Tomato and Corn Pizza

Last week, Jade tagged me in a Getting-to-Know-You Challenge. So here it goes!

1) What was on your To-Do list today:

-Laundry. Clean towels have become a hot commodity at home, so this has got to get done tonight.
-Running! If you followed my 365 blog, which has been sadly neglected, you know Caitlin and I are training for an upcoming 5K. Trust me, in this heat, this is a big to-do that I'm dreading.
-File paperwork at work. Yuck!
-Try to menu-plan. I have such a hard time with this and I have got to figure out a system that works for me.
-Clean house. Although, this is a daily to-do that never seems to fully get done. :)

2) 5 Snacks you enjoy:

-Sargento cheese sticks and the White Cheddar cheese slices
-Peanut butter
-Thomas's bagel thins
-Chocolate
-Yogurt

3) 5 Places you have lived:

- Born in Southern Louisiana
- Mississippi until I was 8
- Home with my parents
- Sorority house (ADPi!) at University of Arkansas
- Little Rock, AR for a brief moment in time after college

4) What were you doing 5 years ago:

Five years ago, I was fresh out of college working at a job I hated in Little Rock. Frankly, I hated living in Little Rock because my family and friends were in Northwest and Western Arkansas. I was in a toxic relationship that I needed out of and thankfully came to my senses. Then I met Brian and remembered what I was looking for and needed in a man. Oh and I got my wonderful puppy, Jack.

5) 5 things you would do if you were a Billionaire:
- Travel! There is so much of the world to see and I want to go out and see it.
- Donate money to charity
- Build a bigger house with a HUGE kitchen!
- Pay of debt
- Take care of our families

Ok, now it's your turn! I'm going pass this challenge along to some fellow bloggers!

The Beaty's at Beaty Photography
Laura at a little bit of this...a whole lot of that
Meredith at A Work in Progress
Sarah at Adventures in Ava Land
Tyler at Rants. Raves. Ridiculous.

Now on to the food.

One of the magazines most Southerners are very familiar with would be Southern Living. My mom has subscribed to this for ages and I always remember looking at the recipes. In this year's July issue, I saw this pizza but kind of glazed over it.

Then I heard from a TON of people about how wonderful this pizza was. I figured I'd have to make it and see if it lived up to the hype. Even while I was putting it together, I thought to myself that there was no way this could be as good as everyone was saying.

Oh boy was it ever. It has just the right amount of salt and balanced nicely with the sweetness from the fresh corn. Please use fresh ingredients. Please. You will not be disappointed at all. Brian even loved it, even though he thought it was so weird to put corn on pizza.

Tomato and Corn Pizza
Source: Southern Living, July 2010

3 small plum tomatoes, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (14-oz.) package prebaked Italian pizza crust
Parchment paper
1/3 cup refrigerated pesto
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (From one medium ear of corn)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh whole or torn basil leaves

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450°. Place tomato slices on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; let stand 20 minutes.

2. Place pizza crust on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; spread with pesto. Stir together corn, Parmesan, and sugar. Top pizza with corn mixture, tomatoes, and mozzarella slices.

3. Bake at 450° for 14 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. Remove from oven, and top with basil leaves.


Printable Version

Cauliflower Fritters

It may come as no surprise that I'm a picky eater and have never been a cauliflower fan. However, I figured I would give it a try. I've been on a roll with trying new things that I have hated for all of my life. Tomatoes were a success. I even ate Fried Artichoke Hearts at Cheers in Little Rock and I'm still dreaming about them. I was doing so well and so why not be adventurous and go for cauliflower?

Well, at least I can say I tried it...

I'm still not a fan, but if you love cauliflower you will probably love this dish. Next time I'll just use some mashed potatoes instead.

Cauliflower Fritters
Adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray, October 2009

Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower (about 2 1/4 pounds), trimmed and chopped
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg, beaten
One 10-ounce bag salad greens
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1.Steam the cauliflower until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, mash and let cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, bread crumbs and egg, season with salt and pepper and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Roll 1/4 cupfuls into balls, then flatten into patties, to make a total of 12 to 14. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the patties until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Serve with the salad greens tossed in olive oil and the lemon juice.

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Whenever my dad experiments with a new recipe, he always says "We might be ordering pizza later."

This is what we ended up having for dinner after making these...

Happy Friday!

Bruschetta

When I saw Julie and Julia, I couldn't help but notice the bruschetta that Julia and her husband ate. I hate tomatoes and I was drooling over it! It seems as though I was not alone, and bruschetta has been popping up all over the food blog community.

Again, I absolutely hate tomatoes. Can't stand them. If a spaghetti or pizza sauce is a chunky one, the tomato chunks get pushed to the side of my plate. If we're at an Italian restaurant and they provide bruschetta, Brian always lucks out and gets an extra because I won't touch it.

Well, not anymore.

I'm officially a convert...at least for this dish. Jade and I had been talking about the bruschetta in the movie and she decided to make it. She and I share the same dislike for tomatoes, yet she loved the dish. She provided the courage for me to try it out and I'm so glad I did.

To test it out, I made five. Brian had three and I ate the other two, and we both were wanting more. Yay for tailgating season because it's getting made again on Saturday!

