It's a New Day!

I love January 1st because it offers all kinds of possibilities, promises and hope for the year ahead.  It's a chance for new beginnings...and I intend to take full advantage.

So in keeping with the theme of "beginnings," I'd like to share some of my favorite breakfast ideas with you.  It's no secret that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Eating it revs your metabolism and sets you up for success throughout the day, skipping it leaves you feeling ravenous later on and making poor food decisions.  One of the best things you can do for yourself, your mood and your health is to get a good breakfast into you within an hour of waking.

Here are five of my favorite ways....

Suzanne's Granola
I like to make a big batch of granola on the weekend, so that I have it at the ready when I'm pressed for time in the morning.  Store-bought granola is often chock-a-block with sugar, so I prefer to make it myself and load it up with nuts and seeds.  When berries are in season, I add them to my cooked granola, the rest of the year I add banana chips, raisins and dried cranberries (go easy on them, though, because they are high in sugar.)  You can find my recipe here 

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The Puffy Omelet
I love eggs, and usually I just scramble them with a bunch of veggies, but one day something else happened.  I started out just making my usual veggie scramble, but then I probably got distracted ("shiny, sparkly"), put a lid on the pan, and when I came back I had this beautifully puffy omelet.  My kitchen accident became one of my favorite egg dishes.  Here's the recipe-non-recipe.

 

Huevos Rancheros

When I go out for breakfast or brunch, if I see huevos rancheros on the menu, it's all over.  I don't even  bother looking at the rest of the menu.  The best I've ever had is at Redd in Yountville.  My original recipe has changed because of Redd's dish; now I dip the tortillas into enchilada sauce in a skillet to coat the tortillas...that's the trick.

 

 

Breakfast Pizza

This raised a couple eyebrows (of doubt!) when I suggested it for breakfast, and I couldn't understand why.  Who doesn't love pizza?  And why would it not work for breakfast, silly monkey?  I made my own dough, but you can use a Boboli.  A little sausage, a little gravy made from the fat (OK, this lands in my 80/20 wheelhouse!), some scrambled eggs and scallions. BOOM!  Get the recipe-non-recipe here.

 

 

Soaked Apple Oats

Doesn't get much easier than this twist on oatmeal.  Soak 1/2 cup of rolled oats in a 1/2 cup of apple cider for about 20 minutes (go take a shower and it'll be ready). Stir in a pinch each of cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg and salt.  Add chopped nuts and seeds and whatever fresh fruit is in season.  There's no excuse for missing breakfast with this easy option.

 

 

So here's to great beginnings!  Hope you have a healthy, happy, delicious 2014!

 

Cook Happy!



Santa Claus is Coming to Town

...Santa Claus melon, that is.

My friends Jill and Justin had a garage sale this weekend, so I took Maxx for a little walk over to their place to hang out for a bit and see if there was anything that I couldn't live without.  I ended up coming home with a free melon.  I think that's a garage sale first, at least for me.  We were talking about the pasta sauce I made from a canary melon, and Justin said someone had brought a "weird melon or something" to a party they had, and they weren't going to use it, so did I want it.  When Jill brought out this odd looking fruit, I knew I had to give it a go.

Turns out the Santa Claus melon is very similar to the canary melon, but is shaped like a football and has a green and yellow rind.  When you cut into it, the seeds are very similar to cantaloupe, and the flesh is pale green like honeydew, but so much sweeter and juicier.  The brighter the yellow, the sweeter it is.  They are in peak season in California and Arizona from June until October.  If you see them in the winter, they are most likely from South America, so try them now.

Since I just made my melon pasta sauce, I was wondering what else to do with this sweetie.  Sometimes you just have to go with classic pairings.....like prosciutto and melon.  Now what?  PIZZA!

I brushed pizza dough with a little olive oil and tomato sauce and topped it with fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced sweet onion, melon and prosciutto.  When it came out of the oven I tossed some basil leaves onto the steaming pie and managed to snap a pic before diggin in....

