La Pizza Mia!

It was lunch time and I was sitting at my desk thinking about dinner – go figure! I dialed Luke’s number to get his thoughts. As the phone rang and I waited for him to answer, I had a revelation - Pizza! So, when he finally answered the phone I said to him, “baby, can we get pizza for dinner tonight?” Without pause he agreed and I was faced with the challenge of finding an amazing pizza joint near our new place.

In the almost two months we have lived at the townhouse, we have not once gone out for pizza or had pizza delivered or anything – what’s that about?!? After some rummaging around the internet, I made my decision and chose a restaurant called La Pizza Mia for dinner. It wasn’t the closest pizza joint, nor did it have the highest ratings in the reviews I read but it appealed to me and after printing out a coupon from their website I decided that was the place we were going for dinner.

La Pizza Mia is located at 118 West Bay Drive in Largo. It’s in an unassuming plaza on the north side of West Bay just west of Missouri Avenue. The plaza has a green overhang and La Pizza Mia is the first suite closest to the road. Luke and I walked in from the back door where there is a small outside patio with five or six tables set up for outside seating. The inside was just as humble with three small booths going up one side, two larger booths up the other side, and a table or two in the middle. It’s a quaint little space, with Italian paraphernalia adorning the walls, wood paneling accents, and the feel of Italia.

There seemed to be only one waitress and then three or four other people in the kitchen. All of the inside tables were full, there was a man waiting on a take-out order, and a party of 10 was packing in to a table set up in the center of the restaurant. The waitress came back to take our drink order, offering us a glass of wine or sangria; I chose a glass of wine, Luke ordered a beer. She returned quickly with our drinks. The sangria was delicious, fruity with velvety undertones from the bourbon. It came in a small serving, and I probably could have drank ten of them, but I happily sipped at my teeny glass of adult fruit punch.

A short time later, the waitress returned to take our order. She let us know about the special, a large 1-Topping Pizza for $8.99, and told us about the early bird dinner menu, entrees for only $7 from 3:00pm – 6:00pm. Luke and I were set on pizza though and since we wanted more than one topping we used the coupon I had printed from their website, http://lapizzamiapizzeria.com/, 1 large 5-Topping Pizza for $12.99. We made our topping choses and ordered a large pizza with mushrooms, black olives, spinach, ham, and meatball.

Luke and I chatted and stared at all the things on the walls, nodding to each other in approval. The waitress was running around taking care of other tables and passing by mouthing sorry, as if we were waiting too long – which we weren’t. The pizza took maybe 15-20 minutes before it came out to the table, hot and bubbling, and covered in toppings. The chef served us himself, placing one giant slice each on the customary pizzeria brown plates. We dug in immediately happily burning our mouths on the cheese and toppings.

The pizza was phenomenal! First off it was huge as a good large pizza should be, second the crust was thin and crusty on the outside and deliciously chewy on the inside. It was apparent that all the ingredients were fresh, the mushrooms, the spinach, and the olives all fresh – nothing I hate more than a mushroom out of a can. The ham was placed on the pizza in large pieces, none of that diced up ham bits you see on so many pizzas. The meatballs, my favorite part, were fresh and made from scratch.  The sauce was equally delicious and you could see the specs of herbs all over the pizza. This was a scrumptious pie and Luke and I both agreed that this would be our new pizza joint.

After we had our fill of our yummy pizza pie, we asked for a box and ordered a tiramisu for dessert. Luke had never tried tiramisu and so we decided to give it a shot. I wondered if the tiramisu would come out of the freezer like it does in so many other restaurants and to my dismay it did. It was still half frozen, giving the mascarpone cream an almost frost-bitten ice cream feel. It was still tasty but nothing I would order again.

 



Nevertheless, it was pizza that we came for and the pizza was incredible. The other dishes I saw coming out of the tiny kitchen looked equally delicious.  La Pizza Mia, isn't fancy, they aren't going to get you in and out in under thirty minutes, but they are going to give you incredible Italian cusine.  My recommendation, if you live in the area or even if you don’t, do yourself a favor and try La Pizza Mia the next time you need an Italian fix; maybe I'll see ya there! Xoxo!



Luke enjoying a yummy slice!



Kuku Kadoo

Hey all! It's Friday!  Woohoo!  I'm super excited about the weekend.  My niece turns two this weekend and I just can't wait for her birthday party.  My friends and I started a club called the League of Adventures.  Our first official adventure is exploring a nearby park, complete with a picnic.  This should be interesting!  Other than that, my lover face, Luke, is reporting for duty so he'll be gone all weekend.  I'll miss him ofcourse but that just gives me more time to try out new recipes!  Haha!

