Heart Shaped Pizza - Happy Valentine's Day

"You got a pizza my heart!"

 AJ and I started a new Valentine's Day tradition a few years ago. Now every February 14 we eat heart-shaped pepperoni pizza! There is a local pizza chain called Pizza My Heart that serves up heart-shaped pies. The tradition is so popular that you can get the heart shape whenever you want! I love celebrating holidays with special traditions like this. 

"I love you mer-lot!"

My mom and dad got AJ two 375ml bottles of Jarvis winery's Merlot, which paired nicely with our pizza (you have to have wine with pizza). If you are looking for wineries to tour in Napa, Jarvis has an amazing cave tour. Plus their wines are incredible!

So what are some of your Valentine's Day traditions?

Chez Panisse Take Two

Pizza with artichokes, olives, onion and herbs

This post has taken me awhile to write. But I think it is perfect that I decided to post this on Malia's (and my) birthday. Malia is my best friend, and I hope that when she reads this she feels like we're eating dinner and celebrating our birthday together. Feliz Cumpleanos Mi Gemela! (No we're not spanish, but I do love the spanish language).

So back to the post - when Malia last came to visit, we spent a fabulous day together hiking in Muir Woods and exploring Berkeley. After a morning of hiking I knew we would be hungry and have a perfect excuse for a three-course lunch at Chez Panisse. As you may recall, I took my parents to Chez Panisse for dinner when they came to visit. I really enjoyed the meal, but there were a few things that could have been better - namely the service.

My second trip to Chez Panisse was quite different, the service was impeccable. Malia and I were seated promptly, at a cozy table, with the sun shining through the windows. The warmth of the cafe comes through much better at lunchtime. There were a number of regulars eating at the same time, but we were treated no differently. Our waiter was very conscientious, refilling our glasses with water before they could ever become empty.

We started our first course with a woodfired pizza, topped with artichokes, olives, onion, garlic, and fresh herbs. The last time I visited, I was remiss about not ordering a California pizza.

This time I ordered it and was not disappointed by the blistered crust - crispy on the edges and chewy on the inside. The toppings played together beautifully. I never would have thought of this combination myself.

The caramelized onions, garlic, and fresh rosemary and thyme really stood out. And the robust olives were not to be overshadowed. After two small slices, we both refrained from eating more so as not to ruin our appetites.

Sweet corn souffle with roasted beets, carrots, and beet greens.

For my main course, I chose the sweet corn souffle. Corn was nearing the end of the season, but boy did the corn work well in this dish. The sweet corn shone in this incredibly light souffle. This is how a souffle is made! The vegetables were tender, sweet, and buttery (I don't think I want to know how much butter was on them). A cream sauce was drizzled over top of everything. Just thinking about it takes me back to that lovely afternoon.

Malia ordered the chicken with parsnip chips and sauteed spinach. The chicken was pounded thin and was incredibly moist and tender. It was crusted with herbs and bathed au jus. The parsnip chips were salty and crisp and the spinach was incredibly garlicky (something both of us love).

Close up - corn souffle and roasted turnips, carrots and greens.

Close up - Chicken, parsnip chips, and garlic spinach.

You may be wondering if we had saved room for dessert. I don't know if "saved" is an appropriate term, but we couldn't resist ordering dessert. We split the fig tart with creme fraiche ice cream. Oh it was the perfect end to the perfect meal. I can't wait for Malia to come visit again, so we can share another wonderful meal together!

Fig Tart

Love you Malia!

Kapp's Pizza and Grill

Gibson Girl - mushroom, zucchini, pineapple, onion, bell pepper, tomato

There are a couple pizza joints on Castro St in downtown Mountain View. Seeing as AJ could eat pizza for every meal, we decided to check out Kapp's Pizza and Grill on Friday night. We were seated promptly and settled on some fried zucchini sticks and the Gibson Girl - a mix of veggies and pineapple. It was time to get back on the veggie track after the jerk chicken feast earlier. While I will eat meat on occasion, I still plan on eating mostly vegetarian.

Fried Zucchini sticks

The zucchini sticks came out first, and were perfectly cooked, nice and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. The breading was flavored with italian seasoning and was light and crispy. My only complaint with the sticks is that they were so skinny, sometimes the breading overpowered the sweet flavors of the zucchini. A thicker cut might solve that problem (I say this like the owners are going to read this).

