A few months ago Adrianna and I attended a picnic hosted by fellow LA food blogger Joy the Baker. There were a hay bales on a rooftop. There were cupcakes. There were other fun food bloggers. There was Joy in an adorable pink dress. Overall, it was a good time.

So, when Adrianna and I heard that Joy was now part of On The Lamb, and would be popping up all over LA with more fun events, we got a little excited. When we heard the three lovely ladies would be at the fabulous Surfas, cooking up some strawberry recipes, we were salivating. Strawberries? Surfas? Free Samples? Where do we sign up?

I wish I had some photos of the demo to show you, but to be honest, we were a little too engrossed in what they were cooking to think of anything else, including taking photos. That, and we were a bit distracted by the woman next to us who thought it appropriate to talk on her cell phone during the demo. To the woman next to us – you were very nice, but please don’t distract me from the culinary goodness going on next time, okay? It might get ugly.

Despite unavoidable distractions, we still took a lot away from this demo. First off, I learned how to properly remove the top of a strawberry. See, you use a paring knife to simply cut out the white part, leaving all of the juicy red berry behind. I know, right? Simple things just seem like magic to me.

I learned how to make basil syrup. If you never try this drink, you should still make this syrup. It rocks my socks like no other. I put this stuff in my strawberry cocktails, my green iced tea, and in this really cute jar. All of these events brought me immense joy.

And of course, I learned how to make this drink. It’s refreshing, fruity and just barely sweet. Since the event was family friendly the version that we sampled was made with sparkling water, but I swapped that out for Prosecco and oh my lord, is this stuff good. Truly, I have no words. Except, thank you. Thanks On The Lamb, I’m definitely a big fan.

Strawberry Balsamic Basil Cocktail

Adapted from recipe by Whitney Adams of On The Lamb

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This recipe is very easy to customize based on your taste. If you prefer a stronger flavor of strawberry, basil or balsamic vinegar, feel free to play around with the amounts that you use. Also, the original recipe used Agave syrup, and I substituted sugar, so feel free to go either way. I promise, it will still taste good.

1 – 1 ½ cups chopped strawberries
1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
750 ml Prosecco sparkling wine or 3 cups sparkling water

Basil Syrup
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
4-5 basil stems
½ cup minced basil

To make the syrup, combine the sugar, water and basil stems in a small saucepan. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a simmer for about a minute, and then remove from heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then remove stems and add minced basil. Place in a jar or other airtight container and allow to cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).

In a food processor combine the strawberries and balsamic vinegar and blend into a puree. In pitcher, combine chilled basil syrup and balsamic puree. Add in Prosecco and stir well before pouring into glasses. Serve over ice (preferably crushed).

Everyone is always on the look out for a weeknight meal. Sometimes I feel like telling people to relax and just eat a bowl of cereal like I do.  But then I remember that a lot of people have kids and dogs and Franklins, and bowls of cereal just won’t do.  Rather than being concerned about a weeknight meal, I’m always more concerned about an easy weekend morning breakfast.  When I wake up a little late and maybe recovering from the night before, going to the store to get fresh ingredients and slaving over the stove doesn’t sound too appealing.  Lucky for you, my weekend breakfast can also be your weeknight meal.  This, like the Croque Madame I made a few weeks ago, is a unisex type meal–it can be breakfast, lunch or dinner. And with only 3 main ingredients, (bread, eggs and a can of plum tomatoes) it’s the easiest thing in the world to make.  You can do it hungover, super sleepy, or super stressed. All is well!

Since this recipe only calls for 3 main ingredients, I recommend using the best quality you can find.  I love San Marzano canned tomatoes.  While they’re more expensive (around $4 for a 24 oz. can), they’re totally worth it. (You can find them at any Italian specialty supermarket, or even Whole Foods.)  And since they don’t have any basil, pepper, salt, etc. in them, I upped the recommended amount for spices from the original recipe. If you’re using whole canned tomatoes with spices in it, then I’d recommend tweaking the spices to taste.

Update: Joy the Baker actually highlighted San Marzano tomatoes too a little while back.  I’m including a link as to where you can buy them online.  Yes, they’re that serious. Please. Buy. Them.

Eggs with Tomato on Toast

Recipe tweaked from Salt to Taste

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Serves 4 (That’s what the book says, but I beg to differ. A friend and I ate this by ourselves, no problem. More like serves 2.)

4-5 eggs

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic or 1 teaspoon, minced

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 24 ounce can of whole plum tomatoes, which had around 7-8 tomatoes (San Marzano highly recommended)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil

4 slices country white bread–whatever you have, toasted

Separate the eggs, reserving two egg whites for another use.

In a cold medium skillet, combine the oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano.  Turn on the heat and warm over medium heat until the garlic begins to become fragrant (without browning), about 2 minutes.

Raise the heat to high, then use your hands to crush each tomato into the pan.  Note: I tried this and the tomato gushed juice all over my shirt.  It wasn’t cute.  I recommend piercing the middle of the tomato with your finger, slowly, as to release all of its juice AND then crush it.  Season with salt and pepper.  Fry the tomatoes, continuing to break them up with a fork. Cook until they concentrate and no longer look watery, 2 to 3 minutes (this actually took me 5-6 minutes).

Lower the heat to medium and stir in the egg whites.  Cook until the whites become opaque and firm, thickening the tomato sauce, about 1 minute.

Turn off the heat, Using the back of a spoon, make 4 indentations in the sauce, allowing a few inches around each.  Slip and egg yolk into each indentation.  Draw the sauce in from the edges of the pan around each of the yolks.  Cover the skillet and leave it on the stove, heat off, until the yolks are just warmed through and beginning to set, about 3 minutes for runny yolks.

