Easy BBQ Feast for Father's Day! On CBC's Weekend Morning Show

Yesterday I had the joy of presenting some new ideas that I'm developing for the market, in time to enjoy for Father's Day, on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Nadia Kidwai.

The lovely beef striploin came from Wildfire Farms and the pizza dough is available on market days at Old Church Bakery.  Easy and delicious!  The rub is a Baharat (spice blend) that I've added ground pumpkin seeds and smoked paprika to to make a Manitoba version of Duq'qah, an Egyptian spice and ground nut blend for meats and flatbreads.  I'll be bringing this to market very soon.

For the flatbread, 1 bag pizza dough from Old Church Bakery, divide into 2-4 pieces and, with a bowl of water to wet the fingers, pull and spread onto a silpat or parchment papers.  Spread a spoonful of the Duq'qah onto each flatbread, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake in a 450�F oven or on a hot grill until done, 4-7 minutes, depending on oven or grill. 

For the steaks, in order to get a crust, lightly coat each steak with Dijon mustard and then coat with the Duq'qah.  Season with a slight amount of salt.  Prior to grilling, drizzle olive oil on each steak.  Grill to preferred doneness, I recommend rare, but...  Let the meat rest for about 5 minutes before slicing. 

I topped these flat breads and steak slices with a bit of onion jam, but garnish as you like.

Pull Apart Pizza Bread

Over the weekend I made this ridiculous, absurd, out-of-this-world, cheesy, gooey, flavorful pull-apart pizza bread.  Should I even keep talking?  Writing?  Blogging?  Whatever it is I'm doing.  Basically, you should probably make this as soon as possible.  It requires a little effort, but it's not hard.  Added bonus?  Your children will totally want to help, and by "help" I mean they'll want to sprinkle flour all over their bodies and the floor like the fairies do.  The pizza bread dough only has to sit for an hour, so the whole thing comes together relatively quickly.  Once it's ready, you stuff little circles with a cheesy, saucy mixture (one you could add any of your favorite pizza toppings to!), and then you shove them all into a bread dish and bake.  Oh, and you top it with a buttery chive sauce because it's not sinful and delicious enough as is.  (Sarcasm)    

You can find the recipe HERE.  Enjoy!  

{Mozzarella, Parmesan, pizza sauce, sliced pepperoni, Italian seasoning}

{My little helpers, flour EVERYWHERE}

{Pockets stuffed, ready to bake...}

{Voila!  Topped with a chive butter sauce}

Also, Pull Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread!

Spring Fling on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

Tomorrow morning on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with interim host Nadia Kidwai, I will be presenting the following recipes.  I love pea shoot pesto!  It tastes like Spring!  These recipes are very easy to prepare and are made with local ingredients.  Microgreens from Fresh Forage, Quinoa from Tamarack Farms are both available on Saturday at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market.

Happy Spring!

Turkish Pizza Dough
1 tbs dried yeast (instant yeast)
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs (+) warm water
2/3 + cup Greek style yoghurt (I usually use Astro's Balkan Yoghurt)
1/4 cup olive oil
10 ounces bread flour (I use Prairie Flour and it works out to be a heaping 2 cup measurement, with potentially adding more, depending on the climate of the day)
1/2 tsp sea salt
olive oil

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and set aside in a warm place for about 10 minutes until frothy. In another small bowl, whisk the yoghurt and olive oil.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast and yoghurt mixtures. Use your fingers to work in the flour and form a smooth ball. Transfer to mixer and knead with a dough hook on low speed for 10 - 15 minutes until very smooth and shiny. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea towel and let rise for 2 hours or doubled in size.

I use this pizza dough all of the time because it is both easy to prepare and has a great result.  I can always have it in a container in the fridge for making personal sized pizzas when needed.  This is actually something that I need almost daily for my 6 year old�s meals.

