Want Sum 'Za Bro??

My husband and I love us some PIZZA!  When it comes to our favorites, we prefer local.  I will note here that my absolute FAVORITE pizza is my dad's deep dish - homemade crust, homemade sauce, fresh ingredients...it is crazy good!  For those of you that won't have the pleasure of talking my dad into making some for you, head on down to ZaZa Fine Salads and Wood Oven Pizza Co in the Heights.  I will warn you: you will not get a super-large pizza oozing with "cheese" and meat in a oversized box for $12...every pizza from this place has quality ingredients and is baked right there next to the cash register in a wood oven pizza.  So, it may be considered "pricey".  A good option is to split a pizza and a salad.  The salad's are huge and they have zillions of toppings, from artichokes to mushrooms to yogurt dill dressing.  They also serve authentic Italian gelato, but that's for another post. Try it...you'll like it!

Not So Very Far Away....

One of our favorite things to do is go out of town on the weekend, especially a long holiday weekend like Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend.  This Memorial Day and Labor Day we drove the 5ish hours to St. Louis.  Overall, St. Louis is a very cool city...I'm a southern girl, and it's got just enough midwest flare to make it seem completely odd, but not so much that I feel completely out of place.  You have to love the French and German architectural and cultural clash, and free admission to the zoo, art museum and science center doesn't hurt.  And my oh my, does the City Museum downtown make grown men act like two-year olds (as in, my dad and husband thought it was a good idea to go down a slide with a sign that read "the more you weigh, the faster you'll go....").  But this blog isn't about sights and sounds.  It's about food.  So here's my list of foods you MUST EAT while in St. Louis.  I'm sure I missed a few so I encourage you to go find out for yourself:

1. Potatoes Gratin: Schlafly Bottleworks/Tap Room

• So this is a side item, I know.  The great thing about Schlafly is you can order any entree you want and it will be delicious.  Just make sure you get the potatoes gratin!  I think it's all the fancy cheese they use.  And after, make sure you order the Sticky Toffee Pudding.

2. The Christy: Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

• It's a brownie.  It's custard.  It's caramel and hot fudge sauce.  Why not?

3. Peanut Butter Chocolate Gooey Cake: Gooey Louie's

• A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and a gooey butter cake walk into a bar and get in a fight...the result is this delicious cake that is best served warm.  Best part: Gooey Louie's is down the street from Ted Drewes.

4. Macaroni and Cheese: Sweetie Pie's at the Mangrove

• There was a live jazz band playing during lunch.  Lunch people.  And no cover charge.  Service is cafeteria style so make sure you use your time waiting in line wisely and figure out what you want. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding - Schlafly's Bottleworks

Fish, Macaroni & Cheese, Cabbage and Cornbread - Sweetie Pie's

Bucket List Recipes: #20 Banana Pudding

I do believe it should be known that I love sweets.  Naturally, recipe 20 is a dessert.  The key to a great banana pudding is making the pudding and whipped cream from scratch.  No box pudding or cool whip allowed.  The pudding part is not hard...eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla.  But you can't just put it in a pot and walk away.  You have to watch it, which may make it time-consuming to some.  My suggestion would be to make the pudding first, then tackle the whipped cream.  If you have a nice stand mixer you can actually start the whipped cream while making the pudding and just watch for stiff peaks.  If not, your everyday blender is a great substitute.  What will really impress is, once the pudding and whipped cream are made and the bananas are sliced, you get to layer it all in a glass bowl.  Take your time here...we eat with our eyes first.  Crumble some vanilla wafers over the top and you're set!

My recipe is courtesy of the Queen of Southern comfort food, Paula Deen: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/banana-pudding-recipe2/index.html

"Laissez les bons temps rouler..."

New Orleans is a kind of interesting all it's own.  Between the beautiful French architecture, the adorable little boutiques (stocked with Mardi Gras masks, of course), the history of Magazine, Decatur and Canal Streets, and down-right tropical weather, there were aspects of our trip this past June that I remember quite fondly.  Our stroll down Bourbon street, not so much.  And oh, did we eat.  A lot.  Too much and not enough at the same time.  And boy was it good:

Cafe Du Monde: Order the beignets...and make sure you've got cash.

Bon Ton Cafe: Order whatever you want for dinner and eat it quickly so you can order the bread pudding with whiskey sauce.

Frederick's On The Avenue: Order the catfish and grab a container of jambayla, red beans and rice, or a mufaletta for later on your way out. 

Red Fish Grill: Order the sesame seared tuna salad....the Asian vinaigrette would make a door knob taste good.