Pizza with Andouille, Kale and Cannellini Beans

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Sometimes Matt and I spend hours making a fancy new recipe that seems like it will surely be “blog-worthy.” As we cook I painstakingly photograph each step and Matt waits patiently while I snap shot after shot of the finished dish before we eat. But guess what? Those elaborate, complicated meals don’t always live up to the hype. Sure, the food tastes good, but it’s just not special enough to warrant the time and energy to sort and edit all of those photos, especially if we know that we’d want to significantly tweak the recipe before ever attempting it again.

Other times a delicious recipe catches us totally by surprise. That was the case tonight when I spontaneously decided to combine Cannellini beans, kale and andouille sausage on a pizza. Matt isn’t a huge fan of white beans (or my tendency to try to work them into every meal possible), so he was rather suspicious about the whole idea from the start. I was more optimistic but still didn’t even bother to get my real camera out as I cooked… you’ll have to forgive the iPhone photos but after tasting it we both realized that this pizza was too good not to share!

Hidden underneath those layers of spicy andouille sausage, melted mozzarella and wilted kale lies the secret ingredient of this pizza: a garlicky white bean puree. I whipped up the puree using canned beans, minced garlic and a bit of thyme from my garden, then spread it like pizza sauce all over the uncooked dough. The beans imparted a thicker texture and heartiness to each bite of the finished pizza and complemented the bolder flavors of the kale and andouille perfectly.

Without further ado, here’s how I made tonight’s surprisingly blog-worthy pizza…

Pizza with Andouille, Kale and Cannellini Bean Puree

You will need…
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 – 15 oz. can Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 sprigs Thyme, leaves removed and roughly chopped
Salt, to taste
4-5 tablespoons Cornmeal or Semonlina Flour
1 package uncooked Pizza Dough
Small bunch Kale, stems removed and leaves torn into 3-5 inch pieces
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 Andouille Sausages, fully cooked and sliced 1/8″ thick (we used Trader Joe’s Chicken Andouille tonight)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 490°F. Position the rack 6-8 inches from the top of the oven and place the pizza stone on the rack to warm up. Warm olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, then add in the rinsed Cannellini beans. Saute beans for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gently stir in garlic and thyme and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes until garlic is very fragrant. Lightly salt, then transfer the bean mixture to a food processor. Blend until smooth, adding a little more olive oil if the mixture is too thick. Set aside.

Heap the kale leaves in the nonstick skillet you used for the beans. Saute the kale over medium-high heat until the kale is wilted.

Sprinkle cornmeal on the pizza peel then drop the pizza dough ball onto the cornmeal. Knead and spread the dough ball into a 15-17 inch pizza. Carefully remove the hot pizza stone from the oven and place it on a heat resistant surface. Transfer the dough to the stone and shape it into a nice circle the size of the stone.

Working quickly, spoon and spread the white bean puree onto the dough. Next, sprinkle a few handfuls of the shredded cheese over the pizza. Distribute the wilted kale evenly over the pie, leaving a 3/4 inch “margin” for the crust. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the kale and layer the andouille sausage slices over the cheese. Carefully slide the pizza stone back into the hot oven.

Bake the pizza for 8-9 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the edges of the crust are starting to turn golden brown. Keep an eye on the pizza as it cooks… if your oven heats unevenly (like ours does!) rotate the pie with a few minutes left on the cook time.

Remove the pizza from the oven, slice and enjoy!

26Dec2015

Homemade Moose Munch

Posted in Piper, Recipes by Annie T

Merry Christmas! Matt and I spent four of the last six evenings with our families enjoying big, yummy dinners. Piper spent the week looking out the window for the UPS truck… it’s almost like she knows where presents really come from. Smart pup!!

Today we’re unwinding from the holidays with nothing to do except watch a few episodes of Sons of Anarchy and the Eagles game. Sounds like a good Saturday to me!! While the Eagles battle the Redskins on NBC I’m trying to catch up on some long overdue blog posts, starting with this one for a holiday treat that’s perfect for sharing.

