Tortilla Pizza Poppers

Happy 4th of July!  It's bazillion degrees out and the Thompsons are enjoying a day of rest and relaxation.  We tried to hold off on the grub-eating until the BBQ hour--but holding out all day is hard--we were STARVING.  We wanted something tasty and easy--enter, Tortilla Pizza Poppers.

They were the perfect hold-us-over until grill time; and with such success on this little idea; they'll certainly make their way into a party menu soon! 

Tortilla Pizza Poppers

Tortilla Pizza Poppers

Ingredients:

Soft tortilla (or burrito) shells

Pepperoni 

Pizza/Pasta sauce

Mozzarella cheese 

Fresh basil-finely chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Using a regular-size muffin pan, lightly coat it with nonstick spray. You're going to stuff the tortilla shells into these--so you want them to slide out easily.  Lay the tortilla shell on the counter--using a large cup/bowl (with the lip a little larger than the size of the muffin tin hole) and use it to cut out circles.  I found just laying it on top the shell, applying pressure, and rocking it back and forth a few times worked.  I managed 2 circles per tortilla shell.

Once you have the tortilla shells cut, place them in the muffin tins--one per hole.  Put about 1-2 Tbs. of pasta sauce in each muffin slot.  (I use one, this depends on your taste!)  Layer 1-2 pepperoni's per muffin, and top with cheese, finely chopped fresh basil and salt/pepper. 

Place in oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes--or until cheese is melted, slightly golden and edges are starting to crisp/brown.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.  Gently slide out with spoon--and enjoy! 

The Boss loved these, as did I--and they've held us over until the grill heats up.  YA!

Summer Favorite: Grilled Rosemary Dijon Chicken

Grilling is synonymous with all things summer.  There's something about the whole process that takes me back to the town I grew up in, the house on Jackson, and my dad grilling on a Saturday night, after having spent the day doing yard work--ensuring that every inch of our, and our neighbor Carolyn's yard were perfectly manicured.  He'd grill, Carolyn (who was well into her 80's) would meander over in her pajamas, housecoat and carrying her purse (seriously, that happened, she was like Sofia from the golden girls), we would all eat--and sit on the porch, enjoying the peace of summer nights and lightning bugs dance. 

I love those memories.

It seemed only fitting that since the Boss and I had some yard work to accomplish today, I'd end-cap the day in the traditional Palmer fashion--by grilling.  Only snafoo--we don't actually have an outdoor grill yet.  Lucky for us, we do have the best cast iron grill for our gas stove--and I know just the secret to making it brew with all the goodness of an outdoor beast.

Grilled Rosemary Dijon Chicken w/ Lemon

Chicken Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts.  (you can use skin on, but I do skin off)
• 1/2 cup dijon mustard, whole grain
• 2 lemons
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp ground red pepper
• salt & pepper

Chicken Directions:

Zest the 1 lemon.  Save the zest, cut the lemon in 1/2 and juice.  In a small bowl, mix the mustard, lemon juice, zest, garlic, rosemary, pepper.  Loosen the mixture up a bit with 1-2 Tbs EVOO (how much you use depends on how thick your mustard is and the juice of the lemon-so just eyeball it).   In a small pan, add the chicken, and pour 3/4 of the mixture over the breasts.  Save the rest in the refrigerator for later.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour--up to overnight.   When you're ready to grill, take the meat out and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.   

Heat your indoor grill on medium-high.  Place both pieces of chicken down (skin first) and let grill for 5-6 minutes.  Flip and cook for another 5.  Now, here's the trip to outdoor-grillin' taste.  Grab a large metal cake pan.  After you've cooked both sides for about 5 minutes, baste the chicken with the remaining 1/4 of the marinade you saved, and then cover the meat with the pan.  

Chicken & Lemons grilling under pan.

The pan acts like the lid of the outdoor grill, trapping in the heat and flavor.  While you have the pan on, take second lemon, slice in 1/2 and put it face down on the grill.  (warning, you're house will smell amazing!)  Let this cook for an additional 5 minutes, remove lid, flip meat, and cook for another 4-5 minutes.  Check the temp of the meat--it should be about done--if not, cook until 165 degrees.   Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before eating.  Drizzle grilled lemon over chicken before eating!

Roasted Rosemary Garlic Potatoes

Potato Ingredients

• 3 of each: red creamer, white creamer and purple potatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 3-4 TBS EVOO
• Dash of onion salt
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Dice potatoes into quarters.  Throw in glass baking dish, add garlic, rosemary, onion salt and EVOO.  Mix until well combined.  Add salt and pepper.  Bake at 375 for about an hour, tossing occasionally.  Set oven to broil on high, and let potatoes broil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You want the broiler to help crisp up the edges, brown them nicely, but not char.  Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt. 

