Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Zucchini Pizza

I admit, when I first saw this on Pinterest I passed right on by. I just didn't think it would taste that good. But as everyone and their Mother's Uncle seemed to be pinning it, I took a closer look. Seems the original recipe came from one of my favorite bloggers...Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen so I pinned it thinking I'd probably never use it.

Fast forward about a week to a co-worker giving me some extra zucchini that had been growing in his yard. One of them was those nice round, ball like zucchini that I've actually never cooked with before. The Pizza Zucchini recipe was still stuck in my mind so I decided to give it a try.

I was actually very surprised by how good this turned out. The zucchini didn't turn mushy as I had feared and even though it was pretty simple to put together it had great flavor. I didn't exactly follow Kayln's directions (she grilled hers, I used my broiler) but this will definitely be something I make again.

ZUCCHINI PIZZA
(Kalyn's Kitchen)

For Kalyn's recipe go here.

You will need the following:

Globe zucchini
Pizza Sauce (or doctored tomato sauce)
Cheese
Pepperoni
Olive Oil

Note: My zucchini was larger than the one shown on Kalyns blog. I cut a bit off the top and bottom of the globe zucchini and then sliced it making four rounds. I brushed both sides with olive oil and then broiled the slices until tender (I did turn them over once).

Note: I didn't have any pizza sauce but I did have a bit of leftover tomato sauce. I added some oregano and a bit of this and that to make my own pizza type sauce. I just spooned some on top of the broiled zucchini.

Note: I used some pre-shredded four cheese mix that I had in the fridge. I probably added more than normal on top of the sauce as I like things cheesy. I also added a bit of cheese on top of the pepperoni.

Note: I used presliced rounds of pepperoni (Hormel brand). You can also use turkey pepperoni to make this a "meatless" meal.

Note: Once I'd added the toppings, I broiled for only a few minutes to melt the cheese and heat up the toppings.

Since we had a big zucchini, we had this as dinner with a salad. I can see using smaller rounds of zucchini and making this as an appetizer.

For a detailed recipe go to Kalyn's blog here. As she states in her post, this is one of those recipes that once you have the basic idea you can just wing it. Loved that it helped me use some leftover tomato sauce I had no idea what to do with!

Grilled Marinated Sirloin Flap Steaks

While wandering the meat section of Costco the other day, we came across a package of "flap meat". It looked awesome and had all this nice marbling. Since it resembled our favorite cut of meat, the skirt steak, we decided to buy it and give it a try (I can't remember the price, but it was pretty inexpensive).  I then went looking for recipes to cook this cut of meat in my cookbooks. I knew there had to be some flap steak recipes in those cookbooks somewhere but I was unable to find any. I also knew there were probably some flap steak recipes in one of my myriad of cooking magazines, but I also had no luck locating any. That led me to do a search online.

That's when I came across this recipe from the Epicurious site. Originally printed in the October 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine, the recipe for Marinated Flap Steak seemed quick and easy. So quick and easy in fact, that I didn't expect much with the results. But I was wrong. The marinade gave such a wonderful flavor to the meat, and the flap meat itself was so tender, that Mr. L and I had to force ourselves to not eat the entire batch. What was left over became dinner the next night. And by dinner I mean Mr. L and I took the cut up pieces of steak and sat on the couch and ate them cold. Yeah, the flavor was that good.

Be careful when cooking flap meat as with skirt steak, cooked more than medium, it gets tough. You also need to make sure you cut across the grain for tender bites (there are videos online that will explain what that means). I have yet to see flap meat for sale at our regular or gourmet grocery stores, but I understand that you can find it at Costco and Sams Club. We're now converts of flap meat and if you like skirt steak at all, I think you'll like it too.

We let this marinade for almost half an hour, but I love the fact that it says the marinade only takes 15 minutes (or up to 8 hours). I also didn't bother with getting out my blender/food processor to make the marinade. I just threw all the ingredients in the bag. Nor did I grill this outside, we just used our cast iron grill pan on the stove. See, I told you it was quick, simple and easy!