Every year Matt and I make some sort of home made treat for our families and neighbors. Past holiday goodies include chocolate-dipped coconut cookies, candied nuts, and mint chocolate bark and this year we wanted to find a recipe for something similarly festive, delicious and easy to make in bulk.

After a little online research we settled on homemade “moose munch,” aka caramel corn covered in dark and white chocolate. Matt and I first made caramel corn a few years ago so we were already familiar with the basic concept: pop the corn, boil the caramel, toss with the popcorn and bake for an hour with regular stirring breaks. Easy enough!

Matt’s favorite part was licking the spoon when the drizzling was done

Moose Munch

Moose Munch (Chocolate-Drizzled Caramel Corn)
(Adapted from Brownie Bites)

Ingredients:
18 cups popped popcorn (3 bags of light butter “healthy” microwaved popcorn)
2 cups mixed pecans and peanuts; roughly chop larger nuts if desired
3 cups Brown Sugar, firmly packed
2 1/4 cups Butter (4 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups Light Corn Syrup
1 tablespoon Baking Soda
12 oz. Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers (we used Ghirardelli)
8 oz. White Chocolate Melting Wafers (again, Ghirardelli worked well!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250°F. Spread the popped popcorn out on several rimmed baking sheets and/or casserole dishes. The more shallow the layers the better, so try to use the maximum number of trays for your available oven space. Sprinkle the nuts throughout the popcorn.

In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Melt the butter and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. (Warning: baking soda causes the mixture to expand, so make sure you’re using a large saucepan!)

Pour the warm caramel over the popcorn, distributing evenly between the multiple pans. Use tongs or a spatula to toss the popcorn well until it is evenly coated in caramel. Bake the popcorn for 60 minutes, pausing every 15 minutes to stir each tray.

When the caramel corn has finished cooking, spread the hot popcorn in a single layer on parchment paper. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before proceeding with the chocolate.

Melt the dark chocolate wafers in a double boiler. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled caramel corn with a spoon or fork. Wait 10-15 minutes for the dark chocolate to set, then repeat this process with the white chocolate wafers. Allow the finished moose munch to cool completely, then break into chunks and transfer to gift boxes, bags, or a cookie tin. Save a little for yourself and share the rest with your friends and family!

…and here’s one more gratuitous Piper pic to finish off the post. I took several photos of her in front of the tree and now that Christmas is over I’m looking for any chance I can get to share them!! 😄

12Oct2015

Aunt Eileen’s Shrimp Curry

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

It’s time for another quick weeknight recipe! For dinner tonight Matt and I made this creamy shrimp curry over white rice. It came together so quickly that I had time to photograph it, eat it AND blog it all in the same night. Not a bad way to start the week!

The key element of this dish is the rich curry sauce that develops out of a surprisingly short and simple list of ingredients. Feel free to sub in cooked chicken for the shrimp or other veggies for the green pepper. Green beans, red pepper, broccoli… pretty much any vegetable is guaranteed to be delicious once it’s doused in this sauce. 😀

Make a bed of white rice…

…and top with curry!

Aunt Eileen’s Shrimp Curry

Recipe from Matt’s late Aunt Eileen, who would make variations of this dish for family dinners.

You will need…
4 tablespoons Butter
Small Yellow Onion, chopped
Green Pepper, chopped
3-4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 pint Light or Fat Free Sour Cream
4 teaspoons Curry Powder
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Minced Ginger (jarred or fresh)
1 lb. uncooked Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Hot Cooked White Rice (about 12 oz. uncooked)

Directions:
Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and pepper and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the sour cream, curry powder, salt, chili powder, lemon juice and ginger.

Bring the sauce to a low simmer and add the shrimp. If you prefer a thinner sauce, stir 1/4-1/2 cup water into the sauce at this point. Allow the shrimp to cook in the sauce for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the sauce from heat as soon as shrimp turn pink and opaque. (Be careful not to overcook the shrimp!)

Serve the curried shrimp over hot white rice. Enjoy!

