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• 2 ears of corn
• 2 links of sausage, crumbled
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2-3/4 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 lb orzo
• shaved parmesean reggiano to garnish

Shave the corn kernels from the ears and saute in butter over med-high heat until cooked through. Remove.

Saute sausage in a small amount of olive oil over high heat until browned and almost cooked through. Remove and add to corn.

Add shallots to saute pan (add a bit more oil if necessary) and saute until transparent and wilted.  Add jalapeno pepper and garlic and cook over lower heat for about a minute.

Turn heat up and add white wine.  Reduce and add tomato sauce, corn and sausage.  Continue cooking over low heat until orzo is ready.

Cook orzo according to package instructions until just under al dente.  Drain and add to saute pan with a bit of the cooking water if the sauce looks like it could uses some liquid.  Cook for another minute or so until orzo is al dente.

Top with shaved parm and parsley.

After the long awaited move to Brooklyn, we made it over to the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket last weekend.  I was hoping to find ramps for a pizza, but they are out of season so we picked up wild onion and garlic shoots instead.  We also found some incredible manchego cheese and homemade sausage.  Sunday night we did the pizza (recipe below) and last night we made some very tasty orzo with the leftovers (recipe to follow).

Sausage Pizza with Wild Onion and Garlic Shoots:

• 4 sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and chopped
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce or chopped canned tomatoes
• finely chopped wild onion (you can use all of the bulb and as much of the greens as you wish)
• finely chopped garlic shoots
• fresh pizza dough (recipe below)
• shredded young manchego cheese

Saute sausage over med-high heat until nicely browned and almost cooked through.  Remove and add onion and garlic to the saute pan.  Saute until transparent and wilted and remove.

Roll out dough and start with a very thin layer of tomato sauce.  Add sausage, cheese and onion/garlic mixture.

Bake on a pizza stone at 500 degrees until dough is cooked through and cheese is nice and bubbly.

Pizza Dough:

• 3 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup warm water (between 95 and 115 degrees F)
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2-3 T honey
• 1 t salt
• ¼ cup olive oil

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl.  Add honey once yeast has been dissolved.
2. Add 1 cup flour to large bowl and mix in yeast/water mixture with wooden spoon.  Continue to add flour to bowl until a ball begins to form.
3. Transfer ball onto floured surface and begin kneading and incorporating flour until the ball no longer sticks to your hands.
4. Add ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and set aside in a warm, draft-free area.
5. After about 45 minutes, the dough should have doubled in size.  Punch down the dough, so it deflates.
6. Cut the dough into thirds, cover again and let it sit for another hour.
7. Roll out dough into a nice even circle and transfer to a pizza slider.

• 1 lb spaghetti (cooked until almost al dente)
• 4-5 strips of bacon or pancetta, chopped
• 1 bunch of ramps, bulbs and leaves chopped separately
• 1-2 jalepeno peppers, chopped
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup cream
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of chives, chopped

Saute bacon or pancetta in deep saute pan until nicely browned.  Remove and add the chopped bulbs of the ramps and jalepeno peppers.  Saute for about 5-7 minutes until the ramps are transparent.

Add white wine and reduce.  Add cream, bacon and spaghetti and cook until pasta is al dente.

Garnish with chives and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 head roasted garlic
• 3 chipotle peppers
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 poblano peppers, chopped
• 2 jalepeno peppers, chopped
• 1 cup carnitas (see recipe below)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Cilantro

In a medium stock pot, blend garlic and chipotle peppers in chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer. This is the liquid used to cook the rice.

Saute onion and tomato paste over med-high heat until the onion is translucent.

Add rice and saute for a minute or so.  Add wine and reduce.  Add about 3/4 cup of stock at a time and reduce until the rice is al dente.

Meanwhile saute peppers over high heat for a couple minutes so they are partially cooked but still have some bite.

Fold cheese, peppers, and carnitas into the risotto and top with cilantro.

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Quasi-Carnitas:

• 1 lb pork ribs, butt or shoulder (boneless chops work well), cubed
• 1-2 Mexican beers
• Chicken stock and/or water
• Bay leaves
• Whole dried red chili peppers
• Few tablespoons cumin, chili powder and any other Mexican spices you like

1. Brown the cubed pork in olive oil.

2. Add all other ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat until the pork is cooked through.

3. Remove, let pork cool and shred.