This is a place I would want to work. They have wonderful pizza and that should be enough. But, to keep everyone who works there sharp, they closed down for a few days and went to New York for a pizza field trip. Kudos.
A Little Bird Told Me
This is handy. You can sign-up for the Sunset Valley Farmers Market to send you email updates on their goings-on. A: it lets me know what is in stock. B: it reminds me that I should go.
Waiting On Summer
Summer is trying to get in the mood, but it’s not quite here. I’m looking forward to having the garden roaring again, grilling over coals and eating outside. Trying to force the issue, I made a salad for lunch. Pan grilled chicken, Pure Luck goat cheese, red romaine and the house vinaigrette
Production Line
This is the making of the roasted squash tortellini from Valentines Day. I fooled around with a few different folds, so I guess they technically aren’t tortellini. They kind of looked like Manta rays.
I thought the little pockets on top would be useful in holding a little bit of the sauce. I thought wrong. The cute little sauce pockets actually inflated during cooking, making the pot look like some demented pasta hot air balloon race.
Deviled Chicken
Cold Batter, Hot Oil
Inspired by a trip to Damian Mandola’s Hill Country restaurant, Trattoria Lisina, I decided to try cooking up some Tempura.
The batter is a mix of flour, corn meal and cold soda water. That’s it. The neat thing is, without any seasoning, the vegetables really sing through. Baby artichokes, red onion, asparagus, fennel, cauliflower and zucchini. Crowd favorites were the red onion and the fennel.