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Tag: Italian

  • A Quickie…A good slice of pizza

    A Quickie…A good slice of pizza

    Okay if you didn’t know now you do. I am a born and breed New Yorker. Known here in Georgia as a transplant. Yea so there are somethings that just cannot be replicated here in Atlanta no matter what they do. Pizza is one of those things. Now I am not talking Papa John’s, Domino’s or even Pizza Hut they can’t come close to a New York slice. If you have never had a New York slice then you just won’t understand. Now don’t get New York style confused with Chicago deep dish style two different beasts and I have a place in my heart for both. New York style being my first love of course until last Saturday afternoon.

    On one of our many mother/daughter dates, me & the mini me had the pleasure of enjoying my new favorite pizza spots in Atlanta, Antico. On arrival you really wouldn’t give the place much thought. Pretty typical of ordering, a couple of cashiers, a menu board (which happened to have the pricing in euros and dollars) , some drink options which included a wine selection. Not too bad for a pizza spot. Then they directed us to the dining area. That’s where the magic began for me. It was family style eating. You sit and eat where there is space for you and your crew. Beyond the tables lay the wood burning ovens with piles of wood waiting their turn to be used.  You could see how the pizza makers worked in a rhythmic pattern that had them churning out pies of perfection without any real effort being exerted. It made the kid chef in me clap with glee.  We ordered their most popular pizza, San Gennaro. To most its Italian sausage, peppers and onions actually to be more exact it’s buffalo mozzarella, salsiccia sausage, cipolline onions, dolce piccante peppers.  The toppings were good but the real star of this pizza is the dough. The texture and taste are so hard for me to really describe to you. All I can say is I ate 3 slices and I never eat more than 2 slices of pizza, doesn’t matter who makes the pizza. I was beyond stuffed. When you get a chance go check out Antico Napoletana Pizza, it will be more than worth the trip.

    Go order a pie and make some memories.

    Until then…

    ~ The Chef In Pearls

     

  • Is the Doctor In???

    So many people knock using jar sauce…well I use jar sauce.  I don’t have the time to make sauce from scratch, so I do the next best thing…. I doctor up a jar of sauce. Now you may be asking what do I mean by doctoring a jar of sauce?  Well we can compare it to surgery…we just aren’t cutting up any people.  First things first you’re gonna need a jar of sauce. I went with Ragu because it was on sale.

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    Now here’s where the cutting begins.  I started by dicing onions, bell peppers and portabella mushrooms.

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    I then took about a pound of ground beef and browned it off. Added some sausage and some diced bacon.

    IMAG1044After I added the diced vegetables along with a can of diced tomatoes ( you see I like a chunky sauce).

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    Now what most people don’t understand about cooking is that it is not a true science. It’s about what you like and how it makes you feel.  You have to find out what works for you and your palette and make it WORK.

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    I love, love , love a lot of garlic ( especially in Italian food). Maybe that doesn’t work for you ( guess what don’t add it).  After that’s done I added the jar of sauce and began a prescription of seasonings. Thyme, crushed pepper flakes, kosher salt, black pepper, dried Italian herbs and some slow simmering……

    Sauce fit for a king
    Sauce fit for a king

    Let your imagination and your taste buds run free when trying to doctor a jar of sauce.  maybe you want to add just vegetables,,,, diced or shredded zucchini, carrots, spinach, sweet peas or maybe you want to try adding seafood, or alternative to ground beef…It’s all up to you.

    Now because I’m always taking it to the next level I decided I would doctor the pasta, too.   I used thin spaghetti cooked according to to package directions.  Then I sauteed garlic with red pepper flakes in olive oil, making sure not to burn the garlic ( nothing worst than the taste of burned garlic)

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    Then I added the pasta with some of the cooking water and minced parsley. Time to serve it up

    IMAG1053Go buy a jar of sauce and get to doctoring.

    BCJ2U