Cheesy!

The pizza came out fairly quickly. I could tell right away that the pineapple was canned. I guess its hard to expect fresh pineapple from a pizza joint. The crust was thick and yeasty. While enjoyable, it was hardly the best crust I have ever had. Two slices of this pizza was extremely filling. The vegetables were very fresh, and there was tons of garlic. Matt felt it to be a bit overpowering, but if you love garlic like I do, this was a plus!

Another classic Ariel photo. Am I surprised? Am I scared? Am I just zoning out?

Puhlease pineapple!

The staff was very friendly, and our waters were constantly being refilled. The owner even came over to check on us. While I wouldn't say the pizza was amazing, it was decent and the staff certainly take care of you. Kapp's is a place to go for some beers, pizza, and to hang out with friends.

Kapp's Pizza and Grill

191 Castro St

Mountain View, CA

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust

Butternut squash pizza chillin' on my new pizza stone.

Veggie Planet Pizza in Cambridge, MA has changed how I think about pizza. AJ and I attempted to recreate our favorite pie at Veggie Planet, the Lunch for Henry. Lunch for Henry is a delicious combination of butternut squash, fontina and goat cheese, caramelized onions, garlic, and rosemary. We stuck with those ingredients, but added some portabello mushrooms as well.

I was excited to try my hand at my first pizza dough. I bough a pizza stone, known for its ability to produce crispy crusts. I wanted to make a whole wheat crust and stumbled across a recipe for a super thin crispy crust. While I usually prefer a softer pizza crust I decided to give it a try.

Chopping up fresh thyme and rosemary for the pizza dough.

Mixing the whole wheat flour, salt, and herbs.

The pizza dough was fairly easy to put together. I began by proofing my yeast, a process that determines whether the yeast is alive. I placed a packet of active yeast in a little over 1/3 cup of warm water and a tablespoon of honey. It didn't start foaming initially, so I added some more warm water. Sure enough it started bubbling a minute later.

Proofing the yeast.

Letting the dough rise.

I mixed white whole wheat flour, salt, and some freshly chopped thyme and rosemary together in a large bowl. (JAM Note: The dough only needs to rise 20-30 minutes, so you can make this dough right before you plan on serving the pizza.) After the yeast mixture had sat for 10 minutes I added it to the flour. I mixed this with a spoon until it began to form a ball, adding a little bit of water until it came together. I turned the dough out onto a floured surface and began kneading it while adding about 1/4 cup of flour gradually. The final ball of dough was then placed in an oiled bowl and left to rise in a warm spot for 20 to 30 minutes.

Roasting the butternut squash, onions, and garlic.

With the pizza dough done, I decided to get working on my toppings. I peeled the top part of a large butternut squash and cut it into thin half moons. I placed this in a pan with olive oil, rosemary, an onion and a couple cloves of garlic. I roasted these at 400 F for 20-25 minutes.

Rolling out the dough.

When the vegetables were done roasting (JAM Note: This can be done a day in advance), I began sauteeing the onions and portabellos. While those were cooking up I rolled out the dough into a thin circle. I preheated the oven and placed the pizza stone into the cold oven. I added some oil and cornmeal to the stone so that my crust wouldn't stick. You want to place the pizza stone in the oven before it heats up because you want the heat to distribute evenly throughout the stone. This even distribution of heat is what makes the crust crispy.

Sauteeing the portabellos and onions.

After the oven preheated, about 10-15 minutes, I placed the dough on the stone and baked it for 15 minutes (JAM Note: I would probably only cook this for 10 minutes next time). After the crust has browned a little I added my toppings: goat and smoked fontina cheese, butternut squash, portabellos, onions, and garlic. I cooked the toppings for an additional 10 minutes.

The crust was super crispy, a little crispier than I like my crust, but it was very flavorful thanks to the addition of the fresh herbs. The roasted squash and goat cheese combo was phenomenal. I could almost just eat those two together. The roasted garlic and onions added nice sweet yet pungent component and the portabellos were a nice meaty addition to these earthy flavors. We may not be able to eat at Veggie Planet Pizza, but we can come pretty close to replicating it!

