Tag Archives: Pizza

let’s eat!

27 Jan

This post is dedicated to my love of eating out & my slight interest in cooking at home. Hey, at least I don’t hate being in the kitchen anymore.

LA EATS! 

During the week I am pretty dedicated to eating clean. I mostly eat protein & veggies at every meal (so boring I know but it comes with the territory of working as a fit model). But on the weekends I let myself go a bit (all about balance, right?) This past saturday that involved eating lunch with Brian at our local pizza joint, Pitfire Artisan Pizza, where we shared their chopped salad with pepperoni and salami & the sausage party pizza (fennel sausage / salumi & bacon 
 tomato sauce / fresh mozzarella / saba)- a glass of chardonnay for me and a beer for Brian. Can you say meat fest? OY. It was so yummy though and they have a beautiful outdoor patio to eat in. It didn’t hurt that it was also 80 degrees in LA this weekend,  making the patio the perfect choice for a late lunch.

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LET’S EAT AT HOME!

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve tried out a few new recipes at home- my top favorite being a halibut dish that I cooked in parchment paper. Why didn’t anyone tell me about this parchment situation sooner?? Hands down one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever tackled. You basically dump a bunch of fresh ingredients on the piece of parchment paper, wrap it up (kinda like a little present) and stick it in the oven where it steams itself- and VIOLA! you have dinner in 15 minutes. I picked halibut because salmon is pretty much the only fish I work with at home, so I thought I’d totally break all my kitchen rules and not only work with parchment paper but also with halibut. Breaking barriers people!

Artichoke-Tomato Halibut en Papillote (aka artichoke- tomato halibut in parchment paper)

Ingredients
2 (4 ounce) halibut fillets, boneless
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 lemon slices, ¼-inch thick
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts packed in water, rinsed and drained
12 grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place one piece of halibut on a 12×12 inch piece of parchment paper. Drizzle each side of fish with 2 teaspoons olive oil and top with 2 lemon slices. Arrange half of the artichokes, tomatoes, and basil on top of fish. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Repeat the process for the second piece of halibut.
Fold up parchment paper like a package, sealing in the ingredients. With the seam at the top, tuck the ends underneath. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of fish. Add 15 minutes of baking time for each additional inch of thickness.
Transfer to a plate and carefully open the package to release the steam before serving

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dinner club

10 Feb

Many moons ago we started a dinner club with two of our favorite couples- Rachel & Pj and Mike & Loni. The plan was simple- once a month we would try a new restaurant picked by one of the couples. Our very first outing was to a Ethiopian restaurant called Messob on Fairfax. Have you ever tried Ethiopian food? It’s delicious and you get to eat with your hands…win win, if you ask me. Over the last two years dinner club has become one of my favorite traditions. Not only because we have eaten at some great restaurants around LA but because of how much these people add to my life. I recently found a picture from our first dinner club at Messob and it brought a smile to my face.

dinner clubSo much has changed since this picture was taken. Brian and I got married, Rachel and PJ got engaged & Mike and Loni welcomed baby Margot a few months ago! It’s been an incredible ride and through it all we have supported each other. We’ve become a little family of sorts and I am so thankful.

On Saturday night Brian and I hosted dinner club at our house because we wanted baby Margot to join. We ordered six different pizzas from Pitfire…Rachel and Pj brought a caesar salad with amazing homemade croutons, Mike & Loni brought a delicious homemade chocolate cake & Margot brought the cuteness. We passed around baby Margot (seriously, she made my ovaries hurt)…ate copious amounts of pizza (paleo, what?)…drank loads of wine (embarrassing amounts)…celebrated Mike’s birthday (with sparkler candles!)…and laughed. The room was filled with JOY.

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I’m a sucker for traditions. Do you guys have any fun ones?

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23 Nov

LEARN TO COOK: PIZZA PART TWO

I asked Alex to write the amazing pizza recipe in her own words. It’s very detailed and I didn’t want to butcher it!

For Alex’s pizza recipe click here!

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23 Nov

LEARN HOW TO COOK

 Teacher: My lively friend Alex, whom I have known since kindergarten! She is also the woman I give credit to for putting Brian and I together so it’s an understatement to say I love her. She is a big personality filled with laughter, joy and love. Maybe it’s because she lived in Italy for the past 7 years! That would make anyone joyful right? She recently moved back to the states with her Italian boyfriend Alessandro and I thought what better person to teach me Italian dishes.

Location: Alex’s kitchen

Dish : Pizza party

Alex has been talking about her pizzas for months now and I have been chomping at the bits to learn her secrets. I happen to be a huge pizza fan but had yet to make a pizza from scratch. I’m here to tell you it’s quite a process and as we all know I am not a fan of working with dough. It’s just so finicky and hard to please! But, the final product was worth the time. Alex is a great teacher. She kept cheering me on and telling me how great I was doing, despite the fact my dough was falling apart and my pizza looked like an egg instead of a circle. She kinda reminds me of an Italian grandmother in the kitchen! She’s so good you would think she’s been making pizzas in Rome for the last 40 years.

It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon and I feel beyond grateful to know a 29-year-old Italian grandmother to teach me the art of pizza! Thank you Alex and Alessandro for opening your home to us! I happen to think you guys are the cutest couple in the world…not to mention the most hospitable hosts in the world.

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ALEX’S PIZZA RECIPE COMING TONIGHT!!