Mango & Tomato: pizza

4/19/17

Ricotta, Potato & Asparagus Pizza Made With Oxo

My Ricotta, Potato & Asparagus Pizza is pretty easy to make, a fun twist on your typical tomato sauce based pizza, and is great as leftovers for lunch.

My friends at oxo sent me 3 new-to-me products to try and use to make this pizza, but I received no monetary compensation, and as always, all opinions are my own.

Non-Stick Pro Pizza Pan features a micro-textured pattern to improve airflow for even baking and rigidity for strength and durability.
Complete Grate & Slice Set includes coarse and medium grating and straight and julienne slicing surfaces. Each can be used over bowls or plates or placed on top of the lid, which doubles as a container for collecting and measuring.
4" Pizza Wheel's clear plastic wheel won't damage non-stick pans, and the slick surface prevents cheese from sticking.

Let's talk about the pizza pan: it has a good weight to it, browns things evenly, and can be easily used for baking cookies, free-form tarts or even roasting potatoes.

I loved the grate & slice set because of the ease of use and because all the components nest into one container!

The pizza wheel worked pretty well, but I did have to apply more pressure than I expected.

Ok, let's talk about the pizza! I need to give thanks to my twin Anna for the ricotta suggestion. The rest of the ingredients/steps were my own ;)

Ricotta, Potato & Asparagus Pizza Made With Oxo

Ingredients

olive oil

1 ball of pizza dough or rolled out dough {I purchased mine from the grocery store}

1 red skinned potato, thinly sliced

8-10 asparagus spears, sliced lengthwise and then in half

2 ounces dry sausage or salami

1.5 cups ricotta

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup grated Parmesan

10 basil leaves, chopped

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
2. Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly oiled pizza pan and bake for 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the pizza. You want to pre-bake it slightly before adding the rest of the ingredients.
3. Meanwhile, simmer potatoes for 5 minutes in salted water, then add asparagus and continue simmering for another 3 minutes. Drain and cool.
4. Spread ricotta on pre-baked pizza dough and season well with salt and pepper.
5. Arrange potatoes, asparagus and sausage in a fun pattern.
6. Bake pizza for 15 minutes.
7. Top the pizza with red onions, drizzle of olive oil and Parmesan cheese and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
8. Top with fresh basil.

Isn't this a pretty pizza? You can completely leave out the sausage if you want to keep it vegetarian.

9/25/14

Pizza Dinner In Seattle: Delancey

Last week when I flew to visit my family and friends in Seattle, the one place I really wanted to eat at (other than my parents' house because of the awesomeness that is my dad's borsch) was Delancey.

Years ago I read Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table and not so secretly hoped that I too will find my ♥ through/because of my blog. It hasn't happened yet, but there's always hope, right?

A few months ago I read Molly's second book Delancey about an opening of their pizza restaurant, and although I really wish the book was written by Molly's husband, I decided that I MUST visit it the next time I was in Seattle. {The book was good, but I would have loved to read it from Molly's husband's perspective.}

And so I did.

My twin Anna and our awesome friend Lera took off an entire day to hang out with me. We met up for dim sum, did a bit of shopping (ok, just 30 minutes of looking around Nordstrom Rack), wondered around Volunteer Park and visited a few museum stores and then headed out to Delancey at 5pm.

God, I LOVED the space of the restaurant. It's this adorable low key neighborhood spot with minimalistic décor and bright lamps and stunning cement tables.

The menu is one page divided into appetizers, pizzas and desserts. The back of the menu lists where the ingredients came from: everything from flour and bread, to olive oil, milk and cream, eggs and even chocolate and sea salt. Speaking of sea salt, it was from Admiralty Salt in Whidbey Island and was incredible.

We started with a plate of Charcuterie, a tomato salad with preserved Meyer lemon, sheep's milk feta and shallot vinaigrette and wood-fired shishito and pardon peppers.

And some fresh bread.

And a bottle of sparkling rose.

