Grilled Thai Chicken and Pineapple Pizza with Sweet Chili Peanut Sauce

Grilled crusty dough with sweet and spicy toppings...need I say more? 

It has been far too long since my last post but after the dish I made last night I decided it was time to get back to it! I often make things up as I go so bear with me on the measurements and timing. 

This was my first attempt at grilling a pizza and I have to say even if you don't get the dough on the grill just right, mine folded at corner, it will still turn out delicious. One important thing I must mention is to keep an eye on the dough after the first few minutes. My grill was a bit hot and it started to burn so I turned the heat down, flipped and cooked a bit longer on the other side. 

This is a great dish to enjoy on a summer evening with a glass of your favorite Sparkling Rose, Vouvray or, lets be honest, any wine you are loving at the moment! 

Grilled Thai Chicken and Pineapple Pizza with Sweet Chili Peanut Sauce

Chicken Mixture:
1 lb ground chicken
1 Tbsp Sriracha
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2-1 Tbsp Fish sauce
1 Tbsp Sweet chili sauce
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp evoo
Ginger salt (totally optional but I had it)
(You may need to add more of any of these depending on how sweet or spicy you like it)

Crust:
1 lb fresh pizza dough from local pizzeria or grocery store not Pillsbury
1 Tbsp evoo
1 Garlic clove, smashed 

Chopped Topping:
Cilantro
Green onion
1/2 a fresh pineapple, bite size pieces

Sauce:
2 Tbsp Peanut butter
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
2 Tbsp Sweet chili sauce

Step 1: Heat 1 tbsp evoo in large pan then sauté chicken and the rest of the ingredients in the first section.

Step 2: Heat gas grill to med-high heat and microwave smashed garlic clove in 1-2 tbsp Evoo for 10 seconds.

Step 3: Whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce and sweet chili sauce. If you find you need more you could always whip up a bit more to serve at the end. 

Step 4: Roll out dough and brush with oil on one side. Put on grill oil side down for about 2 min.

Step 5: Oil other side of dough and flip (I used two spatulas to help with this) for 2 min.

Step 6: Spread peanut sauce on dough and add chicken and pineapple. Cook until heated through and dough is done...may only be a few minutes.

Step 7: Top with chopped cilantro and green onions.

Enjoy!!
xoxo Genevieve 

Have a beautiful summer eggplant and not a clue what to make? Trust me you need to read this!

Every Thursday a produce box arrives on my front door step. For the past two weeks I have received a beautiful purple eggplant but was not quite sure how I wanted to tackle it. I recently made a baba ghanoush, which is great for an app, but I wanted to use the eggplant for a dinner entree.One of my favorite dishes is the eggplant rollatini at Bella Monica. When I say this is one of my favorite dishes I mean it is a favorite of almost all patrons of Bella Monica, so much so that adding it to your dinner reservation is recommended. That being said it takes quite a process and quite a few calories to make that dish. Recently I came across a eggplant roll-up dish that is not fried and is easy to make. If you love fresh ingredients with clear bold flavors this is the dish for you...you could even go the vegetarian route and leave out the prosciutto.

Eggplant Roll-Ups

1-2 eggplants (depending on your party)

1-2 garlic cloves

3-4 tbsp olive oil

basil

1/2 jar of your favorite marinara or arrabiata (if you like it spicy) sauce 

1 large ball of fresh mozzarella

6-12 slices prosciutto 

lemon (optional)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F

Slice the eggplant in 1/4 inch slices, salt them and place a paper towel between each slice to draw out the water; let set 20-30 min and drink a bit of wine to entertain you while you wait....trust me time will fly as you rest and sip a wonderful Carmenere or Zinfandel (appropriate for this dish)

Heat a grill pan or grill on med-high heat

Smash the garlic and add to the evoo...microwave for 10 seconds

Brush the eggplant with olive oil and garlic mixture; grill for 4-5 minutes per side....you will most likely have to do this in batches, depending on how much eggplant you make, so feel free to put some of the eggplant in the oven to start softening while you grill the others.

Let the eggplant cool until you can touch it (if you make too much you can freeze it in a ziplock until you are ready to make another batch).

Roll a piece of mozzarella, prosciutto and basil in each piece of eggplant then place in a baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes

Add some warm marinara sauce to a plate then top with a few roll-ups. Sprinkle with parmesan, asiago or any other cheese you like. If you are like me and forgot to add the basil leaf to a few roll-ups (blame the wine) then sprinkle some chopped basil over top!

Eggplant Roll-Ups with Mozzarella and Prosciutto

I tasted this dish and it was wonderful but I felt like something was missing. I had salted it and even added chili flakes but then I squeezed a bit of lemon over top and the flavors just blossomed. 

Enjoy this summer dinner...XOXO Genevieve

A healthy Thai dish to start the week!

Ever since I studied abroad in Australia I have loved Thai food. Now I usually rely on Sawasdee, my local Thai restaurant, for a great curry dish but I wanted to make a healthier version. This recipe is easy, delicious and ingredients can be swapped in and out based on your taste and what you have available. If you keep some curry paste and coconut milk on hand you can swap out proteins and vegetables for an easy weeknight meal. I am cursing for not wiping the dish before this picture but just try this recipe and you will know why I could not wait another minute to eat it!