Next time I am going to work on a softer crust...

2.5 out of 3 JAMs

Sweet Potato, Portabello, Caramelized Onion, Rosemary, and Goat Cheese Pizza

Pizza fresh out of the oven - mmm.

I had a ton of leftover sweet potato and ricotta from my previous gnocchi experience. The sweet creamy mixture of sweet potato and ricotta inspired an idea for a great pizza. I decided to use the sweet potato and ricotta mixture as a sauce. This would be topped with portabello mushrooms, caramelized onions, rosemary, and goat cheese.

I was going to make my own dough, but got a little lazy and ordered up some dough from Anthony's in Falls Church. They have great dough. I rolled out the dough onto my pizza pan and baked it at 500 F for 5 minutes (JAM Note: In retrospect, I would bake this for 8-10 min as the crust could have baked a little longer). Take the pizza crust out of the oven and reduce the heat to 425 F. Put the toppings on and bake for 8-10 more minutes. Voila! Dinner is served.

Pizza is best served with a nice green salad. My mom made a spinach, strawberry, and toasted pecan salad to go with our pie. She made her own strawberry balsamic dressing as well. Sweet, yet tart, it was the perfect compliment. This meal is so simple, yet so elegant. You will totally impress people with your skills in the kitchen!

Spinach, strawberry, and toasted pecan salad with strawberry balsamic vinagrette.

Pizza Recipe

1 ball of pizza dough (good for 16 in pizza)

1 portabello mushroom, sliced

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced (JAM Note: I would use a whole onion in the future)

2 oz goat cheese

2 tsp rosemary

2 tbsp olive oil

1 sweet potato, baked

6 oz ricotta cheese, drained

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1/4 c parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 500 F. To make sweet potato ricotta mixture, mash potato in a bowl and add the next four ingredients. Mix until well combined and set aside. Heat olive oil in a saute pan on medium high heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Then add portabello mushrooms. Onions will start to brown and caramelize, when this happens remove from heat.

Roll out pizza dough onto pan. Spread into a circle about 16 in in diameter, leaving a thicker edge around the perimeter. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes. Turn heat down to 425 F. Spread a thin layer of the sweet potato mixture onto the pizza. Top with portabellos, onions, rosemary, and goat cheese. Bake in oven for 8-10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Balsamic Vinagrette

5 strawberries

1/4 c balsamic vinagrette

2 tbsp water

1/3 c olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients in blender. Shake before serving.

Adventures in Northern California

Capitola Beach - surf competition.

AJ and I were lucky enough to take a trip to Northern California to visit his Uncle in Los Gatos (about an hour south of San Francisco). I could not have been happier with the weather, 70 degrees and sunny, a nice respite from the frigid East Coast. We took in the sights - surfing, mountain views, and sun.

75 degrees and sunny - could life be better?

DAY 1

Our first night in California we had the pleasure of watching the Golden State Warriors play from the 8th row back. (Thanks Uncle Peter!) These seats were perfect and we got to watch them win a game (a rarity this season). We headed toward the stadium early in order to avoid traffic, and decided to stop in Oakland/Berkley boarder for a bite to eat before the game. The downtown area is very cute, lots of restaurants and shops. We ended up eating at a chain, Pasta Pomodoro. For an italian chain restaurant we were very pleased with the quality and creativity of our dishes.

Pesto dipping sauce and foccacia bread.

Our server was very friendly and immediately brought us out some pesto and olive oil for our complimentary foccacia bread. The pesto was full of bright basil flavors. The bread was soft, but a little cold. But better than one would expect from this type of restaurant.

Farro and grilled vegetables with parmesan.

I ordered the farro with grilled vegetables and parmesan, while AJ ordered the pesto with whole wheat capatelli. I only vaguely remembered that farro was some sort of whole grain, and decided to order it out of curiosity.

Butternut squash ravioli with fried sage, crushed amaretti cookies, and parmesan.

