Category Archives: Cooking

Positively Pizza

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I’d been thinking about making a pizza on my outdoor gas grill. So while shopping at a big box store, I found Molinaro’s pizza kit.

The kit contained 4 crusts and 2 pouches of sauce. It wasn’t ideal as I’d planned to make my own crust, but I figured this would get me going. Plus, the kit was under $8.00 dollars.

I decided that I wanted 3 cheeses and black olives. For spice, I included some red pepper flakes and diced green chilies. I also added fresh garlic cloves (not shown).

I used one sauce pouch, and then added my toppings.

I don’t have a pizza stone, so I placed the pizza on a piece of foil. I recommend a double layer of foil. This helps prevent the crust from burning.

I kept the temp at about 400 degrees. I frequently lifted the pizza from the foil to ensure that it was not burning or sticking.

Well, here it is! Amazingly, pretty good.

Here is another pizza that I made a few days later. Since you get 4 crusts in the kit, you can really experiment with the toppings.

I had my doubts, but it is… Positively Pizza!

Meyer Lemon Chutney

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If you have never tasted a Meyer lemon before, they are sweeter than a regular lemon – a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange.

January through April are the best months to either purchase Meyer lemons or pick them from your tree (if you are lucky enough to have one).

I’m going to show you how I make Meyer lemon chutney. Chutney is a traditional Indian subcontinent (India, South Asia, Caribbean, parts of Africa and Fuji) chunky spread. It comes in many different varieties, but is usually spicy in taste, and made with fruits, spices, ginger, and brown sugar.

Chutneys are wonderful as a spread for meats, a stand-alone side dish, or as a topping on rice or desserts. Really, it’s the ‘bomb‘ and goes with anything as far as I am concerned!

Okay, let’s get started.

I use a simple recipe from Food 52 that I found on the web:

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup of lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1 pound brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 8 lemons (for the mix)
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt

Directions

  1. Remove the zest from 8 lemons with a vegetable peeler, being careful to not include the pith (white part). Cut away the pith and discard. Chop the zest and the flesh fine with a good sharp knife. Transfer into a glass or earthenware bowl, mix with 2 tablespoons salt, and let sit overnight.
  2. On the next day, transfer the lemons to the pan and add all the other ingredients. Stir and cook gently over medium heat till it becomes thick (up to 45 minutes), dark brown and gooey. You will fill 4 to 5 medium size jars

As a side note, I found that 45 minutes was not enough time to get the mixture gooey. It was more like 90 minutes. Don’t worry too much as it will thicken up in the refrigerator overnight.

Zest from 8 Meyer lemons.

Finely chopped zest.

Ingredients combined in a sauce pan.

Enjoying chutney in the morning on bread topped with banana – so yummy.

Simply Amazing – Give it a try!