Chicago Deep Dish Pizza!

Because our paint night was cancelled tonight, I invited my friend, Lawrence, to come over and have dinner.  He had a friend in town who had come to cheer Lawrence on in his Santa Clause race in the morning.  I met this friend a month or so ago and he's very interesting.  He works in Aeronautics.  Because he's in a science world, I find him fascinating.  So always glad to have the two of them to dinner.  And now that I have my own beautiful house, I have the space to entertain AND I have a beautiful kitchen to cook in. 

Thus, it was a very busy day of cooking and cleaning.  It started with "Christmas Crack" or Chex mix.  This would be my third batch this year and I try to only make it when I have an excuse to share.  This was followed by Magic Bars (my version this year has dark chocolate and PB chips).  Finally, to the main dish. About two months ago, I updated my pizza supplies, including individual sized deep dish pizza pans.  Seeing them on the counter made me want to try my hand at making Chicago-style deep dish pizza.  I have resisted doing this in the past because I love the crust and I am always worried that the recipes are not quite right.  There is a different texture to Chicago pizza crust and that is what I love able it.  After some searching, I found a recipe to try out.  But at the same time, I decided that I would also make my own pizza sauce for this (given that I have those beautiful home-canned tomatoes).

Well, the result was incredible.  The crust was light and crunchy, exactly what I expected.  We chose sausage and pepperoni (very traditional) and I made my own sauce which was exactly right for this pizza.  Can't wait to try it again and change up the fillings.

Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza
Adapted from:www.bunsinbyoven.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/chicago-deep-dish-pizza-recipe.jpg

For crust

•  3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 cups flour
•  1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp suger
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp corn meal

For sauce

• 1/2 large onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 28-oz jar home-canned tomatoes
• 2 tsp dried basil (during the spring/summer, consider using 2 Tbsp fresh basil)

Fillings

• 1 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 15 slices turkey pepperoni

To make crust:
Add the water and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Let sit 5 minutes.  Add flour, oil, sugar, salt and corn meal to the bowl and turn the mixer to low.  Mix until just combined and increase speed to medium, kneading for 2 minutes.  Place the dough ball into a large, greased bowl and set in a warm place for up to 6 hours (or until dough has doubled).  

To make the sauce:
While the dough is rising, make the sauce.  In this case, I cooked and crumbled the sausage in a large skillet.  Once cooked, remove the sausage to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.  Remove all but 1 Tbsp of the drippings.  Add onions and cook until starting to brown.  Add garlic and cook one minute longer.  Add tomatoes and basil.  If tomatoes are whole, halved or quartered, use an immersion blender to puree until consistency of pureed tomatoes (you may use pureed tomatoes as well).  Cook for about 20 minutes to meld flavors.

To assemble pizza:
Preheat oven to 475F.  Lightly butter 3 individual-sized deep dish pizza pans (or a 12-inch cast iron skillet).  Sprinkle with additional corn meal.  Punch down the dough and let rest for 15 minutes.  Divide into three balls and place one in each prepared pan.  Use your fingers to press it into the bottom of the pans and up the sides. 

Sprinkle crust with mozzarella cheese (this keeps crust from becoming soggy).  Layer sausage and pepperoni.  Then spoon sauce over all.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crust is browned and the edges of the pepperoni that peek through the sauce are also browned.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before cutting.

Beans, Sausage and Greens

I hate to admit it, but I think I may be caught in a rut, but if I must be, what a delicious rut to be caught in! If you go over the last couple month's entries, I believe you will find several recipes for bean soups with sausage and greens. The interesting thing is that each has been different and each has been unbelievably tasty. I was always a big fan of chili as a kid, but beyond that, the only other type of bean soup I really ate was Cambell's Bean with Bacon (which I fully admit, I loved!). This year with the CSA, we have gotten a plethora of not only greens (kale, Swiss chard, beet greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, you name it), but also sausage (Italian, chorizo, bratwurst, andoille). Sausage and greens go together beautifully; whether over pasta, on sandwiches....or in soup. Each type of sausage lends to a different flavor or style of cooking and each is just as interesting and tasty as the other. So, that said, today's soup leans toward Italian flavors with Italian sausage, kale and cannellini beans.

Slow-cooker Italian Sausage, Bean and Vegetable Soup
Adapted from: http://www.thetasteplace.com/2011/02/21/slow-cooker-italian-sausage-and-vegetable-soup/ 

• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes with basil, undrained
• 4 cups can chicken stock*
• 1 small onion*, diced
• ½ tsp thyme
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp marjoram
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 splashes of balsamic vinegar
• 1 lb mild Italian sausage links, cut into ½ inch thick slices
• 1 medium kusa zucchini*, cut into chunks
• 1 bunch kale*, stalks trimmed off and leaves cut into thin shreds
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Plug in the slow cooker. In the slow cooker pot, combine all ingredients, except Parmesan. Stir well to combine and set slow cooker to low. Cook for at least 6 hours.
  

Serve soup with Parmesan cheese on top.

*CSA ingredients

Super Bowl, CSA Style

Two things about this Super Bowl: First, it's just me this year, so I'm going light on the food. Second, does anyone care about this matchup, really? My friends at work do a pool that I have benefitted quite nicely from for the last 3 years. So, there is my reason for watching: to see if I win anything again.