Before our entrees arrived AJ and I split the butternut squash ravioli. This was definitely the hightlight of the meal. The ravioli were filled with sweet creamy squash and topped with fried sage, crushed amaretti cookies, and parmesan cheese. For those of you who think sage is too overpowering, this is the best way to eat it - the frying process mellows out the flavors and makes for a lovely crunchy topping. The amaretti adds to the liquorice flavors and the saltiness of the cheese cuts the sweetness of the squash. These raviolis could put some gourmet versions to shame.

DAY 2

We woke up bright and early the second day of our trip, and ended up visiting the charming "historic downtown" Campbell. Did you ever notice that "historic downtown" is a requirement on all signs even if a town was established 30 years ago? The "downtown" area only lasted a couple blocks, but there was a huge crowd swarming around one restaurant in particular - Stacks. It appears this is the place to eat breakfast on the weekends. Stacks offers all your breakfast favorites - omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, waffles, and their signature "stacks".

Coconut macademia banana pancakes.

After debating whether or not to get the lumberjack pancakes, a combination of wheat germ, blueberries, raisins, walnuts, and bananas, I decided to go with the more tropical themed coconut macademia banana pancakes. A full stack is listed as three pancakes, the short is two. AJ wanted to try some, so I went with the full stack. They initially brought out just one, which as is turns out would have been enough for me. These pancakes are the size of a plate. Surprisingly not too sweet, the coconut and nuts provided a nice crunch and texture. The warm sweet bananas were delightful. These pancakes are best served with a little butter and warm syrup.

Where ya at, where ya at? (AJ is excited for breakfast)

AJ got the manly "Stacks breakfast sandwich" - scambled eggs, ham, bacon, cheese, tomato and avocado all piled high on an english muffin. Piping hot, this sandwich is more than filling. I enjoyed my first bite - the sweet tomato and avocado livened up this protein feast. A couple more bites and reality set in. There are a just a few too many flavors going on here. The english muffin was dry and bland. I would have prefered this on a toasted bagel or multigrain toast. Unfortunately, Stacks doesn't bake its own bread.

Stack's Big Breakfast sandwich - ham, bacon, tomato, avocado, eggs, and cheese.

After our breakfast we walked around Campbell and then to downtown Los Gatos to check out some shops. After burning off our breakfast we stopped into Icing on the Cake to fulfill our sugar cravings. AJ's uncle likes to say that he will never move from Los Gatos because of this bakery. He is that in love with their cake. We decided on a caramel cupcake and a chocolate chunk brownie cookie. We headed to Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company to compliment our goodies with a coffee.

Los Gatos Coffee Brewing Co. - Amaretto latte and mexican mocha.

The coffee was the perfect compliment to our sweet treats. The mexican mocha had a very strong espresso flavor with a subtle chocolate flavor. If you love a strong coffee with a hint of cocoa, this is the drink for you. AJ and I preferred the amaretto latte, with a hint of sweet almonds.

Caramel cupcake from Icing on the Cake!

The cupcake was the winner of this afternoon snack. The frosting was buttery, light, and full of rich caramel flavor. The chocolate chip cookie was cloyingly sweet. The chunks of brownie tasted too much like chocolate chips.

Chocolate chunk brownie cookie.

Buttery caramel cupcake.

That evening we met up with some old friends in Mountain View for some ramen noodles. I had never been to a noodle bar before, and the novelty was quite fun. The seating is communal style, around a U-shaped bar. You may have to wait a little while to be seated if your party is larger than 2. Our friend Austin has some experience visiting Japan, so we deferred to him to interpret the menu. All of the bowls come with a flavored broth and similar accoutrements - hard boiled egg, pork, seaweed, and scallions (FYI: you can order more vegetables or meat at an extra cost). At Austin's recommendation AJ and I ordered the sesame broth.

Ryowa Ramen - sesame broth with pork, egg, noodles, scallions, and seaweed.

The broth was extremely salty, full of pork flavor. I couldn't taste much sesame flavor, and to be honest couldn't tell the difference between this broth and the miso. The noodles were of good quality. I added hot chili paste to the broth, and that really made all the difference. If you're in the mood for some spicy noodles, this should do the trick. The noodles cost around $6, but could definitely fill you up for two meals. We also ordered some potstickers. These were crispy on the outside with a nice pork and scallion filling. These were my favorite of the evening.

