A Life, Lived

Rapini, Potato, and Rosemary Pizza

Here is another rapini recipe to go with the one from Monday. This is a variation of a white (no sauce) pizza where the classic triumvarite of potatoes, garlic and rosemary is embellished with earthy and assertive broccoli rabe (rapini). 

Paul made this for dinner last week. It just may be the best pizza we have ever had!

We cheated - we used some pre-made thin crust pizza shells.

 

Broccoli Rabe (Rapini), Potato and Rosemary Pizza

2 pre-made pizza crusts
1 large yukon gold potato, very thinly sliced
Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2pound broccoli rabe, washed, ends trimmed
1 large garlic clove, minced, plus 2 garlic cloves lightly smashed but still intact
1/4teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
1/2cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Rosemary sprigs for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 F.                 

Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Arrange potatoes in one layer on a baking tray. Bake until edges begin to turn golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Increase oven temperature to 475 F.                

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add broccoli rabe and blanch 30 seconds; drain. Plunge broccoli rabe into a bowl of ice water. Cool and drain again. Lay in one layer on a kitchen towel to thoroughly dry. Cut in 2" pieces.                

Heat one tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté briefly, 30 seconds. Add broccoli rabe and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sauté one minute. Remove from heat. Taste and add more salt if necessary.                

Lightly brush pizza crusts with olive oil. Rub all over with smashed garlic cloves.                 

Arrange one layer mozzarella cheese over crusts. Top with one layer of potatoes and broccoli rabe. Sprinkle one tablespoon rosemary over each crust. Top with grated Pecorino cheese.                

Bake on pizza stone or on tray on lowest rack in oven until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 15 minutes.                 

Before serving, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with fresh rosemary leaves and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

Fresh Mozzarella, Heirloom Tomato, and Basil Pizza

Is it just me or have the heirloom tomatoes in the market been even more amazing than normal this year? Heirlooms are bright, colourful, misshapen, and full of flavour - no wonder I love them. In fact, they have been so brilliant this that I have bought far more than I can possibly use.

In desperation last week I did some serious searching for recipes that would help me use up my stash. This one, from the folks at Cooking Light, helped.

The only thing I did NOT like about this pizza was the use of refrigerator pizza dough. I find store bought dough to be hard to work with - the shape of my pizza will confirm this.  It is also harder to turn into a thin crust which is what we like.

The only thing I did differently was to make the pizza on the BBQ. This turned out fine until it came time for the pizza stone to cool - I think the hot summer day cooled too quickly and my stone snapped into three pieces. I guess I need to do some shopping.

Of yes, when I was looking at the pic I realized I did something else differently - I gave the finished pizza a grind with chili pepper grinder I bought when I was in Rome. Crushed chili peppers would work just as well if you like a hint of heat like us.

This really is a riff on the classic Italian Pizza Margherita -tomato, cheese, and basil. Simple, quality ingredients, which when combined yield amazing results.

Fresh Mozzarella, Heirloom Tomato, and Basil Pizza

12 ounces refrigerated fresh pizza dough
1 cup fresh basil leaves
6 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2 (6-ounce) heirloom tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 500° (keep pizza stone or baking sheet in oven as it preheats).

Let dough stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place basil, garlic, and 2 tablespoons oil in a mini food processor; pulse 3 times to form a paste. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil; pulse until smooth.

Roll dough into a 14-inch circle on a floured surface; pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Carefully remove pizza stone from oven. Arrange dough on pizza stone. Spread about 2½ tablespoons basil mixture over dough. Top evenly with cheese, tomatoes, and pepper. Bake at 500° for 12 minutes or until crust is browned and crisp. Top with remaining 1½ tablespoons basil mixture; sprinkle evenly with salt. Cut into 12 slices.

Sausage, Fennel, and Ricotta Pizza

We never get tired of pizza – it’s so quick to make, versatile, so easy to make it healthy, and so bloody tasty! Pizza is one of the things we crave on Friday night at the end of the work week (well, MY work week)

With this recipe from the folks at Cooking Light, dollops of ricotta cheese top crispy Sausage, Fennel, and Ricotta Pizza. While it does not specifically call for fennel sausage we decided that more the better so we used fennel turkey sausage instead of the Italian turkey sausage that is called for.

Be sure to use a preheated pizza stone or baking sheet to ensure an extra-crisp crust.

The end result was amazing - so good that we have whipped this up three times since (and if you know anything about us we rarely cook the same thing twice, let alone three times!) Of course, the fact that a serving has 350 calories helps too. :-)

Sausage, Fennel, and Ricotta Pizza

12 ounces refrigerated fresh pizza dough
1 (4-ounce) link Italian turkey sausage
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 500° (keep pizza stone or baking sheet in oven as it preheats). Let pizza dough stand at room temperature, covered, while oven preheats.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casing from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Add fennel bulb; cook 4 minutes or until tender.