Everything looked so good that we were pretty silent for the first 10 minutes other than saying how flavorful, fresh and SO GOOD everything was.

Seriously, this was a dreamy start to a great meal. I was soooo happy!

Once the appetizers were done, we took a bit of a break to catch our breath, to chat and to chat about after dinner plans: walking Lera's dogs and getting beer and dessert. We all love food.

For pizza, we chose white pie with housemade ricotta, fresh and aged mozzarella, garlic and Grana. We added housemade pork fennel sausage to one half and hot salami to the other.

Hot salami won as far as the better topping (at least according to me and Anna). The pizza was crispy, thin, satisfying and perfect. Yes, perfect.

I wish I had room to try a few other toppings. Next time!

Lera and Anna.

That's me.

For dessert we ordered this beauty: Eton Mess: blackberries, lemon curd, cream and crunchy meringue.

I should have taken a photo of the empty dish to express just how awesome it was.

You guys! This was one of the best meals I've had in a long time. Despite my high expectations and anticipation, everything was stellar. Great company, atmosphere, service and food.

This will become a regular on my trips to Seattle.

2/17/14

Tuscan Herb Garden Sabra Hummus & Roasted Vegetables Flatbread

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sabra Dipping Co, LLC. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

When Sabra sent me a box filled with a variety of their hummus flavors, I was inspired by the Tuscan Herb Garden flavor to create Tuscan Herb Garden Sabra Hummus & Roasted Vegetables Flatbread. Sorry for the short intro: I broke my right arm and typing with the left one is super slow. The good news is that I developed this recipe and photographed it before the break!! Make this recipe soon for your family!

Tuscan Herb Garden Sabra Hummus & Roasted Vegetables Flatbread
Makes 2 flatbread
Ingredients

2 zucchini, sliced
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 red onion, peeled, cut into wedges
2 cups sliced peppers
olive oil
salt
2 10-12 ounce flatbreads
2/3 cups Tuscan Herb Garden Sabra Hummus
1/4 cup grated mozzarella

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. In a bowl, drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt. Mix to combine.
3. Roast the vegetables on a cookie sheet in a single layer for 30 minutes, turning them at least once.
4. 5 minutes before the vegetables are ready, put the flatbread into the oven.
5. Once the vegetables are roasted, take them out of the oven. Also remove the flatbread.
6. Spread the flatbread with hummus, top with roasted vegetables and cheese and put back into the oven for 5 more minutes, just to melt the cheese.
7. Slice the flatbread and serve immediately.

Here are step by step photos:

For more information on Sabra products Like Sabra on Facebook.

1/31/13

Eating out with Instagram: DGS Delicatessen, Birch & Barley, Pupatella and Zengo

I decided to start a new series of posts which I will call Eating out with Instagrams. It'll just be a collection of my instagram photos documenting my adventures in eating out.

This is the first such post!

Above is a photo I took at DGS Delicatessen: my friend Pankti and I had brunch there in the beginning of January. Although I thought lunch at DGS was good, but overpriced, I absolutely LOVED their brunch! I had a white fish salad on a bagel and a side of patatas bravas a la Judea (served with sour cream and harissa). The white fish salad was served with tomato jam, fried capers and butter lettuce.

Pankti had their Challah French Toast. There were barely any leftovers: both dishes were that good. We also really liked DGS's Le Marais: Champagne, St Germain, orange juice and Peychaud's bitters!

The photo below is a dessert menu from Birch & Barley. I've been to this restaurant for brunch and dinner, but have never popped in just for dessert. That's exactly what happened when Cecilia and I took a wrong turn on the way to finding a Metro station! I've always admitted to having poor sense of direction. My favorite dessert on the menu was the Figgy Toffee Pudding!!! It was warm, dense, sweet, and so FIGGY!!! Extra special Thank You to Tiffany MacIsaac, Executive Pastry Chef, for also sending out a few extra desserts for me and Cecilia to try on the house!

