Artichoke Heart Pizza with Pesto

Artichoke Heart Pizza with Pesto

Who says you shouldn't use an oven in the summer?  I never knew how easy (and delicious!) it is to make homemade pizza until I tried this one.  The creamy pesto is homemade and the marinated artichoke hearts give the pizza a little bite.  Plus, you really can't beat the flavor of roasted garlic.  Actually, you really can't beat any of the flavors on this pizza!

Ingredients

1 pound fresh store bought pizza dough

1/3 cup pesto  (store bought is fine but my recipe is below)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 large tomato

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 cup marinated and quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Pour a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in pizza pan or baking sheet.  Using your fingers, press the pizza dough out into the shape you want your pizza to be.  Roundness is overrated, an irregularly shaped pizza can be more interesting!  Once the dough is shaped,  pour the pesto on the dough and use the back of a ladle or spoon to spread it around the dough leaving about a 1/2 inch crust.  Then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the pesto. 

Slice the large tomato into about 1/4 inch slices and arrange them on top of the mozzarella cheese.  Thinly slice each clove of garlic and sprinkle the slices over the dough.  Do the same with the marinated and quartered artichoke hearts.

Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbly.  A little drizzle of balsamic vinegar is the perfect ending for this pizza!  Enjoy!

My Homemade Pesto

20 leaves fresh basil

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup chicken stock

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

In a small dry pan, place walnuts and toast over medium heat until fragrant; about 3 to 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Place all ingredients including the walnuts in a food processor and purée until smooth and creamy.  Enjoy!

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Gazpacho

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Gazpacho

I guess I'm on a little bit of a Spanish kick...probably because I'll be studying abroad in Spain in just three short weeks!  Thankfully I'll have a kitchen in my apartment there so this blog will stay up and running throughout the fall!  I adapted this recipe from one that came out in the dining section of the New York Times a few weeks ago.  It is super delicious and definitely has a bit of spice to it!  If you're not one for the raw garlic taste then reduce the two cloves to one. 

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped

1 roasted red pepper, peeled and roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

12 fresh basil leaves

2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 scallions, roughly chopped

2 ice cubes

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mozarella cheese for garnish

Place tomatoes, roasted red pepper, yogurt, olive oil, basil leaves, garlic, scallions, ice cubes, salt and vinegar in a large food processor.  Pureé until desired consistency (I like mine to have a little texture to it).  Taste and add more salt, pepper, or vinegar if necessary.  Pour into bowls and garnish with diced mozzarella or fresh basil leaves.  Enjoy!

White Sangria

Deadly White Sangria

This sangria is the perfect use for summer fruit and is especially refreshing after a day in the hot sun.  Its super fun and easy to make and even more fun and easy to drink!  Although, make sure you keep track of how many glasses you have cause this stuff will catch up to you! 

Ingredients

1 bottle chardonnay

1/6 liter vodka

1/2 cup peach schnapps

1 cup seltzer or sprite

juice of 3 limes

2 apples cubed

2 plums cubed

20 grapes halved

2 cups cranberry raspberry juice

Pour all ingredients except cranberry raspberry juice in a pitcher and mix well.  Pour juice in an empty ice tray and place in a freezer for several hours until frozen.  Once the ice cubes are ready, add them to the sangria.  Enjoy!  My friend Jess even said that this sangria could compete with the ones she tasted on her recent trip to Spain :)

Spinach and Tomato Frittata

The perfect breakfast dish for a group...

Spinach and Tomato Frittata

We always have a ton of family and friends visiting over the summer and we go through a LOT of food.  This frittata is perfect for company because you just toss it in the oven, put the coffee on, and before you know it breakfast for the entire group is ready!  It can sit out for hours and be perfectly good at room temperature.  You can also substitute pretty much any vegetables in this dish and it will be delicious.

Ingredients

16 eggs

3 shallots diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large handful of baby spinach leaves

10 cherry or grape tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 dash hot sauce

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Sauté shallots and garlic in olive oil until soft, about five minutes.  Remove sauté pan from heat and allow garlic and shallots to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, crack all 16 eggs and whisk thoroughly.  Halve tomatoes and mix into the large bowl with the eggs.  Then add spinach, parsley, oregano, hot sauce, parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.  Once shallots and garlic are cooled, add them too the egg mixture.  

Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.  Pour egg mixture into the pan and sprinkle the top with about two tablespoons extra grated parmesan.  Bake 40-45 minutes.  Allow to cool for ten minutes at room temperature. Enjoy!

Strawberry Mint Smoothie

Not your average smoothie...

Strawberry Mint Smoothie

This is honestly the simplest, quickest, and most delicious smoothie I've ever made!  It's summery and sooooo refreshing!  Perfect for cooling off after a long strenuous day at the beach ;)

Ingredients

1 cup crushed ice

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk (or any kind of milk you prefer)

7 fresh strawberries hulled and quartered

7-10 fresh mint leaves

1 teaspoon sugar

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.  Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie

What better way to start off my blog than with my favorite dessert in the entire world...

Key Lime Pie

I can't even tell you how many different variations on key lime pie I have made in the past few years!  From frozen key lime pie, to key lime cheesecake, to key lime bars, and now to what I am going to call my rustic (and resourceful!) Key Lime Pie.  

I knew from the start that my first blog entry just HAD to be Key Lime Pie.  However, I didn't exactly plan ahead of time to get the ingredients.  Apparently, my brother has been eating the graham crackers and there was only a half a sleeve left in the pantry!  So to supplement the graham crackers in the crust I used Honey Nut Cheerios.  This is why I call it resourceful key lime pie.  The cheerios give the crust a slightly different taste but it is just as buttery and delicious!  And the key lime custard in this pie is UN.REAL.  Zippy, creamy, and fantastic.  And I love seeing the little flecks of lime zest throughout the pie, it gives it a more natural feel!

Ingredients

1/2 cup graham crackers crumbs

1/2 cup Honey Nut Cheerio crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons sugar

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

In a food processor, separately grind graham crackers and Honey Nut Cheerios into fine crumbs until you have half a cup of each.  Pour crumbs into a small bowl, add melted butter, two tablespoons of sugar and mix thoroughly with a fork.

Press crust mixture into an 8" pie plate.  I find it helpful to use the bottom of a 1 cup measuring cup to pack down the crust and gently push it up the sides of the pie plate.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, combine sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice and lime zest until well blended and creamy.  Pour the mixture into the crust and bake in the oven for just 15 minutes!  Allow the pie to cool at room temperature for about an hour and then put it in the refrigerator for another couple of hours until the custard is completely set.  Enjoy!