Fancy Pizza

Last night, I had some really, REALLY good pizza. The place is called Pala, and it's on Allen between Houston and Stanton. Great little spot, perfect size, and you can either get takeout or table service. My friend Gary and I opted for the table service, and he let me choose the pizza. I adore Gary. I opted, at the recommendation of the guy at the table next to us, for the Zucca-- pumpkin puree, pancetta, mozzarella di bufala and parsley-- and another pizza (forgot the name) with sausage, leeks, cheese and chili peppers.

This was no Domino's.

The Zucca was fantastic-- rich, creamy and perfect. The other one was good too, though not as strikingly delicious as the Zucca; I tasted too much black pepper, but not so much that it was inedible. We also had a few glasses of a Sardinian red I've never heard of, but it was lovely and dry. Overall, an excellent meal, especially after happy hour and a concert, which is what Gary and I had just come from. I highly recommend.

In Which I Introduce Myself. And My Bread.

There is a real, bonafide loaf of bread baking in my oven right now. I know this because I checked, and it's turning brown and it smells delicious. This is my first real loaf of bread-- I don't count the ones I turned out on a daily basis in the early '90s when we got the bread machine that looked like R2D2 and I was the only person in the house who could make a decent loaf of bread in it. Even back then, I guess I was already some kind of domestic goddess.

Tonight's loaf of bread comes courtesy of Heidi at 101 Cookbooks; I found her blog through a Google ad, and I love it. She posted this recipe for brown Irish bread, and since my latest obsession is "making my own ____", I figured this would be a good start. (The real truth is that I'm about to run out of bread and I am too freakin' lazy to go back to the store, even though I am now also out of garlic and milk-- the latter because I decided to make my own bread.) I varied the recipe slightly, mostly because I didn't have whole wheat flour; I used 3.5 cups of unbleached white flour and added some steel-cut oats and a handful of flaxseeds. I also didn't have buttermilk (are we sensing a trend yet?), so I used milk mixed with lemon juice. Hopefully it all worked-- we'll see in about 10 minutes.

But it smells HEAVENLY.

The amazing part was that the bread was in the oven and dinner was simmering, all before 7pm. I got home at about 6:25 or so; put on a pot of brown rice and started sauteeing vegetables. Tonight's dinner was a chicken tikka masala over brown rice-- I used tikka masala from a jar, which I don't usually do, but every once in a while I like the "authenticity" of a jar of Patak's sauce. I sauteed onions and mushrooms in some oil, then I wilted some baby spinach, added a chicken breast cutlet (cut into chunks), added some sauce and about a cup of water and simmered. While that was heating, I made the bread.

I also got flour on my black linen skirt, but no worries.

(Ooh! Bread is out of the oven. A knock on the bottom of the pan feels hollow, just like Heidi said it should. Yay!)

I had the tikka masala and rice with a side of a cucumber-yogurt salad that I make all summer long. I can't really call it a raita, but it's close:

• 2 Israeli cucumbers, peeled and chopped (I use my vegetable chopper)
• 1 7-oz. container of low-fat Greek yogurt (or drained low-fat yogurt)
• cumin, fresh mint, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, salt

Scoop yogurt into a container and stir until very smooth. Add cucumber; stir to
incorporate. Add other ingredients to taste and mix well. Chill for at least 2 hours-- the
longer the better!

Serve with crackers and hummus, as an accompaniment to curries or as an addition to a
green salad.

* * *

So. This brings it all to me. I decided to start writing a food blog because I'm at one of those crossroads in my life. No, honestly. I started thinking about things I enjoy doing; I cook (and eat) often and kind of obssessively, so that's taken care of, but what I really miss is writing. So, I thought, why not incorporate the two? I have a personal journal/blog, and it's fine, but sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the minutiae of my life, so I figured I could get the writing thing taken care of if I write about something I think about on a regular basis.

Food.

I'm partly inspired by the aforementioned Heidi, and I hope she doesn't mind. I guess I'm also inspired by my 3,080th reading of Heartburn by Nora Ephron, which is my favorite book to read when I'm feeling blue; you could say that Heartburn is to me what mashed potatoes are to Rachel (the narrator). If Rachel were a real person-- or even a character in a novel-- these days, she would definitely have a blog, and it would definitely be about food. She might even throw in a recipe or two. She is a woman who uses food to fight the lonelies, she uses food to give herself focus, and she uses food as a structure around which she can tell a story. My kind of woman.

Besides the literary stuff... I go by Mitzi. It's a nickname, but I only answer to it when my grandfather uses it. I live in a very nice neighborhood in Queens, which is part of New York City, except Manhattanites roll your eyes when you remind them. I cook. A lot. More than any of my friends. Oddly, however, I have never cooked for my friends-- not a full, sit-down, well-researched and -crafted meal-- because a) I don't have a table (just a coffee table) and b) no one wants to shlep out to Queens just so I can cook for them.

Their loss.

In real life, I work in television, but it's not nearly as glamourous as it sounds. I am originally from Baltimore, home of the Steamed Crab in Old Bay, and I'm Jewish (but I do not keep Kosher; see the part about the steamed crab). The Judaism factors much more in my cooking than the Baltimore, because I have spent hours trying to replicate my family's stuffed cabbage, brisket and chicken soup recipes (I have been successful), and I also make treats for every Jewish holiday, so my co-workers get fresh latkes and homemade hamantaschen and chocolate-covered matzah. I live alone in a good-sized studio with a decently-sized apartment kitchen (all of the appliances are small-scale, but I do have some counter space). I grow herbs on my window sill. I take a great deal of pride in my living space, so I clean regularly. I don't have a boyfriend and I don't date much these days, so don't ask. I am a film buff. I like to read. I sing semi-professionally. I watch way too much TV.

And I cook. And I eat. And I pay attention when I do both of those things. I hope to share them all with you.