Smoked Garlic Fettucine Alfredo

Fettucine is a simple dish perfectly suited to being a quick and easy dinner. Don't have smoked garlic on hand? Use roasted garlic instead. Smoked or roasted, the garlic flavor in this easy dish is mellowed out and lush. Don't like garlic? Leave it out. No biggie.

Whether you smoke or roast your garlic, the prep is the same. Taking a whole head of garlic, cut the very top off the head, just exposing the meat of the garlic cloves. Wrap the bottom of the head with foil, leaving the cut surface exposed. Drizzle olive oil over the surface and either pop into the smoker along with whatever else you're smoking that day or into the oven with whatever you're roasting that day. Simple!

Now about that fettucine. I didn't use the traditional fettucine noodle because I didn't have the gluten-free version on hand. Just about any good noodle or pasta shape works well. Come on, it's the rich and creamy, cheesy and buttery sauce that's the star of this show. Along with smoked garlic, of course!

Smoked Garlic Fettucine Alfredo

• 1 pound fettucini noodles or other pasta - I used penne (gluten-free, of course) - cooked al dente and drained
• 4 T unsalted butter
• 1 C heavy cream
• 1 head smoked (or roasted) garlic (see method below)
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 C freshly grated parmesan - use the GOOD stuff!

Squeeze the soft smoked (or roasted) garlic from the head of garlic into a small bowl. Add the salt and pepper and use a fork to mash it all into a paste. Set aside.

In a saucepan, warm butter and cream together over low heat until the butter is melted. Add the garlic paste and whisk until combined. Let simmer gently while you cook the pasta.

When the pasta is done, drain well and pour it into a large bowl. Add half the parmesan, the sauce, and gently toss. Add the rest of the cheese and toss gently again.

Serve by itself with a green salad or topped with grilled chicken and portobello mushrooms.

Smoked or roasted garlic: Slice the top of a head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Wrap the bottom with foil, drizzle with olive oil. 

Smoke at 225 degrees (in your smoker) along with whatever else you're smoking at the time. I regularly smoke several meats, onions, tomatoes, garlic and other veggies for later use. I make the most of firing up the smoker! And I do several heads of garlic at a time. Wrap the heads in foil completely when done. Stores in the fridge for a week or so. Or you can separate the cloves and freeze in a small freezer bag.

or

In the oven, roast at 400 degrees about 20-30 minutes or until the center is soft. Wrap completely in foil until ready to use. Stores in the fridge for a week or so. Or you can separate the cloves and freeze in a small freezer bag.

Quick Shrimp & Penne With Bleu Cheese Vermouth Sauce

If you've heard the old saw that forbids the combination of fish or seafood with cheese, this is one recipe that dispels that misguided advice. Lets be real, there are loads of dishes that ignore that rule including Sole Romano or Flounder with Parmesan Crumbs; Lobster Mac n Cheese; Shrimp, Crab & Scallop Alfredo; or even good old fashioned tuna casserole. So go ahead, it's perfectly delicious to cheese up your fish with abandon!

Quick Shrimp & Penne

With Bleu Cheese Vermouth Sauce

Serves 2

• 12 jumbo shrimp, tails removed, deveined
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 4 T dry white vermouth
• 4 T half and half
• 4 T bleu cheese, crumbled
• 2 small green onions, sliced across - reserve 1 T of the green bits for garnish
• lots of fresh ground black pepper
• freshly shaved parmesan cheese for finishing
• 2 C cooked penne

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes - stir, but do not brown. Once the garlic has softened, add the shrimp. Cook until just pink on both sides. Remove just the shrimp to a plate and set aside.

Add green onions to the oil, garlic and red pepper in the skillet, then add vermouth. Stir up all the good stuff from the bottom of the pan. Add the half & half and stir again; add bleu cheese and stir until smooth. Season with pepper.

Plate the penne in two shallow bowls (to hold all that creamy, cheesy sauce), then divide the shrimp and sauce between them. Garnish with green onion and shaved parm. Add a green salad and dinner is ready in minutes!

NOTE: This really is a quickie recipe...as long as you have cooked pasta on hand, and I did. 

Pro Tip: Cook that whole box of pasta even if you only need part of it, and freeze what's left for fast future dinners (just be sure to cook it only to the al dente stage before freezing in 2 C portions). 

