italian

Bored With Cheese?

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Talking Points: Bored With Cheese? Anyone who has perused a deli market understands how confusing the cheese categories have become. The choices appear endless. Cheese can be aged for months, hand-rubbed with robust Italian spices, shelf-cured for optimal quality, or made with passion from a local dairy. Who knew? I recently picked up a “cheese flight” of three Wisconsin varieties. I loved the description detailing the best pairing options for fruits, nuts, and beverages. Not only is it a great way to try mild or robust cheeses, it turns a charcuterie board into a win, win for the night.

BORED WITH CHEESE?

Ingredients:

3.5-ounce wedge Tuscan-rubbed fontina cheese

3-ounce wedge parmesan cheese

1.5-ounce edge bleu cheese

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced

1/2 cup walnut halves

Crackers and baguette slices

Instructions:

Arrange cheeses, apple slices, and walnut halves on a cutting board. Serve with crackers, sliced baguette, beer, and wine.

Legendary Pizza Burger

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food With Soul: Legendary Pizza Burger! I’ll never forget my first experience eating a pizza burger. I was probably 16 years old at the time. I worked in a ladies retail clothing store downtown. On my dinner break, I walked across the street where a drugstore had a lunch counter with a grill and fryer. Being a crazy kid who loved anything pizza, I ordered it off the menu. Upon first bite, this white goo began to overflow across my hands to the plate below. My first thought was, “Ohmygosh, this burger is rotten with a slimy white stuff running out of it!” Fortunately my brain kicked in and I realized what I was actually tasting was mozzarella cheese. From that day on, I was a champion for anything pizza burger. And the remarkable afterthought is, now I compare every other menu item pizza burger to it. Unexpected, but true.

LEGENDARY PIZZA BURGER

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 slices fresh mozzarella cheese

4 brioche buns, split and toasted

1/2 cup prepared pizza sauce, warmed

Fresh basil, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat gas grill to 350°. In a large bowl, combine lean ground beef, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper. Form mixture into 8 patties. Place one slice of fresh mozzarella cheese into the diameter of a patty. Press another patty on top; pinching together to seal. Repeat until all four patties are formed. Cook directly on the grill. Close lid and grill for 6-7 minutes per side. Transfer pizza burgers to a platter. Serve between brioche buns. Top each pizza burger with a dollop of pizza sauce. Enjoy.

Garlic Wine Red Snapper

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food With Soul: Garlic Wine Red Snapper! Before I begin, Rule Number One: When marinating fish, always refrigerate. As fish sits in a marinade at room temperature, it encourages bacteria growth, which can be a bad thing. The olive oil makes a wonderful tenderizer making the fish soft and juicy. When seasonings are added at the same time, the results elevate the flavor. By grilling the fish fillets at a high temperature, the meal transforms into perfection on a plate.

GARLIC WINE RED SNAPPER

Ingredients:

1/2 cup garlic wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 6-ounce red snapper fillets

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Juice of fresh lemon

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions:

Arrange the red snapper fillets in a shallow dish. Pour the garlic wine vinegar over the fish. Allow the vinegar to surround the fish. Pour olive oil over top. Sprinkle Italian seasoning blend and black pepper over all. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the grill to 450°. Transfer red snapper directly onto the grill grates. Close lid. Set timer for 4 minutes. Discard marinade. Using a fish spatula, flip fish and grill 4 minutes longer with lid closed. Meanwhile, melt butter and pour into individual cups. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into warm butter. Remove red snapper fillets from grill. Serve with melted lemon butter poured over top.

Zucchini Meatball Bateaux

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Palatable Possibilities: Zucchini Meatball Bateaux! Call me “Fancy Shmancy” today since the title of this recipe makes it gourmet all-the-way. Bateaux means Boat. And in the world of food, nothing looks more like a boat than zucchini, especially when it’s sliced horizontally and scooped out. Amirite? Actually, I like this recipe because I always seem to have a bag of frozen Italian meatballs on hand in my freezer. Most days I make my own homemade marinara sauce because I like to stock my pantry with a variety of Italian Roma tomatoes that are imported from Italy. Obviously you can do the same. Recipes are designed to modify in ways that bring accolades to you for the extra effort. If time is of the essence, follow the instructions below. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

ZUCCHINI MEATBALL BATEAUX

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise

16 precooked frozen Italian meatballs, thawed

15-ounce jar prepared marinara sauce

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

8 ounces fresh burrata cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Italian herb blend

Fresh basil, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange sliced zucchini halves on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick oil. Scoop out the center of each zucchini, using a spoon, to remove seeds and create a well to hold the fillings. Spread a little marinara in each zucchini. Place 4 Italian meatballs in each. Divide the remaining marinara between them. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Transfer zucchini boats to a platter. Place fresh basil leaves on each end. Divide the burrata into four sections and arrange dollops as desired. Drizzle each dollop with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian herbs. Serve immediately.

Naan Italian Meatball Subs

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Palatable Possibilities: Naan Italian Meatball Wraps! Don’t you just love naan? It is a nice alternative to a sub bun or slice of bread when desiring a sandwich. For those who haven’t tried it yet, naan is a soft flatbread which typically has any airy-like texture. I find it more appealing than pita bread, which tends to be a little drier. Because this recipe included a marinara sauce, naan helps to soak up the flavors and keep the sauce from dripping out, most likely due to the small pockets of air. Looks like it’s time for you to give it the taste test and tell me what YOU think.

