Flat Bread

Prosciutto and Caramelized Onion flat bread with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction Sauce

Balsamic Vinegar Reduction Sauce

3/4 cup Balsamic

3 tablespoons brown sugar

Pour the balsamic vinegar into the pan.

It will reduce by half while cooking. 

Heat the pan to high. Whisk briskly prior to and throughout the boiling process to prevent burning. Sprinkle in brown sugar to the vinegar reduction. After it reduces by half turn off heat and let it cool. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Drizzle on the flat bread when all the toppings are assembled.

Caramelized Onions

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_caramelize_onions/

This site explains it very well.

I use:

2-3 Sweet Maui Onions sliced

I use 3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter

no olive oil is needed.

Parmesan cheese: freshly grated

Feta cheese: crumbled

Prosciutto

 I buy it already thinly sliced from Trader Joes. I cut it into this strips rather than leaving it in large slices.

Flat bread crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of baking soda

1 cup ice water

3 tablespoons butter(room temp)

For the flat bread: I mix everything together except the water. Then I add the water and use my hands to mix it together. It the dough is nice and elastic and not sticking to your hands then no more flour is needed. You might need a tablespoon or more if it sticks.

This dough makes two 10-inch or three small 8-inch.

Roll out the flat bread. I have a nice little docker that I roll over the crust but a fork will work also. Just make enough small holes over the flat bread so it won't bubble up while baking.

After I roll out the flat bread I brush it lightly with olive oil. Grate a little Parmesan cheese on top. Then I lay the thin cut strips of Prosciutto. Then the cooled caramelized onions. Then I bake it in the oven at 375 for 30min. When it is done sprinkle the feta. Then drizzle the balsamic reduction sauce on top.

Red Potato Salad

Red Potato Salad

4 cups red potatoes

3 celery stalks chopped small

3 green onions chopped small

1/2 red onion chopped small

Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon seeded mustard

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon wasabi

1 tablespoon fat free sourcream

1 teaspoon dill

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 garlic clove chopped small

1 teaspoon ground pepper

Cut the red potatoes into bite size pieces. Add them to boiling water cook for 10 min. (Do not over cook or you will end up with mashed potatoes) When done drain and let cool put them in the refrigerator to cool. Mix up the dressing and let it sit and marinade for at least 30 min. When potatoes are cool add the oinions and celery. Then gently stir in the dressing. When mixed let everything cool and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Making this the day before is even better for the flavors to marinade.

I served the potato salad with a chicken breast that was seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked in a cast iron pan.

smoked salmon on the grill

Apricot Whiskey Salmon

This sauce is a mixture of apricot preserves, whiskey, butter and some pepper. We decided to spread it on some fish and smoke it on the grill.

We have this whiskey sauce every year at our family Thanksgiving table. You can put this sauce on anything chicken, turkey and salmon. This sauce is so good all you need is a spoon or if you prefer a few crackers:)

Doughnuts

Doughnuts

I made Doughnuts! This was a fun one time experiment. My husband works with guys who love a good Doughnut. Once in a while they will bring Doughnuts to work. I decided I was going to make them from scratch! ha! let me just say it was a challenge. I saw the recipe on http://thepioneerwoman.com/ 

Taco Pizza

     This pizza was inspired by a cold taco pizza my mom made when I was growing up. It was great to have on a hot summer day. It was made up of cream cheese and sour cream mixed with taco seasoning. Then she would spread the mixture on a Pillsbury roll crust. Wow! if we could all just eat like that everyday it would be nice but since we shouldn't I came up with a new cold taco pizza. My mom and I talk on Skype every morning and she even put a few ideas in making this new pizza with me so I want to give her some credit too:)

Taco Pizza

Ingredients:

1 crust cooked and cooled. when I made the pizza I brushed a light amount of the green sauce on the crust before cooking it. (see my recipe for my beer pizza)

1-can black beans- I used Cuban black beans from Traders. I blended them up in the food processor.

1-can green chilies

1/2 cup green enchilada sauce

2- bone in skin on chicken breasts cooked and shredded

Cooking the chicken- boil enough water to cover the chicken. When the water is boiling put the chicken in and turn the heat down to simmer and cover. Set the timer for 30min. Take chicken out and let cool then shred it.

1 bag of blue corn tortilla chips

4 oz queso fresco cheese

fresh cilantro- enough to cover the pizza- chop and sprinkle on top. If you don't like cilantro some lettuce would also be good on top.

Also a little dash of Trader Joes Jalapeno hot sauce on top!

Assembling the pizza

When the crust is cool spread the black beans on the crust. Then spread the green sauce. Then sprinkle the green chilies. Then the Shredded chicken. Top with the cheese, onions and cilantro. I sprinkled each individual piece with blue chips. I didn't sprinkle the chips all over the whole pizza because they will get soggy on the left over pizza over night.

NOTE: Any other toppings would also be good.

Tomatoes, olives, bell peppers and hot peppers.

A few tips: you can also buy premade crusts. Traders Joes has ones you just roll out and cook. I also have bought a whole cooked chicken from the store those are also fast and easy.

Wontons

Asian Wontons

I learned to make these while working for a caterer in Pasadena. I made hundreds of these at a time. They freeze really well and are very simple to make. When I catered we fried them in a fryer, it was a fast way to get them out for parties. Here at home we put them in a cast iron and toast them for 3 min then put a few tablespoons of water in the pan and cover for 8min. They come out nice and crispy.

I start with a pound of ground turkey. Usually a half a pound makes about 35 wontons. I freeze the other half a pound of turkey for next time. I mix the half pound turkey, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili garlic paste, green onions finely chopped and some nori flakes(or also called on the container (Furikake traditional blend with toasty sesame seeds and nori) this can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores. mix all that up and put about a 1/2 tablespoon of the mixture in the wonton. Seal the wonton with a little water all around the edge- they show you on the package of wontons. Fold in half then take the corners and bring them together.

Ground Turkey- 1 pound
Soy Sauce- about 1/8 cup
Sesame Oil- 1 tablespoon
Chili Garlic paste- I use 2 tablespoons because I like them spicy.
Green Onions- two of them chopped fine
Nori Flakes- about 1 teaspoon

Fold them and you can either make them right away or freeze them for a week in a freezer container.

If you are making them right away- heat up a cast iron or non stick pan and add a teaspoon of sesame oil add about 6 wontons depending on the size of your pan you don't want to crowd them. Let them toast up nicely for 3-4 min then add about two tablespoons water and cover for 8 min. I like to mix soy sauce and wasabi together for dipping. I like a lot of wasabi it makes eating them very spicy and fun to eat!

Tacos

We could eat these tacos almost every night! they are simple and so tasty. I make them so many different ways. I think this is our favorite. Adam smoked some chicken and potatoes on the grill over the weekend so I decided to make tacos. The chicken added a nice smokey flavor. We put some potatoes, chicken, guacamole, red onions and topped it with some queso fresco cheese.