Cathedral of Pizza

The Sacrament

We went to dinner and afterwards decided to drive over and check out Una Pizza Napoletana. Everyone thought since we had just eaten dinner, we would just look at the place, I figured we would also get a pizza, I was correct. This is the most famous pizza in San Francisco. Its proprietor: A. W. Mangieri has a believe that all one needs to do in life is to “Do one thing good”. His one thing is: making the ultimate pizza.


His restaurant was originally in New York but the tattooed Pizza guy moved to San Francisco and reopened in the Mission.


His restaurant is like a church. You walk in and like an alter there is a steel railing, behind which is a marble topped table facing the door. Mangieri stands at the alter paying no attention to the people watching him as he prepares the pizza. He only makes about 80 pizzas a day, and when he runs out of pizza dough he closes up for the night. He will not modify the pizza, you can only select a pizza and he will make it as he desires. There are no appetizers or desserts, no salads or bread. There is only pizza and some liquid refreshments to go with them. Did I say no take out either?


The pizzas are wonderful, but I am sure a large element of the experience is just being in this cathedral to pizza and being among the few to enjoy them.


The following short movie was made at his New York restaurant before he moved to San Francisco.


Watch this 4 minute film to understand his passion.


NATURALLY RISEN from michael evans on Vimeo.

Lamb and a Greek Salad

What is better than Spring Lamb and a Greek Salad? We purchased some beautiful chops at McCall’s Meat and Fish. We then tried a new recipe: Harissa-Rubbed Rack Of Lamb With Mint Yogurt from the cookbook, Two Dudes One Pan by Shook and Dotolo. We like their restaurants: Son of a Gun and Animal and have recently purchased their cookbook.

The recipe is excellent with a strong Harissa sauce whose heat is cut by the Mint Yogurt. A Greek Salad is a natural with lamb, so we started with one, Sliced cucumbers, red onion, pitted black olives and feta cheese. Red Wine Vinegar and olive oil, salt, pepper lots of oregano. We added some pieces of San Panzanella Croccantini for texture.

Perfect spring meal!

Harissa-Rubbed Rack Of Lamb With Mint Yogurt

Two Dudes One Pan

Shook and Dotolo

For the harissa

1            cup canned tomato puree (no added spices or tomato paste)

6            garlic cloves, very finely chopped

2            tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2            teaspoons cayenne pepper

1            teaspoon ground cumin

1            teaspoon ground coriander

3            teaspoons kosher salt

2            1 -pound racks of lamb (about 8 ribs each)

For The Mint Yogurt

2            cups plain yogurt

2            tablespoons finely chopped

fresh mint Pinch of kosher salt

Jon: This is our most-requested lamb dish, and it's perfect for people who are on the fence when it comes to lamb.

Vinny: When we have the option, we'll go for Colorado lamb over New Zealand lamb. Colorado chops are bigger and less intensely gamey, but they're pricier, too. Keep in mind that a small New Zealand rack will cook more quickly than an American one.

Jon: Heads up—the lamb needs to sit with the spice paste overnight before cooking, so plan accordingly.

WHISK the tomato puree, garlic, oil, cayenne, cumin, corian­der, and 1 teaspoon of the salt together in a small bowl. Rub the paste all over the lamb and then tightly seal the racks in plastic wrap. Place on a plate or in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

While the meat marinates, stir the yogurt, mint, and salt together in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrig­erate until serving.

Preheat your oven to 450°F.

Unwrap the lamb, wipe off the excess marinade, and place the racks on their sides in a roasting pan. Sprinkle the racks with the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 °F and roast the lamb until it is browned, turning it over midway through cooking, for a total of 9 to 10 minutes for medium-rare.

Transfer the rack to a cutting board, loosely cover with alu­minum foil, and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing into two-rib chops. Serve with the chilled mint yogurt on the side.

SERVES 4

Delicious Salad

We had eaten dinner at Animal and at their sister restaurant Son of a Gun, both are very good and very casual. We purchased their cookbook: Two Dudes One Pan. The recipes are tasty looking and easy to make. When we ate at Animal we had a delicious salad. So the first recipe from the book we make was this salad: Creamy Tarragon-Dressed Butter Lettuce, Smashed Croutons, and Grana. It is excellent!

