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Archive for Pizza – Page 3

Eating San Gimignano – La Griglia

Jul08

Restaurant: Ristorante La Griglia

Location: San Gimignano, Italy

Date: June 16, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan Tourist

Rating: Mediocre

ANY CHARACTER HERE

We visited San Gimignano, as nearly all tourists in our part of Tuscany do.


This is an interesting town, fairly unique in that it is filled with medieval “skyscrapers” (watch towers) which seemed to have been some kind of antique masonry version of keeping up with the Joneses (or Jocominis in this case). Because of this unusual attraction the town is a bit over touristed, but it’s still worth visiting.


We chose a lunch place at random, which did in general work very well on this trip, but in this cast ended us up with the second worst genuine lunch of the month. I’ll exclude a couple of quickie stops at Panini places to grab a ham and cheese that are not worthy of the Eating Italy blog.


Here is a tuna salad, more or less a kind of Salade Niçoise. With anchovies too.


Pizza Margherita. Probably frozen, the crust tasted like cardboard.


A salad with ham.


Minestrone soup. Not even close to as good as the one at Trattoria Pepei or Pizzeria Il Rifugio (another random lunch pick).


Spaghetti pomodoro. Looks like what it is, mediocre.


Meat tortellini in ragu. This was tolerable, but fairly uninspired.


Pizza fungi (mushroom) with ham/prosciutto. Mediocre crust and ingredients.

Overall, this place was just mediocre. Not that it was even really that bad, but considering the sea of excellent meals over the month, and the fact that many random lunch picks were very enjoyable (like Lo Sfizio di Bianchi) it was just catering to tourists and weak.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Gaiole – Lo Sfizio di Bianchi
  2. Eating Volterra – Pizzeria Il Rifugio
  3. Eating Monteriggioni – Il Pozzo
  4. Eating Bologna – Trattoria Leonida
  5. Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Dietro Le Quinte
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chianti, Cooking, Italian cuisine, Italy, Pizza, San Gimignano, Siena, Travel and Tourism, Tuscany, Vernaccia

Eating Volterra – Pizzeria Il Rifugio

Jul05

Restaurant: Pizzeria Il Rifugio

Location: Volterra, Italy

Date: June 15, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan + Pizza

Rating: Solid Pizza

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I highly recommend the medium sized town of Volterra. Besides the negative of being the home town of one of fiction’s most ridiculous gangs of vampires (Twilight’s Volturi) it’s a really cool place.


Anyway, we settled in for lunch at this pizzeria behind the mini dump truck. It’s not far from the Museum of Torture, a creepy institution well worth a visit.


The endless menu.


Bread as usual.


A pretty spectacular minestrone soup. Those canned American ones we are used to are just pathetic.


Needs no explanation.


Pizza Margarita.


Pizza al Funghi (with mushrooms).


And my personal favorite, with sausage and gorgonzola. This wasn’t overdone, there isn’t a ton of blue cheese on here, but it was a very good pizza. The sausage was that slightly sweet kind with fennel. Yum.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting
  2. Eating Milano Marittima – Notte E Di’
  3. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  4. Eating Monteriggioni – Il Pozzo
  5. Eating Gaiole – Lo Sfizio di Bianchi
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: eating-italy, Italian cuisine, Italy, Minestrone, Pizza, San Gimignano, Tuscany, Volterra

Eating Milano Marittima – Notte E Di’

Jun23

Restaurant: Ristorante Notte E Di’

Location: Cervia / Milano Marittima, Italy

Date: June 10, 2011

Cuisine: Pizza etc

Rating: Great pizza place, bug menu

ANY CHARACTER HERE

After a morning touring ancient mosaics in Ravenna we were hanking for pizza — having reached a certain saturation level on good pasta (how would have thought that possibile?). We located a likely prospect on the Milano Marittima main drag, this time making sure that the pizza oven was on.


They had a huge menu, but i only photoed the pizza section.


Insalta Misto.

And the condiments. This place had a hot oil!


One of us evidently wasn’t ready to make the pasta -> pizza transition. Pistoli del mare. Look at that squidy goodness!


Pizza fungi.

Four cheese with arugula.


And my brother and I went for the “house for two,” which requires this stand.


It had prosciutto, arugula, sausage, mushrooms, and various cheeses.  Mmmm good. The crust was perfect too.


Check out the size!


And they brought us Limoncello (nicely chilled) at the end. Like melted lemon drops with a kick.


Cafe!

And a bit of foam for those that need to take it as a macchiato.

This was a fantastic pizza place, just what we wanted.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting
  2. Eating Milano Marittima – Ristorante La Frasca
  3. Eating Milano Marittima – Palace Hotel Breakfast
  4. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
  5. Eating Modena – Il Fantino
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cervia, eating-italy, Emilia–Romagna, Italian cuisine, Italy, Modena, pasta, Pizza, Prosciutto

Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting

Jun20

Restaurant: Lo Sporting

Location: Milano Marittima, Italy

Date: June 9, 2011

Cuisine: Trendy Italian

Rating: Decent food, but overpriced

ANY CHARACTER HERE

One of the cool things about the beach town of Cervia / Milano Marittima is that there are a lot of shops and restaurants on a lovely tree lined promenade stretching through town.


Notice how the old Italian Stone Pines grow right through the shops!


We stopped for lunch at a likely looking place called Lo Sporting.

The menu was huge, but I only photoed the part that was relevant. Really we had wanted pizza, and the place had the world “pizzeria” on the sign, but when we sat down they told us that the pizza oven was only available in the evening!


So it had to be pasta. My young son got this garginelli pomodoro.


Grilled tuna in balsamic sauce. They were surprisingly cold, and very rare. The sauce was tasty but I think it might have been better with warm fish and cold sauce.


Spaghetti pomodoro.

Mixed fish. On the left tuna in balsamic, in the back sepia (cuttlefish) in a vinegary sauce, and in the front right some white fish — possibly sardine fillets — marinated. This was all very tasty.


Lightly breaded shrimp and octopus skewers. I didn’t try it, but it was reportedly excellent.


Mozzarella salad.

Afterward we went across the street for some gelato. I often find in Italy that the gelato is much better than the restaurant desserts.


This is hazelnut and bacio (hazelnut chocolate with liqueur).

Coconut and pineapple.


Some chocolate being spooned in. Some of these places have 3-5 different chocolates to chose from!

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Milano Marittima – Palace Hotel Breakfast
  2. Eating Cervia – Locanda dei Salinari
  3. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
  4. Eating Bologna – Trattoria Leonida
  5. Eating Parma – Cocchi Ristorante
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cervia, Dessert, eating-italy, fish, Gelato, Ice cream, Italian cuisine, Italy, Milano Marittima, pasta, Pizza, Restaurant, Sauce

Waterloo & City

Jun01

Restaurant: Waterloo & City [1, 2, 3]

Location: 12517 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90066  310.391.4222

Date: May 21, 2011

Cuisine: Gastropub

Rating: Really tasty!

_

There has been real growth in the gastropub catagory here in LA during the last few years. Part of this is probably the recession which has encouraged somewhat lower key dining, but there’s probably more to it. When I first moved to LA (early 90s) things were dominated by flashy higher end “event” restaurants each with its own blend of novel fusion cuisine. Good examples of this would by Chaya, Matsuhisa, Chinois, Spago, Abiquiu. The next wave after that were the farmer’s market driven joints like Josie or Gjelina. In any case, on to Waterloo & City.


A view of the bar. This is a pretty big place.


The menu.

The drink menu. I didn’t feel like wine, so we tried out some of these.


“Oh Rickey! Russian Standard Vodka, Fresh Raspberries, Lime, Soda.” This tasted like fresh raspberries. It was sweet, but not too sweet. Good.


