Simple Pleasures | Camping

Last weekend we went up to Steamboat Springs for some camping.  I had never been to Steamboat before, and let me tell you, it was gorgeous!  Here are some snapshots of the ridiculous sunset that awaited us after a day of floating the Yampa River.

I wish I had some photos of the 8 of us floating the river with 6 dogs on cheap rafts.  It was hilarious!  It took us 6 hours to go 3 miles.

At the end of the weekend, I was sunburnt and exhausted, but I think the sunset alone was worth the trip :)

Inspired | Grilled Cheese

On Saturdays, there is a small farmer's market just down the street from us.  It's only one block long, but it's one of my favorite things to do to get a cup of coffee and pick up something new at the market.  This weekend I took Kora with me and she had a fun time going up to all of the tables and sniffing what the farmers had to offer.

Right before this trip, I made a really healthy egg white breakfast (theknot.com tells me I need to start getting in shape for our wedding..ugh), but when I went to the farmer's market I saw a huge loaf of rosemary sourdough that I just needed to have.  I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but you can never go wrong with a nice loaf of artisan bread.

By lunch time I knew that this bread's fate was to become grilled cheese.  By dinner time, I knew Denny and I would be having more grilled cheese :)  I'm surprised that I actually have enough self control to not eat grilled cheese all the time (aside from this day)...it's right up there with mac & cheese for me.  Finding websites like this make it especially hard for me.  Sweet Jesus, a whole website dedicated to fancy grilled cheese.  I can't deal.

Here's what I did with the rosemary sourdough:

Havarti

Tomato

Arugula

Cheddar

Fried Egg

Spinach

Onion

Mozzarella

Tomato

Basil

Balsamic Vinegar

 That's it.  Simple, yet amazingly delicious.

Equally as simple is the cucumber salad I served with it.

1/2 diced cucumber

1 diced tomato

1/2 chopped red onion

2 tbsp white vinegar

Salt & pepper

Grilled Pizza...The Love Of My Life

I promised you more grilled stuff so here is something that not many people do with a grill, but it is probably one of my favorite grilled foods.  GRILLED PIZZA!

Me and two of my friends (Rebecca & Ingrid) are master grillers (of pizza).  We've done this several times at Rebecca's house on her charcoal grill and have all agreed it is some of the best pizza we have ever had.  So on, like, day 2 of having our grill, we decided to grill pizza (it was more like I forced the idea on some of our friends and Denny and promised it would be the best pizza of their lives).  In the end, it all turned out pretty good, and was definitely edible.  But, our small gas grill did not perform the same way as Rebecca's larger charcoal grill.  The olive oil from the first pizza, dripped into the flames below and shot a burst of flames through the center of the pizza, which caught the pizza on fire and burned a hole in the center :)  We managed to save the rest of the pizza though.

The other pizzas turned out better.  I did not roll the dough out as thin, we turned the heat on the grill down a little lower, and had one person rotate the pizza dough often so that it didn't burn.  In the end, dinner was really enjoyable and it's definitely something I want to do on a regular basis.

Anyway, this is how you grill a pizza.  Many people are skeptical that it even works because the dough is so pliable.  Instinct tells you that the dough will slip through the grate, but you have to have faith.

What you will need:

A ball of pizza dough (You can get fancy and make your own, but I buy the pre-made stuff that the Whole Foods kitchen makes.  They also have sauce and shredded mozzarella right there too.  I think theirs tastes the best)

Sauce and mozzarrella

Toppings of your choice (I like to have another good cheese on hand, like feta or goat cheese, as well as veggies and meat)

Olive oil

Plenty of grill spatulas and friends to help with flipping :)

Get ready to grill:

Preheat the grill to a medium heat.  Have olive oil, pastry brush, and all toppings handy near the grill.

Meat toppings should be pre-cooked, and maybe even the harder veggies too.  You will just be cooking the pizza until the cheese melts, so there isn't much time to cook the veggies.

Clean and dry a portion of your countertop.  Coat the counter with a generous helping of flour and divide the ball of dough into two.  Coat the dough with flour and roll flat with a rolling pin.

With a pastry brush, coat one side of the rolled dough with olive oil.

When the grill is hot, carefully place the flattened dough onto the grill, olive oil side face down.  (This step will provide the most entertainment, but you will get the hang of it)

The dough will cook and harden fairly quickly, so once you have placed it on the grill, immediately brush the top side with olive oil as well.  Once the dough starts to bubble and hold its form, carefully flip the dough to cook the other side.

Immediately start putting sauce, cheese, and all toppings on the pizza and close the lid.

It should only take a few minutes for the rest of the dough to cook and the cheese to melt.  Once the cheese is melted and the toppings are heated through, the pizza is done.

Slide the pizza off the grill and onto a cutting board.

Slice and serve!

What I love most about this recipe is that it is totally up to your imagination.  There is no right or wrong way to make a pizza - the possibilities are limitless!  Some unusual ideas for toppings are:  roasted garlic, asparagus, fresh herbs, prosciutto or other cured meat, chicken sausage, etc.

I also like this blog post for grilled pizza.

