The best pizza in Boston -- Santarpio's!

Sure, Boston isn't known for its pizza... not like New York or Chicago. But, there are a few hidden gems around the city that, in my opinion, have a lot to offer. You will find that every food review in Boston presents the same duel: Santarpio's versus Pizzeria Regina. Santarpio's is in East Boston, while Pizzeria Regina's original location is in the North End (aka Little Italy). It has always been my opinion that Santarpio's wins hands-down! It remains a solo location (Regina has opened several locations.... it's become sort of commercialized), and it has retained its "charm", shall we say, with its dark interior, questionable health-code violations, and sticky tabletops.

My friend Nairi and I have been coming here for quite some time now, usually for lunch. Although they offer excellent grilled meats, including homemade sausage, we always opt to split a nice pizza. This time, we got a half cheese - half mushrooms and peppers.


The pizza is just smothered in cheesy goodness! I think it's the sauce that makes it distinct -- it's sweet, tomato-ey, and just delicious. The vegetable toppings are buried underneath the cheese.... and the cheese is browned so nicely!


Of course, in addition the sauce, the quality of the crust is very important. Santarpio's crust is thin, crispy, and sprinkled with crispy semolina. This particular pizza unfortunately had a soggy center, which does not happen every time, but the crust was generally delicious. It was simultaneously crispy and chewy. Yum!!!


Not to mention, the price is right! For a pizza with these toppings, and two sodas, the total came out to only $15.50. Yeah! A bargain!

If you're ever in Boston looking for an off-the-beaten-path, genuine Boston restaurant, definitely head over to Santarpio's. The pizza is delicious, the grilled sausage/lamb is delicious, and the service is so-so (but what do you expect, it's East Boston!). But, it is well worth it!!!

Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread

I've never tried making homemade bread before. Truthfully, it frightens me! I do not own a breadmaker, so if I were to make bread, it would have to be all by hand. Well, that ain't gonna happen anytime soon, because I don't have the patience nor the time. So, when I came across a simple recipe from Mark Bittman's Bitten blog in the NY Times, I figured it would be a good place to start if I'm ever going to try making bread at home.

It's a recipe for Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread, with my focus on the "quick" part. It was probably the easiest, fastest recipe for any baked good I've ever tried. Not to mention, it seems pretty nutritious too!

I started by mixing together the dry ingredients...


Then I mixed the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and added the wet to the dry...


I mixed until just combined, without overmixing the dough... looks like chocolate!


I poured it into a greased loaf pan...


And baked for about 50 minutes at 325 degrees, when my chopstick came out clean... see the hole in the middle?


It ended up looking kind of.... odd. It had a crusty texture on the top, which I like, but it just LOOKED like tree bark. Thankfully, after slicing it up, it was moist on the inside. Phew!


It looks like chocolate cake, but the rich, dark color is thanks to the sweet sweet molasses. It has a nice moist texture, slightly glutinous and slightly cakey. The flavor is whole-wheatey, with a touch of rich sweetness from the molasses, and a bit of gritty texture from the cornmeal. I put a slather of SmartBalance on it while it was warm, and it melted into creamy buttery loveliness!

I think I'll be making this pretty often. It's simple, quick, and nutritious. You can make some alterations -- honey instead of molasses, buttermilk instead of yogurt. Give it a shot!


Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread

2 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 and 2/3 cups plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. Mix together wet ingredients.
3. Add wet to the dry, and mix together until just combined, but do not overmix.
4. Pour into a greased loaf pan.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Let the loaf pan cool before removing the bread from the pan.
7. Slice, spread on some butter (or SmartBalance), and enjoy!

(Mine didn't come out looking quite as nice as Mark Bittman's, but perhaps just as tasty!)

Love in the soup...

D was heating up some butternut squash soup the other day, and when he took it out of the microwave, the soup had a message for him...

(can you see the heart?)

Apparently, the soup loves D as much as he loves it!

Guinness Beef Stew!

