Pizza Night: Poblano & Pepper Jack Pizza

Not surprisingly, pizza is a favorite in many households. Personally, I love it just because it's so darn versatile; there are so many different toppings, sauces, and types of crust to choose from, and each combination is delicious in its own unique way.

Today's recipe takes flavors that I love to add a mexi-twist to the traditionally italian-style flavors of the pizza. Try it at home - or try your own mix of flavors based on what you love best!

Poblano & Pepper Jack Pizza

1 packet thin & crispy pizza dough mix

3 tbs olive oil

1 tsp cumin

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1 large poblano pepper

1 small red onion, sliced into wedges

1 avocado, chopped

1 1/2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded 

1/2 cup store-bought salsa verde

fresh cilantro 

Mix olive oil, cumin and garlic in a small container.

Preheat grill pan at medium-high heat. Brush poblano pepper and red onion with cumin & garlic olive oil and grill for 5 minutes, or until charring begins. Remove from heat and slice poblano into 1/4-inch strips.

Prepare the pizza dough as listed on package. Bake dough for 2-3 minutes to set, then brush with remaining cumin & garlic oil. Add salsa verde and spread over pizza, leaving edges for crust. Top with pepper jack cheese, red onions, and poblano pepper. Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.

Remove pizza from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Top with chopped avocado and fresh cilantro. Slice and serve.

This pizza was so good, I'm already itching to make it again! If you're afraid of the spice, substitute the poblano pepper with a green bell pepper and the pepper jack cheese for a shredded monterey jack.

Have your own great recipe for a funky and fun pizza? Let me know what combinations you like best...I'd love to try them!

Cheers!

Garden Fresh: Squash & Ricotta Galette

The more I cook, the more I come to appreciate high quality, fresh ingredients. Now that I'm in a house with a yard (yay!), I've made it a goal of mine to grow fresh herbs and vegetables in my own backyard garden. This year, my husband and I started small, with a pear tomato plant, basil, oregano and a variety of hot peppers. If all goes well, we'll expand our inventory next summer. In the meantime, I gladly take any and all donations of fresh vegetables from my friends and family.

My mother-in-law recently brought over a bounty of wonderful vegetables from her garden - jalapenos, banana peppers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers and eggplant. I was really excited to have such great ingredients to work with, and wanted to make sure that I put them to great use. Today's recipe calls for the use of both squash and zucchini, with the added bonus of the use of fresh basil that I grabbed from my own garden.

Squash & Ricotta Galette

 1 medium zucchini, sliced thin

1 medium yellow squash, sliced thin

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 tbs EVOO 

I egg, beaten

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

1 tsp fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1 frozen pie crust

1/8 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thaw pie crust as instructed. Unroll and lay out in 9-inch pie pan. 

Combine squash and zucchini in a large bowl. Add olive oil and garlic and mix well. In a medium bowl, add ricotta, parmesan cheese, thyme, lemon rind, lemon juice, pepper and egg. Mix well.

Spread ricotta mixture over the dough in the pie pan. Lay zucchini and squash on top of the ricotta mix, alternating and slightly overlapping the edges. Sprinkle with salt. Fold edges of the crust over slightly.

Cover the edges of the pie crust with strips of aluminum foil (this will prevent the crust from browning too much). Put pie pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, cook 10 minutes and add basil leaves. Cook another 5 minutes and cut into wedges.

This dish is light and fresh, with floral undertones that suggest a slight sweetness for your palette. It's a great addition to a summer get together, and will appeal to kids and parents alike.

Cheers!

Mix of the Month: The Creamsicle Cosmo

The majority of the year, I'm the kind of girl that prefers her drinks dark and smooth; I'm not one for anything that's too sweet, too sour, or really, anything frozen. Most days, I'll take a Jack and Coke over whatever fruity drink of the day is on the menu. In the summer, though, that changes.

In the summer, my tolerance for sweet and fruity goes way up. I find myself craving pina coladas, mojitos, and (of course), margaritas - drinks that taste like sunshine in a glass. It was actually my craving for a refreshing cranberry mojito that led me to creating June's mix of the month. While gathering the ingredients, I realized that my grocer was out of mint. Instead of stopping somewhere else to try to grab this key component, I decided to wing it. I picked up a bottle of orange whipped vodka to go along with the cranberry juice and Sprite that I'd already purchased, and the end result took me back to summers when I was a kid, enjoying popsicles on hot days. This cocktail is an adult version of one of those tasty treats.

The Creamsicle Cosmo

1 part orange whipped vodka

2 parts cranberry juice

Sprite, to top off

Mix vodka and cranberry juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until frost form on outside. Pour into martini glass and top off with a splash of Sprite.

I added a slice of lime for garnish, but this is optional. If you can't find orange whipped vodka at your liquor store, substitute vanilla vodka and triple sec (1 part vodka as shown in the recipe and 1/2 part triple sec). Enjoy!

Stay tuned for more summer recipes, coming up this week...

Cheers!