbeque Sauce with Fresh Rosemary

If you have never tried a “white” BBQ sauce, you haven’t lived yet!  Leave it to the South to mix mayo and vinegar, and cook with it!  This sauce was AMAZING on chicken – and on the leftover pork loin we had the next day.  Simply scrumptious – and simple too!   I originally served it over grilled chicken breasts that I pounded out a bit to thin them down, and simply seasoned with Salt and Pepper.  I brushed some of the sauce on for the last 5 minutes of cooking or so – it will curdle if you put it on from the start….. and I used the rest for a dipping sauce.

 No pics – but hey, it’s a SAUCE for goodness sakes!

Ingredients:

2 cups Mayo

1 cup Cider Vinegar

2 TBS Lemon Juice

3 TBS fresh ground pepper (sorry about that – your arm will be sore…)

½ TSP Salt

½ TSP Cayenne

2 TSP finely minced FRESH Rosemary – more or less to taste.

I clove garlic, finely minced

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and whisk thoroughly.   I threw mine in my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, and used the whisk attachment on med low for about 15 minutes to really combine things.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours

Brush on the chicken during the final cooking process – about 8 minutes or so, reserving the rest of the sauce to use as a dipping sauce.

Flank Steak Italiano

This is a REALLY simple recipe, and you can interchange the ingredients with a variety of things.  For me, the combination of the roasted peppers, prosciutto, and the provolone cheese melting as the meat cooks was just sublime!  I used toothpicks to hold the roll together, it would be MUCH easier to tie it off every 2 inches or so with cotton cooks twine.

Ingredients:

About 1 lb of flank steak

1 package thin sliced prosciutto

About 4 slices jarred roasted red peppers

4 or 5 slices thick cut provolone cheese

Several leaves of  fresh basil
Handful of spinach leaves

Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Directions:

Lay the flank steak out on a large piece of waxed paper, and fold it over to cover completely.  Hammer steak out with a meat mallet, till it is about ½ inch thick.  Lay out on a plate.

Season with fresh kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and just a sprinkling of garlic powder ( a little of this goes a LONG way)

Lay Prosciutto strips out so entire steak is covered, lay red peppers so entire steak is covered, spread Basil and spinach leaves over peppers, and finally cover all of it with slices of cheese.

Roll the steak as tight as you can, pin closed with toothpics.  Tie with cotton butchers twine every two inches or so, to keep steak rolled up. Remove toothpicks.

Grill over med – med/high heat for about 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so to brown all 4 sides.  Cooking times vary by grill, so use a meat thermometer to be sure it is done – should be about 150 or 160 degrees for medium.

Serve sliced about ¾ of an inch thick, with grilled veggies and a salad….. a simple, awesome summer meal!

Gnocchi with sun dried tomato mushroom sauce

So tonight was "what can I throw in a pan?" night.  After leaving my parent's house this weekend with a serious craving for gnocchi, I had Jer pick some up from the store.  We had mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, cream, and ricotta in the fridge, and the rest is history.  You're looking at 15 minutes to a sinfully rich and delicious weeknight meal.

Gnocchi with sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms
Ingredients:
2/3 of an 8 oz jar of sun dried tomatoes in oil
1/2 of an 8 oz package of sliced portobello mushrooms
8 oz of half and half
3 tbsp white wine
1/2 cup ricotta
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp red pepper flakes (I added more for heat after serving)
2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 package fresh gnocchi (avoid the frozen-- it has a mushy consistency)

Prep:
-Prepare gnocchi according to package directions; drain and place back in pot.
Meanwhile:
-In food processor, combine sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and about 2/3 of the half and half.  Process until you have a paste.
-In 10" skillet, sautee mushrooms until just soft.
-Add rosemary, red pepper, tomato puree, remainder of cream, and wine
-Combine and simmer on medium low heat for just a couple of minutes; enough to combine all ingredients to an even consistency.
-Just before serving, stir in ricotta.  Combine with gnocchi in pan; sprinkle with fresh basil.

Enjoy!  ~Tory

Shrimp Louis Salad..... yum!

This is a classic salad, and totally yummy!  The dressing has just the right balance of creaminess and spice.  It is a perfect lunch salad for company, or just when you feel like pampering yourself!  Make sure the avocado is nice and ripe ( push by the stem, and if it gives, it is ripe).  I cut up my eggs and avocado instead of leaving as slices - I like my salads mixed up!

Enjoy!

SHRIMP LOUIS

1 cup mayo

1 tbs lemon juice

3 tbs ½ and ½

1 ½ tsp chili sauce (sriracha preferably, but I used red pepper in a tube - in the produce section of your grocery store.  One tbs = one whole red pepper with seeds.  VERY handy to have around!)

1 tsp prepared horseradish

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 heads butter lettuce, trimmed, separated and torn into bite size pieces

1 carrot shredded

4 pieces bacon, cooked crisp, and crumbled

1 lb cooked peeled shrimp

3 hard boiled eggs, quartered

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes

2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, cream,  lemon juice, chili sauce, horseradish, salt and Worcestershire.  Set aside in the refrigerator.  This can be made ahead of time, and gets better with age!

Arrange lettuce on individual plates, dividing it evenly.  Sprinkle with the carrot, and bacon,  then arrange  shrimp, eggs, avocado and cherry tomatoes on top, dividing evenly.  Garnish with scallions and serve.