Peach, Arugula, and Gorgonzola Pizza

This pizza was inspired by a flavor of the day at The Cheeseboard in Berkeley (Best pizza place hands down....if you love crunchy California flavors and farmers market produce) I did not get to try this flavor at the Cheeseboard and after seeing the toppings and not getting to indulge in what I had anticipated as one of the best pizzas I would ever eat, I had to simply make it for myself. While I didn't have the pizza slab and the 600 degree oven, the result was pretty tasty none the less. I used whole wheat dough from trader joes, but making you own is so easy if you just plan ahead.

For dough:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine water, yeast, and sugar in mixing bowl, and wait until yeast is frothy.
3. Mix flour, salt, olive oil, and spices into yeast mixture (mix salt into the second cup of flour to combine).
4. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
5. Roll dough out into a large pizza peel, or onto two medium-size baking sheets.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes, and set aside.

(From Sugarlaws)

I baked the dough for about 7 minutes before putting any toppings on. Then I put on slices of peaches, mozzarella cheese and Gorgonzola. The arugala went on the last 2 minutes so it didn't wilt too much. I then added a little lemon vinagrette for that added tangyness. It was fabulous!

Serve hot!

French Crepes (Brittany style)

It was a beautiful sunny day in San Francisco and we met up with Arnaud from Brittany, who works with my roommate Angie. Brittany is a part of france known for their crepes. He cooked up some amazing crepes and we smothered them with ice cream, banannas, cherries, and love. We had them on the stoop of his victorian house in the Haight and we soon had melting ice cream dripping down our hands from the warm crepe....it was a divine experience. I was also taught how to fashion the crepe in the proper french style (being American I was thinking we would need a knife and fork). I would highly recommend learning how to make crepes because not only is it delicious, it is also a great way to enjoy any stoop on a sunny Saturday. I didn't have time to get the exact recipe, but here is one close to it. The key is using the right amount of butter on the pan when you're cooking the crepe, and getting it thin and slightly crispy on the edges. The inside toppings are up to you, but from my experience with the French, nutella is one of the primo ingredients. I also like sugar and lemon.

3/4 cups all purpose flour (buckwheat flour is also good for savory crepes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

mix everything in a large mixing bown until smooth
(you can also chill the batter for 30 minutes in the fridge if you have the time)
Heat the pan over medium and brush with butter (Arnaud used a paper towel dipped in butter and spread it on the pan)
Pour the batter in the hot pan and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. If there are still uncoated portions of the pan, pour more batter on and swirl. Cook for about a minute and flip using a spatula or a flick of the rist if you're daring.
This makes about 8-10 crepes.

Stack the crepes on a plate and take them outside to the stoop. Be sure to add your toppings only to a small part of the crepe, fold in half, and then fold again so the crepe makes a triangle. It's best to take the first bite from the bottom where all the goodies are, but this does result in a bit of a sticky mess for the inexperienced such as myself. But I'm willing to practice my crepe technique as much as possible if it means I can make more crepes. The next crepe will be buckewheat crepes with ham and Gruyere.

Greek Style Taco

I love the way the yogurt sauce in this taco really balances with the vegetables and creates a very refreshing meal. I stir fried the vegetables with onions, red pepper, black beans, and garlic with a little cumin. The black beans were Rancho Gordo beans from the ferry building farmers market. We had some leftover tortillas from enchiladas we made before and I was inspired by the crisp cucumber waiting in my fridge to be eaten. I added the yogurt and diced cucumber with some salt and pepper and put it on the taco as a finishing touch. The crunch from the cucmber also gave the taco that extra pizzaz. Here is the recipe:

Half and Onion
one green pepper (or other colored peppers)
1 clove garlic
black beans (soaked and pre cooked)
corn torilla
nonfat yogurt
english cucumber
salt and pepper

Saute the chopped onions and garlic in olive oil. Add the cumin unti aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped pepper and let soften about 5-10 minutes. Add the black beans and stir. Meanwhile, made the yogurt sauce with cucumber, salt, and pepper (you cad add dill or vinegar as well). Cook the corn tortilla on a pan with a little olive oil until crispy, about 5 minutes. Put the begetable and bean mixture in the corn tortilla and spoon over the yogurt sauce. Enjoy and make seconds!

Seafood Paella

We finally made Paella! I've been meaning to make paella for a long time now and haven't had the occasion or the excuse to feed that many people. When the roommate bought special paella rice and saffron, I new it was in the works. We used the Trader Joe's seafood mix in the freezer section and it worked out really well. Chicken, peas, and peppers also accompanied our Paella and in the end we had a fabulous Spanish feast. I made arugula with lemon Parmesan vinaigrette inspired by my two favorite food bloggers Alanna and Alex and their blog Two Fat Als. The Paella is also from their site:
Paella Recipe

We modified it slightly but really you can add to this dish anything you have lying around. It is meant to be a dish that can take on many flavors and feed lots of people. Feliz Cocinando!(maybe too much of a literal translation but you get my drift)

Easter Salad

This salad was super easy to put together, mostly because everything was already cooked and I just had to assemble. It's a bit of a hodgepodge of ingredients but each one added it's own character to the salad. I brought everything together with a bit of lemon vinaigrette. The eggs were soaked with beet juice so they turned a pretty shade of pink which makes this salad perfect for Easter.

the ingredient list:

spinach
Trader Joes frozen sweet corn (it's super yummy)
red beets
sauteed tofu
parsley
green onions
artichoke
carrots
boiled egg

Vinaigrette:
Lemon juice
olice oil
salt , pepper

Miso Soup

I had the urge to make miso soup ever since I saw it on 101 cookbooks. I'd never cooked with miso paste, and it seemed like the variations on the dish were endless. I made this miso soup with soft tofu, green onions, brown mushrooms, soba noodles, white miso, and leeks (but only because I had them leftover) . It would have been nice to add bok choy or something else green. I topped it off with cilantro which added a really fresh flavor kick at the end. The trick to miso soup is getting the miso concentration just right. I added about 2 tablespoons of the miso paste, let is simmer for about 5 minutes, and then taste. I continued to add more little by little until it reached the right taste profile. But be careful, it's easy to add too much miso. Here is the recipe.

Saute 1 bushel leeks or bok choy, mushrooms, and tofu in a pan with a little oil until wilted (leeks take a fair amount of time to get tender)
Pre-cook soba noodles (boil for about 5-10 minutes in salted water)
Add sauteed greens, mushrooms, and tofu to the noodles in water.
let simmer for 5 minutes
Add 2 tablespoons miso paste and stir until dissolved.
Add more miso to taste.
Serve with chopped fresh cilantro and more chopped green onions.

Enjoy!

You can really add anything in the miso to make it your own. Some other ideas are:
egg drop
parsley
snap peas
ginger
sprouts

Beer Can Chicken

We made this for Grace and Rene's Birthday party. It was inspired by our trip to Napa and our dinner at The Bounty Hunter. In an idea world, this would be cooked on a grill. I cooked it in the oven and it worked out great. The key is to cut the top off the beer can with a can opener. Then pour half the beer out and put some of the seasoning inside. Then place the chicken sitting upright over the beer can. The whole point is that the beer will boil up and flavor the chicken. Make sure you have a good rub for the chicken as well. I used the following:

cumin
chili powder
tumeric
brown sugar
paprika
salt
pepper

The Beer: Tecate

The result: delicious!