Roll pizza dough into a 16-inch oval on a lightly floured surface. Carefully remove pizza stone from oven. Sprinkle cornmeal over pizza stone; place dough on pizza stone. Brush dough evenly with oil. Sprinkle sausage mixture evenly over dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Combine ricotta and garlic in a small bowl; top pizza with teaspoonfuls of ricotta mixture. Sprinkle red onion and remaining ingredients evenly over pizza. Bake at 500° for 11 minutes or until golden. Cut into 8 slices.

Zucchini Pizza with Ricotta

I spied some zucchini blossoms at the market the other day - presumably the farmer, knowing the season was growing to a close cut them off to sell them. It's rare to find zucchini blossoms here in ontario for some reason - in fact, the only time I have in the past was in Chinatown! I think picking the flower that could eventually be a vegetable for sale is against the North American Puritan sensibilities.

BAH

It's common to spy zucchini flowers in markets in Italy. We have had them fried, in pasta, on pizza, and in salads. Clearly those Italians know something that we do NOT!

I made some of our favourite stuffed zucchini and then decided to make a pizza with the rest.

I searched for a recipe but couldn't quite find one I liked. in the end I went my own way and tried to recreate the flavours of the stuffed zucchini flowers that I had just made.  The result, if I do say so myself, was freaking amazing! Even if the crust was a tad more browned (OK, blackened) than we'd normally like it. LOL

Zucchini Pizza with Ricotta

1 thin pizza shell
6 - 8 zucchini flowers
1 small zucchini sliced crosswise
1 cup ricotta cheese
sprinkle of sea salt
sprinkle of black pepper
2 Tbs (30 gm) grated romano cheese
8 basil leaves cut in a chiffonade
1 T lemon zest
1 t red pepper flakes
1 cup (110 gm) shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix the ricotta, salt, pepper, romano cheese, basil, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes.place the water, olive oil and yeast in the bowl of your mixer and allow yeas to sit for a few

Spread the ricotta cheese mixture on the dough, then season with salt, pepper, and grated romano cheese.

Add the zucchini flowers and sliced zucchini on top.

Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.

Bake in a 450 degree oven or your closed grill until the pizza has gotten nice brown color.

Slice into 6 slices, and serve!

Grilled Hawaiian Pizza

I'm pretty sure that I won't be finding any of this when I'm in Italy later this year and that my Italian friends would cringe at the very thought of it but there is something positively addictive about this pizza. in a sense the Hawaiian pizza - that classic (in North American, anyway) combination of ham and pineapple smothered with cheese atop a pizza crust with tomato sauce was the precursor of the 'salty and sweet' trend. Sweet pineapple, savoury tomato sauce, salty ham . . . MMMMMM

When I saw this in the recent Cooking Light magazine I was intrigued: I hadn't had a Hawaiian pizza in years but the hought of grilling the ham and pineapple before preparing the pizza on the grill was a happy one. Paolo whipped this up for dinner last week and it was BRILLIANT!

Once again the folk at Cooking Light have hit a home run.

Even better - it only has 292 calories and 9.6 g of fat per serving. This plus a nice lettuce salad and you have a dinner that will place a smile on everyone's face.

Grilled Hawaiian Pizza

2  (1/2-inch-thick) slices fresh pineapple
3 ounces thinly sliced lower-sodium ham (such as Boar's Head) 
Cooking spray
1/2 cup spicy tomato and basil pasta sauce
1  (8-ounce) prebaked thin pizza crust
2 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Arrange pineapple and ham slices on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill ham 1 minute, turning once. Remove ham from grill. Grill pineapple 9 minutes, turning once. Remove from grill; coarsely chop pineapple. Spread sauce evenly over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border; top evenly with cheese. Arrange pineapple and ham over cheese. Place pizza on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 7 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut into 8 slices.

Pizza a Vegetable?

 . . . or 'this is why we're fat and have excessive health care costs'.

I confess to being more than a bit shocked when I saw this story:

Pizza still counts as a vegetable in U.S. public school cafeterias.

The U.S. Agriculture Department originally wanted to require a half cup of tomato paste for a pizza slice to qualify as a vegetable. But on Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives backed off from the stricter requirement.

A slice of pizza will continue to qualify as a vegetable because it contains two tablespoons of tomato paste.

"It's an important victory," Corey Henry, spokesman for the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), told Reuters.

The trade association lobbied Congress on behalf of frozen pizza sellers, such as ConAgra Foods Inc and Schwan Food Co and french fry maker McCain Foods Ltd.

The USDA also proposed limits on french fries, increasing the variety of fruits and vegetables and limiting starchy vegetables including corn and green peas.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Center for Science in the Public Interest said the legislation would be a bigger "blunder" than when U.S. President Ronald Reagan's administration tried and failed to credit ketchup as a vegetable in the school lunch program.

