If It's Sunday It Must Be Pizza?

Bad blogger. We have been eating dinner every night but the heat has made eating seem more like a chore. So this is my first blog post since last week. And what did I make tonight?

Pizza! It's just one of those traditions I grew up with that I can not seem to kick. Tonight we had onion, bacon and zucchini pizza. It was delicious and the best way I know to end a fantastic weekend.

Penne with Sweet Summer Vegetables, and Herbs

I had this recipe saved from 2012. I feel bad that I waited this long to make it. What a fantastic summer dish. All the vegetables were purchased at Coles Farm Stand. Roasting them they had even more flavor. They were tender and caramelized. The recipe originally appeared on the Food52 site. I did make a couple of little changes. Here is the link to the original recipe. What I did differently, to begin with, was  to cut the recipe in half. For the ingredients, I did not have a full pint of cherry tomatoes so I used a nice big ripe tomato. I did not use the garlic and I was out of pine nuts. And the best part was that Chris loved this dinner.  (Shhhh, this was a meatless meal!)

Summer Tart with Zucchini, Tomato, and Bacon

Did you know that if you put bacon in anything it just might taste better? I love making tarts. Yeah, it's all about the crust. Well, the funny thing about this one was the crust was not perfect. I do not know what was done incorrectly but it was not as easy to work with as it always is. I used my usual recipe, the only difference was I added fresh thyme to the dough. Perhaps it was the weather?

Anyway, a troublesome crust was not about to stop me from making this tart. I sauteed Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Patty Pan Squash in a little olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Also sauteed some shallots and onions.

I rolled out the crust into a kind of a rectangle. I brushed the crust with Dijon mustard. I had seen that done on a recipe somewhere online. It was the perfect addition. I put some sliced cheddar down on top of the mustard and then layered on the vegetables. Next I added sliced tomatoes. An heirloom tomato, a yellow tomato, and a variety of cherry tomatoes. I topped the tart with cooked bacon.

The tart went in a 375˚ oven for about 35 minutes, until the crust began to brown but not burn.
This was a perfect summer dinner along with a simple green salad.

Three Pork, Three Zucchini, Three Onion and Three Cheese Pizza

 See if you can guess who had which half of the pizza? 

Chris had the half that had the bacon, prosciutto, and pork tenderloin. 

My half had zucchini, yellow squash, and pattypan squash. There was a shared layer of sauteed shallots, onions, and scallions. And there was also Parmigiano, shredded Mozzarella, and Fresh Mozzarella.

So What Are You Making For Breakfast?

The weekend started off with making Chocolate Pudding for the first time. Today I made my first batch of Granola. It has been on my bucket list forever. Everyone does have a food bucket list, right?

I saw a recipe that I was going to try on the NYTimes Cooking site. The recipe I found was called Eleven Madison Park Granola. At  the restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, in Manhattan, guests are presented with a small gift: a jar of granola. The Eleven Madison Park recipe called for things like pistachios, and pumpkin seeds. This being a week in between paychecks did not allow for either item to be purchased. I happened to have walnuts and unsalted sunflower seeds. Easy substitution. Instead of dried sour cherries, I opted for dried blueberries.

I loved the results. Chris loved the results. Granola is a pricey item at the store but this was very inexpensive to make. Okay, I did have everything on hand already but I did not need pistachios or hazelnuts or Macadamia Nuts or Pepitas (I had no idea how expensive they were!). Next time I will go to a store that sells macadamia nuts, pistachio, pepitas, and hazelnuts in bulk. That would be more cost effective. And buying in bulk allows you to buy the amount you need and gives you the option for trying something different.

I tried some on top of vanilla yogurt. I added some fresh blueberries too. Delicious. There was a taste of sweetness and a little bit of salt. I am sold. This is something that will be in a jar on the counter on a regular basis! Chris requested this in place of his name brand Granola bars. It's just another way to try to lead a healthy lifestyle. When I was looking around for recipes I visited the Nuts.com site. Lots of choices there. I found lots of ideas on the 25 Healthy Snacks page. There are Snacks For Work. And Snacks For the Movies, I like the bring your own snacks section. A No Bake Pistachio Cookie! Who needs popcorn!

Don't Break the Bank Granola -

Ingredients-
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup shelled walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp cup maple syrup
2 tbsp cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dried blueberries

Method-
Preheat oven to 300. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, walnuts,  sunflower seeds and salt.

In a small saucepan set over low heat, warm the sugar, syrup and olive oil until the sugar has just dissolved, then remove from heat. Fold liquids into the mixture of oats, making sure to coat the dry ingredients well.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and spread granola over it.

Bake until dry and lightly golden, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring granola a few times along the way. During the last 10 minutes add the shredded coconut. Stirring it a few times during the last 10 minutes (the coconut can burn so keep an eye on it).

Remove granola from oven, and mix into it the dried blueberries. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a storage container. Makes about 3 cups.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Yeah, dinner was an amazing grilled pork tenderloin which I should write about. But we are doing dessert first tonight. It was that good!