A Christmas Pickle Story

Did anyone else happen to glance at the calendar and exclaim, "Holy schneikes! Next week is Christmas?!" Well, I did. Luckily, I just came from a visit with the Pittsburgh Pickle brothers. What's that got to do with Christmas? You DO know about the Christmas pickle, don't you? Let me tell you the story....

Legend has it that Germans hid a pickle deep  within their Christmas trees. On Christmas morning, the first child to spot the pickle got an extra present and the first grownup to spot it would have good luck for the new year. Does pickle spotting sound a little bogus to you? Your cynicism is well founded. 

Research reveals that's something the German never did...not one German can be found to substantiate the story. Yet, the Christmas tale - and tradition - continues right here in America. You can even buy glass pickle ornaments for your very own tree at the Heinz History Center! 

Here's my theory. Germans and Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh and Heinz; Heinz and pickles; pickles and Heinz History Center. Full circle! Of course, Heinz pickles are made right here in Pittsburgh, right? Wrong! They moved that function out of Pittsburgh long ago. So who keeps the pickle homefires burning here in the 'Burgh? Well, the Pittsburgh Pickle Company, of course!

The Patterson brothers (John, Will, and Joe who also own the Beerhive), last year founded their pickle business after having made pickles for use in their Strip District hotspot. The pickles were a hit, customers wanted to buy the long green spears to take home, and a spinoff business was born. And let's face it, the brothers not only know a thing or two about pickles, they have good business bones - one brother is a CPA and another an accountant.

Come one, let's take a little tour of the very hands-on pickling process at their facility in Verona. You can tell every jar is packed with not just pickles, but with love.

You can't have dill pickles without dill.

You especially can't have pickles without cucumbers...crates and crates of the green beauties!

Cucumbers, pre-pickling, washed and in waiting. Buckets of them!

Sliced by hand, trimmed by hand, made by hand...gloved, of course.

What goes in the best garlicky dill pickles? Garlic and dill. LOTS of it in every jar. 

And cucumbers...

On go the lids, then into the water bath they go.

After a nice long pickle-hot-tub spa session, the jars come out of the bath, are cooled down quickly and await the appropriate label for the variety of pickle within. This day it was the Dill-Mill variety (kind of sounds like "steel mill" pronounced in yinzer speak), the kind with extra dill and garlic. On other days, it might be the original Pittsburgh style dill that's a little sweet, too. Or maybe their newest, Fire & Smoke, that gets its dark and smoky color from the addition of a whole dried chipotle chile in every jar. The color reminds me of what the night sky above the steel mills used to look like. 

One WHOLE chipotle goes into every jar!

In fact, the entire pickle lineup is inspired by the very real, gritty, hardworking people of our city's industrial (and industrious!) past. You might even say the Patterson brothers embody that very same spirit.  



The brothers generously handed me a trio of jars - one of each variety - as I left after a long, productive morning. And I had plans for those colorful jars of pickles...especially for the Fire & Smoke ones. 

I couldn't wait to make one spicy, smoky Bloody Mary. You can tell by the first pic (at the top of the page) that I didn't wait for long. My Fire & Smoke Bloody Mary doesn't even have hot sauce...the smoky, chipotle pickle juice (and just a smidge of Mike's Hot Honey) gave my favorite brunch cocktail that kind of slow, sweet heat that creeps into quite a gentle warmth. 

Fire & Smoke Pickle Juice Bloody Mary

• 8 oz V8 original - I use high fiber V8 for a healthy morning drink!
• 2 oz Pittsburgh Pickle Fire & Smoke pickle juice - drained from the jar of pickles
• 1/2 t celery salt
• 1/2 oz Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
• just a drizzle of Mike's Hot Honey - check Amazon...amazing stuff
• 3 oz vodka - I use Pittsburgh's own Boyd & Blair
• a lemon wheel
• a nice long Fire & Smoke pickle

Stir all ingredients except for the lemon wheel and the pickle spear together in a cocktail tin. Pour over ice in a nice tall glass and garnish with the lemon wheel and pickle spear. Merry Christmas!

 If you're having a big group of guests over for brunch, John shared the Beerhive's recipe for a nice big batch of Bloodies:

Pittsburgh Pickle Big Batch Bloody Marys

• 46 oz can of tomato juice
• 3 oz lemon juice
• 3 oz lime juice
• 2 t fresh minced garlic
• 1 oz Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T horseradish
• 1.5 t sriracha
• 1.5 t salt
• 1 t black pepper
• 1 Pittsburgh Pickle Company pickle spear for garnish

Mix all but the pickle (of course) in a large container. For each drink, pour desired amount of vodka into a glass, add the mix, add ice, and add the pickle spear. Enjoy.

