Tag: Savory

Brunch

Recipe—Breakfast Pizza

Diva di Cucina

I love breakfast and I love pizza. (Everyone does, right?) Put them together and you get the best of both worlds. Breakfast truly is one of my favorite meals but I just don’t take the time to enjoy it nearly enough. So when I can find recipes that are quick and awesome (like breakfast pizza) they are an instant fave. Come on, a savory breakfast pizza built upon a fluffy and buttery crescent crust topped with sausage, eggs, and melted cheese. I could seriously start every morning with this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb loose meat breakfast sausage
1 tube crescent roll dough (like Pillsbury)
1 c cheddar, shredded
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 400º.
  • Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat making sure to break up any large chunks until it is cooked thoroughly.
  • Transfer the sausage to a plate covered in paper towels to soak up the oil.
  • Unroll the crescent dough and lay it out in the bottom of a 9” x 13” baking dish and press the seams together to make one large sheet of dough.
  • Sprinkle the sausage evenly over the crescent dough.
  • Distribute the cheese over the sausage.
  • In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
  • Pour the egg mixture over the top making sure the pizza is evenly covered.
  • Bake the pizza for 15–20 minutes or until the crust is golden and eggs are set.
  • Remove form oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Recipe adapted from Bran Apetit.

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Dinners

Recipe—Honey Pecan Crusted Salmon

Diva di Cucina

I remember when I was younger going to a restaurant with my dad and ordering the honey pecan crusted salmon. It was one of those dishes you never forget. It was unlike anything I had ever had before. The pecan crust brings a wonderful texture to the salmon filet, just the right amount of crunch. And that nutty pecan flavor with the sweet honey mustard glaze turns the ordinary salmon filet into something truly wonderful. While this dish may look more complex it actually is a really easy way to prepare salmon. Between prep and baking you are looking at no more than 30 minutes. Thirty minutes for a spectacular dinner, you can’t beat that! I served this with a really simple salad of butter leaf lettuce and red onions and some honey mustard dressing. It was really light and the simple salad was a perfect complement to the savory fish. Even if your family members aren’t big fish fans I’m sure they will love this.

INGREDIENTS
2 salmon filets
salt and pepper
paprika
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c pecans, finely chopped
1/4 c fresh parsley chopped

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 400º.
  • Rinse off your fish filets and pat dry.
  • Season your filets with salt, pepper, and paprika.
  • Place skin side down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Whisk together the mustard, honey, butter, and Worcestershire.
  • In a small bowl combine the pecans and parsley.
  • Spoon a tablespoon worth of the sauce in with the nuts and stir to combine.
  • Brush the remaining sauce onto the salmon filets.
  • Press the sticky pecan mixture to the top of your salmon filets.
  • Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 15–18 minutes or until the thickest part of the fish flakes off when tested with a fork.
Dinners

Recipe—Melt in Your Mouth Italian Meatballs

Diva di Cucina

What’s not to love about a big heaping pile of spaghetti topped with fresh parmesan cheese and some giant meatballs? It’s a hit with people of all ages and this is one of my family faves. These meatballs are so juicy and savory that you just won’t be able to get enough of them. I love them smothered in sauce or just by themselves. The Italian flavor really comes through and is better than you can imagine. This recipe is incredibly easy to make and practically foolproof. Not only are these phenomenal over your favorite pasta with marinara but are also awesome sliced up on pizza or in a meatball sub with mozzarella cheese melted over the top. My mouth is seriously watering as I write this and I just had them two nights ago. You really won’t be able to get enough and your family will be fighting for the leftovers if there are any. This recipe yields approximately 20 1 1/2″ meatballs .

There are three methods for cooking these meatballs. I prefer to bake them so that I am not getting as much grease from the meat. This is how the recipe is written. However, for extra tender meatballs you can cook them in the pasta sauce on the stovetop or in a crock-pot. See instructions for additional cooking methods at the end of the recipe.

Note: This recipe calls for 1/2 lb of Italian sausage, which is typically sold by the whole pound. I always double the recipe and freeze the extra meatballs for this reason. They freeze incredibly well and we can get about 3 dinners worth out of them. If you would like to freeze them follow the recipe as written. Place the cooked meatballs on a wax paper lined cookie sheet making sure they don’t touch and put them in the freezer overnight. Once the balls are frozen distribute them into freezer bags. To reheat I just put defrosted balls directly into my pot of sauce and allow them to simmer for 15–20 minutes or long enough to heat through.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 large egg
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c breadcrumbs
2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl being sure that everything is evenly distributed.
  • Using an oversized spoon scoop about a ¼ cup worth of the meat mixture and shape into round meatballs. (Mine end up being about 1 1/4″–1 1/2″ in diameter.)
  • Place the formed meatballs in a large baking dish.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Method for cooking on the stove top: For this cooking method drop the uncooked meatballs into a pot of simmering sauce and do not stir for at least 20 minutes or the balls may break apart. After 20 minutes give the balls and the sauce a gentle stir and cook for an additional 20 minutes while simmering on medium-low heat and stirring occasionally.

Method for cooking in the crock-pot: Gently place your uncooked meatballs in the bottom of the crock-pot and pour the sauce over the top. Cook on low for 7–8 hours.

See my marinara recipe here for a great pairing with these meatballs: https://divadicucina.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/67/