Tag Archives: pesto

We Take Care Of Our Own

Posted in pizza by

PizzaPartyFriendsFirst

For a while now, we knew we wanted to make our own homemade pizzas, and were just looking for the right occasion to do it. Along with celebrating my birthday, a friends raise and their job, and the Summer, it’s always fun to cook at home.  And it’s always more fun with friends.

We each picked out the proper ingredients like cheese, sauce, oils, and toppings.   It can get exciting but can also be pressure packed to make a good pie.

As I was reminded, it’s always better to keep it simple.   It’s also good to be creative.  Most importantly, it’s about having fun and learning from mistakes and experience along the way.  As I learned here, less is always more.

ArchivistWithGlasses

We each made two pies a piece.  And they were all from delicious whole wheat dough.   Thanks to Wegmans for the majority of our ingredients.  For more on the wine pictured above, click here.

Here are the results of round one :

PizzaPartyMyFirst

Mine was a pesto base with cheese, mushrooms, olives, peppers, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes.   This was an adventure and maybe not the best one.   The ingredients were fine but the whole didn’t equal the sum of its parts.  The tomatoes didn’t need to be included and I picked those off the pie and ate them on their own.   I think a pesto base is great.  I adore pesto.  But just didn’t work here.  I was able to finish it, but it was a minor struggle.

My friends kept is simple for their first entries.

PizzaPartySimpleCheese

A basic cheese was made with pizza oil, and the results were better.  This was in the similar style to a white pizza.  You can see the cheese baked in the dough like a professional would make.   I got to try a piece and thought it was fantastic.

PizzaPartyAFriendsFirst

The final creation for the first go around was a tomato sauce base with cheese, peppers, onions, and chopped pepperoni. This turned out very well, as this was also kept simple.  The pepperoni pieces were a great add-on, as you’ll read about in our second set of masterpieces.

For round two, it was a combination of being creative and keeping it simple.   I chose the latter.

PizzaPartyMySecond

I learned quickly from my first undertaking to get back to basics.   This time I used tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and fresh basil for my pie.   The basil was growing by the kitchen window, and was found upon instinctively while we were making our meals.  I was happy with how mine was looking, but the basil really put it over the top.  After mine came out of the oven, I was pleased.   The shape of both of my personal pizzas weren’t the best, but that will be learned with experience, patience, and repetition.  But overall I was heartened with mine.

PizzaPartyFreshBasil

One of my pizza pals had a similar pie for theirs except no pepperoni. And he put the cheese on first, then the sauce (and a lot of it), and basil.   He was happy with that one.

PizzaPartyStromboli

And finally, my other fellow pizza pal turned hers into a calzone.  How cool is that?   This is a perfect case of knowing to be creative, but to also keep it simple and yummy.  She was pleased with hers as well.

We will be doing this again, either to celebrate, or for no reason at all.  It’s good to change it up a bit, and see if our meals can measure up to the outside pizzerias.  I was happy with this and can’t wait to do it again!

Keeping it simple, fundamental, and then taking the right chances is the way to go.

PizzaPartyAerialView

Have a great day!

Best,

Ideen

I Love Annapolis

Posted in Maryland, pizza by

I wanted to wish congratulations to the Class of 2015. Many Universities are having ceremonies this week and that includes the Naval Academy.

BellaItalia

I actually helped with the set up and break down of the stage and seating, for their ceremony one year ago.  In honor of graduation day, Memorial Day, and my sentimentality for our capital, I will be reviewing Bella Italia.  Which is walking distance from campus.

As you can see, there isn’t much to the website.  I basically posted all that can be seen.   I’m not sure if it’s still a work in progress or it’s going to be left alone.

But most importantly, how is the pizza?   This is a recap over two visits in the past month.  Which happen to be my first and second visits ever respectively.  Two slices and two visits!  Hehe.  Let’s get to it.

BellaItalia1

For round one, I got my order to go.  My first slice was a White with spinach and mushroom.  There really wasn’t much to it.  It was a decent slice. The vegetables tasted fresh.  The white didn’t taste as good as other ones I’ve had.  The dough and crust were good. It just didn’t wow me.  It was decent at best.