“Tamarindo Fever. Tequila Blaco, Tamarind, Grand Marnier, Habanero, Lemon, Lime Salt.” I’ve been trying a lot of these “hot drinks” lately. I like them. This was good, sour and hot at the same time. But it was really hot. Not enough to bother me, but enough that I worried about heartburn if I drink say, 2 or 3 of them.


This special cocktail had vanilla Stoli, fresh lemon juice and some other stuff. It tasted like a lemon candy.


Bread.


Waterloo has a lot of charcuterie. This was a small plate on the left, on the right are “Shrimp & Zucchini Blossom Fritters, piri piri hot sauce.” A tempura fried variant on the Italian favorite (in that case usually stuffed with ricotta).


“Yellowtail crudo, shallot & ginger dressing, spring salad.” This was very tasty. Besides the fish there was a bit of burrata and tomato in here too. But the fish was very succulent, and the ginger based dressing delicious. With all this stuff, including the radish, there was a very complex but harmonious flavor/texture thing going on, not unlike a dish at Red Medicine.


“Steamed mussels, red thai curry, lime ginger, ciabatta.” A very nice adaption of the french classic.


“Hand-cut pasta, English Peas, Italian Sausage, Parmesan.” Even though it was two nights in a row I couldn’t resist this dish, as it is close to one of my favorite pasta types. Yesterday’s version was a little better, but this was very nice. The sausage was flavorful and after chopping it up a bit so some could get in each bit made an excellent foil to the buttery sauce.


“Wild mushroom pizza, smoked mozzerella, truffle oil.” If I didn’t know better I’d have said that this was a bacon and mushroom pizza! It was really good. First of all, the crust was thin and chewy, but not over burned. The cheese was gooey, and the smoked mushrooms really really meaty. Good stuff, I should have tried their Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza, as they stole my idea!


“Beef Wellington.” Sweet and sour onions on top of a puff pastry, sitting on bacon wrapped asparagus.


Inside is the medium steak (could have been a bit rarer), fois gras, and maybe some more bacon/pancetta. Certainly rich…


“Crispy confit pork shank, spring potato, bacon salad, peas & favas.”


Look at this sucker! Confit (twice cooked in it’s own fat)! Then deep fried! It was just a ball of piggy goodness.


The dessert menu.


Special. Glazed beneits with creme anglais and raspberry jam. These were REALLY sweet, coated in a bit of carmel I think too (you can see it pooling beneath). Very much to my taste, but not for those that don’t have a MASSIVE sweet-tooth.


“Sticky Toffe Pudding, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Ice Cream.” Also excellent, with a not so dissimilar flavor profile. Both were intensely sweet. The ice cream helped cut it.

Overall I was very impressed with Waterloo & City. Things were extremely tasty, and there was a lot of stuff on the menu that I wanted to try but couldn’t. I’ll have to head back. It’s, however, not a light cuisine. Which is perhaps why it suited my taste.

For a second review of W & C, click here.

For another recent gastropub visit, check out Ford’s Filling Station.

Related posts:

  1. Red Medicine the Relapse
  2. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
  3. Seconds at Sotto
  4. Fraiche Santa Monica
  5. Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Cooking, Culver City California, Dessert, Donuts, gastro pub, gastropub, Grand Marnier, Los Angeles, Meat, pasta, Pizza, Pudding, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Restaurants and Bars, side dishes, United States, vegetarian, Waterloo & City

Sam’s by the Beach 3D

May25

Restaurant: Sam’s by the Beach [1, 2, 3]

Location: 108 W. Channel Rd.(PCH), Santa Monica, CA90402. 310-230-9100

Date: May 14, Sept 4, & Oct 30, 2011

Cuisine: Cal French International

Rating: Stellar food and unparalleled service.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I already covered the background to Sam’s in my FIRST REVIEW. Let’s just say this is a local place with an unusual and inventive menu that’s worth a drive.


An amuse of tuna tartar on endive.


I’d never heard of this “lesser” Bordeaux, but Sam opened this half-bottle and it was very nice. Characteristic Saint-Emilionsmooth. The 8 or so years gave it just enough age to settle the tanins.


The glass.

Today’s menu.


“Roasted Beet Salad, mixed with onions and tomato in Aged balsamic dressing, served with Feta Cheese croquet.”


This salad was a special, heirloom tomatoes and sashimi grade salmon with a bit of greens, orange, and a mustard vinaigrette.


Another special salad, this time with Santa Barbara shrimp (with roe), corn, and a lovely vinaigrette.


Sam’s grandmom’s butternut squash soup. Vegan with some olives. A lovely bit of fall flavor.


A special today, boar lasagne. The sauce is a tangy tomato cream sauce. This was a really good lasagne. The boar meat was tastier than ground beef.


“Vegetarian Crepes. Homemade Crepes filled with Swiss chard, wild mushrooms and zucchini served in tomato coulis.”  This is a very nice vegetarian option, and surprisingly hearty. The sauce is bread dippingly yummy.


Sam’s has a pizza oven and a variety of pizzas served mostly on Sundays. This is the margarita.


And the Shawarma pizza, which given my penchant for homemade interesting pizzas, I found very interesting. The sauce is a bit more like a harissa, and the pizza is covered with shawarma and pine-nuts.


And served with a tangy yoghurt dip. Good stuff.


Medditeranian seafood soup. But it comes with the traditional toastes and garlic aioli.


Prepping the breads.


The soup itself. Lots of different seafood and a fantastic tomato garlic broth.


With the toasts. They sog up nicely and make for gooey garlicky goodness.


“Grilled Wild Salmon. Served with braised Swiss chard, Pine Nuts, and roasted Sunchoke, with fresh oregano sauce.”


Special rack of Lamb in a dijon mustard vinaigrette. The lamb was tender. The sauce has a fantastic vinegary tone, bright with the mustard, but not overpowering. I had to sop it up with bread afterward. Served with various vegetables and ratatouille.

Green apple sorbet, with a true apple mouthfeel (even a bit mealy, like real apples).

His creme brulee is straight up traditional, and it’s the second best I’ve ever had in the world (there was this one in Avignon…).


My personal favorite, the bread pudding. Topped with a creme anglais, it is warm, rich, and soft, with a chocolate botom.


A few freebee biscotti for dessert.


The room (or technically, half the room).

For other reviews of Sam’s, see here or here.

Related posts:

  1. Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach
  2. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  3. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
  4. Josie Restaurant
  5. Piccolo – A little Italian
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bordeaux, Chard, Crêpe, Dessert, Feta, Pizza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad, Sam's by the Beach, Santa Monica California, Sauce, side dishes, Tomato, vegetarian, W Channel (Australia)

Palmeri again

May05

Restaurant: Palmeri [1, 2]

Location: 11650 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (310) 442-8446 ‎

Date: April 3, 2011

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great, and good value.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Palmei is one of our Sunday regular places. I’ve already covered the basics in my previous review. But it’s an always reliable and reasonable Italian with a very good kitchen.

The menu.

A nice little half bottle of Brunello. Parker gives it 92. “The 2005 Brunello di Montalcino is impressive for its open-knit, expressive bouquet of violets, dark cherries, minerals, menthol and grilled herbs. Medium in body, the wine delivers gorgeous length and a polished, refined finish. It is a strong effort in this vintage. The estate’s Brunello is made from vineyards in Castelnuovo dell’Abate (70%) and Canalicchio (30%). In 2005 La Gerla did not produce their Vigna gli Angeli bottling and opted instead to add that fruit to the regular bottling. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020.”

Palmeri has very nice bread, including the ever popular homemade grisini.

And best of all, they have this “amuse” (with the bread) ofmarinara sauce and ricotta baked. With bread, pretty much like pizza.

“Special Caprese of burrata and heirloom tomatos, olive oil and basil.” For my detailed write-up on burrata, see here.

Barbiatelli, beets, goat cheese, a bit of nuts and fruit.

