Pizza Passion

1. 
   
Admittedly my pizza stone does not look this pristine any more ...see what I mean?
It's well loved, not just for pizza but for baking breads and even resting sheets of cookies during the baking process for lovely even baking that crisps without burning.

A few weeks ago my daughter lent me her favorite pizza book that I had to write about - James McNair's New Pizza and we made this awesome Caramelized Onion & Italian Sausage Pizza.
The actual pizza dough recipe is now my standard and when you try it, you'll know what I mean. So it's no surprise that my son-in-law suggested that we do another pizza night. How could I possibly refuse!

Yes, we had the same delicious caramelized onion and sausage pizza...why mess with success, but we added a second one based on suggestions from another great Italian book I've written about- The Southern Italian Table.



This Potato, Rosemary & Cured Italian Sausage Pizza was a hit. Initially my Honey turned his nose up...pizza without tomato sauce?...pizza with potatoes? What was I thinking? That was until he tasted it. Now he's a convert.

The coolest thing about pizzas is how versatile they actually are. The Southern Italian Table actually has two pages with sixteen topping ideas and that's even before his actual pizza recipes! Prosciutto and Arugula, Bianca (thin layer of ricotta dotted with small cubes of mozzarella, sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil), speck, arugula & Parmesan shavings)...that was just to tempt you to start thinking of your own favorite combinations.

And my questions to you....

1. Is tomato sauce as a base a must in your house?

2. Vegetarian or meat?

3. Most important - what is your favorite combination?

Presto Pasta Night Roundup #149

This week's Presto Pasta Night Roundup #149 is awesome....with dishes that are all over the map - literally and figuratively. They are all unique and truly inspired, so let's get down to business.

Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe is first in with the cutest story of her little one’s first pasta. I don’t want to spoil it, but I’m still smiling and it’s hours since I’ve read it.
Dharm of Dad, Chef & Baker brings a little religion to the mix...well frankly anything with Prawns is a religious experience for me. Thanks for the Pasta, Prawns & Holy Trinity.
Graziana of Erbe in Cucina is back with a very interesting dish - Bitter Orange & Smoked Salmon Pasta. Too bad I'll never find bitter oranges here...way too cold to grow. I bet it will still taste amazing with regular oranges.
Joanne of Eats Well With Others shares another great story (they always are) with an equally terrific pasta (they always are too) - Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
Tigerfish of Teczcape taught me something new this week...obviously loofah is more than just used to exfoliate! Check out her gorgeous Seaweed, Tomato & Loofah Soup - healthy and delicious. Now I have to find the kind of loofah that doesn't hang on the back of my bathroom door.
Judith of Think on It, sent in an earlier pasta dish because she's dieting and got to a dress size break through. So Congratulations Judith! And thanks for thinking of us with you Pasta with Olives & Artichokes. You can live vicariously through the rest of us.
RedKathy of Are You Hungry? is a first time PPNer - welcome! I do hope your Mac 'n Cheese Paella with Shrimp & Scallop is your first of many. It looks delicious. I love Mac 'n Cheese and I love paella, I just never thought to combine them. Thanks for the great idea.
Pam of Sidewalk Shoes is back with my personal favorite comfort food...Beefy Tomato Sauce with Sausages & Fennel. I'm drooling just thinking about it, because it's the perfect winter fare at this house.
KC of Kits Chow is cooking up Vietnamese delicacies this month and shares a gorgeous Bun thit heo nuong - Grilled Meat with Rice Vermicelli with us. It looks awesome. There is nothing like a Vietnamese soup to cheer me up when it's cold and grey outside.
Nate of The House of Annie , all the way from Borneo, showed us that Homemade Dumpling Skins is not as hard as you think. We all have to give it a try. And did I mention it looks like a fun afternoon project with someone else. I know my daughter and I would have a great time doing.
This week, I'm on a Mac 'n Cheese obsession.
And I've added a little spice to the Presto Pasta Night site - I'll be adding weekly pasta finds from my favorite foodie magazines. To start the ball rolling, Fine Cooking Magazine and even more Mac 'n Cheese choices. I mean -seriously, just check out the cover with the Pulled Pork Mac 'n Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Four Cheeses.
Next week Susan, the Well Seasoned Cook is hosting for the first time - welcome, welcome, welcome. It’s a special Presto Pasta Night in another way as well. We’ve hit another major number – 150 – wow! Please send lots of pastas her way to help us celebrate. Just send an email to thewellseasonedcook AT yahoo DOT com and a cc to me ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com.