28Sep2015

Curried Butternut Squash and Lentil Stew

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

September has flown by!! This month was marked by several “blog-worthy” events, including a race, two vacations and a major room makeover. If only I could find the time to actually write these posts!! For tonight, however, I have an easy entry to share because I made it last fall and have been saving the photos since then. 😆

This fantastic one-pot stew dish features curry-roasted morsels of butternut squash, flavorful red lentils, a hearty helping of kale and crumbled Italian sausage. Sounds like a perfect fall dish, right?!? The curry-coated butternut squash smells amazing when it’s in the oven and the lentils, kale and squash cook down to form a thick, tasty mixture that completely makes you forget that you’re eating healthy food. Well, except for the sausage… but you can also use ground turkey (shown in my photos here from last year) or opt to leave the meat out altogether if you prefer a vegetarian dish.

Curried Butternut Squash and Lentil Stew with Kale and Sausage

Serves 4-6; Slightly adapted from HealthyFoodForLiving.com.

Ingredients
For the curried squash…
4 cups cubed Butternut Squash
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons Madras Curry Powder
2 teaspoons Garam Masala

For the stew…
1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
OPTIONAL: 1 lb. Ground Italian Sausage or Ground Turkey
1 Yellow Onion, finely chopped
3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
3 teaspoons Madras Curry Powder
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
3 cups Chicken Broth (or Vegetable Broth, if going the vegetarian route)
3/4-1 cup Red Lentils
Curried Squash from above
1 bunch Kale, washed, stems, removed, and roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Naan flatbread

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Toss the cubed squash in olive oil and then add several grinds of salt and pepper plus the curry powder and garam masala. Stir well to coat the squash evenly. Spread the squash out in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes, stirring halfway through. The squash cubes are ready when they are just starting to brown on the edges. Remove the squash from the oven and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add in the (optional) crumbled sausage or turkey and saute until cooked through. Transfer the cooked meat to a plate. Add the chopped onion to the leftover oil in the pot (drain off a bit if the meat was very fatty) and saute the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, curry powder and garam masala and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Pour in the chicken broth and stir in the lentils. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the roasted butternut squash, sausage and chopped kale to the stew and stir to combine. Cook the stew for another 10-15 minutes or until the kale has wilted down. If you have a lot of kale covering the pot will speed up this process! Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve a hearty portion of curried butternut squash stew with a few slices of naan. Enjoy!

23Aug2015

Pork, Provolone & Spinach Stromboli

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

A few months ago Matt and I discovered A Casa, a local “bake at home” pizza shop that sells amazing homemade strombolis. A Casa’s strombolis are frozen and available in wonderful flavors like sausage, pepper and onions, Philly cheesesteak, buffalo chicken, and – our favorite – pulled pork and long-hot peppers. YUM!

Today we planned to pick up some A Casa strombolis but unfortunately the local market didn’t have them in stock. A Casa itself is only a few miles down the road from our house, but it’s closed on Sundays so we found ourselves looking for other options. Then we realized that we had 6+ lbs. of freshly smoked pork shoulder* in the fridge… we could make OUR OWN pulled pork stromboli!

After a quick stop to Trader Joe’s to pick up some pizza dough, provolone and spinach we were ready to go. The stromboli itself was very easy to assemble… just spread out the dough, add the cheese and fillings, fold and bake. The finished stromboli was delicious. Fresher, cheesier and less greasy than our beloved A Casa equivalent and so much more satisfying because we made it ourselves!

Pork Butt in the smoker

*Matt just got a smoker and this pork shoulder was the second recipe he’s made in it. Matt smoked a 9 lb. pork butt for 14+ hours yesterday and we had BBQ pork sandwiches for dinner. Now we have lots of yummy pork left over for lunch and dinner all week, but after tonight’s meal we also plan on using some of the meat to make a second pork stromboli to freeze for a future dinner!

I’ll post the smoked pork recipe at some point, but we want to make some tweaks to it first before it’s blog-worthy. 😄 For this recipe, you can use any left over slow-cooked pork. (Try making it in a slow-cooker if you don’t have a smoker!)

