Satisfying Those Cravings!

One of my friends recently attended a baseball game and was disappointed to learn that the food stands had run out of bratwurst, which he had been craving. His unfortunate experience made me crave them myself so I made Grilled Beer Brats with Peppers and Onions.

I started by cooking half a pound of diced bacon until crisp.

To the bacon, I added one sliced sweet onion and one orange bell pepper.

Once the onions and peppers had softened, I added half a bag of chopped red cabbage and one tablespoon of minced garlic.

You cannot have beer brats without beer so I added two cans of beer (I used Blue Moon but you can use whatever you enjoy) plus I added one cup of chicken stock, several sprigs of fresh thyme, one sprig of fresh rosemary, and one bay leaf. Once the braising liquid came to a boil, I added one pound of brats that I had pricked with a fork several times as this prevents them from bursting. I let them braise for twenty minutes.

I removed the brats and added three tablespoons each of stone ground mustard and butter to the braising liquid, allowing it to reduce. Meanwhile, I dried the brats and placed them on a preheated grill until browned with beautiful grill marks.

Once the liquid reduced, it was time to plate and serve.

I topped the brats with fresh parsley, the onions/peppers and the reduced braising liquid.

Add them to a toasted bun or skip a bunch of carbs and leave out the bun, but either way your mouth and belly will be very happy!

Ever since I got an outdoor pizza oven, I find that I am craving pizza much more often. After some trial and error, I can now say that I have become comfortable using it because it is not as simple as it looks.

You can buy pizza dough or you can make it. I prefer to make it and I use Food Network's Two Ingredient Pizza Dough recipe. Not only is it easy, but it turns out perfect every time. The recipe yields enough dough for two personal size pizzas.

I tend to prefer a more rustic look/shape.

I always build my pizzas on the pizza peel, dusted heavily with corn meal to prevent sticking. For my Pepperoni Pizza, I start with a layer of sauce. (jarred or canned are fine because they can be doctored up), a sprinkling of garlic powder and Italian seasoning, then a layer of Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, pepperoni, and finally a second layer of mozzarella.

Every pizza oven has different directions. For mine, I preheat to around 900 degrees, and then turn down the heat before inserting the pizza. I rotate the pizza frequently to ensure even cooking and to prevent burning.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza is always a hit. Alfredo sauce, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, sliced chicken (you can save time by buying a rotisserie chicken or precooked sliced chicken such as Perdue), mozzarella, and more Parmesan.

One of my personal favorites - Pepperoni, Onion, and Black Olive Pizza. (Same as Pepperoni pizza above.)

We had leftover Butter Shrimp sauce, Methi Chicken, and jasmine rice from our new local Indian restaurant Kinara (which is fantastic by the way!) News flash - it made for a phenomenal pizza! I added some onions at the end. Amazing way to use leftovers too!

I look forward to even more creative pizza creations in the future!

What are your favorite pizza toppings?