Grilled Veggie Salad with Vinaigrette

2017, cooking, Uncategorized

Made this to bring to the Summer on the Bay performance of the Symphony.  It was S’s first experience seeing the local symphony.  It was such a gorgeous night on the bay.  A wonderful event.

For 4 small meal servings

  • Eggplant, cut crosswise in 1/2 inch thick slices (only need about half)
  • 2 zucchini, cut crosswise diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices
  • 2 portabello mushroom caps
  • 2 red bell pepper left whole
  • 1 cup cherry tomato
  • salad greens
  • basil leaves
  • Cilantro
  • 3 ounces goat cheese

Dressing

  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Splash red wine vinegar
  • Olive oil
  • Dijon mustard
  • Salt, pepper
  • Thyme

Grill eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini (oiled and seasoned) until they develop nice grill marks, but still firm and can hold their shape

For the bell pepper, roast whole on the grill until charred and soft

For the tomatoes, oil and season and place on parchment lined quarter sheet pan and roast at 400 degrees until they start letting out their juices and shrivel

Let the veggies cool to room temperature and cut into 3/4 inch chunks. Leave tomatoes whole

Assemble dressing in a Mason jar.  Shake to emulsify.

Assembly:  Add a few tablespoons of dressing to grilled veggies. Toss to coat.

Add remaining dressing to a bowl containing salad greens, goat cheese, cilantro and basil (lots of basil!).  Toss well.

Plate the greens, then the grilled veggies on top

 

Pizza Topping Ideas

2016, cooking

We have been making pizzas at home for about 4 years.  Recently, it has become more of a stable, ever since we realized that our preschooler loves it (no surprise!)  Our go to method:

  1. Use  a store bought whole wheat dough.  It’s sweeter and has a nice texture compared to regular dough.
  2. Drizzle a metal baking pan with oil and press the dough into the pan.
  3. Often less is more-not too much sauce or topping otherwise you end up with a raw crust.  But most would argue that you could pile on the cheese!
  4. Using light shredded cheese takes some of the guilt away since we eat this pretty often.
  5. Bake at 425 degrees on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes, depending on the amount of toppings works our quite well.

The product is a pizza with a chewy, fluffy, ready crust!   Here are a few of my favorite combinations

the Chicago-Sausage, mushroom, provolone, pecorino and caramelized onion, pizza sauce – our favorite thus far. Can’t go wrong with pork!

the Naked Pizza-Bacon, mashed potato, roasted garlic, roasted cauliflower, sautéed spinach, ricotta, pecorino (no sauce)

BBQ Chicken-Store bought BBQ pulled chicken, red onion, sliced black olives, frozen roasted corn, mozzarella, BBQ sauce

Meatball Sub-Meatball, marinara, mozzarella, basil, pecorino

I would love to play around with figs and more roasted vegetables. Next pizza will be sausage, roasted bell pepper, basil for tomorrow night.

My favorite restaurant pizza combinations:

Spinach, garlic, ricotta, tomato sauce

Broccoli, tomato, olive, onion

Zucchini, Mushroom, Eggplant