Simple Tomato Salsa

This simple tomato salsa was one of the things that I was able to concoct while at a cabin in the Finger Lakes region in upstate New York this past week. Basically all you have to do is carefully mix together a small dice of fresh ripe tomatoes, onions, orange (or yellow/red) bell pepper, a little hot pepper (I used a jalapeño, but a serrano pepper would also work fine), minced garlic, some parsley or cilantro, and a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil. 

There is no strict "recipe" for salsa. There are endless combinations of different ingredients and proportions that you can use. 

Pizza

Some photos from last night's pizza. Tasty, but there are still many areas for improvement. There are still many things that I am learning.  

Pizza Margherita.

 Italian sausage (somehow got it for free, along with another sausage, from the butcher at Whole Foods).

Assortment of toppings.

Dairy free/vegan pizza.

Peach, caramelized onion, goat and mozzarella cheeses.

Pizza crust bottom-view. 

Caprese Salad

This is salad in its simplest form. Caprese salad is quite easy to make. It is also a summer salad - don't even try making it anytime but the summer (unless you live somewhere very warm) because the tomatoes will not be great out of season, and great tomatoes are essential for a good caprese salad. Good mozzarella helps too. A balsamic reduction raises this caprese salad to the next level. 

Caprese Salad:

2 large, ripe tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

10 slices fresh mozzarella (about one mozzarella ball)

20 leaves fresh basil

1/4 cup balsamic reduction (see below)

freshly ground black pepper

kosher salt

To make this salad, simply assemble thinly sliced ripe tomatoes (about 1/4 inch thick), fresh mozzarella slices of about the same size, and several basil leaves. To make each stack, begin with a tomato slice. Place several basil leaves on top of tomato slice, followed by a slice of mozzarella. Then drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil and a liberal amount of balsamic reduction (see below) on top. Add some extra smaller basil leaves to the top as well. Season with freshly ground pepper and kosher salt (this depends on the salt content of your mozzarella. I barely added any salt this time because the mozzarella I used was very salty to begin with). Enjoy!

Balsamic Reduction:

3/4 cup good balsamic vinegar

Simply bring the vinegar to a slight simmer in a saucepan for 10-20 minutes allowing the liquid to reduce to a syrupy consistency. Any extra can be stored in the refrigerator. 

Roasted Tomato Risotto

Risotto can be somewhat time consuming (and daunting) the first couple times you make it, but once you become comfortable, it does not require any more effort than rice rice (slight exaggeration...), and risotto is absolutely incredible tasting. Risotto takes rice to a completely new level. Better yet, it is very adaptable and can therefore be made using many different ingredients. For this recipe, I simply used the Parmesan Risotto recipe from the New Best Recipe and added about a cup of roasted tomatoes and garlic about 15 minutes before the risotto was fully cooked. Next time I will definitely begin with more tomatoes as they cooked down tremendously. I also need ideas for a proper garnish for this dish. Any suggestions?

Grilled Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil

Bruschetta is a great example of a dish that depends entirely on the quality of the individual components. Bruschetta looks and tastes wonderful when each component receives the necessary attention. The bread should be crispy (I usually grill it for the great grill marks, although putting it under the broiler for a minute or two also works.). It should also be "garlic-y". If using tomatoes, they should be perfectly ripe (different colored tomatoes add to the apperance). The combination of tomatoes and basil is incredible. While mozzarella cheese is another good addition to this bruschetta, I believe the simplicity of this version allows the bread and tomatoes to stand out.

Grilled Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil:

10 slices of a baguette, cut at an angle 3/4 inch thick (other crispy white breads can be used, however the french baguette looks the prettiest)
2 large ripe tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, minced
10-20 large basil leaves, chiffonade
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Cut the tomatoes into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes (be careful not to mush the tomatoes when cutting the tomatoes as they are fragile. I recommend using a sharp serrated bread knife). Combine the tomatoes with 3 cloves minced garlic, chiffonade basil, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, and all of the vinegar. Carefully fold together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Marinate the tomatoes in this mixture for about 15 minutes.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Combine 2 cloves minced garlic with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and paint a light coating of this mixture onto both sides of the bread slices using a kitchen paint brush. Grill the bread t for a couple minutes per side until they develop light grill marks.
Put a generous spoonful of tomato mixture onto grilled bread and serve.