When you put those classic food parings together, like prosciutto and melon, you really can't go wrong.  Just a little balsamic vinegar to dip it in, and I'm a happy girl!  Though I think I might be in trouble with Justin, because I didn't save him a slice.  Oooops....but dang, it was goooooood.

Yum it up!

Girls' Weekend!

I am blessed with amazing friends.  Some new, some not so new (they hate when I call them "old)", some I see often and others not often enough.  Regardless we share a bond that cannot be broken by time nor distance.  It's a wonderful feeling to have friends like these.

This motley crew is "The College Girls."  At least once a year, they say goodbye to their children and husbands and make the trek to my house..... my nice, quiet, child-free home.  We drink a little too much wine, have too many cheesy appetizers, fix way too much food (it's what I do, can't help it!), talk until the wee hours of the morning, and laugh until our cheeks hurt.  It's a great escape and sometimes, just the right therapy for what might ail you.

I cleared the calendar of cooking classes and cleared the work station for the feast that was to come.  Then we had our own little pizza making party.  First step, set the stage.....

While making the dough and prepping the ingredients we noshed on the apps the girls brought - bruschetta and a brand new love for me: Trader Joe's Blue Cheese and Toasted Pecan Spread (oh baby!) with a yummy mix of tiny crackers.  Yes, my 80/20 rule was in complete jeopardy.  And I didn't care one bit!

I whipped up my super simple pizza sauce and away we go.....

First up, a classic: fresh mozzarella, basil from my garden and ripe juicy tomatoes (not from my garden yet, boooo).

And next a grilled veggie and kalamata pizza with a simple olive oil base and a little more mozz..  And of course I had to make my favorite potato, rosemary and onion pizza (you've seen enough photos of that; and I had to get it into my belly too quickly to snap another shot!)

We ate and drank, and ate and drank some more.  They indulged me a few rounds of Catch Phrase and we laughed harder than we had in a while.  We caught up on kids, renovations, jobs, love lives, vacations, etc. A wonderfull evening with some of the best people I know.  If there are friends you haven't seen in a while, grab your calendar and plan a date..... it does the heart good (not necessarily the waistline).

Suzanne's Easy Pizza Sauce
Makes 2 cups

1 14-oz can fire roasted tomatoes (or 2-3 cups chopped fresh)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

• Place tomatoes, oregano, basil, garlic and maple syrup in blender and puree.
• With motor running, drizzle in the oil.
• Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Yum it up!

Here figgy, figgy!

It's fig season!  Sweet and chewy, plus a little bit of crunchy from the seeds.... so delish!  I saw ripe, beautiful figs at Whole Foods this morning and my mind started wandering to some of my favorite creations: puff pastry with fig, gorgonzola, walnuts and honey drizzle (oh that one makes my mouth water just thinking about it)

 And prosciutto, fig and mozzarella quesadillas.  No picturee here, cuz they're so dang good that I've never had the patience to wait and take a picture before I gobbled it up!  Someday.....

And this little gem.....Arugula, fig and goat cheese pizza:

I like the mix of hot and cold so I dig putting some fresh greens on top of a piping hot pizza.  It's pretty (you know I like that!) and there's such great texture involved, playing around in your mouth.

The fig tree is the world's first cultivated tree. And there are now about 150 different varieties.  It's believed to be originally cultivated in Egypt and later brought to the Mediterranean.  Not until the late 19th century, did it come to California.  And it didn't take too well at first, but now Cali is one of the largest cultivators of figs.  They're pretty delicate and need to be eaten within just a couple days of purchase, which is why you often find them dried - those last for a few months in your pantry.

They're high in fiber, and therefore help nourish the intestines.  They also help control blood pressure and balance the body's ph balance... you never really think about this, but it's important to keep the acid and alkaline balanced in our bodies.  Here's a yummy way to do it.....

