Caramelized Onion - Kalamata Olive - and Mozzerella Easy Pizza

This is a simple recipe for homemade pizza. It's easy to adapt to whatever toppings you like.

Ingredients:
1 semolina loaf (you could really use anything...i used a semolina loaf about 14 to 16 inches long), split in half (so you have two long halves)
Pizza Sauce (I like Pizza Quick and Contandina)
Fresh Mozzarella (this really makes the difference with pizza, but if i'm trying to be economical, I just use Target
1 large yellow onion, sliced and cut into half moons (so big pieces)
10-20 kalamata olives, split long ways
Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil
Dried basil, garlic, and oregano to taste!
Salt & Pepper

Coat a medium sized non stick skillet in a little olive oil and add the onions, breaking them up as you add them in. Salt & pepper it. Turn the heat to about medium and cook for 15-20 minutes. You want to slow cook them so the caramelize.

Preheat the oven to 400. On a cookie sheet (I put foil on mine to make it easier to clean), build your two pizzas. Sauce, then the mozzarella, olives, and onions (make sure to lift the onions out of the oil and not dump them on ). Top with spices and parmesan cheese. You can also do the spices afterward, and add more parmesan after cooking. I then topped it with a little sea salt.

Bake for 10-15 minutes. This serves two - four. You could also put some olive oil on the loaf to make it crispier, but I tend to shy away from making my food oiler than it needs to be. Bread toasts without oil or butter!






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Location:Jersey City, NJ

Cat Kora's Greek Fishermen's Stew

With our leftover (FRESH, never frozen) shrimp from Fabian's, we made this recipe. It was not the same stew that I had at Cat Kora's restaurant, Kouzzina, at the Boardwalk at Disney World, but it was still very good. It was just less spicey...I think that what I had at Kouzzina had fennel (the bulb) in it, and this does not.

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tbs chopped fresh marjoram (or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram)
1 tbs chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 cups seafood/fish stock or bottled clam broth or cold water
1-1 1/2 pounds of shrimp, clams or mussels (deveined, shelled and cleaned)
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 thick slices rustic bread toasted rubbed with garlic and olive oil

Cooking Directions
Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan or pot set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, cook the onion slices until lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, saute for 2 to 3 minutes more, and then pour in the wine. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer the mixture for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and herbs.
Pour in the fish stock or water and then add the clams and mussels (if using). As soon as the clams and mussel shells open, add the shrimp and simmer just until shrimp are pink. (If you're not adding clams or mussels, you can add shrimp right after you've added the fish stock.)
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot. If you like, add a toasted slice of a thick, hearty rustic bread beside each serving.
Buy mussels the day you plan to use them. About one hour before cooking, scrub mussels with a brush (no soap!) under cold running water to get rid of grit and pull off the fringed byssus (also called a beard) or scrape it off with a knife. Keep them in a bowl of ice water until they go into the pan. The mussel shells will open during cooking. If any mussel doesn't open, toss it.
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Disaster Kitchen Notes:

I used extra tomatoes...more like 20-25 ozs. For the protein, I used 1.5 lbs of shrimp, 4 clams, and 5 ozs of red snapper that I had leftover in the freezer.

Clams: they must be cleaned...you take two bowls of cold water...put the clams in one bowl and move them around, transfer them to the second bowl and do the same. Toss out the water from the first bowl and fill it with fresh. Repeat until the water in one bowl is clean. It will take about four or five times.

I also added some extra salt.

Grilled Shrimp Fajitas

Ingredients for shrimp marinade:
1-1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, peeled (makes 5 tacos....)
1/2 yellow onion (quarter inch slices, then cut in half)
1 clove garlic, grated
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp lime zest
1 cup pineapple juice
1 tbs woostershire sauce
1 tbs chili power
1 tsp sea salt

Other Fajita Ingredients:
Small, taco sized flour tortillas (corn tortillas would work as well)
shredded lettuce
fresh, diced tomatoes


Mix all ingredients in large freezer bag or marinating dish. Include lime rind (just toss it in the bag whole). Refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove shrimp from marinade and grill. Cook remaining marinade and onions in a non stick skillet (discard lime rind). Bring to boil and cook until onions are soft and transparent. Mix with grilled shrimp before serving.