Penne pomodoro, for our toddler.

He likes his parmesan.

“Ravioli, Crab meat filled black pasta in a saffron sauce topped with rock shrimp.” I love good pasta in these butter sauces. These are soft and the sweetness of the crab and shrimp go perfectly with the butter.

“Special pasta stuffed with ricotta and spinach.”

Pizza Fornarina. Mozzarella, St. Daniele prosciutto, argugla, parmigiano reggiano and truffle oil. I’m particularly partial to this pizza. The dough is very tasty and thin but chewy. The salad like combo of toppings top notch, and the bit of truffle oil lends a little extra zing.

For our previous Palmeri review, click here.

Or for a different Brentwood Italian.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats – Palmeri
  2. Quick Eats: Divino
  3. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
  4. Seconds at Sotto
  5. Piccolo – A little Italian
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Brunello di Montalcino, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Marinara sauce, Mozzarella, Olive oil, Palmeri, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pasta, Pizza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, San Vicente Boulevard, side dishes, vegetarian, Wine tasting descriptors

Seconds at Sotto

May01

Restaurant: Sotto [1, 2, 3]

Location:  9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035  310.277.0210

Date: April 26, 2011

Cuisine: Sicilian and Sardinian Italian

Rating: Bold flavors, off to a great start!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

We needed a restaurant to celebrate the end of passover that was very bready. Our first choice was Pizzeria Mozza, but even a week in advance they were booked until 10:30, so that was a no go. Instead we went back to Sotto which has a host of extremely robust homemade pastas and pizzas.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.


Sotto is up there on the new (and admirable) trend of having serious mixologists behind the bar. This is a vodka orange martini of some sort. There is more in there, but apparently it was very good.


And this was a vodka, lime, fresh mint, and some really interesting stuff I can’t remember. Again, it was supposedly really good.


The menu.

This unusual Italian white from my cellars was wonderfully flavorful. Almost bright yellow in the glass it had the kind of interesting floral taste that is completely absent from so many generic whites.


“Maharrones de pungiu (sugo semplice, fiore sardo).” A wonderful homemade take on a simple tomato and cheese pasta. The choice of fiore sardo (a Sardinian cheese) gave it a slightly different tang.

“Casarecce (braised lamb ragu, egg, pecorino).” This was one damn fine pasta. The pasta itself had exactly the right texture and firmness of good homemade egg pasta. The ragu was nicely flavorful and meaty. Yum! I love great ragu, and this was my favorite pasta of the night. Some other great takes on ragu can be found here at Drago or at Capo.


“Squid ink fusilli lunghi (pistachios, bottarga, mint).” These long firm ropes had a really interesting texture. There was no overt taste of squid, just a slight sweetness and a rich nutty quality to the pesto-like sauce. Tasty, but also fairly mild despite the “frightening” sounding ingredients.


“Toasted grain capunti (ragu bianco, black trumpets, rapini greens).” Another great pasta. The noodles themselves had an almost whole wheat quality to them, but they still had the nice al-denta pasta fresca thing going on which is a hallmark of all the Sotto pasta. The sauce was cheesy, earthy and delicious.


“Ciceri e tria (tagliatelle, chickpeas, baccalá).” The last of these ingredients is salt cod, and this is essentially a fish pasta. But without any fishiness. Instead it has a creamy salty taste, one of the better fish pastas I’ve had. The noodles were nice and firm, with a toothy feel and the little grissini added some nice texture contrast.


As we move up to the heartier pizzas, I pulled out this Amarone (from my cellars). “The 2000 Amarone has developed relatively quickly. The fruit remains fairly opulent, but suggestions of earthiness and worn-in leather suggest early signs of oxidation are creeping in. Ultimately the 2000 comes across a touch rustic and four-square. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2012.”


“Pizza Marherita (tomato, mozzerella, basil, EVOO).” Your basic Marherita, but well done. These pizzas have a VERY wood fired taste going on, much like those from Gjelina, they are a little over-fired to my taste. The dough is good, but they taste very strongly of the grill (char, smoky flavors). When I do them on the stones in my hot gas grill (see my Ultimate Pizza) they showcase the dough and toppings a bit more.


“Campagnola (sunchokes, fennel, mozzarella, marjoram, house-cured lardo).” A more mushroomy pizza. It was actually fairly mellow, possibly because we had them leave off the lard (which would have added a definite porky richness). Still it was very good.


“Guanciale (house-cured pork cheek, ricotta, scallions, fennel pollen).” This was my favorite pizza of the night. They have REALLy good ricotta here at Sotto, as good as I’ve had outside of Sicily (although certainly not close to that, which is incredible). The mellow softness of the cheese blended perfectly with the rich fattiness of the bacon. This also was not a hit you over the head pizza, but it was very good.


The dessert menu.


Classic Sicilian cannolis. Because of the quality of the ricotta, these were good, on par with the other high end cannolis in town (like from Drago). Still, not in the same league as those in Sicily, but they never are. A slice of candied orange shoved through them would have pushed it up a notch.


“Bittersweet chocolate crostata, hazelnuts, salted rosemary caramel.” This looked amazing, and the texture was fantastic and very chocolaty. There was a slightly odd flavor tone in here, which might have been the rosemary. I’m not sure it added, although certainly I enjoyed it.


“Sheep’s milk yougurt panacotta. Thyme, honey, almond amaretti.” This was a yummy! Like tangy yoghurt with all sorts of sweet goodies. I love amaretti too.

Overall there is a bit of split opinion among our party about Sotto. Some of us love it for exactly the same reason the other don’t. The flavors are bold, the preparations original, traditional (in their own way), and unabashedly not fully censored in an American way. The ingredients are great too. They could probably use to tame down the burn factor on the pizzas, but I love the rest of it, and the pastas are amazing. However, if you prefer the straight up and simpler tones of boxed pasta and sauces with only a single flavor note, look elsewhere.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.

Also, since this is a Sicilian/Sardinian place, I would like to issue my Cassata Challenge. Above is a photo of a Cassata di Siciliana that I took in Palermo. This is perhaps my all time favorite dessert and I have NEVER found anyone who makes it for real in America. Surprise me! Do it!

For my another of my reviews of Sotto, click here.

Or for a review of Drago, another Sicilian restaurant.

Related posts:

  1. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
  2. Fraiche Santa Monica
  3. Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach
  4. Sicilian Style – Drago
  5. Quick Eats: Divino
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Calabria, California, Cook, Dessert, Food, Italian cuisine, Italy, Los Angeles, pasta, Pecorino Sardo, Pizza, Pizzeria Mozza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sardinian (sheep), side dishes, vegetarian, Wine

Sotto – Sicily con Sardo

Apr18

Restaurant: Sotto [1, 2, 3]

Location:  9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035  310.277.0210

Date: April 16, 2011

Cuisine: Sicilian and Sardinian Italian

Rating: Bold flavors, off to a great start!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

This new venture into the crowded LA Italian scene is a welcome change of pace. Sotto offers very reasonably priced regional Italian dishes (southern, with a Sicilian and Sardinian slant) with an unabashed traditionalism of a sort. There is no real effort on this menu to cater to the long standing American Italian palette, as influences as it is by late 19th century Southern Italian cooking. This is no red sauce (restaurant with red and white checkered table cloths and chianti bottles).

Located in the rising lower Beverly Hills district we had to fight through crowds leaving shul to descend into the packed, loud, and hard surfaced interior.

The short but very reasonable menu.

James Suckling gives this 2004 Poggio Il Castellare Brunello 94 points. “A decadent and ultra-rich red, with plum tart, prunes, cooked meat and berries. Full bodied, with soft and silky tannins and a long, flavorful finish. An aromatically beautiful wine. Best after 2012.”