NAAN ITALIAN MEATBALL WRAPS

Ingredients:

16 Italian meatballs, frozen pre-made variety; thawed

16 ounces pizza sauce

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

4 mini naan portions

Baker’s twine

Instructions:

Place Italian meatballs in a microwave-safe covered dish. Heat on High for 3-4 minutes. Drain excess liquid, if any. Add pizza sauce and heat in microwave on 50% for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside. Layer one mini naan on a microwave-safe plate. Sprinkle with a few drops of water; cover with parchment paper. Repeat others to form a stack. Warm naan in the microwave on 40% power for 30 seconds. Repeat, if needed. This will soften the naan in order to make it pliable. Working quickly, arrange 4 meatballs and sauce in each mini naan. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Secure the stuffed wrap with bakers twine. Transfer meatball wrap to a plate. Repeat until all four are complete. Microwave again on 20% power for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Italian Sheet Pan Tilapia

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Palatable Possibilities: Italian Sheet Pan Tilapia! What’s for dinner? You gotta love a one-pan meal. It not only makes preparation and clean-up a breeze, it typically turns into a healthy option as well. Choose seafood, meat, or veggies and then customize the flavor with tangy spices, fresh herbs, and natural oils. Things honestly could not get any easier. You can even take things one step further and divide the pan to accommodate a spicier version on one end and something a little more bland on the other. No matter how you split things up, watch them disappear.

ITALIAN SHEET PAN TILAPIA

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets

2 Roma tomatoes, sliced and halved

Parsley, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick oil. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, garlic powder, lemon juice, and Italian seasoning mix. Reserve 2 tablespoons and set aside. Place asparagus in a single layer on the left side of the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Place Roma tomatoes in a single layer down the middle of the baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Arrange tilapia fillets in a single layer on the right side of the baking sheet. Drizzle with butter mixture. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately with reserved butter mixture. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Easy Red Snapper and Tomatoes

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Palatable Possibilities: Easy Red Snapper and Tomatoes! When I was a kid, I couldn’t stand the “fishy” taste of Midwestern fish fillets. The fact that I practically choked on a bone really didn’t make it enjoyable either. But fast forward to the fresh catch from the salty waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Red snapper is quite delicious, I must say. Because they thrive on mostly shrimp and crab, it intensifies their flavor, making red snapper mild and slightly sweet. The local fishermen have me spoiled, especially Dilly’s Fish Company. They catch the fish, transfer it on ice to a central location, clean it, debone it, remove the scales, fins, and head. Then they fillet the fish, package it, and identify it, since I’m usually buying more than one variety. Fish is sold by weight as caught out of the water. Once I know what I want, I simply need to decide how I’m going to cook it. As you can guess….for me that’s the best part….until I eat it.

EASY RED SNAPPER AND TOMATOES

Ingredients:

1 pound red snapper fillets, fresh

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 Roma tomatoes, quartered

Instructions:

Wash red snapper fillets and pat dry. Line a grill pan with aluminum foil. Spray with nonstick oil. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, sea salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper. Brush both sides of red snapper with mixture. Transfer fish to the grill pan. Arrange quartered tomatoes around fish. Drizzle remaining olive oil mixture over tomatoes. Preheat gas grill to medium-high heat, approximately 450°. Cook fish dinner for 4 minutes with the lid closed. Then carefully flip fish, close lid, and cook 4 minutes longer. Remove and serve immediately.

Yukon Gold Potato Medley

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Bright Ideas: Yukon Gold Potato Medley! For my friends who like their veggies, and prefer a meatless diet, here’s a quick way to combine potatoes, carrots, and onions into a very filling meal. It has herbs to enhance flavor, and delicious butter to combat hunger pangs. Plus, butter makes everything taste drool-worthy. Amirite? Did I ever tell you, every time I refill the butter dish, if there is even a sliver of butter in the wrapper, I swipe it across my finger and slip it into my mouth? True confessions. After all, I import the butter from France, so I’m not going to waste one dab.

YUKON GOLD POTATO MEDLEY

Ingredients:

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, skin on and quartered

16-ounce jar Pearl onions, drained

1 pound baby carrots, whole

2 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon Italian herbs

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

Combine potatoes, pearl onions, and baby carrots in a 4-quart pan. Cover with vegetable broth. Add sea salt. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Drain the vegetables in a colander. Warm butter in the pan over medium heat. Add turmeric, Italian herbs, black pepper, and garlic powder. Mix thoroughly. Return the potato medley to the pan. Mix well to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with fresh celery leaves.

White Chicken Flatbread

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Bright Ideas: White Chicken Flatbread! Nowadays I look for any excuse to have pizza, or a close second. All I have to do is go to my freezer to decide what ingredients to use. In there is often naan flatbread, precooked grilled chicken strips, and previously oven-baked bacon. In lieu of marinara sauce, creamy ranch dressing makes a tasty sauce. People know cheese is always my friend, along with fresh veggies, herbs, and spices. Throw it all together and boom; 20 minutes later it’s ready to eat. I think I deserve a star for that.

WHITE CHICKEN FLATBREAD

Ingredients:

1 Naan flatbread

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1/2 cup prepared ranch dressing

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

1 cup precooked, grilled chicken chunks

1/4 cup precooked bacon, crumbled

2 tablespoons sweet onions, chopped

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Brush the bottom side of the naan flatbread with olive oil; dust with cornmeal. Transfer to a pizza stone. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and assemble the ingredients. Spread the ranch dressing onto the top crust. Layer, in order, the fresh mozzarella slices, grilled chicken chunks, bacon crumbles, and sweet onions. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden. Serve immediately.