Italians REALLY do do pizza best!!

So I am in Naples, the home of PIZZA among other great traditional Italian foods that are eaten in other locations around the world. Today is my FIRST day in Naples and I hit the ground running, so to speak.

One of the things I was really excited to do here was to eat a Margarita pizza. I even wanted to try and eat it at the famous Pizzeria Da Michele (yes, the one that is in the movie Eat, Pray, Love). As I was wandering the streets today (basically I was lost... let's be honest), I stumbled upon said pizzeria and decided to try and find my way back (being that it was 10 am and just too early for pizza). Lucky for me, the chaotic streets of Naples have some order to them and after doing a little shopping and sight seeing, I was able to get back there for about 1:30. It looked like this outside:

Not knowing the procedure for how to get a seat or get food, I simply went inside and to the man at the cash. He asked how many I wanted to seat and I said that it was just me. Well, minutes later I was seated and my bira was placed in front of me (Italian beer is VERY light).

My pizza took a little longer and I'm pretty sure that my adorable singing waiter actually gave my order to another table at least once, but I'm not mad. The place was popping with people and pretty much everyone was getting the same thing. Hard to keep track really. Eventually, this:

was laid before me. *sigh of gargantuan happiness* If you are looking for crispy pizza, don't come to Italy. The tomato sauce is the most flavourful and plain sauce I've ever had.. it's very wet never mind all the water that comes off the FRESH mozzarella cheese, there is just a tiny bit of basil (I wish there was a tiny bit more) and then they drizzle olive oil over it. So needless to say the dough is a little soggy and a knife and fork are required for eating... but its SOOOOOOO good!!! The dough is a little salty and chewy and the flavours are... well... perfect. In a word, I could eat this meal every day while I'm here, and I just might since it only costs 6 Euros including the drink and I was so full that I couldn't finish... and I tried... trust me, I tried!!!

Nummy, Yummy Potatoes

I forgot to take a picture (I was rushing out the door with these little gems hot from the oven).

Here is what I did:

I sliced potatoes and purple onions (as many or as little as you like... I know, I know it's very irritating for the exact measuring people out there), about enough to do 2 thin layers of each in a 9"X13" Pyrex baking dish.

Then in a big pot I made a roux with butter (melted and almost about to turn brown), garlic (powdered or real), flour and milk. I melted the butter and sautéed the garlic first. Then I added the flour until I had a thick paste. Then I added the milk slowly until I had a smooth and slightly thick sauce. Do not let it boil. I then added smoked guyere cheese and some regular white cheddar cheese. I continued to cook and stir until the cheese was all melted. I put this on top of my potatoes and then sprinkled more cheese and some chopped up bacon on top. Cover with foil and toss in the oven at 350* F or 175/200*C for about an hour. Take the foil off the top for an additional 10 minutes at the end and serve... it was rich, cheesy, buttery, smoky goodness!!!

Happy Eating!

Best Chicken Soup EVER!!

So my friend Jordan is the soup king around here. He makes the most amazing soups and while I tend not to make a lot of soups, I've gained a new appreciation of them and just how many flavours you can build into a soup. Well, Jordan was away for a little while and his poor girlfriend, also my friend, Charity was surviving on cereal (or at least that is what I tell myself in justification for making the soup for us). She invited me over to watch a movie and I offered to make dinner.

I jetted home and put this together (makes enough for 2-4 people depending on portion sizes):

1/3 cup chopped up chorizo
1/3 cup diced purple onion
2 cloves finely chopped/minced garlic
2 or 3 chicken thighs chopped up
1 medium sized carrot sliced thickly
1 medium potato cubed
2 or 3 mushrooms chopped up
1 or 2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 small can of corn
a sprinkle of dill, cayenne pepper and oregano
1 tbsp olive oil.
1 litre water

I put the olive oil into the pot and got it good and hot, added the chorizo, garlic, onions and mushrooms to sautee. Then I tossed in the chicken cubes in order to get them good and browned. Then I added the water, spices and other ingredients. I brought it all to a boil for a few minutes and then let it simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. I thought it was super tasty and my dinner guinea pig seemed to agree! :) No pictures this time, sorry!!

