Monday, May 23, 2005

chicken rollo tomasi



DESCRIPTION

Boca makes a line of meatless "chik'n" that's actually quite tasty. use whichever you like. i'm using the nuggets coz it's easiest, but you can use the patties if you've got 'em.

this is another no-brainer in the "pizza" line of recipes. basically, anything that would be good in a sandwich will probably be good in a pizza situation.

INGREDIENTS

basic pizza dough
corn meal
1 package BOCA meatless Chik'n nuggets
1 package shredded cheese
some tomato sauce
cherry tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil (e.v.o.o.)

DIRECTIONS

bake those Boca nuggets first. set them aside.

adjust the oven to about 450 degrees F.

sprinkle cornmeal on big cutting board. grab about half the dough and roll it between your hands to form a thick rope. put it down in the cornmeal and start rolling it flat and wider. you want it wide enough so that you put a nugget in there and fold the sides of the dough up and over it.

sprinkle a base of cheese on the dough, down the center. start laying your nuggets down the center in a nice line, end to end.

i prefer to tear apart the cherry tomatoes so that you don't get a burst of hot juice in your mouth when you bite into them. lay the torn tomatoes over and about the line of nuggets.

sprinkle more cheese over all of that. drizzle some e.v.o.o. over that. spoon some tomato sauce over that. fold the side of the dough over everything so that you've got what looks like a long, fat rope of dough. drizzle some e.v.o.o. on the top and spread it around with your fingers.

cornmeal a big pan. carefully lay your long chik'n roll on top of the pan, such that it doesn't tear too much.

pop it into your hot oven for about 10 minutes.

let it cool and settle for a few minutes after you take it out. this is a little more important than it is for a regular pizza recipe, because it's got a filling.

cut it into pieces with a serrated knife (bread knives work well).

i really have a miserable life.

O.G. smoothie



DESCRIPTION

this one's quite good and quite easy. and you can feel GOOD about consuming it; which is more than you can say about most of the recipes you'll find here...

INGREDIENTS

frozen grapes surprise
orange juice
ice

DIRECTIONS

get out those frozen grapes. i don't care if they've been in that freezer for 6 months (like mine were). get them the fuck out.

chuck a good handful into a big glass. pour some orange juice on top. put some ice in there. (don't fill it up too much.)

now dump the entirety of that glass into a good blender, cover the top and start pulsing that shit. get it all nice and frothy.

mmm! taste good, don't it?

Sunday, May 15, 2005

unholy meatloaf



DESCRIPTION

this is a bit of a combination between a meatloaf and a shepherd's pie. the measurements are not exact as i kind of improvised.

the package of potatoes au gratin i used had been sitting in the cupboard for approximately 20 years. it was still okay. it required milk and butter, but you'd have to follow your own package directions.

for a vegetarian version, there are a lot of vegetarian ground meats available; though if you're a vegetarian, you probably aren't a big fan of "meat loaf". (the man or the food item.)

this was a good solution for using up the potatoes au gratin and some old bread that i turned into breadcrumbs with the food processor.

i'm not a big meatloaf afficionado, but i'm pretty sure you can add all sorts of odd things into the mix. it's a classic "throw in all the leftovers" kind of dish. the use of breadcrumbs is a classic stretching mechanism.

INGREDIENTS

package of potatoes au gratin, cooked, leftover
about half a pound to a pound of ground meat (turkey/beef/whatever)
1 egg
2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tbls. hot sauce
1 tbl. salt
1 tbl. ground pepper
some ground sage
some ground rosemary
1 cup shredded parmesan (leave some for topping)
extra virgin olive oil (e.v.o.o.)

DIRECTIONS

preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

simply dump everything (except the potatoes au gratin and the e.v.o.o.) into a big bowl and squish it all together with your (clean) hands.

grease a mold pan with e.v.o.o. spread meat mix into the pan. press it in nicely. cover with the leftover potatoes au gratin. sprinkle with any shredded parmesan you've got left.

pop into the oven for about 45 minutes.

you've just made yourself a fuckload of meatloaf, bub.