Fresh Pasta, My Home Kitchen, AZ
Photo of the Day
La Roche from Lazy Lady Farm, Westfield, Vermont
Dinner at Cibo, Phoenix, AZ
Cibo reminds me of a small east coast restaurant tucked into the neighborhood. The huge outdoor space with fountains and grape lights strung through the trees, is chatchke done right (I know, I didn’t think there was such a thing, but it works). The only thing that bugged me was our flimsy patio table. If the food falls in my lap, I can still eat it…off the floor is frowned upon.
A light red to drink. I honestly don’t know a whole lot about Italian wines, but this was prefect for an alfresco meal in May.
Burrata and bresaola were flawless. I hate burrata when it’s too tough (aka overworked) or too watery inside. Not the case with this burrata. Creamy with a drizzle of balsamic. Bresaola is one of the most beautiful cures meats. Sliced thinly over a bed of arugula with shavings of aged parm, extra virgin olive oil and lemon slices. The bresaola reminds me of the leather of an expensive handbag, marbled and mahogany colored. Edible handbags, my new venture?
Pasta specials: gnocchi, fettuccine, or orecchiette. All in butter sauce. We got the fettuccine and orecchiette. The pasta was a little tough, and I was bummed that they were essentially the same sauce on all three pastas. Simply seasoned with cracked black pepper, they were good, but the texture prevented me from eating more.
Totally off the food topic, the couple sitting at the table behind me were on a first date. Yes, eavesdropping is wrong, but after being on so many horrid first dates recently, it was nice to see two people enjoying a first date. As I later found out, Cibo was voted best place for a first date in 2009. Just a little hint for any people heading out on first dates, apparently, Cibo is the lucky first date spot.
I think their pizza is stellar. Great crust. Nicely charred on the bottom. We tried La Noce, tomato sauce, mozzarella, ricotta, arugula, and walnuts. I was so full, I only managed to eat one slice.
Lastly, a crepe. A little weird with the whole Italian food vibe, but they had me hooked at Nutella. Sliced banana and nutella crepe topped with vanilla ice cream.
I waddled to my car and managed to drive home before a full food coma set in. Sum it up: Order burrata and bresaola and you’ll definitely be winning. Skip the pasta. Pizza is fab. Dessert is all crepes, all the time.
Cibo
603 North 5th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Cibophoenix.com
Dinner at Pane Bianco
My new favorite salad: housemade mozzarella, warm fava beans, sautéd spinach, speck, warm toasted bread with olive oil. I’m in love. Can you crave something you just ate? I’m already jonesing for a fix.
Veg roasted in the wood oven. Sweet potato, peas, squash, carrots, garlic, cauliflower. Delicious, love the smoky flavor and a little char from the wood oven, but needed a dash more salt for my taste.
Crepes with oven roasted tomatoes and ricotta. This dish didn’t do anything for me. It was a good dish and came out burn-my-mouth hot, I just was underwhelmed after the amazing fava bean salad.
My second favorite dish of the evening. Schreiner’s sausage on top of wood oven charred green onions and a large dollop of creamy polenta.
Stay away from the crepes and you’ll score.
Triumphant Eats Tonight
I’m deeply in love with the process of creating a dish. Experimenting with flavors, techniques, equipment, colors, texture. The evolution of old recipes into something new. Mistakes are necessary because they always produce a new understanding of the an ingredient or it’s interaction with another. Working. Reworking. Editing. Adjusting. Tinkering. Tweaking. Ideas from notebook to plate. Always a little different, but often for the result of a better dish. Frustration is sometimes inevitable.
Family and friends gathered for Easter dinner is the perfect time for a classic and a new experiment. Feedback is honest. Crust scraps are cleaned off plates by the coffee sipping grazers.
Failures are eaten with as much gusto as successes, perhaps though, lacking a feeling of triumph.
Diets and Strawberry Shortcake
A couple weeks ago, my cousin was married at dusk, in a garden ceremony, speckled with candles and rosy-colored orchids. In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, she lamented to me that she couldn’t wait till the wedding was over. Her strict diet was taking its toll and she was desperately hungry for a substantial meal, including dessert.
As I watched her glide down the aisle on her wedding day, looking quite lanky and lean, I determined that there was no way I would be able to go without dessert for months on end, even if it was for the noble cause of fitting into the perfect wedding dress.
Lately, I have a handful of friends who are on pretty serious diets. Some are doing it right, smaller portion sizes, exercising, cutting back to one glass of wine a night. While others hold a convoluted idea of what true nutrition is. Eating 600-700 calories a day, mostly of low-fat diet crap, is called borderline anorexia, not a diet inspired by a school nutrition class. (And, yes, I actually witnessed this with a friend!)
I hope the people who come to my table are ready to eat. If you want just a little taste, so you can zip your pants, I understand. If you are here to play martyr and be commended for your righteous act toward your waistline, jump off the cross, Mary, we need the firewood. You can wear your diet as a badge of honor, but know that the look in my eyes is one of pity because you are missing out on some amazing meals.
Recently, I was in Los Angeles and was able to spend some time at a farmers market in Silver Lake. A small market, with probably 30 stalls, half of which were packed with endless folding tables of fresh produces. Vibrant green swiss chard with rich red and golden yellow stalks. Piles of citrus fruit, with taster slices cut of ruby grapefruit, blood oranges so brilliantly rubicund, and such a vivacious orange, it was the shade of a Mario Batali clog. Turnips. Carrots. Root veg galore. A sea of garnet colored strawberries two tents long.
I bought three pints of strawberries for $5 and toted them home to Arizona. With such beautiful fruit, there is only one perfect dessert that came to mind. Strawberry Shortcake.
I’m not an expert. But I do know that if you consume less, you weigh less. So, I roll the biscuits a little thinner and cut them a little smaller. I don’t add as much sugar to the berries (they’re actually perfect on their own and don’t need much sugar). Go easy on the whipped cream. Why deny yourself? Life’s too short.
Living wall in Silver Lake
Love this living wall I came across in Silver Lake, on the side of a building.
Pomo Pizzeria
Feeding Time At The Goat Pen
How to Procrastinate Like a Champ
I have been doing everything possible to avoid the spring cleaning my house has been demanding. Toasting up a batch of granola. Breaking in my new boule baskets by baking fresh bread. Preserving some lovely blood oranges and meyer lemons in a jewel-colored marmalade. Dinners out. Dinners in. Hiking Pinnacle Peak. Planting seedlings for planters I haven’t built yet. Testing cheese recipes. Drinking lots of wine.
My friend M. took three days off work to clean her house. We ended up hiking, having breakfast, trying out some new restaurants and grabbing drinks. Her house is still a disaster, and the only positive stride I took was to clean eight bags of clothes out of my closet for Goodwill.
So, in honor of my procrastination, and hopefully yours, here is a list of the other things I’m planning on doing, before cleaning my house.
1. Watch every episode of Eureka on Netflix direct.
2. Eat ice cream for dinner, and tell myself I deserve it because I’m actually going to clean tomorrow.
3. Have potluck girls night with ::drum roll, please:: The Girls!
4. Drink more wine.
5. Pull all the boxes out of the closet with the intention to clean them out. Clean out one. Get bored. Go to the movies instead.
6. Make Tony a pie. What?! I promised him months ago I would bake him a pie, and now seems like a great time.
7. Go to Breadfruit and drink 4 mojitos (all other procrastinators, meet me there!).
8. Buy potting soil and all the lumber for my planters.
9. Sit on the porch, drinking a glass of wine, while staring at lumber for my planters.
10. Eat cheese.
What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?