Pork, Provolone & Spinach Stromboli

Ingredients:
1 – 6-8 oz. bag Baby Spinach
3-4 spoonfuls Semolina Flour or Cornmeal
1 – 16 oz. ball Raw Pizza Dough
4 slices Provolone Cheese
1 cup chopped Roasted Pork Shoulder
4-5 spoonfuls chopped Long-hot Peppers or hot salsa; we used Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa which has a fiery, long-hot-like kick
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Cooking Spray

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 475°F. If you have a pizza stone, put the stone in the oven while it preheats.

Heat 3-4 tablespoons of water in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the water begins to sizzle add the spinach and toss constantly for 1-3 minutes until wilted. Transfer the wilted spinach to a strainer and allow to cool for a few minutes. Once cool enough to work with, use a paper towel to press down on the spinach in the strainer and squeeze out as much water as you can. Transfer the spinach to a cutting board and roughly chop.

Spread a few spoonfuls of semolina flour onto a dry cutting board or pizza peel, then drop the dough ball onto the flour. Knead and spread the dough ball into a rectangle approximately 20″ long by 10″ wide.

Place four slices of overlapping Provolone cheese on the dough, then distribute the spinach and pork over the cheese. Spoon the long-hots or salsa over the pork. Sprinkle a thin layer of Mozzarella cheese over top of the pork and spinach filling. Fold the long sides of the dough over the filling, then stretch and pull the dough on the short ends over top of the folded sides to close up the stromboli.

Carefully remove the hot pizza stone from the oven and place it on a heat resistant surface. Flip the stromboli over and place it in the center of the hot pizza stone so that the folded sides are facing down. (If using a pan, position the stromboli on the pan this way, too.) Poke the top of the stromboli with a fork 3-4 times to vent and spray the top of the ‘boli with 3-4 quick shots of cooking spray.

Bake the stromboli in a 375° oven on the stone for 12-13 minutes or until the top of the dough is golden brown. Rotate the stone 180° about halfway through the cook time to make sure that the stromboli cooks evenly. Remove the cooked stromboli from the oven, transfer to a pizza peel or cutting board, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Cut the cooled stromboli, serve, and enjoy! 😄

25Jul2015

Zucchini Pesto Pizza

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Basil is my favorite thing to grow in the garden. This year I have no fewer than 9 basil plants and every one is 2+ feet tall and thick with large, green, fragrant leaves. What do I do with all of this basil, you ask? Pesto pesto pesto!!! This time of year I make big batches of pesto at least once a week. I use a few tablespoons of the fresh pesto on whatever dish we’re eating that night, then I portion out the rest into a silicone ice cube tray, freeze it, and store the cubes in the freezer in a ziplock bag. These pesto cubes keep for months and definitely are a welcome treat in the dead of winter when dinner needs a kick of flavor.

Fresh pesto is one of the key ingredients in this Zucchini-Pesto Pizza that I made for dinner tonight. I spread a liberal amount of pesto directly on the dough, then added layers of mozzarella cheese and thin zucchini slices that had been tossed in garlic and olive oil. Yum!!

As a side note, I had a major revelation while making tonight’s dinner. I constantly struggle with getting the uncooked pizza off of the peel and onto the stone in the oven, so much so that lately I had resorted to cracking open the oven and placing the raw dough directly on the preheated stone. Then I would arrange the toppings on the dough while it was already cooking in the oven. (That’s the hot, energy-wasteful way to do it, but at least the pizza turned out out nice and round!!)

Tonight, however, I wondered… what if I just temporarily took the hot stone out of the oven and assembled the pizza directly on the stone while OUT of the oven?? It worked perfectly!! This is probably the way that everyone else makes pizza, but for some reason it didn’t occur to me until tonight. Oh well! 😄

Zucchini Pesto Pizza

You will need…
Pizza Stone and Pizza Peel
1 medium Zucchini, sliced into very thin (1/8″) discs
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, pressed through a garlic press
Cornmeal or Semolina Flour
1 – 16 oz. ball Raw Pizza Dough
1/2 cup Fresh Basil Pesto
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Freshly Ground Pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Position the rack 6-8 inches from the top of the oven and place the pizza stone on the rack to warm up. Place the zucchini discs in a shallow bowl with the olive oil and garlic, then toss thoroughly to coat.

