Gourmet pizza

So this gourmet pizza recipe is from over Spring Break and I forgot to post it, but it's absolutely delicious and definitely worth sharing!

My Mama and I sauteed zucchini, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, and asparagus with red wine.

We had found some purple asparagus that neither of us was familiar with so we decided to give it a try. As you can see in the photo above, it eventually just turned the color of regular green asparagus (though the flavor was slightly sweeter and lighter).

We used a pre-made pizza dough (we cheated!) but it was really good and we were too hungry to wait.

We rolled it out and added our sauteed toppings.

Close-up of all of the yummy toppings!

The best part of the flavor came from the cheese we put on top, fontina and fresh parmesan!

Then we cooked it at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes.

Ohmygosh so yummy! Ah can't wait to make it again!

Flower salad

While shopping at Whole Foods the other night with the Mama, I found a little container of edible flowers! They were so pretty, I couldn't resist! I've always wanted to try eating flowers (more for the idea of it than anything else) but never knew which ones I could safely eat and which ones would kill me or something like that. Anyways, this packet made it pretty clear that I could eat these 'edible flowers,' so we put them in a salad with spinach, strawberries, and an orange honey dressing.

 Though they were pretty, they were certainly not flavorful. The parts of each flower that contained the organs was usually bitter, and the petals were tasteless at best. So maybe not a repeat for functionality, but still made for a great decoration!

Lemon butter shrimp

Made a simple, delicious dinner tonight with my Mama. We were searching Pinterest for an easy, summery recipe for dinner, and stumbled across one for lemon butter shrimp. I found the pin here, but it doesn't lead to any source when clicked on so I don't know who to give credit to. Anyway, we changed the recipe a tiny bit to make it our own.

We melted a stick of butter on a baking sheet (the recipe said to use a sheet lined with foil but we didn't and it turned out fine), added slices from one and a half lemons, and added de-veined and shelled shrimp. We seasoned this with salt, black pepper, and a bit cayenne pepper.

It baked at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, and then we ate! It was that simple!

Very pleased with the results, I was able to fool myself into thinking I was eating crab (for way cheaper) and  the flavor was light and fresh. Great summer recipe.

Lemon-caper asparagus pasta

Asparagus is cheap right now, so I bought a bunch. I have never done anything with asparagus other than steam it but since I had just received an e-mail from Martha Stewart with asparagus recipes, I thought I'd try one out. The Roasted Asparagus with Capers and Lemon caught my eye, but I figured I'd incorporate it into my main course instead of having it as a side.

Following the recipe, I coated a baking sheet with olive oil and spread out the asparagus, rolling coat the stalks. I sprinkled sea salt and capers on top (not in any particular amounts), and roasted them for 16 minutes at 425.

I probably should have done a little less time (the recipe suggests 12-16 minutes so I'll probably shoot for 12  next time), but I was very pleased with my results.

To complete the meal, I put some whole wheat spaghetti atop the asparagus, drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled lemons and capers on top, and devoured it!

Gnocchi galore

I love gnocchi. Love it. It seems a food's texture is just as important to me as it's flavor because gnocchi falls into the category of foods I have a weird obsession with, along with tapioca (in pudding and as bobas), water chesnuts, and mochi. 

Anyways, I had gnocchi for dinner with the boyfriend. We used a sundried tomato pesto (ohmygoshyum), goat cheese, and sauteed onions and spinach (he added Italian sausage as well because he isn't a vegetarian like me).  

(Mine)

(His)

If I haven't already convinced you with my previous post, you really must try gnocchi (it's usually in with the pasta in the grocery store). Really.

Portobello pizza

I'm sick of the lunches I usually take to school. I have limited options at my disposal though (usually just a microwave), so the selection isn't always the best. But the recipe I found here inspired me to try something new. 

Portobello pizza! With a portobello (portabella??) mushroom, diced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil sprinkled on top.

I made mine slightly differently than in the recipe I found, I cooked everything separately. I roasted the mushroom at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about ten minutes, sauteed the tomatoes with a little bit of olive oil, and the grated parmesan just melted on top. 

Tomorrow I will just pop it in the microwave to warm it up, and I will enjoy a delicious lunch!

Pear-gruyère pizza

So if you read my blog even infrequently you probably know that I love naan pizza! It's become a family favorite and it's so easy to use. Tonight, I wanted to imitate a pizza that I have had at a CPK (yum yum!). I have ordered their pear and gorgonzola pizza multiple times because I find it delicious. With an extra piece of naan, some left-over gruyère, and a few pears lying around I decided to get to work. Although the pizza I was trying to imitate had gorgonzola and arugula on it, I figured I could substitute with gruyère and call it good. When looking around for a third topping, I decided to use some cooked onion and I'm glad I did. 

