Procrastinating

Today is December 13, Christmas is in 12 days. I have yet to order Christmas cards. I have yet to purchase, much less wrap, the vast majority of my gifts. Christmas cookies, candy and the like? Yeah right. As much as I try to pretend I'm not, I'm a procrastinator at heart. I've been that way since I was a child, maybe it's time to embrace it, or at least come to terms with it.

Seeing as I dropped the ball big time and never ordered any birth announcements, I knew I had to get on it and order photo cards for Christmas. Thank God for Shutterfly. They have such amazing products and at a great price too. Because I procrastinate, I've only ever ordered prints from them before. But there are a ton of things on their website I'd like to purchase. I always buy my Mom a calendar for Christmas, and can't wait to order her one from here next year. She'll love the pictures of her Grandchildren and I'll love the price!

This is the design we've decided on for the Christmas cards, just need to put the last photo in and hopefully they'll arrive before Christmas.

And while I'm ordering stuff on their site, maybe I should order Fiona's first b.day invitations. Maybe if I order them six months in advance they'll arrive on time! They have some super cute invitations, like this one or this one.

Shutterfly is running some amazing deals right now, perfect if you still need a couple of last minute gifts. Free shipping on products over $50, buy one get one 50% off on photo books & 20% off cards. But the best deal is over Wednesday, so hurry if you'd like to take advantage of this offer. Shutterfly is offering 50 free photocards when you blog about their products! What an amazing deal!

I'd Like To Thank....

It's been a week of firsts for this lil' blog - finally achieving my 100th post and my very first blog award, which I interpreted as "you mean someone really reads this and likes what I'm doing?!?!" Really though, I was nominated way back Kate for the Arte y Pico Award and since I just recently became aware of my nomination, I'm really late in my nominee choices. I guess better late than never right?

So here are my nominees for the next five winners of the Arte y Pico award, along with the rules and regulations.

Congratulations to my five nominees -

• Becke @ Columbus Foodie

• Joelen @ Joelen's Culinary Adventures

• Jan @ Jannypie's Craft Empire

• Erin @ Our Extra/Ordinary Life (who is also a super talented photographer too)

• Amanda @ Life Without Dragons

The fine print:

1.) Pick five (5) blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and for contributing to the blogging community, no matter the language.

2.) Each award needs to have the name of the author, as well as the link to her/his blog - so everyone can visit and offer congratulations!

3.) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name & link to the blog that has given her/him the award.

4.) All award-winners should link to the Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of the award.

Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Spinach.

Break out your party hats kids, it's my 100th post! Sadly it has taken me almost a year & a half to get this far. Sometimes life just gets in the way of cooking and blogging, not to mention sometimes we eat Chef Boyardee and that's just not blog worthy! The previous statement is a lie, I eat without shame Chef Boyardee - the husband refuses to touch the stuff. His loss in my opinion!

So to continue with this weeks love affair with the sun dried tomato, I tried my hand at a pasta dish. I knew I wanted to make a pesto out of the tomatoes, but my biggest decision of the week came down to should the pesto combine spinach and the tomatoes, or just tomatoes on their own. In the end I decided on just a tomato pesto, mainly because I wasn't sure the spinach would look good as part of the pesto sauce. Oh the places my thoughts take me........

I tried this time to measure things out as I went so it would be easier for others to make on their own. Some measurements are the way the way they are simply because that's all I had on hand. Luckily, pasta and pesto are very forgiving so add more or less of any ingredient as you see fit!

I haven't sent anything into Ruth's Presto Pasta Night for awhile now, so I'll send this recipe. This week's round-up is hosted by Judith of Think on It. Um... yeah, a pasta event hosted by a real Italian who lives Italy - talk about some pressure! Check in tomorrow for all the wonderful dishes sure to be submitted!


Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Spinach

1 lb. pasta of your choice (short shaped pasta tends to hold pesto better)
13 sun dried tomatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt& pepper
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 c. fresh basil, packed
Fresh spinach, several hand fulls, probably 6 c. worth
Parmesan cheese

1. To toast pine nuts, place in a 325 degree oven for about 3 minutes, or until they begin to change color. Remove nuts from the oven and let them cool to room temperature.

2. Boil water in a large pot & cook pasta, according to the package directions. Drain pasta and reserve about a cup of pasta water.

3. To make the pesto, in a food processor combine sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and salt until finely chopped. With the food processor running, slowly add more oil - add as much oil as needed to make the mixture smooth, basil, Parmesan cheese and the pine nuts. Process the mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as necessary. Add pepper to taste.

