Pizza

That's it, I'm done with ordering Pizza out...okay, well, I guess not because there is nothing like that salty yet savory lazy day New York Pizza after a long day of traveling. Or a long day of work paired with a nice glass of wine or beer.

But C'mon, America has Bastardized good pizza just like they have fucked up "Italian" or "Mexican". If you live in small town America you know what I"m talking about. "Real Italian" and "Mexican" in Middle America is just smothered with cheese and sauce. Thank you to the "TGI McFunsters" and "SchnappleBEAS" all over the planet advertising cheap eats, drowned with frosty mugs of domestic beer...ahhh, I abhor you, this is why we are so goddamned fat!

Excuse my digression, but this is why we cook. Why pay for overpriced meals that constantly fall short (Exceptions are of course excellent chefs)? Aha...yes, further digression would be nonconstructive...to the Pizza

First admission, we cheated, we have the recipe for dough...but we haven't yet made it fresh. Instead we snitch our dough from the local Italian Delicatessen, Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Pizza Shop, or Grocery Store. Now heaven forbid you get those Boboli pre-made pre-baked crusts...yechh! You have to get the ball of dough, frozen or fresh...it works, and it works well.

The type of Pizza we generally make is in emulation of the Classic Neopolitan originated in Naples.

You need a few other things to make your life easier:

1) Pizza Stone...they are pretty ubiquitous now, google it, or go to a kitchen store, it's essential for getting that nice crusty part to your pizza

2) Pizza Paddle: Another easy find...get it, make your pizza on it, but make sure to cover it with a generous amount of flour thus helping the dough not stick. Transfer to hot pizza stone in oven, cook till golden brown, spatula it back to pizza paddle (Meg and I first started with pan spatulas and cookie sheets and had a hell of a hard time, the right tools are essential).

3) Warm your oven to 500 degrees. Theory is, you're simulating those brick ovens from Italy...hot hot hot gets the dough to a crispy outer texture while keeping the inside insulated to that chewy almost half underdone mouth feel...melding with the ingredients.

4) Dough...and you don't have to try to spin it on your fists to a perfect disc. Just try and make it as circular as possible. Honestly, look at the pictures in Italy, the pizza turns out how it turns out...quite simply, it's bread with stuff on top, make it taste good to your liking.

5) Simple Simple Simple: We don't need all that horseshit "Meatlover Onionlover, Mushroom, Extra Ranch Dressing Topped Pizza" Start with some Crushed Red Tomatoes (Preferably from San Marzano...the best sauce tomatoes around, and they are easy to find, just something you don't know to look for), fresh Mozzarella (It comes in a ball, slice the ball and top on the pizza, dont' use the shredded kind), and Fresh Basil...done, that's it.

If you're feeling fancy, add some Meatballs. Find your favorite Meatball recipe. We do simple and fresh. The meatballs you're seeing on our Pizza were from "Molto Mario" Here's a simple recipe from a tried and true source as well:

http://lacucinaitalianamagazine.com/recipe/red-bean-meatballs-with-spicy-sauce

6) Wine: If you imbibe, grab something to pair. Now pairing isn't that hard. If you feel something is easy drinking and you like it, grab a glass of it and accessorize with Pizza. We consider ourselves simple wine snobs. That means, If we like it we drink it.

7) Don't forget: For this type Pizza (The Margherita), when it comes out of the oven, sprinkle fresh Basil on top, Parmigiano Reggiano, and good Olive Oil. Most Importantly, do NOT forget a healthy dosing of freshly ground Sea Salt or Kosher Salt with freshly ground Black Pepper (We prefer Baleine Sea Salt and Tellicherry Black Peppercorns...these are easy to find).

Let it rest for a few minutes, cut to your desired slice, and enjoy.

Last night we enjoyed this with a great and overlooked movie called, "Bottle Shock", an entertaining history of how the Napa Valley came to the forefront of wine (overtaking the French in a blind tasting) in 1976. Cute movie, simple story, a little bit of drama. Grab a nice bottle of wine and thank your heavens you aren't killing your body with the preservative laden Middle American Bastardized Diet of "Real Italian Food".

Recipes

I have heard you all would like me to share our recipes for our dishes. Aha, graciously noted. Please click on the links below for the recipes to the corresponding dishes. Starting from now on I will include the recipe for each dish I write about (unless we didn't cook it (Seared Foie Gras topped with Cotton Candy...I don't know how to make that one yet, but L2O in Chicago does...God bless Laurent Gras).