Sprinkle 4-5 tablespoons of cornmeal on the pizza peel then drop the dough ball onto the cornmeal. Knead and spread the dough ball into a 15-17 inch pizza. Carefully remove the hot pizza stone from the oven and place it on a heat resistant surface. Transfer the dough to the stone and shape it into a nice circle the size of the stone.

Working quickly, spoon and spread the pesto onto the dough. Next, sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over the pesto. Layer the marinated zucchini slices evenly over the pie, leaving a 3/4 inch “margin” for the crust. Finally, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the zucchini and slide the stone back into the hot oven.

Bake the pizza for 8-9 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to turn golden brown. Keep an eye on the pizza as it cooks… if your oven heats unevenly (like ours does!) rotate the pie with a few minutes left on the cook time.

Remove the pizza from the oven, top with a few grinds of black pepper, then slice and enjoy!

22Jul2015

Southwestern Burgers with Chipotle Mayo

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

I am absolutely addicted to these southwestern burgers with chipotle mayo and green chiles. They meet all of my major requirements for a “staple” summer meal… the ingredients are readily available, prep time is under a half hour, the meat is grilled and, most importantly, the end result is DELICIOUS! The green chiles, chipotle and pepper jack are one of my favorite flavor combinations and Matt somehow grills the burgers to a juicy perfection every single time. I would seriously take one (or two) of these burgers over a restaurant burger any day.

We have been enjoying these burgers almost weekly this summer. In fact, we’re going to have them for dinner tonight (YUM!!) so I thought now would be an appropriate time to share the recipe and a few pics from the last time we made them.

The recipe comes from our trusty Williams Sonoma Grill Master, the same book that includes BBQ Baby Back Ribs, Paella, AND the beef kebabs that I’ll share in a future post. I highly recommend this cook book!! The original burger recipe is a bit fancier than our adaptation, calling for buffalo meat, homemade mayo and fresh-roasted chiles. Those ingredients sound exciting, but aren’t very practical for a weeknight meal, so we subbed in regular ground beef, jarred mayo and canned diced green chiles and the burgers turned out great.

Southwestern Burgers with Chipotle Mayo and Green Chiles
(adapted from Williams Sonoma Grill Master; makes 4 burgers)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
1-2 Chipotle Chiles in Adobo, minced; plus a teaspoon or two of adobo sauce, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped Cilantro
Juice from 1/4 Lime
Salt and Pepper
1 1/3 lb. Ground Beef, 85/15
4 Slices Pepper Jack Cheese
4 Burger Buns
1 – 4 oz. can Chopped Green Chiles

Directions:
Preheat your grill to high heat. Combine the mayo, chipotle, cilantro, lime, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl to make the chipotle mayo. Stir well, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the burger patties, divide the meat into four equal sections, then form each quarter into a patty about 3/4″ thick by 4-5 inches in diameter. The key to a good burger is not to over-mix or over-compress the ground beef so be gentle with this step!

Place the burger patties on a plate and create a small depression in the center of of each patty. Season both sides of the burgers with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Place the burgers on the grill over direct high heat. Leave the grill lid open and cook for 5 minutes, then flip the burgers and continue to cook for another 4 minutes. Add a slice of pepper jack cheese to each burger and allow to cook with the lid closed for another minute or until the cheese is melted. On our gas grill these cooking times yield a juicy medium burger; adjust your cooking times to reach your preferred doneness.

During the last few minutes of the burger cooking, place the buns face-down on the grill grates and grill for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the buns to a plate and spread a generous amount of the chipotle mayo over the bottom half of each bun.

When the burgers are done cooking, transfer them directly onto the mayo-ed buns. Top the burgers with a few spoonfulls of green chiles and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Make sure your puppy doesn't eat your burger!

These burgers are good… even Piper thinks so!!

15Jun2015

BBQ Baby-Back Ribs

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Matt and I made these oven-roasted BBQ baby-back ribs for my family at the Hunting Camp last weekend. This was our first time making baby-backs and they were delicious! I’m pretty sure that my brother single-handedly ate an entire rack… (But it technically wasn’t single-handedly because he totally had to use two hands to really dig into these saucy, meaty ribs!!) 😉I’d recommend lots of napkins and maybe some wet wipes when serving these!

