Archive for the 'product reviews' Category

“Everyday Food” Review

Published by Hal on February 11, 2008 in product reviews. 2 Comments

I received a gift card to Barnes & Noble for Christmas that I hadn’t had the chance to use. So, over the weekend Stacie and I went there to see what we could see, and perhaps to buy some books. I looked at two things: the computer books (I’m getting a new one, soon, if FedEx ground cooperates), and cooking books.

Now, I have a ton of cook books, and I don’t really use the ones I have very well. But, when Stacie pointed this book out to me and I glanced through it, I just couldn’t help but pick it up. It is a collection of recipes from Everyday Food, called Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, published by the folks at Martha Stewart Living.

Love her or hate her, Martha Stewart has a knack for all things domestic. She can cook, she can clean, she can nearly do it all. One of my favorite shows several years ago was Martha Stewart Cooking on Food Network; she’s somewhat matronly, and, for some reason, that appeals to me. The network dropped her pretty quick after the whole obstruction of justice scandal, but she’s still had a happy place in my heart and I miss her show dearly.

So, you can imagine, then, that I quite liked this book. Not just for Martha, for you see, the recipes are actually quite simple and they aren’t basic, bland items. This book is arranged by the seasons, featuring such recipes as Rhubarb Crisp in the spring, Greek-Style Mini-Lamb Burgers in the summer, Pear Custart Tart in the fall, and Creamy Parsnip Soup in the winter. Most of the recipes have fewer than 10 ingredients, including spices and seasonings, and the cooking techniques aren’t French-culinary inspired–if you can boil water and turn on an oven, you seem to be set with these dishes.

I tried the “Spaghetti with Three-Tomato Sauce” (p. 73) tonight, and was delighted by the result, even if a bit stuffed, too. The portions are generous, so be sure to make room for leftovers or make your guests take a plate home. In all, I think this is a wonderful addition to my cookbook arsenal; of course, you know, I can’t follow directions when I cook if I try, so be prepared for me to put my own little spin on these recipes that I’ll share with you!

(In the interest of fair and total disclosure–if you click on the link or on the image and you buy the book, I get a cut. Until I update my Legal page, I will disclaim any such referral option at the end of each post–please bear with me!)

Food Reviews: Kroger Private Selection Woodfired Stone Baked Italian Garden Pizza

Published by Hal on January 27, 2008 in product reviews and recipes. 5 Comments

Edit: Hi, and welcome to the Common Culinarian! If you’ve come here as a result of a search for this particular kind of a pizza, special welcome! Don’t forget to check out the rest of what this site has to offer: http://commonculinarian.com

We can’t cook all the time, because some time we just want something that is tasty and we want it in a hurry. Often times, this means that we resort to convenience foods–you know the ones, those TV dinners, frozen pizzas, pastas-in-a-can, and so on. Sometimes you just stumble on a gem, and it can quickly become a standby for those days when you just don’t feel like cooking, you’re short on time, or you don’t want to think about what to throw together.

Private Selection Italian Garden PizzaStacie and I seem to have found such a gem. We love pizza–in fact, I thinking about experimenting with my own dough and coming up with some fun creations to write about. So, today, when trying to decide what to have for lunch we pulled out this pizza I picked up at the grocery store on a whim.

If you have a Kroger in your area, I would recommend checking this pizza out. It’s the “premium” store brand, Private Selection, Woodfired Stone Baked Italian Garden Pizza. Once you get past the rather long title, at it’s core this is a simple vegetable pizza; the pizza has sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, pecarino Romano and feta cheese on top of a crispy, thin crust that has been lightly covered in just enough tomato sauce to hold the whole thing together.

The pizza also has very generous servings–one third of each pie is one serving. And, it’s reasonably healthy, making it that much more appetizing: 340 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 5 grams of fiber per serving. Since there are just two of us, we each had half the pie, giving us 540 calories, 18 grams of fat, and 7.5 grams of fiber. That’s a little on the heavy side, but still respectable for a decent amount of food and still much more healthful than, say, a Big Mac.

And, it only put us out about $5.25, much cheaper than most carry-out pizza joints.

Want to make this on your own, or don’t have a Kroger (Fred Meyers, Scoops, etc..) near-by? Here is my deconstructed version of this pizza:

Ingredients

  • 1-10 inch pre-made thin pizza crust (or, you could try my quick rising pizza crust)
  • 1/4 cup of pre-made pizza sauce
  • 1/4 cup of cooked, well-drained spinach
  • 1/4 cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese
  • 1/4 cup of crumbled Feta

Procedure

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees (F). Spread the sauce over the crust. Then, layer the remaining ingredients, reserving the cheese for the top. Bake directly on the rack for about 6-8 minutes, until the crust is crispy and the cheese has melted and turned slightly golden.