bill's awesome procuitto & asparagus pizza

i'm not going to lie, my husband is a pizza-and-beer guy. just, you know, a GOURMET pizza and beer guy. on a recent trip to visit family, he invented this insanely easy pizza. i wanted him to guest blog, but, alas, he thinks you'll miss my dumb jokes. or something.

ingredients:

• pizza shell (pre-made crust)
• tomato sauce
• one of those mozzarella/prosciutto/basil roll-ups
• about a half-pound of asparagus

optional ingredients:

• scratch cheese (which, btw, means your choice of those grated aged cheese combinations, like peccorino-romano and shit)
• crushed garlic/garlic powder
• olive oil spray
• oregano (et cetera)

prep:

• chop asparagus into about one inch chunks, steam or blanch
• slice cheese roll thinly

actual cooking:

• (spray crust with olive oil, sprinkle with herbs, spices and scratch cheese)
• spread tomato sauce VERY THINLY over the shell, almost to the edge
• spread out your sliced cheese roll to cover sauce (a little space between is fine, it will melt)
• add asparagus on top
• bake (about 350?) until ooey-gooey and delicious-looking

ohmygod, so good. i'm starting to think i should make him cook more often.

potatoflower soup

this delicious soup makes a great lunch, and all it takes to convert the recipe to a healthy alternative to mashed potatoes is omitting the water. sweet. and? it's SO EASY. i always thought soups would be hard to make and then last fall: click. i get it. you need one of the following to make this soup: an immersion blender, a huge blender, a potato masher, a big food processor, a hand mixer or a fork and infinite patience.

ingredients:

• 4 large potatoes
• 1 quart chicken (or veggie) broth
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 onion
• water
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper (should we just assume that every savory recipe needs these?)
• a drop (or spritz) of oil

prep:

• cube potatoes (and skin them if you or your eaters are wusses)
• trim cauliflower into florets
• chop onion

actual cooking:

• put a big pot over high heat, spritz with oil
• add onions, stir
• add cauliflower, stir
• add potatoes, stir
• add broth and about 1/2 quart of water
• cover, cook for, oh, you know, a while... until both potatoes and cauliflower are a bit soft
• remove from heat and mash it all together with whatever implement you're working with (i used a potato masher & hand mixer. i bet an immersion blender is freaking AWESOME, but i don't have one.)
• salt & pepper to taste

tada! easiest. recipe. ever.

so, like i said, all you have to do to make this seem just like mashed potatoes is omit the water and maybe add a bit of butter at the end. mmmmmmm.

(by the way-- cauliflower is a cabbage. so it kinda smells. which apparently makes people think it tastes gross. it DOES NOT. it is delicious. and versatile. and potato-like.)

falafel & israeli cous cous

tonight we had falafel & israeli cous cous for dinner. SO yummy. and EASY. possibly because i cheated.

ingredients:

• falafel mix (this is the cheating part... available in your grocer's "ethnic" section)
• olive oil
• water
• israeli cous cous (different from regular cous cous)

prep:

• combine falafel mix with water as directed (manichevitz brand wants 1/2 cup water to one packet mix)
• let stand ten minutes

actual cooking:

• in a small sauce pan lightly brown 2/3 cups cous cous in a tablespoon of olive oil, stirring frequently for about five minutes
• add about 1 cup (a smidge less) water, bring to boil, turn way down and cover (check occasionally so you don't burn it!)
• set about 1/2 inch of oil in a pan to heat
• roll falafel mix into one inch balls
• fry falafel in oil until browned (you'll have to turn them once and maybe roll them around a bit if you went light on the oil like i did which is kinda pointless since you're DEEP FRYING for christsakes!)
• remove falafel and drain on paper towels

SO GOOD. seriously. but israeli cous cous has NO TASTE. a tiny sprinkle of sea salt made it perfect, since the falafel was kinda spicy. if you thought ahead about this meal, you might want it to have, oh, i dunno, a vegetable? or something? i think wilted baby spinach would be perfect. you could dump your falafel oil, not clean the pan, and toss in the spinach while the falafel drains. yum!

(spell check HATES this recipe.)

serves 2 or 3, depending on your eaters.

i got behind again...

this weekend i'll be making rosemary-olive oil bread, lasagna and maybe a gluten-free, egg-free cake. also expect an apple pie (THE ONE?) and a quick write-up on last weekend's raviolis and pumpkin pie.