When the moon hits your eye

...like a big pizza pie that's amore...

Did you know that song was played in the credits of the award winning Moonstruck in 1987 staring Cher? Well neither did I until a Trivia night with some great friends in the city of pizza, Chicago.

While I'll never be able to toss a crust or slice a deep dish like those pros, I still love to make homemade pizza. In the winter or summer or anytime of the year they just seem to hit the spot. It's a meal my husband and I can have fun planning and making together. Every pie tastes different and each makes great cold leftovers!

Rustic Sausage and Red Onion Pizza

Herb Crust – prep time: 1 hr
1 packet (2 1/4 tbsp) yeast
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp diced sage

Combine yeast, sugar, and water in a large bowl and let sit until the mixture has turned foamy, about 8-10 minutes. Add olive oil, salt, and herbs. Slowly mix in flour until it forms a ball, you may not need to use all of it. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes on a floured surface or until it is no longer sticky. Place in an olive oil lined bowl and cover with a towel. Place in a warm location and let rise for at least 20 minutes.

On a floured surface roll out or hand toss the dough to a large pizza sized circle. When hand tossing it is easier to work slow and work from the inside out to stretch the dough. Place on a pizza stone or tray and fold edges over to create the crust. Let rise another 20-30 minutes.

Pizza
1 lbs ground sausage or other meat
1 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 lbs spinach, washed and de-stemmed
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup provolone cheese (about 4 slices)

In a pan cook sausage until done, set aside in a large bowl. Slice red onion thinly and place in pan heating till soft with olive oil.

Cut pepper into bite sized squares and heat with onions. Once veggies are slightly soft remove and let sit with sausage.

Cut the spinach up and heat till wilted with a little salt.

Heat tomato sauce till warm in a small pot. Spread the sauce around the pizza crust. Layer sausage, peppers, onions, mozzarella, spinach, and provolone.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese is melted. Let sit 5 minutes and slice.

New Twist on an Old Favorite

Thanksgiving… a meal like non-other, comforting and filling; yet many years it seems like the same dishes over and over again. You have your turkey with stuffing, hopefully not too dry. There’s mashed potatoes and gravy. Generally a green bean casserole. Rolls or bread. Throw in some pumpkin and apple pie and your meal is complete.

Completely boring say some.

So what to do? Turkey’s can be basted with fruits to add more flavor. Potatoes mixed with garlic and chives are always a favorite. Why not do a Asian green bean toss instead? Or try some pumpkin muffins and serve a berry pie for desert. All fairly simple substitutions. Some you may hold onto, others stick with the original and you can’t go wrong. But the stuffing… oh the stuffing is something to experiment with!

Remember the Focaccia bread I promised to reuse? Well here’s what became of the rest of it. It was a pre-Thanksgiving meal at our house featuring Louie's sausage and canned beef stock.

Since we are traveling to Chicago for Thanksgiving we took a little time to make our own Turkey a few weeks before. We then spent the weekend in Wisconsin helping my parents around the farm and setting up for their own family meal. No matter how you slice it Thanksgiving reminds us to be thankful and spend with those you love, even if you’re not with them.

Apple Sausage Stuffing
1 loaf Focaccia bread
3/4 cup crushed Italian bread crumbs
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 carrots, washed and peeled
3 celery stalks, washed
1 large onion
1 green bell pepper
2-3 golden apples
1/2 lbs Italian sausage
3 cloves garlic
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary
3 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper

Cut Focaccia bread into large cubes. Broil in oven on a baking sheet until golden and crispy, do not burn. Remove and let cool in a large bowl.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Brown the sausage and remove. Cut up into small pieces if not using ground meat. Add to the bread bowl.

In the same skillet heat the olive oil. Cut up the carrots, celery, apples, pepper, and garlic into bite sized peices, mincing the garlic. Add to the pan and sauté on low until heated through and tender. Add to the bread bowl with the Italian crumbs, beaten egg, herbs, salt and pepper.

Fold gently until mixed. Add the stock slowly until absorbed, mixing gently. Do not over mix.
Place in a sprayed pan that fits the amount you have made.

Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes or until top is browned slightly. Can broil if crispier stuffing is desired.

Season of Squash

With the abundance of squash during the fall comes a flurry of orange and yellow dishes. My recent favorite features roasted Butternut squash and Louie’s Italian sausage. It was based on a recipe from here, but modified to my personal taste and texture. Again, I used the canned beef broth I made.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sausage Soup
1 large butternut squash, about 3 pounds, halved, seeds removed
1/2 pound Italian sausage (~3 whole links)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, chopped
3 cups beef broth
1/2 cup heavy cream, or more to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Lightly coat the squash halves with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, salt, and pepper on both sides. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake until fork tender, about 30-45 minutes, remove from oven and let cool. When the squash has cooled enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and reserve.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat sauté the sausage till browned, remove and cut into small pieces. Add remaining olive oil to the pan and cook the onions until soft and opaque. Add the garlic, sage and rosemary; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. In a large soup pot, add the onion mixture, cooked squash, 1/2 the sausage mixture, and chicken stock, stir well to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

With a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor or blender, puree the soup. Add the cream and remaining sausage pieces. Adjust seasoning to taste and add water till thickness desired.

Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with more chopped rosemary leaves.

Sausage Quiche, this ain't no Lorraine

The original quiche may have come from Europe, but it's influences stretch far and wide. There are many ingredients that can be added to this flaky, pastry-like dish, but the main ingredient is always eggs.

The incredible edible egg. The question of which came first. The answer to many a riddle. Growing up I never really enjoyed eggs, I still turn down a plain scrambled egg even though I very much enjoy making them.

Quiches on the other hand are a whole different beast. They will sustain veggies, meats, and cheeses quite well. It’s a perfect ‘garbage’ meal, something our house always turns to in order to use up the weekly grocery supply.

The dish this recipe follows is a warming savory meal, baked with

Louie's Meats sausage and local University of Minnesota blue cheese. Any combination you can think of would create a wonderful meal or side dish.

I always make a fresh crust from my Grandmother's recipe. The crust works well on savory dishes as well as desserts. By blind baking the crust you can get a stiff, partly cooked shell that will stand up to the expansion of the eggs and blending of ingredients.

Onion Sausage Quchie
2 links Chirizo Sausage (about 2 cups)
1 small Onion
1 cup Red and/or Green Peppers
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp chopped Chives
1 tbsp fresh Rosemary
2-3 washed, peeled Yukon Potatoes
3 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp milk or cream
1/4 cup Blue Cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan heat water with a little salt and cook potatoes till done. Remove from heat, drain, and let cool. Once cooled slice in to thin peices.

In a medium saute pan heat cut sausage till done, remove into a large bowl. In the same pan saute sliced onions, peppers, garlic, and chives until done. Add to sausage. Chop herbs and add to mixture.

In a separate bowl beat eggs with milk, salt, and pepper till frothy.

Pre-baked crust using a fresh crust (see below) or store bought. Layer potatoes on bottom of crust. Top with sausage mixture, crumbled cheese, and then eggs.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees until slightly browned and firm, about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.

Grandma O's All-purpose Crust
1/4 cup Lard
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
cold water


Mix first 3 ingredients together well. Add water until flaky. Knead with a little more flour until the consistency of pie dough. Can let cool. Use for pies or pre-bake with pie weights for a crispier crust.