Soup for a Sicky

Well, after all my praise about the fall season approaching, the weather that I so love has turned on me. Actually I think it's more of the fact that the weather can't make up its mind about what season it wants to be. A week ago it was a perfect 67 degrees and sunny, 88 and sticky a few days later, then a trip to Wisconsin over the weekend brought a 36 degree overnight low. My sinuses have given up trying to adjust and are now revolting. I have a mutiny going on in my face, and it's not even winter yet.

Feeling like this makes it hard to get motivated to cook anything for dinner, I had trouble bringing myself to make a sandwich last night. Thank god for my productive weekend two weeks ago in which I spent the morning making a huge pot of soup, and stored most of it in the freezer for just such an occasion.

This corn and potato chowder is a perfect soup for a sicky like me. It is comforting, hearty, and creamy, but not super thick, so it doesn't leave you feeling like a big lump if you accidentally eat two giant bowlfuls. If you use corn off the ears like I did, be forewarned that it is a bit of work, cutting the kernels off and milking the cobs takes some time and patience.

In my opinion, it would have been very much worth it had the corn been better quality, unfortunately, it wasn't the greatest. I would make this again before next year's sweet corn season comes around, but will probably take the easy route and go with frozen. If you do use frozen corn, I would recommend taking about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of the corn and puree it in a food processor before adding it to the soup, this will simulate the corn pulp that you would have extracted from the cobs.

Corn and Potato Chowder
recipe adapted from Foy Update

10 ears sweet corn
1 large vidalia onion, diced
1 1/2 lbs baby red potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
6 oz pancetta, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 teaspoons minced thyme
1 bay leaf
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the corn first. Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the cobs and place in a bowl. Be sure not to cut too close to the cob, you want just the soft crisp nuggets of corn. Then you want to "milk" the corn cobs. This basically means you want to squeeze all the pulp and juice out of the cob, this will help make the soup nice and creamy. I used my microplane to gently grate the cobs of corn over a bowl. After I went over the entire cob with the microplane, I quickly ran the back of my knife down each cob to squish out the rest of the juice. This can get a bit messy, so use a large bowl and wear an apron.

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and saute until most of the fat has rendered off and it is starting to get crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the pancetta and set aside. Reduce heat to low and add the onions and butter. Cover and cook until onions have softened, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Make a roux by sprinkling the flour over the onions and whisk for a minute or two until the flour has heated and is combined with the butter and onions. Slowly whisk in the stock and bring to a simmer.

Add the potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, corn pulp/juice, whole milk, and the cooked pancetta. Bring back to a simmer and cook over low heat for about 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are nice and tender. Add the corn, heavy cream and sugar, bring to a simmer again, and cook until corn kernels are tender but still crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Take out the bay leaf and serve topped with the chopped parsley and even some grated parmigiano reggiano.

The winter is coming, along with the colds, flu's, and sinus infections that come with it. I suggest you make this soup right now so you are armed and ready to battle it out.

Cabernet Braised Short Ribs and Mushroom Risotto

There are some people that tie their memories to the weather, different smells, specific dates, or the time of year. I have been finding that recently I have been tying many of my great memories with friends and family to food. For example, I can't remember a specific christmas by the year, or by how much snow we got, or what my christmas presents were, but jog my memory of what we cooked for 'christmas eve-eve' dinner? Now I remember.

It works the other way too. Lobster crosses my mind? I immediately think about the many July 4th's throughout my childhood when the cousins in my family would draw a track on the driveway with chalk and "race" the lobsters before our parents murdered them (but for good cause) in the giant bubbling stock pot in the kitchen. Granted they usually only moved an inch or so, but it was still fun picking them up and being terrified that they were going to pinch us (even though their claws all had rubber bands on them).

I also think about last winter when some of my favorite people in the world got together at a cabin in northern Wisconsin and had a BYOL party (Bring Your Own Lobster). It unexpectedly took hours to bring the huge stock pots full of water and crab seasoning to boil and didn't end up eating until almost 11 pm, but we kept ourselves busy drinking wine, playing with the very lethargic lobsters, and catching up on lives being lived three states away from each other.

Short ribs and risotto will be one of those meals that is tied to so many great memories for me. It was one of the first 'extravagant' meals I cooked for my boyfriend after we moved to chicago together. It was on the menu last winter when some of my best girlfriends from Purdue finally found a night we could all get together for the first time in months.