And number two was the Meat Lovers deep-dish style pizza.  This was fantastic.  It blew up me though.  I’m glad I tried this, as I don’t always see the Chicago-style slices available to patrons.   I took my time eating this. It was the perfect amount of crust.   I would be lying if I said I finished this right away.   It tasted just as good as a leftover meal the next day.  The meat and cheese really blended together into the pie.   And you can see it’s loaded with pepperoni, ham, sausage, and bacon. And they didn’t skim on the toppings!

BellaItalia2

And for my second visit,  I dined in.   The interior is very quaint and doesn’t feel contemporary.  It does give a hole in the wall vibe and I can appreciate that. The staff was very friendly both times.

For my first slice, I ordered the cheese.  This wasn’t good at all.  It might have been in the oven too long and tasted too crunchy for my liking.  There was a little burnt taste in my mouth as well.  This wasn’t the worst cheese I’ve had.  But this was disappointing.

I wanted to end my post on a high note and I will do just that.  The other purchase shown above is the white with pesto, grilled chicken, and penne!  This was wonderful.  The chicken and pasta tasted fresh, and pesto is one of the marvels of this universe. And I always smile when I see toppings buried under the cheese.  It’s similar to finding hidden treasure!  The simple things and metaphors is what life’s all about. This is one of the better slices I’ve had since doing this blog. I was happy I ordered this and went out of my comfort zone to try something a little different and unique.

So there’s some great slices and some not so up to par, in my humble opinion.  I’m in the area a lot.  And I’ll be definitely giving this spot a look again.  For a recap of a previous Naptown pizza place, click here.

I wish you all a Happy Memorial Day Weekend.  Stay happy, healthy, and have fun!

Best,

Ideen

To Serve, with Love

Posted in cheese, pizza, Virginia by

UncleMaddios

I recently took a nice drive down to Dulles, VA and the great things always find you when you aren’t looking. Well, maybe I looked a little.  While I was here, I investigated any nearby places in the area and to my pleasure, I found a gift from the universe.

UncleMaddiosCollage

Everything about Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint is done right.   The food, the staff, the images on the walls, and the overall energy of this place, make this a can’t miss.  I can’t say enough good things about the overall presentation.

But most importantly, how is the pizza?  Well what I ordered will go down as one of my favorites.

The set up here is of the assembly line variety.  You can order a custom pizza or create your own!   The concept is simple, but for a pizza, could be hit or miss. This is a certifiable hit.

UncleMaddiosMenu

With their plethora of menu options, I opted for the Portobello Pesto.  And I’m so happy I did.  This is a masterpiece.   I ordered this with the Whole Wheat Dough, and that was a call I’m grateful for.  What a wonderful tasting pita style flat bread. It really complemented the pizza well.

UncleMaddiosPie

Maybe there’s a bias, but this pie is a culmination of some of my favorite toppings.  The pesto, feta, portabella and white mushrooms, tomatoes, and basil all come together for something so simple, yet so wonderful.  I was happy to read that their dough is made in-house and that their vegetables are local and delivered every morning.  No wonder everything tasted so fresh! And the energy and love behind the making of this was obvious.

UncleMaddiosZa

I say love, because that’s what’s promoted throughout the shoppe.  Since I was a newbie, that staff was happy to help with suggestions and explain how the whole process works.  They were patient and never seemed in a rush, as on this day, there was a bit of a line.  But they kept it moving, while all the while grateful to help every customer the same.

Sometimes the pizza is enhanced by how great the customer service was.  And this is near the top, on both levels.  The positive vibrations put it over the top. The theme is love and love is a good thing.

I’d never heard of this place until last week.  I see it’s a chain that is growing in popularity.  If you’re every in the Dulles area, I strongly recommend eating here!

I wish them all the success and I can’t wait to try another inspiring item!

UncleMaddiosLotsOfLove

UncleMaddiosLove

All The Best,

Ideen

In Plain Sight

Posted in Baltimore, Canton, food, fun, Parkville, pizza by

pasticcio

There’s a lot of places we go to, because we like it, love it, out of necessity, or out of habit.  And then there’s you don’t even know exist or unintentionally take for granted.   Many of us drive by such locales to and from work everyday.

