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Simpler Popeye Pizza

This Popeye Pizza has become a real pizza staple flavor in my house… even for my friend Annie Mariel, this is our go-to pizza flavor we prepare at home now. It’s the perfect midnight snack… 😉

But I have never made this pizza recipe for anyone at the yoga center, so I thought it would be a perfect flavor to enter into the Pizza Contest we were having a few weekends ago. I would just have to simplify it that same way we had simplified it for our midnight snack raids – because at 2AM, I am no fan of taking out 3 different cheeses and grate by hand to make pizza. Here is my simplified version with no compromising on taste…

SIMPLER POPEYE PIZZA

1 flatbread

A handful of Italian Cheese blend of shredded cheeses

Parmesan Cheese, grated – hey ,I buy it pre-grated and sometimes I use the green can too…

A super mound of baby spinach, about 2-3 handfuls

Salt and Pepper to taste

A drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pre-heat your toaster oven to 450F.
Place the flatbread on a cookie sheet… I use the small cookie sheet from my toaster oven.
And top with the topping in this order – first place the Italian cheese blend, enough to cover the bottom of the flatbread. Then sprinkle the parmesan cheese. Top with the mounds of fresh baby spinach. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and finish with a small drizzle of olive oil.
Place in oven for about 5-10 minutes, until most of the spinach wilts and the cheese on the borders gets some golden brown flecks.
Slice it and enjoy.

I love this pizza, Annie Mariel loves it, Jonathan loves it, my mom loves it… I am telling you it’s a real hit. And after a night of partying 😉 – it really hits the spot…

Do you think I could have won with this Popeye Pizza at the Pizza Contest?? I wouldn’t doubt it…

Tags: baby spinach, cheese, flatbread, parmesan

Comments 2 Comments
Categories main courses, snacks

Pizza Rosa – my take on a classic from Pizzeria Bianco

16 Jun

I am a pizza fan and I love to find new interesting flavors for my pizzas… When I was watching an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Pizzas, I learned about the Pizza Rosa from Pizzeria Bianco. It sounded strange and delicious too…

I have heard of Bianco before – on TV, from Martha Stewart… but Pizzeria Bianco is in Phoenix, Arizona and I have no plans to visit Phoenix anytime soon. So the only way to try the flavors of this pizza is making it myself. And the ingredients were not so foreign to me – red onions, parmeggiano reggiano cheese, rosemary and PISTACHIOS?!?!?! Yep, Arizona pistachios to be exact. Well, my pistachios would have to be from Walgreens, but I was intrigued nonetheless on how this would turn out.

My take on PIZZA ROSA from Pizzeria Bianco

1 flat bread or store-bought pizza dough round

Red onions, thinly sliced using a mandoline in the thinnest setting

Pistachios, shelled and ground in a food processor

Pecorino romano cheese, grated

Italian Cheese blend of shredded cheeses

Fresh Rosemary needles, chopped finely

Pre-heat your toaster oven to 450F.
Place the flatbread on a cookie sheet… I use the small cookie sheet from my toaster oven.
And top with the topping in this order – first place a small amount of the Italian cheese blend (about a small handful), then spread the onions, then the pistachios, then a light shower of the freshly grated pecorino romano cheese and finish off with a sprinkling of rosemary. My fresh rosemary has dried in the fridge so I just crumbled it with my fingers.
Place in oven for about 5-10 minutes, until the cheese on top gets some golden brown flecks.
Take out and wait about 1 minute for the cheese to set, slice it and enjoy.

You will make this pizza time and time again. The pistachios are an unexpected ingredient, but they work with the onions and cheese. Now I know why it was on the Best Thing I Ever Ate list…

Do you think I could have won the pizza contest with this Pizza Rosa??? I think so…

Tags: cheese, parmesan, pistachios, pizza, red onion

Comments 1 Comment
Categories main courses, snacks

Horseradish Potato Pastelón

6 Apr

I am in love with anything with horseradish in it… cheese, mustards, etc. And to show my appreciation towards horseradish, I decided to create this pastelón. It’s really a clean-your-fridge recipe… but delicious in its own right. Confirmed by my friend Jonathan, who was my guinea-pig for the day…