It was also the meal I made for eight hungry skiers this past weekend, at what is quickly becoming my favorite tradition: Valentines Day Cabin Weekend. In lieu of the Hallmark world of hearts and candy and forced romantic evenings, my Minnesota friends and I, along with our wonderful significant others, have turned v-day weekend into a weekend full of skiing, laughing, drinking, and eating. Rarely does the v -word even cross our lips, but when it does we aren't just celebrating love in our romantic relationships, we are toasting our friendships as well. The card I received from one of said Minnesota friends sums it up pretty well: "I hope we are still spending valentines day together when we are 80". Until I am 80, when I think of short ribs and risotto, I will be reminded of this very awesome valentines day, the giant red le creuset filled with braised meaty goodness, and the very best friends a girl could ask for.

Cabernet Braised Short Ribs

recipe adapted slightly from epicurious.com

Serves 8 with leftovers

These are great made a day early and chilled overnight. This allows you to to skim some of the hardened fat off the top to produce a less greasy pan sauce, but are just as good made the day of.

8-9 pounds meaty short ribs

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

2 tablespoons fresk thyme, minced

1 tablespoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup (about) vegetable or olive oil

2 - 750 ml bottles of Cabernet Sauvingnon

2-4 cups beef stock (this will depend on the size and shape of the pot you use, you will need enough to just about cover the ribs with liquid)

2 tablespoons of butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons all purpose flour

The day before cooking the ribs, season the ribs on all sides with the rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper and place in a large glass baking dish. Cover and chill overnight.

Let ribs stand at room temp before continuing. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large dutch oven, heat two tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add short ribs to pot in a single layer, turning about every 2 minutes to brown all sides. Place browned ribs in large bowl, and add more oil to pot as needed to brown all the ribs. Once all ribs have been seared, pour off drippings from pot and return to medium heat. Add the wine, scraping up and browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring wine to a simmer, then return the ribs and any accumulated juices to the pot. Add enough beef stock to almost cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer pot to oven.

If making these the day of consumption, cook for about 3-3.5 hours, until meat is incredibly tender and falling off the bone.

If making the day before, cook for about 2.5 hours, then let cool, cover, and chill overnight. The following day, skim some of the congealed fat off the top and return to 375 degree oven for another hour to and hour and a half, until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.

When ribs are done, remove meat and bones from pot, place in a tightly covered bowl and keep warm. Skim any fat from the top of the liquid, and bring to simmer over medium high heat on the stovetop. Boil until reduced to about 2 cups, about 20 minutes. Mix together butter and flour in a bowl until well combined, and whisk into simmering braising liquid. Continue whisking over medium-high heat until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.

Plate ribs next to, or on top of the risotto, topped with sauce and the mixed herb gremolata.

Meyer Lemon Herb Gremolata

adapted slightly from epicurious.com

Please don't skip this topping. It lends an amazingly bright citrus note to the earthy meatiness of the short ribs.

1/4 cup chopped italian parsley

3 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel, meyer lemon if it is in season

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons finely minced rosemary

2 tablespoons finely minced thyme

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Can be made one day in advance, but I would recommend making it the day of so the citrus is at its freshest.

Mushroom Risotto

serves 8 plus plenty of leftovers

12-16 cups canned low sodium chicken broth

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided (one stick)

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

5-6 shallots, minced

1 1/2 pounds fresh mushrooms, chopped (I used a mix of white and baby bellas)

3 cups arborio rice

1 1/3 cup white wine

1 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/3 cup italian parsley, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring the broth to a simmer in a large saucepan or small stockpot. Add the dried porcini mushrooms, reduce heat, and keep the broth warm over very low heat while you cook the risotto. The mushrooms will flavor the broth as they steep.

In a large heavy pot, melt two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the shallots and saute until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, and saute for another 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the rice, and let cook until the rice toasts a bit and becomes slightly translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the wine and cook until it has absorbed, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, and add 1 cup of hot broth, stirring rice very frequently until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1 cup at a time and stirring, until rice is just al dente. This should take about 30-40 minutes, and you may not need all the broth.

While rice is cooking, remove the porcini mushrooms from broth with slotted spoon, chop, and set aside. Heat two tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of live oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fresh mushrooms and porcini mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are slightly browned, 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover to keep warm and set aside.

When rice reaches the al dente stage, remove from heat and stir in remaining 1/2 stick of butter, parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and parsley.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add some roasted carrots for good measure and you have yourself a meal.

Make this, and make it often. I can only hope that this wonderful meal may be attached to some amazing memories for you as well.

