Grilled Gyro Pizza

When its 92 degrees outside who wants to be inside cooking?  That's a perfect day for me to be outside grilling.  It's what summer is all about.  I remember as a kid when it was always 90 or above all summer long. Those were great childhood memories.  So I wanted pizza and was not about to order take out.  I fired up the grill. Welll...Here we go!!

Ingredients
    6 oz gyro meat chopped
    pizza dough ( I used Tyler Florence's recipe from the Food Network, it makes 3 dough rounds and its a great thin crust dough)
    pesto sauce
    1/2 chopped onion
    feta cheese
    mozzarella

Directions:
Roll your pizza dough out.

Once your grill is heated and the dough is the size and shape you want it, place on your grill, making sure you oil down your grill before placing the dough on it.


Grill on both sides until it is brown and starting to firm up. Do not over cook.

Once firm, remove from grill and rub it down with olive oil on one side. Then spread with the pesto sauce.  Place your gyro meat on, onion, feta cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Place back on grill with lid and let cook about 13 to 15 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is melted. 

After that enjoy your grilled gyro pizza.

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Black eyed peas Simply DT

Family and food goes hand and hand.  Its the love and the passion that has the connection. I mentioned before that I will feature inspired chefs.  Well lets welcome Simply DT and his show piece, Black Eyed Peas. These are best black eyed peas I have ever had!  No lie!  I dont even like them but his I will definitely eat.  Simply DT the kitchen is all yours!  Welll... here we go!
Ingredients
       1lb black-eyed-peas
       2 turkey tails or any smoked meat
       6 cups of water
       andouille sausage    
       seasoning of your choice
Alright this Simply DT's black-eyed-peas.
Step 1. black-eyed-peas 1lb rinse

Step 2. boil turkey tails or any smoked meats boil until water is flavored

Step 3. once water is flavored with meats and seasonings of your choice add peas.
Step 4. cut andouille sausage

Step 5. boil beans for an hour and a half add sausage and seasoning blend.
Step 6. cook peas for another hour.
Step 7. dig in and enjoy Simply DT's black-eyed-peas

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Vanilla Extract

This is amazing to me because I never knew this.  You learn something new everyday. This one is for all the bakers.  Now you saying what the heck is he talking about!!  This is straight from Renee's Sweet Coner! Welll...here we go!

You can always buy vanilla extract at the store, however I started noticing on other blogs that people were making their own and I wanted to try it out.  And for those of you who go through as much vanilla as I do, buying the $5.00 bottles of extract starts to get expensive.  The best part about making your own extract is that its cheap, easy, and it tastes much better than the store bought kind.  If you can't find any vanilla beans at your local store, you can always order a variety online for low prices.  I got my Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans online at Amazon for about $5.00 and there was no shipping charge.  The vodka that you use can be any brand so long as its regular vodka.  Aside from those two ingredients all you need is a bottle with a tight lid and a dark spot to put it in in order for it to mature and in a couple of weeks you have the best vanilla extract you could hope for.

Vanilla Extract

2-3 vanilla beans
4-5 oz vodka

Take the vanilla beans and cut them in half and then take each half and split it so that the seeds are showing.  Put the vanilla beans in the bottle or container.  Take the vodka and pour it over the vanilla beans until they are covered.  Place the bottle in a cool, dark area for about 2-3 weeks and make sure to give it a shake every now and then.  When you use up all the liquid you can reuse the beans again, just add more vodka!!  The vanilla beans should last for 2-3 uses and then you just replace them.  Enjoy!

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Bacon Cheddar Burgers

Well I tell people all the time about the things that I cook. One thing I talk about is my stuffed bacon cheddar burger.  They always say wow or where is mine.  So its time for me to post it.  This one is for you Erika! Enjoy! Well....here we go!



Ingredients
     4 lbs ground beef
     Montreal seasoning
     Garlic seasoning
     3 slabs of bacon
     bacon cheddar cheese or regular cheddar
     2 Tbl of bacon fat, reserved from cooking the bacon

Directions:

Take your slabs of bacon and fry them up nice and crisp.  After done place them on a paper towel and let them cool. Then chop the bacon up to a medium coarse.

Next take your cheese cut it into quarters so that each burger has three quarters each.

Put the ground beef in a bowl and season it with the garlic and Montreal seasoning and pour in the reserved bacon fat and mix.  (Season the meat until you see seasoning all through the ground beef)

Use a regular ice cream scoop and make meatballs.

After you have formed the meatballs flatten them out into patties. Take 1 piece of cheese place it in the the center (stay away from the edges) then sprinkle bacon crumbles on top of that cheese and then place the last 2 pieces of cheese on top of that.

Take the other patty  and put it on top of the other patty.  Then begin to form your burger.  Make sure your patty is nice and sealed.

Grill for about 6 minutes on each side.

You will start to see the cheese oozing out when your burger is done.

I like to pair my burger with with a pretzel roll bun and the condiments of your choice.  So enjoy your gourmet bacon cheddar burger.

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Creamy Garlicky Mussels

I'ma back!!  I had a taste for one of my favorite seafoods, mussels.  And if your tired of the same old boring fried fish and shrimp, here's something different, with a little twist.  Expand your taste palates.  Well here we go...

Creamy Garlicky Mussels
(adapted from Tyler Florence's Creamy Garlicky Mussels)

2 lbs mussels

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 lemon
1/2 of a can of diced tomatoes

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 leek, just the white part

8 shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 andouille sausage, thinly sliced

1 shallot

Cajun fish seasoning

Garlic Bread

1 loaf crusty french bread

1 head of garlic

butter

Take the head of garlic and slice the top off.  Wrap it in foil and drizzle olive oil over it.  Put it in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the garlic has softened and turned a golden brown.  Take the garlic out of the oven.

Slice the loaf of bread in half and then cut open the halves.  Butter a skillet and lay the bread face down in the skillet until the bread is golden brown and crispy. 

Once the bread is done, take it out of the skillet and spread it with the garlic and serve.

Scrub the mussels with a vegetable brush under running water; discard any with broken shells that remain opened when tapped.  Slice half the lemon thinly, and chop the leek.  Chop the shallot, and the garlic, and thinly slice the sausage.

Take the shrimp and sprinkle both sides with the Cajun seasoning.  

In a large pot over medium heat melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the garlic, thyme, and lemon slices and cook until everything has softened, about 5 minutes. 

Add in the half can of diced tomatoes, the shrimp and the sausage, and squeeze the other half of the lemon in the pot and cook for about a minute. 

Add in the mussels.  Add the wine then the chicken broth; cover the pot and steam for 8-10 minutes or until the mussels open. 

Pour in the bowl and serve with garlic bread.  So the next time you have the urge to jump in the lake for seafood try these mussels.

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