Ok, so I'm not Irish, nor can I actually metabolize any alcohol. Nonetheless, I decided to make an Irish Guinness Beef Stew for my friend's birthday! I love stews that are slow-cooked until the meat falls apart and the broth is rich and smooth. This stew definitely is hearty and comforting. I generally followed this recipe from Simply Recipes.

It starts with some stew meat... I don't know exactly what cut it is, I just asked the butcher at Whole Foods for stew meat. I'm sure it's fatty, and it's relatively inexpensive. I cut the beef into 1" cubes, dredged them in flour (seasoned with S&P), and seared them into a stock pot. I had to do this in batches -- you don't want to overcrowd the pot and not get a good sear.



By doing this, you're also creating a sort-of roux that helps thicken the stew a bit. Then, I added lots of garlic, beef stock (plus some chicken stock), Guinness, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves. I also added the beef. I brought this to a boil, then turned down the heat to let it simmer for 45 minutes or so.

In the meantime, I prepared some vegetables.... some yukon gold potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. After the stew simmered for 45 minutes, I dumped in these vegetables, and let it go for another 45 minutes or so.

(sorry about the poor quality pics... I probably shouldn't use a shiny metal bowl that reflects)

Then I added some frozen pearl onions, and some frozen peas. I let the stew simmer for another hour or so, to ensure the flavors married and the beef was thoroughly falling apart.


The stew turned out to be so rich and beefy, with the Guinness adding such an interesting flavor. A big bowl with a piece of fresh crusty bread -- YUMMMMmm. It was so hearty, and all the vegetables added flavor, color, and texture. By adding the vegetables at a later stage, they were able to retain their shape, texture, and flavor, without becoming mushy and unrecognizable. Even though winter may have passed, keep this recipe in your box in case you have a hankering for a warm comforting stew!


Guinness Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 lbs stew meat, cut into 1" cubes
flour
S&P
olive oil
6 cloves chopped garlic
6 cups beef broth (or like I did, 4 cups beef and 2 cups chicken... I ran out of beef broth!)
1 bottle of Guinness (or more, if you like)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp sugar
several sprigs fresh thyme
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1.5 lbs yukon gold potatoes, cut into quarters
3 carrots, chopped
1/2 container of white button mushrooms, halved
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1 cup frozen peas

Instructions:
1. Place flour in a large dish, add S&P.
2. Dredge the beef cubes in the flour.
3. Heat a large stockpot (or dutch oven), add olive oil.
4. Shake off excess flour, and add beef to the pot to allow a nice sear on both sides. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot, or the meat will steam, not sear. Do this in batches, adding more oil as needed between batches.
5. Add the garlic, cook for a minute or so.
6. Add the beef broth, and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze.
7. Add the Guinness, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves.
8. Add the beef back into the pot.
9. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Let this simmer for about 45 minutes or so.
10. Add the potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, and let simmer for another 45 minutes or so.
11. Add the pearl onions and peas.
12. Let this simmer for as long as you'd like... the more it simmers, the richer the flavor will be, but the vegetables will start falling apart if it simmers for too long.
13. If you want, fish out the thyme stems and bay leaves (if you can find them!).
14. Serve with some crusty bread. Enjoy!

Mac & Cheese with a hidden healthy secret...

Who doesn't love mac & cheese? But, wouldn't it be great to enjoy mac & cheese without all the guilt that comes with the cheese, heavy cream, and carbs? Ah, yes, my friends, there is a way. We can indeed enjoy mac & cheese, with far less guilt, thanks to Ellie Krieger, the nutritionist on The Food Network! She has a fantastic recipe for mac & cheese with butternut squash, I had to try it (with a few of my own modifications).

I am a big big fan of butternut squash. I love the bright color, the flavor, and most of all, its high fiber content (yes, I am slightly obsessed with fiber). I peeled and chopped a butternut squash, and boiled them until they could be easily pierced with a knife and mushable. I drained the squash, and mashed it all up.


