BBQ Chicken Pizza

Around July 4th, you're supposed to inhale copious amounts of BBQ. Well mine has arrived in the form of pizzaaaaaa! Yes we're at it again - another pizza cooking adventure! This time a riff off of California Pizza Kitchen's world famous BBQ Chicken Pizza. (Who doesn't love this CPK treasure?!?!) I've been eating it for as long as I can remember. Lucky for me B is a big fan of it too. 

Anyways this was such an easy meal to whip up especially since I had a treasured Trader Joe's pizza dough in the freezer. (Note it comes refrigerated but I bought a few during my last visit for the sole purpose of freezing to see how they freeze. Still perfect after a defrost!) We made this pizza without a real amount of cheese but you can easily add that in. B wanted a little bit of cheese so our compromise was to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top once it was baked. The BBQ sauce, caramelized onions and chicken really have a lot of flavor so the traditional amount of cheese was not missed. Try it out today!

Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad

Two of my favorite vegetables - kale and brussels sprouts - wrapped into an easy to make salad. Win. Win. The recipe comes from Bon Appetit - I adapted it by adding dried cherries and skipping the cheese. Click to see the recipe on Bon Appetit. I served this yummy salad with some seasoned and ready to cook whole chicken from Whole Foods.

Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza

Well hellooooo! I might just get back to blogging after a nearly four year hiatus. The reason...this pizza! Hot damn this Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza (by the Savory Vegan) was one of the most delicious pizza I have ever made! (And I've made a lot of pizzas in my time).

We came to this pizza because B and I both love our veggies. We substitute veggies in place of meat in a lot of recipes. (But don't get me wrong I love a good steak and burger!) We also love pizza, but since I try to avoid dairy 98% of the time, I'm always looking for a good pizza without cheese. (Clearly I am in the camp that the best part about pizza is the crust and not the cheese...mmmmm bread, I love bread.) This buffalo cauliflower pizza hit the spot and B even remarked, "I don't miss the cheese!" We inhaled this pizza and already discussed other variations. Next up, Buffalo Chicken Pizza (the same as above but with chicken) and riffs on the California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza (one with chicken and one with cauliflower!)

p.s. I think my best move here was using Trader Joe's pizza dough - so much quicker than making my own from scratch.

See the full recipe here: Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza by the Savory Vegan.

Straw & Hay with Gorgonzola

Today's dish is a simple, rich, creamy and decadently delicious tagliatelle pasta courtesy of Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa aka my idol. After all she quit her life in DC, moved to a fabulous place and created a cooking empire. Understandably, I jumped at the opportunity to hear Ina speak about her new cookbook, Foolproof, right before the holidays. Like all of her other cookbooks, its well written and explains the best ways to get food to the table at the same time, and without error; and suggestions on her preferred cooking items, from appliance and tools to canned tomatoes and salts. 

So fast forward to the holidays and the testing of several Foolproof recipes including jambalaya, chocolate chip blondies, winter minestrone and today's post. Verdict? Amazing recipes with no complaints.

Baked Orzo with Vegetables and Mozzarella

This was a super easy recipe thanks to all the leftover grilled vegetables I had from the Grilled Caponata Salad with Cheesy Toast recipe. I made that first dish two days before Hurricane Sandy was coming and then as the weather reports got worse, I figured I should cook up all of the leftover grilled veggies in advance of the storm. So viola - I present baked orzo with vegetables and mozzarella. A great way to get an abundant dose of vegetables in your pasta.

Grilled Caponata Salad with Cheesy Toast

Delicious and easy way to use up all those fresh vegetables you overbought at the grocery this week! As a pseudo vegetarian, this dish is perfect. A variety of colorful, fresh vegetables char grilled served with some cheesy bread. If you need the protein, cook up some chicken, seafood or steak. The original recipe called for grilled flatbread but since I had none, I made my own grilled cheesy toast - ciabatta sliced up with olive oil, garlic and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

"Pick Your Own" Adventure: Hollin Farms

Goods from my first visit to Hollin Farm. Total Price? $25!

My new favorite trek outside of D.C is a scenic hour or so drive that ends in an amazing pick your own farm - Hollin Farm in Delaplane, VA. I only discovered this place last month after my friend Amy and I stumbled upon it after a failed attempt to visit another farm. Not wanting to drive back to the city, we started exploring and totally lucked out. If you like knowing where your food comes from - a pick your own farm like this is awesome! Acres and acres of vegetables and fruit at incredibly cheap prices compared to a grocery store.

