Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Caramelized Acorn Squash Pizza



1/4 acorn squash
1 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
2 oz fresh pizza dough
1/4 cup shredded ff mozzarella or soy cheese, shredded
1 TB crumbled Gorgonzola
1/2 cup arugula
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the squash in half from top to bottom, then quarter it. Scoop out the seeds. Slice a quarter of the squash into 1/2 to 3/4-inch wide half moons and place in a medium bowl. Toss the squash with the syrup, olive oil, red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the squash on a alu foil-lined baking sheet. Bake the squash until tender and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Keep the temperature on the oven at 375 degrees F. Roll out the pizza dough on a flour dusted surface. Place the pizza on a perforated baking sheet. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and the Gorgonzola on the pizza dough. Bake in the oven until golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Peel the skins off the squash. During the last 5 minutes, top the cooked pizza with the cooked squash. Top with arugula and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Slice and serve.

Swordfish with Salsa Verde



3 oz swordfish steak
salt, pepper,
1 ts ghee (clarified butter)
1/4 cup salsa verde (for recipe, see here)

Heat clarified butter in skillet til really smoking hot. Season swordfish from both sides with salt and pepper. Place sword steak in skillet and sear on one side at high temperature fast so that the fish caramelizes. Turn once, and sear the other side. Serve with salsa verde.

Vegan Mini Pizza



Make a mini pizza using 2 oz of fresh, whole-wheat pizza dough. Roll out the dough on a flour dusted surface, until the dough is reasonably thin. Add tomato sauce, 2 TB shredded vegan mozzarella, 1 soy hot dog cut into slices, red onion slices and a dash of fresh ground black pepper.

Bake at 450F for 12 min. Serve with kalamata olives and red pepper flakes sprinkles.

Tomato sauce (makes more than 1 serving):
2 TB ketchup
1 TB hot sauce
1/2 grated garlic clove
1 cup fired roasted canned tomatoes, diced

Cuban Burger



Caramelized Onions and Jalapenos:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large yellow onions, finely sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup bottled and sliced jalapeno chiles, drained
½ cup dark brown sugar

Sauté a large white onion with canned, pickled jalapenos, salt, pepper and some brown sugar until caramelized.

Red Pepper Mayo:
1 medium jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained
¼ cup ff mayonnaise

Mix in blender to smooth consistency.

Cuban burgers:
3 oz lean ground beef
1 oz chorizo
1/2 ts adobo seasoning w. cumin
1/4 onion, grated
1 TB dry bread crumbs
1 TB ketchup
1 spritz of worchestershire
1/2 ts ground garlic
1/2 ts cumin

Add ground beef and chorizo to a large bowl, and add ketchup, worchestershire sauce, the bread crumbs, adobe, cumin, and garlic. Mix well with your hands. Transfer cuban burger mix to a pan, place and bakeburger for 35 min to make burger patties.

Arrange burger on a bun: burger, mayo and sweet-spicy onions!