Summer Strawberry Pizza with Sauteed Ramps, Crumbled Gorgonzola, Shaved Speck, Baby Arugula, + a Balsamic Reduction Drizzle on Multigrain Pizza Dough

Every time Summer starts to creep around, I begin to crave a rustic pizza with fruit as the star ingredient. It might sound delicious to some of y'all... and it might sound absolutely-down-right-disgusting to the rest. But bless your heart, you couldn't be more wrong. Just take my word for it. This pizza came about on a Saturday at our local farmer's market. Don't you love when dishes just come together so spontaneously? We saw  lusciously ripe, ruby red strawberries and some perfectly pungent (yet still mild) wild ramps and I thought, well heck, let's marry those two flavors. I am on a real ramp kick lately. I can't find them at grocery stores in our hood, but at the edge of Spring, you can find them by the barrel, freshly pulled out of the ground by your friendly local farmer. They are the loveliest combination of a leek, green onion, shallot, and garlic. And when they are sauteed, they just mellow out a bit and give any extremely rich recipe a itty bitty kick. So, I spread a thin pesto-like sauteed ramp base on the pizza dough before I loaded it up with a bunch of different cheeses. I crumbled the ever-so-sticky gorgonzola cheese on top for an extra pop of flavor. It perfectly paired with the sweet strawberries. UM YUM. The pizza is finished with shaved Speck, which we prefer to Prosciutto, if you get in a pickle, just use that instead... no biggie. Baby arugula is scattered across the top for its' peppery bite, and anyway, it goes amazingly with strawberries and gorgonzola. And no fruity pizza would be complete without a drizzle of syrupy balsamic reduction. It just wouldn't. So take our word for it, this is something that can't be missed during these hot summer months. I guarantee it!! Enjoy :)

For the Strawberry Pizza:

1 Ball of Multigrain Pizza Dough (regular or whole wheat dough can be substituted)

1 Small Bunch of Ramps, Chopped

2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

8oz Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella (sliced, torn into small pieces, or shredded)

4-8oz of Ripe Strawberries, Thinly Sliced

¼C Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese

¼t Dried Red Pepper Flakes

4oz Shaved Prosciutto (we actually used Speck just because we prefer it over prosciutto)

2T Fresh Basil, Minced

Homemade Balsamic Reduction, For Drizzling

1-2 Handfuls of Baby Arugula, For Garnishing
Kosher Salt + Fresh Cracked Pepper, To Taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to its hottest setting, around 500-550 degrees, and arrange a rack in the middle of the oven. Let your pizza stone heat up in the oven for at least 30-45 minutes.

2. For the Sautéed Ramps: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in olive oil, red pepper flakes, and chopped ramps. Sauté until they become fragrant and translucent, but still slightly crunchy and sharp. This usually 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set them aside to cool before you spread them on the pizza dough.

3. For the Strawberry Pizza: Create a 12inch round of dough on a semolina dusted pizza peel and spread the sautéed ramps over the top. Place the torn fresh mozzarella evenly across the dough, and then add on the sliced strawberries, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, some red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and fresh cracked pepper. Slide the pizza onto the heated pizza stone and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has melted and begun to caramelize. Remove it from the oven and immediately lay small piles of the thin slices of speck (or prosciutto) over the hot pizza. Just before serving, scatter the baby arugula on top, followed by a drizzle of balsamic reduction.

4. Cut into slices and serve immediately!

Herbed, Roasted Chicken Salad Fresh Raspberries, Crumbled Gorgonzola, Praline Pecans, Chopped Fuji Apple, Shaved Red Onion, Spring Lettuce Mix, + Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

Springtime is quickly approaching the South, y'all. This can only mean that I can enjoy the weather outside on our porch for hours on end, go to the local farmer's market, and make yummy meals that are so fresh that they don't weigh you down. It's truly a gorgeous sight to see when all of Buckhead's flowers begin to bloom and I can actually enjoy it with the top down of my convertible. So when we went to the grocery store yesterday, we were craving something light and refreshing, and ultimately a salad is what we decided on. It begins with herbed, roasted chicken that is unbelievably moist. The rest of the recipe is easy-peasy. You just add all of the ingredients into a large salad bowl and toss it together. I love the balance of flavor that you get when adding fruit and cheese... one is slightly acidic + sweet while the other is creamy + salty. Raspberries and Gorgonzola just seems to be a match made in heaven, quite honestly. And hey, all cheese pairs beautifully with apples as well. But the other ingredients play their part as well, the thinly shaved red onion gives the dish a pop, the praline pecans give it some crunch, and the spring lettuce mix just soaks all of that goodness up. I love to pair creamy poppy seed dressing with any kind of fruit salad, so I made a classic recipe that is boosted up with some garlic, lemon zest, and white balsamic reduction. Really all you have to do is toss the salad together and enjoy :)

For the Herbed, Roasted Chicken:

2 Skin-On, Bone-In Chicken Breasts

2T Dried Herbs (we used a mixture of basil, thyme, oregano, & cilantro)

2T Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

2-3T White Balsamic Reduction

¼C Fresh Herbs (we used a mixture of basil, thyme, parsley, & oregano

¼t Dried Red Pepper Flakes

For the Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing:

¾C Mayo

¼C Buttermilk or Heavy Cream (you can add a little more or a little less if you want it thicker)

3T White Balsamic Reduction

6T Sugar

8t Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Lemon, Zested

1 Garlic Clove, Finely Grated using a Microplane

4t Poppy Seeds

Kosher Salt + Fresh Cracked Pepper, To Taste

For the Salad:

Prepared Herbed Roasted Chicken, Pulled into Pieces

6oz Spring Lettuce Mix

8oz Fresh Raspberries

1C Praline Pecans (roughly chopped)

½C Crumbled Gorgonzola

½ of a Red Onion, Thinly Shaved or Sliced

1 Fuji Apple, Diced

Prepared Poppy Seed Dressing

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with Pam.