After a long days work in the yard, and a fantastic storm from mother nature--this meal was the best end to a weekend.  The Boss said the chicken was amazing--and the potatoes were the best he'd ever had.  Win.  

All we need now is an elderly neighbor who's willing to let us do her yard, cook for her, and will wear her pj's over to hang out--and we're golden.  

Chicken and potatoes before serving.

Pepperoni Casserole

It has been a zillion years since my last post, I know.  I blame it on a jillion things--a list that I'm happy to post, but I'm guessing that's not why you checked in with your favorite food blog.  Excuses aside, I can't apologize enough to you faithful readers who have emailed, texted and wondered if I has given up on the cooking.

I assure you, it's anything but! 

In fact, a lot has happened over the past few months of blogcation--the biggest of which has been our move to the new house.  A house that has....you guessed it,  A PROPER KITCHEN!  Seriously, the granite countertops, the island, the oh-so-powerful gadgets and more cabinets than a girl could ask for has made me one haaapy lady.  I'm so happy in fact, that I've threatened to sleep in the kitchen.  I'd curl up on my travertine floors, rest my head on that Maddsters pillow, and dream of my own cooking show.  It's that freakin' fantastic.  (Note: I may take this entire statement back after a few months in said kitchen--remember where I'm coming from, a teeny-tiny, 2 foot apartment kitchen that was good for only making cereal..)

Said fancy-pants kitchen has allowed me to unpack all my kitchen gadgetry that has been in storage, along with my fun bowls, nifty chargers, and best of all--my garlic press.  Oh, how I've missed you Williams Sonoma gadgets!  It has also inspired me to spice up the kitchen and really enjoy our first home...which brings me to tonight's dinner!

Pepperoni Pasta Casserole! 

Inspired by a need for an easy meal, and some downtime between getting home and dinner--this was the creation.  The hubbs agrees, it's a keeper.  It's also ridiculously easy, and kid friendly.  In fact, if you had individual casserole bowls, you could make this a "build your own" with kids, and they'd have a ball.  

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (It's saucy, so make sure you like it!)

1/2 box, or about 2 cups of your favorite pasta-cooked al dente.  (I used bowties and shells, cause that's what we had.  Don't forget to salt liberally while cooking!)

2 cups of mozzarella cheese, grated.

1 cup of feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup of asiago cheese, shredded

30 pepperoni slices

Fresh basil

Directions:

Brown ground beef and drain.  Return beef to skillet, add pasta sauce and warm over low heat.

Cook pasta al dente.  Drain.

In 8 by 8 glass casserole pan, layer the following (in this order):  meat/sauce,  pasta, mozzarella, feta cheese, pepperoni slices.  Repeat this 2-3 times (depends on how thick you want the layers.)  On top layer, spread pepperoni and top with asiago cheese. 

Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until pepperoni is crispy and cheese is golden.  Remove from oven, let sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing.  Top with fresh cut basil. 

Now, you'll have to take my word for it, because I slacked on the pictures--but it looks like gooey heaven of pasta/pizza-ness.  It was gone in about 20 minutes. 

De-lish!

To top it all off, the amaze-balls dishwasher is quietly washing all my dishes at a perfect 99 degrees..and its as silent as can be. 

Ahh, bliss.

Basic Dinner Re-Do's: Keepin' It Fresh

Do you have dinner items that seem to make a reoccurrence at your dinner table all the time?  If you're a budget-minded family, that item is most likely chicken as it is in my house.  I have a love/hate relationship with it--it's so darn inexpensive that I can't help but buy it.  I love the cost.  However, it is pretty basic and hard to really make interesting.  I hate the blah-ness.

As of late, I've been focusing on how to keep the basic meals interesting--kick them up a notch, make the special and above all--different.

Armed with my chicken breast (and a plug for Omaha Steaks-which we started using earlier this year and are 100% in love with--we find the most amazing inexpensive deals there, high quality and it's shipped to us!  Score!) and a house of staples--the challenge tonight was to make it different. (But not so different that my picky husband wouldn't eat it!)

I started with two-day brined chicken breast.  Why two-day?  Because I planned for a Wed. meal and ended up going out for dinner...luckily, double-brining the bird isn't going to kill you.  It will, however, make it a bit more salty, so be forewarned and don't use salt when you cook.   I also decided to use the rest of my black (squid ink) pasta this evening.  We've really embraced this at the house--it has a similar taste, cooks in 3 minutes and just makes us feel a teeny-tiny-more-fancy.  The outcome was a good basic re-do that was pretty light on the budget and calories.

