Dans Gourmet Restoration

Finished Pizza - YUM! Made this last night  - we have been on a home made pizza kick lately!   I twisted the classic recipe a bit with the Prosciutto – to me, pizza isn’t pizza without some form of meat on it!  I made a quick fresh sauce for the base of the pizza by grating a whole tomato on a box grater until just the skin was left, and then straining out some of the liquid.  I added salt, garlic, fresh ground pepper and basil and let it sit for a bit before putting it on the crust.  I used a whole wheat crust ( at my wife’s request), but would recommend regular, since the flavors of this pizza are very subtle, and the wheat crust was a little much for it.  Once again, let me say how much I LOVE my Emile Henry BBQ Stone – you can just build the pizza right on the cold stone, without pre heating it.  Comes out nice and crisp every time. Add Sauce Base Well, here are the ingredients: Base Sauce : 1 large, or 2 small tomato’s, grated on a box grater, dow...

I made this pizza on the grill without a pizza stone.  I normally use an amazing new stone from Emile Henry, upon which you can build the pizza directly, and put it right in the oven or grill, without pre heating.  The crust comes out nice and crunchy without the transfer of the dough to the stone – MUCH easier!    Anyway, the pizza was fabulous – and pretty easy to make.  Pre grill the pineapple, pancetta and scallions, so once the crust starts, it goes quickly.  I have a 4 burner grill, so the indirect heating method works pretty well on it.  Just keep the outside two burners on high, and place the crust in the middle.  I cheated a little and kept the middle two on low to speed the process a bit…. It really depends on the grill you are using.  So anyway, here is the process: Ingredients: 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into ½ inch ring slices ( you will be using 5 or 6 slices) ½ lb pancetta, cut thick ( about 5 slices) 2 V...

Ok, so I bought my wife an ice cream maker ( Cuisinart, about $49 bucks) for Christmas, and we just started using it..... LOVE IT!!!  OMG, it is so simple to make awesome ice cream.  We have made Sweet Corn and Blackberry, Mexican Chocolate and more!  I will post those recipe's shortly, but here is a simple one for Coconut Ice Cream  that I made last night - just the right amount of sweet, with natural coconut taste - serve it with Chocolate Sauce, and you will be in heaven!  I mix my ingredients in my stand mixer with the whisk attachment - does a great job! 1 cup whole milk 1 can coconut milk 1 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut 1/4 cup sugar Blend all ingredients with a hand mixer or stand mixer until well blended. Pour into ice cream maker, and freeze until thickened. Put in an air tight container in the freezer until hard. Enjoy with a little chocolate syrup......mmmmmm

So Jereme and I were discussing my "blog-worthy" recipes, and it turns out most of them are Italian dishes.  Go figure.  We moved to Cape Cod about a month ago and while quality beef is lacking here, there is an abundance of incredibly fresh seafood. He asked me to make him linguine with clam sauce, which turned into "how to use random stuff in your fridge".  Very easy, company-quality, and ready in 15 minutes.  Enjoy! Linguine with spicy red clam sauce 1 package fresh linguine (we used Bertoli) 1 lb fresh littleneck clams, in shell 1/2 large red pepper, chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 tbsp lemon juice 1/4 cup dry white wine 3 tbsp olive oil 1 shallot, chopped 3 large cloves garlic, chopped 3 pickled hot cherry peppers, chopped 4-5 tomatoes on the vine, chopped with juices saved 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes ( to taste - a little goes a long way!) 1/2 tsp rosemary 1/2 tsp oregano Cook pasta according to directions In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat....

If you have never tried a “white” BBQ sauce, you haven’t lived yet!  Leave it to the South to mix mayo and vinegar, and cook with it!  This sauce was AMAZING on chicken – and on the leftover pork loin we had the next day.  Simply scrumptious – and simple too!   I originally served it over grilled chicken breasts that I pounded out a bit to thin them down, and simply seasoned with Salt and Pepper.  I brushed some of the sauce on for the last 5 minutes of cooking or so – it will curdle if you put it on from the start….. and I used the rest for a dipping sauce.  No pics – but hey, it’s a SAUCE for goodness sakes! Ingredients: 2 cups Mayo 1 cup Cider Vinegar 2 TBS Lemon Juice 3 TBS fresh ground pepper (sorry about that – your arm will be sore…) ½ TSP Salt ½ TSP Cayenne 2 TSP finely minced FRESH Rosemary – more or less to taste. I clove garlic, finely minced Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and whisk thoroughly.   I threw mine in m...

This is a REALLY simple recipe, and you can interchange the ingredients with a variety of things.  For me, the combination of the roasted peppers, prosciutto, and the provolone cheese melting as the meat cooks was just sublime!  I used toothpicks to hold the roll together, it would be MUCH easier to tie it off every 2 inches or so with cotton cooks twine. Ingredients: About 1 lb of flank steak 1 package thin sliced prosciutto About 4 slices jarred roasted red peppers 4 or 5 slices thick cut provolone cheese Several leaves of  fresh basil Handful of spinach leaves Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste Directions: Lay the flank steak out on a large piece of waxed paper, and fold it over to cover completely.  Hammer steak out with a meat mallet, till it is about ½ inch thick.  Lay out on a plate. Season with fresh kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and just a sprinkling of garlic powder ( a little of this goes a LONG way) Lay Prosciutto strips out so entire steak is ...

So tonight was "what can I throw in a pan?" night.  After leaving my parent's house this weekend with a serious craving for gnocchi, I had Jer pick some up from the store.  We had mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, cream, and ricotta in the fridge, and the rest is history.  You're looking at 15 minutes to a sinfully rich and delicious weeknight meal. Gnocchi with sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms Ingredients: 2/3 of an 8 oz jar of sun dried tomatoes in oil 1/2 of an 8 oz package of sliced portobello mushrooms 8 oz of half and half 3 tbsp white wine 1/2 cup ricotta 2 cloves garlic, pressed 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil 1 tbsp red pepper flakes (I added more for heat after serving) 2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced 1 package fresh gnocchi (avoid the frozen-- it has a mushy consistency) Prep: -Prepare gnocchi according to package directions; drain and place back in pot. Meanwhile: -In food processor, combine sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and about 2/3 of the half and half.  Process un...