A Nice Dinner - A Salad of Fruit, Fennel and Beets with Herbed Goat Cheese along with a Salami and Onion Pizza

FOR THE SALAD
I tend to use whatever I have around so the ingredients can be altered, but the base recipe is a fruit and fennel salad. I really love the addition of beets and goat cheese. Some nice greens can be used as a base for the rest.


Ingredient:

Slice all into thin Julianne strips
1 Fennel - a small bulb
1 Carrot
1 Celery stalk
1 Cucumber (optional) - peeled
1/2 Red Pepper (optional) trimmed and seeded
1 Apple- peeled or not
12 or so Grapes- cut in half
1/4 cup Walnuts (optional, I did not use them, but they go well)
3 or 4 Tablespoons - Herbed Goat Cheese
Parsley - finely chopped
The zest of 1 Lemon
Lemon juice- use two if they are small
Salt Pepper
A bunch of beets fresh or canned
Olive Oil
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to a simmer and cook the beets till they can be pierced to the core with a sharp knife. After they have cooled a bit and sliced I like to sprinkle some vinegar on them and let them marinate. Now that all your vegetables and fruit have been prepped, prepare the lemon vinaigrette, and mix well with all the ingredients except for the beets and cheese. The rest of the recipe is to assemble what you have. You can use the picture as an example or create your own arrangement.



Salami and Onion Pizza to go along with it.

You will need
1 Lb. of Pizza Dough
Pizza Sauce - 1/4 - 1/3 of the pizza sauce recipe that follows
1 small onion
1/2 stick of a good quality salami
Mozzarella or a combination of Italian Cheese
(I like to use a combination of Asiago, Mozzarella and Parmesan.)

You will also need
Tray pan (1/2 sheet)
Pizza cutter



For the Pizza Sauce

1 can of Italian Peeled Tomatoes 28 oz – Preferably DOP
2 cloves of fresh garlic – minced or finely chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to your liking
1 teaspoon oregano – A big pinch

Either squish up the tomatoes with your hand if you like your sauce a little chunky or gently puree them in a food processor using the on/off method. Do not let the processor run freely as it will turn the tomatoes from red to pink. You end up getting to much air into them resulting in the pale color.
Add the rest of the ingredients and let the flavors marinate together for a while. This will last for a week in the fridge and you will notice the flavors increase in strength as it "ages".
Slice the onion very thinly and place in a bowl, add a little olive oil. Slice the stick salami thickly and at an angle. Then slice into strips.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with the rack in the lowest position.

Generously oil the bottom of the sheet pan with olive oil. Spread out the dough using your hands or use a rolling pin, to the desired thickness and place in the pan. If the dough bubbles in places pop them with a sharp knife. I use about a 1/4 of the sauce recipe then add parmesan cheese first, then the mixed asiago and mozzarella. Then the onions and sliced strips of salami. Drizzle some olive oil over the edges and top and bake.

Bake for about 14 minutes. Add some pieces of fresh basil and serve hot.
Let me know how it comes out.

Penne with Roast Pepper Cream Sauce and Peas

It's been a while since my last post and I thought I would post a dish that my Dad loved. He really liked any pasta with cream sauce and this one is really flavorful and easy. Even though Dad did not like vegetables he did like the addition of peas in this recipe and I got to sneak in the peppers. Please don't feel you have to roast your own peppers as I am showing you here. They are kind of a pain in the neck but I wanted to show you how to do it and it is very cost effective.

Ingredients

4 red peppers or 1 jar
1 pound of Penne or other type of pasta
1 pint of heavy cream (or a bit more)
2 cups parm Cheese
1 cup of frozen or fresh peas
2 tablespoons of butter (optional)
salt and pepper

Method to roast the peppers:

As you can see from the picture, I used my gas burner to blacken the outside of the pepper. You can also use a BBQ grill.
Using tongs hold the pepper over an open fire till the exposed section becomes black. Turn and continue the process until the whole pepper is black. Immediately place inside a paper bag. Continue the process till all the peppers are done. Close the bag and let sit for a few minutes. When cool enough to do so, scrape away the outside black layer leaving only the red pepper. OK if there is some black left don't worry about it. Cut in half to remove the seeds and white rib parts leaving only the "filet"
These peppers can also be used as a side dish with the addition of some olive oil and garlic slices. In fact they last quite a while and the longer they marinade in some oil and garlic the better.





To Make the sauce:

Take the pepper fillets and put into a food processor with a little water or some of the cream. Puree till smooth.
mix in the rest of the cream and some salt.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place the pasta into the boiling water and set your timer to 8-9 minutes.
Place the cream mixture over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, add the peas and allow to simmer till the peas are almost done. Drain the pasta and add the butter (or oil if you prefer) add the drained pasta to the cream sauce then mix in the parm cheese. Serve with some freshly grated black pepper.

A medium bodied red wine goes nicely. A Merlot or Cote de Rhone.