Pizzas part 2

Homemade Pizza - Remix

After I made my post about homemade pizza, I watched Melissa Clark's NYTimes "Pizza from Scratch" video and I had to try her version with my last bag of pizza dough. I hadn't planned to blog about pizza again but her technique is simple and the product tastes unbelievably fresh and delicious.

The pictures don't quite do it justice but here are some reasons why her pizza is amazing. 

1) No tomato sauce, just a few halved cherry tomatoes

2) Sliced garlic

3) Anchovies - star of the show

4) Puffy yet crisp crust

Plus I've become a mini mini pro at rolling out pizza dough so it's ALMOST circular...

Let it snow

Walnut snowballs

I generally stay away from making desserts for multiple reasons but when my former roomie and good friend made these, I had to give these little nuggets a go. I followed a slightly different recipe I found online and had a lot of logistical problems which reminded me why I don't bake. However, the final product is so fluffy and appropriate for this time of year. I made a big batch to give as gifts in little baggies. 

Coz this is (almost) Xmas

Two new seasonally inspired plants from the bif and other jolly pictures

Rosemary xmas tree

Favorite tea bag which is very difficult to find in grocery stores...Revolution honeybush caramel red tea.

Wreath :) 

Poinsettia 

The critical moment 

 Corny pic alert..but it is (almost) Xmas

Potato + Onion Pizza

Who'd have thunk one of my blog inspirations would be from a 3am pizza joint but there's a great little mid-west chain called Ian's in Wrigleyville that caters to drunko cub fans. They're famous for their mac + cheese pizza but my personal fave is potato + BBQ sauce pizza. Revolutionary. 

The bif & I attempted this and he got some fun action shots. Note both onions and potatoes were sauteed til soft beforehand so oven was just for cheese melting and pizza crusting. We also made proscuitto + arugula pizza ala Quartino's. 

Our various elegant eating styles....

^ another batch I made the next day on herb + garlic dough with fresh rosemary sprinkled on top.

Extravagant homieness

 

[Bone marrow]

[Braised beef ribs]

[Scallops]

[courtesy of..I may someday do a yelp review]

Chicago Fall

 New Pinkberry in Old Town

Astor St

Poor man's curry

Not aware of how curry is made from scratch but here's how I do it when I'm craving Indian. Potatoes boiled down to a pulp and this guy..

Added frozen peas

And a chicken thigh.

Many many minutes of simmering later..

Voila!

Patatas bravas

Although I lovvveee seafood and bacon wrapped dates,IMHO, the best tapas dish is simply patatas bravas: fried potato and mayo. Here's my attempt at this recipe. I'm a big spud lover, so I couldn't really go wrong but the aioli (with 6 gloves of garlic) is not for the faint of heart. Key to the potato is: drying them off with paper towel before hitting the pan, and LOTS of oil. Bonus points coz I finally got to use the paprika I paid like a bajillion forints for in Hungary months ago! 

 

^ iPhone pic

vs. 

EPM-1 pic \/

Bamboo shoot salad

"New/weird food" post. 

I often pick up some weird new food to try to cook with but don't always get around to it before the food rots. Luckily these bamboo shoots were canned, so they've been sitting in the pantry until I've felt adventurous. I felt particularly adventurous as the hamster that I've been co-habitating with was finally taken away by management (not our pet hamster, a mysterious hamster that showed up in the vent). The hamster particularly liked hiding in the kitchen hence I've been avoiding it. Now the kitchen is mine again. 

Anyway, here are the whole bamboo shoots. These taste like absolutely nothing by themselves and thus take up whatever flavor you add. 

I found the most Asian-y ingredients I had. Garlic, rice vinegar, chili flakes, sesame oil and my flowering cilantro plant (shakes fist..within 1 week my basil plant died, my orchid dropped all it's flowers and the dumb cilantro has been flowering for a while). 

 Here it is. A nice change from my usual mesclun salad but not for every day. What to do next? There are basically no dishes for bamboo shoots on foodgawker.

End of fall!

Giving nature another shot..