You gotta love grilling when it's hot!

I don't know about you, but when it gets hot, I hate to use my oven! The last thing I need is to increase the temperature in the house by 5 degrees! I'm trying hard to learn new ways to use my grill. After watching a recent episode of Top Chef Masters, I decided to try my hand at grilled pizzas. They didn't go over very well with the judges on the show that night, but we love pizza, so it was a risk I was willing to take. Turns out- that was a good decision! I used the Grill Dough recipe for this.

It starts with proofing the yeast. I added the sugar to this step like I would with bread.


In another bowl, I added the flour and salt. I made a well in the middle, added the oil to the yeast mixture and mixed until a ball formed.


I kneaded the dough until smooth and then divided into 4 equally sized balls (for 4 small pizzas).


I placed the four dough balls on a silpat and covered with plastic wrap, sprayed with cooking spray. Set aside for 1 1/2 hours.

After 1 1/2 hours- they doubled in size and were very soft.

Roll to desired thickness (we like ours really thin). I didn't have cornmeal, so instead of oiling my grill, I coated both sides of my dough with olive oil and layered between pieces of aluminum foil to help transfer them to the grill. (By the way- getting them on the grill was the toughest part!)

Before you start grilling, make sure you have all your toppings prepared.

I grilled over charcoal, and the first side took about 1 1/2 minutes. I removed them from the grill and brought them back in the kitchen to top.

On the left: homemade pesto, pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage.
On the right: homemade pesto, sliced roma tomatoes and black olives.

On the left: tomato sauce, spinach, mushrooms, green peppers, and black olives.
On the right, tomato sauce, pepperoni, mushrooms and black olives.

I topped them all with an Italian pizza blend of cheese. I sprayed my charcoal with a little water to bring down the temp and then placed the pizzas back on the grill with the lid on for about 4-5 minutes. Watch them VERY closely! I did throw mine under the broiler for about 1minute inside to brown the cheese a bit.


Add a little fresh basil from the garden and enjoy! This was so yummy, and even the places that looked a little too black, did not taste burnt at all. A super fun project that will be repeated many times this summer!

The appetizer I love to make for a crowd!

When I have to take an appetizer or picnic snack for a larger group, my go-to is Tortilla Roll-ups. I don't really follow a recipe any more, but this is similar to what my mom always made. It starts with 1 block of cream cheese, 1 (8 oz) container of sour cream, 4 green onions, 1 (4 oz) can of green chilies, 1 (8 oz) bag of cheddar, 4 oz of black olives (chopped), and 1 tsp of Lawry's seasoning salt with 8 burrito size, flour tortillas.


Once upon a time, I used to buy the little can of chopped black olives. One day I realized, that 4 oz can of pre-chopped olives cost more than the large can of whole olives. I own a food processor, why throw away the money! So, now I buy the large can of olives and throw about half the can in the food processor (or my mini-chopster) and pulse until chopped.

Mix 8 oz of cream cheese (I use low-fat) and 8 oz of sour cream (I use lite) until smooth.

Chop 3-4 green onions, whites and tops and throw in the bowl.

Add in olives, Lawry's, cheddar and chilies. Stir and spread by large spoonful onto each tortilla. Spread until it evenly covers the tortilla.

Roll up each tortilla and scrape any excess off so the outside of the tortilla doesn't get soggy when wrapped.

Wrap each log in a piece of waxed paper. I've found that plastic wrap and foil both make the tortillas soggy. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or over-night.

Depending on how much filling you like in your tortillas, this will make 6-8 logs. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

Slice the ends off each log (reserve) and slice remaining tortilla into about 1 inch rounds.

Serve roll-ups with your favorite salsa or picante sauce for dipping.

And we like to save the ends to snack on before we go to the party. It's hard to wait that long!

I love spending money for other people!!!

My parents recently vacationed in Florida. While there, they fell in love with Lobster Rolls. Upon returning home, my dad searched for how to make New England Style Hot Dog Buns- you can't buy them in Iowa! He encountered the King Arthur website and ordered a pan. He then gave me the pan to keep, with the condition I make him the rolls. I think I got the good end of this deal :)

Last weekend was my mom's birthday. My dad called me a few days before I was to head home and asked if I would make Lobster Rolls for her birthday dinner. Lobster isn't in my budget, but it was fun to buy it with his money :) The guy behind the seafood counter knows what I usually buy, and when I told him I wanted 5 Lobster Tails- his eyes got huge!
Now, on to the food! For the bread I used the Hamburger or Hot Dog Bun recipe from King Arthur. It came with the pan and provided instructions on how to use my new pan. I proofed the yeast in water and sugar.


Then you add in the milk, oil, salt and part of the flour. You beat it with a wooden spoon for two minutes.


After working in the rest of the flour and kneading, I set the dough aside to rise. I was busy, so instead of getting a clean kitchen towel to put on top, I got the bright idea to use a damp paper towel. It stuck to the dough and was so hard to pull off! I wouldn't recommend it :)


I split the dough into two portions. The first I rolled with a rolling pin in a rectangle to fit my pan, the other half was made into hamburger buns. I sprayed the pan with cooking spray and placed the dough in it to rise.