On Christmas morning (next week...eek!), I hope you're lucky enough to find a pickle in your tree and even luckier to find a jar of Pittsburgh Pickle Company pickles!

3 Potato Gratin With Rosemary, Parm and Gouda

You know how the experts say we first eat with our eyes? Here's a dish that's as delicious to those baby blues (or browns or hazels....) as it is to the palate. Three varieties of potatoes - Japanese sweet potatoes, Garnet sweet potatoes, and Yukon golds, fresh rosemary and garlic infused cream, melty gouda and sharp and tangy real parmigiano reggiano all meld together in the oven to become one satisfying and comforting side dish to delight both company and family.


If you have the time, arrange the potatoes into stripes like I did for a recent dinner. If there isn't time for that nonsense, just jumble up the potatoes and get on with it! Without further adieu, here's the recipe.

3 Potato Gratin With Rosemary, Parm and Gouda

• 2 Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (I used the slicing blade of my food processor for ALL the potatoes to cut prep time)
• 2 garnet sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 C heavy cream
• 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 C)
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with the flat side of a knife blade
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 C gouda cheese, shredded
• 1/2 C Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter a large gratin dish or a large, shallow baking dish. 

In a medium, heavy bottomed pot, combine cream, garlic and rosemary and bring the mixture to a simmer; simmer for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and set aside while you assemble the dish.

To make it the pretty, striped way, arrange the potatoes in alternate stripes in the dish; to make it the easy way, just toss the potatoes together as you peel and slice them and it will still be pretty...win/win!

Potatoes arranged the pretty way...the whitest potatoes are the Japanese sweet potatoes!

Make a layer of potatoes, sprinkle with gouda, salt & pepper. Make another layer of potatoes, sprinkle with parm and pepper (parm is salty, so I don't use salt on the parm layers), make a third layer, sprinkle with pepper and parm and then pour the cream mixture through a strainer over the top of the potatoes. The strainer keeps the big chunks of garlic and rosemary pieces from going into the casserole.

Bake at 400 for half an hour. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees, cover the dish with foil and bake until browned and tender all the way through and the cream has been absorbed by the potatoes - maybe another half an hour. Remove foil and serve. Don't be surprised if you're asked to make this ALL the time!

Smoked Citrus, Cumin & Garlic Turkey Breast

Here's a heads up for ya, folks. Think of this as one of those big yellow "Work Zone Ahead" signs on the turnpike. Only this one would say "BBQ Overload Ahead." Yep, that's what happens when you get a new smoker. Well, that and BIG silly sauce stained smiles on the faces of neighbors and family from all that smoky deliciousness!

One of the BEST things about smoking is how easy it is...I think of it almost as the crockpot of summer cooking. Really. Seriously!  A little simple prep, throw it in the smoker with soaked wood chips of choice, check the internal temp of the protein on occasion and pull it out when it registers what you're looking for. Boom! If you put some fresh ears of corn in there at the same time, maybe even some par-boiled potatoes, mushrooms and/or tomatoes, you have an entire meal at once. 

Although the ease is one reason for my smoking enthusiasm, the crazy BBQ flavor is the deal sealer for me. Don't have a smoker? You can use a smoker box in your gas or charcoal grill. Don't want to invest in an expensive smoker? Do what we did around here. For $40 we initially bought an electric column type smoker at Home Depot that we used for years! After that, the same type - only a charcoal model from Lowe's - was our baby for another few years. That one was a whopping $50! Bottom line here is that you can get in on the ground floor of smoking for almost peanuts.

Okay, enough talking about smoking. Let's get goin' and get on the road to the recipe!

Smoked Citrus Cumin Garlic Turkey Breast

• a 2-3 lb boneless, skinless fresh turkey breast
• a quart bowl of smoker wood chips, soaked in water for at least an hour before putting the turkey in the smoker - I used a combo of apple and hickory chips

Citrus, Cumin & Garlic Butter:

• zest of 1 lime, 1 Meyer (or regular) lemon, 1/2 an orange (zest the orange BEFORE cutting in half)
• 1 t cumin
• 1 large garlic clove, pressed or minced finely
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• 3 T soft butter
• 1/2 T kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Baste:

• juice of 1/2 the lime, 1/2 the Meyer lemon and the WHOLE orange
• 1 t cumin
• 1 t oregano
• 1 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1 T honey
• 2 T olive oil

A few hours before you start smoking (or the day before), butterfly the turkey breast. 