Grilled Marinated Sirloin Flap Steaks
(from Gourmet June 2008)

3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 pounds sirloin flap steaks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Blend soy sauce, vinegar, syrup, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a blender until smooth. Toss steaks with mixture. Marinate at room temperature about 15 minutes.

Prepare a grill for direct-heat cooking over hot charcoal (high heat for gas).

Discard marinade and pat steaks dry.

Oil grill rack, then grill steaks, covered only if using a gas grill, turning occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes total for medium-rare. Let rest on a plate, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Note: We used a fairly inexpensive balsamic vinegar from Trader Joes. We used Traders Joes Organic Grade B Maple Syrup.

Note: I used crushed garlic from a jar.

Note: I had just over a pound and a fourth of flap meat. I'm sure you could use this marinade on skirt steak or flank steak.

Note: I didn't blend the marinade. I put it all in a bowl and whisked it to blend.

Note: We grilled this in our cast iron grill pan on the stove, but figure you could broil this too.

This again, was very tasty, super simple and really quick to make.  I'm also learning that steak, once it's cut in pieces like this isn't very photogenic. Next time I'll take a photo like they show on Epicurious, of the steak with just a piece cut off. You can get the recipe and see the photo here.

Grilled Corn Salad

As I mentioned in my last Current Cookbook post...Sometimes it's hard to decide which recipe to make from a cookbook. This time it was pretty easy. I picked this recipe from the Big Summer Cookbook  because...well...even though I have grilled corn a zillion times, I've never done anything else with it other than eating it out of hand. I chose to make this dish because any time a recipe has asked for corn kernels and has given a choice of either cooking the corn and scrapping the kernels off or using canned or frozen corn...I've used frozen corn. I know I know. The horror. Bad foodie. But this time, after picking up some great fresh Brentwood Corn (and listening to mister blowhard in that voice that carries all over the farmers market drone on about how good it is) I decided that I was going to cut the kernels off and make a dish! Go me! Yeah, little happy cooking moments LOL.

Now in the back of my mind, I've always remembered a tip somewhere that the easiest way to cut kernels from a cob of corn is to use your bundt pan. Stick the end of the cob in the middle hole of the bundt pan  and as you cut the kernels they fall into the bundt pan. The pan also catches all the juices and you're able to move your knife all the way down to the end of the corn cob without the counter or dish getting in the way. This little tip worked perfectly for me (though Mr. L thought I was crazy when I said I had to get out the bundt pan to do the job). I will say, don't cut off the tip or stem end of the corn cob before you do this as either one helps lodge the cob into the bundt pan hole. And why do I feel I need a cigarette after explaining that? Get your minds out of the gutter!

The ingredient list in this recipe does something which I hate. It states "juice of one orange" and "juice of one lime". Lately I can get anywhere from 1/2 teaspoon to 1 1/2 Tablespoons of juice out of one lime from the market. Not sure if it would really make a difference in the dish, but I honestly wasn't sure if the amount of juice I put in was correct. Next time I also think I need to keep the corn on the grill longer to get more smokey flavor. This was super easy to make though and it made a great accompaniment to some grilled steaks we served that night.

GRILLED CORN SALAD

6 ears of fresh corn, shucked
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large ripe tomato, roughly chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup pitted and sliced black olives
1/4 cup sliced scallions, white part and some green parts
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Preheat the grill, then turn the heat down to medium. Brush the corn with some of the oil. Place on the grill and cook turning frequently, 5 to 7 minutes or until the kernels are golden brown.

Into a serving bowl, cut the kernels from the cob. Add the tomato, olives and scallions.

Place the citrus juices, basil, and remaining oil in a blender. Pulse until smooth and add to the salad. Toss to coat and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6

VARIATIONS - Serve this salad over freshly picked field greens or lettuces. You may also add 1/3 cup finely crumbled blue cheese when you toss. Add 1/4 cup finely diced red sweet pepper for color. If you like the spiciness of Southwest cooking, mince a serrano pepper and add to step 2.

