Pizza Margherita

Caprese salad is one of my very favorites. I love how the sweet summer tomatoes pair with the light, salty fresh mozzarella and the bright, pungent basil. Did you know that basil was originally from India (according to the wiki)?I didn’t either! That’s probably because it’s best known for being in Italian cooking. It’s a close relative to the mint plant, but had a more anise flavor (liquoricey– yep, it’s a word – I just made it up!). Can you tell I love basil? I digress. When you take those same ingredients you use to make a caprese salad and put it on a pizza, it transforms magically while in the oven into Pizza Margherita. Pretty fancy, right? Thought so. The best part about this pizza is that all you need is five simple ingredients. If you want to make your own pizza dough, feel free to, but I like to buy the premade dough from Trader Joe’s here to save time (to save even more time, you could buy a totally premade crust such as Boboli). Also, if your store doesn’t carry garlic oil, you can make your own in a snap. Just heat a quarter of a cup of olive oil to a pan over medium low heat and add two smashed cloves of garlic and cook for eight to ten minutes or until the garlic has browned a bit infusing it’s flavor into the oil. Remove the garlic cloves and allow oil to cool slightly and viola, garlic oil. If you’re feeling really, super fancy, you can make your pizza on the grill, but today I’m going to be using a pizza stone in the oven. If you don’t have a pizza stone, a baking sheet will work just fine. Enjoy with a generous squirt of sriracha and red pepper flakes.

What You Need:

1 – 16 oz ball of pizza dough (I used whole wheat)
8 oz fresh ovoline mozzarella packed in water, drained, dried & sliced into ¼” pieces
1 ½ large tomatoes, sliced into ¼“pieces & pressed between paper towels
2 - 3 Tbs basil chiffonade (thinly sliced – to taste)
2 Tbs garlic oil

Salt and pepper (optional – to taste)
cornmeal for pizza stone (if using)
flour for dusting

What To Do:

Heat your pizza stone in a 425* oven for 15 – 20 minutes. This ensures that the crust will be nice and crisp on the outside, but doughy on the inside. For best result, take your dough ball out of the fridge while the pizza stone heats (about 20 minutes). Once your dough has come to temperature, roll it out on a well floured surface to about a 12” round.

Remove the hot pizza stone from the oven and sprinkle with cornmeal to prevent sticking.

Gently transfer your dough onto it and pierce with a fork all over to prevent bubbles while it bakes.


Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until barely browned. Keep your eye on it as you don’t want it to overcook (you’ll be baking it again with toppings).

After the crust has prebaked, remove from the oven, brush with garlic oil and top with tomato and cheese slices. Season with salt and pepper if using. Bake for an additional 12-15 minutes or until cheese has melted and the crust is nicely browned.

Remove pizza from oven and top with fresh basil chiffonade.

Serve with red pepper flakes and hot sauce.














Makes 8 slices.

Print this recipe!

**Edited to add: Here are the nutritional stats for 1 slice.**

Bon Appetit!
Mary


**Cook’s Note: On the tomatoes: make sure you really get as much liquid as you can out of the tomatoes. If not, the liquid in them will make your pizza soggy. On the basil: if you don't want to chiffonade, you could simply chop it up to whatever size you desire.**



Soba Noodle Pasta Toss with Edamame and Tomato

Don’t hate me, but it was about 76* and sunny today and I had to break out this oldie but goodie that I didn’t get to post about during the summer because all I am craving tonight is chilled salad. The day I created this recipe was an absolute scorcher! The hottest day of the year thus far… Coming in at an almost record high of 108* today. Cooking something hot was the last thing on my mind and I wanted something heartier than a salad. I dug around in the back of my pantry among the ‘I’m open, use me’ pastas and found some buck wheat soba noodles. I instantly knew that I was going to want this salad to have Asian flavors and some serious heat. What can I say…? I am a glutton for punishment. Although I used soba noodles here, whole wheat pasta (or whatever pasta or grain you like) would work well here. Same goes for the tomato. If you have plum, beefsteak, cherry, roma tomatoes, use those. This chilled vegan salad is packed with heaps of protein, antioxidants and fiber all while not heating up your already hot kitchen. What’s your go to meal when you don’t feel like something hot for dinner ?

What You Need:

3 servings – 6 oz soba noodles, cooked in vegetable broth according to package and drained
1 ½ cups cooked and shelled edamame
1 cup cooked red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (any bean would work here)
1 cup on the vine tomato (2 small), chopped
1/3 cup red onion (1/3 med onion), thinly sliced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped



Wisk Together for the dressing:
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp honey (or to taste)
Juice and zest of ½ lime
1 tsp sriracha hot sauce (or to taste)
¼ - ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

What To Do:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Serve at room temperature or chilled.



Serves 3 as an entrée or 6 – 1 cup servings



Bon Appétit!
Mary

Cabernet Meat Sauce

I have been wanting to make a homemade meat sauce for ages as it is one of my husband's favorites meals. Today the weather cooled down a bit and a spaghetti night on the back porch was starting to sound great, so I picked up the essentials at the market. Unlike most of the recipes I post about, this one can’t be whipped up quickly, but what it lacks in speed, it makes up for in flavor.  Promise.  Any time I use meat in a red sauce, I can't resist adding some red wine to add just one more layer of flavor. So today I introduce my cabernet meat sauce. If you prefer to omit the wine, you could substitute broth in its place. Serve this sauce over long pasta or spaghetti squash with lots of red pepper flakes, Italian parsley and parmesan cheese if desired.

What You Need:

1 lb lean ground turkey (or ground meat of your choice)
2 – 28 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice (San Marzano)
1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
½ brown onion, very finely chopped
1 carrot, very finely chopped
1 cup cabernet sauvignon
3 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
1 bay leaf (dried or fresh)
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp kosher salt, divided
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, divided

Red pepper flakes, Italian parsley and parmesan cheese (optional)

What To Do:

Heat the oil in a large high sided skillet over medium heat and sauté onion and carrot for 6 minutes, adding the garlic during the last minute of cooking. Season with ¼ tsp salt and pepper.

Add turkey to the pan and turn up the heat to medium high. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon and season with remaining salt and pepper. Cook for 6 minutes.

Next, add tomato paste into the center of the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

Gently fold the tomato paste in with the meat mixture and add wine. Allow the alchohol in the wine to cook off for about 3-4 minutes or until thickened.

Carefully add the tomatoes. Using your hand or the back of a wooden spoon, break up whole tomatoes into small pieces.



Simmer sauce for 1 hour or until desired thickness.








Serves 4 - 6




Bon Appetit!
Mary

Quinoa Salad with Jalapeno Balsamic Dressing

My girlfriend Kim has a new little baby boy and I wanted to bring her some food that would be a healthy grab and go. This salad is filled with healthy fats, protein, fiber and antioxidants. The wiki says 'It (quinoa) is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron.' One serving of quinoa has 5 grams of (complete) protein and 3 grams of fiber. You can beef up the protein even more by adding one cup cooked edemame. Serve with freshly cracked black pepper.

What You Need:

3 cups cooked quinoa, prepared in chicken broth (1 cup uncooked)
1 cup pineapple, small dice
½ cup baby carrot, sliced
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup red onion, small dice
1 recipe jalapeno balsamic, recipe follows



What To Do:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably over night. The longer it sits, the better it tastes!



Serves 4


Bon Appétit!
Mary



Jalapeno Balsamic Dressing

What You Need:
½ jalapeno, diced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp pepper



What To Do:
Combine all ingredients in a small food processor or blender until smooth.