Personal Blog – Page 6

Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Pie

We eat too much meat. I always say we will cut back but we are backsliders. I seem to have to do most of the cooking and I am more used to planning a meal around a protein so it’s just easier for me to grab beef, chicken or lamb or bacon and get going.

Well now that it is getting close to spring more vegetables are coming into the market that don’t look like they were exhumed last year which makes the idea of planning meals around vegetables more appealing somehow. And it was looking at the much improved fresh vegetable display in my local market that gave me the idea for a Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Pie. No meat. Not even Bacon!! Dear dear bacon.

Preparations & Ingredients
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
1 pie shell either home made or store bought
2 large, firm tomatoes
1 ball of mozzarella
1 bunch of basil
3table spoons of tomato sauce
1 drizzle of olive oil
Sprinkle of dried oregano
Salt and pepper

Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the pie shell and brush it around the edges,too.

Slice the tomatoes and then slice them again in half and arrange one layer of tomatoes in a circular pattern in the shell. Add salt and pepper and oregano and a tablespoon of sauce.

Slice the cheese thinly and place on top of tomatoes. Wash and dry the basil and arrange leaves on top of cheese. Add one or 2 spoons of sauce. Repeat all of this one more time (except the spices unless you like a lot of oregano).

Try not to use too much sauce because the bottom of the pie crust will get soggy. Also mozzarella can be a “wet” cheese.
If soggy crusts disgust you you can consider cutting out the bottom of the pie shell and just using the sides.And if you want to skip the crust altogether it’s a free country.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until the top of the pie is browned. Tastes as good as it looks since it’s basically pizza, after all.

Yep. I’m a Girl

How long can you stay on Glimpse.com looking for clothes? I can spend days. I found these little 255.00 – 600.00 beauties. I’d love to find the 80.00 dollar knock off versions but have little hope even in this recession.

Would you like a cocktail before dinner?

Yes,thanks!
I’ve been on a Bloody Mary kick for a while. Liking a cocktail again gives me more options at restaurants other than asking for a glass of red wine.Always ordering the same thing gets very boring.

I’d gone off cocktails for ages,preferring wine. But there are drawbacks:ordering wine at a bar or restaurant can be disappointing. Wines at the bars I used to patronize tended to be the cheapest jug of sludge they could get away with selling. If you are watching the tab at the restaurant you might go for the cheapest per glass price which might be thin and vinegary but it only cost 5 bucks! You compromise quite a lot when ordering wine at a restaurant if you mainly watch the pricelist–which I cannot help but do. Restaurants double or triple the original price of the bottle. And if you have just been at the wine store you will see a bottle selling for 42 dollars that you know you can get for 10.I know there is a solid reason that they do this.I know they must cover their food costs and alcohol is the best way to do this.But I will still know that bottle of Cab costs 8 bucks in the liquor store around the corner.

Cocktails at restaurants aren’t cheap,either. But now that I no longer carouse like a sailor on leave, when I do go out it is usually with the mans for dinner. So I can justify an expensive cocktail every now and then.

The establishments I’ve been to in the last few months that are mixing decent Bloody Marys, some more decent than others:
I judge based on heat(spice) and garnishments.I like olives in my Bloody Mary.I like it even better if I don’t have to ask for them.I don’t mind paying 8,9 even 10 dollars for this cocktail.I also noticed the drink tastes better if I ask for top shelf.Perhaps I am a snob after all?

In Brooklyn

Mojitos (Cuban-On Washington between Park and Flushing in Brooklyn)
Least successful Bloody Mary probably for obvious reasons. Mojitos is better known for their um, Mojitos but they can mix a Bloody Mary depending on who is bartending and whether or not they have any tomato juice. They tend to skip the horseradish and the heat and you don’t get any olives.Tall glass.No celery stalk, mild flavor.

Chez Oskar (French-Dekalb, corner of Aldephi in Fort Greene)
Their Bloody Mary is strong and hot (spicy hot) and served in a short glass with a lemon slice and sometimes they remember the olives. No celery stalk.

Chez Lola (French-Myrtle corner of Vanderbilt)
Wins the prize for most unique! I really like the Chez Lola Bloody Mary.The cocktail came in a salt and hot pepper or chile powder rimmed tall glass. It was strong and hot and had a stalk of celery.The hot salty rim had a beauty side effect:lip plumping! On the second round I felt like Angelina.

In Hell’s Kitchen
The Delta Bar and Grill (Cajun-47th and 9th)
Delicious! Hot and strong, olives(asked for) and no celery stalk but loads of horseradish,in a tall glass.Expensive as hell if you choose top shelf vodka. Ketel 1 Vodka:$9.00. But worth it.

Marseille (French-630 9th Ave.)
Another pricey but absolutely delicious concoction.The olives were huge and crisp on a toothpick balanced across the rim(neat!). Not much noticeable heat and subtle use of horseradish, served in a tall glass. Add Top shelf vodka (I chose Ketel 1 Vodka again) $10.00.

Pownce is Shutting Down

If any website like Pownce or Twitter relied on me to keep going they would all close down.Enough already.That said, I sympathize.But seriously when will this particular bubble burst and my friends who know my cell number and real email address will stop myspace commenting me or facebooking me or twittering at me? My real friends!People I actually know prefer to leave messages on a website I rarely visit rather than pick up the phone and call me.My friends kind of suck. The sad thing is we are all around the same age (in our 30’s) so they can’t blame it on the influence of the kids.