“Pittule pugliese (vincotto, ricotta).” These little fritters tasted like supreme funnel cake, and were delicious with the fresh ricotta and vincotto (which is a sweet grape must). The amusing thing, for me, about this dish is that it’s pretty much straight out of Apicius, the 1800+ year-old cookbook. Delicious any way you cut it, but very filling.

“Blistered little gems (anchovy garlic pestata, breadcrumbs, pecorino moliterno.” An interesting salad with a smoky grilled flavor.

“Shaved beet and mixed chicory salad (wheatberries, lemon vinaigrette, fiore sardo).”

Olives. There was a little wait between the first and second courses and they brought us these complementary olives.

“Bruschetta lardo.” And this gratis charred bread spread with lard and fennel pollen. Very wood fired (not to mention rich taste). I was in danger of extreme over eating before the entrees even came.

“Maharrones de pungiu (sugo semplice, fiore sardo).” A wonderful homemade take on a simple tomato and cheese pasta. The choice of fiore sardo (a Sardinian cheese) gave it a slightly different tang.

“Casarecce (braised lamb ragu, egg, pecorino).” This was one damn fine pasta. The pasta itself had exactly the right texture and firmness of good homemade egg pasta. The ragu was nicely flavorful and meaty. Yum! I love great ragu. Some of my other favorites are here at Drago or at Capo.

“Pizza Marherita (tomato, mozzerella, basil, EVOO).” Your basic Marherita, but well done. These pizzas have a VERY wood fired taste going on, much like those from Gjelina, they are a little over-fired to my taste. The dough is good, but they taste very strongly of the grill (char, smoky flavors). When I do them on the stones in my hot gas grill (see my Ultimate Pizza) they showcase the dough and toppings a bit more.

“Pizza Salsiccia e friarieli (sausage, broccoli di ciccio, mozzarella, chillies).” A very nice meaty sausage paired with the bitter tones of the Italian brocoli. Interesting, and good.

“Bittersweet chocolate crostata, hazelnuts, salted rosemary caramel.” This looked amazing, and the texture was fantastic and very chocolaty. There was a slightly odd flavor tone in here, which might have been the rosemary. I’m not sure it added, although certainly I enjoyed it.

After 11 and the place is beginning to thin out a bit. I really enjoyed Sotto and it BOLD take on Italian. This is heady stuff, and the homemade pastas were totally amazing.

For a second review of Sotto, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Upstairs 2 – Modern Tapas, Lots of Wine
  2. Piccolo – A little Italian
  3. Quick Eats: Divino
  4. Fraiche Santa Monica
  5. Quick Eats: Caffe Delfini
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Apicius, Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills California, Cook, Dessert, Italian cuisine, James Suckling, Los Angeles, Meat, pasta, Pecorino, Pecorino Sardo, Pizza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad, side dishes, Sotto, vegetarian, Wine tasting descriptors

Quick Eats – Palmeri

Feb25

Restaurant: Palmeri [1, 2]

Location: 11650 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (310) 442-8446 ‎

Date: February 13, 2011

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great, and good value.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Palmeri is one of Brentwood’s vast array of Italian restaurants. It’s one of our favorites though as the food is very good, the prices are extremely reasonable, and the service is very very friendly. Italians in LA fall either have a decent kitchen or they don’t, with only about 25-30% being having any real culinary knack. Palmeri is very solid this way. Everything is tasty and well executed. It’s not the most innovative place in the world, or the best Italian in town, but it serves very good modern Italian at very good prices.

From my cellar. Parker 95. “The profound, dense ruby/purple-colored 1999 Montiano (2,500 cases of 100% Merlot aged in 100% new French oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered) offers a smorgasbord of aromas, including melted chocolate, espresso, blackberries, cherries, currants, and smoke. Full-bodied, with terrific purity, a multilayered texture, and surprising freshness for a wine of such depth, it can be drunk young, or cellared for 10-15 years. For technicians who care about such things, it has a whopping 37 grams per liter of dry extract.”

Palmeri has very nice bread, including the ever popular homemade grisini.

And best of all, they have this “amuse” (with the bread) of marinara sauce and ricotta baked. With bread, pretty much like pizza.

Barbiatelli, beets, goat cheese, a bit of nuts and fruit.

Carpaccio. Raw “piemontese” beef, thinly sliced, topped with arugula, Parmigiano cheese and mustard. A solid carpaccio, very beefy.

Artichoke soup, vegan.

Penne pomodoro, for our toddler.

Pizza Margherita, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. With some extra mushrooms thrown in. They do a very nice very crisp Neapolitan pizza. They have a real pizza oven.

Salade Invernale. Endive, baby frisee,  radicchio, grapes, gorgonzola dolce, almonds, prosecco vinaigrette.

Mussels and clams in a garlic tomato broth.

Pizza Fornarina. Mozzarella, St. Daniele prosciutto, argugla, parmigiano reggiano and truffle oil. I’m particularly partial to this pizza. The dough is very tasty and thin but chewy. The salad like combo of toppings top notch, and the bit of truffle oil lends a little extra zing.

The owner, Octavio — always extraordinarily warm and welcoming.

For a second review of Palmeri, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Divino
  2. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini 2
  3. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  4. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini
  5. Quick Eats: Piccolo
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cook, Endive, Food, italian, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Marinara sauce, Mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pizza, Restaurant, Salad, side dishes, veg, vegan

Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday

Jan31

For the second half of my mother’s birthday weekend we hosted a small pizza party. I’ve already detailed the entire process involved in the making of my Ultimate Pizza (CLICK HERE for the index page). This party was merely a refinement of the process, but one which succeeded in taking the art to even higher levels.

This whole format makes a really great party. Newcomers don’t know what to make of it because pizzas come off the line slowly at first, in series, and everyone grabs a slice. No one sits down, but instead hovers around the kitchen island participating in the three hour frenzy of pizza making. Very fun and interactive.

First off the presses is this completely basic tomato and mutz pizza for my two-year old. He doesn’t appreciate complexity yet, although I have progressed him from generic orange cheddar to 2-3 year aged special reserve cheddar, which he is now very fond of :-).

 

Opening with some whites: a nice champagne, and a very nice riesling.

“The 2000 Brut Millesime Cuvee Speciale comes across as excessively heavy and almost sweet in its ripe fruit. Something is not quite right about the balance here. Disgorged: December, 2006. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2011.”

Parker gives this riesling 91 points, “An almost confectionary sense of sweetness and ripeness pervades the Prum 2009 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese, making it something of an exception in a vintage collection generally noteworthy for the restraint of residual sugar. Apple candy, caramel, and vanilla mingle on a creamy palate, with hints of salt, stone, and apple pit happily offering some counterpoint in a long and otherwise soothing finish. This showed more grip as it opened, and perhaps time will lend more cut and complexity to a Spatlese that on the basis of track record is likely to thrive for another quarter century or more. Incidentally, this represents the first of three lots of “regular” Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese, the last of which was still in tank in September.”

And the first red. Parker 93, “Super-ripe aromas of cookie dough, spices, and black cherry syrup can be found in the nose of the medium-bodied 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Pruliers. Its fabulously satiny texture, concentration, and purity are immensely impressive. This medium-bodied wine coats the palate with innumerable black fruits, minerals, and spices. Projected maturity: 2008-2018.”

Here is the evolution of my wife’s favorite pizza. Fresh tomato sauce (HERE for details and recipe), black mission figs, corn, mushrooms, roma tomatoes, and marcona almonds.

This is actually the second pizza of the night, as I had made my creme fraiche salmon pizza, but I forgot to get a photo. Fortunately, details can be FOUND HERE.

Cheese: mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino.

And then out of the oven. This time around I was trying to concentrate on slightly less irregular shapes, with some success. I have not mastered the art of “spinning” the pizza to get it very round, and the soft “00” based dough makes them very fragile.