We ended up in Palo Alto at Red Mango for dessert. For those of you who haven't experienced the yogurt craze sweeping the nation, jump on the bandwagon already. The yogurt is tangy and not too sweet. I highly recommend the tart pomegranate flavor loaded with fresh raspberries and blueberries.

DAY 3

The Big Sur.

AJ loves pizza. He could probably eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And while I don't quite share the same affinity, I cannot resist a chewy crust piled with cheese. Pizzza My Heart is a chain located in Northern California. They offer a number of award-winning pizzas. We ordered a slice of the hawaiian and the Big Sur. The Big sur is piled high with sausage, pepperoni, roasted garlic, portabellos, scallions, mozarella. The roasted garlic makes this pizza - it is sweet but still retains a nice bite.

After lunch, we hit up the Farmer's market in Los Gatos. I have been deprived of a good farmer's market this winter, so it was nice to see sweet strawberries, oranges, and dates in season.

I can't wait to head back to Northern California, and not just for the weather.

Pasta Pomodoro

5500 College Ave

Oakland, CA

Stacks Restaurant

139 E Campbell Ave

Campbell, CA

Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Co

101 W Main St

Los Gatos, CA

Icing on the Cake

50 W Main St

Los Gatos, CA

Ryowa Ramen House

859 Villa St

Mountain View, CA

Pizza My Heart

1390 Lincoln Ave

San Jose, CA

"Where Pizza is Art"

"Lunch for Henry" - Henry is Didi's cat. Apparently cats love butternut squash as well.

Pizza as an art form. This seems to be how many critics describe the ethic of pizza makers these days. But could a pizza joint in Cambridge really pay homage to the culinary icon that is pizza? AJ and Justin had raved about Veggie Planet so much, that I offered them a guest spot on thisfoodismyJAM. They never did take me up on the offer, so I knew I would have to taste this for myself.

On Saturday, we headed to Cambridge to get some veggies into our system before eating cookies and drinking hot cocoa (so what if the veggies were covered in cheese?) Veggie planet has quite the admirable mission: they use only vegetarian ingredients, support local farmers, purchase organic ingredients when possible, use organic dough from a nonprofit bakery doubling as a homeless service provider, and donate a percentage of their profits to other organizations working for social and/or environmental change. If only eating pizza could make you feel that good all the time?

Veggie Planet is tucked away in the basement of some shops. The decor doesn't exactly inspire the same awe as John Harvard's University, but I think that's the point. As AJ put it, the veggie plant vibe is like: "we're gonna make some really awesome organic pizzas, if people want to eat them that's cool, whatever". The eatery also doubles as a music venue on some evenings. Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers are coming on Dec 26th (oh how I wish I could be there). I did enjoy that effort was made to decorate the place for the holidays - festive snowlakes were hung all over the place.

A crowded house at Veggie Plant is easy to explain with the wondeful menu that is offered.

The "special of the day" - mushroom spread, butternut squash, spinach, and fontina.

Justin and AJ had experienced the wonders of butternut squash topped pizza on their previous trip. AJ agreed to split a large one, so that I could try it for myself. The "special of the day" beckoned to me as well, so I ordered a small one to split with AJ. Seriously the menu is amazing and I had difficulty choosing just two options. A large and a small is enough to feed four people. We definitely over ordered, but we were both starving so it worked out well.

The "Lunch for Henry" is topped with mashed butternut squash, goat cheese, caramalized onions, and sage. This pizza is so perfect on a wintery Boston day. The dough was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The sage and squash combination is such a classic, and the addition of crunchy caramalized onions added great texture. The goat cheese was gooey and salty which was the perfect compliment to the sweet squash. This pizza is the reason I love salty and sweet combos!

I shouldn't have worried about how the special would follow "lunch for henry", because these flavors blew me away. The mushroom puree was garlicky and earthy, providing the perfect platform for large chunks of roasted butternut squash and sauteed spinach. The nutty fontina cheese melted into the winter vegetables pulling it all together.

As I finished off my last bite of crust I felt so content. The only thing that made me sad was knowing that there is no Veggie Planet Pizza in Virginia. Seriously, it's that good.

3 out of 3 JAMs

Veggie Planet Pizza

Club Passim

47 Palmer Street, Harvard Square

Cambridge, MA