Fig and Prosciutto Pizza

On last Saturday's episode of The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network, she presented a recipe for fig and prosciutto pizza. In her version she uses fig preserves for the sauce, mozzarella for the cheese and arugula leaves on top. As I watched her make the pizza, I knew that I wanted to make it but with a few changes.

For the past several weeks I had noticed that Central Market had fresh figs in large bins. I'll be honest, until I made this pizza I had never tasted a fig before, not even via a Fig Newton cookie. So until last weekend, I would look at the figs and keep walking. Now I have a reason to stop and pick up a whole bag of figs!

Knowing that figs were in season, I decided to replace the fig preserves used by the Pioneer Woman and instead use fresh sliced figs. Also, I'm not a huge fan of arugula so I knew that there was no way that I would eat a pizza with a large bunch of arugula on top. That said, by eliminating the fig preserves I now needed a sauce, so I decided to make an arugula pesto to use instead.

The final change I made was to use gorgonzola in place of mozzarella, largely because gorgonzola is often paired with figs so I knew it would be a natural fit. Unfortunately, I got a little too liberal with my distribution of the gorgonzola, forgetting that it would melt and spread. The result was a really strong bite of blue cheese in places. The overall flavors were still great, I would just recommend using much less cheese. I've changed the recipe below to reflect that fact.

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Fig and Prosciutto Pizza


Ingredients
Pre-made pizza dough (I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe)
Arugula pesto
8 black mission figs, sliced
4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/3 lb thinly sliced prosciutto

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to the desired thinness.

Transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet.

Using a spoon or pastry brush, spread a layer of arugula pesto onto the dough.

Sprinkle the gorgonzola on top, careful not to overdo it. If your pizza looks like mine below, you've put too much!

Next, place the fig slices on the cheese, being sure to distribute evenly.

Place in the oven on the lowest rack and bake for 12 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Now place the proscuitto on top of the figs. The heat of the pizza will warm the prosciutto without the hardening that would happen in the oven.

Now slice it up and enjoy!

Prosciutto and Gouda Soufflés

I was inspired to try something new when Bunker came home late last Thursday night from the airport after a long week of work. He is a consultant and travels most weeks, all week, and works incredibly hard. He called when he landed at DFW and sounded just exhausted. He said he was rather hungry and craving something comforting but light. Poor Bunker! I just wanted him to come home and relax and not have to think about anything for a bit! I actually did not expect him to want dinner as he did not land until 9 pm, so I had not been grocery shopping and our fridge was embarrassingly bare.

I hung up the phone and the clock started ticking! I had about 40 minutes to whip up something tasty and fresh (it takes 40 minutes to get home from the airport). I was not sure what to make...I did not have a ton of things in the fridge...but I had a ton of eggs, milk that was about to go bad, and Prosciutto and Gouda left over from appetizers last weekend. So I decided to try my hand at soufflés! I decided that if it failed, I could use the rest of the eggs to make an omelet. I am delighted to report that I was actually successful with the soufflés, and Bunker loved the fresh and rather impromptu dinner at home.

This is the gazebo at one of our neighborhood parks. I thought it looked just beautiful with all of the flags up for September 11th...a day that I know we will never forget. 

This recipe is from Food and Wine, but I changed a few things due to my bare fridge. It is an easy recipe to follow, and the results were really phenomenal! But true form, the soufflés fell rather quickly, so bake them right before you want to serve them so they a presented in all their puffy glory!

PS: As I write this post...it is 105 degrees outside. Broke the record...70 days over 100 this summer.

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Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
3/4 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
8 slices of prosciutto, cut into smaller pieces
6 large eggs, separated
5 ounces of shredded Gouda
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar


Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and gather your ingredients.

2. Spray four to six ramekins with a non-stick spray and coat with half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

3. In a saucepan, melt the four tablespoons of butter.

4. Add all of the flour to the butter, whisk and cook over moderate heat for about 1 minute. 

5. Whisk the milk into the butter and flour mixture over moderate-low heat for about 2 minutes, until smooth and thick.

6. Add the salt and cayenne to the mixture.

7. Remove the saucepan from the heat and in the egg yolks, stirring quickly to combine.

8. Stir in the Gouda and prosciutto. Set aside.

9. In your electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until you get firm white peaks. To ensure firm peaks, make sure that you get as much of the egg yolk separated as possible and make sure that your equipment is dry and clean.

