Easy Peasy Pasta Sauce

Super easy.

I adapted this from a Mark Bittman recipe in How to Cook Everything. As an aside, if you don't have that cookbook, you should get it. It's fantastic.

It is HOT here in Texas. It is no time for elaborate meals that need to be baked in the oven for hours. Too. Hot. This sauce takes about 10 minutes, is very light and while you're making it, you can boil the pasta of your choice. We had chicken and cheese ravioli (pre-bought at Whole Foods). Add a salad - DONE.

3 medium garlic cloves, diced
Olive oil (about 3 tablespoons)
1 can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes.
Tomato paste
A pinch of Parmesan cheese.
Any other fresh Italian herbs of your choice.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and saute the garlic for a few minutes.
Drain the tomatoes most of the way, but not all - you'll want a little bit of juice
Add the tomatoes to the pan and squish down a little bit.
Stir in tomato paste and Parmesan to thicken up the sauce to your liking. The tomato paste also adds a nice bit of flavor, I think.
Add more olive oil or salt if desired.

Serve over your favorite pasta. Yum!

Pizza with Figs, Prosciutto, Gorgonzola , Balsamic and Arugula

From Epicurious.com

Fresh, peppery greens add important vitamins and phytochemicals to a crisp homemade pizza.

Ingredients:
Cornmeal (for sprinkling)
1 packaged pizza dough

2 cups (about 8 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola
6 small fresh figs, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 tablespoons fig balsamic vinegar, divided
8 thin slices of prosciutto
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 cups arugula

Changes I made:
I used Whole Foods Gluten Free Frozen Pizza Crust - thawed and ready to cook.
I cut some of the Gorgonzola and subbed some Parmesan and some asiago (this was from the comments on the recipe and also because I had some on hand)
I used regular balsamic because 'fig balsamic?' Please Epicurious.
I also didn't have a lot of arugula, so I used some mixed greens including red leaf lettuce, spinach and arugula.

Method:
Preheat oven to 450. Sprinkle large rimless baking sheet generously with cornmeal. Roll out dough on floured work surface to a 12x10 rectangle; transfer to prepared sheet. Sprinkle Gorgonzola over dough. Sprinkle with pepper. Place figs in a medium bowl. Drizzle 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar over. Set aside.

Bake pizza crust until golden brown on bottom: 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately drape prosciutto slices over, covering pizza completely. Arrange fig slices atop prosciutto. Bake until figs are just heated through, about 1-2 minutes.

Transfer pizza to cutting board. Whisk remaining vinegar and oil in large bowl; add arugula. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Mound salad atop pizza.

Cut into slices and serve.

My Take:
Just get a frozen pizza crust - it takes so much less time and pizza should be easy right?

I really enjoyed this pizza. It has lots of my favorite flavors in it. It seemed fancy and slightly more healthy with the figs and the greens. It's also a really pretty dish that I think would be a great starter or dish to bring to a party.

I made this while the husband was away because he is not a fan of blue cheese - more leftovers for me! My four year old (who, granted, is a cheese snob - she loves all kinds of rich, stinky cheeses) ate this without question and asked for seconds.

Recommended!

Welcome to Food + Photos

Hello and welcome to my personal photo side project: Food + Photos.

I am an Austin, Texas Wedding and Portrait Photographer by day (and night and weekend). You can find my main websites HERE and HERE. However, I also love cooking and food photography. Austin has an amazing food culture and I'd like to document recipes I try plus my visits to restaurants and farmer's markets.

This is also a way for me to brush up on my food photography technique.

I'll be documenting meals I make (hopefully at least weekly) and I'll always include the recipe too. I promise you won't just get the good stuff. I'll show you the failures too.

Away we go!