Pasticcio, in the Can Company part of Canton, might be one of those places.    Until a few years ago, I didn’t know it existed either.    But they have some mighty good slices.   They also have a full menu and a stocked bar, which is set up nicely to the side.

In the half dozen or so times I’ve been in, I’ve always felt a good energy and a good welcoming aura walking in.   The staff has always been friendly, and that’s an understatement.

One of the charms of this place, unintentional or not, by the pizza trays, is there his no signage describing which each pizza is.  So I always find myself asking one of the team members each time what certain pies area.     Always fun.  In turn, their online menu seems limited but in person it’s anything but.   They change their specials daily, and even the big ing.board with their specials list doesn’t feel intimidating.

All I’ve had their are slices, but next time, I would love to get something else.  It all looks so beautiful.

I usually do types of pies, but I was in a great mood, so let’s do another!

elookatthat

The pictures above don’t do this justice.

As I mentioned, the descriptions were not available, so I am going to describe each one, based on what this amazing person told me.

Going clockwise, we have Grandma’s Slice, which is squared shape and with a thicker crust.   And I could taste something  different about it, I just can’t put my finger on what it is.  Maybe it’s left to be mysterious and under the radar.  Seems to be a common theme throughout.  The yummy pesto and marinara are layered over the cheese and that’s it. Simple. Awesome. Delicious.

Next down the line is, the Deluxe, with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, and peppers.   And I don’t usually eat pepperoni slices, not out of spite, just because it’s not one of my preferred toppings.  But this was wonderful as well.   Everything was baked into the cheese perfectly.  And the thin crust is just as great as the aforementioned Grandma’s slice.

The white pizza, with ricotta, spinach, and mushrooms was next.  This was good, but my least favorite of the three.  I feel maybe since I tried the other two first, that my palate may have been thrown off a bit.   And I’ve also had some amazing whites.   You don’t often see mushrooms added to a white pie, so I loved that very much.

All in all, this was a rousing success, and I like the fact that this is readily available to us, in a wonderful part of town.   This is not something to be taken for granted.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen

Pasta Mista – Towson

Posted in chicken, pesto, pizza, vegetables, veggies by

IMG_20150117_115340_288

Another in the long line of wonderful pizza jaunts, we got Pasta Mista.   Now with 3 locations, this is the originator.   I have some sentiment to this place, as I went to nearby Towson University, in a previous life.

I have had many distinctive pies from here.  The cheese and white are stupendous.  But I want to change up my orders, wherever I go.

So in this installment, as pictured above, I ordered the White Veggie and Chicken Pesto.  Both were super yummy!

I love pesto, who doesn’t?  And their pesto is top of the line.  And the chicken tastes fresh, not processed.  The tomatoes are the same, as if they were picked right from a garden.  I am loving tomatoes as a compliment to a lot of my meals, not just pizza.  This is no exception.  Magnificent.   The mozzarella and parmesan cheese really melt into the dough effortlessly.  This is a simple recipe that is marvelous.   Did I say how much I love pesto?

The white veggie is another hit.  The tomatoes are thrown in once again, along with broccoli and spinach.  Wow does this trio complement each other well.  After I took one bite, it tasted funny to me.  But it’s because all the vegetables taste fresher than many other pizza parlors or salad bars for that matter.  It’s first-rate.    The white crust with mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta cheese pack a wonderful punch.   With the vegetables and the cheese, it’s a trio along with another trio of goodness. The garlic is always a welcome part of any pizza or apropos meal for that matter.

One thing about the dough that is noteworthy.  At times it felt like I was eating a piece of toast.  And that is meant as a high compliment.  Every now and again we might get a pizza that sags or feels soggy, from the get go.  This is the complete opposite. This is some of the best pizza crust I have had.  I can’t wait to go back and review some more unique slices that this place has to offer.  And they got some creative ones.

Pasta Mista has a good vibe too.  There is always soccer playing on the tv ,or maybe a less mainstream sport, you might find at the Olympics.  The staff as friendly and seemed happy to be of service.  That has more often been the case.

I’ll be back soon.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen