pizza for two, please

Having grown up on Pizza Hut, Papa John's and fortunately, Petrillo's in my hometown, I had a liking for thick oily cheesy pizza. I mean pizza is pizza, and for the most part it's really good. I thought I knew pizza and what I liked and didn't, which included Little Cesars and Domio's..

But as I've been making my way around pizza in the Bay-- North Beach's Golden Boy, Pizziaola in Oakland, Baretta in the Mission, Gialina in Glenn Park, Zuppa in SOMA, and Pizza Delfina in both the Mission and Fillmore, I've become a different kind of pizza lover, connoisseur and maybe even snob of sorts.

I've discovered that I love high quality, thin-crust Neapolitan style pizza. Pizziaola (although hella expensive) and Gialina are a couple favs that make just the right crust, thin and crispy with still a bit of chew.  Zuppa serves neoplitan style pizza and has a cool industrial decor, but their pizza is a bit too soggy, oily and bland for my liking. Quite disappointing given its convenient downtown location. Golden Boy's quick takeout or eat in on a barstool--although not neapolitan with their crisp and fluffy insides is still addictive at any time of the day, as a lunchtime snack or a late drunken night eat.

Alas, it was time to make my own restaurant quality pizza--well, partially. With that dinner time urge, B picked up some freshly made dough to go at Goat Hill in Potrero and as fast or slow as we could, we topped the rolled out dough with marinara sauce, fresh slices of mozarella and heirloom tomatoes, sprinkle of basil and red pepper flakes and ta-da..party dance! Beautiful fancy shmancy pizza.

Ready to go in the oven set at 450degrees for ten minutes. 

babycakes, double chocolate chip cookies

I've been having a chocolate craving like no other, and thanks to Natalie who got me a recipebook from the most talked about bakery in NYC, Babycakes, I made these bad boys. It was also an excuse to take a trek to Rainbow Grocery and buy the best of ingredients in bulk--coconut oil, fair-trade semisweet chocolate chips, and pure cocoa powder and vanilla extract.  They're the ultimate guilt-free indulgence--I'm actually munching on some that I packed for lunch right now. I know, it's only 9:30 in the morning, but never too early for a sweet fix.

These cookies came out so well-- thin and crispy on the edges while moist and chewy in the center, and chocolatey all around. I'm including the recipe here along with an interview of Babycakes founder, Erin McKenna because I think it's very worth sharing.

Note: I cut the recipe in a half (because the full recipe yields close to 40 cookies) and still had plenty to bring into work. Oh, another note! Dennie got me the book, "The Artist in the Office: How to Creatively Survive and Thrive Seven Days a Week," which is as awesome as it is witty and inspiring, and in it, the author suggests to make a treat for your coworkers. What better excuse have you got now?

Enjoy!
con

p.s. I took this photo with B's fancy camera, and on the second click came out with this. I'm pretty impressed. Food photographer in the making? Perhaps..

a spanish feast, kitchen fired!

Although my pictures might suggest otherwise, helpXing at La Casa del Viento has been a lot of hard work..  Getting up at 7:30 in the morning (on a good day; usually it's just around 7:45) to start my 8am watering, gardening and pool cleaning duties before the sun does its torture, followed by a coffee break and then other jobs that need to be done for the afternoon. On Thursday, after typical morning responsibilities, Ann gave me the day off, and relaxing was it not--rather I took a roundtrip sick-to-my-stomach bus ride through the Andalucían mountains to the "white villages" and with an old travel guide hiked from one village to another, Pampanería to Búbion.

What was supposed to be a twenty minute walk ended up in an hour of isolation, steep trek full of hills, weeds, rocks and unpredicted rattling. There were occasions when I thought to myself, if I got hurt or collapsed, no one would hear me, and who knows what would happen, and oh.. Generally, I don't like to have such troubling thoughts, and so I remained optimistic--thinking to myself, this is all part of the character building process of traveling, and through the backroads mountainous forests, made it to my destination sweaty, scratched and sunburnt (not to mention, bug bitten). Then I started chatting up a fellow Spanish traveler, who gave me a ride back to town so that I could catch the bus in time for dinner in Lanjarón, and that car ride was only five-minutes, just around the time I spent in my much sought after destination of Búbion. The things we do for adventure.

 In the distance you can see Pampanerîa, the village I had hiked from to the point of where I took the picture. I know, I can't even believe it. AND I wasn't even close to my end destination. That's why I was still happy and taking photos.

It's now Saturday and I've still got the blisters to remind me of what a trek that was.

In any case, today was just as eventful--with lots of cooking, all day really! Ann's daughter and son-in-law are here for their first anniversary, and I had the pleasurable honor to cook the family a Spanish dinner inspired my employment at Jaleo, Jose Andrés' tapas restaurant in DC. And just thinking about my mom, I am reminded that cooking is labor intensive, and yet a simple pleasure in life. Oh, and what a feast it is to share!

for starters, Don something's bottled sangria..yes, bottled. cheap and convenient, and oh, so tasty. (note: artistan jug not included)

 

three sides: apple, manchego cheese and almond salad (this was a first for me, and it was one to savor over!); the famous apple cider, red peppers quinoa salad (this time with white beans and pomegranates picked from Ann's tree) and of course, no Spanish meal is complete without patatas bravas (and my very own homemade, spicy romesco dipping sauce).

and oh, the crowd pleaser of the evening-- paella! i have to say, i'm quite proud of myself. the only other time i had made paella was after moving into my apartment during my first week at cal, and for friends i had just made the day before.  i suppose this is a celebration of the new and old!