Yes please, I would like this as my view every day

Snacks for the car ride...Apple Cider Donuts fresh from the farm

Cold Sesame Noodles with Summer Vegetables

While my work neighborhood has some great restaurants, who really has time to have a long drawn out sit down lunch? Not I! So I'm always looking for an easy lunch to take with me so I don't have to think about what to eat to fuel me through the day. Since its still somewhat warm out, I settled on this recipe because it looked super easy and was something different and light. Verdict? So easy to make, so colorful and full of texture. I love Sriracha so I added more than the recipe called for and didn't add the cilantro because I forgot to purchase it. Next time, I will add chicken or tofu to give it more of a protein punch. This dish is perfect for a light lunch or dinner, especially during the warm months.

Zucchini, Tomato, and Ricotta Tart

In the 12 months since my last blog entry, I have been on 30 (yes THIRTY) trips, part work/part fun. Its been a whirlwind of crazy, yet semi-controlled, chaos these last 365+ days. As a result, I've spent a lot of time outside of my kitchen. But after a few requests, I've decided its time to resume posting. (Just not as frequently as I had before so that it remains fun and less like another job.)

So before I get into a new recipe, be sure to check out my new tab: Fitness! My caffeine, my pick me up, my personal therapy all comes in the form of exercise. Highlights from this summer: placing 2nd place in a smaller race and running my first half marathon! I've also joined an awesome bootcamp that I've guest blogged about - so be sure to check it out this new tab to keep up with the fitness fun. It should get interesting as I like to try new things!

And now on to why I am brining the blog back! I have dozens and dozens of recipes clipped in folders, tagged in cookbooks/magazines and even a recipe tag in my email. I love recipes and I love testing them out. So after a friend and I stumbled upon a "pick your own" farm a few weeks back, I had alot of tomatoes and zucchini to experiment with. Off to the recipe reserves I went and selected a fancy looking zucchini, tomato and ricotta tart. I'd always wanted to make it but feared promising it for a weekend brunch in the event it was an epic fail! I was pleasantly surprised that this recipe was simpler than I thought (heck, I made it after I had completed a 7.5 mile run one Sunday morning so you know it had to be non-intense!). The end result was delicious....I was glad I was the taste tester for this one as I wanted it all for myself!

Pancetta and Asparagus Flatbread

When my mom visited nearly two months ago, I gave her a stack of recipes and asked her to pick out a few dinners. Imagine my surprise when she selected this Pancetta and Asparagus Flatbread recipe that I'd been wanting to make for months. The combination of fresh asparagus, pancetta and homemade dough made this flatbread very memorable. 

Roasted Corn and Edamame Salad

I'm a big fan of packing lunch during the work week. For me, its easy. its quick. its healthy. its cheaper. and most importantly I can control what goes in it. So I am always looking for something new and different to take for lunch. So in one of my random "recipe challenges" (aka come up with something new based on what you already have in the house), I came up with this roasted corn and edamame salad. Final verdict...absolutely delicious!

Zucchini Cakes

I always overbuy zucchini because its probably my most favorite vegetable so I'm constantly looking for recipes on what to do with the excess. Last time I made Roasted Zucchini Fries, but this time I wanted to try something different, zucchini cakes. Seeing as cakes in all forms are awesome (dessert, crab cakes, corn cakes, etc), I figured this was a no brainer with a little creative thought on how to make it happen. And sure enough, this did not disappoint! So if you're looking for a way to use up that excess zucchini, these cakes are a great as a side dish, an appetizer or as a main dish on top of a delicious salad. Enjoy!

Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Citrus Dressing

1. 
2. My new favorite meal is what you see above! I made it for lunch two weekend days in a row and seriously contemplated taking all of the pieces to work and making it for lunch again today. This shrimp & avocado salad with citrus dressing (original recipe courtesy of Food & Wine magazine) is what I would consider genius. Its colorful, its packed with flavor, its light and healthy. The perfect lunch in the summer before hitting the pool or a great salad starter for a dinner party. Enjoy and thank Food & Wine for sharing this magnificent recipe!
   
   

Wheat Berry Salad & Contest Giveaway!

 Last weekend I was tasked with bringing side dishes for my friend’s bbq (my other side dish: crunchy asian slaw) and wanting to continue my trend of trying something new, I figured this was the perfect chance to test out Bob’s Red Mill Hard Red Wheat Berries that they so graciously sent to me! Last month, I met some reps from Bob’s Red Mill at the BlogHer ’11 Food Conference, which I attended for work, but had the added benefit of me being able to pick up some ideas, tips, etc. for this blog. Score me! Having mentioned that I’ve never cooked with wheat berries, I was happily surprised when I received a package a few weeks later with two large bags of Bob’s Red Mill Hard Red Wheat Berries! In case you don’t know wheat berries are kernels of wheat with a protein content of 15% or better. These berries can be cooked as a cereal, added to salad for extra crunch and protein or milled into flour.

So after flipping through my cookbooks, I settled on a wheat berry salad recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. The end result? a delicious, different and very popular side dish! The best part about this salad is that you can customize it to your tastes or what you have in your pantry or fridge. Next time, I’ll making it with some combination of dried cranberries, edamame, celery and/or some feta!

