Pizza Casserole with Zucchini Crust

Are you inundated with zucchini from the garden? Tired of making zucchini bread?

Yeah, we thought so (we are too).

Then we've got another question for you: Do you like pizza? Do your kids?

If the answer is "yes," we’ve got a recipe you're going to want to try.

It's simple, really. Mix shredded drained zucchini with eggs and cheese. Spread it into a casserole dish and bake it for a while.

Then top it with all of your favorite pizza toppings. Voila! 

This casserole combines everything that’s great about pizza with a vegetable-laden crust that tastes fantastic.

We got the idea from an old trick Lo's mom used to do with leftover macaroni and cheese. She'd mix it with a couple of eggs, spread it into a baking pan and prebake it. Then she'd add tomato sauce and pizza toppings.  

As kids, we loved it.  

As an adult, I've occasionally remade the recipe just to relive the nostalgia. But, I've also started looking for other ways to achieve similar results.

This concept is similar -- but it sneaks in some extra vegetables. So, if you're a mom with picky kids, this recipe might just be something you want to tuck into your repertoire.

We'd be delighted to hear what your kids think.

Get the recipe: Zucchini Pizza Casserole

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Weeknight Shortcuts: Thai Chicken Pizza

It's difficult to believe that it's been a whole week already since our last post. But, that just goes to show how busy we've been with the planning for the Cookies for Kids' Cancer Bake Sale & Silent Auction here in Milwaukee.  We've met an amazing array of people over the past couple of weeks, whose generosity has been absolutely astounding.

Unfortunately, it also means we haven't been creating a whole lot of original recipes in the Burp! kitchen.  Fortunately, we have a few delicious "secret weapons" under our belt that assist in making sure we're still happy and well fed, even when times get crazy.

One of our favorite quick weeknight meals happens to be this delicious veggie laden Thai chicken pizza, which is a breeze to throw together even when time is tight.  It does make use of a few convenience items, which we don't normally rely upon.  But, its nutritional profile still remains quite solid, which makes it a nice stand-by for nights when we might otherwise order take-out.

One of the items I try to keep on hand are premade corn pizza crusts (we love these rustic crusts from Vicolo, made with non-GMO corn).  These make a great base for a variety of pizzas, and they're absolutely delicious.

In addition to the crusts, a great Thai pizza needs only a few additional ingredients to be absolutely stellar -- some leftover chicken, a few vegetables, cilantro, and some delicious Thai style peanut sauce.

If you've never made peanut sauce before, you'll be delighted by how easy it is to put together. We use a no-cook sauce made with peanut butter and coconut milk. But, you can also use a premade sauce (Trader Joe's satay sauce is quite good) for this application. The peanut sauce recipe will make more than needed for pizza, but you'll have no trouble using up the leftovers. Just throw a bit in with pasta and some shredded vegetables for homemade peanut noodles.  Or use it as a dipping sauce for vegetables or chicken.

Just top pizza with the peanut sauce, add vegetables, cooked chicken, chopped cilantro, and shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

I don't know if I should admit it, but I feel a little bit like Rachael Ray whenever I make these pizzas... But, the reality is, it's pretty darned good for a meal you can put on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Thai style peanut sauce


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Sourdough Focaccia with Olives & Rosemary

I killed them both in one fell swoop.
Both were tragic deaths. Unfair. And sudden. And utterly inelegant. And I mourned them both privately and on Facebook.

I now maintain that it was a matter of simple cross-contamination -- yeast meets beast --but I spent weeks wondering about the untimely fate of both my sourdough starter (of 7+ years) and my kombucha scoby (which I'd maintained without fail since early last spring).  I also acted quickly to find replacements.

The scoby was easy enough to replace, since I've given out quite a number of baby scobies to friends & neighbors all over town (and I seem to have developed a waiting list of others who are still awaiting the chance to own a 'booch baby of their own).  But the sourdough...

Fortunately for me, R from Cakewalk was passionately working on one of her latest obsessions -- sourdough culture derived from the fermentation of grapes (a la Nancy Silverton). And she was kind enough to offer me a bit of her brand new starter.

It was gorgeous stuff -- smelling of yeast and ferment and the ever-so-slight perfume of grapes (or was that my consistently overactive imagination?). In any case, it was a wonder of a living food. And I couldn't wait to take it for a test drive.