Thanksgiving dress rehearsal, part deux.

The remaining parts of our fall feast, lemon popovers, roasted carrots and parsnips, and plum tart for dessert were probably my favorite parts of the meal. I am usually the person at thanksgiving ignoring the turkey and stuffing and gorging myself on corn, Brussels sprouts, and my grandma's homemade buns. Side dishes are not to be ignored.

Dessert was incredibly easy. I can't really take credit for making it, I really just assembled parts and put it in the oven. Frozen puff pastry, ripe plums, homemade raspberry jam, and some fresh whipped cream made for a delightfully light yet decadent ending to the meal.

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

When carrots and parsnips are roasted, they become caramelized and end up like sweet little candies. I like to add some cayenne pepper to offset the sweetness a bit and give them a little kick.

2 pounds of carrots, chopped on diagonal into 1/2 inch thick chunks

1 pound parsnips, chopped on diagonal into 1/2 inch chunks

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl to coat the vegtables. Spread evenly on a baking sheet (I use a sil-pat for even cooking, no sticking, and easy cleanup) and roast for about 30 minutes until the carrots and parsnips are caramelized and cooked through.

Lemon Popovers

adapted (barely) from Food & Wine Magazine

I don't have a popover pan, but I saw this recipe in food and wine for making them in a muffin pan. It worked great, they were just a little more stout than regular popovers. I used lemon zest instead of orange, since that is what I had on hand, but will definitely be trying them with orange in the near future.

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 1/4 cups milk

3 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and divided

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest. Add the milk and 3 tablespoons melted butter and whisk to combine. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk until combined with only small lumps remaining.

Brush the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin (or two 6-cup tins) with the remaining melted butter. Place the buttered muffin tins into the preheated oven for 5 minutes, until butter starts to bubble and brown. Carefully fill the muffin tins half to three-fourths the way full with the popover batter. Bake the popovers for about 30 minutes until they pop over the muffin cups and are golden brown.

When they come out of the oven, stick each one with a knife to let the steam out so they don't get soggy on the inside. Serve right away. They are great with just a bit of butter, or also with some jam or preserves.

Plum - Raspberry Tart

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

3 small plums, pitted, quartered, then very thinly sliced

1/4 cup raspberry jam or preserves

1 egg

2 teaspoons water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar, plus more for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Unfold thawed puff pastry on a sil-pat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Poke the pastry with a fork all over leaving a 1 1/2 inch border around the edges 'un-poked'. This will help the center stay flat under the fruit, and the edges puff up around the filling.

Arranged plum slices in rows on puff pastry leaving a 1 1/2 inch border around each side. Fold edges of pastry over to encase the plums. Beat the egg together with the water, and brush it on the top of the puff pastry edges. Sprinkle the sugar over the plum center. Bake until pastry is golden brown and plums are bubbly, about 20 minutes.

While the pastry is baking, heat the jam or preserves in a small saucepan over low heat until warm.

In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream with the confectioners sugar and beat with a hand mixer until it forms soft peaks.

Once the tart comes out of the oven, brush the plums with the hot raspberry jam, and dust with confectioners sugar.

Serve immediately with a big dollop of whipped cream.

After all this, you will probably want to take a nap. I did, and it was glorious. Heres hoping your first fall meals warm up your kitchens and your stomachs.

Hello Fall...or Winter?

We seem to have skipped fall completely here in Chicago and other parts of the Midwest. It has been about 20 degrees under the normal high temperatures, but looking on the bright side, at least it hasn't snowed yet like is has up in the northern regions.

I wanted to kick off fall with a big meal that would fill us up and warm the apartment. I accomplished both of those goals, and also made my boyfriend and his friends very happy campers, with very happy tummies.

We feasted on a whole roasted chicken with lemon, thyme, bacon, and garlic, mashed potatoes, pear and goat cheese salad, roasted root vegetables, and popovers. This was all finished off with a warm plum and raspberry tart.

I think of this as my dry run for the thanksgiving feast myself and some of my friends are going to have here in Chicago the weekend before the actual holiday. Everything went really smoothly, and even mistakes that were made turned out to be good things.

The day after this meal, in my food coma hangover, I realized that I roasted the chicken upside down. The funny thing is that I have seen so many birds roasted on television shows and in person that I can't believe I was confused when the recipe told me to 'tuck the wings underneath the bird'. I thought to myself, 'but the wings are already underneath the bird...'.