Banana Bread

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/banana-nut-bread

Roasted Split Chicken with Mustard Crust

http://www.kqed.org/w/morefastfoodmyway/episode204.html

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/baked-shrimp-with-tomatoes-and-feta-recipe/index.html

Spaghetti with Artichokes and Pancetta

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/spaghetti-with-artichokes-and-pancetta

Buon Appetito

I'm A Total Egg Slut

Uttered by my personal food hero Anthony Bourdain, my wife and I are enchanted by the simple yet complex nature of the egg. Morning, noon, or night, I can always whip up something...sandwiches, hash, seared duck breasts, and it is enhanced with an easy over egg on top. Nothing beats a beautifully cooked egg with that runny yolk contributing it's flavor, texture, and vitamins to your food.

Today's breakfast inspired me to write because Meg decided to make banana bread. The hour baking time wait with those sweet yet savory smells made us say, "Gotta make something to hold us over".

Get some leftover ham cold cuts, brown em nice and good with a quality olive oil, add some scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese (the sharpness of the cheddar cuts the richness of the eggs), I also add the simple ingredient of "Season All". Cook the scrambled eggs to your liking(we prefer a little bit undercooked as we abhor dry eggs...yechhh)...

On your plate...Cheesy Scrambled Ham and Eggs...it's incredible, edible, it's the Egg...

And they're not just for eating...last weekend my parents and I dyed Easter Eggs. Dad and I upped the ante with shots of Makers Mark and Beer to supplement the experience. The results were damn creative as we etched sketches of "Happy Easter", the police call box from my mom and dad's favorite Sci Fi show "Dr. Who" (fell asleep mid way through that show, still don't understand the appeal), and my favorite, "Hope =Crap" (my dad's distaste for Obama is more than palpable).

Point is, I love being part of a dynamic and wildly hand gesturing life loving Swedish/Irish family who makes some kind of excuse every day to celebrate life.

A Good Glass of Wine...

My wife is my best friend, and lately I've seen very little of her. Over the weekend I was back home in North Carolina gorging on pork, and several days before that we were on opposite day/night shifts. So, our first night together we decided to celebrate with a simple little dish from Ellie Kreiger (A really crunchy nutritionist/cook) and a bottle of yummy (and exquisitely cheap Merlot).

The meal: "Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta". Despite my dislike of crunchy healthy tofu loving nutritionists, this really is a yummy creamy tomato dish with the briney/salty bite of fresh feta. Pair it with a fresh toasted baguette and you can sop the sauce while diving into the baked prawns. A velvety Merlot goes down nicely and paired quite well with the acid in the sauce.

It had been a long 14 hours of work, and opening the door to an ecstatic puppy, good tunes on the stereo, and inviting smells wafting though my brainpiece soothed my soul. After exchanging manic jumps, twirls, kisses, and snorts with Fenway(our pup), kissing my wife hello, and sitting down next to that glass of grapey liquid gold I thought..."Nothing like being home with a good glass of wine, great eats, and my wife (Fenway and Manny too)." Who needs more than that to make them happy?

Pork, Pork, Pork

Growing up, pork was forbidden. Reading my earlier entries you will see I was somewhat of a Christian Orthodox/Jew/Muslim/Seventh Day Adventist/Jehovah's Witness identified as a member of "The Worldwide Church of God". Summarizing: We kept a Sabbath, No Pork, No Christmas, No Birthdays, and in hindsight..."No Fun".

Our religion changed to something a bit more sane...less "Acts of Faith" and more, "God kinda knows what's in your heart, so it's okay to eat pork, He wont smite you", and voila...I started eating everything I could...pork being one of my most favorite new friends.

Recalling briefly on using "Five Guys" as "Chicken Soup for the Soul" for life changing decisions, I recently used Pork as my newest aide. Actually, I headed home for the weekend to visit my folks, and dad was into making "Pulled Pork Tacos".

As a side regarding my father, he has always self-identified as a "Grilling Man", but his prowess in the kitchen has often been undermined by his enthusiasm to toss everything into the kitchen sink. I too had the same problem until I started reading about food, and then the tumblers started to click into place.

Recognizing his passion and need for honing I got him a book by Rick Bayless, a known American expert on Mexican cuisine. The proposed menu? Pulled Pork Tacos,(rubbed in a savory adobo, smoked, and slow cooked) and Guacamole.

