Extreme Bacon Cheese Pizza

I am not so old that I cannot remember fun and fabulous times on Spring Break in college. I can actually map out my life to date in a sort of "Spring Break" timeline:

• Let's start with college...fun times in Ft. Lauderdale (yeah I know, I'm old- Ft. Lauderdale for Spring Break is so 80's)
• Post graduation years...Spring Break morphed into summer weekends in the Hampton's in a house shared with 20 of my "closest friends".
• Early married life...Spring Break was romantic weeks or weekends just for two-enjoying Robert Cray at Jazz Fest in New Orleans comes to mind.
• The kids were young years...Spring breaks were spent usually in a place with costumed characters and eating at anyplace that served chicken nuggets.
• The kids are getting older years...I've come almost full circle, we just returned from Spring Break and it was spent going on college visits for my oldest son who is a Junior this year.

I am pretty sure that I am a college marketers dream come true; I sat at every power point presentation mesmerized...drawn in...wishing I could choose college all over again. Don't get me wrong I love my alma mater (Fordham) and would probably choose it again given the choice (and would be thrilled if my son got in and chose it), but man...the presentations we saw this week...each one out did the next. I had to keep reminding my son (and myself) that they were in fact sales presentations. Oh and it didn't hurt that at one campus it was "Spring Fling" and the campus was bustling with activity-of course my 17 year old liked that school the best.

Our return from "Spring Break" has given me a real hankering for college foods so the kids and I made Extreme Bacon Cheese Pizzas which got an A+ from everyone.

Extreme Bacon Cheese Pizzas

5 slices bacon

1 prepared pizza crust divided into 4 equal pieces

1 cup prepared sauce

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake the bacon in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Stretch the dough pieces into 6x4 inch ovals and place on a baking pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Divide the sauce between each crust, spreading in an even layer.

Sprinkle each with the cheeses, evenly dividing. Crumble the bacon and divide between the pizzas arranging on top of the cheeses.

Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake pizzas in the oven for 12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crusts are golden brown.

Thanksgiving Appetizers-Rosemary Ham and Cheddar Spirals

Coming up with a Thanksgiving main course menu is pretty simple: Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, some vegetables and some pies for dessert. The hard part I think often lies in choosing some appetizers that are satisfying (while not being too heavy) and don't take too much time to prepare (you have enough to do that day!). So for the next few days I'll share with you some of my favorite simple Thanksgiving appetizers most of which can be prepared ahead of time.

First up is an old standby: puff pastry pinwheels. These pinwheels are made using Rosemary flavored ham (I used Boar's Head brand) and mild cheddar cheese. Try if you can to find the Rosemary Ham-the flavor is wonderful. But if you are unable to find it, just use your favorite ham and perhaps add some chopped fresh rosemary sprinkled over the ham and cheese.

To prepare the pinwheels ahead of time, roll the pastry around the ham and cheese, then wrap in plastic wrap; slice just before cooking.

While I like the simplicity of just the salt and pepper, some other ideas to coat the pastry would be poppy seeds, sesame seeds or fresh herbs.

If salt is an issue-replace the Rosemary Ham with low sodium ham and add chopped Rosemary in place of the salt.

Rosemary Ham and Cheddar Spirals

2 sheets of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, thawed

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

10 thin slices of Rosemary Ham
8 thin slices cheddar cheese (from the deli)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface to smooth any seams from folding. Sprinkle the pepper and salt over the pastry and using a rolling pin, press the salt and pepper into one side of the pastry.

Arrange the ham and cheese in an even layer on the unsalted/peppered side of the pastry.

Roll the pastry around the filling. Using a sharp knife slice the roll into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Arrange the slices on the lined baking sheets.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

Yield: about 48 spirals

Are Potatoes Better Than Jewelry?

Most people have lovely pieces of jewelry or sweet and sentimental old letters to remind them of past loves; I have foods to remind me of mine.

Tomato sauce reminds me of one of my favorite high school boyfriends (his mother made a really good one), there is the high school boyfriend I think of whenever I pass a McDonalds (we flipped burgers there together), or there was the boyfriend who introduced me to Lobster Bisque (the only thing he was good for). When shopping in a BJ's warehouse club the other day I saw (and promptly purchased) a food I hadn't seen since splitting with a college boyfriend from the Syracuse area of New York: Hinerwadel's salt potatoes.

Surprisingly this tasty treat seems exclusive to the Central New York region; they're small, white new potatoes boiled in about a pound of salt and then served in melted butter. In Central New York the potatoes are a mainstay at festivals and fairs and I fondly remember eating them at local pubs with an icy cold glass of beer.

