Pizza - Hawaiian Pizza - Canadian Bacon and Pineapple

If it's Monday, it must be the PIZZA 2011 PROJECT!

OK... Today we are going to play a game...  Today's pizza is a form of product placement.  You have to squint your eyes, make a few assumptions (like colors are not as important as shapes) and you may get it.


Long time readers will know that tomorrow I had planned to be announcing my new business.  I am in the final stages of testing.  I have about 95% working perfect, but the remaining 5% is very important.  Chances are we are not going to go live tomorrow, with the opening delayed for a week.  But, I promise tomorrow I will show off what I have planned.  If the stars are in alignment, I am hoping you will be excited with just the preliminaries.


Almost as much fun as opening on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) is the idea of going live on the Ides of March... What's the worst that can happen.


But I digress...


Look close, ponder my blog and what I try to do (ignore the colors) and the answer will jump out at you.  First to make a reasonably close guess to what I mean by product placement will get an extra 10 points added to their score.


Here's a hint... Here's a close up of the cut Canadian bacon slices before cooking.

OK, one more product placement comment...  And it is not even digressing, as it has to do with Hawaii.


My very clever and observant wife is a HUGE fan of the new Hawaii 5-0 TV series.  A few weeks ago she noticed that the bad guys are ALWAYS driving Fords.  The heroes of the series are always driving a General Motors car.  Been watching for several weeks, and it is absolutely true.  Take a look.


OK, back to the pizza.  Hawaiian pizza is in fact NOT from Hawaii.  It is the most popular pizza in Australia. It probably originated in Germany with pork sausage (almost ham) and pineapple.  True Canadian bacon and pineapple pizzas, called Hawaiian pizza originated in Ontario Canada.


Who knew???


Our house is divided on this one.  Personally, it falls in the OK category.  If it was up to me, I would probably never make this again.  BUT... Jackie LOVED it.  The roasted pineapple on top caramelized a bit.  The pineapple under the cheese was still very nicely sweet and moist.  Because I was smart and layered cheese between the pineapple and crust, the crust came out very crunchy, exactly as you want.


So, as we all know, if mama ain't happy, ain't no body happy, it looks like Hawaiian pizza is on my permanent to be made again soon list.

OK, here's what I did...


For the crust, I used  My "go-to" pizza dough recipe

For the  sauce, I used my "Gussied Up" Tomato Sauce Recipe.


I used about half of the pineapple two slives and the rest finely chopped and liquid squeezed out.
6 ounces of Canadian bacon.  I trimmed the slices to resemble a H***E, and diced the remains small like the size of the diced bacon.


8 ounces of Cappiello Scamorza cheese (Mozzarella with a bit of provolone mixed in) Sliced VERY thin, we are going to do two layers of cheese


Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

• Preheat oven and pizza stone (or heavy baking sheet) to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll your crust out on parchment paper to your likeness... Thin, Chewy or thick like a bread.
• Brush Olive oil around the edges to get a beautiful Golden Brown and Delicious looking crust.
• Salt and pepper the crust at this time
• layer slices of thin slices of cheese
• layer the "Gussied up" sauce
• layer the Canadian Bacon pieces and then the pineapple pieces on the ham (the cheese and ham will help the pineapple to NOT get the crust mushy)
• layer more cheese
• Arrange the pineapple slices on the cheese to look like ... product placement
• Layer the Canadian bacon slices to resemble a ... product placement
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cheese starts to get that baked color.

Here are a few photos to help  you get the idea (and maybe give you a better look to earn those extra 10 points...

OK, see you tomorrow for the big announcement... 

Red Snapper Duarte ala Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook

OK, I am a week behind on my goal of a fish course a week during 2011.  But I am making up for it with a very complicated recipe.  Complicated, but AMAZING!    These tomatoes may be the best thing I have eaten this week, simply amazing,

Hey did you all know Fat Tuesday is coming up next week.  Cajun dishes should be flowing (I'll be having my annual neighborhood Jambalaya feed on Tuesday (everyone welcome, come on over).  It's been awhile since i talked New Orleans.  I've posted a couple of times about how much I enjoy eating at Arnaud's; just a classic Creole Cuisine, with so much history.


The have a wonderful cookbook, just filled with amazing dishes, as well as the history of the restaurant.  It really is an amazing book, highly recommended.


