Slab Pizza

Slab pizza is a place my sister introduced to me. It is one of the "it" place for college students to hang out and I definitely missed that memo. But I am glad I got to experience this wonderful place. I haven't been impressed with too many pizza places and not too many pizzas are more than a greasy triangle. Pizza is pizza. Or so I thought. Slab is much different. First they have a huge selection from Green chile, Rosemary potato and bacon to red curry pulled pork and Chicken bacon Ranch. The second thing that is different about this place is the amount of pizza you get. One slice at Slab is two slices at another restaurant.

The restaurant itself and the concept is very simple. It has lots of long tables which is good for big groups or easy to section off for smaller parties perfect college hang outs. There is plenty of open space to sit and big TVs to watch the game on. But, the best part about this restaurant though is the amount of flavor they get into all of their slices.

They make every pizza fresh with the option for one order (a fourth of a pizza) or a whole pie with your choice of quality toppings.

This time around I ordered the Pesto. It has a pesto sauce, chicken, feta and red onions. This is my all time favorite. The feta cheese makes it very creamy but not overwhelming. The onions add sweetness and all of the flavors blend nicely. All that combined with a perfectly crispy crust makes this possibly my favorite pizza of all time.

My husband ordered the pulled pork. It has the house bbq sauce and coleslaw. I love the way they presented this one. The way they piled the coleslaw on top made it seem like a gourmet dish. It also brings a nice cooling balance and it brings some crunch to a tangy and rich to the pizza. Each bite invited you back for more.

This has defiantly become one of my favorite pizza joints. There are so many different slices that there is something for everyone to enjoy. I would encourage everyone to go to Slab pizza and get an awesome slice of pizza as big as your face. It takes the idea of the simple pizza and they put their own spin and creativity on each piece. Not only is it pizza, but it's pizza worth blogging about. One of our goals is to try all of the slices and pick our favorites even though the Pesto and Pulled Pork will be hard to beat!

5th Recipe: La Jolla Groves Inspired

This recipe reminds me of my childhood. La Jolla Groves food is comfort food with a new kick– especially their soups so I feel like this recipe is perfect. I also took a cooking class from the chef at La Jolla Groves and he gave some great tips on how to cook soup. 

The recipe I am going to share with you is my mom's vegetable soup. My mom has made this my whole life and it was the first thing I cooked myself when I left for college. We call it vegetable soup but we do add some beef in it. You can have it either way! 

This recipe will serve 6-8 people and trust me, you will want the leftovers!

For the recipe you will need: 

1/2 -3/4 lb round steak

1 Tblsp oil

1 Onion

2 big potatoes

several carrots 

1 zucchini

1 can of corn

1-2 beef bullion

1 qt bottle of V-8 Juice

You can take out the vegetables you don't like and you can add more vegetables if you like!

First you heat up the pan then add oil and saute your onions. 

After the onions start to brown add the meat and brown that. Add salt and pepper to season.

Then add the cut up vegetables. A tip I learned from the cooking class was to fully cook all the vegetables before adding the liquid. It is called sweating the vegetables and it gets rid of the raw flavor.

Once the vegetables are cooked add the V-8 juice then add 2 cups of water to cover the vegetables. Then add one or more beef bullion cubes. ( Taste and see if you need more than one)

 Let simmer a little longer then it is ready to serve!

A good side with this soup are some nice warm rolls. This soup is perfect for a cold winter day and I love how colorful it is. This is one of my favorite soups and I love how well all the vegetables blend together and how hearty it is. It is a super easy recipe and it is a great way to get your daily dose of vegetables. 

Lemon Trees

I remember walking past La Jolla Groves when it was being built and looking into the window and seeing all the beautiful lemon trees. I told my husband any restaurant that makes you feel like you are eating in a garden is a place I want to try! When it opened we had a date night in this restaurant and it did not disappoint.

The atmosphere of this restaurant is very inviting. It really does make you feel like you are dining at a romantic garden outside (the owners were inspired by the island of Capri). From the grove of lemon trees surrounding you to the yellow roses on the table, La Jolla Groves is calming, organic and romantic. And so is its food.

I have been here many times and I think I have almost everything on the menu. I have found my favorites and I am going to share those with you. The food is packed with flavor and each item is what I like to call perfection on a plate. Not only do they focus on making the food taste amazing but they also put effort into the plating design.  

