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Arugula Panzanella Salad

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The only redeeming quality about having 100 plus degree temperatures for forty straight days is knowing it is officially summer. Summer produces tomatoes that are to die for, no pun intended in this heat. Farmers come to market boasting the seasons best attribute – these red globes of sweet, sweet pleasure. Every time I leave the market, I find myself worrying about hurting my precious bounty as if were my own child I were protecting from bruising. Just looking at an heirloom tomato on my kitchen counter makes me want to call off whatever obligations I had and make a plate of food deserving of its glory. This is a lovely way to let summer ingredients shine and satisfy your urge to fill your mouth with one of the best natural flavors on earth – the perfectly ripe, sweet, succulent, juicy tomato. Needless to say summer heirlooms can turn even the most avid tomato-hater into a convert in no time (and if they cannot turn you, I highly suspect that you club baby seals or hate puppies). Kidding aside, I almost missed my work out class on Friday because I could not stop eating this ridiculously amazing salad.

Panzanella is a salad that is quite common throughout Italy. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of versions but it traditionally is a method for using up old bread. If you do not have any day old bread, you can either buy some or omit it (though then the name changes “pane” being Italian for bread). It is perfect for a light dinner or lunch or served as a salad along side a more substantial main or as a stand alone appetizer. I used what I had, but feel free to play around with it and add items like red onions or fresh mozzarella cheese.

Arugula Panzanella Salad

Serves Four

One recipe Simple Arugula Salad
Two or Three large Summer Heirloom tomatoes (gauge number on size of tomato), cut into one inch pieces
Day old Italian Country Bread or similar, cut into half-inch pieces
One tablespoon olive oil (or flavored of choice)
Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Extra shaved cheese such as Pecorino Romano if desired
Spoonful of Caramelized Onions, minced red onion, or thinly sliced shallot (Optional)

On a baking sheet, combine olive oil and bread and toss to coat. Toast in an oven for about 5 minutes, then toss and continue toasting until the outside is crunchy and the inside remains soft. Whilst the bread is toasting, combine the arugula salad and tomatoes in a large bowl. Gently toss with Salt and Pepper to taste and drizzle just a touch of good olive oil and toss once more. Once bread is toasted, combine into salad mixture and add additional cheese tossing, gently, one more time.  Enjoy the simple pleasure of summer tomatoes and forget about the ridiculous heat for a few minutes!

Beautiful market heirloom

Zucchini Boats

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This was the only meal I have made myself since the sandwich that I made before leaving for the airport for Mexico 8 days ago. The lovely little place we were staying (by lovely, I mean INCREDIBLE) had an outdoor kitchen where we ate our insanely delicious breakfasts. It also had a grill that was available for guest use, along with a cutting board. We decided that we would cook dinner one night – a hard decision as this meant one night that pastor tacos would not be going into my belly. Next problem: the only cooking apparatus we had was a grill. Ergo, I decided to make zucchini stuffed with Oxaca cheese, Grilled Onions, and Chorizo and some re-fried beans with Manchengo cheese, sour cream, grilled onions, and jalapenos alongside some chimol (basically pico). This decision was made with a couple different trains of thought: 1) If I am giving up my nightly pastor it better be for seafood or veggies; 2) I had finally had some beans for breakfast and it whetted my appetite for them; 3) I only had a grill and one knife, so the meal need to be  simple and easy.

We garnered some additional cooking materials from the owner of the B&B, Lou, and began to make our dinner after D went in to the store. Now by extra cooking materials I do not mean much – we got a small pot for the beans and a dull knife for cutting the veg with. This was a step up in the knife department from the time I had to make dinner using a butter knife. That was … interesting.

The result of our little B&B cooked meal was outstanding. The freshness of the ingredients sang and all the flavors, though not particularly complex, married very well together. Better yet, everything I used to make this meal can be found in the States (though it will be different than the traditional local flavors that I had available in Tulum) and is a cheap and satisfying crowd-pleaser for those awesome summer weekends in Texas!

Note: I had originally intended to put the bean mixture in avocado halves, but the avocado did not come home from the store, so we did without. No worries – beans are amazing.


Zucchini Boats

Two Zucchinis, washed and halved
One Chorizo Link
One half Onion
1/4 cup Oxaca cheese
Brush of Olive oil (or in my case Spray of Pam olive oil)
Salt and Pepper
A dash of seasoning of choice (I had a Mexican seasoning that was like a lime-cayenne with adobo so I sprinkled some of that on here)

Season Grill with onion, then grill until glassy (alternately – oil a small pan and saute until glassy). Place chorizo on grill and grill for about 3-4 minutes on either side, depending on thickness. Take the zucchini halves and cut a deep square shape in the middle in order to stuff them. Grill, skin side up, for about 3-4 minutes first then flip. Stuff with Cheese and grill for an additional 3-4 minutes. Top with onions and chorizo and enjoy with sides of pico and cheesy re-fried beans.