Speaking of recipes, last night's dinner went Middle Eastern with a recipe for Persian Zucchini Frittata from Saveur.com.  The Persian name for this is Kuku Kadoo.  How fun is that?!?  Anyways, this was another great way to use up the zucchni I still had in the fridge and though I will admit I was slightly worried that I wouldn't like it; it was delicious!  Serve it with rice for a lovely, light dinner. Enjoy! Xoxo!

Persian Zucchini Frittata (Kuku Kadoo)  

3 tbsp. canola oil

1⁄4 tsp. minced fresh ginger
3 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground turmeric
5 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1⁄4"-thick slices
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. flour

1⁄2 tsp. baking soda

7 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Sumac, for garnish


Heat oven to 400°. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger, onions, and garlic; cook until soft, 6–8 minutes. Add turmeric and zucchini; season with salt and pepper; cook until tender, 12–15 minutes. Stir in 3 tbsp. flour and baking soda; let cool.


Stir eggs into zucchini mixture. Grease a 9" x 13" casserole with remaining oil; sprinkle with remaining flour; pour in mixture. Bake until set, 25–30 minutes. Garnish with parsley and sumac.

P.S. I didn't have parsley or sumac so I just left it out. :)

Look at the gorgeous color it gets from the tumeric!

Tomato, Zucchini, and Bread Gratin

Hey all! Happy hump day! It’s Wednesday and the work week is almost over! Woohoo! I don’t know about you all, but at my job we only get a half an hour for lunch. So needless to say I don’t get to go out for lunch very often. No, most days I eat lunch at my desk while perusing food websites and blogs. I was doing just that yesterday, when I came across a recipe for Crisp Tomato, Zucchini and Eggplant Bread Gratin on the Food & Wine website. Tomatoes? Check. Zucchini? Check. Eggplant? Nope but ah well; we’ll leave it out. Bread? My mom just gave me a loaf of bread that she baked fresh! Score! Now that I knew I had (most of) the ingredients to make the dish I couldn’t wait to get home and start cooking. Alas, it was only lunch time so I impatiently watched the clock as I waited for quitting time to come around.

4:30pm; free at last! I zipped on home and went straight to the kitchen. I sliced, I minced, I tore, I seasoned, and I even substituted and added to make my very own version of this splendid recipe. So without further a due, I present to you my Tomato, Zucchini and Bread Gratin. Hope you love it as much as I did!

Tomato, Zucchini and Bread Gratin

Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini or yellow squash, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Kosher salt
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced or mashed
One 14-ounce loaf rustic white bread, crusts removed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
1/2 large onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated and divided
3 medium tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 teaspoon thyme leaves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°. In a colander, toss the zucchini with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and let stand for 20 minutes. Drain well and gently squeeze out any excess liquid.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir the olive oil with the garlic. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the garlic-infused oil. Tear the bread into 2-inch pieces and line the bottom of the baking dish with bread, fitting the pieces tightly together.

Drizzle the bread with 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the bread with half of the basil.

Next top with the onion slices and sprinkle with half of the parmesan cheese.

In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and pepper. Arrange the zucchini and tomatoes over the bread, overlapping them if necessary. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves, salt and pepper, the rest of the parmesan and drizzle with the remaining garlic oil.

Bake the gratin for about 40 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown and the bottom of the bread is golden brown. Remove the vegetable gratin from the oven and let stand until cooled slightly, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining basil, cut into pieces and serve.

The gratin is great warm or at room temperature. The juices from the tomatoes and the zucchini mixed with the garlic infused oil and the herbs soak into the bread to make a crunchy, almost crouton-ish bottom layer. It was really way better than I expected it to be. I even psyched out Luke.  When I told him about my tomato/zucchini concoction he wrinkled his little nose at me, but after tasting it his exact words were, “Damn baby, that’s delicious!”

I’m so happy to have found this recipe. It’s such a great way to use up all those great summer veggies. You can even class it up by leaving the bread whole instead of tearing it or using a nice round cookie cutter and then stacking the rest of the ingredients on top of the bread; that would be uber fancy! Hope you all dig the recipe from Food & Wine, but I really hope you think my rendition of it is even better! Ha! Enjoy! Xoxo!