Pea Shoot Pesto (using snap pea microgreens from Fresh Forage Microgreens, available at St. Norbert�s Farmer�s Market on Saturday)
Ingredients:
1/4 lb fresh, young pea microgreens
1 bunch chives, chopped (or spring onion)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or almonds (for nut allergies, try toasted pumpkin seeds)
salt
pepper

Directions:
Place the pea shoots, chives, garlic, cheese, olive oil, nuts salt and pepper in a food processor or blender, pulse until a thick paste forms.

Use on pizza, pasta, grilled fish or shrimp, toast, etc.

Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad with Microgreens and Lemon vinaigrette

2 cups cooked quinoa (I used Tamarack Farms quinoa, available on Saturday at the St. Norbert�s Farmer�s Market) Cooking ratio is 2:1 water to quinoa and you can cook in broth or with spices

1-2 tbs pesto of your choice

Olive oil, to tastes

Spring Mix Microgreens (available from Fresh Forage Microgreens on Saturday at St. Norbert�s Farmer�s Market)

Lemon vinaigrette (1 part lemon, 2 parts olive oil, herbs such as oregano, salt and pepper, 1 crushed garlic clove optional)

Toss the cooked quinoa with pesto and a drizzle of olive oil.  When serving top with a generous amount of Spring Mix Microgreens and drizzle with lemon vinaigrette just before serving. 

Enjoy and Happy Spring!

Benefits of Microgreens:  http://markitonutrition.com/sprouts-microgreens/

Benefits of Quinoa: https://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-benefits-of-quinoa/

Herbed Pizzas for CBC's Weekend Morning Show!

This morning I presented some lovely local products for CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod.   

This artisan pizza dough from Old Church Bakery, is remarkably light.  It feels as though it would float away.  You don't need to roll it, just press it out with your fingers.

The fresh herbs are wonderful! Fertile Farm has wonderful products at the market.  Grilling the Spring Onions makes them mellow and sweet.  The Sorrel is so lemony, just divine!

Herbed Pizzas

1 bag Artisan Pizza dough (from Old Church Bakery, at St. Norbert�s Market)
olive oil
Spring Onions or Sorrel (from Fertile Farm, at St. Norbert�s Market)
Pesto of choice for sauce.  I�m using basil arugula today, also optional to use only olive oil, salt and pepper
Shaved or grated parmesan cheese

You can bake this on a BBQ grill, with or without a grill sheet.  The Pizza dough is so light, it doesn�t need rolling, just spread it out with your fingers.  Spread on olive oil or pesto to the base of the pizza and top with your favourite toppings.  I love using grilled Spring Onions as it brings out the sweetness of the greens.  I simply drizzled olive oil over the Spring Onions and grilled on the grill sheet until a bit charred.  You can do the same with the Sorrel or put it on the pizza dough fresh. 

Bake on the covered grill until done or bake in the oven at 450-500�F until to desired doneness.

Enjoy with some crisp white wine or local beer.

Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizzas with Cherries and Corn

I was kind of dreading Father�s Day this year. All of the first holidays and events without him are hard. But the impending punch in the gut of Father�s Day�all of the gift guides in my inbox, the grilling recipes for dad online, the Father�s Day golf/BBQ/fishing/woodworking/drinking themed everything everywhere�it had me in a major funk these last few weeks. Luckily we celebrated in the most amazing way possible, which really helped me (and my sister and mom) get through the day. Rather than having a somber memorial last summer, which he would have hated, we waited until last weekend, and had a big blow-out celebration of life. He loved being a dad, and he loved summer solstice, so there was no better time to raise a glass and toast an awesome man, who lived life to the fullest.


My dad loved good food, good drinks, laughter, jokes, friends, and family. He was a good-timin� kinda guy, and we sent him on his way in true JFK (my dad, not the pres) fashion. Friends and family (about 70 people!) came from all over the place: southern, northern, and central California, Oregon, North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and all over Washington. We ate an insane amount of smoked meat, toasted terrible shots of slivovitz, told tons of stories, and looked through years and years of hilarious and fantastic photos. Evan and our friend Robb arranged an epic bean bag/ corn hole tournament: three courses, 19 teams, 39 total games. Amanda and I were The Zombies (which was my dad�s old horse-shoe team name), and we came in second (we lost to the, ahem, Bunghole Bros).

