Joey's Awesome Salad Dressing

You might need to add more or less depending on the size of your salad. I don't like to drown my veggies.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of white rice vinegar
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons of A1 steak sauce
1 tablespoon of jalapeño mustard (spicy brown will do if you don't have it)
1 squirt of Sriracha Hot Sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk in a bowl
(Yes I am being a smart-ass)

In case you were wondering what I put in the salad:

Fresh spinach leaves
Red peppers
Onions
Feta cheese
Croûtons
For this particular dressing - london broil works really well, but chicken is good too.

Deep Dish Pizza

In honor of this week's trip to Chicago, here is a recipe for Deep Dish Pizza

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 green or red pepper (2 x 1/4 inch strips)
1 medium onion, thin sliced
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. thinly sliced pepperoni
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. basil flakes or 1 tablespoon fresh, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tube refrigerated pizza crust (or you can make your own or buy some from your local pizzeria)
3/4 cup pizza sauce (or make your own, which I highly suggest)
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1 pkg. (8 oz.) shredded Mozzarella
olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to hot 425°F.
2. Remove casings from sausage and crumble into large heavy skillet. Brown over medium heat, stirring often until meat is no longer pink. Drain on paper towels, pouring off excess fat.
3. In the same pan, sauté peppers and onions in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms, pepperoni, basil, oregano and black pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes. If the mixture seems too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons water.
4. Unroll the pizza dough and place in a well seasoned 9-10 inch cast iron skillet, stretching dough slightly to fit up sides about 1 inch. Roll pointed corners under or cut off and reroll to make a small pizza.
5. ay down some olive oil on the dough, and then add the cheese as the bottom layer.
6. Then add the sausage
7. Then the vegetables
8. Spread the sauce over the top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes (depends on your oven) or until edges of crust are browned and cheese is bubbly.

Grilled Eggplant Burgers

(This will make anywhere from 12-18 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

2 Medium sized egg plants that are pretty wide (as wide as a hamburger)

RELISH
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 red onion (small) diced
1 sweet onion (small) diced
2 roasted tomatoes (just put them on the grill for three minutes on each side, medium heat) diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

CHEESE TOPPING
6 oz ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix the relish ingredients together
2. Mix the cheese topping ingredients together (really whip the ricotta in a bowl, it becomes easier to work with)
3. Cut the eggplant in rounds about 1/2 inch in width. Discard the smaller tops (you want something close to the diameter of a hamburger - a little smaller is okay)
4. Grill the eggplant 3-4 minutes on each side on medium-low heat.
5. Add the cheese topping then the relish. Serve on a plate or in a nice round roll.

Roy's Hot Chocolate Souffle

Since I wasn't home the entire week, I didn't do much cooking. However, while out to dinner, Roy's kindly shared their Souffle recipe.

(Serves 4)
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. semi-sweet dark chocolate
12 tbsp. butter
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
soufflé rings

DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix sugar and cornstarch
2. Have eggs and yolks mixed together in a separate bowl.
3. In a saucepan, bring butter to a simmer. Add chocolate and mix until smooth. Continue mixing until chocolate begins to simmer along the edges.
4. Add the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
5. Add eggs and mix at low speed until smooth and sugar is dissolved.
6. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate overnight.
7. On the next day pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Take out the souffle rings and line with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.
8. Place each ring on a square of parchment paper and then on a baking sheet. Fill the ring 2/3rds with the chocolate mix.
9. Bake for 30 minutes.
10. Take out the baking sheet, lift rings with tongs and get underneath with metal spatula to transfer to a plate.
11. Lift mold and remove parchment paper.
12. Serve immediately with ice-cream