"Pizza should be served with a vegetable, not count as one," the consumer advocacy groups said on its website.

The mind boggles (or is that the mind is boggled?)!

Firstly, doesn't the government have anything better to do with its time than try and pass legislation determining what is or is not a vegetable. Funny how many Americans get into a lather at the thought of Washington interfering in their health care but don't seem to give a care about politicians determining status as a vegetable.

Pizza, at least the types I've seen sold in schools, generally come laden with fatty pepperoni and loaded with cheese. I remember passing out pizza at school on pizza day . . . when I was finished I had to scrub nasty grease off of my table. It was gross. Funny though, I don't recall a real vegetable requiring a scrub with Mr. Clean.

Finally, any situation where the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) declares a victory is bad, bad, bad news for food lovers EVERYWHERE!

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza

Last night ended up being pizza night here. It all started with a basket of peaches that I had forgotten about since they were in the refrigerator in the basement. While ripe,  they were still good but needed to be used ASAP!

I remembered this recipe from Cooking Light that intrigued me with its combination of sweet, salty, and tangy flavours - exactly the sort of thing that generally rocks out world.

With this pizza your forgo the traditional tomato sauce. To make the  makeover complete you use fresh peach slices, chicken and two types of cheese as the key ingredients. A drizzle of tangy balsamic reduction provides the perfect balance to the sweet summer fruit.

We didn't do the balsamic reduction - I have 3 bottles of balsamic glaze that I have brought back from Italy over the years and decided to use them instead.

It would be an understatement to say that this was a hit. I bet I could make this every week and Paolo would be asking for it again. It was quick and easy to pull together and the taste was remarkable. Now if only the peach season lasted longer in this area . . .

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza

1 (10-ounce) prebaked thin pizza crust (such as Boboli) We used whole wheat, thin crust shells
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1 medium unpeeled peach, thinly sliced
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400°.

Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil evenly over crust. Top evenly with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, and peach slices. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 11 minutes or until crust browns.

Place vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 5 minutes). Drizzle balsamic reduction evenly over pizza. Cut pizza into 8 wedges.

Grilled Pizza with Prosciutto, Arugula, and Lemon

Well sports fans (as they say apparently for I have never been accused of being a sports fans but somehow the metaphors just pop into my feeble mind) another month has passed by and it is time for me to gather around the table of the Cooking Light Supper Club. Believe me when I say that there isn't a better gang to hang out with and enjoy a meal.

This month's theme was an Alfresco meal which is perfect for the summer weather we've been having around here. I decided to make an appetizer to bring to the party and made the Grilled Pizza with Prosciutto, Arugula, and Lemon that was featured in the June 2011 Cooking Light Magazine.

Over the years I have made many grilled pizzas - I love how crisp the crust gets and how you can pull everything together in a short period of time. I had visions of making the dough in advance (it calls for it to be made 24 hours prior to using it) and then sitting down to a delicious, light pizza in no time.

What I didn't envision was the hellacious time I had with the dough. In all my years of making pizza dough I have never had a disaster like this. The dough was easy to make - it smelled wonderful. When I put it in the fridge for the 24 hour resting period it seemed moist but I assumed that it would get a wee bit more dry while it rested. Yes, I am a fool.

After 24 hours you're to let it come to room temperature and punch it down. This was my first mistake - my fist became wedged in the quicksand-like dough. My blood pressure rose.

Once I had scrapped my hands clean I used a spatula to thump it onto a floured surface. I tried to knead in more flour in a vain attempt to make a dough that could be worked with. The dough stuck to all it touched like flypaper - in fact, I could have used some of this hanging from the kitchen ceiling to capture the fruit flies that arrived on a load of strawberries last week.

I became very frustrated. Paul came over to see if he could help out. One look at the crisis at hand(and my expression) and he dashed form the kitchen to hide. He is a wise lad.

Finally, after much stress and anger, I managed to knead in 3/4 cup of flour. The dough was a mess. The consistency looked horrid. I warned Paul that we might be heading out for dinner. Finally the dough seemed dry enough to be worked.

When I tried to shape it into rounds the *&[email protected] stuff ripped!

Finally, after losing a year or two off of my lifespan I had four shapes (to call them rounds would be exaggerating the word round similar to saying Jessica Simpson is an academy award worthy actress).

Anyhooooo . . . I tossed them on the BBQ and followed the rest of the recipe.

They didn't taste nearly as horrid as I expected given my chaos with the dough. They were NOT pretty to look at. Paul thought that they tasted good. He might have been lying but to be honest he is the most truthful person I have ever met (how he got stuck with ME is a mystery to all) so I doubt it. The concept was great - crisp flatbreads with grated fontina cheese melted atop. Prosciutto. Lemony arugula. MMM

Take my advice - you should try these - but where it says 'or you could use store bought dough and start at step three' - follow the advice.

