Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Pesto Pizza

Perfect Pairing:  Leftover ingredients

Meet my new favorite pizza. 

So many good things on one crust!!  Admittedly, there is some prep work that goes into this because you are roasting squash and caramelizing onions.  I recommend doing big batches of each, and use them in other dishes.  Allow me to provide some ideas.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash Risotto

Autumn Salad

Kale, Butternut Squash, and Bacon Breakfast Burritos with Spicy Chipotle Sauce

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tahini Salad

Caramelized Onions

Caramelized Onion Dip

All Purpose Breakfast Casserole (squash would be delish in this too)

Customizable Bread Bowl Breakfast

I actually made this pizza because I had already planned on making Butternut Squash risotto, so I just roasted extra squash. 

You top premade crust with pesto.  Store-bought is just fine!  I had lots of homemade pesto for this recipe because my mom and I had just made 10+ batches for the freezer.  Her basil plant was legit out of control.  I buy 10 leaves of basil at the grocery store for $2 and she has a forest of the stuff.  I have zero sunshine and the opposite of a green thumb, so no chance of me growing any myself.

A generous layer of caramelized onions.

An adorable photobomber.

A layer of roasted squash.

Top with some cheese...

And bake!

So stinking good, my friends. 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Thanksgiving Menu

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grandma Rosie's Applesauce

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Apple Cake with Warm Caramel Sauce

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Tweet

Sweet Potato and Sausage Breakfast Hash

Perfect Pairing:  Eggs

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  I was lucky enough to spend it with loved ones.  Unfortunately, there was a lot, and I mean a lot, of rain throughout the weekend.  We definitely made the most of it and still had a great time.  It is all about the company!

There are so many good things about this recipe including sweet potatoes, sausage, caramelized onions, it is made ahead of time, and is versatile.  I figured out the versatile thing firsthand. 

The hash component is made the night before and stored in the refrigerator overnight, so it lends itself to quick prep in the morning.  I made this when I was home for Easter and the plan was to cook it for breakfast in a 9x13 baking dish in the oven.  When I woke up that morning I realized the ceiling fan had stopped, the clock was dark, and the house was very quiet.  The power was out and we did not know when it was coming back on.  Fortunately, my parents had already made coffee!

We moved to plan B and cooked the hash in a pan on the grill.  It was a happy accident because I loved the crispiness and grill flavor. 

 

The hash would be great as a breakfast/brunch side dish (actually, it would be good at any time of the day) but it is made into a complete meal by cracking eggs on top. 

I can’t say enough about this meal.  It was so good.  The combination of spicy sausage, sweet caramelized onions and sweet potatoes, and a slightly runny egg was divine.  I can’t wait to make this again! 

We only used a portion of the recipe in the skillet since it makes a large batch.  The leftovers were fabulous.  For the leftovers we cooked the hash and eggs in the oven in individual ramekins. 

Tweet

Caramelized Onion Dip

Perfect Pairing: Ruffles Potato Chips

I think most people have fond memories of the French onion dip made from a packet.  It is a staple at most Super Bowl parties and potlucks.  It is consistently tasty, especially if you have very limited time to whip something up.  This caramelized onion dip takes extra time but not much effort and is far superior to the packet stuff.

I absolutely adore caramelized onions.  They are so versatile and add a ton of flavor with not many calories.  Try putting them on a grilled cheese or on a homemade pizza.  I put them to good use in this Caramelized Onion, Fontina, and Prosciutto Flatbread.  

Caramelized onions are the star of this dip.  Admittedly, you do need to set aside some time to get the onions perfectly golden, but once they are in the pan you can pretty much ignore them aside from the occasional stir. 

You should know that this dip is also good as a spread on a sandwich.  Just saying.

The Perfect Pairing for Caramelized Onion Dip is the good ol’ Ruffles Potato Chip.  Some things never change.

