.sun-dried tomato, kalamata olive, and feta pizza.

Yes... we are cliche. We had heart-shaped pizzas on Valentine's Day.  I have been craving feta and kalamata olives the past week.  At the bakery, we used to make pizza as part of our lunch menu, in addition to salads, sandwiches, wraps, and soup.  This was by far my most favorite thing to eat.

The saltiness of the olives with the tanginess of the feta... nestled on baked dough and warmed garlic sauce?  Oh man.  Can you smell it?  (it's fantastic!!!)

Melt 3 Tbsp butter in a saucepan and add 1 clove minced garlic.  Saute for a minute.

Add 2 Tbsp flour and whisk.  Let the roux cook for a few minutes on low heat.  Keep stirring to keep from burning.

Add 1 1/2 cups milk and kick up the heat a little.  Make sure you whisk while adding the milk so you don't get lumps.  Keep stirring this and it will begin thickening.

The sauce needs to be slightly thicker than a gravy.  Season with salt and pepper and I even add a little parmesan cheese.

The main ingredients.  Feta (check!), kalamata olives (check!), and sun-dried tomatoes (check check!).

My tomatoes are julienned.  If yours aren't, you'll need to slice them up into thin strips.  Chop up some olives.  Make sure you get pitted olives otherwise you'll have to try and rip the flesh from the pit and chop up.  That's no fun.

Take your pizza dough and divide in half or in thirds.  Since my family doesn't really like this pizza (read: they hate olives), I made it smaller so it was all mine!  ALL MINE!!!

I formed my pizza into a heart shape.  Awwww... 

Spoon on some of the garlic sauce.  Top with the olives, tomatoes, and feta.  I also put a little parmesan and mozzarella on top.

As you can see I put a little sprinkle of cornmeal around on the pizza peel.  If you don't have a pizza peel, don't worry.  Just use a cookie sheet that doesn't have a lip.  You do want to use a pizza stone though.  You can find them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or if you know someone who sells Pampered Chef, get one of those!  They have a better warranty.

If you're using a stone, put it on the lowest rack in your oven about 30 minutes before you start rolling out your pizzas.  Turn your oven to 475* and let that stone heat up real good.  That's key for giving you a nice crispy and chewy crust.  Mm mm mm. 

Carefully shimmy the pizza onto the stone once it's hot.  Sometimes I have to use a pancake turner to push it off without losing all my toppings.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes.  The top will be nice and golden brown and your crust should be all puffy and beautiful.  Let sit for a few minutes before slicing and eating.

.greek steak.

Do you feel like you always make a dish a certain way over and over? I feel this way about steak. I always seem to get ribeye and we usually throw on some Montreal seasoning and grill it up.



I came across a recipe in one of those little food magazines you pick up by the register on your way out of the grocery store. The spinach and feta topping is quite delicious with juicy kalamata olives and tomatoes, and a kick of garlic.



I used frozen spinach. I've used both fresh and frozen and I prefer fresh, but this way is just as good when you're in a pinch and don't have fresh on hand. You'll need about 1/4 cup for two steaks. Thaw by running under cold water. Then wring all of the water out. Break apart the spinach clumps and set aside.



Seed and dice one roma tomato.



Chop one clove garlic.



Take some kalamata olives (I used 5-6) and remove the seeds if they aren't already seeded. Chop up and set aside.



Let your steaks sit out on the counter 30 minutes prior to grilling. This relaxes the meat and will help them cook evenly. Rub both sides of the steak with a garlic clove.



I'm breaking out of the montreal seasoning rut and using lemon pepper.



Rub it on both sides of the steaks.



Put on your bbq grill and cook to your desired doneness. We like our steaks medium rare. Let rest while we make the topping.



Heat some olive oil in a skillet and put in the garlic. Saute for 30 seconds. Don't let it burn!



Add the diced tomato. Cook for a minute or two. We don't want the tomatoes to get too soft so don't let them go too long in the pan.



After about a minute, add the spinach. Use a spoon to break it up even more so it distributes itself evenly.



Season with some fresh cracked pepper and sea salt.



Remove from the heat and grate in some fresh parmesan. Mix together.

Spoon some on the top of the steak. Sprinkle on some crumbled feta cheese and kalamata olives.

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_73ctgn83gf