Fresh Basil Fettuccine with Herbs, Chorizo, and Cherry Tomatoes

One of the unique advantages of homemade pasta is the ability to add additional ingredients to the dough, such as herbs or vegetables. I decided to add basil tonight in hopes that the strong and spicy flavor of the basil would enhance the taste of the pasta. Well, the basil flavor was much more subtle than expected. The basil did little to change the flavor of the actual pasta, however the green specks in the pasta definitely looked very appealing. In the end, I believe that the addition of basil was worth it, even if it only added to the appearance (and because "basil fettucine" sounds cooler than "plain fettucine").

Notice the green specks of basil.

This recipe is very flexible and can be tweaked in many ways. The exact amount of each ingredient is very flexible (the ratio of flour:egg in dough must be consistent). The amount of dough can be increased easily by using 2/3 cup flour for one large egg. 

Fresh Basil Fettuccine with Herbs, Chorizo, and Cherry Tomatoes

Basil Pasta Dough:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

15 basil leaves (more or less)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 medium sweet onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

fresh herbs, minced (oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, etc. I used oregano, basil and thyme this thyme)

10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (more or less)

1/3 pound chorizo sausage (more or less)

freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 basil leaves, sliced thinly for garnish

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Coarsely chop the basil leaves. Pulse the chopped basil and 2 tablespoons olive oil in food processor until the pieces of basil are very small. Add flour and eggs and turn processor on until the dough comes together into one ball (about 30 seconds). The dough should barley stick to the sides of the food processor. Add a couple drops water if the dough is too dry. Add 1/2 teaspoon flour if dough is too wet. Cover dough ball with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 20 minutes. Dough can sit in refridgerator up to 24 hours.

Remove casing from sausage. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook sausage in pan over medium heat until just cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Set aside on paper towels. 

Roll pasta using a pasta roller with the cutter set to fettucine. 

Bring 4-quarts water to full boil. Salt water liberally with kosher salt before adding pasta (do not skip this step). Cook pasta until just al-dente, about 3 minutes for fresh fettucine. 

Cook the onions with 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil until translucent over medium heat in large sauté pan, about 8 minutes. Add sausage, garlic, and herbs. Cook until garlic begins to turn slightly brown, about 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add cooked pasta. Toss the pasta with the sausage and onion mixture. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle grated parmesan on top. Garnish with thinly sliced basil and serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Recipe by Luke Paulson

Cherry Tomato Salad with Farmers Cheese

While mozzarella cheese is often used in tomato salads, I decided to change things up tonight and use the tangier farmers cheese instead. I used farmers cheese from Chapel Hill Creamery in Chapel Hill. I had never had farmers cheese before I tried it on a tour of the creamery last spring and have been a big fan ever since. It reminds me of a combination of mozzarella, feta, and goat cheeses. The colorful cherry tomatoes are from the Durham Farmer's Market.

I simply sliced the tomatoes in half and arranged them on the serving platter with slices of cheese in the middle. I also added some thinly sliced red onions in there as well. I then splashed some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar over everything, added kosher salt, ground black pepper, and oregano leaves from the garden as a garnish.

We ate the salad along with my dad's grouper fish tacos and corn salad which were also both delectable.

Old photos

Here are some miscellaneous photos of some food/dishes I have made over the past year:

First time cooking pizza on the Big Green Egg. Having grilled pizza on the BGE twice now, I have achieved maximum temperatures of around 675 F, more than 100 degrees hotter than my kitchen oven.

Hickory smoked salmon (on the BGE) with grilled vegetables (onion, red bell pepper and scallions) and romesco sauce (poblano pepper, tomato, garlic, parsley, cilantro, toasted almonds, toast, extra virgin olive oil, and red wine vinegar).

Red pepper parmesan risotto.

Pan-seared North Carolina flounder with a gazpacho garnish (red and yellow bell pepper, cucumber and blanched zucchini skin).

Sautéed asparagus.

Grilled bruschetta with homegrown heirloom tomatoes.

Kaiser rolls