Laying the breast longitudinally in front of you on a cutting board, make a shallow cut down the center being sure not to cut through to the bottom. Next place your knife inside that cut and cut horizontally towards the left of the breast being careful not to cut all the way through. Do the same on the right side and open the breast up, laying it flat. 

Spread or pat the prepared butter in the center, leaving plenty of butter-less space around the edges. You want to keep the butter inside the breast as it cooks. Roll the buttered turkey breast from one side to the other and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the turkey breast 1-2 hours (or even overnight) and take out an hour before you want to put it in the smoker.

Turkey breast butterflied open and spread with Citrus Cumin Garlic Butter

Prepare your smoker and bring it up to 225 degrees. Once it's at temp, place the turkey breast in the smoker, inserting a cooking thermometer into the center of the breast (my smoker came with a probe built in - convenient!). Smoke to an internal temp of 165 degrees basting occasionally with the basting liquid throughout the smoking time. When the probe registers 165, remove and let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing thinly. And enjoy!

NOTE: Once you start smoking, you may never have to buy expensive lunch meats again. Leftovers make fantastic sandwiches and salads! In fact, my next post will feature a recipe for leftover smoked brisket...stay tuned.

Artichoke, Mushroom, Chicken, Red Pepper & Feta Pasta Bake

Idea #372 under "400 Uses For A Rotisserie Chicken." Okay, I made that up. I haven't begun to get that far in my list of things to do with a rotisserie chicken...although, if my memory were sharp enough, it might be darn close!

This one is actually a Quickie, because the definition of a rotisserie chicken is practically instant dinner...the first night when you bring it home for a quick dinner and the multiple iterations of the leftovers, too.

Fortunately, I happened to have a few roasted red peppers from the weekend's grilled veggies and some extra baby portobellos, too. If you don't have grilled or roasted red peppers on hand or fresh mushrooms, canned and jarred is just fine. In fact, it would be even speedier. 

Once all the veggies were cooked and everything was warmed through, I simply mixed the veggies with cooked pasta, crumbled some feta in too, seasoned everything well and poured it all in the casserole dish. Into the oven for a spin and BOOM! Dinner. 

This one is easy and ready to delight the family in the blink of an eye. Okay, I made that part up, too. Not quite a blink of an eye, but pretty darned fast!

Artichoke, Mushroom, Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Pasta Bake

• 1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked & drained (use gluten-free pasta to make this GF)
• 2 C rotisserie chicken breast, torn into large pieces
• 1 T butter
• 1T olive oil
• 12 medium-large baby portobello mushrooms, stems removed & discarded, caps sliced 1/2" thick
• 1 C roasted red peppers, jarred is fine - cut into 1" squares
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 12 oz jar marinated artichokes, drained (I REALLY like the tang of the artichokes with the creaminess of the cheese!)
• 1 T butter
• 1 t dried oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• 6 oz feta, broken into large crumbles
• Pecorino Romano cheese, just a little freshly shredded to finish the dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a shallow casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a skillet, melt butter and olive oil. Add sliced mushrooms and garlic; cook until mushrooms begin to wilt down. Add the red peppers and drained artichokes to the skillet and mix well. Let everything warm before adding the chicken to the skillet, too. 

In a large bowl, mix cooked pasta and the contents of the skillet. Add the additional tablespoon of butter, the oregano, salt & pepper and feta. Mix gently and thoroughly. Pour into prepared casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes, grate a little pecorino romano over the top and bake another 15 minutes until the grated cheese is melted. Serve with a green salad.

NOTE: One half of the full chicken breast made 2 C...those Costco rotisserie chickens are HUGE! We'd already enjoyed the thighs and wings the first night, just used half of the breast meat for this casserole...you know what that means, don't you? Chicken salad for lunch tomorrow! Mmmmm.

Also, I kept the veggie and chicken pieces large because penne is a larger pasta. If you choose to use a smaller pasta, feel free to cut the chicken and veggies smaller. Proportion!

