Pace Pepper Pineapple Pizza

The other day, I received a nice little package courtesy of the Tastemaker Program from Foodbuzz. Inside the package were two free 8oz bottle samples of Pace Picante Sauce.

You know...that stuff that compared itself to other stuff that's made in New York City. Here's a refresher. Remember this commercial?

"NEW YORK CITY?!" -- Imagine me as a child running around yelling that over and over annoying those around me. Oh yeah...Those were the days. Ha!

Now I used to eat up straight with some tortilla chips and nachos. But I found an alternative to use pace as a base for pizza. It's got tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, onions among it's ingredients. I do like that that is has chunks of the ingredients in them. You can see the sauce trying to escape from the layer of cheese. It's not just good as a dip, but as an added flavor to you favorite foods. It's actually got me craving for some nachos right about now. Oooo... I think I know what I'm making this weekend.

Pace Pepper Pineapple Pizza

1 premade pizza dough
1/3 c mild Pace Picante Sauce
2 c shredded cheddar
1 small red bell pepper - seeded, remove wax bits and sliced into strips
1/4 c pineapple tidbits drained of juice
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400˚F

Roll out the pizza dough onto a baking sheet. Perforate the dough with a fork all over to help for even baking.

Spread evenly the Pace Picante Sauce, leaving room for the crust. Then sprinkle the shredded cheddar over and place the pineapple tidbits and bell pepper sliced accordingly.

Brush the edge of the dough with a little extra virgin olive oil to help bring a nice brown crust.

Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and crust has browned.

Best served warm.

Production Eats No. 40

Friday, I worked on The Middle once again. This time on Warner Brothers Ranch in Burbank, not to be confused the main Warner Brothers Studios. Anyway... Same faces I've worked with on the previous days. By this point we all knew each other's name. Ha. At least most of us. So lunch comes around and I ponder what good eats catering will be coming up with today. I was pretty impressed with the selection they had give us on previous days. After the cast and crew got their shares it was time for the background to feast.

from Top right of burrito: Some avocado sliced, Mexican rice, pineapple slices, 

chile rellenos and some salad.

I perked up a little when I saw the chile relleno. That's a first I've seen that on a set. Kudos to the catering guys on this set. A little bummed that they ran out of fish. I so wanted the fish, but that's what I get when I stand near the end of the line. There was also torilla soup and tamales from what I saw.

Inside the burrito: Some chicken fajita, pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream on a large tortilla.

Apparently, I need to practice my burrito folding skills because mine kept falling all over my plate. Ha! I also added some of the mexican rice into it. Mmmm... They also had the choice of steak fajita, too. I stuck with the chicken since there wasn't any fish left. It looks like a blobby mess in the pic, but it was good. With a few dashes of tobasco and I'm good to go.

Of course the choco cookie and brownie. I did go back for a rice crispy treat though, I needed some sugar to keep me going into the night.  There was also cake and pie and ice cream.

Production Eats No. 39

What as week this has been. Long tiring days, but with some delicious eats on set. Plus, I had a good book and some writing I got done, so I didn't mind one bit. This week I worked on the show The Middle. Monday tuesday Wednesday. Met some new people, stayed away from some eccentric ones and kept to myself when I need some "Me time"

Day 1

Some salad with some balsamic vinaigrette pieces of stir-fry tofu, broiled potatoes, pasta in cream sauce with some veggies, some salmon.

The pasta reminded me a little of pot pie, which I've been wanting to make. The salmon was nice and tender with a little herb sauce on top or I think it was some herb sauce. Could be a thin tar tar sauce.

Chocolate chip cookie and a nice piece of brownie and a piece of bread with butter.

There was ice cream, cake, rice crispies treats also. ...For anyone who wanted. I was content with the cookie and brownie.

Day 2

From top right: Salad with some pieces of fresh mozzarella and tomato. Penne pasta in red sauce, scallopped potatoes. Fish fillet, some veggies and a few wedges of pineapple.

