Highwood Italian Beef Pizza

I often travel up to Highwood, Illinois to my old stomping grounds to get some of the Italian goodies you can't find at the local supermarket. There are several wonderful Italian businesses to visit up in Highwood but if you are in need of some sausage or Italian beef the only place to go is Poeta's.  Brothers Dominick and Luca Poeta serve up some of the best spicy fennel sausage for miles around. If you are making sauce and need a little of this or a little of that - chop chop goes the cleaver and there ya go! I asked if I could mention Poeta's in my blog and they replied - only if the recipe is good. So, here it goes, hope you like it. 

Ingredients:

1 heaping cup of Poeta's Italian Beef 
2 1/2 TBS of minced Giardiniera I used the minced mild from http://www.thatpickleguy.com/
1 1/2 cups of Italian cheese (mozzarella, asiago, and provolone blend)
1/4 of a large red pepper - sliced
sesame seeds
olive oil
1 lb fresh pizza dough
parsley 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. Rub a little olive oil on your pizza stone or pan
3. Stretch out your pizza dough to make a large circle. I make mine the size of my pizza stone.
4. I dab a bit of olive oil all along the crust and then sprinkle on sesame seeds
5. Spread out Giardiniera onto the dough. It may look scant but the taste will power through. 
6. Next, spread the cheese onto the dough.
7. Top with Italian beef and Peppers
8. Sprinkle pizza with dry parsley
9. Bake at 375  for 20-25 minutes.  

If you live in the area you can pick up your Italian Beef and all of the fixin's at 
Poetas Market 

520 Green Bay Road in Highwood, IL

Mon - Sat:	8:00 am	-	6:00 pm
Sun:	9:00 am	-	2:00 pm

Antipasto on a stick

I whipped this up mostly from found items at the Northbrook, Illinois Whole Foods. The only thing that needs cooking are the mushrooms!

Ingredients:

• Pitted Green Olives of your choice from the Olive Bar or Bottled
• Abruzzo Dry Salami or any kind of Dry Salami- one stick sold in the lunch meat section. The width should be about an inch or so. 
• Marinated Gigante Beans from the Olive Bar 
• Roasted Red Peppers w/ Garlic - bottled
• Fresh basil
• Marinated ciliegine (cherry sized) buffalo mozzarella. - one container
• One package of white or baby bella mushrooms or marinated mushrooms from the salad bar.
• Marinated artichoke hearts - one bottle or from the Olive Bar
• Olive oil
• Bamboo Skewers - use small size or cut in half.
• Italian Seasoning.

Directions:

1. Clean mushrooms and toss in a table spoon or so of olive oil. Add Italian spices if you wish and salt and pepper. Skip this step and #2 if you purchased marinated mushrooms from the deli.
2. Put in a glass 8x8 baker and cook at 350 until soft and cooked down. Let cool.
3. Once the mushrooms are cool, start threading your skewers in any pattern you wish.  I like to leave some meatless for people who don't want the salami.

Enjoy.

Black Bean Burrito Filling

This is something we cook up almost every week at our house.  Here is a quick and easy recipe that can be made in no time at all.

Ingredients:

2  cans of black beans drained, rinsed.
1  4 oz can of chopped green chiles
1/4 cup of loosely packed cilantro (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves
4 oz of salsa - fill the empty chili can to measure
1 tsp of smoked paprika
oil of choice

Directions:

1. Divide the beans and loosely mash half of them. Leave the other half whole.
2. Saute the garlic in a little oil and then add salsa, cilantro, and smoked paprika.
3. Mix in  beans (whole and mashed).
4. Saute on low until well blended and creamy.  Taste and salt as needed. Don't let them dry out.

Enjoy in salads, wraps, tacos, or on their own. :)

Garam Masala Roasted Cauliflower

On a whim I wanted to do something with some fresh cauliflower that was cut up in the refrigerator.  Since we were going to eat an Indian themed dinner I found a recipe for roasted cauliflower but I didn't have the exact ingredients to make it. I decided to combine two recipes and the results follow. Spice combining on a whim seemed to work in this case. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

3 1/2  cups of fresh cauliflower. Chopped into small florets.
1 tsp fresh lime zest
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of garam masala
1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper 
olive oil
salt to taste

Directions:

1. chop up the cauliflower & toss with a splash of olive oil
2. sprinkle on seasonings and mix well.
3. place cauliflower on a baking dish.
4. Roast in a 450 degree oven until browned and tender.

Savory Baked Tofu

This recipe is adapted from a Moosewood Cookbook that I have had in my collection for years. When the tofu comes out of the oven it is hard not to start snacking on it right away. Amazingly delicious.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons of gluten free tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 clove of garlic grated (with a microplane)
Szechuan pepper to taste
1 block of firm tofu

Directions:
1. Press the tofu between two plates with a book or other weight on top for 15-20 min. Once a pool of water has collected under the tofu - chop the block up into 1 inch cubes
2. Mix the wet ingredients together in a bowl and then microplane a large clove of garlic into it
3. Mix the tofu into the wet ingredients.
4. Arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle with pepper.
5. Bake at 400. Turn every 10 minutes or so to crisp up on all sides. Remove from oven when nicely browned.

Grilled Zucchini Lasagne

Ingredients:

3 large zucchini
14 oz white mushrooms thinly sliced
1 bottle of your favorite pasta sauce
2 small yellow onions
Penzy Spice Pizza Seasoning
1 batch of Cashew Ricotta
1 (4 link) package of Meatless Italian Sausage

Directions:

1. Make the cashew cream. I used a recipe from the following website The Simple Veganista
I made mine the day prior so the flavors could meld.

2. Using a mandoline - slice the zucchini longways into thin strips. Also thinly slice the mushroom, onions, and Italian sausage. Make sure the veggie sausage is as thin as you can get it.

3. Toss the zucchini in a bit of olive oil and a few dashes of Penzy's Pizza Seasoning

4. Grill zucchini directly on the grill. Wrap up the mushrooms in foil with a little olive oil and pizza seasoning. Wrap up the sausage with the onions after tossing with a little olive oil and pizza seasoning. Grill until the zucchini has grill marks and is slightly tender. The rest should all be cooked until tender.

5. Once everything is grilled, start layering your lasagne in an 8x8 baker. Pour in a bit of sauce. Then layer the Zucchini, next spoon on a thin layer of Cashew Ricotta, next the Sausage and onions, mushrooms, and then repeat. Top with sauce and bake at 350 until bubbly. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan if you wish.  It is a bit runny the first day so it is a great dish to make the day before and reheat.

#1 Sauce

                                                                                   

#2 Grilled Zucchini

#3 Cashew Ricotta

#4 Onions and Veggie Sausage

#5 Mushrooms

Zucchini Chips

    Slice Zucchini thinly

                                         

Toss with olive oil & Penzy's Greek Seasoning

                                         

Place in Dehydrator. Wait several hours until crisp. Enjoy!