Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Revisiting Kindness and Karma Week: Part One (Food)

So, last week was Kindness and Karma Week...for those who decided to take part in the little experiment. I had briefly mentioned a couple of things I had planned to do in honor of the special week, but overall my plans/actions were pretty vague. Well, consider this my recap (part one at least) of the week...

As far as my cooking adventures, I think they were pretty successful. Tuesday night Antoine and I made dinner together (delicious steak with blue cheese on top). However, my attempt at a new recipe for baked (instead of steamed) broccoli (a la Rachael Ray) was a little less than mouthwatering...but it looked nice...


Wednesday and Thursday night, since Antoine and I were both off from out part time jobs, I wanted to do something nice for him (and for myself) and make dinner. Since I'm on a Pioneer Woman kick lately I tried my hand at a couple more of her recipes. I had one in mind that I'd been wanting to try for a while, Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Pizza with homemade pizza dough.

It didn't look nearly as good as hers (see above), but it was pretty darned good! Antoine loved it, especially the crust! Now, I've never been one to make pizza dough from scratch...I've always used those packages that you just add water to, let rise and then viola...you have pizza dough. But, man, now I know what I was missing! This pizza crust was so easy to make and so delicious! Plus, the recipe, which is as basic as basic can be, makes two portions of dough (handy if you have a large group of people you're feeding or if you love pizza as much as Antoine and I and want a second pizza a couple days after the first!).

For Thursday nights dinner I decided to make PW's Pasta with a Tomato-Blue Cheese Sauce, which she had recently posted and seemed very intriguing to me. I had never had blue cheese with pasta before. It seemed like a strange idea, but one that could potentially be very delicious! Plus, it looked yummy...

And the ingredients were pretty basic. My only qualm with this recipe is that it made WAY TOO MUCH!! The recipe called for a pound and a half of pasta (I used angel hair)...next time I'd only use a pound (if that)! It yielded way too much for just Antoine and I and we ended up eating it for days! And if I had used less pasta it would have been a little saucier, which would have been nice! But other than that, it was pretty tasty! Not your every-day-run-of-the-mill pasta dish; it was bold and I enjoyed the creaminess of the sauce. I added some fresh basil to the recipe, which was nice.

To serve as a sweet treat after our dinner, Antoine and I got a pint of Dojo gelato Wednesday night! I cannot express just how much I adore Dojo!
They've got the most wonderful flavors (which they update every week on their blog) and I love that they are a local mom-&-pop type establishment! They use fresh, local ingredients and you can taste it in their small batches of homemade gelato! Antoine and I LOVE their Vietnamese coffee and their Sea Salt Caramel. Wednesday we tried the Peanut Butter Stracciatella, which was yummy, but the other two flavors are still our favorites! If you haven't given Dojo a try and you live in the tri-state...get your bottom down to Findlay Market ASAP and get yourself a pint!!! I demand it! Dojo represents what can come from local people thinking outside the box and attempting to bring unique and fresh local food that is 100% Cincinnati to the people! I personally recommend going up to the counter and tying as many flavors as you can, even if they seem a little strange! I know you'll find one you love (or two, or three, or ten). And once you get that pint and you get back to your car, don't resist the urge to pop that lid off and start devouring it right away! You don't need a spoon to enjoy good gelato! What?! Stop judging me!! If you tasted it, you'd know what I mean!

Stay tuned for the second part of my Kindness and Karma recap tomorrow! Until then, happy Wednesday folks!


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