jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-31-222′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});The best way to enjoy pizza is to make it yourself! It’s super simple –all you need is yeast,flour,and toppings. This recipe is a blend of two recipes that we’ve tinkered with for better results,the first being Alton Brown’s Pizza Pizzas and the second Giada De Laurentiis’Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil. Servings:this will make two pizzas –one margherita and one sausage. 1 packet instant yeast 3/4 cup warm water 2 tbsp sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tbsp kosher salt 3 tbsp olive oil basil tomato/pasta sauce canned whole tomatoes 1lb mozzarella (this will make enough for two pizzas) hot italian sausage onion hot pepper flakes,dried oregano,garlic powder (optional) Preheat the oven to 450F. Mix the water,sugar,and yeast together and let sit for a minute. Put the flour in a big bowl and pour the yeast mixture in,along with the salt and olive oil. Form the flour into a nice round ball of dough. Feel free to add more water or flour as needed. Cover the dough with a wet towel and let sit. After 45 mins,knead slightly and re-cover for another 45 mins. Repeat this as many times as you can to make a fluffier dough (time permitting). Take a flat baking sheet and sprinkle olive oil on it. Cut the dough in half to make two dough balls. Start on one dough ball,working with your knuckles and a flat floured surface to get it to fit into the baking sheet. Place into baking sheet when done. Repeat with second dough ball using different sheet. Top with pasta sauce,dried oregano,then plenty of fresh basil (I rip mine into bit-size pieces). From here,for the Margherita Pizza,roughly chop tomatoes and arrange on top. Thinly slice 1/2 lb of the mozzarella and distribute evenly. Sprinkle with more basil. From here,for the Sausage Pizza,remove the sausage from the casings and sautee with the diced onion. Once cooked,drain fat and arrange on top. Grate 1/2 lb of mozzarella and sprinkle on top,along with more basil. Place pizza into oven and bake for 10 mins. Once done,remove and put somewhere to cool. Take pizza off sheet,slice,and top with hot pepper flakes,garlic powder,and oregano. Enjoy!
jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-28-214′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});One of our recent guilty pleasures involves watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network on Tuesdays,and then Wednesday night going out to one of the places recommended on the show So far it’s been a hit and a great way to try new places! Stand Burger was recommended by Iron Chef Michael Symon and his favorite “sugar rush”was the Toasted Marshmallow Shake. He actually finished off three of them during the show! Needless to say,we were drooooling. So the next day we went there,right below Union Square at 12th St and University Pl. We ordered burgers,fries and shakes but I must say that the burgers were small and expensive. The small (not really) fries for $3 was a good deal,which were served in a simple paper cone,hot and fresh. Our group ordered the Chocolate Malted,Apple Pie,and Toasted Marshmallow shakes and each of them were delicious. The Apple Pie was very cinnamon-y but I couldn’t get much of the crisp apple flavor –if there were real apples in there,it would’ve been better. EDIT:Robo and I went back with friends and tried the the Pumpkin and Chocolate Malted. The Pumpkin was a cute pastel orange color and tasted like a fresh pumpkin,so there really wasn’t much sugar in here. I was sort of expecting it to taste like a pumpkin pie,like the Clocktower Pumpkin Shake (which AndrewT graciously reminded me of!) at the Cornell Dairy Bar,which is dark and thick,super sweet,cinnamon-y,and absolutely delicious. Needless to say,the Pumpkin was a let-down. The Chocolate Malted was waaay too sweet,even sweeter than the Toasted Marshmallow. The malted flavor was definitely there,as the shake tasted almost exactly like Whopper balls. It was good but you will need a glass of water to go with it. But hands down,the Toasted Marshmallow was the best out of all the items we ordered. It comes out in a tall retro milkshake glass topped with a giant serving of whipped cream and two jumbo toasted marshmallows. It just tastes like pure marshmallow:vanilla-y,very sweet,creamy,a little frothy near the end. My favorite were the two perfectly toasted marshmallows. So props to Chef Michael Symon –we’ll be eagerly awaiting his next NYC “best thing I ever ate”=) jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-30-211′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});Finally got through some of the older stuff so here’s something more up to date! The past week I was back home in Maryland so I got a chance to go to one of my favorite restaurants in the area (or anywhere for that matter…). Pho 75 is a Vietnamese noodle restaurant at 771 Hungerford Dr right off of Rockville Pike in Rockville,MD. It’s just a little bit past the Regal movie theater next to the Giant for people familiar with that area. This place sells amazing noodle soup that I’ve been trying to find an alternative for in NYC for the past year now. I think the part that other places fall short on is the broth that Pho 75 uses. When you place your order,you typically give them the number corresponding to the noodle soup that you want. Basically what differs between the different items on the menu is the type of meat that they have in it. #4 is what I order and it is essentially the one that has everything in it. Not everyone is a fan of this as it has tripe and tendon but I absolutely love the stuff so I have no problems with that. Your food will get to you literally a couple of minutes after you place. This time,I went during an off peak time and I got my food in no more than four minutes. Accompanying the noodle soup is a plate of garnish that includes basil,bean sprouts,and lime wedges. I’m a fan of the bean sprouts so I typically load up on that. It’s very important that you get the bean sprouts in and that you mix around both the bean sprouts and the meat so that they sit under the noodles quickly while the broth is still piping hot. The slices of meat that they serve with the soup are usually half raw when it comes out and will continue to cook in the broth. You’ll be staring at pink meat the rest of the meal if you don’t take care to submerge them quickly. Also the Vietnamese Iced Coffee is a must-get. It’s a delicious concoction of strong coffee that’s pressed,mixed with condensed milk and poured over ice in a tall glass. Note:always get Vietnamese Iced Coffee and Thai Iced Tea,never the other way around. jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-29-206′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});Not much in terms of recipes or reviews in this post. We hosted a small party on July 4th and since we’re in an apartment,we couldn’t really do the whole BBQ thing. Nevertheless,we wanted to have that same kinda BBQ food. We improvised a little bit and made some appetizer sized dishes instead. So in place of hot dogs,we had piggies in blankets. Nothing really special there just hot dogs cut up and put into croissant rolls. We made burgers using a recipe on the Lipton’s Onion Soup mix box. We had originally wanted to make sliders,but we couldn’t find slider rolls. Instead we put the burger patties and some caramelized onions on a kaiser roll and cut them into fourths. Our good friend D.Lish also made some salmon cakes and crispy potato bites seasoned with olive oil,pepper,and chives.  |  | |
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