Quick & Easy Pizza

Okay - this should not even count as a recipe, but sometimes the simplest things to make take a bit of time to figure out! This is so SIMPLE that I am not even going to list ingredients - you just have to read down.

So go to your grocer - or local Italian market and buy either fresh or frozen pizza dough. Make your own? Why bother . . . much easier this way.

Sprinkle flour on a cutting board or flat surface and roll out the dough. Don't toss it - that only works in the movies and certain pizza shops. I tried it, it wasn't pretty.

Once dough is flat, place on a round (or rectangle baking pan). Cover dough with pizza sauce, again available at your local grocer. Make sure you buy PIZZA sauce, not tomato, big difference.

Cover liberally with shredded mozzarella, asiago, and provolone. If you don't care for all three, just do the mozzarella. Cover with mushrooms, bacon or sausage (pre-fried), black olives, whatever . . .

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Simple right? Sure is . . . and delicious.

Joe's Stuffed Poblanos

This is a new favorite. I am not a fan of stuffed peppers but absolutely love the spiciness of this dish combined with the traditional stuffing. It is yum-alicious!!

Ingredients:

• 4 large poblano peppers
• 1 cup cooked rice (not instant)
  
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage (can substitute ground beef or turkey)
  
• 1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded hard goat cheese or soft chevre
• 1 quart tomato sauce (Sept. '09 posting)
  

In a large bowl, mix cold cooked rice, de-cased raw sausage, cheeses and a few tablespoons of sauce.

Remove the ends of the peppers and de-seed.

Tightly pack stuffing into the peppers and replace the ends (which is purely cosmetic but cool!).

Pour the remaining sauce into a shallow baking dish.

Lay peppers in the sauce and cover tightly with lid or foil. Bake for ~1 hour at 350 or until peppers are soft.

Serve with pasta using the now, fra diavlo sauce from the peppers.

Very delicious. Thanks Joe!!

Linguini with White Clam Sauce

First of all . . . Happy 2010! I hope your year is a great one!!!

Last posting was clams - let's continue the trend!! Here is a very simple - but as always - delicious recipe for you to enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of baby clams
• 1 dozen fresh clams (cherry stone) optional
  
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups of white wine
• Red pepper flakes
• Parsley
• Linguini (1 lb.)
• 1/2 stick of butter
  
• Olive oil
• Grated cheese
  

Coat the bottom of a medium pot with olive oil. Add garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes (a pinch is literally that! a pinch - in this case, maybe 10-12 pepper flakes!) and saute until transparent. Add the juice from the canned clams and white wine - bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and let cook for about 15-20 minutes.

Add clams, pinch of parsley and return to boil. Lower immediately to a simmer and let cook for another ten minutes or so.

AT THE EXACT SAME TIME:

Cook linguine according to package. Drain and return to pot with 1/2 stick of butter.

When there is approximately 3 minutes pasta cooking time left.

In another small pot - add about a cup of water and fresh clams. Cover and place over high heat - clams should open in less than a minute.

Place pasta in bowls Pasta Bowls - Set of 6 - Made in Italy and generously cover with sauce. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan and place 4-5 fresh clams as garnish.

Serve hot with garlic bread . . . yum!!! Enjoy - and again . . . happy, happy, happy New Year. The best in 2010.

Clams Casino with Bacon

Nice appetizer to start any meal! Easier than you think to make - way easy to eat!!!

Ingredients:

• Whole fresh clams, medium sized (3-5 per guest)
• Green bell pepper
• Garlic clove
• Celery
• Small onion
• Butter
• Grated cheese (Parmesan or Locatelli)
• Hot Sauce
• Bacon strips (cut in about 1/2" slices)
  
• Coarse salt
  

Soak the clams in cold water for about an hour or so to purge sand. Empty and refill 2-3 times over the course of the hour - the colder the water, the better. I throw a tray of ice cubes in each time I rinse.

Half clams and scrape 'meat' into the deeper shell. Set on a shallow baking pan. I sprinkle a liberal layer of coarse salt on the pan to hold the clams still during cooking.

Finely mince 1/2 bell pepper, 2 sticks of celery, garlic (1-2 cloves) and 1 small onion. In a small saucepan melt a stick of butter and add the vegetables, simmer until soft.

Add a small teaspoon of the above to each of the clams, sprinkle with grated cheese - add a dash of hot sauce and then top with a bacon slice.