Creamy Tarragon-Dressed Butter Lettuce, Smashed Croutons, and Grana

Two Dudes One Pan

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo

Jon: I feel like I'm always hunting down the croutons in a salad. In this one, we smash them up so you get a little bit of crouton in every bite. It's a bit rustic in a texturally cool kind of way.

VINNY: Butter lettuces, such as Boston and Bibb, stand up really nicely to a creamy dressing, but if you can't find them in your market, iceberg is our second runner-up.

Place the croutons in a resealable plastic bag (make sure that there isn't any trapped air in the bag) and, using the bottom of your mixing bowl, press down on the croutons to smash them into uneven bits. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, tarragon, chives, salt, and pepper. Add 1 to 2 table­spoons water, just enough to thin the dressing to a medium-bodied consistency, like that of a creamy ranch dressing

Place the greens in the bowl and toss gently with your hands to coat with the dressing. Transfer to a serving bowl or indi­vidual plates, top with the cheese and smashed croutons, and serve.

SERVES 4

homemade croutons

Heat your oven to 300°F. Place 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt in a large bowl. Add 6 cups of 1/2-inch bread cubes (about 1 French baguette) and toss to combine. Transfer the cubes to a rimmed sheet pan and toast until the cubes are just starting to color and get crispy, about 25 minutes, stirring the croutons midway through baking. Set aside to cool, and use imme­diately or store in a plastic bag for up to 1 week.

FOR THE TARRAGON YINAIGRETTE

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons sour cream

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon, a few leaves reserved for garnish

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh chives, a pinch reserved for garnish

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground

black pepper

FOR THE SALAD

2 heads of Bibb or Boston lettuce, quartered 1 4-ounce chunk Grana Padana or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Creamed Morels on Brioche

Morels have finally arrived at the Hollywood Farmer’’s Market. We purchased some morels and used a recipe from Sunday Supper at Lucques. We toasted brioche from Proof Bakery and poured the mushroom ragout over the crisp toast. This dish is as good as it gets.

ragout of morels with creme fraiche, soft herbs, and toasted brioche – Sunday Supper at Lucques

Suzanne Goin

1         tablespoon tarragon leaves

1         tablespoon chervil sprigs

2         tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves

2         tablespoons 1/2-inch-snipped chives

^¾            pound fresh morels, stems trimmed and cleaned

5          tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1         teaspoon thyme leaves

½         cup sliced shallots

1         cup mushroom, vegetable, or chicken broth

Three 3/4-inch-thick slices brioche

½         cup heavy cream

6         tablespoons cremp fraiche

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Morels are to spring what tomatoes are to summer: they epitomize the season. Their spongy texture and funny pine-cone shape give these wild mushrooms unmistakable personality. In order not to mask their delicious earthy flavor, morels are best when prepared simply. In a French kitchen, morels are often cooked with cream. And as with so many traditional pairings, when you taste the combination you understand why it's a classic. Here the morel ragout is bound with a little cream, spooned over toasted slices of brioche, and topped with dollops of creme fraiche. The soft herbs are left whole; when you bite into them you get a big burst of flavor.

Toss the tarragon, chervil, parsley leaves, and chives together in a small bowl and set aside, covered with a damp paper towel in the refrigerator. If the morels are large, cut them in half lengthwise.

Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons but­ter, and when it foams, scatter the morels into the pan, being careful not to over­crowd them. Saute 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Turn down the heat to medium, and add the thyme, % teaspoon kosher salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Let the mushrooms cook another 6 to 8 minutes, until they're crispy on the outside yet still tender. (The amount of cooking time really depends on the mushrooms; some give off more water than others, which will require a longer cooking time in order for the water to evaporate and the morels to crisp.)

Add 1 tablespoon butter, and stir in the shallots. Cook about 2 minutes, until the shallots are translucent and tender. Turn the heat up to high, add the broth, and reduce by half. Immediately remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, lightly butter the brioche on both sides. Heat a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat, and toast the slices on both sides until golden brown.

Cut the brioche slices in half on the diagonal, and place them on a platter.

When the brioche is ready, return the mushrooms to medium heat for a minute or two. Swirl in the cream, and taste for seasoning. Spoon the morels over and around the toasts—not completely covering the bread, and spilling onto the platter.