This pizza employed a base of my special herb oil (detailed HERE at the end of this post). Then pesto (RECIPE HERE), steamed asparagus, almonds, tomato, various cheeses (including Bucheron), mushrooms, basil.

Out of the oven.

Caramelized onions, gorgonzola, figs.

Dressed with balsamic glaze. A very yummy sweet and salty pizza.

Besides all this pizza there was also a very yummy salad my mom made, with micro greens, granny smith apples, and a fresh homemade meyer lemon vinaigrette. I unfortunately forgot to take a photo, must have been running to the oven and back.

Here is a new one. One of my friends brought two new cheeses, a 5 year old aged Gouda and a 7 year old cheddar. Both cheeses were used here, along with breadcrumbs. This made fore a very yummy crunchy pizza, not unlike cheesy garlic toast.

My mother likes her pizzas fairly simple and veggie. This has classic tomato and mutz, plus mushrooms, basil, and julienned zucchini. I got to practice my knife skills with the julienne. She did throw a bit of the aged Gouda on.

It looks pretty different out of the oven, but it sure tasted great. The Gouda turned out to be a great sophisticated pizza cheese and melted here with the parm and mutz into a really great cheesy mess like on a good New Jersey style pie.

Gelsons was out of the Tikka Masala Sauce I used on New Years (HERE FOR DETAILS), but I bought a “coconut curry” sauce by the same company. It’s arrayed here with mutz blocks, corn, chaneterelle mushrooms, basil, red onion and bucheron.

I finished it with cilantro pesto (we had two different kinds of pesto this time around, DETAILS HERE). The purpose of the cilantro pesto was to mirror the finishing of a curry dish with a handfull of coriander (cilantro) leaves. The net affect on this pizza was less in your face than the Tikka Masala, but still very Indian, like Naan bread dipped in curry. Yum!

Pounding through the wines, had to crack a pair of brunellos.

Parker 91, “The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is a fresh, vibrant offering bursting with dark cherries, violets, underbrush, minerals and sweet toasted oak on a medium-bodied frame. The wine reveals terrific balance in an energetic, focused style, with firm yet ripe tannins. The finish is long, clean and refreshing. This is a gorgeous effort from Loacker. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2019.”

Parker 93, “The stunning, single vineyard 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli, exhibits more new oak than its sibling, as well as more power, concentration, alcohol, and extract. A deep garnet color accompanies huge, sweet aromas of roasted herbs, red and black currants, cherries, earth, incense, tobacco, and soy. This is a wine to lay away for 5-6 years. This chewy, full-bodied, spectacular Brunello will be at its finest between 2010-2022.”

 

This was a great pizza made by a newcomer to our culinary circle. Pesto, red onion, bucheron, herb oil, some various cheeses, and I think a bit of acacia honey.

I sold her on finishing it with Burrata (details on my favorite fresh cheese HERE), and then single vineyard olive oil and balsamic must.  It was REALLY good.

This puppy, also by a newcomer, used a sauce base of both the crushed tomato sauce and homemade romesco (I had made it two days before for my special eggs, DETAILS AND RECIPE HERE). We also used both the aged cheeses, and some good aged parm.

Also a very yummy pizza, with the romesco lending an extra bit of tanginess to the sauce.

Another newbie with this novel shaped pizza. Basic stuffs, a lot of basil, lots of cheeses and onion.

Out of the oven.

Scott, one of my most regular partners in pizza crime, tried to make this “mexican pizza.” The sauce is actually salsa, not regular tomato. Then corn of course, various cheeses, tomato, red peppers, and some sliced jalepeno I think.

Finished with burrata and cilantro. We wanted to use avocado too, but our farmer’s market avocados were hard as rocks, they needed another week or two to ripen.

My mother liked her basic veggie so much (as did many others) that she whipped up another one.

This is a highly experimental pizza. It used a port wine cheese and aged gouda, along with chopped farmer’s market dates, and even some splashes of the currently open wine (either a brunello or a very good cote de rhone — below).

Then it was finished with fig jam (not shown). This made it a very interesting sweet pizza, even if the color was a putrescent pink.

I decided to experiment with my own caramelized onion based pizza. I added Bucheron, sharp cheddar, marcona almonds, cherry compote, and a bit of harrisa.

After cooking.

Dressed with burrata and balsamic glaze. This was not my most successful combo, and I think the problem was the cheddar. It added a tangy sharpness that just didn’t work.

This used romesco alone as the sauce, along with all sorts of vegetables, figs and cheeses, including bucheron.

Finished with burrata and balsamic and olive oil. Yum!

More wine. Parker 90, “The 2006 Fonsalette Cotes du Rhone exhibits meaty, herbal, tapenade, pepper, animal fur, and damp earth-like notes. It is soft, round, lush, and best consumed over the next 10+ years.”

For a finale Mirella, another regular and adventurous pizza chef, concocted this baby. The sauce is a mix of Moroccan Harissa and caramelized onions! Aged cheeses, onions, sliced garlic, and gorgonzola dolce.

Cheesy, spicy, sweet, this was a delicious finisher.

But we weren’t done drinking. Parker 97, “The 2004 Reserva, according to Remirez is “a great vintage, a lot of nerve, like 1994, that needed a long aging period”. Opaque purple in color, it offers up a splendid bouquet of sandalwood, incense, Asian spices, balsamic, and black cherry. Layered, opulent, and impeccably balanced, it is a monumental effort.”

My mom’s birthday cake, yes she is one year younger than my toddler.


And after that cheese bomb of a meal, nothing like a little gelato/sorbetto to polish off the palette. We experimented with this gourmet store brand, Talenti. Pistachio, Lemon, Raspberry, Double Chocolate, and Blood Orange. For store bought ice creams these were very good, but it still doesn’t hold a candle to what you get at a good gelateria. Sigh. All were good, personally I thought the blood orange was the best.

Finito.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
  2. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
  3. Ultimate Pizza – The Toppings
  4. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Almond, Apple, Bucheron, Cheese, Cook, Cooking, Dessert, Dough, Food, Gelato, Gouda, Homemade pizza, Mozzarella, Olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pesto, Pizza, side dishes, sorbet, Tomato, Tomato sauce, vegetarian, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Gjelina Scores Again

Jan19

Restaurant: Gjelina [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, CA 90291. (310) 250-1429

Date: Jan 11, 2011

Cuisine: New Californian

Rating: Perfect lunch!

_

My brother and I love Gjelina’s for lunch. Nowhere else in LA is the casual New American done so right. This is my second review, you can find the first here.

Today’s menu. It changes up constantly, although there are similar themes.

They always have Burrata, which my loyal readers know I just adore (CLICK HERE for my home version).  This is “Burrata with Salted Anchovy, Pepperonata & Mint Pesto on Toasts.” Interesting. This has a vague resemblance to the classic Spanish dish done so well at Botin in Madrid (CLICK HERE to see). The anchovies were the salted kind, although good ones. I would have preferred the fresher Spanish fish, but it was still a soft and tasty dish.

“Wood Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, Parsley & Chili.” We always get this here, as it’s one of the best Cauliflower dishes I’ve had. Sour, tangy, and a tiny bit spicy.

This was a new pizza I hadn’t tried before. “Duck Sausage, Black Trumpet Mushroom, Garlic, and Mozzarella.” Good, but not as good as their “Lamb Sausage, Confit Tomato, Rapini, Pecorino & Asiago.” Or perhaps I’ve just become jaded by Ultimate Pizza.

Pizza at Gjelina’s always comes with the red pepper, parmesan, and oregano. A sort of high class variant of what you’d have on the table at a New York or Jersey pizza joint.

“Niman Ranch Lamb Burger with Harissa Aioli, Roasted Tomato & Arugula,” is usually on the menu, and for a reason. Not only are the seasoned fries great (particularly with the aioli and the harissa), but the burger is totally succulent lamb city.

Close up of that pink!

