Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Easy dinner

Ricotta-zucchini pizza for dinner

When I feel like having a nice, homemade dinner but don't feel like cooking for an hour, I make one of these babies. The base ingedient is just a store-bought, oven-ready "Cuisichef" crust, sold in packs of 4. Always have a pack in your fridge and you can make healthy pizzas at home. I love them!

My recipe is always a variation the same theme: a ricotta mixture topped with any fresh veggies and herbs I have on hand. I sometimes add bacon or duck magret on top for that extra bit of flavor and protein. These little fuckers are so easy to make, you'll never order take-out again!

Zucchini pizza

Serves 2
3 medium zucchinis, sliced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 oven-ready thin pizza crusts
1 cup ricotta
1 egg
3-4 tablespoons of Pecorino cheese
Zest of one lemon
Salt, pepper
4 tablespoons of tomato sauce

Prep work
In a skillet, sautée de sliced zucchini in the oil until golden. Set the oven to 400F and put the crusts on a baking sheet.

Meanwhile, put all of the other ingredients but the tomato sauce in a bowl and mix well. If you have fresh herbs in the fridge or in the garden, add some to the mix. I really like thyme in this mix.

Spread tomato sauce on both crusts, then top with the ricotta mixture. Add the cooked zucchinis on top of the cheese and add some more Pecorino on top. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes or until the crust is starting to turn brown at the corners. Serve with a salad.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Mod ads

Check out the Eames-like chair in the second spot!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Corners of my Home: Travelling with Dad

I've had this mallet forever. Where's the crab?

When I was a kid, my Dad used to grab my brother and I for a week of fun on the beach in Maine. We would go to Wells, sleep in the tent, play miniputt, swim in the cold, cold ocean, prepare hot-dogs on the little green Coleman stove you had to pump and drink lots of Hawaiian Punch from big cans, a treat for my brother and I. (Sugar was not a major player at our house.)

The mallet that is now resting in my wooden spoons pitcher is a souvenir from one of the last trips the three of us took together. That summer, my brother got the nastiest sunburn and looked like a wounded, peeling Klingon. By then, we were teenagers and not so into going away and leaving behind our summer flings and friends. We had upgraded: Ocean City was now our destination of choice and grandiose beachside hotels had replaced the tent. My Dad bought the mallet for me after a huge feast of crabs and corn, served on newspaper and covered with Old bay spices. It's fragile and useless, but it makes me think of family-time under the sun.