Note: I didn't even bother getting out the blender. I just cute the basil into bits and then whisked all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

Note: I didn't use any of the variations but I think I little serrano pepper would be perfect in this next time.

Note: My favorite flower combo is a blue vase with yellow flowers so I loved the look of the yellow corn in this blue dish. Not sure about the photo since it was taken under the light above the stove and looks washed out, but the Grilled Corn Salad itself, even without the blue bowl, made a pretty presentation.

Obviously, cutting kernels of corn off the cob is an easy thing to do and I'm not sure why I was so intimidated about doing it before. Now all I can think about is finding some corn to grill so I can make some awesome corn chowder!

Chipotle Glazed Baby Back Ribs

These were good. Seriously good. Awesome in fact. Yes, I realize to call a recipe 'really good' or 'awesome' is bad blogging. But...these Chipotle Glazed Baby Back Ribs were really that awesomely good.

The recipe for this came from the Rick Bayless Fiesta at Rick's cookbook. I found the dish pretty simple to make though you do have to plan ahead as there is some time spent overnight in the fridge. The rub takes just a few minutes to put together. The sauce takes just a few minutes to put together.  Put the rub on the meat, some time in the fridge, some time in the oven and then just a quick grill with the sauce. These would be great to pre-do for a BBQ. I can see baking these and then taking them to a party to finish on the grill.

There is also some heat in these ribs. I didn't find it very hot at all though Mr. L had a bit of trouble at first (he said his mouth was on fire when he started but the heat mellowed). I saw one review online that stated these had way too much heat for their palate, so I'd be careful if you have trouble with heat from chipotle peppers.

As the recipe states, you'll probably end up with some leftover rub and sauce. No worries. Grab some chicken and grill those. I bought some chicken legs, put some of the leftover rub on them, put them in the fridge for  a couple of hours and then grilled them with the leftover sauce. The chicken was as yummy as the ribs!

CHIPOTLE GLAZED BABY BACK RIBS

FOR THE DRY RUB

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1/3 cup ground ancho chile
4 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 teaspoons ground black pepper
5 teaspoons salt

FOR THE RIBS AND GLAZE

4 large slabs (about 6 1/2 pounds) baby back ribs
1 7.5 ounce can chipotles en adobo
3/4 cup honey

1. Season the ribs. Combine all the dry rub ingredients in a food processor and run until thoroughly blended. Sprinkle the mixture on both sides of each slab of ribs, rub it in to ensure even coverage, then cover and refrigerate overnight. You'll probably have a little dry rub left; in a tightly closed jar in the refrigerator it will last several months.

2. First rib cooking. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Lay the ribs in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets and bake for about 1 1/4 hours, until the meat is tender when tested with a fork. (This cooking may be done early in the day you're serving. Cover and refrigerate the cooked ribs until an hour before serving).

3. Second rib cooking. Turn on a gas grill to medium or light a charcoal grill and let the coals burn until medium-hot and covered with a white ash. In a food processor, blend the can of chipotles with the honey. Scrape into a small bowl and carry to the grill, along with a basting brush.

Lay the ribs on the grill, convex-side down. When hot and well browned, about 3 minutes, flip them over and brush liberally with the chipotle glaze. Cover the grill and cook about 7 minutes for the glaze to set and begin to brown a little. There will likely be leftover glaze, which can be covered and refrigerated for a week or two.

Cut the ribs apart (that's my preference) and serve right away. Serves 8

Note: Chefs note says "the ribs are best when baked the same day you eat them and grilled within a few minutes of serving. They will hold well in a very low oven for a half hour or so before serving". We had these for several days afterwords and they were fine.

Note: We used ribs from Zanottos that came out very tender. We used Mexican oregano (came in the little green square box spices at our grocery store).

Note: We had the butcher cut our two slabs of ribs in half so that they fit better in the oven and on the BBQ. We used a gas grill.

