Gourmet Hawaiian Pizza

Awhile back I had the most delicious hawaiian pizza at a restaurant in town, Farm Bloomington.  So I called them up the other day to check if it was still on their menu.  It wasn't.  The girl that answered the phone didn't even know what pizza I was asking about.  Blasphemy.  So that left me only one option... make my own.  What made Farm's pizza so deliciously memorable was the presence of macadamia nuts.  That nutty, fatty crunch really brings a lot to a pizza.  Seriously, nuts on pizza- try it.  Also, since I generally find Canadian bacon disturbing, I subbed pancetta-- a substitution I would highly recommend.  Overall, this is a pretty killer pizza-- I guess I can forgive Farm for taking it off their menu.

Brussels Sprout, Grape, + Goat Cheese Pizza

This isn't so much of a step-by-step recipe, but a list of ingredients that taste quite lovely together :)

For crust: 14-19 oz. Pizza dough (I use the 5-minute Artisan Crusty White Bread recipe).
Bake the crust without toppings for 8-10 minutes in a 500°F oven.

Sauce: 5-7 cloves of roasted garlic + 3 Tbs apricot preserves + 1 tsp balsamic vinegar + salt to taste
Mash it all together.

Spread the sauce over the crust, then add some shredded parmesan, brussels sprouts, halved grapes, pine nuts, goat cheese and another drizzle of balsamic.

Bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until brussels sprouts are roasted and crust is golden.

Greek Yogurt Cornbread

This 20° weather as of late has really made me crave comfort food.  Hence, chili and cornbread.  This cornbread just tastes really great, and the addition of the Greek yogurt makes for a very moist, rich cornbread.  Perfect for sopping up every last flavorful bite of chili.

Lightened Up Dark Chocolate Crème Brülée

This year for Christmas, my sister-in-law gave E and I a kitchen torch.  It is pretty much the greatest thing ever.  I come up with every excuse possible to torch something, from deeming the pineapple on my pizza not caramelized enough, to addressing the unmelted corners of cheese on burgers.  If you don't have a kitchen torch, you should probably go get one.  Stat.  And start torching things.  Immediately.  

My first order of torch business was a traditional crème brülée, because isn't that what one makes with a torch?  Well it was wonderful, but when the primary ingredients are heavy cream and egg yolks, it's not something I will be making often.  Sorry E.  I then stumbled upon this lovely recipe-- dark chocolate crème brülée without any heavy cream.  I'll be honest, it is not as luxuriously creamy as traditional crème brülée and the chocolate formed a bit of a separated layer on top, but it was good enough I'd make it again.  Plus, how can you dislike crème brülée you don't have to feel terribly guilty about?