And the best thing at Gjelina: “Butterscotch Pot de Crème with Salted Caramel & Crème Fraiche.” This is an absolutely perfect desert to my taste. Rich creamy butterscotch creme, carmel, and a bit of salt.

No disappointments here.

If you liked this New American, click for reviews of similar places: Rustic Canyon (REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2), Tavern (REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2), or coming soon, Fig.

Related posts:

  1. The New American – Gjelina
  2. Quick Eats: Divino
  3. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  4. Ultimate Pizza in Review
  5. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: American Cuisine, Burrata, California, Creme Brule, Dessert, Food, Garlic, gjelina, Italian cuisine, Madrid, Mozzarella, New York, Pizza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, side dishes, United States, vegetarian

Quick Eats: Divino

Jan12

Restaurant: Divino

Location: 11714 Barrington CourtBrentwood, CA 310.472.0886

Date: Jan 07, 2011

Cuisine: Italian

Summary: Solid value.

 

Divino is another of Brentwood’s seemingly endless supply of Italian eateries. I find this one in the upper middle of the pack. It’s pretty good, and very reasonably priced, but not brilliant. The menu can be found here.

I ordered this “super tuscan.” Very nice wine actually, grapey in the extreme. Parker gives it 92 points. “This is a superb set of releases and I can’t recommend the wines highly enough. The 2003 Testamatta (70% Sangiovese, 15% Colorino, 12% Canaiolo and 3% Moscato Nero Malvasia Nera) is a deeply concentrated, expressive wine packed with the essence of black cherries, licorice, smoke, minerals and underbrush. It is a surprisingly fresh, finessed and elegant wine for this vintage, even if it can’t quite match the sublime 2004. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2018.”

They have regular bread and this “pizza bread.” This is just pizza dough baked in the pizza oven with no toppings, and then drizzle with olive oil. I do this extensively myself at home during the course of Ultimate Pizza (see here for more).

“Mozzarella Divino. Slices of fresh mozzarella & roma tomato, with extra virgin oil and basil.”

Beet and burrata special. Yes, even after going through two whole tubs of Burrata at home this week (CLICK FOR DETAILS), I ordered this. Nice burrata prep. The cheese was in perfect soft ripeness, and went well with the beets.

A “free” intermezzo of tomato, goat cheese, and eggplant, with basil. This was tasty.

“Ravioli Zucchini. Freshly prepared pasta filled with ricotta cheese & spinach topped with fresh zucchini sauce.” These were perhaps a little mushy, I like my pasta a bit firmer.

Another special. Spaghetti with lobster. Very nice. There was a bit of celery in here that lent this a very slightly asian noodle salad flair.

We didn’t order desert, but they gave us for “free” these little Italian cookies. The only sugar was the… sugar. They would have gone well with expresso.

All in all Divino does a nice job for the money. They aren’t revolutionary, but the food is solid and reliable, and they are considerably way modern than some of the Italian joints that haven’t changed their decor (or menu) since the 60s.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  2. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini 2
  3. Quick Eats: Piccolo
  4. Quick Eats: Andy’s Spanish Eggs
  5. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burrata, Cook, Dessert, Food, Italian cuisine, Lobster, Mozzarella, Olive oil, pasta, Pizza, Ravioli, Restaurant, side dishes, vegetarian, Wine tasting descriptors, Zucchini

Ultimate Pizza in Review

Jan09

Since I have so many Ultimate Pizza posts I wanted to gather their links together into a single page. But I solemnly promise this is the last pizza post for a good while — at least until I prepare another batch of them!

In summary, every couple of months we make homemade pizzas. Like many things at my household, we take this to the extreme in a quest to reach the Ultimate level of quality. Hence Ultimate Pizza. This pizzas are really good (and a lot of work), and to do them justice required quite a number of articles. I broke them down on individual topics.

Ultimate Pizza – The Dough
Ultimate Pizza – The Pesto
Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce
Ultimate Pizza – The Toppings
Ultimate Pizza – New Years (pizza itself)
Ultimate Pizza – Day 2 (more pizza)
Ultimate Pizza – Day 3 (and even more)
Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday (the second coming)
Ultimate Pizza – The Comeback (the third coming)
Ultimate Pizza 2012
Ultimate Pizza – New Years 2012
Ultimate Pizza – New Years 2014
Between Ultimate Pizza there is Burrata

If you still want to see more food after this, check out the FOOD INDEX which links to all my food related posts.

Also I throw in here a survey of random pizza photos from past pizza nights:

IMG_1785











IMG_9840

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
  2. Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce
  3. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
  4. Ultimate Pizza – The Pesto
  5. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
By: agavin
Comments (18)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burrata, Cook, Food, Home, New Year, Olive oil, Pesto, Pizza, side dishes, Tomato sauce, ultimate_pizza, vegetarian

Ultimate Pizza – Day 3

Jan07

The seventh Ultimate Pizza post. Earlier in the series were Dough, Pesto,Sauce, Toppings, New Years Pizza, and Day 2. Woah!
We had family over on Sunday to polish off the seven remaining pizza balls and work our way through some more of the toppings. I made a number of repeat pizzas that I didn’t photo, like another Tuna and another Lox pizza. So there were about four pizzas made but not pictured.

This puppy has black truffle sauce, then a generous spread of caramelized onion marmelade, gorgonzolla, parmesaen, morel mushrooms, marcona almonds, cherry compote, and drizzled honey.

After baking.

Then I added some fresh basil, burrata, and drizzled balsamic glaze and olive oil. It was really good. The sweetness of the onions mixed nicely with the salty blue cheese and nuts giving it that sweet and salty factor that I’m very fond of.

A repeat of my Tikka Masala pizza. Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan, onions, corn.

Dressed with basil and olive oil.

A tomato sauce, fresh tomato, mozzerella, archichoke, sun dried tomato pizza.

Dressed with a little basil and olive oil.

We ran out of balls, and my niece wanted a pizza of her own creation so we used a tortilla. This one has pesto, tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, and sliced tomatos.

Then dressed with bail. The tortilla actually worked incredibly well. It came out like a water cracker, incredibly thin and crunchy. The overall feel of the pizza was very light and crispy. I was surprised. Different than our chewy tasty pizza dough, but good.

With that I conclude the endless saga of Ultimate Pizzas. It will be at least a few weeks before I have the energy to do them again.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce
  2. Ultimate Pizza – The Pesto
  3. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
  4. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Toppings
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Almonds, Cooking, Food, Home, Morels, Mozzarella, New Year, Olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pesto, Pizza, Tikka Masala, Tomato, Tomato sauce

Ultimate Pizza – Day 2

Jan03

Here we are at the sixth Ultimate Pizza post. My neck is all knotted up from this much obsession. Earlier in the series were Dough, Pesto, Sauce, Toppings, and New Years Pizza.

Since we had a lot of dough balls, and tons of ingredients, why not get a couple meals out of it.

I wanted to do a “Jewish Pizza.” I’ve done it before, and I’ve refined the technique. First I mixed up the “sauce.” Pictured is dill, chives, and creme fraiche.

Creme cheese isn’t fresh enough, so creme fraiche! Mixed up here. I set this aside.

Then I rolled my pizza and glazed it in olive oil (single vineyard) and a little fresh rosemary from the yard. As my wife calls it: “Osiris pee rosemary.” (The dog does, after all, use the yard).

This bakes really quickly, just 4-5 minutes. With this pizza you bake it first. I tried putting the creme fraiche on before baking in a previous session. This worked MUCH better.

Add the creme.

Red onions and capers. As you would on a bagel.

Wild scottish smoked salmon! And more capers and onions. This was really really yummy.

My wife recreated her crowd pleasing margarita + corn, almonds, mushrooms, and figs.

Baked up nicely.