Gently soon some sauce and a yolk onto each piece of toast and serve immediately. I find rubbing some olive oil on the spoons helps prevent breaking the yolk.

Halloween has gotten a little crazy this year at my apartment building. Last year, the decorations consisted of perhaps one string of lights and some scattered cobwebs. In 2009 however, without any discussion, every apartment around us has decided that this is the year to go all out. The windows surrounding us are covered in lights, cobwebs, spiders, bats, everything you can imagine. The garden in the courtyard is covered in fake skeletons, rats, and jack-o-lanterns, not to mention the scary music that is playing to accompany it.

Apparently Chase and I just didn’t get the memo, and we’ve been a little slow to catch on to everything. After some hazing from our neighbors we finally broke down and bought one string of lights, but I have to confess, it looks a little lame compared to all the madness next door. I’m not sure why this happens, but Halloween always seems to sneak up on me every year, leaving me a little unprepared.  It used to only show in my lack of costume, but apparently I have other areas in which to keep up.

It’s also caught up to me with this lovely blog. I wish that I had prepared something that was black and orange, or had a pumpkin face on it, or even involved pumpkin at all. But, unfortunately our blog is going to miss the Halloween festivity this year as well. However, I do have some awesome pesto pizza, so hopefully that makes up for it. I think it will. This is my all-time favorite pizza, and I wouldn’t bring it out for just any old occasion. So, in lieu of cupcakes shaped like ghosts or  cookies with a spider design on them, I hope you enjoy this oven baked treat of mine. Happy Halloween!

Pesto Pizza with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Normally when I make pesto for a pasta I would use more oil, but I found that on a pizza the sauce will become too oily in the oven. I would recommend using just enough oil to bind everything together, but you don’t want a “saucy” texture.

Pizza dough, either homemade or store bought
1 ½ cups basil
2 garlic cloves
¾ cup grated parmesan
¼ cup pine nuts
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
8 oz fresh mozzarella, cubed
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, julienned

Roll out the pizza dough onto a pan. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine basil, garlic, parmesan, pine nuts, and a little salt & pepper. Blend together, and add oil slowly just until the mixture combines. Spread the pesto onto the pizza dough. Top with the cubed mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes. Brush the edges of the crust with olive oil.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven and try to stop yourself from eating it all in one sitting.

This is the first dish I could cook without looking at a recipe. Not that it’s much of a challenge, I mean, we’re talking about 5 ingredients tossed together in a skillet; it isn’t exactly brain surgery. However, for a college student cooking in the kitchen of her first apartment, it made me seem like quite the fancy cook to be able to whip together a dinner that didn’t come from a box with flavor packets.

Now, there are a few eating habits that I have grown out of since college. Easy Mac is one of them (although I try to turn a blind eye when Chase continues to make it in the microwave). This recipe, however, is a keeper. It’s easy, filling, and a crowd-pleaser. You can eat it hot off the stove with melted cheese dripping off each little piece of pasta, or you can serve it cold as a pasta salad.

Another reason that I love this dish is because in some ways it marks my entrance into the cooking world. When I was in high school and working at Saluda Grade Café, the chef, Kaye Strang (now Vasquez since she recently got married) agreed to teach me how to cook. I came to work every day with a notebook and in my downtimes I would work back in the kitchen and write down recipes. This is the recipe on page 1 of that notebook. So, from Kaye’s kitchen to mine, and from my kitchen to yours I hope you enjoy this tasty pasta!

Penne Pasta with Roasted Red Peppers

Adapted from Kaye Vasquez

Want to make this dish uber healthy? Just use whole-wheat pasta and this is a guilt-free meal. I normally use penne with this recipe, but any short pasta will work.

1lb penne pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 oz roasted red peppers (about 2 full peppers), sliced or julienned
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or chiffonade
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta in boiling water, drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet Add the red peppers and garlic and saute over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add in the pasta and basil and toss in the red-pepper infused oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Okay, in my last post we made pizza dough, so now it’s time to add toppings. The pizza Margherita is one of my favorite pizzas, as well as being an Italian classic.

Before we get started, a little history: in the late 1800s Queen Margherita, wife of Umberto I, became quite taken with a bread that was commonly made by Italian peasants.  Since it was not considered very “Queenly” of her to like such a common peasant food, she asked one of her chefs to prepare her pizza using this bread that she liked so much. The chef, Rafaelle Esposito, devised a pizza topped with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil, the colors symbolizing the Italian flag. Queen Margherita absolutely fell in love with this delicious concoction, and the rest is history.

Queen Margherita was definitely my kind of woman, and this has long been one of my favorite pizzas. Now, the key to great taste when you’re making such a simple pizza is having high-quality ingredients. So please, I’m begging you, only use FRESH mozzarella to make this pizza! I can’t emphasize enough the difference that it makes.  If it was good enough for the Queen of Italy, then it’s probably good enough for you too.

Pizza Margherita

Pizza dough, homemade or store bought
1 can (15oz) whole steamed tomatoes, drained.
12-16oz fresh mozzarella cheese
Handful of basil, chopped

Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees. Roll the pizza dough out to roughly ¼ inch thickness. Transfer onto baking sheet or pizza stone.

Slice the fresh mozzarella into thin slices and distribute evenly on the pizza dough. Using your fingers, break apart the tomatoes and scatter them on the dough. Drizzle olive oil along the crust of the pizza, and then sprinkle with the basil. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and just starting to turn brown.