Pico de Gallo

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Pico is one of the easiest things to make. I am not sure why anyone buys the store bought stuff – I guess there is an argument for time-savings, but the flavor, cost, and satisfaction is just so much better with homemade (and buying store bought really only saves you about ten minutes). Pico – at its best in the summer with the amazing summer tomatoes – is fast, fresh, healthy, and versatile.

Serves 8

Four large tomatoes, seeded and diced
3/4 to one whole white onion (to taste); small dice
Salt
Pepper
Juice of one to two limes depending on taste
Two Jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
1.5 cups fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix gently. Flavors will develop more over time or serve immediately. That simple.

Longhorn Pizza

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This pizza will be called the Longhorn Pizza because even though our beloved Horns (and Cubs and Red Sox) lost in the College World Series opening day, D and I still won. In a BIG, grandslam kind of way. This pizza was awesome. It had a perfect crust, had excellent flavor and was just completely satisfying. All for a whooping price of $4.33, which represents the cost of the dough that I purchased from Rounders. Short background, D and I both were craving pizza and cannot spend money because we are savings for our upcoming trip to the Yucatan. We had been game-watching with wonderful friends at a bar downtown and they had a pizza menu – I tried it and it was not good. Mediocre at best, but the damage was done….I wanted some pizza! I needed to use up some stuff at home – mainly two tomatoes. I also had a small sprinkling of other items that had been previously purchased and needed to be used. So….stopped by Rounders on the way home and got to prepping. End result…AMAZINGNESS!!!! This was hands down the best pizza that I have made, ever (and I like my pizzas that I have made before). Let’s just go ahead and add pizza to the growing list of things I cannot eat out anymore. Shucks but my belly sure was happy. I served this with Garlic Knots that were made from the leftover dough (since there is enough for at least two ten inch pizzas)!

Favorite Pizza Dough
1/2 cup Basil Pesto
Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper
One Shallot, thinly sliced
Six Cloves Garlic, minced
2.5 tablespoons of Crushed Red Pepper
3/4 cup of Monterrey Jack, shredded
3/4s cup of Mozzarella, shredded
One half chicken breast, previously cooked with a salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne crust – sliced roughly
Handful of baby spinach (I had every intention of using this, but forgot to add it – feel free to keep or omit)
8-10 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced into quarter-inch pieces and seeded

Roll dough on a flat surface to desired thickness (I prefer thin crust so I roll mine somewhat thin). Place dough on an aerated pizza baking tray (I have found that my aluminum pizza tray with holes in the bottom makes the best crust, crunchy on the outside and chewy inside, but feel free to use your traditional stone or a cookie sheet if that is what you prefer). Spread the Pesto in a circular motion around the dough. Salt, pepper, and sprinkle dough with crushed red pepper. Sprinkle the sauce with garlic and shallots, followed by spinach if you are using this ingredient. Then top with cheese, followed by the chicken. Place tomatoes on the dough until entire surface is almost covered. Salt and pepper (and crushed red pepper) to taste and place in a 400 degree oven. Bake until the Crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and the tomatoes are good and roasted. Upon removal from the oven, add the basil leaves and serve immediately.

Grilled Ham and Cheese Cornbread Sammies with Cilantro-Jalepeno Pesto

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Over Easter weekend, D and I scored the jackpot (because his parents were generous enough to give us the leftovers) and bring home, not one, but two spiral hams. One was destined for soups (and had a hock the size of my forearm) and the other was destined to be enjoyed on its own – or maybe my favorite way – in sandwiches. My mom had given me these giant corn bread muffins a while back so I pulled them out of the freezer for a quick meal.

Cornbread sandwich

  • Two slices of corn bread, one side of each buttered
  • One thick slice of spiral ham
  • One slice of Fontina or Monterrey Jack cheese
  • Small handful of Arugula
  • Two slices Avocado

Assemble sandwich and place on a panini maker. Grill until nice, dark marks appear and cheese is melted.

Cilantro-Jalapeno Pesto

  • Half Bunch of Cilantro
  • One half of a roasted Jalapeno Pepper
  • One half of 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • One half of 1/4 cup Good Quality Olive Oil
  • Squeeze of lime juice if available

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve with Tomato soup.