I had previously never seen the potatoes here in New England-I hope they stay, they are so good. The Hinerwadel's potatoes come complete with a 12 ounce bag of salt.

I cooked the whole bag and with the tasty leftovers made a quick Potato Leek Soup. Who needs jewelry, when there are tasty foods to remember people by?

Salt Potatoes

2 quarts water

4 1/4 pounds white new potatoes, unpeeled

12 ounces salt

1/2 cup butter, melted

Bring the water, potatoes and salt to a boil; cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Serve potatoes with the melted butter.

Quick Potato Leek Soup

1 tablespoons butter

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 cup finely chopped leeks (green and white parts)

4 cups diced cooked salt potatoes

32 ounces reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup half and half

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2-3 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese, optional

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the carrot and the leeks; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of the potatoes and the chicken broth and cook for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to smooth out a bit (or transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until almost smooth). Stir in the remaining potatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the half and half and cayenne pepper and cook until heated through. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the grated cheddar.

Barefoot Thursday! Grown Up Mac and Cheese

Welcome to Barefoot Thursday! Barefoot Thursday comes twice a month and it’s a day when food bloggers everywhere (well about 100 bloggers right now) prepare a recipe created by Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa. Why don’t you join in? Today’s recipe for Grown Up Mac and Cheese was selected by Heather of Randomosity and the Girl. And oh what a fine selection it was!

Why is it that all the foods I love are so high in fat and calories? I found on a website called The Culinary Review that this recipe has 1407 calories per serving! Could that be true? I didn’t skimp on the cheese and bacon that’s for sure. I actually quintupled the recipe-not for myself (although I can shovel down Mac and Cheese with the best of them). This is my week to cook for a local women’s shelter; but now that I know that I am serving them a meal of 14,070 calories (not counting salad and dessert) I feel a tad bit guilty that I didn’t buy reduced fat cheeses.

Oh well, it sure is a tasty comfort meal though. I did make one slight change to the recipe and that was to eliminate the bread crumbs (yeah I know that’s like throwing a deck chair off the Queen Mary). But wait, I replaced the crumbs with frizzled shallots…shallots I coated with flour and cooked until crispy in some of the bacon drippings! I guess we can just go ahead and round off that calorie count to 15,000. Would anyone care for dessert?

Grown Up Mac and Cheese by Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa

4 ounces thick-sliced bacon
Vegetable oil

Kosher salt

2 cups elbow macaroni or cavatappi

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated

2 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch nutmeg

2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed

2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan carefully from the oven - there will be hot grease in the pan! Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and crumble when it is cool enough to handle.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes.

Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Rosemary-Cheddar Potato Frittata

Not everyone has a green thumb.

Some people, and I must count myself among those people, can't grow anything. My mother (Rosemary) had a serious green thumb-we're talking Johnny Appleseed on crack green thumb; she could literally toss some seeds onto the ground and a few weeks later would have a spectacular garden. Not me. Frankly I'm just grateful we have a lawn.

Thankfully this time of year supermarkets are overflowing with the fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs that other green thumb blessed individuals have grown so that people such as myself don't have to feel so bad for our green thumb deficiencies. Today I picked up some fresh, fragrant rosemary-my favorite herb for many reasons: its pungent flavor, it's herby Christmas-tree like smell but mostly because it reminds me of my mother and her incredible green thumb.

Here are some tips for selecting fresh rosemary in the supermarket:

• Make sure the leaves are a bright green with no black leaves.
• Look for stalks that are tender and not brittle.
• Fresh rosemary should have a strong evergreen like smell.
• Fresh rosemary stalks make great skewers for grilling, just look for firm stems.
• If your supermarket doesn't have fresh rosemary and you need to substitute dried, use 1 teaspoon of dried for every tablespoon of fresh.

Rosemary-Cheddar Potato Frittata

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups 1/2-inch diced potatoes

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup diced extra sharp cheddar cheese

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a shallow 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, shallot, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the rosemary. Spread the potatoes in an even layer in the pan. Cook the potatoes, stirring frequently, until tender-about 20-25 minutes.

Preheat a broiler.

Stir in the eggs, cheddar cheese and the remaining tablespoon of rosemary; reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and place under the broiler for 5 minutes or until very lightly browned on top.

Run a rubber spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen, then slide the frittata onto a serving plate; cut into wedges to serve. Garnish if desired with additional rosemary.

Yield: 8 servings