4. While pasta is draining add spinach to the pot and allow to begin cooking down. Return drained pasta to the pot and stir pasta and spinach together. Add pesto to the spinach and pasta; toss well. If the mixture seems to dry add some of the reserved pasta water.

5. Transfer pasta to a serving dish and serve.



Yield: 4-6 servings

Recipe obtained from: me.

* I hate that it gets so dark so early now. Clearly I need to figure out some new lighting in my kitchen based on the quality of the above picture. What kind of light bulbs/lighting do you have in your kitchen?

*Photo disclaimer* The cat at the top of the page, wearing his wonderful party hat is not one of our cats. Sadly, no such pictures exist of our cats wearing hats and in fact bad things happen when we attempt to make them wear hats. The beautiful cat pictured is Calvin and the photo was taken on his first birthday!

Chicken & Cashew Stir-Fry.

My cooking group has started the second session this week and I'm still trying to make all the recipes from our first session! I'm almost caught up, just a few more to go.

Chicken & Cashew Stir-Fry via Annie's Eats (by way of Liz's Cooking Blog, by way of Gourmet magazine [May 2007]) - how's that for some citations?!?!

I added some sugar snap peas, used green onions instead of the scallions, used chicken breasts and doubled the sauce. I apparently got a little heavy handed with the red pepper flakes so I added some hoisin sauce to counter the spiciness. I agree with some of the reviews on Epicurious which suggested adding additional vegetables - bok choy, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, water chestnuts, you get the idea. Served over brown rice this is a super quick weeknight dinner.

I am going to enter this into Joelen of Joelen's Culinary Adventures Chinese Cuisine Adventure. Check out her blog, she's amazingly talented and has all these great cooking parties & classes, makes me wish I lived in Chicago!

Chicken Scampi

Cilantro grilled chicken breast was the recipe to make last week in my cooking group. Since we were out of town, I'm just now getting around to making it. I decided to take the original recipe and expand upon it using some of the fresh produce we had.

I followed the recipe for the scampi butter fairly closely, as in I used all of the ingredients listed just didn't measure them out. I used dried onion and parsley in place of fresh, didn't have any white pepper on hand and didn't use the white wine - if you want measure it all out that's fine, if not just add ingredients to taste - I think it's fairly hard to mess this up.

In a large skillet I sauteed chopped mushrooms and halved cherry tomatoes in some of the scampi butter. Let the mushrooms and tomatoes cook down for several minutes, add more butter if needed. Add spinach leaves and let wilt a few minutes. Chop the grilled chicken and add to the skillet, combine all ingredients. Add whole wheat spaghetti and combine, add more butter if needed.

Both the husband and I thought the pasta was delicious, he even said he thought it was the best pasta concoction I'd come up with recently. Next time I think I'd forgo making the scampi butter and just saute the mushrooms and tomatoes in a little bit of butter and olive oil, adding the herbs and other stuff to the skillet as I go.

Someone in my cooking group played around with the original recipe and made a pizza, which I think sounds delicious. She melted the butter on a pizza crust and topped with diced chicken, mushrooms, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Provolone cheeses. Yum!

As has been my habit of lately, I'm submitting this dish last minute into Ruth of Once Upon A Feast's wonderful blogging event Presto Pasta Night, hosted this week by Got No Milk. Check out the round-up tomorrow for some delicious pasta dishes. *Disclaimer* I was late with my entry for this week's PPN round-up, but am first for next week's which will be hosted by Ruth. Make sure to check out this week and next for great ideas & recipes!

Pasta With Prosciutto & Peas.

This is the fifth recipe from my online cooking club. Another quick, delicious & fresh tasting dish! Plus I'm a sucker for a creamy lemony sauce!

I'd like to point out that the labels below aren't wrong, it does say both vegetarian and ham to identify the same recipe. I wasn't going to use prosciutto because I didn't have any and didn't feel like going to the store. But we ran out of milk and some other stuff so I decided I'd get some while I was there. I put the prosciutto in my basket and am almost positive I put it on the counter, but when I got home there was no prosciutto & I hadn't been charged for it either. Very strange........so tonight's dinner is without prosciutto and therefore vegetarian.

I'm also submitting this, although last minute, into Ruth of Once Upon A Feast's wonderful blogging event Presto Pasta Night, hosted this week by Michelle of Greedy Gourmet. Check out the round-up tomorrow for some delicious pasta dishes.

