Personal Pita Pizzas

Pizza is the ultimate open-faced food.  Half the pleasure of a good pizza is seeing the bubbling cheesy goodness come out of the oven and onto your dinner table.  It's almost impossible to make an ugly pizza.  If there's one out there, we haven't seen it.  Pita pizza is exactly as simple as it sounds... all the toppings you know and love piled high on a slice of pita bread and baked in the oven until warm and golden.  

As with all the open-faced recipes this month, you can take the pizza toppings in any direction you desire.  The recipe below calls for tried and true classics, but there are a number of variations we'd liked to try... roasted veggie with sausage and goat cheese, rotisserie chicken with BBQ sauce and cheddar jack, pepperoni and mushroom...  You name it.  Served with a generous helping of fresh greens and something sweet for dessert, this is a simple meal that you can easily add to your list of quick-cooking favorites.

Turkey Sausage and Mushroom Pita Pizzas
Makes 40 personal pita pizzas



(40) 6" round loaves (slices) of good-quality pita bread*
1 cup extra virgin olive oil for brushing
10 cups (80oz) good-quality pizza sauce
2 lbs mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 lbs Italian turkey sausage, loose**
6 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced in paper-thin slices
5 lbs shredded mozzarella cheese 
16 oz grated Parmesan cheese
2 bunches basil, stemmed and cut into thin strips
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Arrange pita breads on several sheet pans.  Lightly brush the top sides of the pita with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake pita in the oven for 3-5 minutes until lightly toasted.  (Don't overcook at this point as the pita will get baked again with the pizza toppings.)

Remove warm pita from oven.  Spread a generous layer of pizza sauce on each pita.  Top with  mushrooms, sausage, sliced tomato, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Return pitas to oven and bake until cheese has fully melted and pizzas have begun to lightly brown.

Remove pizzas from oven, sprinkle with fresh basil and serve immediately.  

*For a great pita bread, try Chicago local favorite Sanabel Bakery.  Whole wheat and white flour variations are both available at Stanley's.   They are also available at Whole Foods, though the price is higher.

**We call ahead to the Whole Foods meat counter and request an order of freshly ground Italian turkey sausage.  We usually ask for the seasonings to be "half-sweet and half-spicy".  Be sure to let them know you're serving a community shelter meal and inquire about the 3lb bulk sausage discount that is occasionally available.  



Romaine Salad with Greek Dressing

Serves 36

• 6 hearts of Romaine, sliced into 1/2" strips
• 3 cups sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips
• 4 cucumbers, seeded and diced
• 12-16 oz Greek-style vinaigrette (Stanley's carries a good one)
• 12 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 loaf flavorful bakery bread for croutons (try Rosemary Olive Oil or Roasted Garlic)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Slice romaine hearts against the direction of the leaves to get 1/2" thin ribbons.  Soak chopped lettuce in cool water and drain well in a colander. 

If using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, place tomatoes in a colander or sieve and allow them to drain well.  If using dry tomatoes, soak in several cups of hot water to rehydrate and then drain them well.  Using a kitchen shears or paring knife, slice tomatoes into thin strips.

Cube the bread loaf into 1/2" squares and place squares in a small roasting pan.  Toss bread with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.   Roast croutons in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes until crisp.  Allow to cool.

About ten minutes before serving, toss lettuce with sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers, vinaigrette and feta cheese.  Season well with sea salt and freshly grated pepper.   Just before serving, top salad with croutons.  Serve immediately.



Strawberries and Cream
For dessert, serve 8lbs whole strawberries, freshly washed in a large bowl, and accompanied by one gallon of vanilla bean ice cream to lightly top the berries.

Ham & Egg Toasty Breakfast Muffins

For detailed origins of the McMuffin, you can visit the topic at Wikipedia.  For details of an open-faced rendition that's just as tasty, you can visit the recipe below!  We didn't serve hash browns alongside given the heft of these breakfast sandwiches, but they certainly would have been delicious and well-received.  In a slight departure from the other open-faced recipes of the month, here's one where we suggest sticking to the toppings as described simply because they turned out just right.  Cooking the components as described was enough work for a (groggy) team of three in about an hour.  If you have more hands, you can knock out that side of hash browns no problem.


HAM & EGG TOASTY BREAKFAST MUFFINS
Makes 80 open-faced sandwiches for approximately 40 servings


40 English Muffins each split in half horizontally (we used whole wheat with good results)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil for brushing
80 round slices of Canadian bacon
72 eggs (18-count cage-free organic brown eggs are available at Costco for a great price)
80 sandwich-sized slices of good-quality real cheddar cheese (also available in the Costco cheese cases)
3 lbs vine-ripe tomatoes,  thinly sliced
3 bunches scallions, washed, trimmed and sliced into very thin rounds
sea salt and freshly ground pepper



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Preheat grill top to med-high heat. 


Crack half the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk until whites and yolks have been scrambled.  Crack the remaining eggs into a separate bowl and whisk again.  Divide the scallions between the two bowls and season each batch with salt and pepper.  Using a basting brush and olive oil, lightly oil the entire surface of two XL sheets pans.  If you're not using commercial-sized pans, you may have to divide the eggs into thirds.   Carefully pour out the egg mixture onto the sheet pans.  Using two people and extreme care, transfer the egg pans to the hot oven.  Bake the eggs until just firm, being careful not to overcook.  Allow eggs to cool slightly and slice into squares.  You should have one square for each sandwich (or 80 squares).


