Howdy friends! I keep catching myself daydreaming of New York City and the apartment where Andy and I were less than two weeks ago and I’m having regrets.. food regrets that is! For one, we forgot to get a bagel with lox and two, we never had any pizza! I did however devour one of those big pretzels with salt and if it had been winter, I would have searched the city high and low in search of roasted chestnuts like my Ma and I used to eat when we visited back in the day.
So I’ve had pizza on the brain for the last week or so. All those little Mom and Pop pizza joints in NYC had me thinking back to my favorite parlors in Chicago where there were two types of pizza selections: Chicago-style deep dish and Chicago-style deep dish! No seriously though, try finding an amazing thin crust pizza that you LOVE… and then call me when you do. Admittingly, I could never finish more than one slice of deep dish at a time so it would sit in my refrig and I would try not to snack on it throughout the next day but I was defeated every time but the pie! Side note: I used to eat at Pizzeria Uno in Rhode Island as a kid. Then I moved to Chicago and ate at the original one…. Mama Mia!
Meet my Cast Iron.
I thought I’d make my own Chicago-style deep dish pizza this week and it turned out okay, but I still knew I was in California. My cast iron pan is my all-time favorite thing to cook in cause it’s like burn resistant or something! I love making Irish Soda Bread and salmon in this thing and we always take it camping with us when we head to Big Sur. If I could have remade this pizza pie, I would have cooked the veggies first to drain all the water out and then placed them in the cast iron but I didn’t think of that then, so oh well. Cook and learn, eh?! I used fresh veggies from the Farmer’s Market and I even picked up a Japanese eggplant specifically for this dish. It tasted as beautiful as it looked!
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Vegetarian Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza- serves two or more
Ingredients:
-1 lb whole wheat dough (I used fresh homemade dough but feel free and use the pre-packed kind)
-1 cup white mushrooms
-1 yellow squah
-1 zucchini
-1/2 Japanese eggplant
-1 bunch scallions
-1 yellow pepper
-basil, parsley and rosemary
-1.5 cup tomato sauce
-olive oil
-cheese for topping (I used Manchego)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400. Place the cast iron pan in to warm up.
2. Chop up all the veggies and flour your surface before rolling out the dough.
3. Don’t roll the dough too thin; it should be thick enough that it does not break apart. Take the cast iron pan out, coat with a little olive oil and place the dough on top. Spoon in some red sauce on the very bottom.
4. Then layer all your veggies on top.
5. Grate some cheese and place the remaining red sauce on top.
6. Place in the oven and let cook for one hour or until bubbling.
Mangia!
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I had a ton of veggies leftover so I tossed them in a container and placed them in my refrig. This is how I stretttttttch my budget… I made a lovely pasta last night using the veggies, greens, some fresh herbs from my garden and white wine! Easy peesy!
Leftover Veggie Pasta- serves two
Ingredients:
-1 handful linguini
-leftover veggies (from above)
-basil, parsley and rosemary
-1 cup arugula
-1 cup spinach
-1/4 cup white wine
-2 T balsamic vinegar
-olive oil
Directions:
1. Boil the linguini in a large pot with a touch of olive oil and salt.
2. In a large saucepan, add some olive oil and the leftover veggies. Let cook until the veggies start to brown.
3. Chop up the herbs and add them, the arugula, spinach and the balsamic vinegar to the pan. Stir well until the green cook through.
4. Place the linguini in a bowl and add the veggies on top. It’s basically a free meal! Enjoy!
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I’m going to make a cuppa tea now and delve back into my new book, Wally Lamb’s The Hour I First Believed. He is one of my favorite authors and this book is turning out to be my favorite one by him yet. The story is a fictional account of what happened in Littleton, CO at Columbine High School, but it may as well be non-fiction for the way it reads. It’s an exceptional story thus far! And no, I am not drinking wine at noon! This picture is from Sunday, although it’s probably five o’clock somewhere right?!