Roasted Chicken With Sumac, Lemon, Garlic and Thyme

Our shy and elusive spring made another welcome appearance last Saturday here in Pittsburgh. How to celebrate the sun's reemergence from what seemed like an eternity of cloud cover over the city? A trip to the Strip District, of course!

I'd been thinking of making a Middle Eastern inspired Sunday roast chicken for a couple of months now, but needed a few items from Labad's (or Penzey's) to actually bring the dish from idea to reality. Somehow, crappy weather seemed to stalk an endless string of Saturdays, which caused me to huddle at home instead of braving the cold and wind of Penn Avenue. Call me chicken. I can live with it.

It may have taken an inordinate amount of time to finally roast that bird, but I can tell you the wait was worth it. The siren smell wafting from my kitchen of roasting chicken, garlic, lemon, exotic spice and honey was alone worth the drive to the Strip. But, the juicy succulence and deep flavor of that bird all by itself would have been worth dodging any winds and snow the winter could have tossed my way...yes, it was THAT good.

Do yourself a favor, don't waste your time waiting for perfect weather to gather up whatever ingredients you might not have on hand. Make the trip to the Strip now! You'll thank me later.

Roasted Chicken With Sumac, 

Lemon, Garlic and Thyme

• a 5-6 pound roasting chicken (or thereabouts)

• 1 T Sumac (get it at Penzey's or Labad's in the Strip or order it online)
• 1 t thyme
• 1 T Kosher salt
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed or minced finely
• 1 lemon, zested, then juiced - juice reserved
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1 T honey (helps to brown the bird beautifully!)

• the reserved juice from above
• 1/2 C water

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees - you read that right. This technique browns the bird quickly on the outside, yet keeps it juicy on the inside.

Combine sumac, thyme, salt, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, pepper and honey to a paste. Loosen the skin on the breast of the chicken by gently running a couple of fingers between the skin and the flesh of the bird being careful not to tear the skin. Rub 1/3 of the spice paste between the skin and the flesh of the breast and rub the rest all over the outside of the bird including legs and wings. 

Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and pour the lemon juice and water in the bottom of the pan.

Roast the chicken until the legs wiggle freely in the sockets, the juices run clear, and its perfectly browned. (Or until thermometer reads 165 degrees at the thickest part of the breast - AND is beautifully browned.)

Roasted carrots and sugar snap peas made quick and easy side dishes, too. Enjoy! (And enjoy this gorgeous spring weather...finally. We earned it!)

Uber Umami Porcini Pork Chops

Even though the taste of umami was identified relatively recently, great chefs have been instinctively working with it almost forever. More potent than your common, ordinary food tastes, 'umami' definitely pushes the boundaries of everyday taste sensations. 

When I started working on my pork chop rub/paste, I didn't set out to produce an 'umami bomb." Just so happens, that's exactly what resulted! What's an umami bomb? A dish that's built of almost (or completely) umami ingredients. 

Let's back up here. I guess your first question is, "What IS umami anyway?" In addition to the tastes of sweet, salty, bitter and sour, it's a savory flavor. Think of the taste sensation you get from meats, especially pork and beef. To take it a step further, especially the flavor of cured or smoked meats. Not just meats, however...fish and seafood are rich in umami, the earthy taste of mushrooms, cheeses - particularly Parmesan, feta and blue veined varieties and even vegetables such as asparagus and garlic come into play, too. 

Fermentation produces vinegars, soy sauce and fish sauce that have double the wham with more than one umami trigger - fish sauce has both fish AND is fermented, Worcestershire sauce is also fermented and contains anchovies. Enough background. Just how did umami favors result in a totally delightful dish?

As I said above, I started with pork chops - umami already. There were dried porcini mushrooms in the cabinet so I put those in my spice grinder with black peppercorns and a few Szechuan peppercorns - whirrrr whirrrrr - porcini peppercorn dust. Next I added tamari, balsamic vinegar and garlic, mixed them into a paste, rubbed the chops and let them marinate overnight. 

Once grilled the next day, the flavors were deep, dark, rich, mysterious and intense. Total umami success! 

Uber Umami Porcini Pork Chops

• 1/4 C dried porcini mushrooms
• 12 black peppercorns
• 5 Szechuan peppercorns

• 1 T granulated garlic
• 2 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced finely
• 1 T wheat-free Tamari or soy sauce (I use wheat-free Tamari to make this gluten free)
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 2 T roasted peanut oil
• 1 T agave
• a sprinkling of Porcini & Salt  - a finishing salt that's mixture of sea salt, porcini mushrooms and herbs (I get mine at Gourmet Delights) to finish!