  

and for dessert, something i've been drooling over just thinking about..the flan from jaleo. so light and airy and sweet and savory. this was my attempt, and thankfully, it was a success. russ licked every little bit off. you can find the recipe by googling jaleo flan.

  

and leftover luxury brownies (not so spanish unless you consider the home grown almonds, hand-picked and cracked) i had made the night before as a welcoming treat for rachel and russ. this was my first attempt at tamami from coco and me's recipe. i have been a longtime follower of her blog and you can imagine how excited my tastebuds were when i got to visit her stall, live in action, at london's happenin' broadway market on the east end.

and that is it for the night. according to my spanish time, it is now my best friend from high school, fiona's birthday! happy birthday fe!

buenas noches, amores!

the labor of love for almonds

At La Casa del Viento, my appreciation for food deepens with each and every meal. Last night's warm, subtly sweet and savory almond soup attributes to that as Orfhlaith and I hand picked the almonds, cracked, dehusked and devoured them all!

le almond tree

 almonds are ready to be picked when their outer green shell opens 

step one: collect bucket full of almonds

step two: grab two sturdy rocks, one for almond bed, the other to smash

step three: smash!

step four: practice hope that most of your almonds remain whole

step five: perfecto! look, two almonds in one.

step six admire the almond, a beauty of a nut rich in flavor and full of antioxidants

step six: continue until you have enough to boil and dehusk for your soup

final step: enjoy! 

it's not every day you get to delight in an almond soup 

where the almonds are homegrown and handpicked and oh, so delightful.

love of food

the year has been amazingly delicious, cooking good food and sharing with good friends. what could be better? the after-dance party comes close.

the latest party menu:

butternut squash and heirloom tomato purée (with carmelized onions and a kick of chile)

jicama avocado and corn salad

baked sweet potato fries

the guests' favorite, quinoa black bean and mango mixed in w/ pomegranates

and for starters, mom's spring rolls w/ my personal tough..tofu!

i even made my own peanut sauce.

it was only fitting to make mint mojitos.

top (college) chef, in the making. i wish.

some kids drink to relieve stress.  

i cook. also, because i like to eat.  

LOVE to eat.

and pair the two with some friends and sangria.   

you've got a splendid time!

in the meantime, savor the pictures.

chocolate raspberry cookies,

in honor of one of my favorite quotes:

       "life's short.  eat dessert first."

vegan dinner party (menu) : chickpea cutlets w/tahini dressing, quinoa salad with black beans and mangos, lemony roasted potatoes and lentil salad; to drink, dennie's white wine sangria ( non-vegan dessert: brownies with chocolate & vanilla ice cream from rainbow's)

last night's din din: potato & kale enchiladas with cilantro sour cream, mexican millet and to drink, plum & pomegranate sangria
quick lunch bite: grilled potatoes, cabbage and corn salad tacos with sliced avocados
and sunday's paper

*i'm in love with my new cookbook, veganomicon. it's the best by far. 

late night espresso

after five shots of espresso i'm feeling a little wired and a lot nauseous. i couldn't help it, the cute barista at silver lake's swanky laMill talked me into trying his favorite, café con leche (concocted with four shots!) the fifth was on the house. oh boy. i'd say college and my momma made me quite the coffee lover and aspiring caffeine connoisseur. it was yummy and beautifully crafted with a thin layer of caramelized brown sugar and finished with a leaf blooming from the (soy)milk foam. i couldn't help but smile. i thought the café was a bit too sweet, and surprisingly i enjoyed rei's vanilla latte much more. could have been the "madagascar vanilla bean-infused syrup" as detailed in the 10-paged menu.

prior we dined at cru's for their raw vegan cuisine. i thought i'd challenge my friend rei's meat and potatoes ways in his own hipster hometown. i started with a watermelon granita, mm was it yummy. so refreshing and simple. watermelon blended with ice and agave, just a tad sweet with the perfect amount of blend that produced this creamy wonderful texture. and the pesto ravioli--the filling made of modestly spiced cashew cheese snugged in thinly sliced jicama and atop, a light drizzle of homemade pesto. and oh so delicious with a light crunch and a lot of comfort. of course it wouldn't be a complete meal had there not been the chocolate brownie á la mode. without a stove and oven who would have thought possible?

update: other yummy eateries in la.
buddha's belly, LA:: their tofu steak. perfectly seared and smothered in a really sweet and tangy black bean sauce.
alcove, silverlake:: the french toast was light and airy and with crème fraîche and a compote of silced banana, orange juice and rum, it was heavenly.
susina, LA:: chocolate raspberry cake. three oh so mouthwatering layers of chocolate devil’s food cake brushed with berry liqueur, filled with chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries and covered with dark chocolate curls.
one word. orgasmic.