Grilled Kale Goat Cheese Pizza

Have you heard of this whole grilling pizza phenomenon? Like, instead of baking you pizza in the oven like any normal person, you grill it? I know. I thought people had totally gone off the deep end with that one. But Saturday I had some Kale in my fridge from this weeks CSA and a massive craving for pizza. Problem is that I just can't bring myself to crank the oven up as high as it will go when the air conditioner is begging for a break.

So, I googled. And I found what might have been the easiest pizza grilling instructions I've ever seen. So... I tried it. And I ate it. All of it. As fast as I could shovel it in my mouth. Seriously people, grilled pizza is awesome.

Grilled Kale and Goat Cheese Pizza

Grilling Instructions found here: Serious Eats

1/2 pizza dough recipe

1/2 bunch kale, washed, leaves torn and stems removed

3 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil

4 oz goat cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

You'll have to make these pizzas one at a time, unless you have a massive grill and about 8 hands. There's a lot of opportunity to burn the crust here, so keep it to one at a time so you can watch the dough as it cooks and keep it from burning.

Roll our the dough into roughly 3 personal sized pizza crusts. Set one half of your grill to medium-high heat. Turn the other side down as low as it will go. Place one dough flat right onto the grill grates on the high heat side of the grill. Close the lid, but keep a close eye on it. You want this side of the dough to get browned and the dough to start poofing. Once the dough is slightly browned remove it to a plate with the browned side up. One the cooked side of the dough, drizzle about 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/3 of the garlic, 1/3 of the kale, 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese, and 1/3 of the goat cheese. Carefully slide the pizza onto the low heat side of the grill. You want to cook this side until the cheese has melted, the kale has wilted slightly and the bottom of the crust is browned. If the crust starts to brown too much before the cheese has melted, turn the heat off on that side of the grill. Repeat with the other 2 pizzas. 

Enjoy!

Creamy Orchiette with Kale and Chard

Apparently I'm on a pasta kick right now. I promise that the next post will not include any sort of pasta! I think... well that's the plan right now. I might have to change that up in case I get a massive macaroni and cheese craving. Which is not at all out of the ordinary.

In other news, John dug out one of his old lenses this weekend. It's been my favorite toy for the past few days. He just keeps hiding all the awesome camera equipment! I'm going to raid his camera bag soon.

OK, back to food. For those of you wondering why I always use chard and kale together, I will answer your question. Because I don't want to keep you up at night. It's just not the type of person I am. The only real reason is that we usually get only about 3-4 stalks of kale in our CSA share for that week and that usually isn't enough to make a real meal for two people. We were growing chard in our backyard (this is the last of it!) so we usually just picked enough of that to make up for the sad amount of kale. That's the mystery my friends. I'm sure you were on the edge of your seat.

But regardless, you should totally make this tonight. It's fantastic.

Creamy Orcchiette with Kale and Chard
4 stalks kale
5-7 stalks rainbow chard
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 lb Orcchiette

Cook orcchiette according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

Meanwhile, melt butter in large saute pan. Cook onions for about 3-4 minutes until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add kale and cook down for several minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the chard and cook down for several minutes until both kale and chard are completely tender. Slowly pour milk and mix with the greens. Sprinkle flour over milk and greens and stir to avoid clumps. Mix in Parmesan cheese and turn heat to a simmer. Cook sauce until thickened and creamy. Add pasta to the pan and mix to evenly cover the sauce and greens.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve! Enjoy!

Greens with Toasted Almonds

Here's the rest of the dinner we made last Saturday night. We got a bunch of Kale and Chard in the CSA last week and I was being decidedly uncreative that night. We had already creamed, braised, and tried it raw. (P.S. raw kale = hard and bitter. I do not recommend.)

That night the big focus of the meal were those tasty potato cakes. I'm still having dreams about those little suckers. So good.

Anyway, after those, I just couldn't get in the mood to think up something stupendous to do with the chard and kale. So, I winged it. And people, the winging was goooooood. I should improvise dinner more often. This might have been my favorite recipe for greens yet!

Greens with Toasted Almonds
You could easily substitute whatever greens you have on hand in this recipes. It's versatile!