While eggs are cooking, lightly oil the preheated grill top.  Arrange the Canadian bacon slices in a single layer and grill until lightly browned on both sides.   Set aside.


Slice the tomatoes and set aside.  You should have one generous slice or two smaller slices per sandwich.

Arrange English muffin halves, cut side up, on several sheet pans.  Lightly brush the top sides of the muffins with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Top each muffin with an eqq square, a slice of Canadian bacon, sliced tomato and cheese, always finishing with the cheese on top.  Return sandwiches to the oven and bake until cheese has melted and sandwiches have become lightly toasted.  Keep warm until ready to serve or serve immediately. 




Fresh Fruit and Juice
Serve 4lbs of fresh halved strawberries on the side along with (6) half-gallons of orange juice. 

Jambon Formage Tartines....What?

The open-faced French sandwich known as the tartine may sound sophisticated, but it happens to be the fastest method we know to produce dinner-worthy sandwiches for a crowd.  With an assembly line of halved baguettes and whatever fillings you desire, you can prepare 20 linear feet of tartine in no time flat.  Accompanied by a hearty salad and a platter of fruit, it's a lovely, light summer dinner.

The jambon formage tartine is an open-faced ham and cheese sandwich made more interesting by the additions of cured ham and fig jam. The recipe we adapted from Gourmet magazine calls for Manchego cheese, but we improvised with a classic Swiss for reasons of economy.  Fig spread is commonly found alongside the jams and preserves or next to the specialty cheese case in a well-stocked grocery store. The unique flavor is perfect with ham and makes this sandwich something special.  For the main ingredient, we found culatello (a close cousin of proscuitto) in the deli case at Costco and made the splurge, but a good quality, thinly shaved ham would make a fine substitute, as well.  

JAMBONE FORMAGE TARTINES

Makes 48 large sandwiches

• (24) 4" long demi-baguettes, split lengthwise (each half will make one tartine)*
• 16oz fig preserves 
• 1 lb (4 quarters) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 60 oz thinly sliced serrano, proscuitto, culatello or good-quality deli ham
• 48 slices of good-quality swiss cheese
• extra-virgin olive for drizzling
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange halved baguettes, cut side up, on XL sheet pans.  

Combine butter and fig preserves in a mixing bowl and stir to combine.  Using a spatula, spread a generous layer of fig spread on the cut side of each baguette.  

Divide sliced ham and cheese evenly among the sandwiches (finishing with the cheese on top).  Prepare cheese sandwiches without ham for those who don't eat pork as required.  Drizzle each sandwich with olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  

Bake sandwiches for 10+ minutes or until cheese has melted and baguettes have become crispy at the edges.  Serve warm sandwiches immediately. 

*If you can't find demi-baguettes, you can easily substitute full-sized baguettes.  This is actually the more authentic way to make tartines.   Plan on a serving size of 4-6" per person per person depending on the girth of your bread. 

BLT SALAD

Serves 36 generously

• 6 hearts of Romaine, sliced into 1/2" thin strips
• 32 oz good-quality, nitrate-free bacon
• 2-3 lbs vine-ripened or farmer's market tomatoes, cut into eighths
• 16 oz blue cheese dressing
• 16 oz wedge of blue cheese, crumbled 
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 degees. 

Slice romaine hearts perpendicular to the leaves to get 1/2" thin ribbons.  Soak chopped lettuce in cool water until well washed and shake dry in a colander.  Slice tomatoes into eighths and drain off excess seeds and juice.  Break blue cheese into small crumbles and set aside.

Arrange bacon slices on a sheet pan with plenty of space between slices.  When oven is warm, cook bacon until just underdone.  Remove pan from oven and carefully pour off rendered bacon fat into a heat-safe bowl.  Return pan to oven and cook until bacon is very crisp being careful not to burn.  Remove bacon from pan and allow to rest on paper towel until cool to the touch.  Once cooled, break or roughly chop bacon into bite sized pieces.

About ten minutes before serving, toss lettuce with tomatoes, dressing and crumbled cheese.  Season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.   Just before serving, top salad with crumbled bacon, reserving a serving or two of salad as required for those who don't eat pork. Serve immediately.


FRESH FRUIT
For dessert, serve 8lbs whole strawberries, freshly washed on a large platter.  If cherries are available, 1-2 lbs of fresh cherries are also a welcome addition.

Thoughts for Food: The Open Face

There's something inherently casual about open-faced food that seems to marry well with summer.  The open-faced meal usually involves just a handful of ingredients, simply arrayed on top a slice of good bread and finished off with something melty that holds everything together.  Prolonged kitchen time and summer weather don't often mix comfortably, so a meal that comes together in just a few minutes under the broiler is bound to be welcomed by the cook.  In our experience, anything that emerges from the oven with crispy edges, warm centers and cheesy crusts is typically welcomed at the table, too.  Thus, June's recipes will follow suit-- all open-faced and all open to your own interpretation.  Because when you're open to things, there's no limit to what you can create at the community table.