Bruscetta Pizza

So I wasn't sure what to call this recipe because its not really like anything else.  I kind of made up the recipe as I went along but used a pizza I had at California Pizza Kitchen as inspiration.  My sister and I had this wonderful roasted pepper and eggplant pizza with goat cheese once when we went to Salt Lake and it was DIVINE.  So this was what I went for, except I had no mozzarella or goat cheese, and I used Parmesan instead.

I was mostly trying to use the stuff I got in my Italian Pack from my Bountiful Basket....yep, I am going with that this week, using the basket stuff.  :)  Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Bruscetta Pizza

1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 red onion, peeled and sliced thin
1 white onion, peeled and sliced thin
8 oz of mushrooms, sliced
olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste
4-5 roma tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
basil, oregano, and marjoram to taste (about half a tsp each--I used fresh, but you can used dried)
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1 recipe basic pizza dough, featured here

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put some olive oil on a baking sheet and spread it around on the sheet.  Place eggplant slices on the baking sheet and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  When they are done roasting, dice into medium cubes and set aside.  In the meantime, in a skillet, place about a tablespoon of olive oil, and then when heated, add onions.  You'll want to caramelize them, so you'll cook them over medium heat for awhile.   Add a bit of salt so they release their liquid, and just keep stirring them so they don't burn.  they will reduce in size to about a third of what you started with.  When they start to turn brown, and really soft, remove from heat and place in a bowl.  In the same skillet, saute your mushrooms.  Just until cooked through.  Remove from heat and place in another small bowl.  In the same skillet, cook your tomatoes with your garlic and herbs.  Add a bit of balsamic vinegar, and cook until liquid is reduced and thickened.

Stretch your dough onto a pizza stone or baking sheet to form about a 12" round.  Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, then top with the tomato mixture, then the parmesan cheese, then the onions and mushrooms, and then the eggplant.  Add more parmesan to the top and then bake again for roughly 18 minutes.

Couscous with Asparagus

First, I apologize for not posting for awhile.  First there was Thanksgiving, and then there was Christmas crazy when all of my recipes I was using were already posted because they were all traditional.  Then we moved immediately after, and we have been having an interesting time getting settled in.  Not very good excuses, but there they are.

So tonight I felt like making something vegetarian with the asparagus I got in my Bountiful Basket.  Yep, I am still ordering baskets, and yes, I am going to try to start that series again, now that things are a bit more calm.  Tonight I decided to make couscous with some of the asparagus and mushrooms and onions I had in the fridge.  It turned out really tasty even though it was vegetarian.  You could easily serve this with some sort of protein, and I am sure it would have been really good with some of the fish I have in the freezer.  I just didn't have time to thaw the fish and cook it by the time I had already started on the couscous.  Here we go...

Couscous with Asparagus and Mushrooms

1 c couscous
1 c chicken broth or water (recommend the chicken broth, flavors the couscous well), plus 1/4 c
1 tsp olive oil, plus 2 tbsp
1/2 an onion, sliced thin, or diced.
3 cloves garlic, or to taste (I like a lot of garlic, so I was quite liberal with it)
4 oz sliced button mushrooms
1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into about 1 inch pieces
1/4 c parmesan cheese

Bring 1 tsp olive oil and 1 c of the chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan.  Remove from heat, stir in couscous, and cover and let stand for 5 minutes--all the liquid will be absorbed.  In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil, and then add onions and saute for a little bit till they are almost tender.  Add garlic, and then mushrooms.   Saute til mushrooms are cooked through.  Add asparagus and the extra 1/4 c of chicken broth. Stir and cook over medium high heat til all of the broth is pretty much steamed off and asparagus is bright green and tender.  Add your couscous to the skillet, and stir everything together til combined.  Transfer to a bowl and then add your cheese and toss til all is combined again.  Serve hot with your favorite protein, or just by itself.