 That said, you do kind of have to make something to enjoy during the game. This year, I had everything I needed to make spaghetti sauce with Italian sausage. And since I did that and had a pizza crust in my freezer (from the CSA, of course), I decided on sausage mushroom pizza. Here, I must add a shootout to Clark Pope. If you'll remember, we got Berkshire ribs in the last share and I prepared them in the oven using BBQ sauce from Clark Pope. Today, I used another of his products, roasted cherry tomatoes in fig oil. I have used these before, in an eggplant and roasted pepper (also a Clark Pope product) sauce. I cannot express just how much I like these products. It makes me happy that I will continue with the summer CSA, so I can, hopefully, enjoy more of these wonderful products!

Crockpot Italian Sausage Sauce

• 2 jars Roasted cherry tomatoes in fig oil*
• 1 (28-oz) can whole plum tomatoes
• 1 medium yellow onion,* diced 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb Italian sausage

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add onions and saute until onions are translucent.Transfer to Crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and cook, covered, 6-8 hours on Low.

Superbowl Sausage Mushroom Pizza

• 1 ball seasoned pizza dough*
• 1/4 cup sauce (see above)
• 1 Italian sausage link* sliced
• 1 (4-oz) can sliced Mushrooms
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella*

Preheat oven to 450°F. Stretch dough to a 12-inch circle.Spoon sauce into center of dough and spread, leaving a 1/4-inch margin. Distribute sausage and mushrooms evenly over pizza. Sprinkle with mozzarella.Ideally, bake directly on a pizza stone for a crisp crust. Alternatively, bake on a prepared pizza sheet. Crust will be softer. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

* CSA ingredients

Brunch

Today is another cooking day. I woke late this morning, a blessing as I have been sick for a couple days. I feel much better today! I decided to go with brunch this morning, making a recipe I found on a Paleo blog pinned on Pintrest.com. I did not follow the recipe directly, but it turned out quite tasty.

 Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Adapted from: http://www.paleoeffect.com/recipes/paleo-breakfast-casserole-paleo-effect/

• 1 med Sweet Potatoes*
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 local hot Italian Sausage*
• ½ red Onion*
• 4 Eggs*
• ½ c skim milk
• ¼ tsp Sage
• Sea Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Grease a glass pie plate. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grate the sweet potatoes (making hash browns) and then place them in the bottom of the greased dish.

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Chop the onion and sausage and add to the oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook until sausage is no longer pink and onions are translucent. Layer the sausage and onion on top of the sweet potatoes.

Put the eggs, sage, milk, ½ tsp of sea salt and ½ tsp of pepper into a blender (or Bullet!) and mix thoroughly. Pour this egg mixture on top of the sausage and onions.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 *CSA ingredients

More Potatoes & Sausage

I am finally using up all those potatoes that I have been complaining about for weeks.  I want to thank Lia Hotchkiss for giving me an idea of how to use them, along with some of the packs of sausage that have been lurking in my freezer.  While this isn't exactly the idea she gave me, she gave me a good basis.  I can smell it simmering on the stove and it smells wonderful. Oh, and Lia, thanks for the idea for the ale.  It pulls all of the flavors together nicely!

Rustic Sausage & Potato Soup

• 6 Tbsp olive oil, split
• Water
• 2 lbs red-skin potatoes split*
• 1 large onion*
• 1 medium green pepper*
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
• ½ lb pork sausage*
• ½ lb Italian sausage*
• 4 cups chicken stock
• “Dollop” of Bell’s Best Brown Ale (by dollop, I mean 1 cup)
• Seasonings to taste (salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic & herbs)

1) Wash potatoes, green pepper and mushrooms.  Peel 1 lb of the potatoes and cover with water to 1 inch above.  Place these on the stove, cover and boil until potatoes are cooked (knife pierces potatoes easily).  Allow to cool and then blend until smooth with an immersion blender.

2) Preheat oven to 450F.  Dice remaining potatoes to 1/2" cubes.  Peel and dice onion to same size cubes.  Place all in a ziploc bag.  Pour in 3 Tbsp olive oil and garlic & herbs to taste.  Seal bag and shake until all vegetables are coated.  Pour vegetables onto a prepared cookie sheet and spread to a single layer.  Cook at 450F for 25 minutes, stirring once.

3) Dice green peppers and slice mushrooms.  Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add peppers and mushrooms.  Saute until peppers are starting to become soft.  Add sausages and cook, breaking up as you stir, until the sausages are no longer pink.

4) Combine pureed potatoes and roasted vegetables with sausage and peppers in the Dutch oven.  Add chicken stock, ale and salt & pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until flavors blend.  makes 12 1-cup servings.

*CSA ingredients

CSA Meatballs!

So, this may be hard to believe, but I have only once in my lifetime made meatballs before.  This is especially surprising if you know that my great grandparents were from Sicily!  :-s  But this week, in our CSA package, we got three packages of ground meat: hamburger, veal and Italian sausage.  Perfect combination for meatballs, don't you think?  We also got a dozen fresh eggs, so I am very flush with eggs.  Thus, this morning, I decided to do my best to make meatballs.

Italian Sausage Meatballs

Makes about 50 meatballs

• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 lb Italian sausage (bulk)
• 1 lb veal, ground
• 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp sweet basil, dried
• 3 garlic cloves

Place all three meats in a large bowl and mix well.  Add breadcrumbs, egg, basil and garlic; mix well (try not to handle meat too much).  Line baking sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Make meatballs by taking a small handful of meat mixture and rolling it into balls (about 1-1 1/2").  Place on baking tray, about 1/2" apart.  Bake at 375F for 20 minutes.  Either freeze for later use or add to homemade sauce.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value (2 meatballs per serving): 4 points

I will make some spaghetti sauce later to put some of them in (the rest will be frozen to take to my husband).  I also recieved some fresh black pepper pasta in the package this week, so I will probably have meatballs over the fresh pasta for dinner tonight.  Yum!  Can't wait!