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July 22, 2010

Roasted Veggie Whole Wheat Pizza (healthy! and yet, awesome!) Got your 99-cent pizza dough? Good. (Wait a sec. You bought four, right? Two for tonight, two to stick in the freezer for later? I mean, if you’re gonna wait in the TJ line….) Ok. Awesome. Here’s your game plan. (Just a warnin’ darlin’: we’re gonna have to go back in time a few days, but what’s a little metaphysical peregrination in a pizza recipe?) When you’re hangin’ around the house, maybe a Sunday evening, roast a couple pans of sliced zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes (drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with herbs from the garden and plenty of kosher salt) ‘til they’re soft and slightly caramelized. (They’re growin’ like gangbusters now; your farmer’s market or even grocery store will have insane deals.) Store in the fridge for a workday night when you ain’t got no time but you want pizza damnit. Forty minutes before you want to eat, jack the oven high, as high as it’ll go. Place the pizza dough and veggies on the counter so they can come to room temp. Open that bottle of wine. Twenty minutes before you want to eat, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet, and pile on the veggies as well as a thin layer of pesto (if you’ve got it) and dabs of fresh goat cheese or fresh mozzarella or whatever (skip it if you want; the veggies are so rich, almost creamy, this can be vegan, no problemo). Bake for 6-12 minutes, until the crust is as crisp as you like. While it’s in the oven, throw together a salad with whatever came in the CSA box. Take the pizza out and let it stand while you whisk some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Dijon mustard together, toss, pour another glass of wine, slice the pizza, and presto-chango: dinner! 07.22.10, 10 pm. East Village. PS: That’s Andrea’s hand. We were long overdue for face time, so we had a Tracy date. One of my favorite kind of dates.

Roasted Veggie Whole Wheat Pizza (healthy! and yet, awesome!)

Got your 99-cent pizza dough? Good. (Wait a sec. You bought four, right? Two for tonight, two to stick in the freezer for later? I mean, if you’re gonna wait in the TJ line….) Ok. Awesome. Here’s your game plan. (Just a warnin’ darlin’: we’re gonna have to go back in time a few days, but what’s a little metaphysical peregrination in a pizza recipe?)

When you’re hangin’ around the house, maybe a Sunday evening, roast a couple pans of sliced zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes (drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with herbs from the garden and plenty of kosher salt) ‘til they’re soft and slightly caramelized. (They’re growin’ like gangbusters now; your farmer’s market or even grocery store will have insane deals.) Store in the fridge for a workday night when you ain’t got no time but you want pizza damnit.

Forty minutes before you want to eat, jack the oven high, as high as it’ll go. Place the pizza dough and veggies on the counter so they can come to room temp. Open that bottle of wine. Twenty minutes before you want to eat, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet, and pile on the veggies as well as a thin layer of pesto (if you’ve got it) and dabs of fresh goat cheese or fresh mozzarella or whatever (skip it if you want; the veggies are so rich, almost creamy, this can be vegan, no problemo). Bake for 6-12 minutes, until the crust is as crisp as you like. While it’s in the oven, throw together a salad with whatever came in the CSA box. Take the pizza out and let it stand while you whisk some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Dijon mustard together, toss, pour another glass of wine, slice the pizza, and presto-chango: dinner!

07.22.10, 10 pm. East Village.

PS: That’s Andrea’s hand. We were long overdue for face time, so we had a Tracy date. One of my favorite kind of dates.