I served the pasta with salad and my new favorite, which I'm calling make-do garlic herb bread. I spread a little bit of butter on some leftover hot dog buns and sprinkled with fresh herbs (basil & marjarom) and topped with a bit of mozzarella cheese. Put in the oven on 350-400 until cheese is melted and bread is slightly browned & toasted.

Pasta with prosciutto and peas

coarse salt
fresh ground pepper
12 oz fettuccine
1 tbsp butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen peas, thawed
8 slices prosciutto (4 oz total), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (1 cup)
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce: in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat; add the shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, peas, and prosciutto; bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the peas are heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. pour the sauce over the pasta; add the Parmesan, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add enough of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce as desired. Serve immediately; top with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 4
Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

My thoughts: I used whole wheat penne instead of fettuccine, on the advice of a few who'd already made the recipe. I used minced garlic instead of the shallot and had a bag of peas & carrots, so I went with that instead of just plain peas. I put in more heavy cream than called for and used the juice of one whole lemon. The addition of crushed red pepper added some nice heat to the dish.

Pasta with Kielbasa and Swiss Chard.

I'm not sure why, but I probably wouldn't have tried this dish had I not already been growing Swiss chard. To my knowledge I've ever had chard before and likely this recipe would have been archived away until I eventually dug it out and followed the recipe. I'm so glad that didn't happen though! This dish is wonderful, and both the husband and I will definitely be enjoying chard more often! The ingredients are fresh, flavorful, simple and most of all the dish comes together pretty quickly. Not to mention it's also fairly healthy.

I liked this dish so much, I decided to enter it into Presto Pasta Night, hosted this week by Katie of Thyme for Cooking. Make sure to check out the weekly entries for lots of delicious pasta dishes!

Pasta with Kielbasa and Swiss Chard

3/4 lb. Swiss Chard (preferably red; from 1 bunch)

1/2 lb. kielbasa, quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 c. water

1/4 tsp. dried hot red-pepper flakes

3/4 lb. penne

1 oz. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus additional for serving

1. Cut out center ribs and stems from chard, then thoroughly wash, along with leaves, in several changes of cold water. Cut ribs and stems crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces and coarsely chop leaves.

2. Cook kielbasa in oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 2-3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Cook chard ribs and stems with salt in fat remaining in pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chard leaves, water, and red-pepper flakes and simmer, partially covered, until chard stems are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and stir in kielbasa.

3. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente, then reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water and drain pasta in a colander. Add pasta to chard mixture with cheese and salt to taste and toss until combined well. Thin with some of the reserved pasta water if necessary.

Yield: 4

Obtained from: Gourmet Magazine, June 2006

What I did: I used whole wheat penne, turkey smoked sausage and rainbow chard. Any pasta with ridges would work in place of the penne. Any variety/color of chard would also work. I misread the part about adding the cheese to the pasta before combining, and instead just sprinkled a little on top. Either way would work. I did not need to use the reserved pasta water, but some could probably be added to the leftovers to ensure they don't become dry.

Pretty rainbow chard

Fabulous Grilling Giveaway!

Rachel at Coconut & Lime, has been posting great grilling recipes every Friday and will continue doing so until Labor Day. In honor of the almighty grill, she's holding a contest and all you have to do is make a comment to be entered. The winner will receive an assortment of McCormick spices, rubs & marinades - 19 in all! The contest ends July 17th.

Good Luck!

Sometimes, the Best Things Do Come To Those Who Wait.

I printed this recipe off in December 2001 and for some reason waited almost six years to make this pasta dish. It's been pulled several times and added to the "make" pile, but it's never made the final cut and I have no idea why after finally making it! It's one of the simplest & most flavorful pasta dishes I've made. This was a great meal to welcome us home after vacation and allowed me to put off going to the grocery store for another day. I really liked the simplicity of this dish and decided to make this pasta my first entry in the Presto Pasta Night event, hosted by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. I've been eyeing this event for awhile now, but was always intimidated by all the fabulous entries. This dish isn't the most elaborate or complicated of pasta dishes, but you know sometimes you just want to eat right now & that's what's so great about this dish. It allows for quick & delicious pasta, without opening a can!

I re-discovered The National Pasta Association's website after making this dish. It is a great source for learning about all things pasta, including finding great recipes.