Happy Eating!

Quick and Easy Pasta

I love a pasta dish (perhaps it's the Italian in me) and while I love the fancy ones, sometimes something simple and tasty is just what I need. The other night, I felt like I could really use a yummy dish that was simple to make and so I threw together some ingredients and this is what I came up with:


All it has is whole wheat bow tie pasta, chopped and sauteed chorizo sausage, blue cheese (just a little for creamy texture and flavour), oregano, dill and some small chunks of cheese that get all melty when you stir them in with the pasta. It was a quick dish that was easy to make and SOOOOOooooooOOOOOO tasty!!

Happy Eating!

Food Trucks!!

Vancouver is one of the prettiest cities in the world with a ton of great stuff to offer and now they have one more: Food Trucks!! Vancouver has joined the elite foodie cities in the world with great, gourmet food available at reasonable prices on the street. (I love street food and make it a regular practice in my travels to try street food wherever I go) Normally my cooking blog is reserved for my own kitchen experimentation but I just couldn't let the opportunity pass to plug what I think is the greatest food truck in the city (perhaps I am biased because they originated on the Sunshine Coast where I am from... I ate there, in Davis Bay, last summer and remember telling them to get on one of those foodie shows... and they did!!! Eat Street from Food Network was there after I left!!). Anyway, it's a great big purple truck called Feastro and they do prepare a feast for every palate. They have fresh locally caught seafood, locally grown greens (coming from Henry Rd. Farm in Gibsons), delicious daily specials, incredible flavours and it doesn't hurt that the dude taking orders is adorable and good with the customers.

Anyway, if you ever find yourself in Vancouver with a hungry belly... head down to West Cordova and Thurlow (right across from the Olympic torch and the convention centre) and give Feastro a try... you won't be sorry!!!

Crab Cakes

So the image is not mine (I'd forgotten to charge my camera battery) but it's basically what they looked like once I finished. I took a very basic recipe that actually called for fake crab and spiced it up the way that I do and came out with a DELICIOUS way to use up the oodles of leftover crab we had from our family reunion.

Here is how it went:

You will need:

3/4 cup flaked crab (I used locally caught fresh stuff but use what you can get)
2/3 cup fine bread crumbs ( you may need more and you WILL need some additional ones to coat the crab cakes)
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
3 eggs, beaten (not that advocate the beating of any of your food... hehehe)
1 tbsp parsley (freshly chopped or dry flakes)
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp dill
1 tsp dry mustard powder

Mix the wet ingredients with the bread crumbs and spices and then fold in your crab. You may or may not need more bread crumbs depending on how wet your mixture is and how easy it is to make into little patties. You can also add extra lemon juice if it's too dry with what you have in it already. Once you make the patties, coat them in some extra bread crumbs.

Then heat some oil in a frying pan on the stove. I used leftover bacon grease (I know, I know... not very health conscious but it was TASTY!). Fry the crab cakes until they are golden brown on both sides (it's about 4 minutes per side).

Plate 'em and eat 'em!!!

HAPPY EATING!!

The Beauty of a Local Brew

I'm a bit of a Lucy-Come-Lately to the beer scene, but I've really been enjoying the process of finding out what I like (and, no, not just because I get buzzed when I try to figure out what I like...). Being international makes it all that much more fun as I get to try local brews that aren't exported and that others may not get the opportunity to try. I can say that I enjoy a Japanese Asahi beer with Japanese food... a Korean Cass beer with their version of fried chicken... a Chinese Tsingtao beer on occassion... a Thai Singha beer with my green curry... a Turkish Efes on a hot day... and the list can go on. Currently, I'm at home and we have a fantastic local brewery called Granville Island Brewing and they have some fantastic beers... my favourite is the Robson Street Hefeweizen. Let me know what local brews you like best... I'd love to give them a try!