Grilled Pesto Pizza

Grilled Pizza with Basil Pesto, Fontina, and Lemon Boy Tomato

Grilled Pizza with Arugula, Proscuitto, and Fontina

There is nothing like enjoying the summer months outdoors by the grill.  We enjoy it so much that after seeing Bobby Flay prepare a grilled pizza with asparagus pesto on Food Network’s Boy Meets Grill series, we have added it to our regular rotation.  It is a great weeknight meal because it is quick and easy to prepare, but it is also ideal for entertaining and letting your guests decide on toppings.  This summer we were fortunate to have our small but plentiful garden only steps away from our grill. We used our fresh tomato, onion, arugula, and basil on our pizzas and they were so tasty. They key to a great grilled pizza in the summertime is getting your hands on some of that fresh produce from the local farmers market, produce store, or your own garden.

Ingredients

• pizza crust (we keep it simple and use Boboli thin crust from the grocery store)
• pesto (we have used both basil and arugula pesto, both of which are easy to make at home)
• fontina cheese, thinly sliced (fresh mozzarella works too)
• toppings of your choice (tomato, onion, arugula, etc.)
• olive oil
• fresh ground black pepper
• sea salt

Preheat grill to 400F degrees. Prepare the crust by brushing olive oil on both sides and place on wax paper.  Next, prepare a platter with the sauce and toppings of your choice so that everything can be taken outside at once. Once outside, start by placing the pizza crust face down on the grill for a few minutes – until crispy – then flip over.  Quickly assemble the pizza by spreading a thin amount of sauce, cheese slices, and your other toppings.  Close the grill for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted, but stay closeby and keep an eye on the pizza so your crust doesn’t get too crispy or burn! When adding leafy greens like arugula, spinach, or basil, toss them with a little olive oil and sea salt and wait to add until after the pizza comes off the grill. Also, after the pizza is off the grill, we add freshly ground black pepper to the sliced tomato. Slice the pizza and serve.

Pizza Crust brushed with EVOO

Arranging the Fontina Cheese after spreading the Basil Pesto

Cutting the Pizza

Slice of Pizza with Lemon Boy Tomato, Fresh Basil, and Onion

Tomato Basil Soup

In the late summer, nothing is better than a tomato fresh out of the garden.  They are so red and flavorful – I wish I could enjoy them all year long. It seems that during the winter months I must forget just exactly how good vine-ripened tomatoes are because each summer I am amazed at their beautiful deep red color. We are certainly enjoying our homegrown fresh tomatoes this season, but have also been discussing ways to preserve summery tomato goodness. I have a few whole tomatoes in a ziploc bag in the freezer, which I hope to use in soups or stews this winter. We also decided to prepare and freeze a tomato basil soup.

Tomato Basil Soup ingredients

Ingredients

• approx 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters depending on size
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups yellow onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 quart chicken stock or water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a baking sheet, arrange the tomatoes in one layer. Drizzle tomatoes with 1/4 cup olive oil and then add salt and pepper. Gently mix on baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes.

Before Oven-Roasting

After Oven-Roasting - and they smell so good in between!

In a 6- or 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for approx 10 minutes or until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup to the consistency of your liking. Taste for seasonings.

Tomato Basil Soup - simmering

Tomato Basil Soup - after the immersion blender

This soup can be served hot or cold, with or without a splash of whole cream.  We enjoyed one small serving and then froze the remainder in three 3-cup containers. We are looking forward to enjoying the soup on cool fall nights over the next couple of months.

Ready to freeze

Empty Fridge Pasta Night: Spaghetti w/ Lemon-Thyme

Wow we’ve been busy, both attending conferences in our field this past week and not had any time to cook up blog worthy meals or go out for something fun to post either. Heck, I haven’t been to the grocery store for almost two weeks now.

So I turn to pasta. Pasta is probably my de facto standard whip up something from nothing meal. It is one of the first dishes I became pretty good at making while in college cooking mainly for myself. So tonight, like many a nights in college, the pickings in the fridge are getting pretty limited. I’ve got some bulk mild Italian sausage that needed to be used, some thyme left over from the pot roast, and some grape tomatoes setting on the counter. So I’ll show you the picture first, then I’ll “describe” the meal, since there is no real recipe and you know I don’t actually measure anything.

Spaghetti and Italian sausage with lemon thyme sauce.

First start your large pot of salty boiling water for the pasta. Then medium chop up half a small red onion and 6 cloves of garlic. In a large stir fry pan (or sauce pan) heat up some olive oil (~2 tbs) until smoking hot. Add onions first, and cook until soft, then add garlic, red pepper flakes salt and pepper cooking until garlic starts to brown. Start your noodles. Now add some large chunks (or small meatballs) of the mild Italian sausage and brown the edges, then cover and turn heat down to med-low and cook until the largest piece of meat is no longer pink in the center.

Now to make the sauce, which I normally make with my immersion blender and the cup that came with it. Using a whisk will do, but the blender is best. Zest and juice 1 small lemon and add at least that much olive oil, fresh thyme and blend. Now to the meatballs, crank the heat back up and use ~2 tbs white wine vinegar to deglaze the onion/garlic from the bottom of the pan. Reduce by half coating the meatballs with the oniony glaze. While this is reducing, quickly cut up some grape tomatoes. Add the lemon-thyme sauce and grape tomatoes and reduce heat to low. Now drain and add your pasta and mix thoroughly. The sauce should be enough to coat the pasta throughout, if not make some more. Top with some grated Parmesan, fresh thyme and drizzle with a splash of olive oil. The idea is that the meatballs will have a nice roasted flavor from the onions and garlic with a slight spiciness from the red pepper flacks. The pasta and tomatoes should have more of a fresh taste from the lemon and thyme. Next time, I’ll try coating the pasta with the lemon thyme sauce and mix with the tomatoes, then plate the sausage separately on the side or top.

Hopefully next time you think you don’t have anything to cook, you’ll think about creating your own pasta concoction on a whim.