Simple Pleasures | Summer Grilling

After setting up our camping grill to BBQ our 4th of July 'brats and corn (which didn't come out half bad!), Denny and I FINALLY broke down and bought a real grill this weekend and are thrilled!  A grill is something that I have never had, believe it or not, but have always wanted.  Many of the awesome recipes that I have earmarked require a grill, and I have always had to settle for pan frying or broiling.  It's just not the same.  Grills make food taste better, plain and simple.....if you do it right.  Apparently this takes practice.

The first thing we did when we left the "grill store" was go to Whole Foods and pick up 2 juicy steaks. I owed Denny a nice dinner, so he picked out a ribeye and I picked out a top sirloin.  When we got home I promptly made us pineapple mint mojitos while he set up the grill.  I immediately started to search how to properly grill steaks (he likes his more on the rare side, and I am a medium rare girl).  After letting some potatoes and corn get close to done, I put on the steaks, exactly as directed.  2 minutes on each side - high heat.  Then 3 minutes each side on the medium heat side of the grill.  Then we removed the steaks and let them sit.

I could tell when I finally cut into my piece of steak that I had overcooked it.  Sad times.  Because Denny's steak was a thicker, more quality cut, his survived but was definitely more well-done than he would have liked, but he didn't complain.  I rarely allow myself the opportunity to eat steak, so in no way did I let mine go to waste.  Dipping it in ranch dressing also helped, as it does everything.

I am hoping by the end of summer that we are master grillers, but only time will tell!  Still, we are so excited to try many more recipes and share them here!  In the meantime, make yourself one of these mojitos :)

Pineapple Mint Mojitos

6 pieces cubed pineapple

10-15 mint leaves

2tsp lime juice

1oz rum

Sparkling water

Ice

Blend pineapple and mint until smooth, split mixture between two short glasses.  Add lime juice and 1tsp sugar, fill with ice.  Add one shot of rum, fill remainder of glass with sparkling water.  Stir and enjoy!

Inspired | White Bean Bruschetta

The weeks after our engagement were followed by lots of happy hours with good friends.  Who could complain!?  Nobody.  Especially when I stumbled upon this dish during happy hour at Trattoria Stella (actually R Bar, which shares a wall with Stella).  Stella is an amazing Italian food joint in our area that never disappoints.  This white bean bruschetta was one of the best apps I have had in a long time.  In fact, I loved it so much that I had an entire piece to myself, realizing after I finished the last bite that there were only 2 pieces on the table, and 4 of us sharing.  Ooops!  Needless to say, we promptly ordered more and I tried to share this time :)

I was inspired to recreate it for a dinner party we attended...especially since I just bought a $17 bottle of truffle oil that I am desperately trying to use!  I think I got the recipe pretty close, so now I can eat as much as I want (and still share)...muahahahahaha!

Bean Spread

1 Loaf French bread, sliced and toasted

1 Can white beans

2 Tbsp olive oil

1.5 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Clove garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Water (a couple of tablespoons to desired consistency)

Toast the bread until golden brown.  Rinse the beans.  Throw all ingredients in a food processor, (except the bread!) adding water only as needed.

Arugula Topping

1/2 of a plastic container of arugula (a container usually holds 5oz.)

2 Tbsp. truffle oil

3 Tbsp goat cheese

(I don't think this was in the original recipe, but you know me, if there is goat cheese in our house it will make its way into a recipe)

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Toss the arugula, truffle oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Spread a small amount of goat cheese on each toast and top with arugula mixture.  Makes about 10 toasts.

 

Memorial Day Food Adventures!

Often I find myself thinking of my next blog post and looking for opportunities all around me to share with you guys.  When we returned from our drive down south for Memorial Day weekend, I was almost overwhelmed by all of the things I could write on this blog, so I'll just get into it.  But first, I will disclose that I come from an Italian family that LOVES food (hmm, I wonder where I got it from!), and this was indeed a family trip, so our days were centered around what to eat next.  Going into this trip it should have come as no surprise that I would have plenty to talk about!

About the weekend

Denny and I drove down to my Aunt KimAnna & Uncle Mikey's ranch in Del Norte, Colorado.  It is a 4-5 hour drive from Denver and the scenery is completely different than it is here in the city - her ranch lies in a valley surrounded by agriculture and amazing rock formations at the foot of the San Juan Mountains.  Driving into town consists of about 6 blocks of local merchants and a single traffic light.  "Quaint" is almost an understatement :)  On the ranch, which is about 7ish miles outside of town, we always have a great time camping, hiking, mountain biking, visiting my dad, and visiting the family's organic grocery store/restaurant - The Organic Peddler and Peace of Art Cafe.  (If you are ever driving along Highway 160 in Southern Colorado, they would love a visit from you!  The food is not only amazing and good for you, but the architecture is also very cool.  Many in our family, including myself and my brother, helped build the restaurant with our own bare hands!)

One of my favorite things about visiting the ranch is the constant exposure to something new and unusual, whether it is staying in the Mermaid Cottage (which KimAnna and Mikey built by hand!), impromptu art projects with my aunt, or trying a new food we haven't tried before.  This weekend was no different - we were exposed to so many new and LOCAL foods, like duck eggs (?!) which I'll get to in a second.

