Grilled Salad Pizza and Grilled Sausage Pizza!!

The summer is officially winding down, which is absolutely not okay, seeing as Michael and I feel that we have barely been able to enjoy it at all. However we did receive sweet vacay time last week, this is the reason why we have been MIA.

My family has a cabin in sequoia national forest, about 4 hours from Los Angeles, with a view of mountains, trees, and the Tule river; it is one of my favorite places to go in the whole world. This last time we decided to try some really healthy eating, and in the meantime also slide in a lil grilled pizza.

This recipe is so simple, and because we wanted it to be camping and BBQing friendly, we used a simple dough mix and added our favorite toppings. We made a sausage, onion, and mushroom pizza with a light sauce, and a salad pizza. Enjoy these recipes, there is no way you will be disappointed.

*We used Auntie Annie’s mix, the kind that makes pretzel, it is also a bomb pizza dough mix.

Ingredients:

Dough mix or premade dough

Sausage Pizza:

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic salt

5 sweet Italian sausages

3 small green onions

½ cup sliced mushrooms

Salad pizza:

2 cups mixed lettuce

3 cloves garlic diced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Pinch of salt



 

 

Before you do anything, if you need to mix your dough, do so now because dough needs about 40 minutes to rise. The actual cooking of the pizza goes by really quickly so it is important to create your mise en place and lay out everything first.

Start by slicing mushrooms, slicing onion, dicing garlic, and measuring your olive oil out. To create the sauce all you need to do is mix the diced tomatoes, oregano, and garlic salt in a small bowl.

Next because we don’t want any of the sausage to be served raw, in a sauté pan, break up your sausage links into small bits and cook until your sear it and it is almost completely cooked all the way through.

Now that we have everything prepped, get your grill started. Lay your coals out evenly because we don’t want just the middle to cook. Have low heat, otherwise the dough will burn before you have time to cook the middle (trust me I had REALLY doughy pizza the first time haha).

Maybe set up a little table by the BBQ  so that you have everything close by, and be sure that you have a paper towel or a brush to brush the olive oil on for the salad pizza.

Once the dough is ready, separate it into two different pizzas. Roll them out about a 1/4 inch thick, so not that thick, and put back in the fridge to let harden for about 5 minutes.

Now lets get grilling! Start with the salad pizza, because this one is good cold. Once the coals are ready, pull the pizza off the plate and lay on the BBQ. The pizza will instantly start to bubble, and you only want to cook for about 2-3 minutes, brush with olive oil trying not to pop the bubbles. Now flip, and brush more olive oil on, top with garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook for another 3 minutes and pull off and let cool.

Now to cook the sausage pizza, cook first side of down then flip. Quickly put sauce on, then sprinkle evenly the sausage, mushroom, and onion, and then cover the BBQ with the lid. This lets the toppings cook a little while preventing the bottom from burning. Only do this for about 4-5 minutes, and then pull off.

*If you aren’t happy with how cooked the toppings are but the crust is cookes, put the pizza under a low broil in the oven for about 5-10 more minutes until the toppings are cooked more, even add a little olive oil to help. But watch it, you don’t want to burn it.

Finish up the salad pizza by adding the lettuce and the remainder of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve with the hot of the grill sausage pizza.

Happy pizza grillin!

Euro Burger

The thing that is most associated with summer would have to be grilling. I love grilling….when it is done well. There is so much stuff that gets grilled that just tastes like charcoal, is extremely burned to make sure it cooks all the way through, and is too dry (for the same reason)! How terrible!! To prevent all of this, start everything off with a deep cleaned grill, watch your temperatures, and make sure you use the proper meats or whatever it is that you are using! And don’t be afraid to grill something, to get that char, and then cook the rest in foil so it reaches that great internal temperature without losing all its moisture and doesn’t taste like icky. That being said…you can always use a grill pan!! 

To combat all of these issues we present you with a delicious burger, bound to stay moist and super awesome. What this burger also does is a new fancier twist on a simple burger. We have all had a burger with ketchup and mustard, and while they are amazing classics that must be devoured throughout the summer, offer these burgers up and you will give your guests a nice juicy surprise.

Michael and I have created what we call the Euro burger. It has goat cheese in the middle, allowing the burger to stay moist, beautiful caramelized onions, and an herbed mayo! Yum!

Ingredients:  serves 5 Takes  about 1 hour 15 minutes.

2 lbs ground sirloin
¼ cup goat cheese
2 large sweet onions
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ cups olive oil Tablespoons olive oil
2 Pinches salt
1 large egg
3 Roma tomatoes
4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
3 sprigs oregano
5 onion buns

The thing that will take the longest is to caramelize onions. Slice both of the onions completely. Using a large sauté pan, heat some butter on medium heat, and toss s all of the onion in the melted butter. Stir occasionally for the first 10 minutes, then add a pinch of salt. Keep cooking and stirring every few minutes for about a total of 45 minutes or until the onions are completely browned and soft. Don’t allow the onions to dry out at all, so 1/4 cup of olive oil will be used to add throughout while cooking them.