Sweet and Spicy Broiled Salmon with Thai Red Curry Sauce

1-1 1/2 lb salmon filet 

2-3 tbsp red curry paste, divided

1 can lite coconut milk 

1 tbsp vegetable oil (coconut oil might be good but I haven't tried it yet)

2 tbsp brown sugar, divided

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce (to taste)

1 small chili diced (this will be very hot so add a little and taste)

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, julienned or cubed

1/2 zucchini, julienned or cubed

1 small can bamboo shoots

jasmine rice, I like Uncle Ben's Ready Rice that has 2 servings a pouch and steams in 90 secs

Pre-heat broiler but keep the rack in the middle of the oven.

Rub salt, pepper, 1/2 tbsp brown sugar and 1/2 tbsp red curry paste all over top of salmon.

Heat oil in a deep saute pan on med-high heat. Once warm add the curry paste and stir until it becomes fragrant. Add the coconut milk and continue stirring for 1-2 minutes.

Pop the salmon in the oven for 5-8 minutes depending on the size and how done you like it. I would check it after 5 minutes. 

Add the brown sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce to the coconut milk. Continue stirring and reduce for 3-5 minutes. 

Add all the vegetables and continue cooking until the veggies are tender but still have a slight crispness.

Put some rice in your bowl and place a piece of the salmon on top. Spoon the curry and vegetable sauce over the salmon. Garnish with a squeeze of lime and fresh chopped basil. 

 เพลิดเพลิน

That means "enjoy" in Thai! XO

A few tips for grilling a great flank steak...

Grilled Flank Steak with Mushroom Sauce and Caesar Salad

It seems steak is something basic that should be easy to cook. For me it has taken many tries to get the right sear, flavor and temperature. I like my meat on the rare side and if it is overcooked I will not be a happy camper. I don't claim to be an expert, or a chef, but through reading many recipes and cooking many steaks I have found a few techniques that will help deliver that juicy steak.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when trying to grill that delicious slab of beef:

• Lightly oil and season your steak for flavor. If you have time, let the steak sit in a marinade to soak up more flavor. 

• BRUSH OIL ON THE GRILL! This helps tremendously when you try to turn the steak (read next tip). When I say brush I really mean take a dishcloth, put oil on it and rub it across the grates, use tongs. 

• Break up the cooking time in 4 increments. So if you are cooking the steak for 4 minutes per side (if its about 1 inch thick this should give you med- med rare) put the steak on for 2 min and turn it 90 degrees so you will have nice sear marks. Then once time is up on that side flip and repeat with the 90 degree turn. You get the idea :)

• When deciding if it is time to take the steak off I say pull sooner than later.When you rest (next step) it will cook a bit more.

• REST your steak. I like to leave it 5-10 minutes so the juices stay in the meat and it stays tender.  

She is ready to come off!

I served the steak with a Caesar salad and topped it with a mushroom sauce that I made up. Below is my make shift recipe for this tasty sauce.

Garlicky Mushroom and Onion Sauce
8 oz mushrooms sliced
1/2 an onion diced
1-3 cloves of garlic minced (decide how much garlic you like!)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1/2-1 cup chicken stock (gauge how much you need as you stir in)
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp Mustard

Prep your mushrooms, onion and garlic.

Melt the butter and evoo in pan on med-high heat.

Add onion and garlic to pan and cook for about 5 min...don't let the garlic burn.

Add mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes or until tender.

Stir in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add chicken stock and mustard, stir and reduce until thick. If after a few minutes you think you added too much stock you can always stir in a bit more flour and keep reducing.

Always taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper as needed. Be careful with the salt since the chicken stock will already have salt added.

Spoon over a hot steak and savor the goodness!

Garlicky Mushroom and Onion Sauce

XOXO Happy Eating!

First Blog Post Ever: My life in food...

Seared Scallops atop Asparagus and Wild Mushroom Risotto

I find that my life memories tend to revolve around good food, wine, people and travel. People have been telling me for a few years now that I need to stop facebooking these yummy dishes, and experiences, and start blogging them to keep track of all the goodness. I have been very hesitant to dip my toe in the blogging waters but because I really want to remember all these recipes, and delicious moments, I have decided to give it a shot. 

To the left you will find two delicious dishes from the past few weeks. I want to highlight memorable home cooked meals as well as dishes from notable restaurants that leave me wanting more after the food is long gone. The scallop dish is comprised of two recipes that I came across while meandering through the grocery store. I often find a recipe online or in a book and make it with a few different twists. Eventually I start to make my own recipes on the fly and this is where I run in to issues remembering everything I have made... hence the need for the blog! For now these are the links to the two recipes I used for the scallop dish: Scallops and Risotto

Ouzo Cured Salmon at Kipos in Chapel Hill, NC

The salmon dish is an amazing ouzo cured salmon that we enjoyed with friends (yes you Lizzie and Ben) at Kipos in Chapel Hill, NC. Most of you reading this know I am a Tar Heel and any excuse to get to Chapel Hill is welcome. Anyway, this Greek restaurant is awesome...no really go there soon. Everything we had was like happiness in your mouth with complex yet clean flavors. It was actually after this delicious meal that I decided this blog must begin. 

So there you have it, my first blog post made with lots of love (and grammar mistakes I'm sure). If you see me and think I am slacking feel free to urge me to post again! 

XOXO Happy Eating!