All posts tagged mozzarella

By Jessica | June 30, 2009 | Main Courses, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 1 Comment

B and I got Wii and I have been killin it in some mario kart. Sometimes I let him win, but only when I’m trying to get some. But I think our marioluigilove is carrying over in the kitchen cause wea makina somea pizza. Foreal this is easy when you buy the dough from whole foods or your local pizzaria. It’s like, forty cents and you gain a whole freaking day of not watching dough rise. Modernity at its best.

So we thought we would get some kitchen stadium action over in BK. Although there was no secret ingredient, we were going to have a winner. And if cooking was anything like driving a remote control video game, I was clearly going to win.

The Breakdown
5 points for originality
5 points for presentation
5 points for health
10 points for taste

And yes, he and I were both doing the cooking, the judging AND the eating. Guess who won. Just goes to blow ya, a woman’s place is in the kitchen.

Pizza of the Sea

My Big Fat Greek Pizza

By Jessica | May 6, 2009 | Snackin, Salads and Apps | 4 Comments

I decided that until I get my dehydrator and become an expert at making jerky (yes, I’m predicting jerky to be the next hot thing – don’t tell), I’ll challenge myself at making salad. Think about it: a salad is so easy to make delicious cause god is natures original chef, so what can you do to challenge god? You can do it by flipping the script and creating some explosive flavor combos yo mama never thought of. Make yo grandmama blush. Why not, right?

Here is something NOT crazy, but too delicious not to rub on my face: a traditional panza-wannaeatyoualldaylong-nella salad. Hot damn. Get in my mouth. Here’s how to do it: Grab some semolina bread and cube, toast in a pan with a bit of olive oil (keep your eye on it cause it will try to burn behind your back (bitch)) and then dump a load of fresh mozz on the bread in the pan and cover until melty. Put the bread on top a pile of mesclun, torn fresh basil, tomatoes, and sliced red onions. Dump a nice load of red vinegar on top so the bread gets soaky and soft. Add a bit more olive oil and then salt and pepper. Dream about me when you put it in your mouth.

Panzanella Salad

The Panzanella salad is a typical piece of gold. Here is my science experiment. Salad Challenge #1: Spiced Cinnamon Apple Salad. Ew-ish, right?

Spiced Apple and Arugula Salad

Slice some apples and sprinkle with cinnamon and cayenne. Add the apples to a bowl of arugula. Drizzle with some honey and red vinegar and a bit of olive oil. Mix well. Eat. Gimme feedback. Tell me it sucks. Tell me I suck. I dare you.

By Jessica | April 5, 2009 | Get Your Drink On, Other People's Recipes, Recipes, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 2 Comments

…when she broke her leg, gravy came out.

This post is dedicated to madukes who knows how to throw and feed a party. Not to say that my mama’s fat and got gravy legs cause her legs are just the beginning of her hotness, but just thought I would get the mama jokes out the way so yall don’t have to. Ya hear? Really. You really don’t have to.

Last night, she had her crew over and as usual, went above and beyond with the spread. If you want a lesson in party food, lemme let you know that this is where it’s at. All recipes are available, just let a chick know in the comments and maybe madukes will bring it with a guest post.

B and I brought jello shots to the shindig. Damn easy: follow the instructions on the box which calls for 1 part boiling water, 1 part cold water. Substitute the cold water with vodka and walla, you got your self a real-life sorwhority party up in this piece.

Check this menu.

Dried Italian Sausage, English Cheddar, Chorizo, Pepper Jack (I hovered here for a bit):

Salsa and Guacamole, a must:

Hummus and Vegetable. No recipe for this one here cause this is straight up Sahadis. Why mess with perfection?:

Mozzarella, Tomato, Basil Salad AKA Caprese AKA Get In My Mouth:

Olives. Again, thank you Sahadis.

BBQ Pulled Pork, served as sliders with hot dog buns cut in half:

Artichoke and Spinach Dip. Ma refers to this as her favorite white trash dish. For me, it’s tied with tuna salad with crushed potato chips. Holla.:

Triple Creme Brie with Grapes (pretty sure I added on a whole roll of fat with this one):

Jello Shots, cause it ain’t a party till your holding a strangers hair back over the vomatoriam:

Let me know next time you’re hosing and I’ll come eat all your food. Word.

By Jessica | February 27, 2009 | Main Courses, Recipes, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 3 Comments

Pizza is a winner. Especially in BK. Not only do we have great pizza joints but we got italian spots where if you want to make your own damn za, you can buy dough so you dont fuck it up with the rising and the yeasting and the whole tossing and flipping mess. (It’s really not that complicated – it’s just the difference between a 15 minute meal and a 60 minute meal.)

