Recipe (Re)creation: Grilled Peach + Prosciutto Pizza

I just took a fabulous cooking class at Sur La Table and we focused specifically on grilled pizzas.  The hands-down winner of the night was a grilled peach and prosciutto pizza.  I ended up eating two of them (yes, two) and was determined to make them at home.  I added mozzarella, caramelized onions and some lightly dressed arugula leaves to the top and had myself a culinary masterpiece.  While we did learn how to make our own dough (I will post this later), it is a little time consuming and must be made a few days in advance, so I used Whole Foods store-bought dough.  The key is the leave it out so it is room temperature when you are ready to start forming the crusts.  That way it will be much easier to work with and you will be much happier with your results.  You don't even have to own a BBQ to make these pizzas- any grill pan or griddle will do!

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil (for brushing peaches and grill)
• 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 large white peach, pitted and sliced
• 8 oz. pizza dough, room temperature
• flour (for forming crusts)
• 2-3 sliced prosciutto, torn
• 2-3 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn
• 1/2 cup arugula
• 1 3/4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions:

-Preheat your grill or grill pan over high heat and brush with olive oil.
-Heat a large non-stick skillet and add 1 tbsp olive oil.
-Add the yellow onion slices and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
-Remove the caramelized onions from heat and set aside.
-Next, brush peach slices with oil and place on grill.
-Cook until they develop grill marks, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
-Carefully remove peaches from grill and set aside for later.
-With floured hands, form the pizza dough into a ball.
-Pinch the dough with your thumbs and forefingers to stretch it out.
-Once it is round and flat, place the dough on a floured surface
-Brush one side with oil and place the oiled side down on the grill.
-Cover, and cook until grill marks appear (about 3 mins).
-Then oil the top and flip again until the other side also has golden grill marks.
-Remove from heat, top with torn mozzarella, prosciutto and peaches.
-Return pizzas to the grill, cover, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
-Mix the arugula and remaining olive oil and balsamic in a small bowl.
-Top the pizza with caramelized onions and arugula salad.

Enjoy!

Restaurant (Re)creation: Contigo's Seared Goat Cheese, Arugula + Strawberry Salad

I live a block away from Contigo and it is one of my absolute favorite spots.  I love that the menu always changes, but many of the standbys stay the same.  One dish that thankfully rarely leaves the menu is the seared Caña de Cabra goat cheese salad.  I love the creaminess of the seared goat cheese, the crunch of the toasts and hazelnuts, and the tangy and sweet salad that lies beneath.  I was lucky enough to come across Brett Emerson's recipe for this salad in the Wall Street Journal.  Now that I have it, I will be making it on a regular basis.  It looks so impressive topped with crispy seared goat cheese and like it came straight down from heaven.  Enjoy!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. Caña de Cabra (or other mild, young goat cheese)
• 4 small 1/4-inch think slices of rustic bread (I use Judy's Lovesticks)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for brushing toasts
• kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Sherry vinegar
• 2 tsp. minced shallot
• 1 1/2 tbsp. hazelnut oil
• 1/2 medium fennel bulb, halved lengthwise and thinly slice crosswise
• 3-4 oz. wild arugula
• 4 oz. strawberries, stemmed and quartered
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped toasted hazelnuts
• 4 basil leaves, roughly torn

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place bread slices on a baking sheet.

-Brush both sides with olive oil and bake in the oven until golden, about 3 minutes per side.

-Remove from oven, set aside and preheat broiler. 

-Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, shallots and salt.

-Let the shallots macerate for at least 10 minutes.

-Then whisk in the olive oil and hazelnut oil, season with salt, and set aside.

-In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, fennel, strawberries, hazelnuts, and basil.

-Slice the cheese into two rounds and place on top of two toasts each.  

-Place under the broiler and broil until cheese begins to brown, about 2 minutes.

-Toss salad with enough vinaigrette to coat and season with salt.

-Distribute salad onto two plates and place a warm goat cheese toast atop each helping.