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January 13, 2010

Eat your greens! Yesterday evening, I had Andrea over for dinner & a workout (the very-January answer to December’s cocktails & more cocktails). We did Tracy’s ass-kicking treadmill workout, followed by her abs & arms routines. And then we sat down to a meal befitting our healthy intentions: Greens Pie (more on that in a moment), Satur Farms arugula (the very best in the NYC region) with Villa Manodori balsamic vinegar (amazing stuff), olive oil, and Bulgarian feta, and roasted beets. Oh, and a bottle of 2008 El Chaparral de Vega Sindoa Old Vines Garnacha Navarra from Tinto Fino, a charming Spanish wine store on 1st Avenue. (Even Tracy drinks wine. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.) Greens Pie is a dish passed on to me from Audrey Arner, the proprietress of Moonstone Farm in Minnesota (read an article I — er, make that my former boss — wrote about her here). It’s a mess of hearty greens bound with just a touch egg and cheese and baked in a pie crust. I learned the “recipe” from my mom who was the lucky witness to Audrey as she made the pie last summer with greens straight from her kitchen garden. She fell in love with the results — and I’m willing to bet you will, too. Even my kid cousins loved it. I say “recipe” because like many good, simple foods, there is none. That said, this is the basic how-to. Feel free to experiment at will. Two Greens Pies The way I figure is: if you’re going to make one, make two; they’re excellent as leftovers, and frozen pie shells come in packs of two. 2 frozen 9” pie shells, preferable whole wheat (I used Wholly Wholesome Organic Spelt shells — really wonderful, flaky and subtly nutty) 4 bunches of fresh greens (any type of kale, collards, chard, spinach, or the like), cleaned and chopped into 1” strips 1 - 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan or Romano (or another type of cheese entirely, perhaps crumbled feta or fresh chevre) 2-3 eggs (use less eggs and cheese — or none at all — if you’re feeling particularly holy) 1 small yellow or white onion, diced 2 tablespoons minced garlic 3 tablespoons olive oil Salt & pepper, to taste Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a big pot of water, liberally salted, to boil. Add the greens, cover the pot, and cook for 5 minutes, then drain the water with a colander. Allow the greens to cool slightly before chopping very finely. Heat the olive oil in a big saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and a big pinch of salt, and saute until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the greens, two big pinches of salt, and saute for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid in the greens has cooked off. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Add cheese and eggs to greens. Taste and add black pepper and salt as needed. (If you’re squeamish about tasting something that has raw eggs in it, taste before adding them, but after adding the cheese.) Transfer the greens mixture to two frozen pie shells and smooth the tops. Bake for 45 minutes. I like to serve the pies just above room temperature but of course they are good hot — and cold, for that matter.

Eat your greens!

Yesterday evening, I had Andrea over for dinner & a workout (the very-January answer to December’s cocktails & more cocktails). We did Tracy’s ass-kicking treadmill workout, followed by her abs & arms routines. And then we sat down to a meal befitting our healthy intentions: Greens Pie (more on that in a moment), Satur Farms arugula (the very best in the NYC region) with Villa Manodori balsamic vinegar (amazing stuff), olive oil, and Bulgarian feta, and roasted beets. Oh, and a bottle of 2008 El Chaparral de Vega Sindoa Old Vines Garnacha Navarra from Tinto Fino, a charming Spanish wine store on 1st Avenue. (Even Tracy drinks wine. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.)

Greens Pie is a dish passed on to me from Audrey Arner, the proprietress of Moonstone Farm in Minnesota (read an article I — er, make that my former boss — wrote about her here). It’s a mess of hearty greens bound with just a touch egg and cheese and baked in a pie crust. I learned the “recipe” from my mom who was the lucky witness to Audrey as she made the pie last summer with greens straight from her kitchen garden. She fell in love with the results — and I’m willing to bet you will, too. Even my kid cousins loved it.

I say “recipe” because like many good, simple foods, there is none. That said, this is the basic how-to. Feel free to experiment at will.

Two Greens Pies

The way I figure is: if you’re going to make one, make two; they’re excellent as leftovers, and frozen pie shells come in packs of two.

  • 2 frozen 9” pie shells, preferable whole wheat (I used Wholly Wholesome Organic Spelt shells — really wonderful, flaky and subtly nutty)
  • 4 bunches of fresh greens (any type of kale, collards, chard, spinach, or the like), cleaned and chopped into 1” strips
  • 1 - 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan or Romano (or another type of cheese entirely, perhaps crumbled feta or fresh chevre)
  • 2-3 eggs (use less eggs and cheese — or none at all — if you’re feeling particularly holy)
  • 1 small yellow or white onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt & pepper, to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a big pot of water, liberally salted, to boil. Add the greens, cover the pot, and cook for 5 minutes, then drain the water with a colander. Allow the greens to cool slightly before chopping very finely.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a big saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and a big pinch of salt, and saute until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the greens, two big pinches of salt, and saute for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid in the greens has cooked off.
  3. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Add cheese and eggs to greens. Taste and add black pepper and salt as needed. (If you’re squeamish about tasting something that has raw eggs in it, taste before adding them, but after adding the cheese.)
  4. Transfer the greens mixture to two frozen pie shells and smooth the tops. Bake for 45 minutes. I like to serve the pies just above room temperature but of course they are good hot — and cold, for that matter.
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