It turns out that this was a great mistake. The breasts were impossibly tender and juicy and I think that may have been because they basically braised in their own juices, bacon drippings, and lemon juice for about 2 hours. I think I may just flip my turkey upside down come Thanksgiving, but next time it will be on purpose.

Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is a VERY simple salad, but a classic and tasty combination of tart cheese and mellow fruit. Just be sure to use a high quality balsamic vinegar for the dressing.

1 package of baby spring greens

1 pear, diced and tossed with lemon juice to prevent browning

4 ounces crumbled goat cheese

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a tightly sealed container and shake vigorously until oil and vinegar is combined and emulsified. Toss greens, pears, goat cheese with just enough dressing to coat.

Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken

Recipe from Ina Garten - on foodnetwork.com

my notes in green

1 5-6 pound roasting chicken - I used a slightly larger one - about 8.5 pounds - so I would have plenty of leftovers, although I think the boys devoured much more of it than I anticipated

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme

4 lemons

3 heads garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 lb bacon - don't use lean bacon here, the point of it is to basically self-baste the chicken with the bacon fat

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Remove chicken giblets - if you are lucky they are in a nice little packet, if you aren't so lucky, you may have to pick them out one by one. I threw these into the freezer for a later date, you can make gravy and stock with these goodies. Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan and liberally salt and pepper the inside cavity - I do not have a large roasting pan yet, so I used my 13 inch All-Clad french skillet and it worked great, it was just a bit harder to get it in and out of my oven.

Stuff the chicken with most of the thyme - I saved some for the roasted veggies - 1 lemon, halved, and two halves of the garlic. Now Ina calls for tying the legs together with kitchen twine and tucking the wing tips under the body. Since I roasted my bird upside down I did not need to do either of these things. If you want to go more conventional and roast your chicken right side up, by all means get the kitchen twine out and tuck those wings.

Quarter the remaining lemons and scatter them along with the rest of the garlic around the chicken in the bottom of the pan. Lay the bacon slices on top of the entire chicken - again I am sure this would be more effective had I roasted the chicken right side up, with the bacon fat flavoring the breast meat and keeping them moist. Next time I will either roast the chicken upside down again but omit the bacon, or roast it right side up with the bacon but definitely not a combination of the two.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour. Remove the bacon and set aside.

Roast for an additional 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh, or the breast temperature reaches 165 degrees - mine was bigger and took about an hour and 50 minutes total roasting time.

Remove to a platter, cover with foil, and let rest for up to 30 minutes.

For the gravy, remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the bottom of the pan. Add the wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil. reduce it to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes - I added a bit of cornstarch to help thicken it up since it was pretty runny.

Mashed Potatoes with Bacon

4-5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes

2 bay leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Reserved bacon from roast chicken - roughly chopped

Peel and quarter potatoes and place in large pot of salted cold water with bay leaves. Bring to a boil then cook until fork tender, about 30 minutes. Heat the butter and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. Drain the potatoes and put back into the pot with the cream and the butter. Mash with a potato masher or a large fork until creamy and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with chopped bacon.

YUM. And we aren't even done yet. Since this post is starting to become a novel, I will leave the other sides (the roasted veggies and popovers) and the dessert for the next post so I don't lose readers due to sheer boredom. Maybe it will have turned back into fall by then, who knows.

A Tale of Two Pizzas

My first foray into grilled pizzas had it's ups and downs. After watching Micheal Chiarello easily slide his perfect pizza doughs on and off the grill grates, I thought 'I can do that, it doesn't look that hard'. Maybe someday I will learn that Mr. Chiarello tends to get me into trouble in the kitchen. (see the great gnocchi battle of 2008) Okay it wasn't all bad, and I think the next go around will be perfection, I just need to work out a few kinks.

The first dough to go onto the grill bubbled like crazy, and then once it was turned over the bubbles were so big, well, lets say they 'charred' (that's the grill-masters' way of saying it burned, without actually admitting fault). Everything seems to turn out better on the second try. They say you should always throw away your first crepe, your first pancake, but I didn't think I could spare an entire pizza dough the same way. So, I kept the 'charred' dough and went ahead. The second crust was beautiful, which is why I only took pictures of that one. Editing is GREAT.

Toppings are endless, and the method I used for making these allowed me to prepare all the topping ahead of time, and then just rewarm on the grill. One of the topping combinations was amazing, one of them not so much, but here is what I learned about making pizzas on the grill:

1. Do not use too high of heat, you will get crazy bubbles and burned edges. (if you are using charcoal I would recommend spreading one single layer of coals all over the bottom grate, and set your dampers so that you are over a medium heat)

2. Do not oil your dough too much, the heat will smoke the oil, turning your dough gray. This is NOT pretty. It won't ruin your pizza, but it will not enhance the flavor either.