Shredded Chicken Tacos

Hola!  I was feeling like something spicy tonight and since I had chicken thawing I thought chicken tacos would do me just right!  I made them muy caliente but of course you make them as spicy as you like.  I like to stew my chicken in the tomatoes but if you're short on time then just buy a rotisserie chicken and you'll cut the cooking time in half.  Enjoy this as a taco or put it over rice for a mexican inspired dinner. Enoy Xoxo!


Spicy Shredded Chicken Tacos

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 jalapenos, minced
2 limes, divided
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
6-8 Roma tomatoes, cored and chopped
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 oz (half a can) light beer
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, garlic and jalapenos; cook until softened about 6-8 minutes. Add the juice of 1 lime, chicken breasts, and tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper then add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper.  Stir everything together to incorporate then pour 6 ounces, or half a can of beer, over the chicken.  Turn the heat down to medium-low; put the lid on the pot and let simmer about 40 minutes or until chicken is fork tender.  Remove the lid and turn the heat down to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half.  Remove the chicken from the pot, using two forks shred the chicken then add it back to the pot.  Stir in the chopped cilantro and the juice of 1 lime.  Serve hot in your favorite tortilla with your choice of taco toppings.  Enjoy! Xoxo!  

Beer, Brats, and Black Eyed Pea Gumbo

Hey all! I’m back!  Ok, so I never really went anywhere but my blog, unfortunately, had to take a back seat to more pressing matters.  What pressing matters?  I’m glad you asked…I’ve moved!  Yay!  Luke and I have moved into a townhouse about 30 minutes south of where we were living (I’m so glad to be out of there!)  It’s a quaint little townhouse, double the square footage of the last place, and it definitely feels like home.  But c’mon, let’s get to the important part…THE KITCHEN.  Well I will say - not my dream kitchen - but I’m moving up in the world.  It’s a lot bigger than the little apartment kitchen I used to have to deal with and I get a pantry.  Yippee!

All right well enough about my new place and the excuses as to why I haven’t blogged.  All that matters now is that I’m blogging and I have a recipe for you. Yay!  If you all remember my lover face, Luke, is from Louisiana and he loves him some gumbo.  I’ve never made gumbo myself but I had these black eyed peas in the fridge and figured I could use them for some Black Eyed Pea Gumbo.  Now you know me, I like to use what I have on hand and I don’t usually keep andouille sausage in the fridge but I did have some bratwurst sitting in the freezer.   Yes, I’m talking about Gumbo and Bratwurst in the same recipe.  I figured andouille is a sausage; bratwurst is a sausage, so it should work.  And let me tell you friends, it worked!  I made a delicious Beer, Brats, and Black Eyed Pea Gumbo and oh boy it was yummy!!!  Who knows, next time I might use andouille sausage to make it more traditional, or use some chicken, shrimp, or crawfish but as written it’s pretty darn good.  Here’s the recipe; hope you enjoy! Xoxo!                                                                                                                                                          

Beer, Brats, and Black Eyed Pea Gumbo

1 (1-1.25lb) package Bratwurst
1 cup onion, diced

1 cup carrot, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup green pepper, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups frozen black eyed peas, thawed
2 cups beer, your choice
2 cups chicken stock
Juice of half a lemon
Cooked white rice, for serving
Dash of hot sauce, optional

Heat a large pot on the stove top over medium-high heat.  Cut bratwurst into ½ inch thick slices on the bias.  Add the bratwurst to the pot and cook until all the fat has rendered and the bratwurst are cooked through.  With a slotted spoon transfer the bratwurst from the pot to a large plate and reserve for later.   Add the onion, carrot, celery and green pepper and garlic to the rendered fat from the brats; season with salt and pepper and cook veggies until just soft.  Remove the softened vegetables from the pot and reserve for later.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the pot.  Once the butter has melted whisk in the flour, stirring continuously to prevent burning.  Cook the roux for 8-10 minutes or until it has developed into a nice golden brown color.  Once you receive the desired color add the reserved vegetables and bratwurst back into the pot.  Stir in the Cajun Seasoning, thyme, bay leaves, and black eyed peas; season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour in the beer and chicken stock and stir well to combine. 



Gumbo before it has thickened.



Gumbo once it has thickened.

Simmer over medium heat until the Gumbo has thickened and reduced slightly, about 10-12 minutes.  Stir in the juice of half a lemon to brighten the flavors at the very end.  Serve the gumbo over white rice with a dash of hot sauce.  Enjoy!