Angel Hair with Pink Tomato Sauce, Peas & Roasted Peppers

4 oz. Angel Hair or Cappellini, uncooked

3 md. or 2 lg. Ripe plum tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.), cored and quartered

1/2 Tbs. Olive or vegetable oil

1 Clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 Large pinch hot red pepper flakes

1/2 c. Frozen peas, thawed and drained

1/3 c. Diced roasted red peppers

1/2 tsp. Dried basil

3 Tbs. Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Place tomatoes in a blender or food processor and blend until very smooth and light pink, about 1 minute. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds. Add the peas, roasted peppers and basil and stir 1 minute. Add the pureed tomatoes and heat just to boiling. Remove sauce from heat.

3. Drain the pasta and transfer to skillet. Stir over medium heat until pasta is well mixed with sauce. Divide pasta between two serving bowls. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings

Recipe obtained from: National Pasta Assoc. (the original link does not work anymore -original recipe written above)

Nutritional Information: 370 calories, 15g. protein, 60g. carbohydrates, 8g. fat, 2.5g. saturated fat, 24% dietary fiber, 22% iron, 15% calcium, 220% vitamin C, 70% vitamin A.

What I did: I doubled the garlic, olive oil, basil, peas & red pepper flakes. Red pepper flakes do add a significant punch to the pasta, so use sparingly or omit completely if you don't like things on the spicy side. The recipe as written does not call for salt & pepper and I really think it needs it, especially if you're using fresh tomatoes. I didn't use roasted red peppers either, because I didn't have them on hand and the husband doesn't really like them. Personally I think I like this dish without the red peppers.

A few weeks ago the husband randomly picked up some wine and some flowers for me, isn't he nice?!?! We got around to drinking the bottle of wine he picked up with this meal. Fetzer Riesling Valley Oak (2005, $9) was a great wine on it's own and paired well with this pasta dish. The wine was light, bright & crisp and had just the right amount of sweetness - almost a perfect Riesling, especially for the price. I'll definitely add this one to my list of 'go-to' wines.

The Sweet Potato............My Arch Nemesis.

My battle with the sweet potato has been a long drawn out affair. Both sides have seen their share of wounds - many of those orange potatoes have been thrown away and my throat has suffered a few closures (much to the amusement of my family & the husband). I find it easier to tell people I'm allergic to them, rather than explaining our battle. Honestly, I probably would have never eaten another sweet potato again had it not been for the fourth installment of the Platinum Chef Challenge. Thank you Cara for forcing me to conquer my enemy. I looked for a lot of battle plans and there are a lot of unappetizing recipes out there! I decided to settle for something more on the tamer side - roasted sweet potato fries - I needed to ease back into this vegetable.

Admittedly they weren't bad. There I said it, score one for the potato. Would I eat them again, maybe. Would real potatoes have been better, lord yes. I rounded out the meal with a pre-marinated peppercorn pork tenderloin, which I seared on the grill pan and put in the oven, following the directions.

Drawing obtained from: electricottosfunkfactory.com


Sweet Potato Fries with Cajun Yogurt Sauce
For the fries:
4 lg. Sweet potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
2-3 Tbs. Olive oil
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

For the sauce:
1 c. Plain yogurt
1/2 c. Light sour cream
3 Tbs. Grated onion
1 Garlic clove, minced
2 Tbs. Spicy bottled cocktail sauce, or to taste
Few dashes hot sauce
1/2 tsp. Salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. Pepper, or to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Brush 2 large baking sheets with some of the olive oil. Quarter the potatoes lengthwise, then cut each quarter into thirds or fourths to make thick spears. Place the spears flesh side up on the baking sheets. Drizzle with the remaining oil and sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning. Roast the potatoes for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

2. Combine the yogurt and sour cream in a small bowl. Add the onion, garlic, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Stir again just before serving.

4. Serve immediately with the yogurt sauce.


Yield: I would guess 4-6
Recipe obtained from: Fit Fare

What I did: The only sweet potatoes they had at the grocery store were very large ones, so I only used one for this recipe. One large potato yielded enough fries for two, possibly three people. The potatoes probably ended up roasting for about 50-60 minutes, which is only because the pork wasn't done yet. The yogurt sauce wasn't bad, but I think I'd change up a few things next time. I used dried onions, and think I'd only add maybe one tablespoon next time. I think it would also be good with horseradish and parsley - possibly omitting the garlic. I've been trying out a different sauce every time I make sauerkraut balls, and I think with some tweaking this one might be a winner.


Fresh Green Beans
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add beans and cook just until bright green, roughly three minutes. Drain well. Season with salt & pepper.

Yield: depends on amount of green beans you use.

What I did: I didn't add any additional herbs or butter, but you certainly can. Mint, chives and butter are an excellent addition to the beans - melt butter in a large skillet. Add beans and herbs - toss well.