Please. Your sanity depends upon it! It's too late to save me but you can save yourself!

Grilled Pizza with Prosciutto, Arugula, and Lemon

10 ounce bread flour (about 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
1 cup warm water (100° to 110°), divided
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons cornmeal
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 cups packed baby arugula
4 lemon wedges

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and spoons; level with a knife. Combine flour, 3/4 cup warm water, thyme, oregano, and garlic in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached; mix until combined. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.

Dissolve yeast in the remaining 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add yeast mixture and salt to flour mixture; beat at low speed 5 minutes or until a soft dough forms. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; cover dough with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate 24 hours.

Remove the dough from refrigerator. Let stand, covered, for 1 hour or until the dough comes to room temperature. Punch dough down. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Press each portion into a 7-inch circle on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Place pizza dough rounds, cornmeal side up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 3 minutes or until blistered. Turn dough over; grill for 3 minutes. Remove from grill.

Sprinkle about 5 tablespoons fontina over each pizza. Top evenly with prosciutto and pepper. Combine oil and lemon juice in a bowl; add arugula, and toss gently. Divide arugula mixture evenly among pizzas. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

You can check out what everyone brought to the party:

Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen showed up with a Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto.

Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club brings along a  Summer Peach and Tomato Salad.

Val provided the entree of Poached Salmon with Creamy Herb Sauce.

Roz of La Bella Vita 's Chocolate-Amaretti Peaches! 

Sandi of The Whistlestop Cafe accompanied dessert with Peach Ice Cream.

Chicken Broccoli Cazlones

I like to have pizza on Friday night - work has likely been a bear all week, the weekend has arrived, and after having been careful about my diet all week I NEED a wee bit of a splurge. Last week we had a variation - a calzone.

A calzone is a baked or fried Italian turnover of pizza dough filled with vegetables, meat, or cheese. Generally they are fried but for a healthier version they can be baked.

In this case the calzone was filled with blanched broccoli, cooked chicken breast, a simple white sauce,  and cheese. The result was amazing - but HUGE - we only ate half and had the other half for lunch on Sunday.

A perfect treat with which to welcome the weekend . . .

 
Chicken Broccoli Cazlones

1/2 cup of cooked chicken, cut into chunks
1/4 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup white sauce
1/4 cup mozzarella or to taste
1/3 of a batch of pizza dough
olive oil to brush on 

Roll out or stretch the dough on a well floured surface till it is a 14 inch or so circle. Spread sauce on the lower half making sure to stay at least an inch from the edge. Then put on chicken, cheese and broccoli. Fold the dough over the fillings and press the border in with your fingers. Then fold the border in half over itself and press firmly to form a seal. Slice a couple small holes in the top and brush it with olive oil. Bake at 450 (preferably on a pizza stone) for 25 minutes or till brown. Serve.

Fontina, Caramelized-Onion, and Pancetta Pizza

One of the things we like to do is splurge a bit on Friday night - the weekend is upon us, we've been good all week . . . if we had any hair we'd let it down and go wild. Sadly we are both folliclely challenged so we often turn to food for our wild times.

Friday often becomes 'comfort food night', as a result.

Tonight I wanted pizza and I selected this pizza from a 1998 Cooking Light magazine. I had some fontina and fresh thyme I needed to move out of the fridge so with the help of google I found this recipe. When I noticed that it had but 240 calories per serving (two slices) I was sold.

I do believe that this is in the running for the 'best thing I cooked in 2011'. I could barely restrain myself with 2 slices.

Paul ate 6.

I was shocked at how delicious it was . . . I'm not sure why - I love the sweetness of caramelized onions, salty pancetta, nutty fontina, and adore thyme. Throw all of that on a pizza and I was destined to purr.

The only surprise was why the hell hadn't I made this before?

The fine folks at Cooking Light provide a recipe for pizza dough (which I made) but you could make your own if you have a favourite or even buy a dough fromthe grocery shop or your favourite pizzeria.

Fontina, Caramelized-Onion, and Pancetta Pizza

Pizza Dough
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 ounces pancetta (Italian-style bacon) or Canadian bacon, chopped
8 cups sliced onion (about 3 large)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded fontina cheese, divided
Thyme sprigs (optional)
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Prepare the Pizza Dough according to directions.
While dough is rising the second time, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add pancetta, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add onions, thyme, salt, and white pepper; cook 25 minutes or until onions are browned, stirring frequently.

Preheat oven to 475°.

Brush each prepared pizza crust with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; top each with half of onion mixture. Sprinkle half of cheese over each pizza. Bake at 475° for 9 minutes or until crusts are crisp. Cut each pizza into 8 wedges. Garnish with thyme sprigs and sprinkle with black pepper, if desired.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pizzas (serving size: 2 slices)