This recipe comes about 90% from that book.  They use Pompano fillets instead of Red Snapper.  Being land locked as Kansas is, I was very happy to find some nice fresh red snapper.  No pompano in sight.  Also, they serve a side dish of tomatoes in a beurre blanc sauce.  Their sauce uses heavy cream.  I was out (plus, you will be shocked at how much butter is in this meal, so I tried to lighten the meal up a bit).  So, I substituted Greek yogurt in place of the cream.  But like I said, that substitute was a drop in the bucket when all this butter was examined.


Oh, and you all remember yesterday's Sweet Potato Mousse???  In my comments, I was praised for the health benefits... Well, not with all this butter... 


But I am ahead of myself, BTW... totally worth it.  Not saying this is an everyday meal.  Far from it.  It is complicated to make (3 different butter sauces), but incredibly tasty.  i made this for just Jackie and myself.  next time I have a fancy dancy dinner party for 6, this will be on the menu.  just as much work, may as well show off.


Here's what I did...


1/4 cup Clarified Butter (recipe to follow)
2 - 6 ounce Red Snapper Fillets
1/2 cup Herbsaint Garlic Butter (Oh my, this is amazing recipe to follow)
1/2 pound medium size shrimp, peeled deveined and tails removed
2 TBS "Not your Grandmother's herbes de Provence" (my recipe, they used oregano, thyme and basil)
pinch of red pepper flakes
freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
1 cup canned peeled and diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup Beurre Blanc sauce (recipe to follow


OK, here's how to make clarified butter -
It's actually very easy.  Clarified butter is simply butter with the solids removed.  Without the solids, the butter can withstand much higher heat.  In a small sauce pan, melt a stick of butter over low heat until it is completely melted.  remove from the heat and allow it to cool.  On top will be a few floating bits of solids, spoon those out (I dumped that on the shrimp... don't want to waste any of the flavor).  The remaining solids sink to the bottom.  The almost clear yellow liquid in the middle is the clarified butter.  Just carefully pour only that part into a dish and save for later (and dump the rest of the solids on the shrimp!).


And here is how to make Beurre Blanc Sauce -
1/4 cup white wine
1 TBS shallots finely minced
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt (or heavy cream)
1 stick of butter
1 TBS Lemon Juice
place wine, shallots and yogurt in sauce pan and reduce over low heat by 1/4.  OK, I went off book for this.  I have found that when you are trying to emulsify, it is just easier and you always get consistent results if you do it in a blender... I moved the cooked sauce into the blender and added the butter just 1 tbs at a time while the blades are spinning... works like a charm!  Finally add the lemon juice and you have a beurre blanc sauce!


And here is how to make an absolutely AMAZING Herbsaint Garlic Butter.  
If you didn't know, herbsaint has an anise (got to be careful how you spell and pronounce that word) flavor.  Similar to Sambuca or black licorice. 
1 stick room temperature softened  butter
1/3 cup sliced green onions (including the green parts)
2 TBS Herbsaint 
4 cloves minced garlic
kosher sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Place everything in a bowl and whisk!




OK, once you have all this prep work done, you are finally ready to cook...


You are cooking in stages, so set the oven on warm and put your serving plates in to warm, as well as a couple of plates to hold your items as they cook...


Pour the clarified butter into a large saute pan.  it should cover the bottom by an 8th of an inch. heat over high heat and add the fish fillets without crowding them and watch them sizzle.  It is a beautiful thing in clarified butter, no burning, almost like frying in oil.  Saute for 2-3 minutes on each side until you feel they are done.  DO NOT OVERCOOK THEM.  they should flake.


When done, move them to the warming plates in the oven.  In the same pan, pour out the clarified butter and add the Herbsaint Garlic Butter.  Melt that and then add the shrimp.  Cook until all the pink is gone, but again, do not over cook.


Move those to the warming plates.  Pour out that butter and add the Beurre Blanc sauce.  Add the tomatoes and cook over medium heat for a couple minutes until everything is hot.  I did add some leftover green onions to the mix.  Not in the recipe, but certainly did not hurt.


And plate.  I did add the sweet potatoes.


Totally worth all the effort (on a special occasion).


Here's a few photos to give you a better idea about what I did...

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Easy Fast DELICIOUS Sweet Potato Mouse

OK, this is incredibly fast, easy and so incredibly tasty, you will pretend it took forever and 2 ingredients...