Interestingly enough, Peef was craving foccacia.  So, we planned a lovely casual weekend dinner of cheese, wine, fruit... and a lovely sourdough experiment.

The dough mixed together beautifully.  I used a mixture of bread flour and a half and half blend of all purpose and white whole wheat flour.  And I gave the loaf a nice long rise (nearly 8 hours total) -- to ensure that the wild yeast had an opportunity to thoroughly develop.

When the dough was finished rising, I hand shaped it on a piece of parchment paper, allowed it to rest, and then put together the toppings. Olives... rosemary...thinly sliced garlic... I hoped that this would be the focaccia of my (sometimes easy to please of late) dreams.

I watched the loaf in the oven as it slowly lifted -- as if levitating -- air flowing through every bubbly crevice. And, as a crust formed along the outer edges of the dough, I saw the bread take form and color beautifully.

The final product was crisp & airy, with a beautifully tender exterior pleasantly dappled with air tunnels.  Although it would have been perfect for sandwiches, we sliced it simply and ate it in big, manly chunks -- spread with tomato basil jam and followed with sheep's milk cheese and a swig of wine.

It was love at first bite - which is exactly why I feel the need to share.  If you can manage to get your hands on a bit of sourdough starter, you must try this recipe.


Sourdough focaccia with olives & rosemary

Oh!  And before I forget -- stay tuned later this week as we write about our adventures with locally made spice blends... I don't think I'd be giving too much away if I suggested there might be a giveaway involved...

Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.


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Spring Eats: Asparagus Pizza with Summers Past Pesto

If I haven't made it clear that we LOVE our freezer, I want to make that clear now.  I don't know where we'd be without all the goodies we store up in our over-sized chest freezer.

I'm fairly certain some people thought we were crazy when we went out and bought a chest freezer -- primarily because this freezer wasn't the smallest one on the market. Nope -- we have 20+ cubic feet of gorgeous freezer space, complete with storage bins that we can lift in and out. We went with a chest freezer since they were more efficient than an upright, but we'd heard horror stories from others who claim to have "lost" things in the bottom of their chest freezers.  So, right off the bat, we developed an organization system.  We bought a few plastic storage bins that fit into the freezer and help us to organize the foods by "type" -- tomatoes/sauces in one, meats in another, veggies in yet another. We also created a freezer list, which lives upstairs.  It's been hit-or-miss lately, but the idea is that we keep the list up to date -- adding new items when we put them into the freezer, and crossing items off when we use them up.  Works pretty well, and it keeps us eating locally -- even in the dark days of winter.

One of the items that makes me glow when I think about our freezer is... pesto.  OH, yeah.  When summer hits, you'll find us growing plenty of basil in our garden.  Heck, we practically eat the stuff out of hand.  But, we also love to use the leaves to make plenty of pesto -- for storage.  Basil, garlic, toasted pine-nuts, and a bit of oil -- and we're set (I purposely leave the cheese out when I'm freezing pesto).  I put pre-measured quarter-cup portions into small storage containers or baggies -- and pack them all into the freezer for that dreary day in January when we could all use a bit of a pick-me-up.

I just used up the last of our stash of last summer's pesto a few nights ago. It was getting late and we both were starving.  I had a bunch of fresh spring asparagus on hand... and a freshly fed bowl of sourdough starter.  So, we decided to whip up a super simple pizza.

You don't even need a recipe for this one if you've got some pesto and a bit of dough on hand.  First, preheat your oven to 500 degrees (or higher, if your oven is capable). Slice your asparagus in half lengthwise -- and then into 1 inch pieces.  Then roll out your pizza dough onto a piece of parchment paper.  Spread it with a thin layer of pesto, and then top it with a handful of mozzarella cheese. 

Add the asparagus.  And then another layer of cheese.  Then sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of basil and oregano (fresh or dried).  Bake for 20 minutes -- or until the pizza dough is crisp and the cheese speckled with brown.

Voila! Simple weeknight pizza that tastes a suspiciously like last summer.

Sourdough pizza crust


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In Memoriam: Artichoke a la Mode Pizza

When I awoke (literally) this morning to the news that one of our favorite pizza joints (and a Milwaukee icon) was ablaze, I was in shock.

