Stromboli

I didn't take pictures along the way because it was my first time making stromboli and I wasn't sure it would turn out, but O.M.GEEEE., it was perfect.

I have another pizza dough recipe on the blog somewhere, but I like to try different ones all the time, so here is another good one. Give it a whirl. You can always use a store-bought dough as well.

Basic Pizza Dough:
1 cup warm (110 degrees F) water
1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and 1 tbsp oil and stir to combine. Let sie until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until all is incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until all the dough is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3-5 minutes. Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining oil. Place the dough in bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

For the filling, you will need:
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage, crumbled

1 cup sliced yellow onions

1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell peppers

1/2 cup thinly sliced green bell peppers

2 tablespoons thinly sliced seeded and stemmed jalapenos

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 pound sliced ham

1/4 pound thinly sliced pepperoni

2 cups grated mozzarella

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash
1/2 cup shredded parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos and cook, stirring, until very soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool.
Punch down the dough and divide half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough to a large rectangle, about 10 by 14 inches. Spread half of the cooled sausage mixture across the dough leaving a 1-inch border. Overlapping slightly, layer half of the ham, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese over the top. Using a pastry brush, paint the border with egg wash. Roll up the dough into a cylinder, pinching the edges to seal. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining ingredients. Let the dough rise, 20 to 30 minutes.
Brush the top of each stromboli with egg wash. Bake until nearly completely golden brown and starting to crisp, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle each stromboli with Parmesan cheese and return to the oven until the cheese is melted and the dough is golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes. Slice thickly and serve.

Avocado Salsa

I got this recipe years ago from Taste of Home I believe. I make it just about every time we have a big get-together. I made it this past weekend for our baby shower/bbq and it was a hit like always. Many of my friends requested that I share the recipe, so here it is!

-fyi, you want to make this a day ahead of time, the longer the flavors can marinate togther, the better

you need:

1-2/3 cups frozen corn, thawed

2 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 medium ripe avocados, peeled

Tortilla chips

In a large bowl, combine corn, olives, red pepper and onion. In a small bowl, combine garlic, oil, lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour over corn mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Just before serving, chop avocados and stir into salsa. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: about 7 cups.

Cory's Chicken & Chorizo Enchiladas, with Beer Can Chicken

Cory made these two ways; the first with Shrimp and Chorizo, and then he tried them Chicken and Chorizo. Both are awesome, so try it either way.

To use shrimp instead of chicken, you want 1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, chopped into bite size pieces.

Makes 12 enchiladas

What you need:

Cheese Sauce:

½ cup sweet red pepper, chopped

½ cup onion, minced
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup butter
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese or Pepper Jack cheese
½ cup sour cream

Chicken and Chorizo Mixture:
1 small tube of pork Chorizo
2 tbsp butter
4 cups shredded chicken
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 (9 in.) flour tortillas

For the Chicken, we did a beer can chicken in the oven. Cory has always wanted to do one, so we figured this was a good time to try one! We would have used the grill outside, but it was super windy out. The oven worked just as well though and the chicken came out great, really moist and juicy.

you need:
1 (4-pound) whole chicken

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub (we used Weber's Chicken Rub)

1 can beer (we used Coors)

yeah that's right, we drink Coors from a glass, cause we're classy like that.

Remove all the giblets from the chicken. Rinse off and pat dry.

Rub the veg. oil all over the bird, and then season the bird with the salt, pepper, and dry rub. Set aside.

Open your can of beer and take a few swigs :) You just want to use about half to 3/4 can of beer for the bird. Place your bird over the can, using the legs to make like a ripod with the can. 

Now you can either grill your bird, over a med-high heat for about 1.5 hours, or put him in a dutch oven or roasting pan and set in the oven. Roast at 400 degrees for about 1.5 hours. You're looking for in internal temp of 180 degrees. When it's done, let him sit for 10 min before shredding.

Prepare the chorizo. Sautee over med-high heat for 5-7 min. Remove from pan and place on a plate with a paper towel, to soak up some of the grease. Set aside for now.

Ok, so to start our cheese sauce...

Saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and flour; blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute.

Whisk in the cream and continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.

In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute chicken and 1/2 cup onion for 2-3 min. Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce.

Fold in the chorizo..

Butter up a 9x13 baking dish..