I had a small portion of pate brise in the freezer. I blind baked the crust and then I did something I have never done before. I made chocolate pudding from scratch. I am so sorry for all the times I used the mix. This was so damn easy and honestly so damn good. I found the recipe on the Cooking Light site. I made 1/2 the recipe because heaven forbids I have leftover pudding, rookie mistake. This was such a treat. I made sure I did not over eat at dinner so I could have the pie. Really good planning. Here is the link for the pie filling. Please never use those little boxes of pudding mix again.

Now about Grilled Pork Tenderloin. It was so tender and flavorful. I put the tenderloin in a brine of 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp salt with water for about an hour. I rinsed and dried it. I made a Rosemary Orange glaze from FineCooking.com. On the FineCooking site, they gave directions for grilling the tenderloin. 7-6-5. 7 minutes on the first side. 6 minutes on the second side. And 5 minutes with the grill off and the cover down. Not bad! But I would change it to 8-7-6. Just scared of raw pork! Long story....

Almost forgot the Green Bean Salad. My Mom's recipe. Olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Simple and delicious.

Pasta and Zucchini Salad

I had some leftover grilled zucchini from last night's dinner. That was the starting point for this salad. I had read a recipe on the New York Times Cooking site from the cookbook "Plenty" by Yotam Ottolenghi. I used that recipe as the base. I omitted a couple of ingredients. The link above will bring you to the original recipe. Here is my take on it -

Ingredients-
Leftover grilled zucchini
1 cups basil leaves, shredded
1/4 cup parsley leaves
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
6 oz penne pasta
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp capers, drained
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 oz buffalo mazzarella, torn into chunks
Salt
Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper

Method-
Cut the leftover grilled zucchini into small cubes. Set aside.

In food processor, combine the basil, parsley and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and process until smooth. (I think this could have been completed by just chopping the herbs and mixing them with the oil, salt and pepper instead of dirtying the food processor).

Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente; drain and rinse under cold water. Return the pasta to the pot and add the zucchini, basil sauce, lemon zest, capers, mozzarella, and vinegar. Stir together and season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.

There's a New Corn in Town

Last week Chris came home with produce from another farm stand in town. Cole's Farm Stand. Sorry Jake but the corn is amazing! Tonight we had the white corn. Nice sized kernels.  So tender and each kernel burst with flavor.

Speaking of bursting with flavor, we also tried a new hot dog tonight. Ferraro's Hot Dogs. Yeah,  I went to Ferraro's Market at lunch. Such a nice store! My sister, Lenore,  knew someone who said that Ferraro's Hot Dogs were better than Hummel's. Now in this neck of the woods that is a pretty bold statement. Bold and true. No after taste or weird hot dog taste. They had a nice snap. I even had 2 hot dogs!

Barley and Roasted Vegetable Salad

Can you eat too much eggplant? No Chris, you can not.  I found this recipe on a blog that I love, Jul's Kitchen. This recipe was very well received. And there is plenty for lunch this week. I tweaked the recipe a bit but this is close to what was on Jul's Kitchen blog.

Ingredients-
200 g of Pearl Barley
2 medium zucchini
1 eggplant
6 cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of pitted black olives
Salt
Dried oregano
Fresh basil

Method-
The barley was cooked according to the package directions.  I diced the eggplant, the zucchini, and the cherry tomatoes and placed them into a pan with extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt. The vegetables were cooked over medium heat, stirring often, until they soft, golden and well cooked.
Next, I added the barley, the sliced pitted olives and a sprinkle of dried oregano, toss and season with salt. I tossed the salad with a little olive oil and lemon juice. I finished it with a garnish of fresh basil and serve warm. 

Just A Perfect Day!

I am not a fan of the Facebook feature, Today's Memory, or whatever it is called. But this morning I woke up I checked my email and Facebook before getting out of bed and the memory Facebook was sharing was our first Smithereens concert. It was a video of the song Only A Memory. At that moment I knew today was going to be great day.

I was firming up this weeks menu. Archie has to put his two cents in. Yes, we will have chicken.

Off to Bishops for veggies. Heading to Stop and Shop for the rest of the list and I noticed a Grand Opening sign. Ferraro's Market was open!! I was not sure of what the store would be like. I heard that you had to order online and then you picked up your order at this location. Well, they sell every cut of meat there. I was so freakin' happy it was as if I walked into Macy's and they were having a 75% off sale on Birkenstocks. I picked up a Delmonico Steak Boneless Rib Eye Family Pack for $14.00. That was 3 steaks, I was thinking ahead to Sunday morning breakfast. Steak and Eggs anyone?

The steak was the best steak I have ever had. It was like butter. Melted in your mouth.

For a side dish I made a Shaved Zucchini Salad from Bon Appetit. I used Patty Pan Squash and Zucchini. I used Feta in place of the Parmesan.

And this afternoon I made a jam with blueberries, blackberries, vanilla and sugar. That's it. Just those 4 ingredients. More on that in tomorrows post.

Well, if you make jam you have to make English Muffins too. Right? 

This was a perfect Saturday that started with the Smithereens and ended with Marky Ramone's blitzkrieg & Andre W.K. Live in Rome!! This is what I bake to on a Saturday night. Rock on!