My Tikka Masala pizza worked so well on New Years that I tried it again. This time I took care to get it neater, and I left off the basil until the end. Tikka Masala sauce, ricotta, red onion, corn, little mozzarella balls.

In the oven.

Neater than last night.

Added the basil and a touch of olive oil. Just as good the second time.

PLEASE CONTINUE if you want to learn more about Burrata. Or, CLICK HERE for the final pizza post.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Toppings
  2. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
  3. Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce
  4. Ultimate Pizza – The Pesto
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Dough
By: agavin
Comments (10)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: chives, Cook, Cooking, Creme Fraiche, dill, Dough, Food, Lox, New Year, Olive oil, Onion, Pesto, Pizza, Red onion, smoked salmon, smoked salmon pizza, Tikka Masala, Tomato sauce, vegetarian

Ultimate Pizza – New Years

Jan02

Finally, five posts later, we come to the main event, the Ultimate Pizza. This post is pretty epic, but just to recap. We set the stage with articles on the Dough, the Pesto, the Sauce, and the Topping Preparation.

Now everything is set to go. Most of the toppings and the workspace.

The pizza stones (actually, there’re ceramic) are in the grill, and it’s been heated to 800-900 degrees.

The dough balls (read about their preparation HERE) have been taken out of the fridge two hours before and are rapidly rising on the counter. In fact, they will soon escape their plastic prisions on their own.

The peels, spatulas and pizza cutters are on the counter.

And more importantly the wine station is set up. The bottles in the back are “best ofs” from previous nights.

Being New Years, it’s time for the big guns.

For the white lovers: “The 2009 Kabinetts were absolute knockouts, and the one from Dönnhoff’s famed Oberhäuser Leistenberg vineyard is a likely candidate for Kabinett of the vintage! A complex core fragrance of golden apple, vanilla, orange peel, and Indian spices are subtly interwoven with notes of clove and incense. In the mouth, the wine shows impeccable purity, concentrated tangerine and tropical fruits, livel y acidity and pretty mineral notes that become pronounced on the back palate. Complex and beautiful, it is the essence of why the wines of Dönnhoff are referred to as ‘the most perfect Riesling can ever be.”

And for the red lovers. A perfect wine.  Parker gives it 100+.   “This is a Le Pavilion of mythical proportions. Produced from extremely old vines, some dating from the mid-nineteenth century, with yields averaging under 15 hectoliters per hectare, this is the richest, most concentrated and profound wine made in Hermitage. The 1991 Ermitage Le Pavilion follows the pattern of the 1989 and 1990-it is another perfect wine. The saturated black/purple color is followed by a compelling bouquet of spices, roasted meats, and black and red fruits. Enormously concentrated yet with brilliant focus and delineation to its awesomely endowed personality, this extraordinary wine should age effortlessly for three plus decades. Very powerful and full, yet displaying silky tannin, this is a seamless beauty! Anticipated maturity: 2001-2035.”

The ’91 Le Pavilion was the first truly great wine I ever tasted, back in 1996, and I bring out a bottle of it every once and a while to remember the glory days.

For my first pizza I thought I’d give something new a try. The Tikka Masala Pizza. While shopping I had found this stuff, and it looked good.

This is basically a tomato butter spice sauce, perfect as a substitute for regular tomato sauce.

Then I had to imagine what would go well with it. Mild cheese I thought, so I went with ricotta. Some corn, fresh chanterelle mushrooms, and a bit of basil.

It tasted WAY better than it looked, which is generally the case with these homemade pizzas. Notice the cornmeal by the way. This is a very important part of the process, allowing pizzas to be slid around easily. Even after doing this about a dozen times (perhaps 100 pizzas) I still mess it up a lot. You need to make sure you can move the pizza without making a mess if you want a pretty result. I wasn’t totally successful this time and some of the sauce slopped to the edges. Next time I’d also put the basil on after cooking, or late on the grill.

It still tasted FANTASTIC! Like naan dipped in Tikka Masala sauce.

One of my friends concocted this one. Herb oil as the base (the one I made in the sauce article), and then the pesto I also described.

Sun dried tomatos, and goat cheese.

After baking, drizzled with balsamic glaze. This was real good too. Goat cheese and sun dried tomatos go really well together, and the herby/basil thing complimented nicely.

A mini. Sweet onion marmelade, gorgonzola, figs.

Also drizzled with balsamic glaze. This was really really good, sweet. Unfortunately half of it was accidentally knocked on the floor and enjoyed by Osiris (the dog).

My wife likes a fairly straight up pizza. The fresh tomato sauce I made earlier in the day, roma tomatos, figs, mushrooms, mozzarella, parm, pecorino. She did add some marcona almonds. Everyone enjoyed it immensely, as it’s a very bright and perfect version of the classic margarita pizza, but with a bit texture and sweetness.

This is another one of my cooky creations. Herb oil, the crushed tomato sauce, red onion, capers, and most of a jar of really really good Italian chunk tuna packed in olive oil.

I tossed on a couple morels too and baked it.

Then to dress it. My favorite fresh cheese in the world. Burrata. I’m going to write a whole post about this stuff in a couple days.

I put a virtual salad on top using my pre-prepared arugala tossed in meyer lemon juice and black pepper (discussed here in the toppings). Then I drizzled single vineyard olive oil and balsamic must on top. I’ll write about those with my burrata article. The net result is AWESOME. The tomato, onion, caper mix below provides a delicious tang that pairs with the tuna, and then the bright citrusy flavor of the salad, and the mild creamy cheese. Yum Yum.

For my next trick. I used as a sauce the pre-bought “black truffle sauce,” then added mozzarella, parmesan, gorgonzola, bucheron, marcona almonds, figs, corn, white asparagus, and morels. Then I drizzled blobs of pesto, tikka marsala sauce, cherry compote, and fig jam on top, and a thin swirling of acacia honey! This is a sweet and salty pizza, a variant of one of my masterpieces that I call Formaggio Maximus (that one has more cheese, and less funny sauces).

I botched the transfer again because it was so heavy and wet. So it’s ugly, but it still tasted great.

Then I dressed it with the burrata. This is a very tasty pizza, with all sorts of sweet and salty flavor surprises in every bite.

Another big bertha of a wine. Parker gives it 98!  “The Philadelphia tasting was the finest showing yet for this wine, which has been forbiddingly tannic, backward, and broodingly difficult to assess for much of its life. In the blind tasting, I thought it was Lafleur, and came close to giving it a perfect rating. Although still youthful, it has turned the corner and is emerging from its closed state.
A murky, dense, opaque garnet color is followed by spectacular aromatics of roasted herbs, smoked meats, cedar, prunes, black cherries, and black currants. Rich, powerful, and full-bodied, with a thick, unctuous texture, considerable fat and glycerin, and dazzling concentration, Certan de May has not produced a wine of such intensity, thickness, and aging potential since their 1949, 1948, 1947, and 1945. It is accessible, but do not mistake that for maturity. This 1982 demands another 5-6 years of cellaring; it should age easily for 30+ years. It is a modern day classic, and unquestionably the finest Certan de May I have ever tasted.”

One of my friends whipped up this peanut sauce by combining skippy, sugar, soy sauce, and a bit of water for consistency.

Then he put down the herb oil and white asparagus.

Corn and a few almonds.

Then the peanut sauce and a little bit of mozzarella.

The result.  Again it looks a little ugly, but tasted amazing. As a kid I used to melt peanut butter on pita bread in the toaster oven. This was like the 100x better version of that. Sweat and spicy. The thing with custom pizzas is that anything that goes well with toasted bread (and that’s a lot) will work on a pizza.

This all took a long time, but we still had to wait for the ball to drop. So expresso. I have a little Italian commercial machine because I’m ridiculously obsessive about doing everything at the maximum level of quality — work or play.