B picked up a ball of dough the other day cause he decided we would go through a pizza phase. I grabbed the red pepper flakes and shat the hell up cause I was ready to get down. We each made a pie, he going for the traditional red sauce, mozz and basil. I went for the what-the-hell-weird-shit-in-my-fridge-can-i bake-on-some-dough. Hence…

Sweet Pea Pizza with Three Cheeses

dough, store bought or homemade.
1.5 c. frozen peas, thawed and relatively dry
.5 c. bleu cheese, crumbled
.5 c. parmesan cheese, thinly sliced (use a veg peeler)
1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
olive oil and black pepper to taste
if you aren’t poor like me, truffle oil instead of olive oil to taste
Serves 2.

Turn your oven to 350. When your dough is in a ball, punch it into a thick disk. Then use your fingers to spead the disk out into a flat pizza. And then you do some other stuff. I can’t really explain it, nor do I want to try. Check this.

When your dough is ready, set it on a pizza stone, pizza pan (which is special because of the holes in the bottom) or if you don’t have any of these gadets, an upside down cookie sheet so that there is no rim. Distribute the cheese evenly over the dough, and then the peas. When your oven is nice and hot, slide that bitch in and let it do its thang.

The two sensitive things here are the dough – you need to make sure it is cooked, and the mozz – you need to make sure it is melted, but not brown. Burnt cheese is no good.

When it’s ready – about 10 minutes?, add fresh black pepper and a bit of olive oil. Slice. Eat. Serve with a side of Super Mario Brothers, original edition.

By Jessica | February 6, 2009 | Other People's Recipes, Projects, Recipes, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 3 Comments

It doesn’t seem hard, right? Get a big freakin olive, stuff it with your favorite savoriness and fry that mother up. It’s small and the directions are straight forward. Plus, Bittman said that anyone can do it. Well, I found someone that cannot do it. This gal.

I did two flavors: straight up mozzarella and an adventure of anchovie, fresh minced garlic and parmesan. I stuffed them, rolled em in flour, then egg, then panko bread crumbs (love panko, thank you japan) and deep fried those lil babies in canola. I was so excited. After 30 seconds in 180 degree oil, I took em out and rested them on brown paper bags which my guy tyler florence said is the best. We tasted. They were oily. Cheese fell out. The outside fell off. They were nasty. I was sad. Total failure.

But I didn’t give up, no siree bob. I said, lemme get all 1990s on this bitch and bake instead of fry. I was positive this would launch my new olive biness. This time, I chose a simple provelone. Then the flour, egg, panko, bake. Yeah… um, a bit better but not for company. B tore his up, but sometimes I suspect he does that just so I keep loving his ass.

I don’t know. What did I do wrong people? Please help a chick who strives to stuff her face with homemade skeelz but who has no money for culinary school.

By Jessica | October 28, 2008 | Recipes, Restaurants, Snackin, Salads and Apps | No comments

B and I went to one of our favorite restaurants on Smith the other night, La Lunetta, and enjoyed a delish meal, served at the kitchen counter, perfect for spying on our cooks. Our guy’s the chef over there so he treated us lovely. Aside from homemade sausages for wolfing and pork ragu for rib-sticking, there was a panzanella for recipe-stealing. This was my first foray into the world of panzanella and I can’t believe I have never been before. After having multiple dreams of the salad during the night, and waking up with a salivation for more, we decided to recreate the deliciousness to our best. And now, you can too. Booyah!

Panzanella Salad with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil

half a ball of fresh mozzarella
1 very small red onion, cut in small strips
2 tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped (either vine or plum)
2 semolina rolls with sesame
lots o’ olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
10 small fresh basil leaves
Serves 4 as an app.

Let’s talk about peeling tomatoes. Now. I don’t want you to be intimidated. This is very easy and extremely gratifying. Do it once and swear you’ll wanna do this for everything. Make 2 slits in the shape of an “X” on the top and the bottom of each tomato. Boil a pot of water. When it comes to a boil, turn off the flame and drop the tomatoes in the pot for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop into a bowl of ice water. After 30 seconds, you can easily pull the skin off the tomatoes, starting with the corners at the slit you made. Walla. Chop your tomatoes, toss the seeds, set aside.

Pull apart your cheese into large forkful chunks and scatter on your serving platter. Try not to eat too much before serving.

Heat a skillet with a good amount of olive oil. When the oil is hot, toss in the onion and tomatoes. As soon as the onion is slightly soft remove along with the tomatoes and place on top of the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add more oil to the skillet. Tear apart your bread in big forkful chunks and throw in the oil. Keep a high heat so that it doesn’t really cook on the inside and yet browns on the outside. Once achieved, add the bread and the oil from the pan to the platter. Add the red wine vinegar and basil leaves. Toss and serve immediately.