When researching recipes for this meal, we originally thought that it would be neat to cook the ribs entirely on the grill, but we were doubling the recipe and quickly realized that 6 full racks of ribs would never fit comfortably on a standard grill. With this in mind, Matt opted to do most of the “slow and low” cooking on rimmed baking sheets in the oven and simply finished the ribs on the grill for that final grilled flavor. This made for an easy afternoon with very little hands-on work required up until the final grilling and cutting steps.

BBQ Baby-Back Ribs (serves 6; adapted from Williams Sonoma Grill Master)

Ingredients:
4 chipotles in adobo, seeded & chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons cumin
4 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoons ground cloves
Coarse salt

3 slabs baby-back ribs (6lb.)
1 cup of your favorite store-bought barbecue sauce

Directions:
To make the rub, combine the chipotle chiles, garlic, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, paprika, cumin, oregano, thyme, cloves and salt in a food processor. Pulse until a smooth paste forms. If the rub is too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons water and continue to pulse. The rub may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two days.

On the morning before you serve the ribs, begin by removing the silverskin (membrane) off of the bone-side of the ribs. (See here for tips.) Use a sharp knife to carefully trim any large sections of fat from the meat, then use your hands to slather the ribs with the rub. Coat both sides of each slab evenly, then place the ribs bone-side down on a rimmed baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or as long as overnight.

Approximately 3 hours before dinner, preheat the oven to 275°F and allow the ribs to sit out of the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Transfer one rack of ribs to a second rimmed baking sheet (also bone-side down), then pour approximately 1/2 cup of water around the outer edge of each baking sheet. Cover the pans tightly with foil and place them in the oven. Roast for one hour, then remove the foil and flip the ribs over. Continue to roast uncovered for another 1 1/2 hours, flipping every 30 minutes. The ribs can be prepared to this point a day in advance, then covered and refrigerated.

Prep a gas grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. Brush the roasted ribs with half of the barbecue sauce. Grill the ribs, turning once, until heated through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 1-rib portions. Arrange the ribs on a platter and drizzle with the remaining 1/2 cup sauce. Serve and enjoy!

8Jun2015

Panzanella: A Blog-Worthy Salad

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

I made the same recipe two times this weekend and still found myself excited to serve up seconds on Sunday evening. That definitely makes this recipe for a Panzanella “bread salad” qualify as blog-worthy, don’t you think?? 😀

According to Wikipedia, “Panzanella is a Tuscan salad of bread and tomatoes that’s popular in the summer. It includes chunks of soaked stale bread and tomatoes, sometimes also onions and basil, dressed with olive oil and vinegar.” According to my extended family, Panzanella is a tasty excuse to call toasted Italian bread soaked in dijon vinaigrette a “salad” and feel good about eating it. Just kidding… sort of. This bread salad is delicious, colorful, and easy to make and I have a feeling that we’re going to get many more requests for it at future family dinners!

When I bring Panzanella to a dinner party I do almost all of the work in advance. The vinaigrette can be made 1-2 days ahead of time and refrigerated in an airtight container, the veggies can be chopped and tossed together a few hours in advance, and the bread can be toasted 1-2 hours before dinner and stored in a ziploc bag. Making the salad then becomes a simple matter of tossing together the vinaigrette, veggies and bread about 20 minutes before dinner.

Panzanella (from Ina Garten; serves 8-10)

Vinaigrette Ingredients
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tablespoons Champagne Vinegar
1-2 teaspoons Minced Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

Salad Ingredients
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and cut into 1″ pieces
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, seeded and cut into 1″ pieces
1 Hothouse Cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeds removed and cut into 1/2″ slices
1/2 Red Onion, halved and cut into thin slices
3-4 Plum or Campari-sized Tomatoes, cut into 1″ pieces
3 tablespoons Capers, drained
20 Basil Leaves, sliced into 1/2″ strips
1 large Loaf of French or Italian Bread, cut into 1″ pieces
Olive Oil
Salt

Directions:
To make the vinaigrette, whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a ball jar and shake vigorously. The vinaigrette can now be easily refrigerated or transported until it’s time to combine the salad.