Pizza Man has always been our "go to" restaurant.  It was one of the places we chose to mark any number of celebratory occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, job offers).  It was the place where we'd go when life had taken us for a ride, and left us yearning for familiarity and the comfort of an old friend. (how many tear-filled sessions I've had, drowning my sorrows in deep dish pizza, I may never know).  It was also one of our favorite spots to dine with friends and family.

Seems there was NO occasion that didn't suit the Pizza Man.  And we weren't the only ones to think so.  There was always a wait. I can't count the number of times we found ourselves standing around waiting for a table (though, in most cases, we simply left the friendly hostess our cell number and grabbed a beer or two over at the Eastsider, a neighborhood bar just across Oakland Avenue).  And that fact alone should be seen as a testament to the quality of both the food and the atmosphere -- which included an old wooden door (which opened and closed thanks to the power of pulleys and weights), darkly stained wooden booths, and walls hung with shelves of jars featuring Italian specialties like olives, roasted red peppers, and canned beans.

If a comparison is even fair, Pizza Man was the historic equivalent of Lombardi's (New York), Santarpio's (Boston), and Giordano's (Chicago).  The interior of Pizza Man itself was a historic marker, since it became a Milwaukee tradition to write or carve one's name or other messages on the wooden booths.  The restaurant was also known for its huge wine list, which included over 500 wines from California, Washington, and Oregon.

When we weren't ordering Pizza Man's delicious deep dish pizza (sometimes just their plain old cheese, sausage, mushroom & onion -- which was simply incomparable), we'd often order a pie affectionately referred to as artichoke a la mode -- a thin crust variety topped with mozzarella cheese, artichokes, generous dollops of cream cheese, and slices of fresh tomatoes and garlic.

This wonder of a pizza became one of our absolute favorites -- so much so that we decided to recreate a riff on the original at home.  A sourdough crust replaced the thin crust, and roasted cherry tomatoes stood in for the fresh tomato slices... but this pizza was a pretty great stand-in for the real thing.

In memory of Pizza Man, all the good times shared -- and, hopefully, all the good times to come:
Artichoke a la Mode Pizza

Other great memories and photos also available on ThirdCoast Digest.


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Mad Fusion to the Rescue: Reuben Calzones for Dinner!

Normally, we'd be whipping up a nice batch of Reuben sammiches after St. Patrick's Day. And trust me, that's NOT a bad idea. But, neither is Reuben pizza... which was another option that came to mind.

Rather than trying to decide between the two, we opted to try our hand at a bit of good old fashioned experimentation. Ireland Meets Italia. Mad Fusion ensues.

First, you need the fixin's for pizza dough. But, this won't be just any pizza dough. Get your rye flour ready, honey. Cuz this pizza dough is gonna rock you like a Jewish deli... or something like that.
Once the dough is mixed, give it a short rise. Then knead in some caraway seeds, if you like them. If you'd prefer to leave them out, go right ahead. We'll just point and laugh. Loudly. Until you give in and add these delicious little seeds to your dough. Cuz they're AWESOME. But really, do whatever you like. We won't judge.
Now, lay your dough to rest again for a bit. And tuck him in. Cuz he likes that.
When he's risen all pretty-like, you can divide him up into four pieces. Roll each into a 12 inch circle. Or some sort of circle-ish (or maybe squarish) shape like you see here. Perfection is NOT the point here, people. Your calzone will not mind if he's a bit different from the rest. Trust me.
Now, you want to load on the filling... a few slices of cheese, a few slabs of corned beef, maybe some horseradish sauce (a Reuben wouldn't be a Reuben without horsey sauce at our house), and maybe a bit more cheese for good measure.
Tuck that filling in very neatly, and transfer your calzone to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Or a silpat. We opted for an exopat with very angry writing along the one side.

You should poke a few holes in your calzones so that the steam has a place to escape. Otherwise, heavens knows what could happen. Something might blow up.

