I won’t be one of those bloggers that pretends to have thousands of clamoring fans that didn’t know what to do with themselves when their favorite blogger went on hiatus. That being said, for the three of you out there who actually care, sorry for depriving you of dry humor and french toast recipes. It’s been an insanely busy summer, but I’ll spare you the excuses and get straight to the good stuff … Portobello, red pepper and goat cheese flatbread/pizza You’ll need: 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1-2 portobello mushrooms, chopped 8 oz. goat cheese 3-5 cloves garlic, minced Crushed red pepper and salt to taste 1 bag of…
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Girls’ night in
On Friday night we had an amazing girls’ night in at Maria’s that involved caramelized onion dip, an avocado and cilantro salad, DIY pizzas, Pear Bellinis, Andre Extra Dry, an incredible desert concoction of german poundcake, Cherry Garcia yogurt and Vosges Dark Chocolate Goji bar, and last but certainly not least, Jack Frost II: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman. Talk about a winning combination. Unfortunately, the lighting was too low, so pictures are limited, although I plan to recreate the carmelized onion dip ASAP. Here for now, is the super-easy bellini recipe: You’ll need: 3 pears, skinned and chopped juice of 1/2 lemon 1/4 cup apple juice OR pear sauce…
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Crispy pizza crust: part two
I applied the rolling-pin approach to my leftover pizza dough today. It’s definitely the way to go for a thin, crispy crust. I used my great old-fashioned wooden rolling pin. None of that silicone crap. I cooked the crust first, as with before, and poked a few holes in the dough with a toothpick to prevent the giant balloon effect that I got before. Worked like a charm. Then I topped it with pesto, minced garlic, some of my leftover fried eggplant, a tiny bit of shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan. I popped it under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Then I sprinkled it with…
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Heaven on Crust: prosciutto, arugula and parmesan pizza
This, my friends, is pizza the way it was meant to be: I first tried this delicious combination in a small trattoria in Turino Italy. The crust was thin, crispy and warm. The flavors and textures of the uncooked toppings mixed PERFECTLY together: paper-thin slices of rich, salty prosciutto, generous shavings of parmigiano-reggiano, crisp, peppery arugula, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh ground pepper. If I’m ever lucky enough to see a similar menu item stateside, I plead with my fellow diners to split it with me. Most people aren’t into it. Maybe the arugula and prosciutto turns them off. Or the fact that this isn’t anything close to…