• 4 nice, thick bone-in pork chops - I like center cut loin chops

Start martinating these the night before for maximum umami-ness or 4 hours in a pinch.

In a spice grinder, buzz the dried mushrooms and the black and Szechuan peppercorns together to a dust. Transfer to a medium bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the pork chops) to the porcini peppercorn dust and mix to a well-combined paste, then evenly coat both sides of the pork chops with ALL of the paste.  Put the chops into a zip top plastic bag, squeeze out all the air, seal and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, grill the chops and serve with a sprinkle of Porcini & Salt for extra porcini - AND umami - emphasis!

NOTE: This was one of the last dishes I got to make for Mark, who gave it a highly enthusiastic thumbs up and a request for me to make them again SOON. We both thought they'd be pretty amazing smoked!

The One, The Only...True Blue Maryland Crab, Artichoke And Jalapeno Dip Pizza

A couple of weeks ago, a Facebook picture of a pizza grabbed me by the heart and made me miss my Maryland days big time! Pizza? Maryland? What's the connection? It was CRAB DIP pizza! Be still my pitter-pattering little mourning-being-near-the-best-crabs-in-the-country, Maryland-missing heart.

I'm not sure exactly who or what page I follow posted the pizza of my dreams, but I'm going to blame Steve Vilnit, Director of Fisheries Marketing - Maryland Department of Natural Resources - for the temptation. Yep, Steve gets the blame...er...credit...if for no other reason than we are as one when it comes to supporting the Maryland crab industry. 

You all know I've forever been an ardent supporter of authentic, honest-to-God, sweet, succulent, Maryland blue crabmeat and I wouldn't use anything else. Not exactly easy when you live this far inland from the beautiful Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore of Maryland now, is it?

Except. That I had one last beautiful pound of REAL Maryland jumbo lump crabmeat stashed away in the freezer just waiting to become something spectacular. THIS was just what it was waiting for, THIS glorious Maryland recipe. I was going to duplicate sweet, creamy, decadent crab-dip-on-a-crust just like in the picture AND I could make it gluten-free to boot.

The big bonus of topping a store bought pizza crust with crab dip - even after piling the mixture of Maryland crab, 3 cheeses, marinated artichokes, jalapeno and just a touch of garlic up nice and high - is that there is a whole lot left over to scoop into a casserole dish for dipping with big, crunchy hunks of bread the next day (or later in the evening if you can't wait that long). What's better than a night of crab? TWO nights of crab! Oh sure, you could make half a recipe, but why would you? More Maryland crab is always better.

When you get to Maryland next time (notice I said when, not if), do like I do and make a local fresh seafood market the very last stop of your own trip. Be sure to take a cooler with you just for the purpose of bringing back pounds of heavenly, real Maryland crabmeat to tuck away in your own freezer. I can guarantee your fishmonger (crabmonger?) will be happy to fill your cooler with enough ice to keep your precious cargo cold. After all, one should always be prepared anytime a crab emergency strikes.

True Blue Maryland Crab, Artichoke

 And Jalapeno Dip Pizza

• 1 pound MARYLAND jumbo lump crabmeat, picked through carefully for any shell or cartiledge - please don't break up those gorgeous big lumps, thank you.
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened well
• 1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar, plus extra for top
• 1/2 C shredded mozzarella
• juice of one lemon
• 2 - 4 oz. jars of marinated artichokes, drained, reserve liquid - you'll use 2-4 T reserved liquid 
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
• 1/4 C mayonnaise - yes, Hellman's
• 1 large clove garlic, pressed through your garlic press
• 1 store-bought pizza crust - I used an Udi's Gluten-Free Pizza Crust to make this GF. The Udi's crust is approx. 8" in diameter. Use whatever crust you like - Boboli, whatever floats your boat!

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat the mayo and cream cheese together with lemon juice. Add the shredded cheeses and fold those into the cream cheese mixture. Add artichokes, minced jalapeno, garlic and mix well, but gently. Last, gently and lovingly fold the crab into the mixture being careful to keep the lumps as whole as possible.