Dad eyes gleamed like a kid's on Christmas morning as he carefully thought out each meticulous step. Step 1: Rub the Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt) down with a savory adobo. Step 2: Smoke the Butt with White Oak. Step 3: Cook that sucker slow and low in the "Crock Pot". Step 4: Make some guacamole. Step 5: Have his son (the sous chef in this case) prep the taco fixins and imbibe some beers to enhance the experience.

The end result: A succulent sexy hunk of pulled pork enveloped in a double corn tortilla with some basting juices, radishes, spritz of lime, and pinch of cilantro. Add the tortilla chips with fresh guac on the side and a few more beers and you had some kind of magic. I was asleep by 8pm dreaming of little piggies flying through buttery flaming hoops after swimming in a basting vat...oh you succulent crispy skinned porker.

Such opulent dining was simple, cheap (the roast cost about 11 bucks for 7 pounds), and exquisite. Making argument against the thousand dollar dinners of Thomas Keller's "French Laundry" and more for the lip smacking dopamine indulgences of pleasure via simple family style dining. Overdosing on a simple pulled pork...I tried, I failed, I slept 12 hours of peaceful sleep.

As for my life changing decision? I think I made it, with aide of pork, libation, and family.

The Good Stuff Eatery

The foodies are raging in waves as eating, and blogging about eating is becoming hot gossip. If you tune into Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" or read any of his books, you'll read the same snarky comments about new celebrity chefs frosting their hair and grabbing their first chance at a new t.v. show, thusly selling out to the pirate world of chefdom they once starred in.

Cases in point, look at the reality shows involving Gordon Ramsey berating future chefs, Iron Chef America, Top Chef, and even a foodie movie devoted to Julia Child (her book "My Life In France" is an amazing memoir of her learning to cook and live...highly recommend it). That said, there is a celebrity buzz to certain chefs, it's almost reminiscent of collecting baseball cards when compared to eating at certain establishments. My wife and I will often name drop when referencing "The French Laundry", "Michael Mina", "Komi", etcetera.

And playing further into the hype we decided to visit "The Good Stuff Eatery", partially owned and operated by Chef Spike Mendelsohn, who was on Top Chef Season IV. Chef Spike opened a burger joint. And instead of reuniting with our med school buddies at a haute cuisine esque place, we all opted to play it on the cheap, and schlepped it over to Capitol Hill.

Honestly, it's a step above "Five Guys". The burgers are made to order per se, but not cooked to the liking of the guest...meaning all are cooked well done. All advertise farm fresh ingredients and gibe with the recent hippie hysteria of free range, freedom of speech, freedom to vote and own land that everyone insists on when buying their meat from Whole Foods (we nickname them Whole Paycheck).

On the whole, the burgers are greasy, and good. Being that Chef Spike curiously placed the burger joint in the middle of a bunch of bars where sloppy drunk horny interns will get the hankering for a burger and fries, it's genius. However, to echo the sentiments of my wife...we expected more. I guess seeing Spike cook his ass off on TV, we wanted a Foie Gras laden black truffle dusted pork belly sprinkled gut bomb of ecstasy. Instead, we found ourselves eating solidly constructed "burger joint" burgers a shade better than five guys (I consider Five Guys to be a good old standard especially if you reference my latest blog).

Of note, the "Village Fries" were limp, lacked texture, and had too much damn thyme and rosemary. My wife makes much better in our oven. His milkshakes however, golden! The strawberry was the best I have ever had, it actually tasted like the tart fresh yet small ruby red picked berries you find at the beginning of the summer. Seriously, I tasted summer, I saw sunlight, and envisioned a picnic and white linen drying on the line.

The "Milky Way Shake"...get a spoon, don't even try a straw...unless you are interviewing a potential date for fellatio. It was thick fudgy, chocolaty, and caramelly malty goodness. After several NCAA tourney beers we ate here, we tried to rally and drink afterwards, no go...food coma.

Thusly, a good meal, it was enhanced with the company of some really good friends of whom we also call Doctors.

Five Guys

So, I'm considering a change in jobs, and I have no idea what to do. After a 3 hour meeting with a prospective employer, I went to Five Guys.

Nothing makes a decision more palatable than a double bacon cheeseburger topped with jalapenos, onions, mushrooms, and A-1 Steak Sauce. Now gimme some fries, dip em in mayo, and then dip some in ketchup.

My decision has been derailed, I'm now in a food coma, I guess I'll just sleep on it.