That night we had the most beautiful pastel painted sunset, my dad�s favorite kind� his little gift to us. I miss him like crazy, but man, I feel so lucky that I got to have 29 years with him. So much thanks to my ma for working her little tail nearly clean off, to all her helpers, and to all our friends and family who came to celebrate. It was so cool to be surrounded by so many people that loved him. And it made this Father�s Day way less sucky.

So anyway, long story short: I just haven�t really been in the kitchen lately. Totally unrelated to everything above, I did manage to make quick grilled flatbread pizza, and figured you should probably know about it. Since it�s officially summer, we�re putting a bunch of summery goodness on a flatbread, and then grilling it up. Fresh corn and cherries, plus BBQ sauce, grilled chicken, and smoked mozzarella. Hello summa!

BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizzas

3 chicken tenders (or 1 large chicken breast, cut in 3 thin strips)
Olive oil, salt, and pepper
2 flatbreads or large naan (like these)
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1-1.5 cups grated smoked mozzerella
8-10 fresh cherries, pitted and halved (and sliced again if they�re big)
1 ear of corn, kernels cut from cob
2 green onions, sliced

Heat grill. Brush chicken with olive oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through, and cut into thin slices.

Spread BBQ sauce on one side of each flatbread, and top with cheese, cherries, corn, green onions, and chicken. Grill until cheese is melted.

To make without a grill, prepare chicken as you like, then heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place flatbreads on a baking sheet, and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until cheese is totally melted.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

ONE WEEK! ONE WEEK! 

One week until my Hawks play in the SUPER BOWL! Here in Seattle, we're in full-on BEAST MODE. 

I'll be watching the big game at the bar where I watched our last two winning games, in our lucky booth. It's only weird if it doesn't work, right? So I'm getting my football food on leading up to the game. I have a few Super Bowl recipes for you this week, because as you know, one of the best things about football is the food! 

The first recipe I have for you is one of my favorite things ever: buffalo. chicken. pizza. 

You can't have a football game without saucy, spicy chicken wings, right? Well, this pizza has all the gooey, spicy, sweet, chickeny goodness of wings, but without the pesky bones� and with a whole lot of cheese! I like to keep it simple: dough, saucy chicken, cheese. Bake it until bubbly, then drizzle on blue cheese dressing and celery leaves. Get it in your mouth. 

Beast Mode Seahawk-Wing Pizza (AKA: Buffalo Chicken Pizza)

Makes two 12-inch thin crust pizzas

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

3 lbs chicken breasts (about 4 breasts), diced large

2 teaspoons cayenne 

salt & pepper

11 tablespoons butter

1 cup Franks Red Hot sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in a large baking dish (i.e.: 13x9 pirex), and sprinkle with cayenne, and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, melt butter, and whisk together with hot sauce and brown sugar. After chicken has baked for 30 minutes, pull out dish, and pour on sauce. Put back in oven, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

To shred, either use two forks, a food processor, or my favorite new trick (from this blog): put chicken and sauce in stand mixer with paddle attachment, and mix on low until chicken is shredded. GENIUS.

Pizzas

1 recipe pizza dough (this is the recipe I use--split the one recipe into two balls/two pizzas)

Cornmeal for pan or peel

1 recipe shredded buffalo chicken, above

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup blue cheese dressing

Leaves from 2 bunches of celery, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If using pizza stone, preheat in oven.

Turn dough ball (half of recipe) out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round the size of your pizza stone or baking sheet (potentially rectangle, if using cookie sheet). Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or pizza peel (or flexible cutting board, which is what I use) dusted with cornmeal. 

Spread with half of chicken mixture, then top with half of cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy around the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then top with blue cheese dressing (I add to a sandwich bag, and cut the corner so I can drizzle) and celery leaves. 

Repeat with remaining ingredients for second pizza.