Posted by manda on July 24th, 2009 [Click image to show Gallery]
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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
Continue reading Margherita and Sausage Pizzas
Posted by manda on April 29th, 2009 [Click image to show Gallery]
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Yay my first recipe entry! Really easy and simple. I’ve done this recipe many a time with my Mom, the italian cook extraordinaire, and it’s one of the few recipes I can do without ever measuring. Buuut for the purpose of entry I guess I will
Ingredients:
1 eggplant, medium to large
kosher salt, pepper
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1 cup italian breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
olive oil
vegetable oil
Directions:
Slice the eggplant in 1/4 in. thick rounds.
Generously sprinkle kosher salt on both sides of each round and lay flat on a wire rack. Let sit for 1-2hours to draw all the bitter juice out.
Get the dredging bowls ready! Bowl 1: combine flour, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Mix well!
Bowl 2: scramble the eggs and add 1-2 tbsp of cold water.
Bowl 3: mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese together.
Rinse and dry slices and dredge in this order: flour, egg, breadcrumbs.
Add 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp veggie oil (per batch) in a pan and put heat on medium high – not too hot or it’ll burn!
Add coated slices to pan – cook for 2 minutes on each side, depending on your slice thickness. To check if it’s done, try a bite – it’ll be done when it is crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.
To serve, top with pasta sauce
Continue reading Eggplant Parmesan
Posted by manda on April 16th, 2009 [Click image to show Gallery]
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Disclaimer: Not your typical Tuesday! My parents came into town for business, so before their client rendevous, we got to spend a rare weekday afternoon together shopping, eating, chatting, and enjoying ourselves. We hit up our favorite splurge spot, La Maison du Chocolat at Rockefeller Center, and were treated to macaroons, truffles, and cups of rich caracas (dark) and guayaquil (milk) hot chocolate. Afterward, we shopped and returned to the hotel to prep up for the main (food) event – Basso56 on W 56th St. It was one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in NYC – great service, cozy, not too pretentious, and oh yeah, amazing italian food! We started off with a great bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo red wine, olives and bruscetta, fried calamari, and steamed mussels. For our entrees, we ordered the specials: seafood risotto, mushroom ravioli, swordfish, and roasted duck with figs. Everything was delicious and perfectly cooked, except maybe the duck which was a little rare. Notice how these dishes almost exactly match the dishes from Maggiano’s – Robo and I looove italian seafood dishes
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My Mom also baked some cherry chocolate chip cupcakes with homemade vanilla frosting. They were AMAZING! Better than any cupcake you can find at the chic boutique bakeries like Magnolia’s or Chickalicious because 1) they’re moister 2) the frosting is made with marshmallow fluff and who can resist that? and 3) they’re homemade =) I’ll put up the recipe for
Continue reading Basso56 and a little bit of home
Posted by manda on April 13th, 2009 [Click image to show Gallery]
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Last weekend, our friends and I went back home to go to the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival. The weather was perfect – sunny, breezy (understatement), high 60s – and we had a blast ambling about the city, taking pictures with the sakura trees. To cap off our adventure, we went to Robo’s and my most favorite italian restaurant ever – Maggiano’s in Chevy Chase, MD. We ate family style, all 9 of us!, and feasted on delicious pastas, seafood, and desserts until we waddled happily
Continue reading Maggiano’s
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