Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Pizza Party

I love making homemade pizza. You get to be creative and have lots of fun while cooking, which is really what cooking should be all the time.

Over spring break I had a pizza party with my family for dinner. While at the farmers market, I was seeing things right and left that I wanted to eat - squash blossoms! asparagus! baby artichokes! How was I going to be able to use them all in the few days I had left at home? And then it dawned on me - pizza!

All I needed was a little time to make Ina's pizza dough, and then I could decorate the pizzas however I wanted.
By request of my brother and dad, I served all the pizzas (sliced) on a big platter in the middle of the table. They all said it was delicious, and fun to eat. And eating should of course be fun, too!


Mushroom Toasts

Pizza with Goat Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, Shrimp

Pizza with Parmesan, Mozzarella, Asparagus, Baby Artichokes

Pizza with Squash Blossoms, Burrata, Cherry Tomatoes

Friday, April 5, 2013

Burger Dinner Party

One of the things I love the most about California and being home is that the farmers market is always amazing, even though it doesn't really start here in Madison for another few weeks. I went to the farmers market twice in my one week at home, and found amazing spring produce. With such great food and inspiration, and with the realization that I had not yet had a dinner party, my family decided to invite my best friend Molly and her family over for dinner. Anxious to use the grill, we made burgers and Ina's lemon chicken, as well as a handful of salad-y sides. And for dessert, Ina's strawberry shortcakes! Homemade whipped cream is the best. 

Alice Waters' Braised Baby Artichokes

Alice Water's Coleslaw (more like cabbage salad - no mayonnaise)


Lettuce Salad with Soft Herbs and Avocado

Ina Garten's Fresh Corn Salad


Strawberry Shortcake!


Passover

This post is a bit late, but I was just too relaxed over spring break to worry about anything or do any sort of writing. And while this isn't much, it was still too much work for me. But now I am back at school and pretty much back into the swing of things.
Passover is my favorite Jewish holiday, almost entirely because of the food. We also had close family friends join us, which is always wonderful and fun for me because I don't get to see them often.


Brisket

Kugel

Asparagus

Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream

Chocolate Chip Merengues