I'm still looking for someone to host February 26nd and all of March, so if you're interested, drop me a line. It's lots of fun and a great way to meet wonderful bloggers.

Chatting with Chef Craig Flinn

It seems like yesterday that I chatted with Chef Craig Flinn of Chives Canadian Bistro for Foodtv.ca, but actually it was back in December, 2007 when he was writing his first book Fresh & Local (which had a second printing in less than a year).
Back in early December, 2009 (seems so long ago) I happened to stop at Ciboulette (the little breakfast and lunch cafe which is also a Chef Craig creation) for a cup of cappucino and the best muffin on earth! I'm not kidding and I do hope it makes it into another book...but I'm getting ahead of myself. When I was there I noticed that he's authored a second cookbook that looks fantastic....with recipes from top Canadian Chefs across the country...Fresh Canadian Bistro ...more about that later. And I knew I had to catch up with what's been going on and to get a copy of the book for myself.

Even though he seems to have been unbelievably busy since the last time we met up, not to mention that it was just before Christmas and Chives Canadian Bistro (the restaurant) was packed every night plus tons of catering jobs too, so things were hectic to say the least and, as if that wasn't enough, he was also doing book signings for Fresh Canadian Bistro, Chef Craig still managed to meet up with me for a quick coffee at 4pm (which was his lunch!).

(Note: Since we met I did get my own copy and it's wonderful to see recipes from famous chefs across Canada. Check out my review. )

But I digress....and, by the way, before I actually share some of our chat, Chef Craig has been voted Best Chef two years running by The Coast readers - and rightly so. He's involved in the Slow Food Movement here in Nova Scotia, promoting local farmers, fishermen, and producers of local beef, chicken and lamb as well as artisan cheese and bread makers and incorporating all those local delicacies onto his menu.

Finally on to his current project - the Fresh Series of Books, with number one Fresh & Local in second printing and Fresh Canadian Bistros,on the shelves at bookstores across the country (you can even order it on line at Amazon.Com Fresh Canadian Bistro: Top Canadian chefs share their favourite recipes) he's now writing book number three which will be called Fresh & Affordable and focuses on the home cook. I'm told that, like the first two, the focus is on seasonal fare with fresh regional ingredients. I really can't wait for that one...I'll keep you posted.

Naturally, I had to ask how he came to write Fresh Canadian Bistro and here's what I found out. Back in the Summer of 2008 he was invited to join 500 of Canada's Best Professional Chefs for the first Canadian Chefs' Congress hosted by Chef Michael Stadtlander of Eigensinn Farm in the heart of Ontario's famed Fruit Belt. Add a road trip across the country in 2004 trying to understand what "local" meant from coast to coast, working in the kitchens of many like minded chefs, who shared their stories and their recipes. Stir in a pinch of what all of these chefs call "Bistro" and you have the makings of a great book, and more delicious menus to savor at Chives Canadian Bistro, if you happen to be (or plan a visit) to Halifax.

All that travelling in Canada has given Craig the desire to check out other parts of the world and since serendipity has led a hand, he's now enjoying (or just back from) a month long trip to China. As I said....a very busy guy! And as I said, I'll keep you posted about the third book once it hits the shelves.

Mac 'n Cheese - Variations on a Theme

When I SAY Mac 'n Cheese, no matter how many delicious variations I make... I still first see the box of Kraft Dinner with the day-glo yellow noodles. That said, I get over it very quickly.