While making the onions we are going to make the herbed mayo. Add the egg and the fresh oregano to a blender and blend. While blending add the olive oil in a steady stream, next add a pinch of salt and the vinegar, blend completely. Set in the refrigerator to set.

Now take your ground sirloin and season with a little salt and pepper, forming 5 patties. Make a little pocket in the middle of the burger and fill with goat cheese, then cover the burger up so there is no cheese showing.

To put everything together heat your grill pan and add a little cooking spray so nothing sticks. Heat on medium high, and place three burgers at a time, and cook on each side about 4-5 minutes, until there is a nice deep brown sear. Once you cook all the burgers, let sit for a few minutes so they don’t soak the bun. Dab up some of the fat from the grill pan with a paper towel but be CAREFUL you don’t burn yourself.

Place buns on the grill pan just a couple minutes to toast it. Lay burger down, herbed mayonnaise, then caramelized onions, then top with two slices or Roma tomatoes…and voila! A euro burger!

Deconstruct to Reconstruct Picnic Sandwich!

In honor of National Picnic Day which was last week and the gorgeous weather we have been having here we have made the perfect picnic sandwich which has been deconstructed…so that when you get to your picnic…you can reconstruct! Avoid gross soggy bread, and bring your components to your next picnic. Your friends will not only be impressed, but they can make their sandwich their own way, and hey, maybe you can compare tupperware.

What we have made for you today is a grilled chicken sandwich on sourdough, with a bit of arugula, gouda cheese, pickled onions, and a roasted artichoke aioli. Picnic away!

*Requires a grill pan, or grill if you feel up to it!

Ingredients: serves 2

1 loaf sourdough bread
Gouda

Chicken:
2 skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Pickled Onion:
1 small yellow onion
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 star anise
3 juniper berries
2 cloves

Grilled artichoke aioli:
2 artichokes
1 egg
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup grape seed oil
Salt to taste

Basil Lime Flank Steak with Creamy Chipotle Polenta

This dish is beautiful. It is a perfect way to get that beginning of summer grill feel. You get the kick of the chipotle in the polenta, mixed with the savory qualities with the meat, smothered in a bright marinade, topped with the perfect saltiness and chill factor of the queso fresco. There are so many ways to serve this dish, we opted for the individual plating, but it is equally as beautiful as a family style dish. Not only is it beautiful in your mouth, but also exquisite to look at.

Ingredients: Serving 4 people
Flank Steak (enough to serve 4 people) about 2-5 lbs. The steak greatly shrinks.

Marinade:
5 cloves of garlic
2 large bunches of basil
½ cup olive oil
2 limes
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Chipotle Polenta mix: ( you will have leftovers, it all depends on how it is served)
3 Tlbs. Olive oil
2-4 chipotle peppers (depending on heat you want)
2 cups Half & Half
½ cup water
2 cups polenta
3 Tlbs parmesan cheese

To make the marinade, tear leavse from two large bunches of basil and place in a blender with garlic, salt, pepper, and squeeze the juice from two limes. While blending pour in olive oil until mix becomes a smooth pesto like texture. Taste, and add more acidity of salt depending on your preference. Take your meat and place on a large plate and pour the marinade over it making sure that you fully soak both sides. Stick meat in the refrigerator and let sit and soak up flavor for at least 30 minutes.

For the polenta, start by boiling on cup Half & Half with ½ cup water, then add the chipotle mix. When the mix comes to a simmer, slowly add cornmeal or polenta mix while constantly whisking. You want to constantly whisk the polenta while adding ingredients, because it quickly thickens and hardens, so you want to play with the consistency. Throughout the process add the rest of the cream and the parmesan cheese. Whisk until the polenta has a smooth and creamy texture. This should take about 15-20 minutes.

You can start cooking your meat anytime throughout the polenta process, or wait to the end, because you can take the polenta off the heat, and add it back on to heat it back up. So, place your skillet or grill pan on a medium high heat. Once the pan is hot enough, place your meat in the middle, keeping the flame medium high. Let cook for about 7 minutes on side, or until you start to see it brown, and then flip. Once the other side browns, about another 7, you can turn the flame down a bit and constantly flip the steak to let the juices flow back and forth within the meat. We wanted to get a nice crust on the meat before we start cooking the inside to the temperature you want. Flip meat back and forth for about another 10 minutes. You can insert a knife into the thickest part of the steak to see if you have the proper temperature you want.

Remove the steak, and let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature, and then slice to serve! Slice meat over a little polenta, sprinkle some queso freso on top and serve with slices of lime and a little green salad. Anyone will be impressed by this dish!