Upon arrival we were greeted with a beautiful platter of "snacks" that my aunt put out for us after our long, late night drive to their house.  Veggie sushi, olive tapenade and cantaloupe were all part of the spread and we went to bed with happy bellies.

The next morning, we made a trip to the "neighbor's" house.  This ranch is the closest you can see at about 1/4 mile away my my aunt's ranch.  Lynne and Russ own this property and have been good family friends of ours for many years...heck, we even got our German Shephard, Winston, from them during our last visit!  Lynne is a master gardener and even has a small greenhouse on her ranch (my dream!!).  But what's even more cool than that is that everything that looks like grass or weeds growing around the corners of the yard, or up against their house, is all EDIBLE.  Chives, green onions, garlic, mint, you name it!!  Whenever we go to visit them we leave with amazing produce.  Lynne literally takes out a small knife and starts hacking away at all of this "stuff", almost thankful that someone is there to help her eat it all.  This time we left with all of the above mentioned items (except garlic, which hers is the BEST) as well as homemade salsa she made just minutes before we arrived.  This salsa was no joke, I'm going to have to ask her for the recipe.  Although, because most of the ingredients came from her yard, and I am stuck with the grocery store, mine will probably suck in comparison.  Still worth a try!

Aside from the great food we brought back, our visit with them was really entertaining because Winston's mom and brother live with them.  We got such a kick out of seeing Osha (the mom) and Jake (the brother), and they got a kick out of seeing Winston now 11 months old (when we got him he was 11 weeks).  At almost 80lbs and under a year old, we have always thought Winston was a big dog (he towers over some of his other, older dog friends), but his brother, Jake, makes Winston look like the runt!  They believe he will top out at 120lbs. and is a huge ball of fluff!

Our Sunday breakfast was particularly special (you know how I feel about Sunday breakfast - it needs to be special!)  My aunt taught us how to blow duck eggs!  (I laughed at first too.)  This was very cool though!  If you have not seen a duck egg before it is much larger than a chicken egg and has a much thicker shell.  By using a small power tool to drill a small hole in the top and bottom of the shell you can then preserve the shell to paint or decorate later (we have not done this yet, I am trying to find just the right idea for these eggs).  After we drilled the holes (a smaller one in the top, and a slightly larger one in the bottom), we blew (yes, with our mouths) from the top hole, letting the egg white and yolk come through the bottom whole and land in a bowl below.  One tip:  If you are doing this at home, blow each egg into its own bowl just in case you get a bad egg.

The eggs tasted delightful.  They were very similar to regular eggs, with a great texture.  They were also super hearty, only 2 duck eggs yielded about as much as 6 or 7 regular eggs.  We scrambled these, topped them with cheese, and served with bacon, toast, and some of Lynne's salsa.  Yum!

On our last night there, my dad and step-mom brought dinner up to the ranch, which was awesome.  Earlier that week, I was telling Denny that my step-mom makes Indian Tacos, which I thought he would love.  She must have read my mind because she made those for us this night.  An Indian Taco is essentially a taco filled with a pork or beef chili with beans.  The tortillas are handmade (!) and are a thicker, flour tortilla which is fried.  You can top your taco with all of the essentials: cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, etc.  For dessert, there were two bags of cookies waiting for us.  This was a great way to end our trip!

Now that I babbled on and on about our Memorial Day, what did you do for yours?

Peach Banana Bread

I don't really bake often because it seems that I always need to make an extra trip to the grocery store just to make basic cookies or cakes.  There is always SOME ingredient that I don't have.  But one thing I do bake often is banana bread!  I don't know about you, but there are always 2-3 bananas in our bunch that get too ripe and are never eaten.  I throw these in the freezer so that I have them on hand at all times.

Therefore, I make banana bread probably about once a month (we buy a lot of bananas!) and I have to say it was getting a little boring.  So I decided to make it a tad more exciting by adding peaches, and it has become a favorite amongst my friends and co-workers.  This time of year, I have to resort to canned peaches, but towards the end of summer I bet you can get some amazing ripe peaches and make this bread taste even better!!  Banana bread is great because you can add whatever you want to it.  Berries or chocolate chips would be awesome.  I personally like it as a dessert rather than a breakfast, but to each their own!

2 Cups all-purpose flour

1 Tsp. baking soda

1/4 Tsp. salt

1/2 Cup butter

3/4 Cup brown sugar

2 Eggs, beaten

2 1/3 Cups mashed overripe bananas (I use 3 bananas)

3/4 of a can of peaches (or about 2 fresh peaches, pitted and peeled), cut into 1/2" chunks

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine, flour, baking soda and salt.  In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.  Stir in eggs and mashed bananas (I put the frozen bananas in the microwave for about a minute to thaw them, the peel will come right off) until well blended.  Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.  Gently stir in diced peaches.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  

Bake in preheated oven for 65 minutes (I find that it might take up to 10 minutes longer with the peaches added.  At this point, watch the bread closely and test often with a toothpick.  When it comes out clean it is done.)  Let bread cool about 10min.  Slice and serve!

(Adapted from this banana bread recipe.)

Please drop some!