The strange part of this recipe is the use of a sheet pan placed on top of the loaf pan. You place it on the pan while the dough rises - you want to let it rise until it reaches the top of the pan. You bake the buns with the sheet pan on top for the first 15 minutes. DON'T weigh down the sheet pan! (And please don't look at my dirty oven!!)


You allow the buns for an additional 5 minutes to brown the top. I brushed them with butter when they came out of the oven and removed them from the pan immediately. This is to prevent them from getting soggy bottoms.


This is what the underside looks like. It's your guide for where to separate the buns.


The taste of the rolls was good...but more comparable to a Ciabatta then a hot dog bun. I was disappointed with the size. This pan makes SUPER skinny and short buns. I won't use it for regular hot dog or brat buns, but it was a fun experience!

Now, on to the gorgeous LOBSTER!


I cooked these in the oven- first I split the underside of the shells with kitchen shears. This makes it much easier to remove the meat after they are cooked.


I brushed them with butter and placed on a foil lined baking sheet. I baked them at 400 degrees for roughly 20 minutes. I used a thermometer to cook them to an internal temp of 180 degrees. Set aside and allow to cool.


I then mixed up the "dressing" for the lobster salad. Combine mayo, hot sauce, lemon juice, green onions, celery and a little chopped parsley. I used this Lobster Roll recipe- http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lobster-Rolls/Detail.aspx

Stir together the ingredients and set aside while you chop the lobster.

GORGEOUS!!! I may have been sneaking small bites while I removed the shells :)

A big bowl of perfectly cooked Lobster Tails! Chop into bite size pieces, add to the dressing mixture and refrigerate until serving.

Butter up both sides of the buns and toast until golden.

Split the rolls down the top, fill and serve with your favorite sides. It was a fantastic summer meal- and a fun project for my mom's birthday!


If anyone else has money they would like me to spend for them- I'm always available!! Have a great holiday weekend.

As if I needed another way to love enchiladas!

I love enchiladas. Beef, Cheese or Chicken...Green or Red- I love them all!! I saw this recipe for Chicken Enchilada soup and knew I had to try it. I decided to make it when I took a short girls trip with my mom and daughter. It was nice to heat a bowl of soup when we arrived and it was even more delicious with the Jalapeno Cheddar Foccacia Bread I made to go with it.

Here's how you make Chicken Enchilada soup. (Please note, I made several changes to this recipe to lighten it up, so the instructions are for my version). The recipe I built mine from was Chicken Enchilada Soup I.

Gather up your ingredients. I used 1 can of green enchilada sauce, 1 can of red enchilada sauce, 1 can of Rotel, 6 small corn tortillas, homemade chicken stock, 1% milk, shredded chicken and cheddar cheese.

Begin by cutting the corn tortillas into thin strips.

I threw them in the pot with 1 cup of chicken broth and cooked until the tortillas had mostly dissolved and the mixture was thick.

I stirred in both cans of enchilada sauce, the Rotel, 1 cup of milk and and additional 2 cups of chicken broth. I added 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and 1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken. I seasoned with a little cumin and black pepper.

To serve, I sprinkled with a little shredded Monterey Jack cheese and some crushed tortilla chips. This was super satisfying, thick and delicious! And took less time than making enchiladas! The recipe made a lot and was even better the second day.

Summer is the perfect time to show Ice Cream some love!!!

Who doesn't love ice cream??? I especially love vanilla soft serve with hot fudge sauce...yum!! I set out in search of a great Fudge sauce. Mysweetcreations always makes me want to try new sweets, so when I discovered she had made Grandma's Hot Fudge Sauce, I knew it was the one to try! I was even more excited when I saw that I had all the ingredients in my cupboard!

You will need :

Sugar
Milk
Cocoa Powder
Butter
Vanilla

Start by melting the butter in a saucepan.

After butter is melted, stir in sugar, cocoa powder and milk. Heat until boiling and then boil for 1 minute.

After it comes to a boil, remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer to storage container, cool and then refrigerate until use. The end result was thick and fudgy. Absolutely the perfect Hot Fudge Sauce!!

And while fudge sauce is great...I encountered a recipe for Salted Caramel Sauce in my last copy of Food & Wine Magazine. I love the combination of caramel with chocolate and salt, so I had to make both!!!

You will need:

Sugar
Water
Karo Syrup
Butter
Heavy Cream
Gray Salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar and Karo syrup. Heat until boiling. The creator of the recipe suggests using a wet pastry brush to push the crystallized sugar back into the mixture, but I just used a heat-safe spatula.

Once the mixture starts to boil, you will need to continue stirring and boil for approximately 6 minutes, or until the mixture turns an amber brown. Once it turns- pull it from the heat immediately so it does not burn!

Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and salt. Place in a storage container, cool and refrigerate until use. Both sauces made about 1 1/2 cups of sauce and can be stored for at least 1 week in the refrigerator.

"Hello" beautiful ice cream sundae! The Fudge Sauce was delicious and this Salted Caramel Sauce will impress anyone you serve it to- a true "HOME RUN!"