I'm trying to figure out the fix. It could have been halibut or whitefish. I liked the scalloped potatoes. I love the portions near the edge of the pan and the crispy top. Mmmm...

For dessert: chocolate chip cookie with melted toffee, brownie and a dinner roll and a little packet of tapatio. 

They did have pie and ice cream and rice crispies, but by the time I got to the dessert area the pie was gone. Darn!

Day 3

Top left: Salad with a little vinaigrette, some plaices of honeydew, a dinner roll, some steak fries, lasagna stuffed large shells, fish, some cauliflower.

I loved the steak fries and I think so did everyone else, who I saw go back for seconds and maybe even thirds. Hehe

For dessert: a lone cookie.

Sidenote: that morning while breakfast was being served they had chicken wings!!! That's a first that I've seen that. Aside from the traditional breakfast items. Seriously chicken wings at 9:30am. It was something I couldn't pass up. Made a little chicken sandwich with my biscuit and a dash of syrup. Brings to mind the whole chicken and waffles deal. :)

Rummage through the Fridge Pizza

I'm still here. I've just been a bit busy as I'm in the final phase of post-production on my short film that I had I shot last summer. It's my pet project at the moment and so it's keeping me busy. Apologies for not being able to comment as much as I used to. But trust me when I say that I've been reading/bookmarking your blogs during my down times.

Anyway...pizza. What's not to love about it, right? Easy to make with basically any ingredient found in your fridge. Perfect for those leftovers you have lying around in the fridge. It's one of those "I still have leftovers from holidays that I need to eat up so I can start cooking fresh again" I use up the last bits of honey-baked ham. I had some shrimp in the freezer that I nearly forgot about and an avocado that's been begging to be eaten for the past week. Good thing I made a fresh bath of pizza dough a couple weeks before that's safely tucked away in the freezer, so it was an easy decision in terms of what I could make with them. Besides, who wouldn't love a delicious yummy pizza. This is almost like a Hawaiian-pizza with a little added pizzaz from the shrimp and avocado.

Happy eating!

Shrimp, Ham, Pineapple. Avocado Pizza

1 premade or homemadepizza dough

10 medium shrimp (cleaned and shelled) - rough chopped

1/4 c pineapple tidbits (drained of juices)

1/4 c Honey-Baked ham pieces

1 small ripe avodado (sliced or diced)

1 1/3 c shredded mozzarella 

2 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp Paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 c tomato sauce

extra virgin olive oil


Preheat your oven to 400˚F

In a small bowl, toss the chopped shrimp with the paprika, salt and pepper, and 1 tsp lemon juice. Set aside.

Roll out the pizza dough onto a baking sheet. Poke the dough with a fork all over and brush the edges with some extra virgin olive oil. Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the dough, then the cheese, followed by the shrimp, pineapple, and ham. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes. 2-3 minutes before removing, carefully add the avocado. Baked for another 3 minutes. then remove and slice.

Serve warm.

Production Eats No. 38

First production eats of the year and we got some deliciousness up in here. Worked on the show Parenthood. I wasn't a busy day, but it seemed long. I guess it's because of the all the sitting. Small stuff here and there. 

Top clockwise: a chocolate chip cookie, a sugar cookie, some cous cous salad, rice, potato wedges, stir-fry tofu, fish and tartar sauce, a dinner roll.

I haven't had this catering company before. I as actually surprised that they had tofu as one of the main dishes served rather than sitting out in the salad bar. Kind of hilarious when people inspect is and grumble at the thought or even at the sight of tofu in their midst. It funny really. The fish was nice and tender, which was complimented well with the tartar sauce. 

The cookies were deliciously yummy. 