2. For the Herbed, Roasted Chicken: Start off by washing and drying the chicken breasts and then toss them in the mixed dried herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the chicken breasts in the prepared pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Once they have cooled, discard the skin, remove the meat from the bones, and pull the chicken into bite size pieces by hand. Place the pulled chicken into a small mixing bowl and toss it with the white balsamic reduction, fresh herbs, and dried red pepper flakes. Season it to taste with more salt and pepper if needed. Set the chicken aside while you assemble the salad.

3. For the Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing: Put the mayo into a mixing bowl and whisk until it is smooth with no lumps remaining. Slowly drizzle in the milk, whisking to combine; until you have reached you desired thickness. Finely grate a lemon for its’ zest and a large clove of garlic using a Microplane, and add it into the mayo mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients and season to your liking. Set aside while you make the salad.

4. For the Salad: In a large salad bowl, add in the spring mix, fresh raspberries, chopped praline pecans, crumbled Gorgonzola, shaved red onion, diced Fuji apple, and herbed roasted chicken. Toss those ingredients together until they are evenly distributed throughout the spring lettuce mix. Lastly you can either add the dressing, and then coat the entire salad with the dressing or you can serve the salads individually and drizzle the dressing over the top of each portion. 

Poached Pear Panini

If any of y'all ever decide to come to visit Savannah, don't ever hesitate to message me about places to go and eat at. One of our favorite nice restaurants to go to is Garibaldi's Cafe. They are known for their crispy flounder with a shallot-apricot sauce, but surprisingly my favorite dish is a small salad. The salad has wine-poached pears, blue cheese fritters, spicy arugula, and a balsamic-wine vinaigrette. I actually crave this salad, it's that good. It's so sweet from the pears, but salty & tangy from the blue cheese. So, since I can't have their salad, I decided to make a Poached Pear Panini. I started off by poaching the pears in a vanilla white wine syrup. I then made a sandwich with the sliced poached pears, arugula pesto mayo, crispy prosciutto, crumbled gorgonzola & creamy havarti, and a light drizzle of honey. I know it sounds super weird, but it really does work. I was surprised how much Clayton liked this panini. I wasn't hungry enough to make a full sandwich, so I just made a small crostini, and that was plenty! Enjoy!

Whole Poached Pear Panini

Spicy Arugula Pesto Mayo, Sweet Poached Pears, Crispy Prosciutto, & Creamy Gorgonzola

Weird, But Delicious Poached Pear Panini

For the Poached Pears:

2 Firm, Ripe Bosc Pears, Peeled & Halved & Cored

2T Lemon Juice

1C Water

½C Dry White Wine

6T Honey

½ Vanilla Bean, Split Lengthwise

For the Arugula-Walnut Pesto:

2C Arugula Leaves, Packed

½C Shelled Walnuts, Toasted

½C Fresh Parmesan Cheese, Grated

½C Olive Oil

6 Garlic Cloves, Lightly Roasted

1t Fresh Garlic, Minced

Salt & Pepper, To Taste  

 

For the Arugula-Pesto Mayo:

¼C Pesto

4T Mayo

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Panini:

2 Slices of French Bread, Fried in Olive Oil

1 Poached Pear, Sliced

Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese

Arugula Pesto Mayo

2 Slices of Havarti Cheese

8 Slices of Prosciutto, Fried till Crispy

Drizzle of Honey

Directions:

1. To Make the Poached Pears: Toss the pears with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine water, wine, and honey in a medium saucepan. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add in the bean as well. Stir over medium heat until honey dissolves. Add in the pears. Cover the mixture with a round piece of parchment paper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pears are just tender when pierced, turning halfway through cooking, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the poached pears to a large bowl. Boil the poaching liquid until reduced to ¾C, about 2 minutes. Cool the syrup. Pour the syrup over the pears. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove the vanilla bean and strain the pears out of the liquid. Carefully pat dry and cut into thin slices. Set aside.

2. To Make the Arugula Pesto: Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels in a skillet over medium-high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in place, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins. Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown. In a food processor, combine the arugula, salt, walnuts, roasted garlic, and raw garlic. Pulse while drizzling in the olive oil. Remove the mixture from the processor and put into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Refrigerate.

3. To Make the Arugula-Pesto Mayo: In a small bowl, combine the fresh pesto with the mayo. Add in salt & pepper to taste. Whisk to combine. Set-aside until ready to make the sandwich.

4. To Make the Sandwich: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a pan with tin foil and spray with Pam. Set this aside. Fry the slices of bread in olive oil. Then assemble the sandwich by spreading a layer of the arugula pesto mayo on each slice, and then lay a slice of havarti cheese on top of each slice. On one of the slices lay down the crispy prosciutto, then top with crumbled Gorgonzola and drizzle some honey on top, and the poached pears. Top with the other slice of bread & cheese. Place the sandwich on the prepared pan and bake in the oven in order to heat the fillings and melt the cheese. Cook for roughly 5 minutes (depending on your oven). 

5. Serve the sandwich and enjoy!

source: honey poached pears. arugula pesto.