I had a craving for bruschetta, so we grabbed the ingredients to make it today. Really... basil, garlic and tomatoes are one of my most favourite flavour combos! They're so perfect together. I didn't realize we didn't have a recipe for bruschetta posted! You don't really need a recipe for bruschetta, you can make it any way you please. But if you need a base recipe, this is a great one. It's how I make it!
Fast and easy and a great way to use up tomatoes if you're one of those lucky people with a garden! Or if you've been gifted with a bagful from a friend that's lucky enough to have a garden.
I don't think we've had any Ten Foot Pole with our recipes. You might have known them in their previous incarnation of Scared Straight. We're getting our rock on with their "Final Hours". -jen
BRUSCHETTA Time: 15 minutes Difficulty: Easy Makes: about 12
1.5 pounds of tomatoes (about 4)
1/2 cup finely diced red onion (about 1/4 onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
1/4 cup julienned basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10 cranks of fresh ground blacked pepper
dash of balsamic vinegar
fresh mozzarella sliced thinly
1 baguette loaf
Julienned basil
Cut tomatoes into quarters and using your thumb, scoop out the seeds and juice. (You can save this for a different recipe later or discard.) Small dice remaining tomato meat. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. Toss and set aside.
Turn your oven onto broil. Slice baguette on the bias to make large ovals. Brush both sides with olive oil and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Toast one side under the broiler until golden brown, watching closely (it only takes 1-2 minutes to brown). Flip and toast the second side until browned and remove. Top toast with a slice of mozzarella and the tomato salad and serve.
We do a lot of salads similar to this, but Justin was specifically craving an orzo salad. We thought we'd use the cherry and yellow tomatoes out of our garden, as well as the poblanos Justin grew. (Poblano taste real similar to green bell peppers, and I figured most people are more familiar with bell pepper, so I put that in the recipe.) What I really love about this salad, though, is the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette! I so love making my own salad dressings.
I know I just used Op Ivy a few recipes ago, but we were listening to them in the car whilst running errands this morning, and so all day I've been singing "Bombshell". Actually, I've just been singing the "Oh yeah!" backup vocals part. I'm really good at that part. -jen
ITALIAN ORZO SALAD Time: 40 minutes (mostly just chopping veggies) Difficulty: Easy Makes: 6-7 cups
1.5 cups dry orzo pasta
4 cups chicken broth
1 cups broccoli florets
1 cup cucumber, seeded and diced (about 1 medium)*
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced (about 1 small pepper)
1/2 cup green onion, diced (2-3 medium onions)
1/2 cup carrot, shredded (about 1 medium carrot)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup green olives, rough chopped
6 oz mozzarella cheese, small cubed
1/2 cup Lemon Basil Vinaigrette (see recipe below)
* To seed a cucumber: Cut off both ends. Cut cucumber lengthwise. Run a small spoon down the length of the seeds, scooping them out.
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large pot. Stir in orzo and cook 10 minutes, pasta should be al dente. Drain in a strainer and transfer to a large bowl. Set aside to cool slightly. (Good time to cut veggies and make the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette!)
Add all remaining ingredients to cooled orzo and toss.
LEMON BASIL VINAIGRETTE Time: less than 5 minutes Difficulty: Easy Makes: about 1/2 cup
zest of 1 lemon (about 1/2 tbsp)
juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup basil leaves, packed
1 small green onion
1 large garlic clove (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1.5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of red pepper flake
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined.
I'm not really into making bread... but I don't mind making focaccia at all. It only takes 20 minutes to rise. You don't have to do much kneading. And the stand mixer makes it even easier (though it's not necessary.) We've been making this recipe since I first moved out to California about 9 years ago and we like changing it up. Pepperoni... grilled onions... green olives... jalapeños... different cheeses. It's a pretty versatile recipe. Sometimes we use the dough for pizza crust! Sometimes we use it to make pepperoni twists or bread sticks. I've sliced a loaf in half, made a pesto mayo, and then made a giant sandwich with pepperoni, salami, Mortadella, provolone... sliced it up into little finger sandwiches with toothpicks stuck through 'em and took it to a work party. It's pretty great. I made a quick and easy marinara dipping sauce to go with the pepperoni version I made today.
I was actually in a soul mood (as I often am)... usually I go with some 60s soul; Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, James Carr. But today, I felt like some doo-wop soul and was listening to The Drifters, The Temptations, some old James Brown. I couldn't really think of any punk covers of soul music... which is a shame, because those are probably my two favourite styles of music. (Anyone think of any?) But The Dirtbombs from Detroit came to mind... a little punk influence, some definite soul influence. They seemed the way to go! So here they are, doing "Your Love Belongs Under A Rock". -jen
HERB AND CHEESE FOCACCIA Time: 50-55 minutes Difficulty: Easy Makes: 1 loaf
2 and 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or any combination of dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, etc)
1 pinch black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil (separated)
pepperoni
2-3 tablespoons grated Paremesan
1 cup shredded mozzarella
In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, sugar and water. Stir until dissolved. Let sit for about 5 minutes until bubbles form on top. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and black pepper. When yeast mixture has proofed for five minutes, mix in flour mixture and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. If using a stand mixer, use the kneading attachment and knead dough for 10 minutes. If mixing by hand, stir until combined. Then on a lightly floured surface, knead dough by hand for 10 minutes until dough is and elastic.