Place in 350 degree preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Buffalo Wings

I have been making Buffalo Wings around the holidays for ages. When dad was alive, we made them together - over the years he morphed from baking the wings to a deep fryer method. In fact, the man of many gadgets actually had a 'wing maker'. While frying them does make them crispier - I prefer the baking as it holds more of the flavor.

Last night I had an appetizer extravaganza for one of my closest friends and her family and was surprised that everyone did not know how to make these. But how would they? Not everyone considers wings a Christmas tradition . . . So Anne, these wings are for you!!!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs. of chicken wings
• 1 large bottle of Louisiana Hot Sauce
• 1 stick of butter
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• Garlic powder
• Cayenne Pepper
• Blue Cheese dressing
• Celery Sticks

Cut chicken wings into three parts at the joint - discard the wing tips (only use the meatier parts).

Arrange in a single layer in a large shallow glass baking pan, sprinkle with garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Place in 400 degree preheated oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes until wings are brown and skin begins to crisp.

In a medium saucepan, melt the stick of butter and add 3 tablespoons of flour to make a golden Rue. Once Rue is smooth, add the entire bottle of Louisiana hot sauce and bring to a boil. Sauce should be slightly thick.

Take the wings out of the oven and coat thoroughly with the Buffalo sauce - return to oven for another 15 minutes or so.

Once wings are done, serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.

Simple but delicious appetizer or game day snack.

Happy Holidays to all and the best of New Years!

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

Some serious prep time here. . . but I generally prep well in advance, partially cook and freeze . . . this prevents major stress out when the company is due (and more time to relax and let the Chardonnay do its job).

Ingredients:

• Large white stuffing mushrooms, 12 (rule of thumb, estimate 2 per guest)
  
• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
  
• Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 stick of butter
• Celery (2 sticks finely chopped)
• Onion (1 small finely chopped)
• Garlic (3 cloves, diced)
• Red pepper flakes
• Italian bread crumbs

Clean and 'de-stem' large mushrooms - place caps in a large baking pan and stems to the side.

In a small pan melt 1/2 stick of butter over a medium heat, add garlic, celery and onions and saute until transparent. Let cool.

Place sausage in a pot of rapidly boiling water and parboil (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and rinse.

Finely chop mushroom stems and place in a large mixing bowl. Remove skin from sausage and crumble into the mixture. Add celery/onion/garlic butter mix as well as 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of Italian breadcrumbs. Break eggs into the mix and stir well until all ingredients are well coated.

Shape mixture into the mushroom caps rounding slightly - continue until all mushrooms are ready. If you have stuffing left over - add to the mushrooms - you can't have too much stuffing!!

Place in a 350 degree preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes. Serve hot.

NOTE: To pre-make as mentioned about - bake about 15 minutes and freeze. When it's time to serve, thaw thoroughly and bake for 35 minutes.

You'll love these!!!

Garlic Soup with Egg in a Bread Bowl

First of all, before you even go there, let me just state that garlic soup is delicious. I used to make this recipe in a crock, but they are very difficult to clean afterward. The bread bowl substitution - makes this much more manageable - and delicious. This is a very nice, mild soup to serve as a starter before any meal - and goes with pork, beef, chicken or even seafood. Try it, I PROMISE that you will like it.

Recipe makes enough soup for 10 bread bowls.

Ingredients:

• Large crusty rolls (10)
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 large cans of Collegiate Chicken broth
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• 3 tblspns. flour
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Eggs (10)
  

Soup:
In a large soup pan melt 1/2 stick of butter - add 1 head of garlic, chopped. Cook over a low heat until the garlic is translucent, add chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for approximately 1 hour. I generally take about 2-3 cups of the soup out (garlic will float to top), puree it and return to pot.

After an hour strain soup through a colander - into another large pot and return to stove. Melt the remaining stick of butter in a small pan - and slowly add the flour to it until you get a smooth, golden rue. Add slowly to the soup mixture - and continue to simmer while you prepare the bread bowls.

Bread Bowls:
Cut the 'lid' off of each roll, set aside. Hollow out the rolls to form a bowl.  Place in preheated oven at 350 degrees - and bake for about 5 minutes or so, then remove. Break an egg into each bowl, fill with garlic soup and place on a shallow baking pan and put back into the oven. Bake approx. 20 minutes or so until egg is soft boiled.

Remove the bowls and place them on a plate, top with 'lid' and serve. Again - you will not believe how delicious this soup is - and simple to make and clean up (just eat the bowls!), as well.

Enjoy!