So for my first contest (and to see if I can get people to comment more!), I’m giving away a 2lb bag of Bob’s Red Mill Hard Red Wheat Berries!  In the comments tell me your favorite wheat berry recipe or what you would put in this recipe if you were making it or your favorite Bob’s Red Mill product. I will find a random number generator app to figure out how to pick a winner! Then if you’re the lucky winner all you have to do is wait for the mail to arrive with your wheat berries! Contest ends on Monday, June 27th!

Corn and Bell Pepper Salad

I'm a big fan of my bell pepper and tomato bruschetta because of the freshness and crunch of the ingredients. Fresh corn is another favorite - a perfect symbol of summer and the outdoors. So wanting summer to hurry up and get here and after seeing a few bell peppers in my fridge and a can of organic corn (hey we're just emerging from winter, so I turn to canned organic corn when I can't get it fresh), I decided to combine the two and make a corn and bell pepper salad. OMG - the end result was delicious! This, for sure, will be a staple in the summer months. The crispness and lightness of this dish will be a great contrast to the DC humidity and high temperatures that make me want to live off of Icee Freeze Pops.

Chicken, Blueberry and Walnut Salad

Another yummy and healthy salad - roasted chicken, blueberries and walnut spinach salad. Delicious! 

Tuna, Carrott and Walnut Salad

I'm not cooking this week because I have limited food in my house and I refuse to grocery shop since I'm headed off on a work trip! So this week's posts are going to be lunch focused. First up, random combination salad I made several weeks ago during a health cleanse: tuna, sliced carrots and chopped walnuts spinach salad.

Roasted Peppers & Goat Cheese Sandwich

The last few months have been insanely busy, so I'm easing myself back into this whole cooking thing. I had great ambitions when I went to the store as I was going to master a shrimp bisque. I even trekked over to the liquor store for brandy and sherry in 20 degree weather. All to discover that the grocery store didn't have half of what I needed. So instead I picked up a few random things while remembering a picture in a cookbook. Here goes a veggie sandwich - I know half of you will be like, um where's the meat, but I swear, if you try this you will like it!

The recipe I partially remembered is from the Barefoot Contessa - she calls for roasting your own peppers, which I did not remember. Instead, I bought a jar of roasted red peppers. Much easier and quicker. What you need: good bread (i used sourdough), roasted peppers, red onion, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, goat cheese. (The original recipe also called for capers and other peppers, but like I said i only partially remembered the ingredients)

First up - dice up the roasted peppers and red onion and place in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. (Look at the pretty silver mixing bowl - one of 5 i got for Christmas!)

Next, spread goat cheese across the bottom of the bread. Top it with the mixture in the bowl, top with basil and season with a little more salt and pepper.

Devour in a matter of minutes. lol! Seriously though this could be a genius and easy appetizer for a party and it looks fancy, when its really not. Just get a long sourdough, ciabatta or any other kind of good bread, do everything above, and then cut in smaller pieces.

Ok I promise the next few posts will be actual cooking and not so much assembling!

Grilled Veggies & Fresh Mozzarella Sandwich

Sandwiches have got to be one of the easiest things to make. I love grilled veggies, cheese and bread individually so when I saw this recipe in Simple Pleasures I knew it was going to be a winner in my book. The great thing about this recipe is that it can be adapted for any vegetables, cheese or bread that you prefer. And if you need meat, throw some in! I served this with the carrot soup the first night and with leftovers the next day, we made paninis.

Once again I doctored the recipe based on what I wanted: bell peppers, eggplant, sweet onions, olive oil, salt & pepper, red wine vinegar (I'm obsessed with pomegranate infused red wine vinegar these days), minced garlic, oregano, ciabbata bread, fresh mozzarella, and arugula.

Since I don't have a grill I did this on my Cuisinart Griddler Jr. (this is a crucial machine in a kitchen - makes grilling very easy for recipes like these!)

Cut the bell peppers (i used green, but I think red might be better to add color), eggplant and onions into diagonal thick slices.

Roast the peppers on the grill until they are charred, about 8 minutes. If you use something like the Griddler you can close it to char on both sides. Once the peppers are ready, take off and place in a bowl and cover. Next up, brush the eggplant and onion slices with olive oil and salt/pepper and throw on the grill. Grill until the slices are nicely charred, remove from grill and place in the bowl with the peppers.

In a small bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar (2tsp), minced garlic, oregano and olive oil (1/4cup). Pour dressing into the bowl with the vegetables and let marinate at room temperature for 10-20 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the bread and brush with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill the bread until nicely toasted on both sides.

To serve, place two slices of warmed bread on a plate and top each slice with mozzarella slices (how much depends on how much you like it.) Arrange the grilled veggies on top, along with some arugula. Drizzle some of the remaining marinade over the sandwiches.