I used sharp cheddar cheese, and fontina cheese, which I grated by hand (gosh that is painful!). I put the cheese in the freezer for maybe 30 min or so beforehand, just to make it easier to grate.


I went for the traditional route of making mac & cheese and started with a roux -- I used SmartBalance buttery spread (with omega-3s!), and an equivalent amount of flour. After cooking the roux for a bit, I added some 1% milk, and whisked it around until the roux was dissolving. Then, I added the cheese and butternut squash, and whisked that around to make sure the cheese melted evenly, and the squash was incorporated. The squash adds such great color to this dish, a vibrant yellow-orange, very reminiscent of the old Kraft mac & cheese, or Velveeta mac & cheese that is artifically yellow. I also added lots of S&P, and some freshly grated nutmeg.


Then I just poured the sauce over some cooked macaroni (I used the kind that has extra fiber and calcium, but doesn't get as chewy and tough as whole wheat pasta). I poured this into a 9x13 baking dish that I sprayed with cooking spray.


I topped this with a mixture of panko bread crumbs, grated parmaggiano reggiano, and olive oil. Then into the oven it went, 350 degrees, for about 30 minutes. Then I turned the broiler on and let the top brown for a few minutes.


Oh it was so tasty! It isn't as cheesy as regular mac & cheese, but still very tasty. It's a fantastic way to make mac & cheese healthier, and especially if you want to hide some nutritious vegetables for the kids. Don't tell them, they won't have a clue!!


Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, about 1-2 lbs, peeled and chopped into 1" cubes (or frozen squash, to save time and effort!)
1 Tbsp butter/SmartBalance
1 Tbsp flour
2 cups 1% milk
1 to 1.25 cups shredded sharp cheddar
0.5 to 0.75 cups shredded fontina cheese
(feel free to add any cheeses you want... even ricotta, or a pepper jack for some spice!)
S&P
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 lb of macaroni (or other pasta... I used one box of Ronzoni Smart Taste)
2 Tbsp panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp grated Parmaggiano Reggiano cheese
1 tsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Boil the butternut squash pieces until they are cooked thoroughly, easily pierced with a knife, and ready to be mashed.
2. Drain the squash, transfer to a large bowl, and mash away! Try to get out all the lumps if possible. You could also use a food processor, or a food mill, if you are lucky enough to have one (I'm jealous!).
3. Cook the macaroni to al dente. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
4. In a large pot, melt the butter/SmartBalance, then add the flour. Mix this around into a clump, and cook for a minute or so to get the bitter flour taste out.
5. Add the milk, whisk around to dissolve the roux.
6. Add the cheeses, and the mashed squash, and whisk and stir to incorporate all.
7. Season with S&P, and add the nutmeg.
8. Pour this cheese sauce over the cooked macaroni, and stir stir stir it all together.
9. Spray a 9x13 baking dish, and pour the macaroni into the dish.
10. Combine the bread crumbs, parm-reg cheese, and olive oil, and sprinkle this over the macaroni.
11. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
12. Turn on the broiler for a few minutes to make sure the top is browned.
13. Serve, eat, enjoy, be happy and healthy!

Inspired by a fellow food blogger... lemon yogurt cake!

I have been so inspired by the plethora of lemon yogurt cake recipes in the food blogosphere recently. Lemon anything has always been a favorite of mine, in particular, the iced lemon loaf at Starbucks (which I know is totally commercially produced). I decided to finally attempt to reproduce this Starbucks favorite by following the recipe of fellow blogger, Closet Cooking, for his Lemon Yogurt Cake... with blueberries!

The recipe is so simple, it took just a few moments to put it all together. Basically, you just combine the wet and dry ingredients...


Then add the blueberries (I used frozen)...


Pour into a greased/floured loaf pan...


