Preparing Rapini

My family loves rappini or broccoli rabe as you see it mentioned on TV, especially on the Italian cooking shows.

Here is one way I like to make it. I cut the tips off of the rappini, wash it and then cut the remaining into approx 2" pieces and steam it untill it's tender.

Then I slice and saute onion and chopped garlic in some olive oil and add the rappini with some of the cooking liquid till they are all tender, approx. 30 minutes or so on medium heat. This is an excellent dish and can be eaten as a side dish or tossed with some pasta. I always add some hot pepper flakes to mine and of course, salt and pepper to taste while cooking. Rappini have a unique taste and can be bitter if not cooked right but some of that flavor is part of what makes them so delicious!

Photos of some friends making pizza with their boys

How cool is this? Les and Julia have started a Sunday night make your own pizza and game night! Looks like fun.

Looks like everyone is enjoying their pizza creations!

So many pizzas.

If you need some ideas for pizza toppings or if you just like to look at pizza, check out this huge collection of pizza pictures.

Some friends came from Arizona last week...

My friend Laurie and her daughter Hailey, along with Hailey's best friend Amber were here, so I made  pizza.. The girls couldn't believe that I made the dough and everything and wouldn't let anyone touch their pizza! There were only 2 pieces left!
They spent their days at the beach so that must have made them extra hungry!They had sausage, mushroom and garlic.. Ours had yellow bell pepper, onions, garlic, sausage and mushroom with fresh basil... (sometimes I think my friends think I'm going to make them a pizza like they get at take out, they are always shocked at how delicious it is)

Our Cousin Jamie made some Pizzas and here they are!

"Dino sent me a link to your pizza blog, very nice work you're doing there. You and Theresa actually got me inspired to make some pizza recently, thought I'd share a few pics with you."

By the way, Jamie has a very cool blog herself and teaches and does some great woodwork. Visit her at

http://www.wooditis.blogspot.com

First Pizza: Grilled eggplant (from my garden) and roasted peppers.

Second Pizza: Pepperoncini, roasted peppers and vegetarian sausage.

Third Pizza: Plain cheese.

Making friends with pizza

There are a few pizza blogs out there but one of the best is pizzatherapy.blogspot.com.  We sent him an email to introduce ourselves and Albert Grande, the creator, couldn't have been nicer.  This guy loves pizza more than anyone I know.  He's on a mission: Making good food is more than just about eating.  We're glad to be part of this mission.

Our first fan pizza!

A good friend of mine made pizza today. They look really good.  Nice job!  It's really fun knowing that people are making pizza from our videos. Keep sending us photos and posting on our blog!

 

She wrote:

"One is onion, spinach, garlic and mushroom and the other is plain cheese for the kids. I don't have a board or a stone, but even on a lousy baking pan it is So Delicious. Thank you guys!"

Caramelizing Onions

One of every one's favorite pizzas is the ricotta cheese topped with caramelized onions. I start with a few types of onions, yellow, sweet and red. You can add what you like or do whatever suits you. Just start with 8 to 12 onions, depending on size and slice them thin. You can use a mandolin if you have one, or a very sharp knife does the job very well.

Then get a large skillet and add some olive oil and butter. I never really measure but it would be about half a stick of butter and a few Tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the onions and start over high heat but bring it down as they start to cook and keep moving them every 5 minutes or so. I eventually end up at a low flame so as not to burn the onions but to gently caramelize them. Add salt and pepper. Add some wine if you like, or balsamic vinegar if that sounds good. Make them your own! It takes about an hour to do them properly and you don't want to burn them. I have some photos here to show the different stages.

You can do these ahead of time, and then lift them out and spread over the pizza with 2 forks. This is a great appetizer cut in squares and reminds me of a calzone.

A new Pizza

This is a new pizza I tried out the other night. I used my wheat crust, added my usual fresh garlic and sliced onions, some mozzerella cheese, fresh mushrooms and then my roasted sweet tomatoes ( roast in oven with garlic and olive oil, plenty of salt and pepper) I loved that the crust shape looked like a heart and then I topped it off with goat cheese and after baking some freshly chopped basil. Add some hot pepper seeds if you like it spicy like I do and it was so good! My friends that were over loved it! It was our 6th pizza.. but there was plenty to take home for all!

Do you have a favorite pizza or idea that you would like to share? Let us know about it. It may show up on this blog!