3. Do not use a cheese that only tastes good when it is brown and bubbly. If you want brown and bubbly cheese, you may want to invest in a pizza stone so you can get your grill heat VERY high and not burn your dough (or finish it under your broiler). Hard cheeses and fresh mozzarella are good choices. Fontina....not so much (it kind of looked like snot, but more on that later).

4. Do grill toppings separately, this just adds to the deliciousness of the pizza.

5. Do not overload your pizzas with toppings, they will get very hard to maneuver, as the crust can be very fragile.

6. Use toppings that just need to be warmed briefly, in other words cook all your raw toppings ahead of time.

7. Use a sturdy dough recipe, one that calls for high gluten bread flour, or a similar additive.

8. Have fun with your flavor combinations, and don't be afraid to mess it up...maybe make some extra dough just in case though.

Pizza Dough

From Smitten Kitchen

My notes in green

Smitten kitchen is one of my favorite food blogs, and I often turn to it to get great recipes, especially for the basics (bread dough, pasta, pizza etc.). If you haven't checked her out yet, do it, she has awesome recipes and great photography. This dough worked really well, as it wasn't too delicate to throw around on the grill.

1 1/2 cups flour - I used my typical All-Purpose with added Vital Wheat Gluten combination

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix all dry ingredients, including the yeast, in a large mixing bowl. You can also start this in the food processor with the dough blade if you wish. Add the water and olive oil and mix until it starts to form a ball. Turn the shaggy mess out onto a floured surface, and knead until everything combines into a nice clean ball, just a minute or two.

Lightly oil the mixing bowl -a cooking spray such as Pam works well for this- and place the dough in, turning it around a few times so all sides of the dough are oiled as well. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise for and hour or two, or until it has doubled in size.

Dump it out onto a well floured surface and gently press the air out of the dough. Fold the piece into a basic ball shape and let it sit under plastic wrap for another 20 minutes.

At this point, the dough is ready to be rolled out and grilled up. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.

Goat Cheese, Zucchini, and Prosciutto Pizza

1-2 medium zucchini or summer squash, sliced very thinly on a mandolin

1 package of prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1 4 oz. package of goat cheese

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pepita Pesto, Mushroom, and Fontina Pizza

About 3/4 cup peptia pesto (you can use any pesto, homemade or jarred)

1 package button mushrooms, sliced thinly

3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

While the dough was on its final 20-minute rise, I fired up the my trusty Weber. I tossed the zucchini and squash with some olive oil and salt and pepper, and grilled over high heat until just cooked through. This only takes a few minutes if the slices are very thin.

I also sauteed the prosciutto and the mushrooms separately until crisped and cooked through.

Mix the lemon juice, thyme, and goat cheese in a small bowl and set aside.

Lightly oil the pizza dough on one side, and moving gently and quickly, place the dough oiled-side down on the hot grates, and immediately oil the top side. It will probably start to bubble up and as soon as it starts to set, you can move it around a bit so that it doesn't burn in any spot.

Flip the dough over once the first side is nice and brown. This should only take 3-4 minutes on each side until the dough is fully cooked. (I obviously made 2 doughs, so I repeated this process)

I brought the doughs inside to where all my ingredients were ready and waiting to be assembled.

On the first pizza, I spread the goat cheese mixture thinly all over the crust, laid on the grilled zucchini strips and the prosciutto, and sprinkled the top with Parmesan cheese.

Onto the second pizza went the pesto, then the mushrooms, the fontina, and lastly the Parmesan.

Each of these pizzas went back onto the covered grill over low heat until all the ingredients were heated up and the cheese was melted, about 10 minutes.

The goat cheese pizza was divine. It was salty, fresh, and creamy. I would make it again as-is in a heartbeat. The pesto/mushroom pizza I would make again, but with many changes. I would add another component, something a bit sweet to offset the bitter pesto. I would also finish it under the broiler to get the cheese all brown and bubbly, instead of greasy and gooey like it turned out.

There were many lessons learned about pizzas making, and now that it is turning into autumn, I am looking forward to testing out my new skills with the coming fall produce.

Happy first day of Fall, may your week be filled with changing leaves, pumpkins, and cinnamon-flavored everything.