New Years approaches. And so time for the crystal and Cristal. Parker gives this 96. “The estate’s 1996 Cristal, from a legendary vintage, does not disappoint. Like the 1979, there are elements of austerity that will require some time to sort themselves out, yet the 1996 is an insanely beautiful Cristal loaded with floral, perfumed fruit and vibrant minerality. The wine turns delicate in the glass, yet this is a sublime, fresh Cristal that is in need of further cellaring. In 1996 Cristal is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. According to Lecaillon 1996 is a vintage that did not respond well to oak aging, so only 3% of the wine was aged in wood, while 10% of the wine saw malolactic fermentation. This bottle was disgorged in 2007 and dosage was 8 grams. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2026.”

I use Riedel Sommelier crystal because it’s well… excessive. Austrian leaded old school hand blown crystal. Nothing else will do. Just touch touch it, and washing is a total nightmare. It takes about 5 minutes a glass, and can only be done by hand.

Desert. From Bottega Louie. We had a passionfruit poof thingy (upper left) that was amazing. A coconut sponge cake (lower left) which was pretty good. A chocolate thing (upper right) which was fair.

A coffee creme brulee (left center) which was awesome. A hazelnut choc cake (lower left) which was pretty good. A real dense bitter chocolate “cake” (upper right) and an amazing creme puff (lower right).

 

After all that, Osiris has the right idea. Happy New Year!!

We have so many toppings that two more days of pizza are possible, so I’ll be back soon with more reporting.

Please CONTINUE HERE when we make even more pizza for New Years Day.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce
  2. Ultimate Pizza – The Pesto
  3. Ultimate Pizza – The Toppings
  4. Ultimate Pizza – The Dough
  5. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
By: agavin
Comments (10)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burrata, Cheese, Cooking, Dessert, Donnhoff, Food, Gourmet Pizza, Italian Tuna, Kabinett, New Year, Olive oil, Peanut Sauce, Pesto, Pizza, Pizza Oven, Pizza Stone, Pomerol, side dishes, Syrah, Tikka Masala, Tomato sauce, Tuna, vegetarian, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Ultimate Pizza – The Toppings

Jan01

When making Ultimate Pizza fresh ingredients are one of the most crucial elements. I already went over the preparation of the Dough, the Pesto, and the Sauce. Now I’ll cover the bulk of the shopping and for toppings.

I get most of my “fancy” condiments at Bay Cities Italian Deli and Bakery. This is a convient one-stop-shop spot for all sorts of Italian (and other) goodies.

I have never been in there when they aren’t mobbed. The deli counter wait alone is usually 30-45 minutes.

They make some darn good hoagies, and they have a bit of outside seating. Even though it’s December 31 the weather is gorgeous.

I had them make a “Jersey Style” Italian Hoagie. No mayo. No mustard. Just cold cuts, provolone, and oil and vinegar. Oh and don’t forget the onions, lettuce, pepper-chinos.

I went to the Gelsons for produce. Bay cities doesn’t really have produce.

The loot nestled in the trunk. This is pizza only for five!

Dairy. Next after the dough, and possibly the olive oil, nothing is so important as the dairy. Burrata, world’s greatest fresh cheese, fresh from the local creamery. Mozzarella (balled and blocks from shredding), Creme Fraiche, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, Ricotta, Bay Cities House Blend (parm and pecorino grated), and Bucheron (very fancy goat cheese). I threw in some Egg Nog because of the season.

Some jarred and canned stuff. Anchovies (in vinegar and in oil), black truffle oil, Italian tuna, capers, roasted peppers, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, tomatoes, various compotes, jams, corn (sometimes I’ll roast it fresh but I was too busy), and more.

Polenta to use as “pizza lube” (getting it off the stones and peels). Olive Oil (single vineyard), balsamic must (the Romans used this), honey, garlic, vinegars, onion marmelade, balsamic glaze, black mission figs, marcona almonds. I have white truffle oil too, but I forgot to stick it in the photo.

Produce. Five types of mushrooms, including morels and fresh chanterelles. Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano, Chives, Dill, Sage, Cilantro, Mint, Arugala, crushed red pepper.

More produce. Italian squash. Red onion, avocado, lemons, meyer lemons, roma tomatos.

Every item needs to be prepped and put in a bowl or similar so it is accessible during the pizza making. Here is the basil. In total, this is a huge amount of work.

Mozzarella is grated.

Arugala is coated in Meyer Lemon and fresh ground pepper.

Gorgonzola crumbled.

Dried mushrooms rehydrated, fresh ones washed.

White asparagus boiled and blanched.

Vegetables chopped.

In aggregate, this prep takes 2-3 hours, even after all the shopping. The the above is just a sampling of photos.

Here is the complete spread prior to guest arrival.

Please CONTINUE HERE WITH THE PIZZA ITSELF.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce
  2. Ultimate Pizza – The Pesto
  3. Ultimate Pizza – The Dough
  4. Quick Eats: Andy’s Spanish Eggs
  5. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bay Cities, Black pepper, Bucheron, Burrata, Cook, Cooking, Creme Fraiche, Deli, Dough, Eggnog, Food, Home, Olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pesto, Pizza, Shopping

Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce

Dec31

This is part 3 of my comprehensive coverage of our New Years pizza making, following the article on Dough and the one on the Pesto. Upcoming will be toppings and the pizzas themselves.

Here are the ingredients. Two types of marzano tomatos from Italy. Crushed and pulped. Garlic, lemons, salt, pepper, oregano, and fresh basil.

We use this recipe from the excellent pizza making book American Pie as a basis, but wing the proportions.

Dump a bunch of stuff in, and blend. This is super easy and makes a much much fresher and better tomato sauce than any canned sauce. One could use fresh Marzanos, but they can be a bit of trouble to find.

The vat.

As a tease, here is the “pizza oven” in preparation. I have two ceramic pizza stones and I shove them in a Viking outdoor gas range. If one pre-heats an hour in advance it will get up to 800-900 degrees F — hot is good for pizzas.

Southern California, December 31, 2010. 62 Degrees and gorgeous.

At the last minute I decided to try and make some of this herb oil.

I through all sorts of herbs together, including fresh rosemary from the garden, and some garlic.

Dumped in some olive oil and stirred vigorously (picture is before the stirring). We’ll see how it tastes in a couple hours.

Please CONTINUE HERE as we get closer to Ultimate Pizza.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Pesto
  2. Ultimate Pizza – The Dough
  3. The New American – Gjelina
  4. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  5. Quick Eats: Panini at Home
By: agavin
Comments (7)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Basil, Cooking, Dough, Food, Garlic, Herb Oil, Herbs, Home, Italy, New Year, Olive oil, Oregano, Pesto, Pizza, San Marzano Tomato, Southern California, Tomato, Tomato sauce

Ultimate Pizza – The Pesto

Dec31

This is part 2 of my series on Ultimate Homemade Pizza. For Part 1 (on Dough) CLICK HERE. We prepare a lot of different toppings, including homemade pesto, which makes an excellent substitute or compliment to tomato sauce. Most toppings will have to wait for the day of, but pesto can be made a day or two in advance.

The ingredients. Fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil (fine single vineyard), and parmesan.

One can do this by hand or with the Food Processor. Today was rainy, and we felt lazy. It’s also hard work to get a really fine texture with the mortar and pestel.

All ingredients in.

Bass-o-matic! A little pepper tossed in too.

The final result. Intensely basil — and green!

This is a photo of another time when I did it the hard way. Takes some serious elbow grease.

The Ultimate Pizza guide continues HERE.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Dough
  2. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  3. The New American – Gjelina
  4. Food as Art: Hatfield’s part 1
  5. Quick Eats: Panini at Home
By: agavin
Comments (12)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cooking, Food, Food Processor, Garlic, Home, Mortar and pestle, Olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pesto, Pine nut, Pizza, sauces, Tomato sauce, vegetarian
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