Tweet

Caramelized Onion, Fontina, and Prosciutto Flatbread

Perfect Pairing: Great music

I struggled with the name of this recipe.  There is so much I want you to know about it!  In addition to the caramelized onion, fontina, and prosciutto there are chopped dates and a salad of fresh greens.  I could not figure out how to make all of those things fit in the title. 

I made this for a recent get together with my girlfriends.  We all loved it.  I look forward to those nights so much.  We always have so much to catch up on with each other’s lives.  There is never enough time to cover all of the topics.  I talked about our planning process in this post.  We always have a delicious spread, this night was no different.  We all end up hanging around my island and munching on the dishes.  By the end of the night it is a bit of a mess but you can tell we enjoyed ourselves!

I absolutely loved this flatbread.  It had the perfect combination of sweet and salty.  The salad on top adds a brightness that pairs nicely with the rich cheese and prosciutto.  I will definitely be making this again.

The Perfect Pairing for this flatbread is great music.  Great music is a must at any party, in my opinion.  My absolute favorite group right now is Mumford and Sons.  I think they are pretty well known, but I feel like I need to promote them to those folks who don’t know them yet.  I dare you to listen to them and not tap your toe.  When I hear Mumford and Sons I feel like I am in a pub in the Temple Bar district of Dublin.  Some of my favorite songs are listed below with YouTube links if you are interested in listening to them before committing to an iTunes purchase.

If you like Mumford and Sons you would probably also like the City and Colour album, Bring Me Your Love.  I ran across this group on Pandora and found myself “liking” their songs over and over.  They have a great laid back sound that is perfect for background party music.  Admittedly, their lyrics are pretty depressing so I suggest just focusing on the melody.  That is why it is perfect for background music!

One final favorite is Galway Girl by Mundy and Sharon Shannon.  This song was wildly popular when I was in Dublin a few years ago.  Just listening to it makes me want to go back to Ireland.  I was in Dublin for work and extended a few days to experience Dublin and the Cliffs of Moher.  I was ridiculously lucky with the weather at the cliffs (so I am told).  Check out that view.

Loved this guy on the streets of Dublin.

Mumford and Sons

Roll Away Your Stone

Little Lion Man

Sigh No More

Awake My Soul

The Cave

Who am I kidding??  The entire album is fantastic.

City and Colour

The Girl

Sleeping Sickness

Against the Grain

Tweet

Onion Jam

Perfect Pairing:  Grilled flank steak

Everyone is familiar with strawberry, grape, and raspberry jam.  The more adventurous eater may also be a fan of apple or even pepper jam, but what about onion jam?  Onion jam??  Oh yes my friend…. Embrace it.  This onion jam even has bacon. 

I made this recipe on Christmas for my family.  I don’t think everyone was sold when I told them what I was making, but when it came time for dinner, everyone loved it.  This jam is sweet from the sugar in the onions, apple cider, and brown sugar.  It has a savory depth to it from the bacon and thyme.  It is pretty much all around delicious.  Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to cook the onions down to a jam-like consistency.  I let them reduce for at least four hours. 

The Perfect Pairing for onion jam is grilled flank steak, which is how I served it on Christmas.  The flank steak was seasoned with salt and pepper, grilled until medium rare, and then thinly sliced.  Top off the slices with a good dollop of this jam and you have a true perfect pairing.  I admit that my serving may have had more jam than meat, and I was totally ok with that.  If you have some jam leftover serve it alongside some cheese and crackers.  We added our leftovers to a cheese tray the next day and it was the first thing gone from the buffet.

Tweet

Parmesan Pepper Lemon Biscuits

Perfect Pairing: Caramelized onions, prosciutto and arugula

Yesterday I wrote about the wonderful evening I recently had at Ravinia seeing the Gipsy Kings.  When I was creating the menu I wanted to include a sandwich but not your everyday turkey sandwich.  I think one of the most important parts of the sandwich is the bread, so that is where I focused my time and energy.  I found this biscuit recipe in a Food Network Star cookbook.

Tweet