Only 2


I used 2 peeled sweet potatoes, I wrapped them in plastic wrap, microwaved them for about 3 and a half minutes.


They were so soft and easy to mash.  I put them in my kitchenaid with the whisk attachment.


I added...


1 small container of Greek yogurt.


And that's it.  Not complicated.  Reasonably healthy.  And delicious, beyond delicious... really.


Now, there are recipes out there, heavy cream, butter, honey, nutmeg, lots of ingredients.


Only 2 and you will love it.


BTW, these were a side dish for an incredibly complicated meal...


Fish fried in clarified butter
topped with shrimp poached in a herbasante' garlic butter
and tomato relish in a Beurre Blanc Sauce


Red Snapper Duarte ala Arnaud's Restaurant... But that's a post for tomorrow (my Fish Day!

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Greek Spinach Quiche with a Sweet Potato Crust

You will be asked to take a one question quiz at the end of this post...


But first, I am a week behind on my Vegetarian main course goal of at least one meal a week.  I made it 7 weeks in a row, but got distracted last week.  As I announced a week ago, I am ankle deep (well, over my head truth be told) on a new career.  A week from yesterday (God willing), I will be making an announcement about my new life.  march 8... An important date this year...


Fat Tuesday, day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lint and the end of Mardi Gras season


My birthday (I feel a little like I am 8 years old again, starting that first paper route back in my little hometown of Pekin, Illinois.  So much time walking the 6 blocks on my first delivery route.  So much time to plan how I would invest my 15 cents per weekly (only 6 days a week, back then, we rested on the Sabbath) delivery.  I still remember the stats... 36 families got home delivery.  $5.40 for a week's work (plus tips, some families gave me a quarter and just told me to keep it!!!)... It was all the money in the world.  But I digress)


CdSC (there's you a hint, the abbreviation of my new business) opens.


But I am digressing from the Quiche...

I love making a quiche.  Some days they are well planned out, and some days I am making a leftover meal of whatever I have partially cut up (like onions or peppers or ham or bacon).  With this odd combination, I will leave it up to you to decide if this was plotted or just came together when i opened my refrigerator.


Any quiche is just a baked egg custard dish.  you can add just about anything to it.  you do need some type of crust (I have used store bought, made my own, Substituted hash browns and now made my custard on a layer of mashed sweet potatoes.  like I said, some type of crust).  Much like a pizza, combinations are limitless.  Just assemble what you like, bake at 350 for about 40 minutes (or until the eggs cook solid and the center does not shimmy).


Hmmm... maybe next year after I finish the Pizza 2011 project, I should do a Quiche 2012 project... But I digress...


Here's what I did this time...

For the crust


1 LARGE Sweet potato
drizzle of Olive Oil
2 TBS Butter
1/4 cup Milk


For the filling


5 Eggs, whipped
1 cup Heavy Cream


1 bag (6 ounces) of raw Spinach (can substitute frozen of you wish), remove the stems
2 TBS Extra Virgin olive Oil
1/4 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup Sun Dried tomato Pesto (recipe to follow)
6 ounces Feta Cheese (herb and Garlic flavored)


Peel and slice the Sweet Potato.  Cut into 1/2 inch pieces, put in a covered baking dish, drizzle oil over the potatoes (lightly).  Roast covered for 1 hour at 375 degrees.  Use the fork test to check tenderness.


I use a Kitchenaid mixer, you could easily use a standard potato masher, but mash the potatoes, add the butter and milk and whip smooth.


Cook the spinach in the oil until wilted.


Whip the eggs, add the cream and whip some more.


Spread the whipped potatoes an even layer on the bottom and side of a deep pie dish.


Add 1/3rd of the egg mixture.
Add the Spinach
Add another third of the eggs
Add the Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Add the olives
Add 1/2 the crumbled Feta Cheese
Add the final third of the eggs
Top with the remaining crumbled Feta Cheese and Oregano
Few pinches of Oregano


Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the eggs stop jiggling and a knife can be inserted without bringing any goo up.


Enjoy!


Sun Dried tomato pesto recipe


1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Sundried tomatoes, packed in oil (comes in a jar)
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cups finely chopped Walnuts
4 clove Garlic, smashed and minced

So, I now leave it up to you... Well thought out recipe???


Or was I just cleaning out my refrigerator???


