Personal Pizza of the Week

Caramelized Onions & Sundried Tomatoes

This one is a no-brainer! Here are the steps to this out-of-the-box personal pizza:

1- Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

2- Heat up 3 tbs of olive oil in a skillet and fry 1 large sliced onion until caramelized (brown and toasted). Add a little salt and 3 tbs dried oregano. Then throw in 1/2 cup of sliced sun-dried tomatoes and cook for about 1 more minute on high heat. Turn off heat.

3- Spread cheese on your homemade pita (I normally use fresh mozzarella but I only had shredded mozarella-cheddar today). 

4- Top pita with the onions mixture including the drippings from the pan and add sliced Kalamata olives and fresh Italian basil leaves. 

5- Coat pizza pan with a drop of olive oil, place pita on the pan, and bake for about 5 minutes.

6- Enjoy you personal pizza by yourself or share with someone...remember, sharing is caring!

Chicken Picatta

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs

salt and black pepper to taste

2 lemons

8 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/2 cup chicken broth (or stock, I just save the broth whenever I boil chicken, it can last up to 7 days in the fridge and it's healthier than store-bought chicken stock)

1/4 cup capers

chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

1- Butterfly each chicken breast, wrap in plastic and pound each breast a little. This helps make that texture a lot smoother.

2- In a bowl, beat the egg and add salt and pepper. Let chicken sit in the egg for a couple minutes

3- Remove chicken from egg mixture and bread it with the bread crumbs. Apply pressure so the bread sticks well to the chicken.

4- Meanwhile, heat up half of the butter in a skillet and once hot brown the breaded chicken on both sides (make sure it's on medium-high so the chicken can brown on the outside but not cook all the way inside).

5- Once chicken is browned, put it on a baking sheet and squeeze the juice of a lemon all over chicken and then cover with foil and bake in the oven (preheated to 350 degrees) for about 30 minutes.

6- While the chicken is baking, use the same skillet used for the chicken and add remaining butter and flour and mix well. 

7- Once butter is melted and thickened, add the juice from the remaining lemon, the chicken broth, and the capers. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and let it reduce until it reaches a creamy consistency and then remove from heat.

8- Check on chicken if the breasts were thick they'll take longer to cook (about 30 minutes) but if they were thin they'll be ready sooner (about 20 minutes). 

9- Plate the chicken breast and then add the sauce on top. You can garnish with lemon slices and fresh parsley. In the picture, I accompanied the chicken with a red potatoes & yam puree (click for recipe).

10- Enjoy!

Pasta Primavera

This is a quick, tasty, and colorful dish. It is also very easy to make. Keep in mind this recipe is allows for a lot of creativity and variations. Just make sure you use fresh, seasonal vegetables and fresh herbs. Let's go!

Boil your favorite pasta in hot water according to package instructions. Most people use short pastas but I like to use thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta. While the pasta is cooking, crush 5 cloves of fresh garlic saute in  a hot pan with 2 tablespoons of butter. Then add your favorite veggies. This time I used fresh yellow bell peppers, onions, squash, fresh corn kernels, and fresh parsley (all chopped up). Once pasta is cooked and drained mix it in the pan with the veggies and add a cup of heavy cream. Cook together for about 3 minutes on high heat. Add crumbled Feta or Roquefort cheese for a little twist. You can also sprinkle a little chopped parsley on top for garnishing. ENJOY!

Bucatini Pasta with Red Sauce

Let me start by saying that I LOVE Bucatini pasta. When I was a little girl, I would suck in the bucatini noodles and wait for the little splash of sauce on my face when I reached the end...okay I was very little when I did that. But I always continued to love this pasta. It's thick and filling. The hole in the center of each noodle allows it to take in more sauce than your average spaghetti or other pasta. Because Bucatini takes in sauce so well, I like to make it with a rich and meaty sauce. You can find Bucatini at most grocery stores but they don't have that many so you have to look look for it. I've noticed that not a lot of people are familiar with it but trust me once you try it I think you'll love it. So here is the recipe I like to use for Bucatini. Of course, you can use any red sauce but I recommend this one. Here's another picture...