Did I mention how seriously good these were? I thought that maybe we liked them so much because the actual 'ribs' were what was tasty, but after using the rub and sauce on the chicken, we realize it really is this recipe. This is now our 'go to' rub and sauce for chicken and ribs on the grill. The success of the Chipotle-Glazed Baby Back Ribs makes me excited to try more recipes from the Fiesta At Ricks cookbook!

Grilled California Avocado BLT Burgers with Caramelized Chipotle Onions

Yes, I ended up making the burger on the cover of the Build A Better Burger cookbook, but I honestly didn't realize that fact until afterward. Come on, you know I made it because it had bacon in it. This recipe was the grand prize winner in 2004 and was from Clint Stephenson of Texas.

This was really tasty.

This was also a heck of a lot of work for a burger.

The recipe was probably the first "gourmet" burger I've ever put together...where you  not only add ingredients to the meat mixture but you spend time fussing with toppings (since usually for me it's just a slice of cheese, mayo, pickles and tomatoes). Though the end product tasted pretty good, it was a bit of work for "just a burger". (Okay, why is it that I consider a burger something that should be quick and simple? This though, was not).

There were many parts to this recipe...the caramelized onions, the cheese spread, the meat mixture and the avocado slices. The caramelized onion mixture was great. It's something I'd make in a heartbeat to put on burgers in the future. I also really enjoyed the flavor of the patties. I didn't notice a big difference in basting the avocado slices with the vinegar and sprinkling them with seasoned salt. I'm sure in the big picture this made a difference but I probably wouldn't go through the trouble to make the avocados like that next time.

As for the Point Reyes Blue Cheese Spread, I have to admit, neither Mr. L nor I are fond of blue cheese. In fact, we are very not fond of it. But we tried it in the burger. And didn't like it. Next time I would just use more of the garlic and herb spread or add some other kind of cheese. We only prepped two burgers with the cheese mixture then threw the rest out. We used more of the Rondele garlic and herb mixture. Yes, I realize Point Reyes Blue fans are reeling in horror.

I realized this was a "contest" burger, which meant pretty precise measurements, but next time I don't think I'd be that precise about anything (I'd add more bacon of course and maybe just a tad of mayo and some salt).We also didn't grill the burger, I'm sure that would have upped the flavor quite a bit. I still think the recipe ended up making a damn good burger.

GRILLED CALIFORNIA AVOCADO BLT BURGERS
WITH CARAMELIZED CHIPOTLE ONIONS

CARAMELIZED CHIPOTLE ONIONS
1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce
1 tablespoon beef broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

POINT REYES BLUE CHEESE SPREAD
6 1/2 ounces light garlic-and-herbs spreadable cheese
4 ounces Point Reyes blue cheese or other favorite blue cheese, crumbled

PATTIES
1 pound ground chuck
1 pound ground sirloin
1/3 cup minced sweet onion
1/4 cup Zinfandel
3 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, thyme, and basil (any combination)
1 tablespoon Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons spicy seasoned salt

Vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill rack
12 Hass avocado slices
Balsamic vinegar, for brushing on the avocado
Spicy seasoned salt, for sprinkling on the avocado slices
12 precooked bacon slices
6 (4 1/2-inch) soft Kaiser rolls, split
6 romaine lettuce leaves
6 (1/4-inch-thick) large tomato slices

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the caramelized onions, combine the onion, pepper sauce, broth, vinegar, oil, garlic, and brown sugar in a 10-inch nonstick, fire-proof skillet, cover with a lid, and place on the grill rack. Cook the onion mixture for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized and most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove the pan from the grill and set aside.

To make the spread, combine the cheeses in a fire-proof saucepan, cover, and set aside.

To make the patties, combine the chuck, sirloin, onion, Zinfandel, herbs, pepper sauce, and seasoned salt in a large bowl. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the rolls.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once, until done to preference, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium. Meanwhile, place the saucepan with the cheese spread on the outer edge of the rack to warm the cheese mixture just until it reaches a very soft, spreadable consistency. Remove the saucepan from the grill and set aside.