Contigo

1320 Castro Street

San Francisco, CA

(415) 285-0250

www.contigosf.com

Restaurant (Re)creation: Zuni's Roasted Chicken + Bread Salad

Zuni Cafe is a San Francisco institution and their roasted chicken is hands-down the most popular item on the menu.  The dish serves two and takes about an hour to an hour an a half to arrive, but it is fabulous and definitely worth the wait.  This recipe is based on an adapted version of the original from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers.  The original recipe is wonderful, but very wordy and time-consuming.  This adaptation should save some time, and if done right, should be equally mouthwatering and enjoyable. You can serve the chicken with the bread salad recipe below or you can swap it out and serve it with the brussels sprout and butternut squash panzanella salad from my prior post.  Either will be delicious.  Let me know how it turns out ; )

Serves 2-4

Ingredients for chicken:

• 1 small chicken (2 3/4 to 3 1/2 pounds)
• 4 tender sprigs of Thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• A little water

Ingredients for bread salad:

• 8 ounces torn peasant-style bread (crusts removed)
• 6 to 8 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried currents, soaked in 1 tbsp each of red wine vinegar & warm water
• 2 tablepsoons pine nuts
• 2-3 garlic cloves, slivered
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions
• 2 handfuls of arugula

Directions:

Day 1

-Remove and discard the lump of fat inside the chicken.  Wash the chicken and dry thoroughly.

-Gently slide a finger under the skin of each breast and create two small pockets.  Do the same under the skin of each thigh.  Stick a sprig of thyme in each of the 4 pockets.

-Season both sides of the chicken thoroughly with salt and pepper.

-Cover the chicken and put it in the refrigerator overnight (seasoning the chicken a day before makes it more flavorful and moist- its worth it).

Day 2

-Preheat oven to 475 F.  Place a 10 to 12-inch skillet with an all-metal handle over medium heat on the stove.  Wipe the chicken dry and place in the skillet, breast side up (the pan should sizzle).

-Next, place the the skillet in the oven and let it brown for about 30 minutes.  The skin should begin to blister.

-Meanwhile, toss torn bread pieces (about 2-inch chunks) in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lightly coating them.  Place them in a baking dish in the oven on a rack below the chicken and cook for about 10 minutes, or until brown, then remove from heat. (If you want to toast your pine nuts, you can place the pine nuts in the with the torn bread chunks, but watch them closely because they burn quickly.) 

-Turn the bird over and roast for another 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the bird.  Then flip back over so the breast side is up and recrisp for another 5-10 minutes.

-Remove the chicken from the oven once it is crisp and browned.

-Turn off the oven and set the chicken on a plate to cool.  Pour the fat from the skillet, leaving the lean drippings behind.  Add about a tablespoon of water to the drippings and warm them over medium heat to soften any hard drippings.

-Combine 1/4 cup of olive oil with white wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.  Toss half of this vinaigrette with the torn bread in a medium sized bowl.

-Meanwhile, heat some olive oil over medium-low heat in a small skillet and add the garlic and scallion slivers.  Stir constantly until softened, but not browned.  Remove from heat and toss with the bread.  You can add the drained currants and the pine nuts to the bread salad at this time as well.

-Place the bread salad in an oven-safe dish and warm in the oven while you finish preparing the chicken.

-While the bread salad is warming, tear the chicken into pieces, some large and some small.  Make sure to include the crispy pieces of skin (its the best part).

-Remove the bread salad from the oven and place on a platter over a handful or two of arugula.  Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette and a spoonful or two of pan drippings over the salad, mixing well.  Top the bread salad with crispy pieces of chicken.

Heaven.


Zuni Cafe
1658 Market Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 552-2522
www.zunicafe.com

Restaurant (Re)creation: Rose's Breakfast Pizza

 

~From top- Rose's breakfast pizza,  my (re)creation,
close-up of (re)creation topped with arugula~

Rose's is pretty famous for this pizza.  It has the perfect combo of eggs, canadian bacon, cheese, and crispy crust.  The good news it- you don't have to wait in line outside of Rose's for an hour to fill your belly with this scrumptious pizza.  You can easily make it at home!  Its perfect for breakfast, brunch or dinner.  Maybe it could become your new Christmas morning or New Years brunch tradition?

Ingredients:

• 365 whole foods or boboli pre baked crust
• Shredded fontina cheese (or asiago, mozzarella, etc
• 5-6 slices Canadian bacon (or chicken apple sausage)
• 2 eggs
• Arugula, to garnish
• Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. 

Brush olive oil on pizza crust. 

Sauté or grill the canadian bacon. 

Put cheese and bacon on pizza and cook in the oven for 6-8 mins.

Crack 2 eggs and put them on the middle of the pizza.

Return to oven for an additional 5-6 minutes until whites of egg are cooked. 

Top with a handful of arugula. 

Bon appetite!

Rose's Cafe

2298 Union Street

San Francisco, CA

(415) 775-2200