Start with Mario Batali's pizza dough.  Drizzle dough with extra virgin olive oil, then top with a little goat cheese, then sliced, fresh figs, a sprinkling of crushed red pepper and more goat cheese ( no more that 5 ounces needed for the whole recipe).  Bake about 12-15 minutes and then remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes.  This allows the yummy juices to absorb into the crust.   Now top with baby arugula or maybe micro greens.

Oh baby!!  This will blow your skirt up.  Oh wait, that's me...if you're a guy, it won't do that.  But you'll dig it nonetheless.

yum it up!

Breakfast Pizza

So let's talk again about my 80/20 rule.  80% of the time I'm a healthy eater, so I don't beat myself up if 20% of the time I stray from the path .  Well, this one is pretty much in the 20% club.  And I love it!

A few months ago I went on pizza-making binge. I learned how to make a great dough and perfected my own tomato-based pizza sauce.  Then I played around with a host of toppings.  I had A LOT of pizzas for lunch and dinner for about a month, and haven't been able to eat a slice since.  My hands-down favorite was Potato, Leek and Rosemary with Pt Reyes Bleu Cheese.  But that all changed Sunday morning.... breakfast pizza, anyone?

Start by rolling out the dough ( I used Mario Batali's recipe) on a lightly floured surface to the thickness you like.  (I like mine thin and crispy). Then sprinkle some cornmeal on a peel and place your dough on top.  The cornmeal will act like little ball bearings and allow your pizza to slide off the peel and onto the oven grate (thanks for the tip, Tom!)

Next saute some sweet or spicy sausage.  When brown and crispy, add a couple tablespoons of flour, stirring into the rendered fat to create a roux.  Then add some half and half (I'm partial to Straus Family Creamery) and continue stirring until thickened.  While that's going on, simply scramble a few eggs until softly set.  Don't cook them all the way through, because they will continue to cook in the oven.

Pour the sausage and gravy mixture onto the dough, top with the eggs, and sprinkle with chopped scallions.

Fortunately it bakes in about 10 minutes, because that's about all the time I could possibly wait to get this fabulous pie in my belly!  Burned the roof of my mouth on this one.....just couldn't wait.  You shouldn't wait either; try it tomorrow morning. You can thank me later...

They Made It!

I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seats wondering the fate of my two little tomatoes.  Well, they managed to survive.  Not quite the crop I was hoping for, but there's always next year.

The first time I ever ate tomoatoes from someone's yard, they were served simply sliced and sprinkled with salt.  I'd never eaten a better tomato.  Sometimes simple is best.

And sometimes a pizza with tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, leeks and goat cheese is best.

Trader Joe's makes yummy pizza dough in a few different flavors; I chose herb & garlic.  Seemed like a perfectly good place to put my tomatoes.  Tomatoes like hanging out with jalapeno peppers and onion, and I like hanging out with goat cheese (as we are all aware), so this pizza idea is a win-win.

I drizzled olive oil on the dough and then seeded and sliced a couple large jalapeno peppers, the white part of one leek and my two little tomatoes.

I like using goat cheese for two reasons: 1) goat milk is very similar to mother's milk, so our bodies deal with it better than cow's milk (and cheese); a lot of people who have trouble with dairy can actually eat goat dairy products. 2) goat cheese (or chevre) has a great, bold flavor, so you don't need to use much.  I only used about 2 ounces on the pizza...and we know what a cheese hound I am, but it was the perfect amount.

The pizza bakes up in 8- 10 minutes, depending on how thick or thin you roll it.  The dough needs 20 minutes to rest before adding your toppings, but that gives you plenty of time to chop up your veggies.  Throw together a little salad while the pizza bakes and voila!  It's a great way to add lots of veggies to your diet in a simple, delicious way.  I'm already thinking about my next creation...maybe butternut squash, sage, and shallots, topped with a little watercress.  So many possibilities....