Platinum Chef Challenge - Round 2

For my second entry in the Platinum Chef Challenge I needed to use blueberries & citrus, but I wasn't sure what to make. When the husband said he was going to work from home today, I knew I wanted to make something for breakfast. I eventually decided on citrus waffles with blueberry syrup, and even though it took much longer than I anticipated and I made two mistakes with the syrup - everything turned out fabulous. The waffle batter was delicious, with just the right amount of citrus flavoring. The blueberry syrup was so simple to make - I don't think I'll ever buy it from the store again.

Citrus Waffles

Folding the beaten egg whites into the batter properly will help ensure your waffles turn out light and tender. Initially, fold in only a small amount of the whites; this will lighten the batter, allowing the rest of the whites to be folded in more easily. Fold just until the mixtures are evenly incorporated. Over mixing will deflate the egg whites.

3 eggs, separated

3/4 cup milk

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup sour cream

Finely grated zest of 1 lime, 1 orange and 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

1. Preheat a waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Whisk in the milk, butter, sour cream and citrus zests. Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk until smooth.

3. In another large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold 1⁄2 cup of the egg whites into the batter, then carefully fold in the remaining whites.

4. Cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve hot with maple syrup.

Serves 4 to 6.

Recipe obtained from Williams-Sonoma.

What I did: I followed the recipe exactly, except I didn't finely zest the citrus - I just zested them normally and it turned out fine. My waffle maker makes four at a time and I ended up with nine waffles.

Blueberry Syrup

6 cups blueberries, picked over

3 cups sugar

1/2 lemon, zest removed in strips with a vegetable peeler

1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

1. In a large saucepan combine the blueberries and 3/4 cup water, bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer it, covered, for 10 minutes. Puree the mixture in batches in a blender or food processor and force it through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the solids.

2. In the pan, cleaned, combine the sugar, the zest, and 1 1/2 cups water, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and boil it, uncovered, until a candy thermometer registers 200 degrees F. Discard the zest, add the blueberry mixture, and boil the syrup, stirring, for 1 minute. Let the syrup cool, skim off any froth, and stir in the lemon juice.

3. Pour the syrup into glass jars with tight-fitting lids. The syrup keeps, covered and chilled, for 3 months. Serve the syrup warm over pancakes or ice cream.

Recipe obtained from The Food Network.

What I did: I made two, what I thought to be crucial, mistakes when making the syrup - however it turned out great, so I'm not even going to bother mentioning what I did wrong. I halved this recipe, and it still made a lot of syrup.

Platinum Chef Challenge - Round 2

Cara, at Cara's Cravings, started this great idea called the Platinum Chef Challenge. Whoever is hosting the challenge picks five ingredients and people submit two dishes using a combination of these ingredients (for the exact rules see Cara's blog). For Round 2 the ingredients were: blueberries, corn, any citrus, any cheese and any hot pepper. I enjoyed playing around with ideas and trying to come up with something delicious.

For my first entry I decided to make a bbq style pizza, using three of the key ingredients - corn, hot pepper & cheese. Essentially I just made up this recipe, adding what I thought sounded good and trying to use some ingredients I already had. Which also means, I didn't really measure anything out either. You can see from the picture, pre-cheese, how much of everything I added. You could definitely play around with this recipe to suit it to your own tastes.

BBQ Style Pizza

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

cilantro, chopped

garlic chives, chopped

approx. 1/4 c. white corn

smoked turkey, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped

Monterey Jack cheese

Cheddar cheese

cumin

onion powder

paprika

Homemade or pre-made pizza crust

1. I used a regular Boboli prepared crust and sprinkled cumin, onion powder and paprika on the crust. Top with 1/2 c. barbecue sauce, chopped cilantro and chives, corn, jalapeno, turkey and cheese.

2. Bake following instructions -or until done. Let pizza rest, slice & enjoy.

What I did: The addition of the spices gave the sauce a much stronger & hotter taste. The white corn did bring out some of the sweetness of the barbecue sauce, which added a nice depth of flavor. I used canned white corn and Montgomery Inn barbecue sauce, but again you could use fresh or yellow corn and your favorite sauce. The smoked turkey was leftover from the last time the husband smoked a turkey - any meat would work if you don't have access to a smoker. The husband suggested cooking the corn the next time, which I think would be a good idea. If you used some onions, I'd throw them in to saute with the corn. Lastly, I added just a little bit of each of the cheeses. I didn't want this to be a cheesy pizza and overshadow the rest of the ingredients.