Pizza Explosion

The minute I saw the Bacon Explosion, I knew I had to try it: bacon, Italian sausage, more bacon, smoke - what's not to like? But the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. I like Italian sausage, but I don't usually think of it as something to throw on the smoker. I grill it or saute it or bake it or use it to top pizza. And that's what led me to what I have humbly named the Pizza Explosion - an inside-out, smoked log of oozing pizza goodness.

Is it overkill? Absolutely! But it's also a fantastic treat, and not at all difficult to make, with a little time and patience. Give it a try the next time you fire up the smoker - it'll make a fine appetizer, and the leftovers are outstanding scrambled with eggs or spread over (recursion alert!) pizza.

1 lb bacon (you'll need ten slices)
2 lbs bulk Italian sausage (hot or mild)
1/4 lb pepperoni
1 cup pizza sauce, plus more for garnish
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Quatro Formaggio
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, plus more for garnish
2 Tbls Italian seasonings, or to taste
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional), plus more for garnish

On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, weave the bacon strips into a five by five lattice, making sure that there aren't big gaps between the pieces. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to make this work: lay out the horizontal strips, then fold back every other strip, and put down one vertical strip. Reverse the polarity (flip the folded strips back down, flip the unfolded strips in the opposite direction), lay down another vertical strip and repeat until your lattice is finished. (Sorry I don't have pics of this process - didn't want to get bacon on the camera.)

Sprinkle half the Italian seasonings on top of the bacon lattice.

Next, spread the sausage evenly over the lattice, taking care not to stretch out the bacon strips. You may want to pat the sausage out on a separate baking sheet, then transfer it to the lattice. Make sure the sausage is a uniform thickness, so it will cook evenly.

Now, top the sausage with the pepperoni, overlapping slices for good coverage, and spread the sauce atop the pepperoni. Scatter the cheese in the center of the meat, avoiding the outer inch on either side (you don't want the cheese to ooze out during cooking). Sprinkle the remaining Italian seasonings and crushed red pepper on top.

Slowly roll the slab - this is where the wax paper comes in handy - taking care not to trap air inside. Your log will look something like this:


Smoke that log at 225F until the internal temp reaches 165F - about three hours, give or take - then let it rest for a couple of minutes before slicing into 1" portions. Your cooking time will depend on the thickness of the log, the starting temp of the log, and your smoker's temp. You could probably cut the time in half by squishing the log flat and upping the smoke temp to 275F.


Serve with warm pizza sauce, grated parmesan and crushed red peppers (or whatever you like on your pizza).

I suspect that you could construct the log a couple of days in advance, and refrigerate it until you're ready to smoke it. You could also grill or bake it, but what's the fun in that?

Tuscan Potatoes

Ask Liz why she married me, and you'll hear the usual - for love, for money, it was her first time drinking Absinthe, etc. Ask her again, and she may tell you the truth: Tuscan potatoes.

No one is immune to their charms, and they are sooooo many. First, there's the aroma; earthy, sweet, salty and fresh, an oven full of these beauties drives the whole neighborhood wild with rosemary-scented desire. Then, there's their appearance, imperfectly cut and tumbling together, roasted brown and gold, flecked with green, glistening with oil. The satisfying crunch as you bite down, and the melts-in-your-mouth interior. Finally, the explosion of elemental flavors: potato, rosemary, salt and oil, ratcheted up beyond reason.

Tuscan potatoes are an extraordinary accompaniment to a grilled steak, a smoked tri-tip or a pork roast. They take a bit of work, but they're worth it.

2 Russet potatoes
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, about 5” long
1 tsp rosemary salt or kosher salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Peel the potatoes, cut them lengthwise into quarters, then slice into roughly 1" chunks. Rinse in a bowl of cool water until the water runs clear, then soak them in cold water for about twenty minutes. This step removes the starch from the surface of the potatoes, enabling the delicious crunch.

Preheat the oven to 450F. If you're using a cast iron skillet (recommended*), put it in the oven to preheat.

Drain and dry the potatoes with a dish towel or paper towels.

Pour the oil into your skillet or a baking pan, then de-stem 2 sprigs of rosemary into the oil. (I usually throw in the stems, too.) Add the potatoes in single layer and toss to coat with the oil and rosemary. Put your pan into the oven on the top rack.

