Leftovers? What Leftovers?

First off, let me apologize for my blogging hiatus. Yes, I am still alive :) Sometimes the cooking gets in the way of the blogging! That and an extended Easter weekend in Houston. Here's my sister and brother and law at the Gingerman in Rice Village being silly- fun times had by all!

Anyway, Easter was a pretty simple affair this year. Hash brown casserole, seared asparagus, grilled pineapple, and of course, ham. We like to get the huge ham for our small gatherings and then fight over the leftovers (I get as much as I can for new meals, and my brother in law Brian wants to get as many ham sandwiches out of it as possible). I came away with a pretty sizable bag of ham, which I happily dreamed up recipes for on my drive back to Austin.

First up, two massive Hawaiian pizzas after a long night of tennis. Thanks to my mom for buying a second pineapple so I could make this beauty!

Hawaiian Pizza

2 regular crust pizza doughs
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups munster cheese
4 cups ham, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups pineapple, diced

Roll out pizza dough on two large baking sheets. Spread 1/2 cup sauce over each pie, then sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Place 2 cups ham and 2 cups pineapple on each pie and bake about 18 minutes until the crust is golden. Enjoy!

Take two was a comforting fettuccine recipe with crisp asparagus- we all scarfed it down!

Ham and Asparagus Fettuccine

24 ounces dry fettuccine
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup milk
1 cup gruyere cheese
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends snapped off and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups ham, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch scallions, diced
8 fresh basil leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh mint, minced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Place a large pot of water to boil, salt and add fettuccine. While fettuccine cooks, melt butter in a medium sauce pan, whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in milk and cook over medium low heat until milk thickens, about 8 minutes. Stir in gruyere and set aside. Drain fettuccine.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add oil and saute asparagus about 5 minutes. Add ham and warm, then remove pan from heat. Add fettuccine, cheese sauce and salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine. Top with scallions, fresh herbs and parmesan cheese and toss. Serve and enjoy!

Chicken and Veggie Pesto Toss

I got some great Texas cilantro at the store and thought up this nice, light dinner for a weeknight meal. Since I always have oil, garlic, and lime juice on hand, my ingredient list was actually pretty short at the grocery store!

Chicken and Veggie Pesto Toss

1 1/2 pound small russet potatoes, sliced into 1-inch pieces
2 zucchini, sliced into 1-inch pieces
2 yellow squash, sliced into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound chicken breasts, pounded 1 inch thick
2 leeks, sliced
Pesto
2 cloves garlic, lighty roasted
1/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place potato slices on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place zucchini and squash slices on a separate baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast both at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

While vegetables cook, season chicken with salt and pepper and grill on medium-high heat about 6 minutes on each side, until juices run clear. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes then slice.

Saute sliced leeks in a bit of olive oil on medium-low heat about 5 minutes.

To make pesto, combine first 5 ingredients in a food processor and pulse. Add cilantro and pulse until combined. Streat in olive oil until you gain desired consistency. Since this will be used as a "sauce," your pesto should be thinner than usual.

Mango Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad, but I try to mix things up every time I make it. We just did a mango testing at work for some recipes coming up, which inspired me to try dried mango in my chicken salad- the result was surprisingly refreshing and tangy!

Mango Chicken Salad

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 package dried mango, diced
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
3/4 cup light mayo
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Buns for serving (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate at least one hour or preferably overnight. Add more or less mayo depending on your preferred chicken salad consistency.

Mushroom and Asparagus Tarts

This month's Bon Appetit was really fabulous. I made a vow to work more with puff pasty, and voila! They had the most delicious looking recipe. I made a few tweaks based on what I had in the fridge, but it was a really tasty spring treat.

Mushroom and Asparagus Tarts

2 sheets frozen puff pasty, thawed
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 leek, rinsed and sliced
12 ounces baby portabello mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound asparagus spears, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
Zest from 1 lemon
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Roll out pastry sheets and cut into 6 squares each and place on a baking sheet. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and leeks and saute 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and salt and pepper and cook additional 3 to 5 minutes. Place mushroom mixture in a bowl and refrigerate about 15 minutes. Toss in asparagus spears, lemon and cheese.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place mushroom asparagus mixture on each pastry square, leaving a 1/2 inch border on each. Bake tarts 20 to 22 minutes, rotating halfway through cooking time.

Proscuitto Goat Cheese Pizza

The creaminess of the goat cheese is the perfect counter to the saltiness of the prosciutto on this pizza. I added the sun dried tomatoes for the benefit of my roommate Rachel who loves them, but they really elevated this pizza. Finally, I had a leek in my fridge, and its gentle, garlicky flavor was just the subtle hint this pizza needed.

Prosciutto Goat Cheese Pizza

1 package pizza dough
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sliced leeks
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1/3 pound prosciutto, sliced and lightly pan fried
3 ounces chevre, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Roll out pizza dough and spread tomato sauce over it. Heat a small skillet on medium heat and melt butter. Saute leeks, garlic and spinach for 2 or 3 minutes. Spread over pizza. top with sun dried tomatoes, prosciutto and chevre and season with salt and pepper. Cook in a 425 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until crust is golden.

SXSW Food & Wine Blogger Bash

This week Austin is aflutter with music fans for South by Southwest. Before all the music fun began, however, the interactive portion of the festival occured. I was lucky enough to get on the invite list for the Food & Wine Blogger Bash hosted by Austin 360 and Go Texan at Whole Foods Market.

There was a fun selection of Texas wines and beers. I try to support local wineries and breweries so I'd tried most of them. I was pleasantly surprised by a viognier from McPherson vineyards in Lubbock, TX. It was light and sweet, without being TOO sweet. i'll definitely be picking up a bottle.

The best part was getting to see all of my local food blogger pals and meeting a few new ones! Here's me and Rachel from The Friendly Kitchen. Also, my friend and coworker Emily recently started a blog, Cooking Inside the Lines, and got to meet my blogger buddies as well. There's always great food and conversation to be had when we all get together- certainly looking forward to our next event!

Here's Emily enjoying Herb Stuffed Flounder, which chef Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due demonstrated for us. We were also lucky enough to see a demo from Tyson Cole of Uchi.

Be sure to check out Addie Broyles' recap of the event which has a great 2 minute video as well.

We got a pretty nifty swag bag as we left the event. My favorite thing from the bag has to be these Whole Foods Cinnamon Coated Pecans. I swear these things are addictive! Sweet and salty- half the can is gone now :)

Feasting at Fino

Local Austin foodies were invited to visit Fino for our second Blogger Happy Hour (first was at Uchi). Although the event was a little early for my taste (5 p.m. is hard to do on a work day) it had a great turn out. I was immediately greated with a cocktail, which perked me right up.

Had a great conversation with Beth of Texas Locavore and Lissa of This is Life in Austin with the head chef, Emmett Fox. He was really friendly and also knowledgeable about the source of all his ingredients, which is always refreshing.

Speaking of refreshing, I wanted to share a fantastic cocktail we enjoyed. My favorite by far was the Bee Sting which included 42 Below Honey Vodka, Black Pepper Syrup, Lemon-Orange Juice, and a Sauza Blanco Tequila Rinsed Glass. I loved the black pepper in the drink, which was a new experience for me and overall just really surprising.

Out of the food we tried, my favorite hands-down was the Fried Goat Cheese with Onion Jam & Honey. Unfortunately I scarfed it down before taking a picture, but I'm sure you can imagine the deliciousness for yourself :)