Catching up

I can't believe it has been over two months since I blogged about our kitchen creations. Not much has happened but some of the day-to-day stuff has been fun.

Since my last entry we had a pizza party. Once the weather was cooler and I could fire up the over to 500 degrees we had people over and made some of our favorite pizzas.

1--Southwest chicken pizza is always a hit. The pizza has caramilized onions, lime chicken and shredded mozzarella on it. It is then served with fresh pico di gallo salsa, guacamole, and sour cream on top. Delicious.

2--Heirloom tomato pizza. Fresh, thinly sliced heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozz.

3--Our traditional pizza. This pizza has a bit of everything delicious: caramelized onions, oven roasted tomatoes, kalamata olives, sauteed mushrooms, roasted red pepper, fontina cheese and fresh mozz. It's a party in your mouth!

Roasting summer tomatoes is a lot of fun. I slice the tomatoes pretty small and let them soak out some of their juices on a few paper towels for at least 1/2 hour. Then I put them in a rimmed baking sheet, salt them well and add some seasonings: slices of garlic, a few sprigs of thyme, fresh basil leaves and about two bay leaves torn in a couple of pieces and placed throughout. I then cover the tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil. They go into the 250 degree oven for about 4 hours.

Caramelizing onions is a tad tricky...or so Brian says since he puts me in charge of them anymore. The key to great caramelized onions is PATIENCE! We like to use sweet or Vidalia onions sliced thin. In a large skillet over high heat add a little olive oil and then the onions and add a bit of salt. At first a lot of liquid will come out of the onions. I usually leave the burner on high until that liquid is gone, but the onions are still moist (if they dry they will burn). Then I turn the burner to low and stir the onions often. After about an hour and a half (sometimes longer if the onions are really moist) the onions will begin to look a rich caramel color. I always taste as I go and know the onions are done when they are sweet. They are perfect when I want to keep eating them. Yum!