The next set of photos is from dinner at Pupatella. This was my first time at this Arlington Neapolitan Pizzeria and Friggitoria, and it will definitely not be the last! I loved the friendly but hectic atmosphere, the open kitchen, the pizza oven, the fun hats the guys making the pizza were wearing, and then there was the FOOD.

Since I was dining with Sylvie and Jason, we got a bunch of food to share! That's just how it goes ;)

For the appetizers, we had a burrata platter with homemade toasted bread and prosciutto. This could have been a meal in itself. But that would not do ;) We also shared an Arancini Sampler.

The photo of the pizzas did not turn out great, but these are the ones we had:
EGGPLANT & RED PEPPER: Grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, provola (fresh smoked mozzarella)
CHORIZO: Spicy Spanish chorizo, thinly-shaved red onion, roasted red pepper and fresh mozzarella
BURRATA PIZZA: No sauce, burrata (extra creamy buffalo mozzarella), cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, basil

I can't really choose a favorite: each had it's own winning qualities! You will just have to try them for yourself.

The only disappointment was that Pupatella ran out of Nutella doughnuts by the time I decided to order one.

The final meal I'll mention is dinner I had at Zengo with Julia. I was invited to sample a new menu in Zengo for its Test Kitchen concept. The new menu running from January 10th through March 31st combines the flavors of Argentina and Philippines. {Disclosure: I was treated to this meal, but opinions are my own!}

My favorites were the Guava Mate cocktail (gin, guava, yerba mate and lime), Oxtail Humitas with Argentinian tamal, peanut sauce, tamarind and coconut milk, and Tagolog Style Churrasco Steak with calamansi citrus-soy marinade, grilled onion, lemongrass mojo, green herb chimichurri and sweet potato tostones.

Unfortunately the Dulce de Leche Brazo Mercedes with lemongrass scented granite and green mango ceviche for dessert did not wow me. Fortunately, I had some dark chocolate waiting for me at home.

I hope you have enjoyed the first Eating out with Instagram post! There will be more to come.

Where have you been eating out lately?

9/25/12

Stonefire Naan: Flatbread with Shrimp, Mango & Yogurt Sauce

This past Friday I came home to a present from Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads: I received three samples of their product to play with in my kitchen. I was excited! I chose the Garlic Naan because although I love naan, I have no desire to make it from scratch at home. I was eager to see how this product measured up to the naan I order at Indian restaurants.

I created a simple Flatbread with Shrimp, Mango & Yogurt Sauce. Before I share my creation with you, here's a little information about the naan from the Stonefire:

Hand stretched, made with fire roasted garlic and cilantro

All-Natural Ingredients

No Additives or Preservatives

Baked in a tandoor oven, at high heat

Authentic look with large bubbles, smoky flavor and airy texture

2 naan per package

Made with buttermilk and ghee (clarified butter) which provides great dairy notes

Can be frozen

{I really liked the taste of this Tandoor Baked Naan, but it's by no means a low carb or low calorie food!}

Let's get cooking!

Flatbread with Shrimp, Mango & Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients {use as much or as little of each as you wish}

Stonefire Garlic Naan, grilled, toasted, or heated in a panini grill
cumin and mustard seeds, toasted
Greek yogurt
chopped cilantro
shrimp, sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes
mango, sliced
red onion, chopped
red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Make a yogurt sauce with the Greek yogurt, some of the toasted cumin and mustard seeds and cilantro.

2. Spread the sauce on toasted naan.

3. Add sauteed shrimp, sliced mango, chopped onions and cilantro and sprinkle with more toasted cumin and mustard seeds and red pepper flakes.

Serve right away!

You can slice the flatbread, or fold it like a pizza.

I have two more varieties of Stonefire Flatbreads in the freezer and can't wait to try them.

Disclosure: I was sent three varieties of Stonefire Flatbreads free of charge and under no obligation to blog about it. I was not reimbursed for this post. All opinions are my own.