Have some more beer..

Spoon 1/3 cup chicken and chorizo mixture into each tortilla.

Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of chicken mixture. Roll the enchiladas up tightly.

Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Enjoy!

Steak Tacos with Grilled Corn Salsa

These are the best tacos ever! I got the recipe from Cook's Country. They used a flank steak, but we prefer New york steaks in this house! The grilled corn salsa is full of flavor, and the lime infused sour cream gives it a refeshing kick. Try them, and you'll never want any other taco again :)

serves 4

You will need:

2 ears corn, husk and silk removed

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes)

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (1 1/2- to 2-pound) New York steak

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1/2 cup sour cream

Prepare the corn salsa first so that all the goodies in it can mingle for a while...

Place corn in large bowl and microwave, covered, until nearly tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir onion, jalapeño, 2 tablespoons lime juice, cilantro, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in bowl. Set aside.

Grill corn over hot fire, turning often, until lightly charred and tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove corn from grill and let cool about 10 minutes, then cut kernals from husk and add to the salsa.

Combine cumin, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in bowl. Pat steak dry with paper towels and rub with cumin mixture.

Grill your steak to your liking...medium rare for me, well done for the hubby...so we meet in the middle. Transfer your steak to a carving board and cover with foil. Let it sit for 5-10 min before cutting.

While your steak is resting, throw some corn tortillas on the grill, just to heat them up a bit..lightly char 'em

 Combine sour cream and remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice in bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut your steak into thin slices. Prepare your tacos...steak, salsa, sour cream, pinch more of cilantro... there ya have it!

Triple Chip Cookies

Hands down, my favorite cookies. Not a lot ingredients, and oh so good. Try them, you won't be dissapointed!

Preheat oven to 375.

1 cup softened butter. Not shortening. Not margarine. Butter.

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Cream together the sugars and butter. Add the egg, vanilla, and soda. Mix in the flour. Add the chips. Mix well.

Drop by the spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake a dozen at a time, for about 9 min.

Enjoy!

Makes approx. 4 dozen cookies.

In a bowl cream together 

Spaghetti Carbonara

Why have I never tried this before last night!? This may possibly be one of the best pasta's I've ever eaten.

what you need:
1 pd. spaghetti
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pd. bacon, sliced into small strips
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for serving
fresh ground pepper
a handful of fresh italian parsley, chopped

Prepare the sauce while th pasta is cooking. You want to ensure that the spaghetti is hot when you add the sauce to it sp that the eggs cook right through.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti and continue to boil for 8-10 min. Drain pasta.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a med-high heat. add the bacon and saute for about 6 min. Toss the garlic into the pan with the bacon and bacon fat. Saute for just a min.

Add the hot pasta to the pan and toss for 2 min. to coat with the bacon fat.

Beat the eggs with the cream and the parmesan in a mixing bowl, then add to the pasta stirring quickly until the eggs thicken.

Season with fresh pepper and salt (not too much salt since the bacon is salty on its own).

Garnish with chopped parsley. Enjoy!

Shrimp and Pasta in a Tomato-Chile Cream Sauce

We had dinner at a friends house one night and this is what they served. I had to have the recipe! It's an Emeril Lagasee dish. If you like a little bit of spice, you'll love this.

• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1 pound linguine
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons Essence, Bayou Blast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeno (I used 2 jalepenos, but feel free to use 3 if you want it HOT)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 11/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh, whatever you have on hand)
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
• 1 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Set a large 1-gallon stock pot of water to a boil and add the kosher salt. Place the linguine in the pot and stir the pot until the water returns to a boil. Cook the pasta until tender, but with a bit of resistance (al dente), about 12 minutes. Drain a reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.

While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce. Set a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and olive oil to the pan. Once the butter has melted, season the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of the Essence and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and add the shrimp to the pan.

Sear the shrimp until well browned on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the onions and jalapenos to the pan and saute until the onions are softened and lightly caramelized, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cream, remaining 1 tablespoon of Essence, remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons of the salt and the pepper to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce until the cream is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Return the shrimp to the pan, and add the tomatoes, linguine and the reserved cooking water to the pan and cook, tossing to incorporate for 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove pan from the heat and add the Pepper Jack, Parmesan, parsley and basil and toss to blend.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!!