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• 2 links of Merguez lamb sausage, crumbled and sauteed in olive oil
• 2 baby leeks, cleaned, chopped and sauteed
• About 1.5-2 cups of grated fresh Asiago cheese (Asiago Pressato)
• 2 small ripe plumbs, sliced
• 1 cup pureed tomato sauce
• Pizza Dough

Prepare all ingredients and have ready near grill. (See below — this is crucial because you have to move fast in assembling the pizza after grilling one side)

Roll out pizza dough, brush one side lightly with olive oil and place that side down on grill over direct, high heat.  Once the dough has some nice color, slide it off the grill onto a plate or board, brush the uncooked side with olive oil and flip over.

Place ingredients on cooked size of dough and slide back on grill.  Cover and cook until bottom is nicely grilled and cheese is melted.

(Makes 2 large pizzas)

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We do many variations of this burger once summer hits. The key is a nice balance of sweet, spicy & citrus flavors and a charcoal grill.

Serves: 2

Burger:

• 3/4 cup(s) bbq sauce
• 1/3 cup(s) tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes
• 3 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 1/3 cup(s) honey
• 2 beef patties
• 1 log of goat cheese, sliced
• 2 sesame buns

Spicy Slaw:

• 4 cup(s) thinly sliced cabbage
• 2/3 cup(s) blood orange vinegar
• 3/4 cup(s) mayo
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1. Start with the slaw, which can be made several hours ahead of time. Blend the vinegar, mayo, and chipotles, mix with cabbage and refrigerate until ready for use.

2. For the burger glaze, blend bbq sauce, tomatoes, chipotles, and honey. Season burger patties with salt and pepper and place over med-high heat on grill. As the burgers cook, paint with about 4 coats of the glaze.

3. Once they begin to approach desired doneness, move to indirect heat, add goat cheese and cover grill until cheese begins to melt.

4. Toast buns lightly and assemble burgers with spicy slaw.

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.