Nella Pizzeria

Went to check out the new Nella Pizzeria in LP this past Friday - we were looking for a low-key place to grab a bite, have a glass of wine, and not spend $1MM. Nella fit the bill.

A-Shan and I immediately ordered a glass of Sangiovese, a Friday night special, and launched into our weekly de-brief. After our patient waiter returned to take our order (for the 4th time) we selected two salads (arugula for me, mixed green for her) and the Fiorentina pizza (mozzarella, spinach and ricotta). The salads were a great size - fresh, perfectly dressed, plus a wedge of lemon for mine that was an added bonus. I would have loved some fresh cracked pepper, but I didn't ask...

Our pizza was a great size for two ladies sharing - thinking that if C and I went, we'd need to get another one and/or an additional appetizer - and we ate the entire thing. The crust was nice and chewy, the sauce was a perfect ratio with the cheese. I "dressed" mine with crushed red pepper flakes and it was divine...a great Friday night meal with a great friend.

The place really filled up after I got there (about 6:45pm) but there were always seats at the bar. Good energy, good food, reasonable prices and walking distance are a winning recipe for me!

A "non" dish for everyone

Several years ago, I joined various colleagues in Boston in completing a 14 day cleanse - this was not the "master" cleanse w/ cayenne pepper, maple syrup madness - but one focusing on clean foods. Clean foods are defined as non-wheat, non-meat, non-caffeinated, non-dairy, non-alcoholic, food-from-the-earth type foods. Needless to say, C quit after 4 days and was miserable* when I did it a second time...I liked the overall premise, but it was REALLY hard to stick to when I went to NYC for a friend's birthday, but I digress.

While in Beaver Creek a week ago, I stole the most recent issue of Bon Appetit and perused the magazine this past weekend. It's a slim issue, but packed with great recipes that I truly see us incorporating into our mealtimes. One such recipe was for quinoa risotto with mushrooms - a very cleanse-friendly food, that I highly recommend. Quinoa is great for cleansing AND vegetarians as it is a great source of protein, high in fiber, and is gluten-free and easy to digest.

Since my brother and his girlfriend often make vegetarian meals, I'm posting this especially for them to try - it's hard to pronounce, but once you have quinoa I think you're a convert:
1 cup quinoa (rinsed)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow or white onion
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 8 oz pckg crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced
6 oz of shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3-4 strands of fresh thyme, de-stemmed
1 cup dry white wine (sauvignon blanc/chablis or the like)
Some shredded parmegiano cheese, if preferred

Bring 2 cups of salted water to boil - add the quinoa and cover, simmering over medium-low. Let this cook until there is no water, approx 10-12 minutes.

While quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the onion, cook until translucent and soft, approx 5 minutes. Add the garlic, mixing it into the onions, cook for about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and the thyme, mixing everything together. Cook until mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the wine; let the wine cook off and stir occasionally until mixture thickens and liquids are reduced (about 3 minutes).

Add the quinoa to the mushroom mixture, stirring to mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper and serve! We both put about a tbsp of shredded parm/asiago blend on ours for added saltiness :)

This should make 4 entree servings, or 6 side servings. We served it with a fennel tomato salad and it was a lovely, earthy, vege-friendly meal! Highly recommended.

*not the entire time, but pretty much against all future cleanses

Vineyard to visit, Turnbull

While in Napa this past fall, C and I spent a lot of time "commuting" and whiling away the hours on the lovely St. Helena highway (Rte 29). We tried to plan around the must-dos and restaurants on our list, therefore creating a circle of wineries and vineyards per diem. What strikes me as funny now is that we passed Turnbull every day - it was far enough south on the east side of the road, has an easily identifiable sign, and is close to the Silverado turn-off. Plus, we visited the neighboring vineyards of Cakebread, Grgich and Rubicon.

The point is - we didn't make any attempt to go there, though we thought about it, and now I'd like to return. Turnbull has a simple menu: Sauv blanc, "old Bull" (meritage), Merlot and Cabernet Sauv. The last of which they also make a Reserve. Recently, at a Wine Spectator award winning restaurant, we sampled our first taste of the Turnbull Cabernet (2005). While this isn't the most-insane-Cab-I've-ever-had sort of wine, it's a solid choice, consistent from bottle to bottle, great with food, and a decent option for those friends in the bunch who 'only drink white wine'. I guess I was happy and wanted to share - especially because @ $40/bottle at retail and under $90 on premise, it's a decent deal (yes, I do think that).

In Chicago, you can find it at Binny's and likely on a few select menus.

Pantry Recipe: Spanish Spaghetti with Olives

I'm not like the majority of Americans who can easily cook out of their pantries. We don't buy a lot of dry goods, canned goods, or much of anything good that is stored in the pantry (except chocolate, mmm). Cooking magazines and shows always seem to come up with these "quick and easy" recipes using all sorts of things found in the average pantry - I would have to stock up to make such dishes. Hence my surprise, when I had everything on hand for the following recipe...PLUS (big plus) it is pasta, which I like to incorporate into the weekly menu!

