As you may have noticed I’m a tad-bit into vegetables. Now, stick with me, the season of plenty will soon turn into the season of snow and I’ll have to move on. Until then let me introduce you to farmer’s market pizza.
Ta-Dah!
This pizza is for everyone, including the people who turn up their noses at any, (and maybe all) vegetables.
If you don’t have time to make the dough, you can buy it at New Sagaya Midtown or Downtown (thanks Julia for letting me in on this awesome secret!). Just ask for it at the sandwich making area.
I love this combo: pepperoni, sauteed mushrooms, artichoke hearts, basil and broccoli, squash.
Sprinkle some dough on your counter and roll out the dough. Pre-heat the oven to 350ish degrees. If you have a pizza stone put the dough on it, or you can use the back of a cookie sheet, (but make sure to keep an eye on it). Smear the dough with your favorite pizza sauce (I LOVE San Marzano pizza sauce, you can buy it at New Sagaya Midtown), mozzarella and your favorite toppings.
Cook until the dough is crispy, the insides soft and chewy, the cheese should melt and bubble turning a gold brown. Serve hot with a salad and a local beer.
Mama Mia
Summer’s Still Kickin’
Summer might be over soon, but not yet. I say it’s still ice cream weather.
When Alice asked for a treat, (I usually don’t like sweets), I couldn’t resist a classic Ice Cream Sundae at Spenard Roadhouse. It can be topped with either a berry compote or chocolate. If you stop by on a sunny day, sit on the deck.
A Burst of Inspiration
I stopped by the Wednesday farmer’s market at the Northway Mall. Check out what I got. (I brought the baby to help carry all the leeks, potatoes, green beans and basil)
I’m going to steam the green beans and sprinkle a little Kosher salt on top. I’m going to use the leaks and potatoes for a frittata. Then there are these little beauties.
Has anyone ever fried squash blossoms? I’m looking for some suggestions on how to make them.
Picking Pleasures
I have to tell you about the pie I made this past weekend. I’m kinda proud. The crust was buttery and rich, not too sweet or flaky, with a slight hint of cinnamon. It was beautiful, nontraditional, with tiny orbs instead of the typical grandma-inspired lattice. Inside, it overflowed with three different types of berries that had soaked in crème de cassis, sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
It was awesome.
And here’s the secret:most of the filling was made with crow berries.
By now we’ve all heard the bad news about this seasons blueberry crop. It’s a bust. But I love the tradition of hiking to my secret spot in the mountains,(everyone has one) and I wasn’t going to miss it this year either.
It left me with one choice. Look for a tiny, hidden patch of blueberries while picking crow berries as a back up.
Crow berries are much smaller, not as sweet and tougher than our beautiful Alaska blueberries, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make something awesome with them.
You need to sweeten the mixture by adding raspberries and a few store bought blueberries for the filling.
Here’s a recipe I’ve been working on that I’ve tweaked from the most fabulous cookbook in the world: The Silver Palate. The crust is awesome, but the berry filling would be perfection served by itself over ice cream.
I’m going to infuse vodka with the leftover crow berries and use it as Christmas presents. A little reminder of summer when we’re deep in the heart of winter.
Filling
1 quart of blueberries
1 quart of raspberries and crow berries
1 cup creme de cassis
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 freshly squeezed lemon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Making the filling
Combine the berries, creme de cassis, and grated lemon zest in a bowl. Cover and let stand several hours, or overnight. Later, drain the liquid from the berries into a small saucepan. Stir in the sugar, water, lemon juice and cornstarch. Cook over a medium heat, stirring until it thickens and is glossy. Pour over the blueberries and stir to combine. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Now you can either put the berries into a pie crust or bake by itself for an ice cream topping. Bake until the pie is crust is golden brown or until your berry mixture has thickened if you’re just making the berries by themselves. About 50 minutes. Serve warm.
Mini post. Big topic.
Have you noticed how crazy-big the vegetables are this year?!
By the way my little nugget is about two feet tall.
Click and Clink
I get a little nervous around wine. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just I don’t really know what to order. I often feel that when I look at the wine list it’s like reading Latin. I have no idea what it means.
This rambling tale leads me to a recent night out at Orso. I was invited there to check out the restaurants IPad wine list. Yes, they’ve put all 300 different types of wines on an IPad application!
So. Cool. So here’s what you do. You can either click on a type of wine, or on the type of food you’re ordering. When you click on a wine you can see how much it costs and a review of the wine.
When you click on a type of food you’ll get a list of suggested wines. I’m not tech-y and I found it easy to use. And hey, if you still don’t want to try it, they’re keeping a paper copy around just for you.
Dog Days of Summer
I’m kind of crazily in love with my pug, Martha Stewart, AKA, Pig Pug. We also lovingly refer to him, as First Baby. So whenever I’m out shopping if there is some homemade dog treats odds are high, I’ll buy it.
I picked these up at the Southside Farmers Market. Now, while I can’t attest to how they taste Martha Stewart seemed to be a fan.
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