I toasted the naan for a few minutes with a bit of olive oil spread on top. Meanwhile, I cooked the sliced onion on medium in butter until browned, and added that to the naan on top of sliced pear. On top, I grated a generous amount of gruyère. I then baked this creation at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about five minutes (nothing had to cook, just the general warming of the toppings). Super pleased with how it turned out, I'm not ashamed to say I wolfed it down in less than ten minutes! (To be fair, I had just returned from a strenuous yoga class :) )

Zucchini orzo

Mmmm....orzo! I love love love orzo, so when I found this recipe, I had to try it. I modified it though, and ate it warm not chilled, so here is how it went:

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 cup orzo
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons feta cheese

I cooked the orzo, which only took about nine minutes. Then I cooked the zucchini and onions on medium heat with the tablespoon of oil, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Once browned, I added this to the orzo (still warm), and added the feta cheese. I topped it all with more salt and pepper, and olive oil and vinegar. This may be one of my favorite recipes so far!

{Sorry about the crappy cell phone pic!}

Quinoa-stuffed acorn squash

Wanted to share my dinner tonight, because I know I can't be the only one who is always looking for ways to make quinoa more flavorful. 

This is quinoa-stuffed acorn squash, will feta cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. Yum! I baked the acorn squash (sliced in half) for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then added quinoa cooked in vegetable broth. I mixed in the feta, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper (all to taste). Pretty flavorful meal for considerably little effort!

Wonton Soup

is easy to make, who knew? Admittedly, these were simple wontons, but this tasted like the real deal so it definitely will be a repeat at my house!

 I bought wonton wrappers at my local grocery store (nothing special, pretty much the most basic grocery store around) and, having cream cheese and chives on hand, decided to roll up my sleeves and make wontons!

I mixed the cream cheese and fresh chives (sliced) and put about a tablespoon of this mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper.

Wetting the corners, I pressed the wrapper into a wonton shape. Later on, I would discover that this doesn't hold the wrapper together very well and the cream cheese mixture leaks out and then you just have an empty wonton in cream cheesy water (gross). To prevent this from happening, wetting down all four edges works better.

I submerged the filled wontons in a mixture of lightly boiling water, chives, and vegetable stock for about a minute or so, until the cream cheese mixture inside was warm. Doesn't take long at all. Then I removed the water from the stove and poured it, wontons and all, into a bowl. 

Voila! Wonton soup!

My Saturday

Have had a great day so far. Slept a solid 9 hours last night, woke up feeling refreshed. Had a productive morning homework-wise, then made many arepas for breakfast. Took a 10-mile bike ride along the Boulder Creek with my roommate, came back feeling fantastic (and a bit cold). Spent the afternoon watching TV with the roomies, then a white bean salad for dinner (recipe here. Loved the salad, but could have done without the green beans). Finished it off with an exciting evening at the CU vs. DU hockey game! Exactly what a Saturday should be.

Fig pizza

Took a test today, so naturally I am de-stressing with yummy food. Tonight's dinner: naan pizza with figs, caramelized onions, and gruyère cheese. This was modeled after a pizza that I have had in the past at an amazing tea-house here in Boulder. 

These are the ingredients I used, plus butter and brown sugar to caramelize the onions.

Started with caramelizing the onions (warm lots of butter in a pan, add finely chopped onions and much brown sugar, cook until caramelized), which made the kitchen smell AMAZING!

Toasted the naan a bit. 

Melted the gruyère cheese in a small saucepan with the addition of a little milk.

Added the onions, sliced figs (dried figlets actually), gruyère cheese sauce and extra sliced gruyère. 

Baked the pizzas in the oven for 6-7 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit to melt the cheese and heat all of the ingredients (nothing actually has to cook though, just warm up).

In the future I don't think I would caramelize the onions, probably just brown them instead. The figs are already sweet enough and the caramelizing process made the onions almost too sticky to eat. Other than that, delish!

Gnocchetti

Had gnocchetti for dinner tonight, which are basically small gnocchi. I love how versatile they are, almost like pasta. Tonight's meal consisted of steamed asparagus with butter and garlic salt, garlic bread, and gnocchetti topped with pesto, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese.

Night at the ballet

Tonight my mother and I celebrated the holiday season with an evening at the ballet. We saw The Nutcracker performed by the Colorado Ballet.

 We started the evening with dinner at the cutest French restaurant called Bistro Vendôme. The food was absolutely delicious. My apologies for the quality of the photos, they looked better when I took them.

The meal began with bread and butter and a great roasted pepper bisque amuse-bouche. My mother and I both ordered the Saumon aux Cèpes which was the best meal I have had in a long time (she agreed), with salmon over a potato mushroom gratin that just melted in my mouth. The Crème Brûleé we had for dessert was probably the best I have ever had. It was the perfect consistency, light instead of heavy and too sweet, plus the blueberries on top added to the freshness.

We arrived at the theater just in time for the ballet to start. It was spectacular! The dancing was beautiful and the sets were gorgeous. All in all it was an inspiring night, perfect for the holiday season.