The first appetizer we got was the Baked Spinach & Artichokes with Crustade Toasts which is roasted artichokes, blended with fresh spinach, olive oil and roasted garlic, baked with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs and then served with several herb-infused toasted croustades. It was also topped with tomatoes in a balsamic sauce. This appetizer is one of the best things I have ever tasted. It is so creamy and rich and the tomatoes with the balsamic gives each bite a nice tangy kick. The crustade adds a nice contrasting crunch to the smooth spinach and artichoke dip. 

The second appetizer we had was the mushroom soup that had slow roasted mushrooms finished with chicken stock and fresh herbs. It was garnished with sauteed mushrooms and basil oil. This soup is the perfect cold weather day soup. It is so creamy and silky. When you eat this soup the flavor seems extremely complex when in fact it is really simple. The oil on the top adds a nice touch. This is definitely a soup for mushroom lovers.

Our main course was the Beef Tenderloin Medallions which is served with three types of roasted baby potatoes, baby asparagus and heirloom carrots and it is finished with a mango & ginger reduction sauce.  The meat is so tender and it melts in your mouth. The sweetness of the sauce adds so much flavor to the dish and the meat is always cooked perfectly and the vegetables add a nice crunch to the dish. 

I have liked everything I have tried at this restaurant and this is definitely a place I would recommend to a friend. The service here is great and they boast fresh ingredients, great taste and healthier preparations  I love this restaurant and I feel like it is rare that you get an amazing atmosphere and food all in one place. There is a La Jolla Groves opening up in Salt Lake so now more people will get to experience this amazing restaurant. 

4th Recipe: Silver Inspired 

This is one of my favorite recipes I found and I can't wait to share it with you guys! After eating at Silver restaurant I was in love with their food and wanted to try to recreate some of it. My husband and I both enjoyed the lump crab salad with melon so I decided to put my own spin on something very similar.

Now, I am not the kind of person to eat just a salad for dinner so I started flipping through Eva's Kitchen (a present from my husband) and an amazing cookbook and I found a delicious lemon chicken recipe that I had to try. So this post turned into a salad and a chicken recipe.

The recipe is called Lemon Fried Chicken and it is from Eva Longoria's cookbook. It is a very simple recipe and it serves 6 to 8 servings. This is a nice twist on an everyday chicken entree.

For the recipe you will need:

2 1 1/4- pound packages thinly sliced chicken breast
4 large eggs
3 to 4 cups panko
1 cup vegetable oil or as needed
Kosher salt to taste
3 lemons, halved

First, place the chicken in a plastic bag and gently pound them until they are about 1/8 inch thick.

Then, put the eggs in one bowl and the panko in another bowl. Take one piece at a time and dip both sides in the egg bath and let the excess run of then coat both sides with the panko. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and do this process for the rest of the chicken. 

Next, line a large platter with paper towels. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmery and hot but not smoking. Place as many pieces of chicken as you can in the pan and fry until golden brown on both sides (2-3 minutes per side). Transfer chicken to the paper towel platter and sprinkle with salt and squeeze a generous amount of the lemon juice from the halved lemons on them. Repeat for remaining chicken and serve!

This chicken is very easy to prepare but it is so packed with flavor your mouth will water for more. This meal is perfect to throw together when you are entertaining or when you want to have a intimate dinner with your spouse. It paris well with almost anything but this salad I have paired it with takes the chicken to the next level.

This salad is called a prosciutto melon salad and I kind of made it up as I went but I am sure there are many salads like this out there.

For this salad you need:

1 bag of arugula

Olive oil

Honeydew (however much you want, I used about a quarter a melon)

Prosciutto (however much you want, I used about 1.5 oz)

Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the top

For the dressing:

3 cups of Balsamic vinegar 

First put the arugula in a bowl and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. 

Then add the melon, prosciutto, and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.

For the dressing I reduced 3 cups of balsamic vinegar. This thickens the balsamic vinegar and gives it a sweeter taste. Just place the balsamic vinegar on the stove and bring it to a soft boil until the liquid reduces to 1/2 a cup. 

Once you get your balsamic reduced dress your salad and sit down and eat this amazing meal you just created!

This meal is one of my favorites and my husband loves it too! The flavors in this meal combine so nicely and the sour of the lemon really helps balance out the sweetness in the salad. These recipes are good together, alone or with whatever you feel like making that night. Once you make this recipe it will be a repeat in your cooking repertoire.