Shrimp and Lobster Bisque

Here is the other dish that I had cooked up for my Media Noche meal. Shrimp and Lobster bisque. A good way to bring in the new year with some yummlicious soup. It does a body good. I wasn't sure how to make bisque of any kind. Again I didn't want to fuss too much in the kitchen. I searched the interweb and found several recipes from simple to elaborate to some had that many  ingredients. So what I did was nix and match to my own preference and the result was a delicious taste shrimpy and lobster soup. This one is definitely a keep.

Shrimp and Lobster Bisque

1 Large Lobster Tail or 1 c cooked lobster meat (chunks)
1/2 lb shrimp with shell and devained
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch (dissolved in 1 Tbsp water)
3 Tbsp fine chopped fresh parsley (Plus extra for garnish)
1 Bay leaf
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Worchestshire Sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 small onion - fine chopped
6 c water (to make broth)

Place the six cups of water in pot and bring to a boil.

Remove the shells from the shrimp and the lobster and set the meat aside. Place the shells into the pot of water and let the rolling boil for a good 30 minutes to get the delicious flavors out. Then remove the shells and set the broth aside.

Give the shrimp a rough chop. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onions and saute for 3-5 minutes. Add the lobster meat and the shrimp and cook over medium to low heat for 3- minutes or until the meat has a nice pink and white texture. Stir constantly to avoid bringing.

 Add the evaporated milk and tomato paste. Again stirring constantly. Season with some salt and pepper.

Add the mixture into the broth. Add the cornstarch. Keep stirring. until the soup has combined and slightly thickened. Add bay leaf, worchestshire sauce and paprika.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Best serve fresh and warm.

Oven-Steamed Meatballs

Alrighty, first recipe of the new year. This is by far my favorite way to cook meatballs. It's better than frying, where the meat shrinks and it absorbs a lot of the oil. These babies don't lose their shape and size and is deliciously juicy. 


You can serve them up as is or in a bowl of marinara or red sauce. (As pictured in the last photo) Or make a tasty sandwich. I made this same recipe once the year before at exactly the same time. The meatballs once seasoned is placed in a pan with some water and tightly sealed and baked. It steams the meat inside the pan. It's baked once more without the foil covering to brown the top. The neat thing about it is all the fat that comes out. Juicy and tender is what you get and a nice batch of broth to use for soup. These are great as appetizers, too. Just make them small like the size of a golf ball. I made these half the size of an orange. Well...if you see the little grapes in the photo and compare sizes. Yeah... :) My mom took some of the leftover meatballs and mixed them into a sweet and sour sauce. It was delicious!


Makes 24 medium to large meatballs.

Oven-Steamed Meatballs 

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
salt
pepper
2 Tbsp paprika
1 small onion - fine chopped
1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
lukewarm water


Preheat oven to 350˚F

Combine thoroughly the ground beef, pork, paprika, onion, worchestershire sauce in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the mixture into 24 balls and place on a 2-4 inch deep oven pan. Pour water 1/4 inch deep into the pan completely covering the bottom. Cover the pan with foil crimping the edges to tightly seal it.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove the balls from the pan and serve with spaghetti or as an appetizer or in a sandwich.

2011 is here!!!

I hope you all had a good celebration to ring in the new year. A new year means new beginnings. 
A clean slate. I hope that it will surely be a good one for everyone. 

Delicious yum yums for my first meal of the year. Media noche meaning midnight meal. A bit of a tradition in the Philippines along with fireworks being set off in the streets. For this new year's meal, I made lobster and shrimp bisque as well as meatballs. I'll be posting the recipe for this in the next couple of days. So stay tuned for that. My mom made some spaghetti and we still had some leftover honeybaked ham and embutido, so we had some of that, too. As well as some tiramisu that we had gotten from Olive Garden. I love the way they make it. Dessert was one thing I wasn't really prepared to make. It was a quiet simple celebration except when my mom and I were running around the house yelling "HAPPY NEW YEAR." I think the neighbors would forgive us for this one night. 

Here's to prosperity, good healthy, and lots of yummy deliciousness to come.