Bake for about an hour in a 350 degree oven (until a toothpick comes out clean, or I use a chopstick, in true Korean style!). Then I made the glaze, which is very simple and straightforward. I just used lemon juice, since I did not have limoncello on hand. Plus the alcohol would have killed me (I suffer from the common Asian malady, alcohol allergy). I poured it over the cooled cake, but as you can see, my glaze was WAY too loose and it all kind of pooled around the cake, instead of on the cake. But, the glaze was tasty anyway!


It is such a tasty, simple, and moist cake, I highly recommend you try it yourself. The lemon zest adds just enough lemony flavor to the cake itself, and the glaze is what really makes it lemony. The yogurt adds a bit of tartness, and you definitely do NOT miss the butter in this cake.


Lemon Yogurt Cake with Blueberries

1.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 cup yogurt (I used plain nonfat)
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I actually forgot to add this! Still turned out tasty, though)
1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp limoncello (or just another Tbsp of lemon juice)

Directions:
1. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Mix lemon zest, yogurt, sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla extract in another bowl.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients.
4. Mix in the blueberries.
5. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.
6. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about an hour, or until a toothpick (or chopstick) comes out clean.
7. Mix ingredients for the glaze, and pour on the cake once it has cooled completely.
8. Slice. Enjoy!

Mom's Korean Chicken

My mother is a great cook. We grew up on mostly Korean food, but also an occasional random non-Korean item thrown in there. For example, she often made her famous inside-out ravioli (I will have to blog about that one day), or her not-so-famous prune cake (yuck!). One thing she would make pretty often that was always a hit was her CHICKEN.

I don't have an exact recipe for this dish, just the required ingredients, so I kind of experimented and came up with my own recipe. My mom's calls for chicken drumsticks, which are cheap and on the fattier side. To appease D, who is a self-proclaimed health nut, I also threw in two bone-in chicken breasts (but this goes against mom's original recipe!).

(D took this picture as I was removing the skin from the chicken.... sorry for the poor quality... ahem, D)

The first thing to do is rinse the chicken and remove the skin. This is not an easy task, I must say. I'm surprised I still have all 10 fingers. Honestly, I don't know why my mom removes the skin, but hey, it's her recipe! Plus, it makes it somewhat healthier.


Then, I put the chicken pieces in a large stockpot (or a dutch oven, if you have one). To this, I added a LOT of roughly chopped garlic (maybe 10 cloves?), a lot of fresh roughly chopped ginger, some gochu-garu (Korean red pepper flakes), and some sugar. For liquid, I added soy sauce and sesame oil I also added a sliced onion and some scallions, which are NOT part of my mom's original recipe, but I like onion flavor.


Then, I added water until the chicken was covered. I brought this to a boil, turned down the heat, covered it, and let it simmer away...


This takes a long time... after an hour or so, I opened the lid and turned UP the heat so the liquid would reduce. This took me almost another hour! But when it was all reduced down, the liquid turned into a dark thick sauce, and the meat was tender and almost completely off the bones.


I sauteed some Shanghai baby bok choy with some garlic and sesame oil, and served it all up with some good old Korean sticky rice. Enjoy!!


Mom's Korean Chicken

3.5lbs chicken drumsticks (maybe 10-12 drumsticks)
2lbs bone-in chicken breast
10-12 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3" piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1 onion, sliced
3 scallions, cut into 2" pieces
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp gochu-garu (Korean red pepper flakes)
1 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sesame oil
5 cups water
salt and pepper

1. Remove skin from chicken. Be careful... let's not pull a Wendy's chili incident here.
2. Place chicken in large stockpot or dutch oven.
3. Add all the other ingredients to the pot, and add the water last, just to cover the chicken.
4. Cover the pot, bring it up to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat, let it simmer for an hour or so. Stir occasionally.
6. Take the lid off, turn up the heat, and let the liquid reduce into a nice thick sauce, stirring occasionally.
7. You'll find the meat has fallen off the bones. If you want, you can fish out the bones/cartilage. Mine ended up looking almost like pulled pork or pulled chicken in a rich sauce. Delicious!
8. Serve with some white rice, and maybe some sauteed bok choy, or even some kimchi!