Accidental Hawaiian Calzone

Ok, so, let me preface this by saying that this one of the yummiest accidents I’ve made to date. I started to make a Hawaiian pizza and everything was going as planned. Since I decided to buy dough instead of making it myself, I was expecting a very cinchy dinner. I floured my board and successfully rolled the dough out into a perfect circle. I even reflected on how dough, and more specifically, any application involving my rolling pin, used to pique my frustration levels so much so that whatever I was working on often landed in the trash.

Anyway, happy about my now masterful use of a rolling pin, I began to think about assembling the pizza. Here’s where the catastrophe occurred – I gingerly spread the sauce over top of the dough, sprinkling with a few crushed red pepper flakes for fun. I then continued with the ham, pineapple, and finally, the cheese. And then it occurred to me that I had absolutely no way of getting this pizza, laying heavily on my cutting board, into the actual oven. Fuck. I of course should have removed the pizza stone that I was preheating in the oven and carried the dough onto that before topping. Fuck. Anyway, I thought I might just pick it up and transfer it. Nope. Dough is stretchy, people. No dice. So I just folded it in half and used a spatula to move it on over to the stone. Vioila! But, oh crap. Now it’s kinda ruined. I tried to take the glass-half-full approach and began to conceptualize this folded pizza messiness…folded pizza! How inventive! Then I realized it was just actually a calzone. A delicious calzone, I might say, but, yeah, a calzone nonetheless.

Anyway, that’s my pizza wrestling story. I do suggest you try this calzone as soon as possible, as it really is kind of perfect.

Mushroom and Pancetta Tart

I had no intention of making this today, but I found myself with some extra time and extra ingredients and the desire to laze around the house and cook. I’m so glad I did. This is a bit of a quiche/tart/frittata idea, and it’s delicious. The pancetta definitely makes this dish, so don’t skip that. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t thrilled with the crust, so next time I’d try this one instead.

Roasted Pecan Salmon

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes for salmon. It’s super easy and so delicious.

Egg in a Nest Bruschetta

I was torn between two recipes tonight for dinner — sage mushrooms bruschetta or eggs in a nest with spinach and tomato sauce. Since I was out of spinach, I decided to sort of combine the dishes. The result was a crispy, cheesy garlic toast with a soft egg in the middle, topped with mushrooms cooked in sage butter. Delicious.

M&M Cookies

I baked!! And it was edible! And they got me onto foodgawker! Who knew baking was so cool?

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma is one of my all-time favorite dishes. It’s perfectly comforting with its creamy sauce and tender dark-meat chicken. I have tried, many times, to re-create the dish as I’ve had it in Indian restaurants, but to no avail. I’m sad to say that while this dish was delicious, and probably much healthier than the restaurant versions, it still wasn’t “the one”. Try this though – it calls for store-bought curry paste so it’s pretty easy to put together.

Also, it’s illegal to serve any saucy curry without basmati rice, in my opinion. I used a brown basmati, which takes about 45 minutes to cook, so start that after you get all your prep work done.

Tortellini with Fiddleheads and Mushrooms

I picked up these fiddleheads on a whim (I had just had them at my mom’s house — she breads them and fries in olive oil – SO good) and I wanted to try something different with them. Fiddleheads are only available for a short period during the springtime, so feel free to substitute with another veggie or delicious pork product, even. This is one of those dishes that you can kind of throw in whatever you want.

Dijon Chicken Club Sandwiches

Dijon Chicken Club Sandwiches
serves 2 / adapted from homemade by holman

Here’s what I used:

For the marinade:

• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 T honey
• 1T lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the sandwich:

• 2 6-oz chicken breasts
• 4 slices whole wheat bread
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 slices center-cut bacon
• 2 pieces of cooked, marinated chicken
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 4 tsp light butter or margarine

Here’s what I did:

1. Combine mustard, vinegar, lemon juice and honey in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
2. Add spices and whisk again.
3. Add the chicken to the marinade, turn it around in it until it’s well coated, and let soak in the fridge for an hour (45 minutes in the fridge, the last 15 minutes on the counter).
4. Cook the bacon on a grill pan until crispy on both sides. Remove and drain on paper towels.
5. Drain all but a couple of tsp of bacon fat from the pan and heat over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken 5-6 minutes on both sides until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil for about 10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute.
6. Rinse off the pan, dry it, and heat over medium heat.
7. Assemble the sandwiches. Spread one side of each piece of bread with the butter. Spread the dijon on the opposite side of 2 of the slices. On the dijon side, add the sliced chicken, bacon and mozzarella and top with another piece of bread, butter side out.
8. Cook the sandwich over medium heat, butter side out, for a few minutes on each side. Weigh the sandwich down with a bowl or a frying pan for maximum crispiness. Eat it.

Panko Crusted Pork Caesar Salad

Yet another amazing recipe from Now Eat This! It’s kind of brilliant actually. I’ve made Caesar-style dressing before and it calls for a lot of olive oil, anchovy paste, lemon, egg yolks. Mayo is made with very similar ingredients, but you can buy that reduced-fat. Brilliant use for this easy, easy dressing.

Turkey Burgers with Fennel and Basil

Turkey burgers are one of my favorite weeknight meals. Cheap, healthy, fast, easy. I enjoy all of these things after a long day. These turkey burgers are pretty basic, but the fennel seed adds a nice little unique touch.

Rosemary Sweet Potato Wedges

So, I’m kind of an herb snob. For herbs that I tend to use a lot (thyme, basil, rosemary, chives…to name a few), I am almost explicitly anti-dried herb. Why use dried if you can use fresh and it’s so much better? Well, after making these rosemary “fries” in no time and for like 4 cents, I may get it. Rosemary is one of my favorite flavors and scents, and the dried rosemary totally works in this and is so easy. I’m slowly getting it.

Rosemary Sweet Potato Wedges
serves 2 / 2 ww pts

Here’s what I used:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed (or 1 sprig of fresh, finely minced

Here’s what I did:

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. In a spice grinder or mortar & pestle, blitz the rosemary a bit so you don’t end up chewing on what will taste like sticks from your back yard.
3. Cut the potato into 8 lengthwise wedges and place on a nonstick baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and blitzed dried rosemary.
4. Roast for 15 minutes, toss around with tongs, and continue to roast until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes more.

Cucumber and Radish Salad

I love radishes. They’re kind of sassy, but not as spicy as you might think. They’re perfect in this summery salad, but I also like to eat a whole radish dipped in sea salt or kosher salt. That’s right – try it!