The second thing that I think of is short pasta with a very creamy sauce, like the Spicy Mac 'n Cheese above that I recently wrote about and is my new favorite...at least until I find my next favorite.
And typically I think JUST creamy and cheesy, but what about adding veggies like this Baked Ziti with Cauliflower, which doesn't just taste great, it's a particularly easy way to disguise vegetables from those finicky eaters.
And who says we have to stick to short pasta anyway? I love long strands with delicious creamy cheeses clinging to them. like this Mascarpone, Herb & Lemon Pasta.

Please check out my post on Presto Pasta Night where I'm spotlighting my favorite magazines and their pasta recipes. This week's star...fine Cooking has a ton of Mac 'n Cheese dishes to choose from.

What's your favorite Mac 'n Cheese variation?

By the way, I'm this week's Presto Pasta Night Roundup host, so write a post, mention Presto Pasta Nights (and this week you can mention Once Upon a Feast, with a link please) and send me the link so I can add it to the roundup.

Please email your pasta links by Thursday - to ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com and check Once Upon a Feast for the roundup on Friday.

I'm still looking for a host for February 26th and beyond, if you're interested - it is lots of fun - just drop me a line and I'll add you to our illustrious list.

Sometimes It's the Little Things...

Sometimes in life, it's the little things that really make the difference. For weeks now, I've been looking for the little non stick skillet that I can make my favorite frittatas for two in. I love frittatas, that perfect, fluffy egg dish, started on top of the stove and ending in a hot oven. My problem is that my pans are too big for just the two of us and our frittatas come out looking like pancakes. Not that they taste bad, just that...well if I wanted an omelet, I'd make it on top of the stove, flip it and voila! See how skinny...and this is a "fat" one.
So lately, I've been making "scrambles" - just sauteing whatever I fancy like this Diner Scramble that I make often. In fact I just made it last weekend.

And so lies the seeds of the story...

I need a nonstick 8" pan that can withstand 400F/200C. Not easy to find. Most of them seem to require 350F max! I did find an All Clad one that even on sale was $59 at Cucina Moderna and so over my budget. Since I was in a mall, with Stokes - mid range kitchenware store, always with bargains/sales of one product or other. In fact, this week it was 20% off (of course I didn't read the fine print that said "over $50, but hey) even so The Remy Olivier 8" ceramic coated pan that can stand a 400F oven was only $25! Naturally, I snapped it up.
Sunday came and it was time to use it...I realized as soon as I picked it up that perhaps it wasn't heavy enough. I usually go for heavy bottomed pans -even heat and no burning, so I was leery. But it was fantastic. No burnt bottom, no sticking to the pan, and wonderful. In fact, my Honey kept telling me how fantastic it was. When I told him, we had exactly the same thing as a scramble the week before and a flatter frittata version not long before that...he was surprised.
See what a difference a little thing makes? What's your favorite "little thing makes a difference" item?

Sad Day in Hooterville - I Mean Halifax Market

It's a sad, sad day in Hooterville, I mean at the Halifax Farmer's Market. True, normally anytime from January to end of March, there is a dirth of green. And, perhaps because I haven't been since mid December, I'm just not used to such a limited supply.

Ted Hutton, definitely my favorite farmer, with the biggest stall and the most interesting vegetables - even in the winter, couldn't make it in because of the huge snow storm that affected the Annapolis Valley yesterday.
Even the butchers had trouble getting in.
In fact, the only line up was at Getaway Farms - grass fed Galloway beef, and was so long that all the gorgeous, meaty short ribs were gone by the time it was my turn. So I made my way home with some pain chocolat for breakfast, cheese & baguette for later and some scallops and eco certified salmon (farmed but under very strict guidelines) for dinner.

Sad, but all in all, not a bad score of locally produced delicacies, given it's dead of winter here. What do your markets look like...or do you even have any in the winter?