Sauce:
1/3 cup light sour cream
2 tbs lime juice
1 tbs cilantro

OR
Guacamole

Passport Potato Salad

This potato salad is a cross between German potato salad and traditional, mayonaise based potato salad.

Ingredients:

2 to 2 1/2 lbs of new potatoes (red potatoes), scrubbed, cut into 2 inch by 1 inch pieces, boiled in salted water for about 10 minutes (or until soft and cooked through), and drained

1/2 lb thick cut bacon

3 large eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

4-5 green onions, trimmed and chopped (white & green)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup light miracle whip

4 tablespoons Grey Poupon dijion mustard

1/3 cup olive oil

2-3 tsp dried parsley (fresh works, too, do 1-2 tbs)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon on a broiler pan in the oven. Start on either 375 or low broil, and increase to high broil at the end if it needs more crisping. Cut in to small pieces.

In a separate bowl, stir together the Miracle Whip, Grey Poupon, apple cider vinegar, and parsley. Then, slowly add the olive oil and stir or whisk vigorously until all combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, mix together the potatoes, bacon, eggs, and green onions. Then stir in half of the dressing. Taste...you'll probably want to add in the rest of the dressing, but it's better to have to little and add more, then have too much! You can even make more dressing if you need it. You may want it more mustardy or creamier or more vinegary...it's really up to you and very easy to adjust!

Tortellini with Simple Sauce

Ingredients:

2 - 9 oz packages of refrigerated tortellini (Suggested: Archer Farms or Buitoni, and flavor works), cooked according to directions (salt water before added pasta) and drained
1 can crushed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
2 cans Italian recipe stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
2 cloves garlic, grated
4 ozs mascarpone cheese
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp thyme
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
In a large pot, combine the crushed tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, garlic, Mascarpone, basil, oregano, thyme, and stir over medium heat until the cheese is fully incorporate. Add in the freshly cooked tortellini. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Portion into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese prior to serving.


For thicker sauce: drain the stewed tomatoes. I didn't drain them though and it was great.


Serves: 2 to 4 (Chris and I are hearty eaters and we had a serving left over...if you served it with a salad and some bread you'd definitely be able to stretch it to 4 to 5 people)

Strawberries filled with Mascarpone and Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

18 to 24 large strawberries, washed with tops removed and a small opening cut in the top (just cut it when you remove the tops)
6 oz Mascarpone Cheese

Fresh Whipped Cream (see below)

1/3 cup granulated sugar (regular, white sugar)

1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp cinnamon

Whipped Cream:
1 cup whipping cream (keep refrigerated until ready to use)
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbs granulated sugar

Place the metal bowl and whisk attachment, both that work with your stand mixer, in the freezer for about 20 minutes (or longer) to chill. Then screw in the bowl and attach the whisk. Pour in the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla, and start with the mixer on medium speed. Then put it up to full power. Whisk for several minutes or until it doubles in size.

Next, add in the mascarpone, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk in the mixer, scrape sides, repeat. Add additional sugar, cinnamon, and lemon to taste.

Spoon the fluffy mix into a pastry bag or mechanical pastry bag. Use a large tip, and pipe into each strawberry. You can refrigerate the mix and fill the strawberries right before you are ready to serve.

Variations: I peeled and sliced two kiwis and about 10 blueberries to decorate the platter and give it some color.

Baked French Toast Casserole

From Paul Dean at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-french-toast-casserole-with-maple-syrup-recipe2/index.html


Ingredients
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup
Directions
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.
Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

My notes:

I doubled the cinnamon and added a little extra nutmeg. I also skipped the pecans. Also, it's fine if the bread is a few days old. And, the 15 oz loaf of bread I used was only like 14 slices, not 20, with less than 1 inch slices. I also sliced those in half to make it easier to fill the pan. And make sure that you use a deep enough pan because it puffs up in the oven.

Lastly, if you really aren't a huge egg person, I'd cut an egg or two out, and add a little more half-and-half.