Wine at Jan's

Well, we celebrated the end of summer (sigh) by meeting up at Jan's for some drunken debauchery accompanied by kids splashing in the pool and some good eats.

Laura brought a delicious black bean and corn salsa.

I don't know if this is the same recipe she used, but it is my version:

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2 cans black beans, rinsed
1 can white corn, or leftover corn cut from the cob

1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 minced jalapeno

1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
3 Tablespoons and red wine vinegar

3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix it all up and serve with tortilla chips.

Jan made a fantastic grilled pizza, it had sauteed veggies and goat cheese and some other stuff I may have been too drunk to remember. She put her pizza stone directly on the grill. Next time, I'll show her how to cook pizzas directly on the grill. It is easy.

Grilled pizza

Okay, if you're too lazy to make your own pizza dough, or you don't have time, you can use a dough ball from the grocery store. I make it in the Kitchenaid with 1 C warm water, 1 T yeast, 1 tsp sugar (dissolve yeast in water, add sugar, and proof (that means wait until it gets foamy for you dough-challenged people) add 1 T olive oil, 1/2 tsp kosher salt (do I really have to say kosher? All of my faithful readers would never dream of using regular salt, right?) and 3-4 cups of flour. Let rise about an hour.

Rip off a piece of dough and pat or roll it into some kind of pizza-looking shape. It doesn't have to be perfect. Brush it with olive oil (or in this case I will let you get away with spraying it with Pam. But this is one of only two sanctioned uses of Pam. I'll bet you can guess what the other one is, and it is NOT roasting asparagus, ANN) Plop it on a pre-heated grill set to medium and cook a minute or two on one side, until it is set a little. Flip it over and brush with olive oil. (No Pam THIS time, faithful readers) Top as you please. Lower the heat, close the lid and cook until the cheese is melted and the dough is cooked, about 5 minutes, depending on the heat and your toppings.

Suggested toppings:

Goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and kalamata olives

Carmelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, blue cheese and fresh mozzarella

Pesto, fresh mozzarella, slivered prosciutto and a basil chiffonade. (google it if you don't know how to chiffonade)

Tomato sauce and any traditional pizza topping

Fresh tomato, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil

Pears, manchego cheese, and walnuts

There were several other really good dishes that I don't have time to tell you about now. More from the kitchen later...