Dollop each toast with creme fraiche and scatter the herbs over the top.

Jar-B-Que

We hadn’t made Jar-B-Que (our name for Jar Restaurant's fabulous Char Shu Pork Chops). We have always grilled it outside in the Egg or on the Weber. This time we grilled it in the oven, as the recipe calls. Surprisingly (to us) it worked out just fine. I think we will make it like this in the future.  This is a great recipe and I highly recommend it.  You can find it in our blog of: August 22, 2006. Click the date to get the recipe.

We made Rice and Sautéed Baby Bok Choy with Mushrooms to go with the chops. We cut up the left over chops and added it to the rice and bok choy mixture to make Fried Rice. We love leftovers!

Italian-Bangladeshi Dinner

Shuman had returned from his extended travels and we had him over for dinner. We made Asparagus with Browned Butter, Hazelnuts and Burrata Cheese.

For the main course we served Lentil Pasta. This is one of our favorite pasta. It is vegetarian but tastes and feels like it is made with meat. It is delicious.

In the summer when tomatoes were at their best we made several batches of Oven Candied Summer Tomatoes from: The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. We then froze the tomatoes for use in the winter when delicious tomatoes are hard to come by.

We used the frozen tomatles for our main course: Lentil Pasta. The Italian Lentil Pasta from the restaurant Locanda Veneta in Los Angeles is one of the best. It is so rich, you would swear it was made with meat. You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 22, 2008. Click the date to get the recipes for both the pasta and the tomatoes.


The next night we had the pasta with a salad of Burrata Salad, with Tomatoes, Greek Olives, and Toasted Brioche Bread from Proof Bakery in Atwater Village.

The Mother of All Steaks

Nate in all his glory!

Wow! Crispy Oven Potatoes

We went to McCalls Meat and Fish and asked Nate for a BIG Porterhouse Steak! Boy did he cut one for us. 4 ½ pounds! OMG! It was great and we cooked it in the Egg.

Cathy found a fabulous recipe for Oven-Roasted Potatoes. They turned out extremely crispy. They are delicious. I had forgotten about them. They are from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. This is a fabulous recipe. They are easy to make and we HIGHLY recommend them! You can find the recipe in our blog of: April 10, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

This was a meat eaters heavenly dinner!  

Fava Bean Pasta

We made one of our favorite pastas: Fava Bean Pasta. We really like the taste of fresh spring favas, bacon (my favorite seasoning), the sage and onion. We have published pictures and the recipe for the pasta many times. You can find it at our blog of: April 30, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

Fava beans have to be peeled twice. With your fingers open the pod and then remove the beans. When all of the pods are empty, boil water and put the beans in for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove the beans from the water, drain, cool with cold water then with your fingers peel the beans slipping the skin off. They are then ready for the sauce.

Interestingly we met two of our friends, Scott and Tom at Silverlake Wine on Monday night and Tom brought a bag of fresh beans from his garden. We simply peeled the favas and ate them like candy they were so sweet. They are also good in salads.

We made a simple Lettuce / Tomato Salad to go with the Fava Bean Pasta.

Robert and Darryl and Sardines

Robert and Darryl came by for dinner. We started with a favorite: Asparagus with Brown Butter, Burrata Cheese and Hazelnuts purchased from Mozza2Go. These are absolutely the best Hazelnuts in the city!

At Palate we had Sardines that were spectacular. They were imported from Spain: Matiz Gallego. They are harvested in Galacia. They are amazing. We asked Palate to sell us some and they sold us 13 cans.

We mentioned this to Robert and Darryl and they said they like Sardines. Cathy found a recipe for Sardine Pasta Sauce and we decided to make it and invite them. We mentioned we were making this sauce to our Tai Chi teacher, Michael, and he went wild discussing this sauce. It is a favorite of his. He said we should add fennel tops, raisins, pine nuts and wine to the sauce. We made it, it was strong and not surprisingly very sardine tasting. I doubt if we will make it again.

We did give the remainder of the sauce to Michael, who wound up loving it, and extending it to 3 more dinners. I am glad it found a home.

For dessert we bought a Lemon Meringue Cake from Proof, a new bakery near it us. We really like the bakery.