Roast for 30 minutes at 450F. Remove the pan from the oven, turn the potatoes with a spatula, and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, de-stem the other sprig of rosemary and chop it finely.

Check your potatoes: they should be mostly golden, with a few dark-brown patches. If they are pale, return them to the oven, checking at 5 minute intervals. My last oven consistently took a full hour, but my current oven (in convection mode) turns them out perfectly in 45 minutes.

When your potatoes are ready, toss them with chopped rosemary and salt (I use rosemary-scented salt, for a double kick) and serve immediately.

This recipe feeds two hearty appetites.

* I like to cook Tuscan potatoes in a 12" cast iron skillet, which produces a superior crusty texture but only holds about two medium potatoes. If you have a crowd to feed, use a baking pan with raised edges. If you don't have a 12" cast iron skillet, buy one. Today.

Crostini

Italian for “little toasts,” crostini are a simple yet decadent staple food. They're good for scooping up hummus or a soft cheese dip (think ricotta and pesto); smearing with roasted garlic; topping with prosciutto, arugula and parmesan; or just for crunching alone, like fat, succulent chips.

1 baguette
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp coarsley ground black pepper
rosemary salt or kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Press or mince the garlic and combine with the olive oil and black pepper. Slice the baguette into rounds* about 1/4” thick and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until they are just beginning to get brown. Paint the olive oil mixture on the rounds with a pastry brush, sprinkle with rosemary salt and return them to the oven for 2 minutes.

Cool and store in a jar or zip-top bag. Crostini stay fresh for about a week, but they rarely last that long in our house.

*When I want to be fancy, I slice the bread on the bias, or diagonally. It may look elegant, but they’re harder to dip and much more than a mouthful.

Summer's End Pesto

I picked up some sweet basil at the farmers' market yesterday and made a fabulous pesto for dinner. It's easy enough for anyone to fix and quick enough to prepare after work, and the flavors - sweet and tangy and earthy, with basil, cheese and aromatic garlic supported by nuts and olive oil - are just about enough to drive me crazy with delight.

I adapted this recipe from "Bugialli's Italy," a terrific cookbook, and served it over rotelle pasta, accompanied by grilled bread rubbed with a clove of garlic. One recipe of pesto over one pound of rotelle will serve four adults (perhaps as a side for grilled chicken or fish, or with a big salad) or two very hungry adults.

1 cup lightly packed fresh basil (washed and dried)
1 TBL fresh Italian parsley
2 medium sized cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (or Parmesan or mix the two)
1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts) or walnuts, toasted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper (I use a whole teaspoon)
1/2 to 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (Get the good stuff - you'll notice the difference here.)

[The short version: process to a paste, add the oil, voila! Have a glass of wine.]

Throw everything but the olive oil into a food processor or blender and process until fairly smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl, to make sure everything gets well blended. Turn it off first (you know who I'm talking to), scrape down with a spatula, then process again.

Taste, and adjust salt and pepper to your liking. It should make you say: "Wow! That's good!"

Scrape the mixture into a glass bowl and slowly add the oil, folding it in with a fork or spatula, until it just becomes liquid. Depending on the moisture in your basil mixture, it may take up to 3/4 cup of oil. You can do this step in the blender/Cuisinart, if you want, by drizzling the oil while processing, but you'll get much more control over the consistency if you do it by hand.

That's it! Your pesto is ready to eat, though flavors will improve if you allow it to sit for an hour.

I like this pesto over pasta - something like rotelle, with enough texture to allow the pesto to cling - but even spaghetti will work fine. Drizzle a few teaspoons over your main course, too, or reserve a little extra pesto to pass at the table. Italians (especially Ligurians, from the northwest corner of Italy, near Geneva) also enjoy this style of pesto over gnocchi or boiled potatoes, mixed into soups and stews, added to sauces, as a spread on toasted bread, on/in scrambled eggs - and I'm sure in hundreds of more ways.

Pesto keeps in the fridge for several days, though the flavors tend to diminish after a week. It freezes well, too; use an ice tray to freeze cubes of pesto, so you can grab just enough to use in a dish.