Tag: spinach

By Posted on Posted in Grilled Goodness, What's for dinner No Comments

Tonight we took pizza to a new level, we grilled it, this is more my style.  Nothing gives pizza the flavor and texture of a hot wood fire and the closest I can get here in our condo complex is pizza on the grill with hickory cooking chunks.  That is just what I did.

Pizza on the grill

Because we were out of pizza sauce and pepperoni we had to improvise and ended up making a pizza with chicken, spinach, basil and olive oil.  We then finished it with a balsamic reduction my wife whipped up.  It was light and most tasty.  The wood smoke flavored the cheese and crust nicely, it complimented the strong flavors of the basil and the dry heat and free flowing air from the grill gave the pizza a nice crispy crust .

So here is how I did it, I cheated, I first pre-heated the stone in the oven at 500°F for about an hour.  While I did this I got the grill ready with half charcoal – half hickory chunks; spreading the coals evenly around the charcoal grate.  I then cooked up a chicken breast, I had marinaded the chicken over night in a combination of 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a clove of pressed garlic and a teaspoon of paprika.  My wife wilted spinach and fresh basil leaves from our patio with some olive oil and pressed garlic.  Once the chicken was cooked up, I sliced it up, rolled out the dough onto my pre-heated pizza stone.  I then brushed the crust with olive oil, topped with the spinach-basil mix and cheese.  Then it was onto the grill for about 15 minutes.  At this point the charcoal had passed its prime so it took more time than I would have liked, but it was worth it.

Our grilled pizza

So in the end we had two verdicts, I thought the grilled dough was much better than that baked in the oven.  My wife however would rather have the crust baked in the oven.  So what was the difference?  The pizza from the grill had a nice, crispy and slightly burnt crust.  Burnt in this case is not a bad thing, it was just lightly charred in the center on the bottom.  The pizza from the oven was much more moist and the crust was not nearly as crispy.  The crust from the oven also lacked the flavor the grilled pizza got from being exposed to the fire and smoke of burning wood.  If it was up to me we would be done eating pizza from the oven and keep the heat outside, and get a better flavored crispier crust from the grill.

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By Posted on Posted in Misc Food, Smoked Goodness, What's for dinner No Comments

Alright, lavish might be a bit of a stretch but incredible or mightily tasty left overs would suffice.  It all started at lunch today, which I do not have a picture of and for that I ashamed.  However, it began it lunch with a spinach salad topped with cranberries, croutons, Saturday’s smoked chicken, and last weeks Balsamic and Rosemary Vinaigrette.  It was incredible my mouth is still watering now, the balsamic rosemary vinaigrette nicely complimented they smoked chicken and the cranberries were a nice contrast to the rest of the flavor in the salad.   Yes, my mouth is watering which it shouldn’t be.  If lunch was the appetizer, dinner was dessert and the main course, another leftover miracle.

Dinner consisted of Lowfat Chicken Enchiladas made with some of Saturday’s smoked chicken leftovers.  These thing were incredible the first time we made them, and as such I was anticipating greatness once again.  I was no disappointed, I am anxious for the leftover enchiladas I will be eating for the next day.

Smoked chicken enchiladas gracing my plate

I can’t wait for tomorrow leftovers will be in lunch box and in vogue.  At least to me.  Had any incredible leftover adventures lately?  Tell me about em.

Note: Even though its not technically a recipe this one still gets a rating.

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By Posted on Posted in Recipes 1 Comment

Potato and Bacon Chowder in stock pot

Since we got back from our honeymoon we have been aching to cook some recipes in our new cookbooks we had picked up at the flea market well today was round two for the ‘fast healthy food’ Reader’s Digest cookbook and if our first two recipes from this cookbook are any indication of the rest of the book we might as well throw it out.  First we had made a pasta that was bland and this time we made the potato and bacon chowder which in all fairness one ingredient was substituted, instead of using Canadian ‘bacon’, I used real bacon, a nice juicy end cut from a slab of bacon prepared by a local butcher.  That said the chowder was an excellent base on which to build a fantastic potato and bacon chowder but the product that was yielded by following the recipe in the book was boring.  In the end it was Old Bay Seasoning and my spice rack to the rescue to save the day and this pot of chowder I sacrificed a prize piece of end bacon for.

So with no more anticipation here is the recipe from the book.

Ingredients
1 Qt Whole Milk
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Ounces Lean smoked Canadian bacon, rind removed and finely chopped (note I substituted real bacon!)
1 large onion finely chopped (slap chop to the rescue here)
2 tbsp all purpose flour
14 oz smooth, thin skinned potatoes, scrubbed and finely diced
1 parsnip, about 5 ounces grated
Freshly grated nutmeg
4 oz baby Spinach leaves
Salt and Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions
1. In a saucepan, over high heat, bring the milk just to a boil. Meanwhile in another large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the bacon and onion and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes.  Add the flour and stir to combine, then slowly add about one-quarter of the hot milk, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to mix in the flour.  When the roux thickens, stir in the remaining hot milk.

2. Add the potatoes and parsnip. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Adjust the heat so the soup bubbles gently.  Half cover the pan and continue cooking until the vegetables are nearly tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the spinach and continue cooking until the spinach wilts, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

That is where the recipe in the book ends I would add a step 4 to season until it tastes like more than potatoes and flour.

Serves 4

Let me know what you think, it just seemed bland off the bat to me.

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