You might also want to secretly brush them with a bit of whipped egg yolk so that they get a nice, sexy, sheen. But, don't tell anyone. Or take pictures. Cuz whipped egg yolk looks gross.
Bake your calzones at ... oh... 450ºF for about.. ah... 18-20 minutes. And then behold their loveliness!
You can leave them on a plate and just let them look pretty. OR you can cut them into slices and serve them to the hungry masses. Like we did.
Yum. Yum. Yum.
And don't forget to wash these down with a bit more of that delicious Irish Stout. Preferably something local. Guinness if you must.

And if you're curious about that rye flour pizza dough, we've got just the thing for you!

Rye Pizza Dough


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Sourdough Series: Artichoke à la mode Pizza

We have a tendency to spend our Friday evenings making homemade pizza. Carry out pizza is awesome when we're super busy. But, there's something about the taste of homemade that can't be duplicated.

Which brings me to yet another handy use for my sourdough starter... pizza dough.

Unlike a sourdough loaf, which requires a longer, slower rise than ordinary bread dough, sourdough pizza dough actually requires far less rising time than average. What this means is that, if I've thought far enough ahead to feed my starter, I can have pizza dough in less than an hour.

This past week, we made one of our absolute favorite pizzas, the artichoke à la mode. We first tasted this pizza at Pizza Man in Milwaukee. And we decided that we had to figure out a way to make it at home. The biggest pitfall seemed to be the fresh artichokes, since we can only get those a few times a year when they're in season. However, thanks to the discovery of fresh frozen artichokes from Trader Joes, we are now able to make this year round.

Now, you're probably curious about how this recipe actually works. So, let's get started.

First, you make the dough (an easy mix of sourdough starter, flour, oil, and salt). Once the dough is mixed up, it needs to rest for about 30-40 minutes. During this time, it rises a bit; but, it doesn't double like a typical dough.
When it's well rested, you can roll the dough out into the desired shape. We like to make oblong pizzas, which fit nicely on my rectangular pizza stone.
This particular pizza was topped with homemade pizza sauce, artichokes, and chunks of cream cheese.
Because you can never have enough cheese, we top that with a good mound of delicious mozzarella.
In the past, we ordinarily topped this pizza with thinly sliced fresh tomatoes (like Pizza Man). But, we found that the flavor was infinitely improved by the addition of some of those little roasted cherry tomatoes we made earlier in the week. So, they'll be a "must have" in the future. After adding the cherry tomatoes, the pizza looks something like this.Thinking that it might taste best if cooked, we put the topped pizza in a 450º oven, and bake it until the cheese is golden and the crust is crispy.
What comes out of the oven is one serious pizza... that smells even better than it looks.

Sourdough Pizza Dough


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Ramped UP for Spring

Ah, the ubiquitous ramp.


We've been seeking out these little suckers for weeks now. And we finally found a batch of locally gathered ramps at the co-op. Just imagine our excitement! We felt a bit indulgent paying $2.99/bunch for these delicacies, which are essentially gourmet weeds. But, we've been pretty stoked about the emerging flavors of spring, so the purchase seemed almost a necessity.

I've collected a number of recipes for ramps, including things as simple (and classic) as ramps cooked with scrambled eggs. I know there are also a few very nice pasta recipes floating around. But, we decided to try out a recipe for pizza instead.



This was simplicity at its finest. Nothing more than a crisp pizza dough, a bit of mozzarella cheese, some blanched ramps, and a bit of aged asiago. But it was quite delicious.

The blanching definitely takes the edge off of the ramps, which are often described as having a "bite". These tender alliums were sweet as could be. The flavor could definitely be described as "wild," but I also felt as if they carried a sort of perfumey quality that made them worth seeking out.



White Pizza with Ramps

Pizza crust (your favorite recipe)

extra virgin olive oil
10-12 medium ramps, washed and trimmed
4-5 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 450ºF (allow oven to remain at temperature for at least 30 minutes).

While oven is heating, bring salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. When water reaches a boil, add ramps. Blanch for one minute. Ramps should be bright green and just tender. Remove ramps from water, drain, and pat dry. Slice into 1-2 inch pieces (we left our ramps more intact, but they were MUCH more difficult to eat this way).

Roll out pizza dough into desired shape. Brush with olive oil.
Spread mozzarella over crust. Scatter ramps over cheese. Top with shavings of asiago.

Bake for 8-12 minutes.
Allow to rest for five minutes before slicing.



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