Anti-BBQ, Grilled Chicken &

 Black Pasta w/ a Pinot Grigio reduction 

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts, brined (slow, 24 hours in basic salt brine)

1/4 cup BBQ sauce (I use memphis style)

2 Tbs. Worchesteshire Sauce THICK

1 Tbs. Soy Sauce

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar 

2 cups black pasta

1/4 cup green peppers (chopped, fine)

1 carrot, julienne cut

2-3 garlic cloves minced

1/4 cup pinot grigio

4 Tbs. olive oil (I use a basil infused one for this recipe)

black pepper

Directions:

In a large saute pan, bring 2 Tbs olive oil to heat, add garlic cloves and let cook for about 1 minute, or until aroma hits you.  Add peppers and carrots, reduce heat and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stir occasionally.  In a large pot, bring to boil water (with salt!) and add pasta.  Cook per directions--but do not drain/rinse.  In saute pan, add pinot grigio, bring to boil, reduce heat and let simmer until reduced.  (I add additional olive oil at this time, so it simmers with the wine)  Once the sauce has reduced and is a little thicker, add pasta, stir and keep on low heat to keep warm.

For the chicken: whisk BBQ sauce, soy, worchesteshire and balsamic together.  Remove chicken from brine, and set in pan, pour mixture over and let sit for 5-10 minutes prior to cooking.  Remove from sauce and immediately place on hot grill, cooking 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked throughout.

Serve chicken atop pasta--and sprinkle with a bit of grated cheese!  

Crusted Salmon & Black Tie Squid Pasta

Have you ever ran across something in the grocery store that you're just drawn to?  Something out of the ordinary that you just don't know about, but yet, you feel compelled to buy it?  I happens to me all the time.   It is ALWAYS something obscure too.  Speck. Check.  Celery Root. Check.

Despite their oddities, I've learned that they are, indeed, good for daily cooking and are very similar to things I already use--but fun substitutes!  Speck, much like pancetta-I use them interchangeably. Celery Root, is similar to a potato, and I've made oven fries and mashed them like potatoes.

Inspired by my love of odd things, and a black bag of pasta that called my name at my favorite market, tonight's recipe was born:  crusty salmon and squid pasta.  (So, it's not actually MADE of squid, but squid ink is used to die the pasta black.)

Crusted Salmon & Black Tie Squid Pasta

Salmon Ingredients (serves 2):
2 fresh salmon filets, skin on
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 sprigs of tarragon
salt/pepper to taste

Black Tie Pasta Ingredients:
1/4 lb black pasta
1 thick slice of pancetta, finely diced, about 1/2 cup
3 Tbs high quality extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small jar artichoke hearts, roughly chopped, with juice reserved.
1-2 Tbs dry white cooking wine

Directions: 
About 2 hours before cooking; place salmon on a well-sprayed cooking pan, flesh down, skin up.  Evenly spread room-temperature butter on skin, coat entirely.  Place salmon back in the refrigerator for 2 hours.  This time in the cold will firm up the salmon and the butter.  Cold butter = crispy skin.

For the pasta "sauce":
In a medium sauce pan, bring 1 Tbs oil to heat and add pancetta.  Let simmer, stirring frequently until most of the fat has rendered off.  (about 3-5 minutes)  Add garlic and stir frequently, let cook for 1 minute and add shallots & remaining olive oil.  Stir and bring up to heat.  Add artichoke hearts, juice and bring to heat.  Add white cooking wine and bring to slow boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer, add salt and pepper to taste.  Let the sauce reduce by about 1/2.

While the sauce is reducing, remove the salmon from the refrigerator, sprinkle with salt/pepper and place tarragon sprigs on each skin.  Place under broiler until skin is crispy--about 5-8 minutes.

With sauce reducing, salmon cooking, bring water to boil and add pasta.  Cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, until al-dente.  Using a pasta ladle, transfer pasta directly to the sauce (do not drain) and toss well.

Remove salmon from broiler, serve.

I know, it sounds interesting, but I assure you, it tastes nothing like squid.  In fact, unless the kiddos find it cool that squid is in it, you could not even mention it--just call it halloween pasta.  The taste is similar to regular, the cook time is minimal and frankly, it put a grin the size of Texas on the Boss' face.  When that happens, I know I've stumbled up on something fantastic.

Wake-Up-Call Special

If you're anything like me (or desire to be), mornings are completely meditative.  It's the only time in the day that is solely mine.  I like my mornings to linger, and I wake up early so that they can.  The hubs sleeps in later than I do, but Maddox the mad-dog and I are up together and we make the most of some quiet time before we seize our day.  We wake, we walk, we shower, we grab our cup-o-joe and settle into the morning news with breakfast.