1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 cup finely sliced whites from scallions
1 bunch swiss chard, ripped into pieces
1 bunch kale, ripped into pieces
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add the almonds to toast for 5-6 minutes, tossing occasionally. Don't let them burn! Remove to a plate and set aside.

In the same pan, heat about 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the scallion whites and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. In batches, add the kale and cook down. Once all of the kale has been added, start adding the chard. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of kosher salt and black pepper. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle on the almonds and stir to combine. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs With Kale, Chard, and Olives

What can I say, I'm on a kale kick. It's also in season in Michigan, so it's been in our CSA share every week (new pictures of share #2 tomorrow!!). And it's healthy, so you should eat it! Aside from the fact that when you mix it with a bunch of fatty things it obliterates the bitterness and leaves you with a creamy, tender, healthy side dish! And it just doesn't get much better than that.

This recipe was originally from Thomas Kellar's Ad Hoc at Home and it calls for several things that I didn't have: fennel, fresh thyme and bay leaves. So, I did changed it up. It's what I do. Deal.

Instead of fennel, I used the newest bunch of kale from the CSA and the last of the Swiss chard from the garden. It's what we had, but you can probably use whatever greens you have on hand. Instead of thyme, I used rosemary and in place of the fresh bay leaves, I grabbed a few fresh basil leaves from the garden. I was a little worried about all of my substitutions, but it was great! (If I do say so myself.)

Mmmmm taters and garlic.


Dinner from last night: Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs with Kale and Chard, Roasted Garlic and New Potatoes from The Pioneer Woman, John's Homemade Bread and wine.

Crispy Braised Chicken with Kale, Swiss Chard, and Olives
Originally seen in Ad Hoc at Home

7 Chicken Thighs
Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Bunch Kale
1 Bunch Swiss Chard
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
4 Slices of Lemon Peel (Use a Vegetable Peeler)
1 Cup Green Olives
4-5 Sprigs of Rosemary
3-4 Basil Leaves
1 Cup Chicken Broth

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Choose one that is large enough to fit all of the chicken in a single layer. Once hot, add chicken thighs, skin side down and cook for 4 minutes. Flip chicken and sear on the other side for 1 minute. Transfer chicken to a cookie sheet and place into the oven to keep it warm.

Add the onion to the hot pan and cook for about 1 and 1/2 minutes. Next, add garlic and let cook for 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. In batches, add the kale and chard to the pan and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring. Add lemon peel, olives, rosemary and basil to the pan. Stir, then add chicken broth. Once the mixture comes to a boil, return the chicken to the pan, skin side up and nestle it into the greens. Cook for a few minutes, then transfer the entire pan to the oven. Cook until chicken is done, about 20-30 minutes. Turn the broiler on and cook the chicken for 2 minutes to get the skin crispy. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Creamed Kale and Swiss Chard

I've never cooked with Kale. I don't think I've ever seen Kale before it appeared in our CSA box last week. But there it was, begging us to eat it. So, I used a no-fail solution to any dish: cook it in butter and add cream. Yuuummmmm! And guess what?!?! I'm pretty sure all that butter and cream practically obliterates any of the health benefits from eating Kale. But I can still tell myself that It's good for me. And believe me, I will. We ate this with a giant salad, all from the CSA and our garden, and Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin.


Mmm Kale.


Swiss Chard from the garden.


Me choppin' up some tasty onion, Kale and Chard before, Kale and Chard during, Kale and Chard, the end.


Creamed Kale and Swiss Chard
1 Tbs. Butter
1. Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Small Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1 bunch of Kale, washed and torn into pieces
1 bunch of Swiss Chard, washed and torn into pieces
1/2-1 Cup Whole Milk or Cream
1 Tbsp. Flour
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Heat butter and oil in a pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add onion and cook until soft, 4-5 minutes. After the onion has softened, add garlic and cook for 30 seconds to release some of the flavor. In batches, add the kale and chard to the pan and, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour and the cream to keep lumps from forming when you mix with the greens. After all the greens have cooked down, pour the cream mixture into the greens and stir. Let the creamed greens cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.