Bruschetta
Source: Jade as adapted from Delish

4 slices of Italian Bread or Baguette cut into 1/2 in thick slices
A variety of tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I used 4 Roma tomatoes to 1 vine ripe tomato)

1 clove of garlic
Basil, chopped
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon butter
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan Cheese
Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:
In a small bowl mix together the chopped tomatoes, basil, 1/2 the extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 the garlic clove, salt and pepper. The basil, salt and pepper will be to your taste. Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil, garlic and butter to the skillet. Allow the butter to melt. Place the bread in the skillet and allow it to get brown on both sides.

Remove the bread from the skillet. Spoon the tomato basil mixture on top of the 4 slices of bread. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and top with Parmesan cheese.

Mushroom Rigatoni

Hi everyone! Remember me? It seems that it's been ages that I've cooked anything! Probably because, it has been ages! The last thing I made was tacos from an Old El Paso kit. :)

So, where have I been? I've been in Little Rock, AR for one of my best friends/college roommate for 3 years/sorority sister's wedding. I had the lovely honor of being her Maid of Honor. I had to leave out of here Thursday after work so my kitchen has sat dormant since Wednesday night.

When I got back home last night, I was absolutely exhausted but drove my happy butt to Neighborhood Market to find inspiration for dinner. I had read this recipe and tried to remember what was in it while I was shopping.

This pasta dish was ok. Nothing too special and nothing I have to make again without some major tweaks. I think if I had made it the way the original recipe was written, it would have had more flavor. However, I couldn't not remember all of the ingredients. So below is what I did. Be sure to check out the original recipe and try that as well.

Mushroom Rigatoni
Adapted from Rachael Ray

1 pound rigatoni pasta
Salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 pound button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup dry Italian red wine
2 to 3 stems rosemary, stripped and finely chopped, a couple of tablespoons
Black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Parmesan Cheese

Directions
Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Add salt and cook rigatoni to al dente. Reserve about a cup of the pasta water in case the sauce is too thick.

Heat a large deep skillet with extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until shallot is soft. Add in the mushrooms and cook until brown and tender. Add wine and reduce a minute. Scatter the rosemary into the pan and turn to distribute the herb. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes. Add in some pasta water if the sauce is too thick.

Drain pasta and add to warm pot. Toss the pasta with the sauce and top with Parmesan cheese.

Skillet Lasagna

What may come as no surprise to you, I love lasagna. The little frozen Stouffer's lasagnas are what I lived on my Freshmen year of college. So, when I made lasagna for Brian the first time, guess what he said...

"I don't really like lasagna."

What?! No lasagna ever?? It was a very upsetting day, but I'm stubborn enough to not let that stop me from making lasagna. I just have to be creative.

Food Network Magazine came to my rescue in their last issue. There it was, staring at me, this beautiful skillet lasagna. It was an answer to my lasagna prayers. Plus it's a one pot meal so less cleanup! I used some short-cuts to make it easier on myself. And yes, while it is a one pot meal, I still dirtied up about 5 bowls in the prep work. Which leads me to another tip, get all of the prep done before you ever turn the skillet on. I also used Fresh mozzarella, which I don't think I will again. Fresh mozzarella has a ton of water in it and the water just seeped out in the sauce. So next time I will try it with a regular block of mozzarella to see the difference.

Skillet Lasagna
Adapted from Food Network Magazine

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil and/or parsley, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
6 sheets no-bake lasagna noodles
1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
1 zucchini, peeled into ribbons
1/3 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Directions
Heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic; cook until golden, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook, about 5 minutes. Transfer sauce to a bowl. Return 1 cup of the sauce to the skillet and reduce the heat to low; reserve the remaining sauce.

Meanwhile, mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan, the remaining 3 tablespoons herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl.

Place 2 lasagna noodles over the sauce in the skillet. Layer half of the carrot and zucchini on top; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with half of the ricotta mixture, a few pieces of mozzarella and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved tomato sauce. Repeat the layers, ending with noodles. Top with the remaining sauce and mozzarella. Cover and simmer until the lasagna is cooked and the cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes.

Let rest for a few minutes before slicing. Garnish with more parmesan and fresh herbs.

Vodka Pasta

Well, two non-pasta posts is progress right? Right?

One of my best friends, Jade, calls this dish my "staple." Pasta with a creamy sauce AND booze in one dish. Come on. How can you go wrong? I make it so often now, I don't even need a recipe. Which, by the way, I think everyone who cooks needs a go-to recipe. One that they don't even need to look up before they go to the store. One that does not need constant reference while cooking. It makes me happy to have those kinds of recipes.

Doesn't take much to excite me, can you tell?

Traditionally Pasta with Vodka Sauce, or Vodka Pasta as we call it, uses Penne pasta. I did not have any but I had the fun shape pictured above. Use whatever you have at home. And again, I use a shallot, but if you can't find it or just have a regular onion, use that.

Vodka Pasta
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 shallot, chopped finely
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 to 1 cup vodka
1 can tomato puree
1 cup half and half, or heavy cream
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound pasta
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, being careful not to overcook.
In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. Add in chopped shallot and garlic. Stir and allow to cook for two minutes. Pour in vodka. Stir and cook for three minutes. Add in tomato puree and stir. Reduce heat to low and stir in half and half or cream. Allow to simmer, being careful not to overheat. Stir in red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water in case sauce is too thick.
Add cooked pasta to the sauce, tossing to combine. Splash in a little water if it needs it. Pour mixture into large serving bowl.