BTW... This came out tasting AMAZING!!!


here are a few photos to give you a better idea of what I did...

Meatless and Loving it!!!


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Zipped Up POT ROAST (SHHH, the secret is Tomato Juice)

Old school today.  No big reinvention, a pretty basic Pot Roast, cooked in a dutch oven, slow cooked for maximum tenderness.  I adapted a recipe I saw Emeril cook once.  I already gave the secret away, but my my my did it ever add to the taste!


Could not begin to recommend this recipe higher.


BTW, the beef was on sale.  It was going to expire the next day.  I bought it for just 69 cents a pound!!!  It pays to get to know your meat guy.  When he saw me, he pointed out the "deal"


Just braggin... Here's what I did...

5 pounds of COW!
Olive Oil (enough to brown roast)
Salt and Pepper (freshly ground


6 ounces Tomato Juice
Beef Stock to raise the liquid level to 1 inch shy of covering roast


4 large carrots, cut
4 potatoes, cut
2 onions... yes, I cut em
1 Bay Leaf and whatever spices you might like (I used 2 TBS of "Not Your Grandmother's Herbes de Provence")


Set your roast out for 1 hour to come to room temperature.  This allows the muscles in the beef to relax and allow the juices to soak into the meat (makes for a much more tender roast).


In a heavy frying pan, add the oil and heat to high, just shy of smoking.


Season the beef with the salt and pepper, top, bottom and all sides.


Brown the sides, top and bottom


Put in a heavy cast iron dutch oven , add the tomato juice.  Then add the vegetables around the sides.  then add enough beef broth to bring the liquid level up to within an inch of the top.


Add the spices.


Cover the Dutch Oven, and put in the oven, set at only 225 degrees to slow roast the meat.  Took about 6 hours at this temperature.  I used an instant read meat thermometer to make sure the meat reached 160 degrees.  DO NOT COOK BY TIME.  Use the meat thermometer.  Also, NEVER EVER EVER cut into the roast to check doneness.  All of the juices pour out and the meat gets very dry fast.


Once the meat has reached internal temp of 160, remove from the oven and wrap in aluminum foil for 20 minutes.  You can remove the Dutch Oven from the oven.  Leave the lid on and the vegetables will stay plenty hot while the meat rests.


Slice thin (another way to get the most tender meat), serve with a mix of the vegetables and pour a bit of the broth over the entire thing...


And call your Mother.  She used to make pot roast for Sunday supper.  Something about this makes me miss her.

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Pizza - Steak, Onions and Gorgonzola Cheese

If it's Monday, it must be the PIZZA 2011 PROJECT!


Just when you thought we had seen the worst of winter, we got a little reminder last week.  nasty cold, windy and more snow.  But in between the wee reminder and the 45 plus days we never got above freezing temperatures, I got a grilling session in!

Yesterday I posted about a Grilled Potato Souffle', inside that post was a basic "how to grill a rib-eye steak" instructions.  I certainly did enjoy a big, grilled, medium rare steak fresh form the fire!  But I also planned ahead, and cooked up an extra one just for this pizza.


It's hard to believe, but a year ago at this time, I was warm.  I was adjusting to living in the US Virgin Isles (St Thomas).  On of our fondest memories of the islands was pizza night at the hotel next to our condo.  Very convenient and one of the few bargains on the island.  $25 for a pizza and a bottle of wine.


One of their specialty pizzas became our favorite the first time we had it.  And this is it...

Steak, grilled onions and a wonderful Gorganzola (an Italian blue cheese) sauce, all over a base of a BBQ sauce.  Except for the view (this picture was taken at the restaurant, looking back over the bay towards our condo).... Anyway, except for the view, the live music they usually had, the warmth, the ocean and did I mention the warmth, anyway, except for all that, this home made pizza is actually better than the one served at the restaurant.  But wouldn't it be nice to be this warm again just for an hour...

but I digress... 


Here's how to make a Steak and onions with a BBQ and Gorgonzola Cheese PIZZA!


For the crust, I used  My "go-to" pizza dough recipe

For the  sauce, I used a bit (1/4 cup) of my Raspberry Chipotle home made BBQ sauce (feel free to substitute any BBQ sauce you might have around).


1-  6 oz steak cooked rare to medium rare (it will finish cooking as the pizza cooks, so on the more rare side), diced small
1 small onion (cut in half, the rings separated and lightly grilled to soften)
4 ounces Gorgonzola Cheese
2 TBS Heavy Cream

And we are ready to assemble the pizza...


Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

• In a small saute pan, heat the cream and add the crumbled cheese
• heat slowly until the cheese has melted
• Preheat oven and pizza stone (or heavy baking sheet) to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll your crust out on parchment paper to your likeness... Thin, Chewy or thick like a bread.
• Brush Olive oil around the edges to get a beautiful Golden Brown and Delicious looking crust.
• Salt and pepper the crust at this time
• layer the BBQ sauce
• Layer the steak and onions
• pour the cheese sauce over the steak and onions
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cheese starts to get that baked color.

Here's a few photos to give you a better idea...

Stay warm, March is just around the corner!


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Grilled Potato Souffle'

That's my souffle, up there in the corner... Really it is a souffle -


See...

Weather finally broke last week (just a trick though as we had 3 inches of snow the next day) with temperatures reaching the 70's!!!


So, Hi Ho Hi Ho, it's off to the grill I go...

A couple of nice thick rib eye's.  Just salt and pepper each side as seasoning (First grilling session in months, demands old school simplicity).  High heat, get the grill HOT HOT HOT... Rub the grill with a paper towel that has been soaked in Canola Oil (High burn temperature... much higher than Olive Oil).  Use your tongs to hold the paper towel so you don't burn yourself.  And then give it another few minutes so you are sure the grill is HOT HOT HOT.


Plop your steaks on for two minutes... Do not try to lift them.  They stick, but at the end of 2 minutes, they will lift easily.  After 2 minutes, lift them and make a 90 degree turn to get those diamond grill marks... 


OOOHHH AAAAHHHH Pretty


Flip them over and repeat on the other side.


That silver stick in the side of the steak is my remote prob thermometer.  Steaks are expensive and SOOOO GOOD when cooked to proper temperature.  Don't over cook them, don't guess, use technology and cook to an internal temperature to 135 degrees and NO more (a perfect medium rare).

OH, but wait... this post is supposed to be about a souffle'.  And a grilled souffle' at that.


Here's what I did...


First, Thanks to Miriam at THE WINTER GUEST.  Mirriam adapted this recipe and posted her version on her blog (cooked in an oven if you are not grilling yet).  Take a look at her beautiful photos and the original recipe by clicking HERE.


Of course I made a few changes.  Miriam is in Spain, there were a couple of ingredients that I did not have here in Kansas.

4 medium sized starchy potatoes
4 eggs
1 cup Swiss Cheese (grated)
2 TBS virgin olive oil for rubbing the potatoes
2 TBS butter
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
More virgin olive oil for frying the garlic
Salt and pepper

This is a twice baked potato recipe (well, once microwaved and then grilled, but the idea is the same).

First I microwaved the potatoes as instructed on the front of the microwave (potatoes and popcorn... why those two??? But I digress...)

Once they cooled, I sliced the top off and scooped out the meat of the potato, being careful not to puncture the outside.  I was going to use the potato as the vessel for the souffle' to rise out of.

While the potatoes are cooling, smash and mince the garlic.  Saute in hot oil for a few minutes to just barely browned.  This brings out flavors of the garlic into the oil.

Crack the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites.

Beat the yolks and mix with the potatoes.  Add the butter, cheese and garlic and mix well.  Salt and pepper to taste.

And now we make the souffle'... WHISK the egg whites (with just a pinch of salt) to stiff peaks.

CAREFULLY mix the whites with the potato mixture.  Slowly and carefully.  You do not want to deflate those whipped whites.  When mixed, scoop portions back into the empty potato shells.  There will be left over potatoes.  Use the rest in a ramekin or whatever you might want to serve them in as leftovers tomorrow. Fill the potatoes about 3/4 fill.  The souffle' will rise!

And off to the grill...

HOT HOT HOT... You are preheating the grill for the steaks, use it as an oven.  Find a spot on the grill that is INDIRECT heat.  NOT over the coals (or gas jets).  When the lid closes, you have a hot oven in those spots.

15 minutes later 

They will deflate about 3-5 minutes after you remove them from the grill, it's what souffle's do.  But if you time everything correctly - steak, souffle and I was reheating some leftover creamed spinach), you have one heck of a grilling experience.

As my wife said to our company that night...

Oh, he's just showing off.

Yep, a grilled souffle'