PS Do NOT forget to enter a Wusthof Cook's Knife Giveaway!!

8/21/12

Potato Pesto Pizza Recipe & KitchenAid Food Processor Review

When you live alone in a condo, space is of importance: I try not to have too many kitchen appliances. The ones that I do have, I try to use to make sure they earn their keep {I'm talking about my ice cream maker and panini maker.}

My other favorite appliance is a dual blender and food processor. I bought it over five years ago because my mom told me to. Guess what? She was right: I love it. I can use it to make hummus, blend soups, crush ice, etc. Alas, over time, the mini food processor bowl started to show wear and tear. Plus, sometimes I wanted to make a recipe that would feed more than just me.

When I got a chance to receive and review KitchenAid's Food Processor, I was thrilled. I thought it'd be the answer to my needs. Not only does it have a large 13-cup capacity work bowl, but it also comes with a smaller 10-cup capacity bowl.

This past Sunday I decided to put the KitchenAid food processor through a test in my kitchen and use both of its bowls and two of its blades. But what to make!? I remembered I had a whole wheat pizza dough in the freezer and decided to come up with a recipe for Potato Pesto Pizza (say that ten times!).

Before I get to the recipe, here are my thoughts on the food processor {you can read the manufacturer's specifics yourself}

Unless you assemble your KitchenAid food processor properly, it will not work. Trust me, this is for your own good! Despite having two parents who are engineers, I hate reading directions. So it took me a few times before I figured out exactly how all the pieces fit.
You can control how thick or thin you want to slice your vegetables by a leaver on the front of the machine. Brilliant!
This food processor is surprisingly quiet.
I love that all the blades come in a container that hold them safely and neatly.
I LOVE the shiny bright red color.
I used both the large and the small bowl, the shredding and the slicing disk and the chopping blade and found all of them to be efficient!
I can't wait to make more recipes using my new toy. Thank you, KitchenAid!

And now, it's time for Potato Pesto Pizza!

Potato Pesto Pizza

Ingredients
1 wholewheat pizza dough
3 hand fulls arugula
2 hand fulls spinach
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 garlic clove
1/4-1/3 cup shredded Parmesan {I shredded mine in the food processor}
2 cups sliced potatoes, parboiled in salted water {make sure not to overcook them}
1/4 red onion, sliced
drizzle of olive oil
red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Make pesto in your food processor by combining arugula, spinach, oil, pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan. Season with salt & pepper.

***check out the nice slices of potatoes and onions!***

3. Oil a cookie sheet and stretch your pizza dough into the shape you desire. I used a rectangle.
4. Spread the dough with your arugula/spinach pesto {you will have some left over!}, then add parboiled potatoes and red onions.
5. Drizzle the vegetables with oil and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
6. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Because I parboiled the potatoes, they were completely tender. The pizza crust turned out crispy and the onions were nicely caramelized.

I sliced the pizza into squares and have enjoyed it for dinner reheated in a cast iron skillet and also for breakfast COLD!

Other things you can add: more Parmesan cheese on top (or try feta), sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers or olives. This is just a template for you to follow.

What's not to love about this carb-loaded pizza?

Disclaimer: KitchenAid sent me this food processor for a review. I was not compensated in any other way and not under any contract to write about it. All opinions are my own.

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4/19/17

Ricotta, Potato & Asparagus Pizza Made With Oxo

9/25/14

Pizza Dinner In Seattle: Delancey

2/17/14

Tuscan Herb Garden Sabra Hummus & Roasted Vegetables Flatbread

Tuscan Herb Garden Sabra Hummus & Roasted Vegetables Flatbread

1/31/13

Eating out with Instagram: DGS Delicatessen, Birch & Barley, Pupatella and Zengo

9/25/12

Stonefire Naan: Flatbread with Shrimp, Mango & Yogurt Sauce

8/21/12

Potato Pesto Pizza Recipe & KitchenAid Food Processor Review