The first recipe, Ham Brie Pizza, was one of our favorites for the year (**YUM) and we ended up making this recipe several times before beginning to grow tired of it. It is actually the only recipe we tried from the 50 Easy Pizzas recipes published in Food Network magazine. The link starts you with how to make their pizza dough; however, we actually cheated and simply made this on pita bread or flour tortilla shells or any other dough-like item that can serve as a pizza base. So take whatever "dough" you want to use and then:
Top with 2 ounces sliced ham, 3 ounces sliced brie and 1/2 thinly sliced green apple. Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until golden.
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It should be no surprise that this second recipe was success since it came from one of my favorite cookbooks The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Like the first recipe we also made this recipe several times during peak summer veggie season. It is good with several different varieties of summer squash including zucchini and Korean squash and rates a YUM** as a tasty way to turn squash into an entrée (after all it does involve using béchamel!).
Zucchini Stuffed with Ham and Cheese**
(Serves:6)
- 8-10 fresh zucchini
- 1 Tbsp butter + more to prepare baking dish
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp onion - chopped fine
- 1/4 lb boiled un-smoked ham - chopped fine
- Salt
- Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
- Béchamel Sauce, prepared as directed, using 1 cup milk, 2 Tbsp butter, 1 1/2 Tbsp flour, 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Nutmeg
- 1 egg
- Unflavored bread crumbs lightly toasted
Soak and clean the zucchini. Bring 3 to 4 quarts water to a boil, put in the zucchini, and cook until partly tender, still somewhat resistant when prodded with a fork. Drain, and as soon as they are cool enough for you to handle, cut off both ends, cut each zucchini into 2 shorter pieces, then cut each piece lengthwise in half. Using a teaspoon, gently scoop out the zucchini flesh, taking care not to break the skin, Discard half the scooped out flesh, and coarsely chop the other half. Set both the chopped flesh and the hollowed zucchini aside.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Put the butter, oil, and onion in a skillet, turn on the heat to medium, and sauté the onion just until it becomes translucent. Add the chopped ham, and cook it for about 1 minute, stirring once or twice. Add the chopped zucchini flesh, turning it to coat it well, and turn the heat up to high. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the zucchini becomes colored a rich gold and acquires a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper, stir quickly once or twice, then transfer the contents of the skittle to a small bowl, using a slotted spoon or spatula.
Prepare the béchamel (see below), cooking it long enough to make it rather thick. Pour the béchamel into the bowl with the sautéed zucchini flesh, mix, then add the grated Parmesan, a tiny grating of nutmeg (about 1/8 teaspoon), and the egg, and mix quickly until you obtain a uniform blend of all the ingredients.
Smear the bottom of the baking dish with butter. place the hollowed out zucchini in the dish, skin side facing down. Fill each with the béchamel and zucchini flesh mixture, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and dot with butter.
Place the dish on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a light golden crust forms on top. After taking the dish out of the oven, allow it to settle for 5 to 10 minutes before bringing it to the table.
Making the Béchamel Sauce
Put the milk in a saucepan, turn on the heat to medium low, and bring the milk just to the verge of boiling, to the point when it begins to form a ring of small, pearly bubbles. While heating the milk, put the butter in a heavy-bottomed, 4- to 6- cup saucepan, and turn on the heat to low. When the butter has melted completely, add all the flour, stirring it in with a wooden spoon. Cook, while stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Do not allow the flour to become colored. Remove from heat.
Add the hot milk to the flour-and-butter mixture, no more than 2 tablespoons of it at a time. Stir steadily and thoroughly. As soon as the first 2 tablespoons of milk have been incorporated into the mixture, add 2 more, and continue to stir. Repeat this procedure until you have added 1/2 cup milk; you can now put in the rest of the milk 1/2 cup at a time, stirring steadfastly, until all the milk has been smoothly amalgamated with the flour and butter.
Place the pan over low heat, add the salt, and cook, stirring without interruption, until the sauce is as dense as thick cream. To make it even thicker, should a recipe require it, cook and stir a little longer. For a thinner sauce, cook it a little less. If you find any lumps forming, dissolve them by beating the sauce rapidly with a whisk.
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