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Gourmand: one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Pizza Sauce

This recipe is for homemade pizza sauce. I love eating pizza but sometimes I just get tired of the same old store bought pizza sauce so I decided to make my own. This is a SUPER easy recipe and yields for about 1 large pizza or 2 small pizzas. However, it depends on how much sauce you like on your pizza.

Ingredients:
6 roma tomatoes
2 tbsps olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsps dried or fresh basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper
Crushed black pepper
Salt

Directions:
  1. Chop the tomatoes into fourths
  2. Place them in a food processor or blender and pulse/blend until the tomatoes have become a puree or to a consistency you like. It will be pretty liquidy but that will burn away when you cook it.
  3. Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic and cook.
  4. Once the garlic has been heated a bit add the tomato puree.
  5. Stir for about 5 minutes and then add the basil, oregano, red pepper, black pepper and salt. 
  6. The longer you cook the sauce the darker it will turn. Cook until you have reached the consistency you would like. I cooked it on medium for about 10-12 minutes to reach a thicker consistency.
It is going to taste a bit tangy, but won't when you eat it on the pizza. Sorry but, my picture isn't super clear because the steam kept messing it up!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Black Bean Patty

It's been a while since I have made this, but decided to go ahead and post the recipe before I forget. I am the biggest fan of trying veggie burgers everywhere I go that I don't like the frozen patties that are sold in grocery stores anymore. Here is how I usually make the patties:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large egg or any egg replacer substitute if you do not eat eggs
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup pepper Jack cheese
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped
2 tbsps chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp olive oil; more for the plate

Directions:

Put the oats in a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop. Add half of the beans and pulse into a paste. Add the egg, cumin, and salt and pulse to mix well. Transfer the bean paste to another bowl. Mix in the remaining beans, cheese, onion, jalepeno, and cilantro.

With a bit of oil on your hands, make four 1/2-inch-thick patties and transfer to a lightly oiled plate. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes to let the burgers set up.

Heat a non stick skillet on high heat until very hot; add the oil and swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Cook the burgers until browned, with a good crust, 2 to 3 minutes; then carefully flip and cook, flipping again if necessary, until the burgers feel firm when pressed with a fingertip, another 3 to 5 minutes. Serve the burgers in the buns, topped with your favorite add-ons!

I forgot to take pictures of the entire process, but will try to next time I make these!




Saturday, May 26, 2012

Grilled Vegetable Panini

So I made this blog and got tied up in other things that I didn't get a chance to write about the new recipes I have tried. I guess I will start with what I made today: grilled vegetable paninis! My dad had been craving them for the longest time so I figured, when he told me to make something for dinner, I would make these. I am going to start with a simple list of ingredients. The amount of each can vary depending on how many paninis you want to make. This is a recipe for 3 paninis.

Ingredients:
6 slices of sourdough bread
3 tbsp of Mezzatta Sundried Tomato Sandwich Spread
1/2 cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 roma tomatoes
1/2 white onion
1/2 green pepper
1 jalepeno
1/3 cup sliced black olives
Salt (to taste)
Italian Seasoning (to taste)
Margarine (to spread on outside of bread)
Olive Oil (to use for grilling)

Directions:
  1. Cut the onions and green peppers into slices depending on how big you want them. Cut the tomatoes and jalepenos into thin round slices.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees and place the jalepenos on a sheet of foil and place in the oven and roast for about 5-7 minutes or until edges of the jalepenos are wrinkled.
  3. Heat about 2 tsps olive oil in a non stick pan on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot place onions and grill until both sides are brown. Repeat steps with green peppers and tomatoes.                                           
  1. On the outsides of the bread spread a little bit of margarine to help toast the outsides.
  2. On the insides spread 1 tbsp each Mezzatta Sundried Tomato Sandwich Spread
  3. Add about a third of the mozzarella cheese on top.
  4. Add all the grilled vegetables and olives on top. 
  5. Sprinkle a bit of salt and italian seasoning.
  6. Place slice on top and grill in a panini maker until bread is golden brown on both sides.

Enjoy!


Thursday, May 24, 2012

First blog post...EVER!

So I decided to start blogging based on my brother's suggestion. He told me I should start a blog for all the new recipes I try since I am always sending him pictures of my creations. Currently, I am at home and on a major job hunt. There isn't much to do here so I am always on the look out for new and yummy recipes to try to keep myself busy and from going crazy. Hopefully this blog lasts since I haven't really ever had a blog and my attention span is pretty short at times. My goal is to keep it updated throughout the summer at least. I will not only be blogging about food but will blog about random things as well. Hope you enjoy!