During the final minutes of grilling the patties, brush the avocado slices with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Arrange on a rimmed nonstick perforated grilling pan coated lightly with oil and grill alongside the patties for 1 to 2 minutes, turning as necessary. During the final 30 seconds, add the bacon slices to the pan. When the avocados are nicely grilled and the bacon is crisp, remove from the grill. When the patties are cooked, remove from the grill, stacking to keep warm. Place the rolls, cut side down, on the outer edges of the grill rack to toast slightly.

To assemble the burgers, spread a generous amount of the cheese mixture over the cut sides of the rolls. On each roll bottom, place a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice, a patty, an equal portion of the caramelized onions, 2 avocado slices, and 2 bacon slices. Add the roll tops and serve. Makes 6 burgers.

Note: I used Point Reyes Blue Cheese, Rondele Garlic and Herb Cheese Spread, Oscar Meyer bacon (cuz that's what we had on hand, yeah, sad...better bacon would have been, well, better).

Note: I forgot to buy lettuce so I just left it out.

Note: We didn't grill this. We did everything on top of the stove (we used a cast iron grill pan).

Note: The recipe asked for "spicy seasoned salt". I'm sure the recipe required some specific blend, but I just kind of made my own with Lawry's and cayenne pepper.

Note: The patties were cooked closer to medium rare than medium.

This was a really good tasting burger. I can see myself doing a simpler version of this next time I have folks over for burgers and want to impress them (without the blue cheese of course).

Grilled T-Bone Steaks with Garlic-Chili Oil

I realize that grilling for some at this point might be a little strange...considering it's the middle of November. Please note that today's temperature was a nice 82 degrees where I live, I spent the day in shorts and we had the air conditioner on.  Needless to say it was an absolutely gorgeous day here.

There were many different steak recipes from the Bobby Flay Grilling for Life cookbook that I wanted to try. We chose this recipe for two reasons: we hadn't had a t-bone steak in ages and they were on sale at the grocery store. A combo that worked for me.

I was afraid at first that this would taste too garlicky for me but it didn't. The sauce did add some flavor to the steak but I kept thinking "is there more"? This is a Bobby Flay recipe so I expect the flavor to be quite bold. Maybe it was all a bit subtle for me? Of course one does get tired of just plain old steaks (okay, maybe most people, but honestly, not me) so this wasn't a bad way to make the steak a bit different. We didn't cut the steak into strips which the recipe called for...we just put the whole t-bone on our plates and poured the sauce over. Maybe if we had sliced the meat like it said it would have made a difference? But then again, how the heck do you slice a t-bone steak with a big bone in it? It still tasted great but I'm not sure how much of that was the sauce or how much was just that we had an awesome t-bone.

Not sure if the sauce was supposed to be strained? I would have liked the garlic to be smaller. It was oil with garlic pieces in it and I kept wondering if it should be more mixed than it was. Again, it wasn't that it was bad, I just thought it should have been more.

The instructions say to "not play with your food"...let it sit and form a crust while grilling and only turn it once. Also be sure to let the steak rest for at least five minutes before cutting (both of which we did).

GRILLED T-BONE STEAKS WITH GARLIC-CHILI OIL

1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 T-bone steaks, 1 pound each
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the oil, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl; set aside.

Heat grill to high.

Season both sides of the steaks with the salt and pepper. Place the steaks on the grill and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the steaks over, lower the heat to medium, close the lid, and continue cooking for 6 to 7 minutes for medium-rare.

Remove the steaks from the grill and transfer to a cutting board. Let rest for 5 minutes, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Transfer to platter and drizzle with the chile oil. Serves 6

Note: Our T-bones were probably a bit less than a pound each.

Note: This probably served 4 for us, just cuz we like our red meat.

Note: Calories listed for each serving were 395