Here are the details, adapted slightly from the original here:

Ingredients:
8 oz thin spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (I used sweet yellow)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed saffron threads
1/2 tsp oregano (optional)
1/2 pound lean ground beef (I used sirloin)
1/2 cup sliced green olives (we bought them from a local olive bar, but jarred will do0
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 heaping tbsp capers
1 2/3 cups marinara sauce (we bought the most basic WF brand)
1/4 cup parsley, divided and to taste

Start by putting your water on to boil.

Heat the olive oil in the pan over medium high heat - adding the onions and cooking for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute. Stir in the spices and add the beef to the pan. Brown the beef, approximately 5 minutes, stir to crumble as it browns.

Stir in the marinara sauce, sherry, olives, capers and about 1/2 of the parsley. Let the sauce come to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Once your pasta is al dente, strain and add to the sauce mixture. If the pasta is done first, add to the sauce at the very end and let the pasta warm up, approximately 2-3 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley and a touch of cheese (the cheese adds a nice saltiness).

Technically, this is for 4 servings, however ours was more like 3 1/4. My suggestion would be to serve alongside a salad or another vegetable if you need/want to feed four. Calories are minimal for this dish at 445 per serving (based on 4) so I think - eat up!

Armenian Rice Pilaf - by request

After last week's Armenian Saturday Night, I have been talking about pilaf a lot and have had requests for the recipe. So, with no further ado, here we have it:

1 cup long grain rice
1/4 cup thin egg noodles (or broken vermicelli)
1 stick unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, spiced with black pepper and garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Using a medium size sauce pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, put your chicken stock/broth on low to heat.

As the butter foams, add the egg noodles, stirring frequently with a fork as they brown. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the rice until all kernels are covered in butter and the two are well mixed. Rice will look translucent at this point.

Put the saucepan back on the burner on low, add chicken stock/broth and cover. Usually takes a good 25 minutes to absorb all the liquid, but I would check it and turn it down if you see rice after 10 minutes.

When the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and fluff with a fork - voila, it's Armenian night! If you are looking for garnishes, a parsley/onion combo is my favorite, pine nuts and mint are also traditional garnishes in Armenian cuisine. Buon Appetito!

The Publican - Sunday Dinner

For C's birthday this year, (a cold, windy Sunday) we ventured to the west and to The Publican. We've been here several times before and frequent the other establishments in this small restaurant group. The three things you need to know about The Publican are: oysters, pork, and beer. If you said "check, check, check" then you are in good shape!

Our menu was a bit different - Sunday's are low-key, 4-course prix fixe menus, with the option to pair complementary beers. We went with the beer pairing and had a really interesting (and quite delicious) menu:

Oyster & Celery Root soup

- with leeks and grilled sourdough

Grilled Sturgeon

- on top of lentils, Brussels sprouts, and yogurt

Braised Oxtails

- with fingerling potatoes and celery salad

Dessert was an Almond Macaroon with lemon(?) filling, a white chocolate ganache flavored with white pepper and rosemary - sounds strange, but was nice and light and complex!

We were less than impressed with the beer pairings, would have preferred to get our own and drink leisurely (plus, no weird "sweet and sour" beer) but it was a good experience and new for us. They did forget the celebratory reason we were there, but that is a recurring issue for us these past few years. Maybe we like birthday's too much...

Holiday breakfast hit, 2009

Well, the last major holiday of 2009 is upon us - tomorrow, to be exact, or obvious. I'm watching the year end countdown on VH-1 and various people are outlining Britney lyrics as metaphors and such...SO, I'm writing down a recent hit at my family's house this year: Baked Apple French Toast/Bread Pudding. This recipe definitely deserves a 'slash' as it is super dense and moist a la Bread Pudding, but it is light and hits the spot for all French toast lovers...like my mom.

Here's the recipe - subtly revised from Gale Gand's original note here - make ahead for a wonderful New Year's Day brunch:

Baked Cinnamon-Apple French Toast/Bread Pudding
2 tbsp unsalted butter
6 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4" slices (I used Gala, they're my favorite)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground or fresh grated nutmeg
8 slices Challah bread, toasted
8 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla

Heat the butter in a medium sized skillet over medium heat until it foams; add the apples and cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Off the heat, stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg.

While the apples are cooking, slice 1 inch pieces of Challah bread and toast in the toaster or oven (350' for 6-8 minutes, turning once). Arrange bread overlapping in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch buttered baking dish.

Beat eggs in a separate bowl, gradually whisk in sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour over toasted bread, covering all pieces. Add the apples to the top; cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, heat oven to 350'; bake uncovered until custard is set (might be slightly jiggly, but the custard is mostly firm). It will puff up and brown slightly. We baked ours for 55 minutes (50-60) and then let it sit for 10 minutes - if you can stand it. Serve with maple syrup and/or powdered sugar if you like!

Enjoy - Happy New Year!