Combine the peppers, cucumber, onion, tomatoes, capers and basil together in a large bowl.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add half the bread and approximately 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook the bread cubes, stirring and flipping occasionally, until the bread begins to toast and turn golden brown. Transfer the toasted bread to a plate to cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining bread cubes.

To assemble the salad, combine the vinaigrette, vegetables, and toasted bread in a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. For best flavor, allow the finished salad to sit for approximately 20 minutes before serving… that will give the vinaigrette time to soak into the bread. 😀 Enjoy!

27May2015

Grilled Paella with Chicken, Shrimp and Sausage

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

What’s better than serving a one-pot meal to dinner guests? Serving a grilled one-pot meal that’s made entirely outside while your guests relax and drink craft beer on the patio! That’s pretty much how Matt and I spent the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend when we hosted my mom’s birthday dinner. We made grilled Paella with chicken, shrimp and sausage and it was definitely a hit. My mom actually asked for seconds (or maybe that was thirds?) during dinner… that NEVER happens!! 🙂

This paella looks really fancy, but in reality it’s not too complicated. The entire dish is assembled in a shallow paella pan (like these on Amazon) which is placed directly on a grill, giving you the combination of direct and indirect heat that you would otherwise need both a stovetop and oven to achieve. You do need a few special ingredients like saffron, smoked paprika and Spanish (dry) chorizo, but once you have those on hand the other elements of the dish are very easy to find and prep.

Here are a few pictures from the first time we made Paella a few weeks ago. For Sunday’s family dinner, we increased the recipe by half and it easily served 6 hungry guests.

Sear the chicken thighs and chorizo, then cook the tomato and aromatics over direct heat.

Stir the rice into the tomato mixture to toast it before adding saffron and broth.

Add back in the browned chorizo sausage…

…and “nestle” the chicken thighs into the rice, being careful not to stir the rice mixture.

To finish the dish, top with shrimp, peas, and peppers and cook until the shrimp are just opaque.

Chicken, Shrimp and Sausage Paella (serves 4; from Williams Sonoma Grill Master)

You will need…
1/4 teaspoon Saffron Threads
4 Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken Thighs
Salt and Pepper
4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
7-10 oz. Spanish Chorizo Sausage, sliced (we used Goya Chorizo)
3 Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 Yellow Onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1 cup uncooked short-grain Paella Rice, such as Calasparra
4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
7 oz. jarred Roasted Red Peppers, drained and cut into strips
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
1 lb. 21-25 ct Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Fresh Parsley, chopped, for garnish
4-6 Lemon Wedges, for garnish

Directions:
Place the saffron threads in a small bowl with 2 ounces of hot water and set aside. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the chicken thighs. Preheat a 15-inch Paella pan on the grill over high heat, then add the oil and place the chicken thighs in the pan skin-side down. Sear the thighs, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a platter and add the sliced chorizo to the pan. Saute the chorizo until it starts to brown, about 2-3 minutes, then transfer the chorizo to the platter with the chicken.

Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, thyme and paprika to the pan and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add in the rice and stir for 2-3 minutes until slightly toasted. Add the saffron thread mixture and 2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, close the grill, and cook for 10 minutes.

Open the grill and add the reserved chicken thighs and chorizo back in into the rice mixture. Important: do not stir the rice! Use tongs to nestle the chicken thighs into the rice. Add an additional 1 cup of chicken broth, then close the grill again and cook for another 20 minutes.

Open the grill and again, resist the urge to stir! Distribute the shrimp, peas and red peppers over the top of the rice mixture and pour in approximately 1/2 to 1 cup more chicken broth (go with more if the rice looks dry). Close the grill and cook for another 5-7 minutes or just until the shrimp are cooked through.

Remove the paella pan from the grill and garnish with parsley. Arrange the lemon wedges over the dish and serve directly from the pan. Enjoy!!