10. Carefully fold the egg whites into the soufflé base until the mixtures are fully combined.

11. Spoon the mixture into each ramekin to about 1/2 an inch below the rim.

12. Sprinkle the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano onto the tops of the soufflés. Place the ramekins on a baking dish to make it easier to remove the finished soufflés from the oven.

13. Enjoy hot out of the oven!

Sometimes you just need Champagne and Pizza!

 According to Bunker..."Sometimes, you just need Champagne and Pizza." So true!

We celebrated our one year anniversary of living in our beautiful Dallas home. We were so happy to come back home (we both grew up in Dallas..about 4 blocks away from each other...we now live 5 and 8 blocks away from both sets of parents) after two years in lovely North Carolina. Our years in North Carolina were wonderful, as we lived in truly one of the most breathtaking places in the United States and made life-long friends. People whom I love dearly and am so thankful that our lives crossed paths. People who now live so far away, but we will always be close in our hearts.

On the front steps the day we bought our house last year! 

Within this year in our new house we experienced the heights of joy and the depths of despair. Our house seemed to both celebrate our joys and then cradle us in safety in our despair. It was within this year, with happiness and sadness, that this house became our sweet and loved home.

I suppose we could have made some fancy meal to mark this year anniversary, but that is just not the character of our home. Our home is soft and comfortable, fresh and yet full of character (it was built in the 1930s), but at the same time stately and tailored. We decided our house translated perfectly food-wise into Champagne and pizza! Bubbly and fresh, comforting and classic. Have you ever tried to translate the feel of your house into food? Try it, and celebrate your house, your home that shelters you from the world and holds so many of your precious memories.

 Our house today...ps...it is 100 degrees outside...

This pizza is great because it uses things that I usually have on hand. Pizza is so versatile, you can put whatever you like on it, and it should turn out pretty tasty. I apologize for the slim number of photographs...I was distracted...we opened the champagne a tad early!

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 Ingredients:
1 Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough
1 Package (about 8 slices) of Prosciutto
1 14.5 Ounce Can of Tomatoes (diced or whole, it really does not matter), pureed
1 Package of Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms, sauteed until they soften and loose most of their moisture (so as not to make the pizza soggy)
10 Slivers of Gouda Cheese
10 Slivers of Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Steps:
1. Unroll the Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough onto a greased cookie sheet or sil-pad.
2. Puree the 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes until it is very smooth. You can add whatever spices and herbs you wish to this puree.
3. Cook the mushrooms over medium-high heat in a small pan for about 10 minutes, until they become a rich dark brown and have lost most of their moisture.
4. Using mandolin, cut about 10 slivers of each the Gouda and the Parmesan Cheeses (you should use your favorite cheeses).
5. Spread the tomato sauce evenly onto the pizza dough, leaving a nice area at the sides for the crust.
6. Top the sauce with the mushroom spread evenly across the surface.
7.  Tear the Prosciutto into slightly smaller pieces and evenly distribute across the pizza.
8. Spread the cheeses evenly on top.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the crust is lightly browning and the cheese is bubbly.
11. Enjoy with your favorite bubbly of choice!

The pizza right before we put it into the oven.

Fun playtime with toys from a care package from Cort's best friend in North Carolina, Marylebone, who now lives in New Jersey..far too far away!

Puppy love.



Melons Wrapped in Prosciutto

So...I had either a bout of food poisoning or a 24 hour stomach bug last night and into a large portion of today. Therefore, our dinner this evening is not super exciting. However, my husband was coming home from traveling for two nights, so I wanted to make something at least a little special, hence our simple yet yummy appetizer. Melon wrapped in prosciutto is a delicious and easy appetizer for a nice warm evening on the patio. I used both cantaloupe and honeydew, as I love cantaloupe and my husband loves honeydew.

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Ingredients:
1/2 honeydew cubed
1/2 cantaloupe cubed
8 slices of prosciutto
several toothpicks to wrap the prosciutto around the melon cubes

Steps:
1. Cut up the melons into mouth sized pieces. You can also just purchase the pre-cut melons offered at your grocery store.
2. Cut each prosciutto slice into 4 pieces.
3. Wrap the prosciutto pieces around the melon cubes and secure with a toothpicks.