Caramelized Onion Jam
Let's talk about kitchen staples for a sec. You should always have extra virgin olive oil on hand. Always always always. Onions are a must too. Make sure you get some every time you're out grocery shopping. Balsamic vinegar, chicken stock, salt & brown sugar are necessities as well. Why? Because without these staples, you can't just go into your kitchen one Sunday afternoon and make caramelized onion jam on a whim. And how sad is a refrigerator that doesn't have a nice little jar of Caramelized Onion Jam in it? Very sad.
So, what does one do with Caramelized Onion Jam? Let's brainstorm!
- put it on a pizza with Gorgonzola and pears
- add it to crostini with figs and goat cheese & prosciutto
- put it on a steak sandwich or burger with a grainy mustard
- add it to pasta with roasted tomatoes and peppers
- stir it into your mashed potatoes
- shove some in your grilled cheese
- put some on a hot dog
- make an arugula salad with it
- add it to a baked potato with sour cream
- add it to an omelet with mushrooms
- stand in front of your fridge and eat it directly from the jar
Caramelized onion jam is now a staple!
Three Cheese & Herb Tomato Tart
Let's pretend we are neighbors for a second. Wouldn't that be awesome? We'd have coffee together in the mornings with an occasional cinnamon roll or maybe a slice of coffee cake. I'd call you up last minute to see if you wanna hop in the car for a late night Target run and you'd totally be down. In fact, you suggest we hit up IKEA on the way there. Good call! Sometimes I'd borrow a few eggs or a cup of sugar and I'd always repay you with delicious treats.
One day you'd drop off a box of tomatoes from your garden and within hours I'd show up at your door with this Three Cheese & Herb Tomato Tart. You'd invite me in, offer me a slice (even though I already ate two before I arrived at your door) and we'd sit on your back porch eating together. We'd talk about what was going on in the neighborhood (why does that dog ALWAYS bark?!). I'd pull up some hilarious videos on You Tube from my phone and then you'd show me a sewing project you're working on. Eventually we'd have some fancy boozy beverage and no doubt we'd drink too much. I love how we never have to worry about driving home!
When I ask you what you liked about this tart, you'd say "Duh! There's puff pastry involved!" Then you'd marvel at how perfect your homegrown tomatoes taste paired with a blend of three different cheeses, garlic and herbs. I'm so glad we're neighbors, aren't you? Now can I please borrow your hedge trimmers? My front yard is getting unruly.
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Bacon & Egg Breakfast Pizza
For the past year I've been really enjoying the whole "Put an Egg on It" trend and pizza is no exception! The first pizza we ordered with egg on top was at A16 for our anniversary dinner. To our dismay, we had to send it back because the pizza was undercooked while the egg was sheer perfection. They made it right on the second attempt but there was something burned into my brain that day: Egg on pizza tastes awesome, but cooking egg on pizza is a challenge. At least that's what I thought.
I checked out a few tasty looking recipes online for Breakfast Pizzas and was confused at the cooking times and how it would fair with my trusted no-knead pizza dough. I also didn't really know at what point to put the egg on top. So I decided to bite the bullet and put the eggs on after 8 minutes of cooking the crust and it worked! I can't believe it worked! I totally thought I was going to overcook the eggs.
When I have the rare chance to eat pizza for breakfast (we never ever have leftovers), it's usually cold and I'm standing up against my kitchen counter staring off into space in my pajamas. Now there's a way for me to eat legitimate pizza for breakfast. It's got bacon & eggs on it! That's totally breakfasty, right? Top it off with a little bit of lemon dressed arugula to cut the fat and you're ready to start the day right. Pizza for breakfast is a real thing!
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Tomatoes with Coriander Vinaigrette
Tomato & Basil=Caprese Salad. Tomato & Cilantro= Salsa. Right? Here's a salad that's sort of a hybrid of the two. Which means you can now eat salsa with a fork and knife! Chips are not invited to this party.