Instructions:

In a medium sauce pan heat up 1/3 cup olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, and 1 cup minced onion until caramelized. Add 1/2 cup shredded carrots and cook until soft. Add 1/2lb lean ground beef. Once brown, add 2 tbs oregano, 2 tbs parsley, 2tbs  basil, 1 bay leaf, 1tbs black pepper, 1tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 cup granulated white sugar, 1tbs cumin, 2tbs salt. Stir well and cook together for about 3-5 minutes. Add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 cup tomato sauce. Stir and cover. Cook on low heat for 15 then add 1/2 cup water, stir and cook another 30 minutes. Check for salt...you can add a little more to taste. I find the taste changes a little after cooking, so check as you go and feel free to add more herbs and spices if you'd like. Cook according to instructions on package, drain, and put it in the sauce pan and let it sit in the sauce for 10 minutes before serving. You can sprinkle cheese on top, but in this case I like to enjoy the bucatini with the juicy sauce on their own. ENJOY!

Garlic Sausage Sauteed Rigatoni

I came up with this pasta on a day when I was bored and wanted to try this garlic sausage I bought at Sam's Club and just make something different. Forget cooking your pasta in boiling water as usual! By sauteing the pasta we are adding tons more flavor and a little crunch to things! Not to mention the appealing color and character of the dish. One of the things I love about cooking is that it really is pure art! You start with a blank canvas and you can take it any direction you'd like. One of the most important things when cooking is not to put yourself in a box. The kitchen is your shrine and you're a food god of cuisine when you're in it. You are free to experiment, play, taste, and do whatever you want with your creations. I'm telling you this because that's how I cook most days. I'm not the kind gal to follow a recipe even when I try, somehow I always end up adding my own twist. Once you get used to cooking and EATING, your palate will be the "intuition" that will tell you what might taste good together and it'll help you get creative in the kitchen. This recipe was all spur-of-the-moment but it came out so good! So here it is...

Ingredients

1 package Rigatoni Pasta

1 cup parmessan cheese

2 cups sliced sausage of choice (I used a "garlic" Italian sausage)

3 cups milk

6 garlic cloves minced

1/8 cup dried parsley

3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbs corn starch

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large skillet saute garlic and sausage in olive oil. Then add rigatoni in the pan and brown/toast but make sure they don't burn. Once pasta has a brown "toasted" color add salt, pepper, and parsley and stir in. Then add 2 1/2 cups milk and let pasta finish cooking at medium/medium-low heat covered. Stir occasionally to make sure milk doesn't boil (it helps if the skillet is a little deep so things don't spill). Once pasta is almost al-dente (look at package cooking times) mix the remainder 1/2 cup of milk with the corn starch and add to the pasta. Cook about 5 more minutes to make sure the starch flavor disappears and sauce gets thick. Stir occasionally. Once pasta is tender turn of heat, add parmessan cheese and mix, and let it sit for a couple minutes. When you plate it you can add a little more cheese on top. ENJOY!

Sauteed Lemon Garlic Gnocchi

Sauteed Garlic Gnocchi

Here I am sharing how I flavored the gnocchi once it's done. I used my grandma's recipe to 

make them but here is a standard gnocchi recipe you can try: 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/gnocchi-recipe2/index.html.

Once you got the gnocchi ready proceed with the following:

Ingredients

8 garlic cloves minced

1 cup green onions

1 cup parmessan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Salt & Pepper to tast

In a medium skillet heat up olive oil. Add 1/2 cup onions and garlic until caramelized. Throw in cooled down gnocchi. Sautee until golden brown. Shake constantly to make sure all sides get color. Add the rest of the onions and salt & pepper to taste. Gradually add lemon juice until reduced and more brown. Turn off heat, add parmessan cheese and toss around in the pan. Serve hot. Sprinkle some more cheese and green onions on each plate if desired. Buon appetito!