Gouda, Spicy Maple Bacon, and Roasted Green Onion Pizza

I love seasonal ingredients. Living in southern California and Arizona for most of my life, I never really get to experience the beauty of the changing of seasons.  Choosing seasonal ingredients is a way I get to join in on the fun.

For me, summer equals tomatoes, watermelon, and corn.

I grew up loving tomatoes, and having neighbors who homegrow the most amazing varieties in their garden was a definite perk. As we’re getting to the end of summer, I thought I’d use the end of the year’s crop of tomatoes for a homemade pizza sauce.

Tipsy Pizza Sauce:

6-8 Tomatoes: peeled, seeded, and crushed

I used a Dafel variety from our neighbors that have been peeled in my fridge for a couple of days, but any will do. Peeling is especially important late in summer because the skins tend to get thicker in my experience.

1 can Tomato Paste

1/3  cup  Red Wine, I used a local Sangiovese from Orfila Vineyards

2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons dried Minced Onion

Pinch of Fennel Seed

I like to grind my fennel seed in a mortar and pestle because I feel like it releases that robust licorice flavor in the seed. If you don’t have a mortar, you can just use the backside of a spoon on a cutting board.

Heavy pinch of Dried Oregano

Pinch of Dried Basil

Pinch of Parsley Flakes

2 Cloves of Garlic, minced

4-5 Pink Peppercorns, cracked (you can use mortar/pestle or spoon method described above, or freshly cracked black pepper is fine)

Sea Salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low for 15 minutes to blend flavors.

You can store or freeze any leftovers; or for a quick dinner or lunch, mix with cooked frozen meatballs and top with provolone for a great meatball sub.

PIZZAS

I’m still on the lookout for the perfect homemade dough, but this one is pretty good, easy to work with, and can be made quickly. The website also has great step-by-step directions with pictures.

http://www.annamariavolpi.com/pizza_recipe.html

Gouda, Spicy Maple Bacon, & Roasted Green Onion Pizza

6 oz. Gouda cheese, shredded

4 slices Spicy Maple Bacon (see below)

3 Whole Green Onions, roasted (see below)

Preheat oven to 500°. Crumble bacon and rough-chop the Onions. Smear pizza dough with ¾ c. tipsy pizza sauce and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, evenly distribute the gouda, and sprinkle the bacon on top. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Spicy Maple Bacon

Place bacon slices on a cooling rack on a shallow metal baking pan lined with foil. Bake in a 400° oven for 14 minutes. Remove, and brush-on real maple syrup with a silicone brush. Sprinkle with a small amount of cayenne pepper, then brush over again with the brush to evenly distribute the spice. Bake 5 minutes, turn over and brush with syrup/cayenne again, then bake 5 more minutes. Remove and let cool. 

Roasted Green Onions

Smear green onions with EVOO, and season with salt and pepper. Put on a cookie sheet and roast in your 400° oven for 20 minutes. Remove and cool. 

I also made a simple Fresh Mozzarella with the tipsy sauce, and a tomato and mozzarella with EVOO instead of sauce. 

German Style Pot Roast

The nights have been getting chilly in San Diego, so I was in the mood for some comfort food. This is an adaptation of a Whole Foods recipe, and is delicious. It's pretty low-calorie, and simple to make, just kind of time consuming. The ingredients are:

2 tsp. Dried Dill Weed
2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Minced Dried Onion
1/2 tsp. Allspice
1/2 tsp. Ground pepper
1 3-4 lb. Boneless Beef Chuck Roast
2 Tbs. EVOO
2 Large Onions, sliced (I like sweet yellow onions)
2 Cups Beef Stock
1 Cup Apple Juice
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
6 Carrots, peeled and sliced in 1" pieces
1/2 of One Red Cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
3 Large Russet Potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
2 Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 8 slices each

Pictured below are the wet ingredients and the spices...

And the produce...

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a rammekin or small bowl, combine the dill, salt, onion, allspice, and pepper. Dry the roast with  paper towels, then smear the dry rub on all sides of the meat.

In a large roasting pan or Dutch Oven, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat, then brown the roast on all sides. This helps to seal in moisture doing the slow, dry roasting process in the oven. After browning, remove the roast from the pan and set aside. (Pictured Below)

Now, add the onions to the roasting pan with 1/4 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden and tender, which will be about 8-10 minutes.  Then stir in the beef stock, apple juice, and cinnamon, and bring to a boil.

Return the roast to the pan, cover, and roast one hour.  Stir in cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, and re-cover,  cooking for another 1 hour 45 minutes-2 hours, depending on the size of the roast. Vegetables should be tender.  During the last 15 minutes of cooking, uncover and add apples.

 Note: as always, cooking times may vary. If you find your meat is done but your veggies are not, remove the meat, cover in foil, and raise oven temp to 400 degrees to finish roasting.

Transfer to a large platter and dribble the pan juices over the meat and vegetables. 

For my wine-friendly friends, this is great with a Malbec or Syrah; or a Pinot Noir if you like a lighter red.

The added bonus is that the meat makes AMAZING roast beef sandwiches for leftovers...Crusty rolls, a touch of horseradish mayo, tomato, and crispy romaine lettuce. YUM!