HORSERADISH POTATO PASTELÓN

About 2 lbs of potatoes – russet or red-skinned potatoes work well here

4 tbs of butter

¼ cup of milk

1 tbs grain mustard

1 tbs prepared horseradish

½ yellow onion, chopped finely

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup of shredded carrots

½ cup of broccoli, cut into small pieces

¼ cup of grated Parmesan Cheese

Olive oil

Himalayan Pink Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Boil the potatoes in salted water in a medium sized pot. I tend to just put enough water to only cover half of the potatoes. That way they boil and part steam and cook faster in my experience than if you submerge them all in water.
While the potatoes cook, we prepare the vegetable filling… In a medium skillet over medium heat we add a bit of olive oil and sauté the chopped onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add the shredded carrots and mix well with the onions and cook until the carrots and onions soften, about 3-4 minutes. Lastly, add the broccoli florets, mix in with the rest of the ingredients and let cook for about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Then turn off the stove and let the broccoli cook with the residual heat from the skillet.
When the potatoes are cooked and fork tender, drain the water and mash the potatoes in the same pot you cooked them and add the butter, milk and mash them well with a potato masher. Add the mustard and horseradish. Season with Salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Mix it all in well.
Spray a glass baking dish with Canola Oil spray and place 1/3 of the potato mixture at the bottom of the dish and spread it all as evenly as possible. On top, add the vegetable mixture in one even layer. Lastly, top with the remainder of the potato mixture. Finish with a layer of sprinkled parmesan cheese on top.
Bake in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes until the cheesy top has a nice golden brown crust.

Tags: broccoli, carrot, horseradish, parmesan, potato

Comments 2 Comments
Categories main courses

Provençal Rice

21 Sep

With my stove out of commission for a few weeks, I resorted to my trusted friend the rice cooker to help me out in the kitchen.

This is a dish I used to order a lot as accompaniment when I used to eat at La Parrilla Argentina, a “fast food” joint found here in PR in mall food courts. Never been to Argentina, it’s still in my to-travel list, but apparently this is a popular side dish too. The name is “french” but that’s the way the named it at La Parrilla, I guess because it uses parsley and garlic.

It’s easy to make, delicious and you don’t need to occupy a stove range when making it. I usually set the rice cooker and then go off to take a shower, meditate, and do other stuff without having to tend to the food itself. Rice cookers are the best invention ever…

Arroz Provencal

PROVENÇAL RICE

1 cup of whole grain, brown Texmati rice (I use the measure in my rice cooker… so I am not completely sure if my “cup” is the same size as yours)

1 tbs sofrito or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

¼ cup minced flat leaf Italian parsley

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Water

Salt

Olive oil

Measure rice and wash well.
Place in the rice cooker and fill with rice with about ¼ more than the rice cooker lines say. Brown Texmati rice needs a bit more water than regular white rice.
Add the sofrito, salt and olive oil to taste. Mix it all in a bit. I usually pour about 1 tsp to 2 tsp of oil. I learned to do this by “eyeballing” it. Cover and turn the rice cooker on.
In my rice cooker, when the chime goes off, I still need to let it rest for about 10-15 more minutes to make sure the steam finish cooking the rice. After this time has passed, fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the parsley and the parmesan cheese.
Let the flavors meld for about 5-10 minutes more and serve.

I had this rice with a tomato and avocado salad and french fries. YUM!!

Tags: flat leaf parsley, parmesan, whole grain rice

Comments 3 Comments
Categories basics, From my CSA box, side dishes

Potato Zucchini Gratin

4 Jul

I got the inspiration for this dish by a recent post from Heidi from 101 Cookbooks. When I read her recipe I realized I had most the necessary ingredients waiting for me in my kitchen. And what I didn’t have, I would substitute and improvise…

I had received a couple of great zucchinis from my CSA box that I was wondering how to cook… Heidi and her recipe came to the rescue. Thanks a lot.

Potato Zucinni Gratin

POTATO ZUCHINNI GRATIN

3 medium russet potatoes, washed well and peeled

1 medium sized zucchini

¼ teaspoon of sea salt

About 1 ½ tbs of basil/parsley oil

About ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese

About ¼ cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Canola Oil Spray

About 2 tbs of fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs

Some additional sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Spray a medium-sized pyrex dish with canola oil spray and sprinkle with about 1 tbs of breadcrumbs. Shake the pyrex so the breadcrumbs coat the dish as much as possible… just as if you were flouring a pan to bake a cake… Set aside.
Using a mandoline, slice as thinly as possible the zucchini. Place in a colander and sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon of sea salt and let them drain some if its moisture out.
Using the same mandoline, slice as thinly as possible the potatoes.
Place in a bowl and add the basil/parsley oil, the grated parmesan cheese, the Pecorino Romano, some salt and pepper.
After about 5 minutes after salting the zucchini, squeeze them to release as much moisture as possible. Using a paper towel pat them dry. And add them to the bowl with the potatoes. Toss well to combine potatoes, zucchini and seasonings.
Place the seasoned veggies into the breaded pyrex dish. Place them with your hands trying to create layers after layers of potato and zucchini. It does not need to be perfect, but try to lay them all flat.
Sprinkle some added breadcrumbs over the top and add a bit more parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese to create a nice crust on top.
Because I do this in a toaster oven, I never preheat… but place it in a 400F oven for about 30-45 minutes – the perfect amount of time to allow you to take a shower and meditate.