Form dough into a ball. Using 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil, lightly coat a large bowl and place dough into bowl, rolling around to coat with the oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 20 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size. (I like to preheat the oven to 450 at this point and let the dough rise on the top of the stove towards the back near the heat.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat down dough and place onto parchment paper, patting flat and forming into a 1/2"-3/4" loaf. Using the remainder of the olive oil, lightly brush the top of the loaf. Place desired amount of pepperoni over the top, then sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella over it. Bake at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool and serve.
So this recipe is comes from my father-in-law and is one that is a homemade version of the classic Chicago sandwich, the Italian Beef. There are notable differences, the main one being shredded beef vs the authentic, super-thin, deli-sliced beef and the fact that it's braised in a slow cooker rather than slow roasted in an oven. Despite these differences, the flavor is amazing and therefore renders all arguments as to the authenticity of this recipe a mute point. This makes a good bit, as well, so you can have a nice little dinner party or some delicious sandwiches for lunches all week long.
We've done a couple of variations to the original recipe that was passed on and I'm sure others will try some variations of their own, altering it in infinite ways. We've used beer or red wine for the braising liquid, added sliced onions or peppers for some different flavors, and used a variety of herbs and spices and condiments to see what piques the taste buds in new and interesting ways. Feel free to doctor it up any way you see fit and be sure to tell us so we can try it if it comes out well.
To go with a Chicago dish we naturally turn to a Chicago band that needs no introduction. We've featured them before and probably will again at some point because they've been around that long and they're just that good. Screeching Weasel is one of my favorite go-to punk bands when it comes to feeling nostalgic and returning mentally to the days of my youth, so I couldn't help but go with the song "Hey Suburbia" as suburbia was where I grew up for the most part. -justin
ITALIAN BEEF Time: 6-12 hr Difficulty: Easy Serves: 6-8
1 medium onion, about a cup
4 tbsp minced garlic
5 tsp beef bullion or beef base
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
8 oz peperoncini with liquid
2 cups water
22 oz beer
2.5 lbs of boneless beef chuck roast (or other fat laced beef shoulder cut)
Simply add all ingredients to slow cooker and set on low for 10-12 hrs or high for 6-7 hrs. When done, shred the beef with forks, or other suitable utensils, and add back to braising liquid. Serve on a crusty Italian bread roll with some shredded cheese; we prefer mozzarella. To be truly Chi-town authentic, you'd need to top it with some giardinara and dip your roll in the braising liquid, or "juice", before loading it up and serving.
In keeping with Justin's summer theme on the last post, I made this fantastic summery vegetable salad with a homemade Italian dressing. I'd been feeling like raw veggies lately, and one thing with veggie salad is that it's usually cut into large pieces that you can fit two, maybe three veggies on the fork. I wanted this salad chopped a little smaller so that I got all the flavours with every bite. It reminds me of a large-chopped relish. But it was really good... especially after it sat refrigerated overnight. And it's versatile! The first night, we just ate it in a bowl. The next night, we sprinkled it onto lettuce greens. I was thinking it might be tasty warmed and served on crustini, too!
When we make olive oil and vinegar based dressings, we usually just whisk all the ingredients together and you get big bits of dried herbs. It's always good, but I was thinking about the dressing packets you can buy at the store, so I took all my dry dressing ingredients and blended them into a fine powder with our herb grinder and then used the stick blender to blend it into the oil. It came out good, so you could do it that way... but for the ease of those without herb grinders or stick blenders, I posted regular blender instructions
As soon as I started thinking about posting this salad as a summer salad, I got The Atari's "Boys of Summer" song stuck in my head. Well really, it's Don Henley's song, I guess, but it's their version that got stuck on repeat. It's a little poppy... but so was the original, and I still like that one too. :P -jen
ITALIAN CHOPPED SALAD WITH DRESSING Time: 15-20 minutes prep Difficulty: Can you handle a knife? Serves: About 6, as a side dish
3 medium zucchinis (about 2 cups), large dice
2 carrots, large dice
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 orange bell pepper, large dice
1 cup crimini mushrooms (about 7), large dice
1 medium shallot, diced
3 green onions, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella (12oz), diced
1/2 cup rough chopped green or kalamata olives
1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained
1 can (15oz) red kidney beans
3 teaspoons capers, drained
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 and 1/2 cups Italian Dressing (see recipe below)
1/4 cup pepperoni, diced (optional)
Place all ingredients into a large bowl. Toss with dressing. Serve at room temp. Note: I'd have put some fresh herbs in this if I'd had any on hand, but since I didn't, I didn't want to put it in the recipe. Maybe 1/4 cup chopped basil or flat leaf parsley.
ITALIAN DRESSING Time: 7 minutes Difficulty: E-Z Makes: 1.5 cups
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Accent or MSG (optional)
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
In a blender, combine all dry ingredients and vinegars. While blending, remove the middle spout of your lid (most blender lids have these) and very slowly drizzle in the olive oil so that ingredients emulsify.