What you'll find here is a surprisingly delicious/refreshing/light sliced tomato salad with a little sharp kick of red onions, a toasty coriander undertone and a nice tang of red wine vinegar. Talk about tomato enhancing! A salad that is slightly reminiscent of salsa but then totally not. If you happen to have leftover Scalloped Corn & this tomato salad, do yourself a favor and grill a piece of bread, top it with a little leftover corn and a few slabs of tomato. You'll love it. I know this. What are you waiting for? Put those tomatoes to good use. Time's a tickin'!
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Scalloped Corn
You know how homemade macaroni & cheese has a bread crumb topping that's buttery and crunchy with edges that make you wanna scream Hallelujah? Take a look at this skillet. Now imagine that Hallelujah crust but substitute the mac & cheese for CORN. Out of all of the things I made for dinner on Sunday night, this corn is still lingering in my head. I thought I had found the best corn dish this summer with Thomas Keller's Creamed Summer Corn. Psshaw. This Scalloped Corn just knocked the creamed corn into the #2 slot. I didn't think that was even possible.
Make it. Rejoice. Hallelujah! You found a dish that reminds you of macaroni & cheese, corn pudding and creamed corn! Let me just remind you that we only have a few weeks left of corn season. You'd better get on this.
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Corn Zucchini Lime Pizza
For a good year, Casey worked close to the amazing/prolific Arizmendi Bakery. Not only are their pastries, muffins & cookies TO DIE FOR, they make the most fabulous/unconventional pizza with the craziest, most exotic toppings; it's fancy pizza! We created a tradition where every other Thursday, he'd call me and tell me what the pizza of the day was and nine times out of ten, he'd bring one home. I'd fire up the oven after hanging up and eagerly anticipated heating up the pizza and slicing into it.
One of the best pizzas he came home with was a wonderful corn, feta, lime & cilantro pizza that had slices of jalapeno scattered throughout. It tasted just like summer. Casey changed jobs, and sadly Arizmendi pizza has been out of our rotation. That hasn't prevented me from thinking about their pizza constantly. Before bed the other night, this pizza popped into my head and I seriously lost sleep over it. I woke up the next morning plagued with the NEED to make it. I fulfilled that need and if given the chance, I would have eaten the entire pizza myself. Thank heavens for husbands who come home early from work and neighbors who will try anything I make.
The corn is sweet and crunchy, the feta is salty and slightly creamy, the cilantro adds a nice herbal greenness to the pizza and the slices of jalapeno add great heat. Squeeze lime on top and all of the flavors step up a notch! This pizza is truly addictive, earth shattering and seriously the best way to exploit fresh corn right now. I can honestly say this is a pizza worth losing sleep over.
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Guacamole Hummus
If guacamole and hummus had a baby, they would name it Guacamole Hummus. It would be thick, rich and creamy. It would taste and look just like guacamole but have the density of hummus. Guacamole hummus would eventually settle down with a bowl of chips and make a nice home in your stomach. Don't you just love a happy ending? I do. Especially when there's an avocado involved.
Make this. Inhale it. Smother it all over your body. It's seriously good. Guacamole hummus is my new best friend.
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Tuscan Kale Salad w/ Pecorino
Kale and I have enjoyed a sultry love affair for over a year now. We've definitely moved past the puppy dog phase and we're currently treading in the I leave a toothbrush in his medicine cabinet territory. Yes, I'm talking about KALE. Lately I've been looking for something new to "spice up" our relationship. I've seen this salad on a few of my favorite food blogs and I thought it might lead us back to the non-stop PDA phase. It worked! Suddenly I'm absolutely infatuated with kale again and all it took was this simple salad!
Close your eyes and you might think you're eating a Caesar salad. Open your eyes and look at that dark leafy green pile of healthy kale sitting on your plate! Crazy, huh? You'll notice how creamy/sharp the Pecorino is and that lemony red pepper dressing sure is tangy AND spicy, right? I find that the texture of the kale shreds pairs so well with bits of the crunchy country bread crumbs, don't you? Now that I know how easy it is to make this, I'm totally going on a Raw Tuscan Kale Salad bender. Think Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas but sub the alcohol with Kale. Watch me.
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