If anyone comes between me and my mornings, I'm not a happy camper. 

Because mornings are special, I always think that my breakfasts should be as well.  There's something about sitting down to a nice breakfast before you take on your day that puts you in a better mood and starts you off on the right foot. 

No time for special breakfasts you say?  NONSENSE!  I'm not suggesting you make pancakes, or eggs benedict every morning (although, if you do, can we please talk-I'll be visiting immediately!), but you can prepare a few little things that put a smile on your face, fill your tummy and make you feel as if you've already won the day. 

My individual breakfast casseroles are just that ticket.  Not only do I love them for their simplicity, but I love them for their ability to be customized, jazzed up, or as simple as the basic recipe I'm about to share.  One of my favorite things to do when we have overnight guests is take evening orders; make these bad-boys up, stick them in the refrigerator and in the morning, pop them in the oven before my guests wake.  When they do; they have an prepared-to-order breakfast that is sure to put a smile on their face.  (what's that you say, you're ready to come stay with me now?)

Wake-Up-Call-Special

Basic Ingredients: (serves 4 individual pots)

4 eggs

1 can of cream of potato soup (you can sub cream of celery, chicken or mushroom to taste, but I find potato is a good base that everyone likes)

4 slices of bread (I use whatever I have left in my kitchen, this works well with ANY bread type; even leftover hamburger/hotdog buns!)

3 Tbs whole milk

1 cup shredded cheese (I use a parmesan/reggiano mix; but you can sub cheddar or any easily-melted cheese you have)

1 tsp garlic salt

1 small scallion, finely diced

salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together, whisk for about 2 minutes.  (Yes, it's that easy!)  Prepare 4 individual ramekins (6 oz) or small crock-pots (shown in picture) and pour mixture evenly into it.  Sprinkle a bit of cheese on the top of each.  If using bakeware with lid, place lid on.  If using bakeware without a lid, place a piece of loosely fitted foil on top to prevent the cheese from burning.

Place all pots on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Remove lids/foil and return to oven for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.  Remove from oven and serve with fresh fruit & a big glass or orange juice! 

Spice Up The Base!  (my suggestions on what to add--be creative!)

Finely diced onions

Breakfast sausage (brown the meat first, crumble into mixture before baking)

Bacon (cook before, crumble into mixture)

Finely diced tomatoes

Corn

Onions

Mushrooms

Pinenuts (yes!)

Blue Cheese 

Better than Best Burgers

Lately I've been on the perfection kick--mastering and fine-tuning every little recipe I have--which means the old ones have made their way out of hiding and my husband has had to try, compare and rate no less than 10 similar, though slightly-different chocolate chip cookies. (tough gig he's got there, right?!)

On the list of things to-make-perfect was hamburgers.  Juicy, not overcooked, flavorful and dripping with goodness burgers. Well, folks...we can check that off the list!  Perfection.  Pure perfection.

Before I get to the recipe, let me preface this with the disclaimer that I believe meat should taste like meat.  If you buy the best grade of ground beef and lightly season it, it'll do you justice.  I don't like to over-marinate meat, season too heavily or get to crazy with burgers--especially a plain-jane one that people are going to doctor up to their own liking.  Get the base right and people will be thrilled, that's my take.

With that said; this flavorful burger is better than ones I've paid a pretty penny for--and darn it if the hubs didn't ask for seconds.

Better than Best Burger (serving is for 2; double as needed)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (90%)
1 egg yolk
1 Tbs. steak sauce (I use whatever is on sale; or in my pantry; this is with A1)
salt and pepper
Cold, unsalted butter, 2 small patties.

Directions: 
Crank the grill up!  I use a cast-iron, stovetop one and am basically in love with it.   Whatever indoor/outdoor grill you use, make sure it's HOT.

In a medium bowl, break up the ground beef.  Add the egg yolk, steak seasoning and mix, gently with a fork.  (The key to this part is to not "do" too much to the meat, don't break it down much, just make sure all the ingredients are incorporated.)  Liberally season with salt and pepper.  Form into 2 patties.  Make an indention in the center of both patties, and place one patty of butter in each.  Form the meat back over the butter so that it's completely encapsulated by the meat.

Place directly on a hot grill--and let cook for 3-5 minutes per side; to your tasting.  Remove, let stand for 5 minutes and serve.

Bet you didn't think we were adding butter to a burger, did you?!  I know, crazy.  For me, I don't like a medium-rare burger, it's counter-intuitive to everything I've ever learned about ground beef--which is cook well.  I also don't like a well-done burger because it's so tough.  The key here is add a bit of fat, which will help the burger cook, keep it moist and add a fantastic layer of flavor to it.  Top your burger with all the fixings your heart desires.