Place your pizza crust onto a baking sheet. Place scoops of crab dip on top - I used a large (approx. 1/2 C) ice cream scoop - and for the 8" crust used 4-5 scoops that I spread out evenly (don't break up the lumps!) all the way out to the edge of the crust. Sprinkle the extra shredded cheddar over all.

Any crab dip that might be left (you'll use more if you use a larger diameter crust), scoop into a buttered casserole dish. Either bake it immediately with the pizza or cover and refrigerate it for the next night.

Bake about 20 minutes, turn up the oven to 450 degrees and bake until the cheese starts to bubble and slightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before cutting into wedges. Enjoy!

NOTE: Enjoying the surf and sand of Ocean City? Bring back Maryland crab. Sailing the waters of Annapolis or St. Michaels? Bring back Maryland crab. Hitting the hot spots of Baltimore's Fells Point? You get the idea.

And while you're in Maryland, be sure to frequent restaurants and fresh seafood stores that carry and serve only Maryland crab. Here's a link to the True Blue Maryland program and a list of awesome places to get your Maryland crab fix!  http://seafood.maryland.gov/true-blue-maryland-crab-meat/

Look for this logo to know you're buying the best!

My Very Own Ideal Vodka Infusion For Just My Kind Bloody Mary...Spicy!

Bloody Mary brunches are anything but boring...especially when you start with one helluva vodka infusion. Last week a vacationing friend Facebook tagged me on his local beach bar picture of a vodka infusion. Does Greg know me or what?!

The picture was of a clear, spigoted and lidded glass crock that sat behind the bar. It wasn't immediately discernible what exactly was in the colorful mixture of red, dark green and light green vegetative objects bobbing in what I assumed (confirmed) was vodka. I mistook some of the lighter green spikes for Kosher dill pickle spears. Nope, Greg said...just various shades and types of hot peppers. Which got me to thinking. What would I put into my ideal Bloody Mary vodka infusion? I got to work.

Although that glass crock in the pic was beautiful, I already had a perfectly good large French canning jar that would work just fine for my experimental batch. Dark green jalapenos, bright red serranos and pale green long peppers went into the jar first. I like lots of pepper in a brunchtime Bloody so black peppercorns went in, followed by lots of lemon to brighten up the spiciness, garlic for zip, and yes, zesty Kosher dill pickle spears all made the cut. What an infusion! 

Would this mad mixture work in my leisurely Sunday brunch Bloody Mary? Would it work in a vodka martini? YES!

Here's how to start your own homemade Bloody Mary vodka infusion experiment. Be warned, this one is HOT! Adjust the number and types of peppers to your own personal heat tolerance. I did!

Hot Pepper Horseradish Garlic Black Peppercorn Lemon Dill Vodka 

For Bloody Marys

• 750 ml bottle of vodka - use your fave....with this much ooph being added, you won't be tasting the vodka anyway!
• 6 strips of fresh horseradish root, peeled - use your wide harp-style veggie peeler and cut strips about 3" wide and 4" long
• 4 zesty dill pickle spears - your favorite brand
• 2 dozen black peppercorns 
• 1 long pepper, cut in half lengthwise from the bottom almost to the top - leave the halves connected below the stem
• 2 red serranos, cut the same as above
• 1 large green jalapeno, cut the same as above
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat side of a knife
• 3 strips of lemon peel - NO white pith at all - each about 3" long and 1" wide

Into a jar with a lid large enough to hold everything, add all the solids to the jar and top off with the bottle of vodka. Try to submerge the everything as best you can.

Refrigerate the jar, agitating once a day, for a week. The color will become a beautifully rich yellow and pack quite a punch! Decant the infused vodka by pouring the contents through a large strainer over a bowl with a pouring spout. Press the veggies against the strainer to get out all that precious vodka!

Pour the liquid into a pretty bottle, cap and refrigerate.

The Bloody

• 3 oz. of the vodka infusion
• 8 oz. Original V8 (I use low sodium V8 and add my own salt)
• Kosher salt to taste 

In a 16 oz. glass, combine all the ingredients, add ice to top, stir gently and enjoy! 

NOTE:  I kept the Bloody Mary recipe simple - why muddy the pure flavors of the vodka infusion when I'd gone to such lengths to perfect it? You can add whatever floats your boat and makes your very own Bloody Mary the best you've ever had, JUST the way YOU like it. Worchestershire? Go for it. More lemon or even lime? Why not? Anchovies? Let those little fishies swim in a sea of vodka and tomato! Make it YOUR way!