Deep-Dish Sausage and Tomato Pizza

To. Die. For.

This Deep Dish Sausage and Tomato Pizza was to die for. Absolutely delicious. I'm not particularly a fan of any meat. In fact, I hadn't really planned to eat this one. When I saw it over at Vicarious Foodie, I figured the guys would love it so I tried it. I ate 3 pieces. The crust was delicious. The spicy sausage, divine. Not particularly diet friendly, but oh! So worth it!

Deep-Dish Sausage and Tomato Pizza
Recipe from Vicarious Foodie

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for oiling bowl
1/3 recipe Atsa Spicy Pizza Sausage

1 (14 to 16-ounce) can diced tomatoes, well drained
1 cup grated whole milk mozzarella cheese (about 1/4 pound)
1 cup grated Fontina cheese (about 1/4 pound)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves, for garnish

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in water. Sprinkle yeast over water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 1/4 cups flour, cornmeal, salt, and 2 tablespoons oil and blend until mixture forms a dough. Knead dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of remaining 1/4 cup flour as necessary to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Put dough in a deep oiled bowl and turn to coat with oil. Let dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

While the dough is rising, prepare sausage (see recipe below). Stir in tomatoes and transfer mixture to a strainer over a bowl to drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Punch down dough and knead 4 times. In an oiled 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet, press dough with oiled finger until it comes 2 inches up the side and is an even thickness on bottom. Let dough rise, covered loosely with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle dough with half of mozzarella and fontina and top with sausage-tomato mixture and remaining cheeses. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan and bake the pizza in the lower third of an electric oven or on floor of a gas oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake 5-10 minutes more, or until crust is golden brown.

Top with fresh basil, if desired, and serve immediately.

Pan Roasted Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes

 I discovered my new favorite blog yesterday. My Tasty Treasures. I'm not sure how I've not seen it before but I spent a big chunk of yesterday afternoon laughing hysterically and bookmarking recipes like crazy. If you haven't visited it yet, go now. I'll wait. :-)

When I got to the grocery store last night, they didn't have the steak I needed for my planned meal so I grabbed some sausage and threw together the recipe for Pan Roasted Sausage, Peppers, Onions and Potatoes that I'd seen on Donna's site earlier in the day. After meeting and practices, I was able to put this dish together and still get the kids into bed at a decent time.

I was a little disappointed in the sausages. I bought Johnsonville and apparently we much prefer our local store's private label hot sausage. It has a brighter, spicier flavor that we like. I can't wait to make this one again with our regular sausage. Yum! The pan roasted potatoes were delicious. I can testify that they tase great on their own because I couldn't stop eating them while I was waiting for the sausage to brown! This is one that we'll be seeing a lot of around here in the future. (I'm already trying to figure out when I can make it again!)


Pan Roasted Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes

Recipe courtesy of My Tasty Treasures
Original Recipe from Rachael Ray's Comfort Foods Cookbook

6-8 red new potatoes, cut in wedges

Generous drizzle olive oil

Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

Sprinkle Paprika
4 links hot sausage and 4 links sweet sausage

Olive oil, about 1 tablespoon

2 Italian Cubanelle Peppers

3 red peppers

1 medium onion

6 cloves garlic

Handful chopped, fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons juice from pickled sliced hot cherry peppers
4 slices hot sliced, cherry peppers, chopped

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. In a bowl, toss the red potato wedges with a drizzle of olive oil thinly coating all wedges. Then sprinkle with the Montreal seasoning, rosemary, and paprika. Add the potatoes to your nonstick pan. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or so, turning occasionally. Keep warm and set aside.

Cut sausages into large chunks. Seed and slice your peppers, peel and slice your onion, crack your cloves of garlic from the skins, leave and them whole. Heat a large deep skillet over medium-high heat and add one tablespoon of olive oil, brown sausages on all sides. Drain the excess oil and add your peppers, onions, and garlic. Cover your pan and cook 10 more minutes. Or until peppers are done to your liking.

Uncover your dish and toss in your parsley, splashes of your hot cherry pepper juice and your chopped cherry peppers. Add your cooked potatoes. Combine.

Serve with crusty, warm bread.

Italian Sausage and White Bean Stew

I came across two similar recipes for an Italian Sausage stew the other day and I knew it must be fate. I made a quick dash to the grocery store and made it for dinner that very night!

The first recipe came from a new-t0-me blog called piExperiment. That recipe included zucchini, which I thought sounded good, and red bell peppers, which dh prefers. The second recipe was at A Dash of Sass, another new-to-me blog. Both sounded delicious so I sort of combined the two. I used the zucchini and red bell peppers and I left out the pasta. Be sure to use a good sausage. It realllly makes the dish. I used a sweet Italian sausage but I think next time I'll use a more spicy, hot sausage instead. Served with some crusty whole grain bread, it was a quite a hearty meal. Another plus - it was on the table in under 30 minutes. You gotta like that, especially during this busy time of year!


Italian Sausage and White Bean Stew
Original recipe from A Dash of Sass
Slightly different recipe from PiExperiment

16 ounces sweet Italian turkey sausage
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian blend spices*
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the pan. Add red peppers and onion. Saute until soft. Add minced garlic and quickly saute. Be careful to continue stirring to avoid burning the garlic. Add sausage to pepper and onion mixture. Cook until browned and crumbled, approximately 5 to 8 minutes.

Add beans and tomatoes. Add herbs. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked through.

Add some fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese and stir.

Serve topped with more Parmesan cheese.

* Feel free to substitute an Italian blend of spices for the basil and oregano if you don’t have those individually.