Tag Archives: pizza

Latest Boston Eats & Sips

It’s been awhile since my last round-up of awesome food and drink I’ve had lately in Boston! But that doesn’t mean I’ve been short on items to share. In fact, I’ve just been short on time to do so because there has been so much to taste these days. My Restaurant To-Do List never ceases to grow, and neither does the list of spots I hit up regularly. Here are some eats and sips I’ve tried recently, at restaurants both old and new.

The Jesuit @ Ruka Restobar

Ruka Restobar, located inside the Godfrey Hotel in Downtown Crossing, is from the same folks behind Yvonne’s and Lolita. While the food hasn’t necessarily been calling my name (just not my type of cuisine), the creative drink menu is right up my alley. Upon visiting the bar area with some coworkers, I immediately noticed a beautiful drink being served in some of the coolest glassware I’d ever seen. I knew I had to try it.

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What I’m Loving Lately

I actually had to search my own blog to see if I’ve previously done a post with this title, because it sounded so familiar. But good news – I haven’t! So here’s a little round-up of a few things I’m loving lately, because I don’t want to write a whole blog post on each of them (and I don’t think that would be nearly as fun for you to read, either).

Blaze Pizza

I’ll start with full disclosure…Blaze sent me two free pizza vouchers, and those are what Jeff and I used the first time we tried this place. But we have also been talking non-stop about it, and have made plans to return on a couple of occasions. (Both plans were foiled for a variety of reasons, but that’s not important.)

blazepizza

I describe Blaze Pizza as “Subway, but with pizza”. For a flat fee (thick crust is extra…and worth it), you go down the line and pick as many toppings as you want. Then the pizza is fast-fired at an extremely hot temperature, and ready for you in minutes. You can also add finishing touches after the pizza is done, like balsamic vinegar or – oh baby – ranch dressing. While I was happy with the creation I made above, I was very jealous of Jeff’s pizza, which escaped into his stomach before I could get a photo of it. Guess we’ll just have to go back so he can recreate it and I can get my picture! Blaze is a national chain so look for your closest location here.

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Marvelous Work Day (Yeah Right)

The Biena Foods roasted chickpea snacks giveaway closes tonight at 11:59PM EST, so make sure to enter! I will announce the winner tomorrow.

Who has the day off for Columbus Day? Oh, you do? Well I don’t like you. Sorry, I am a bitter Betty today. My alarm went off for work and I felt as if I could’ve slept another few hours (realistically I probably would have slept about one hour more, but I’m just sayin’).

At least Columbus Day meant my commute was not long or crowded.

Let’s focus on the marvelous though, because it’s marvelous that I even have a job, after all. And my weekend was full of marvelous too.

Be sure to join Katie’s link-up and share your marvelous!

Marvelous is…Friday night pizza and salad at Kat‘s house with her, hubby Mike, and baby PenelopeI provided the wine, Kat provided the delicious food, and Penelope provided the laughs (and alas tears – she is teething). Kat prepared a fresh spinach salad with radishes, heirloom tomatoes, balsamic, and EVOO. She also made four naan flatbreads – one with roasted shredded baby cabbages and goat cheese (we obviously had some on the side too), one with fig and prosciutto, and two with buffalo chicken and fresh basil (bro-friendly for Mike). My favorite was definitely the fig and prosciutto but the Brussels pizza was obviously a close second.

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The Execution of Noa P. Singleton: My Last Meal

I don’t think most are interested in reading a book review unless they’ve either read the book or are definitely planning to read it. That’s why I’m such a big fan of the concept of the From Left to Write online blogger book club. Instead of writing a book review, the book is meant to serve as a writing prompt or inspiration for a post in which I can draw on and blog about my own personal experiences.

July’s book is a debut fiction novel by Elizabeth L. Silver – The Execution of Noa P. SingletonThe story switches between narration by Noa in the first person and narration by the mother of the girl Noa is in prison for killing – in the form of letters to her dead daughter. Immediately Noa is revealed as being on death row for the murder of a girl named Sarah, but we don’t know how said murder or its trial occurred. Slowly, those occurrences are revealed. However, I’m not going to write about them. I’m going to write about a topic discussed at length in one chapter of the book – the last meal.

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MIMM (Heavy on the Friday)

The winner of the Talcott Mountain Music Festival ticket giveaway winner is Tiffany! Your tickets are in the mail 🙂 Thank you to all who entered and remember that you can still purchase tickets to the next two shows here!

Happy Marvelous In My Monday! Last night I was COMPLETELY wiped from a weekend of fun…and still felt wiped this morning (hello, Monday). I had one night of not enough sleep (Friday) and one good night’s sleep (Saturday), but that good night was not enough to make up for Friday. Friday was definitely the most energy-exerting, fun, friend-filled, delicious part of my weekend. The rest was great too, but you will find today’s MIMM post heavy on the Friday.

Thanks Katie for the marvelous mindset!

Marvelous is…a chef’s tasting at Pond House GrilleMy good friend Jill and I had the privilege of experiencing a tasting of small plates, prepared for us by Executive Chef Jordan Stein, for dinner on Friday night. We also sipped on some magnificently crafted cocktails and experienced a floral course, involving dry ice! I will be doing a full blog post this week about the experience so stay tuned. For now I’ll be a tease (though some of you may have gotten a sneak peek of more photos on Instagram).

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Being OK With Marvelous

My giveaway for a $25 credit to healthy-living discount shopping site HealthyChic ends tomorrow night at 11:59 PM EST. Make sure to enter and if you don’t win, you can still sign up and use a discount code on your first order!

This weekend was really out of my box – like last weekend in Boston. I pshawed sleep, homework, and my usual kill-me Sunday morning spin class in favor of all sorts of marvelousAnd I enjoyed myself while doing so. And that SCARES me.

Let’s get the marvelous moving, thanks to Katie!

Some people who read this post may understand exactly where I’m coming from. On the other end of the spectrum, some may think I’m a spoiled brat who will always find something to complain about no matter how good my life gets. I can see both perspectives but what it all comes down to is what feels safe to me and realizing that the safe option is not always the option I WANT. And that does not make me an irresponsible, reckless person. It makes me a normal 24 year old!

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For Love of Fairfield

I’ve already showed Kaitlin (of For Love of Carrots) my turf, and the time came this past weekend for her to show me hers – Fairfield County! I visited her from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon and she showed me a great time. Then again, I knew she would since our tastes are so similar! Prime example number one – we both wore black tops, black shoes, jeans, and statement necklaces to dinner.

Saturday Night

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I borrowed the necklace from Kaitlin, the queen of statement necklaces!

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Vision, Brilliance, and Trumbull Kitchen

My best friend Lidia and I had tickets to go see The Connecticut Forum‘s Vision and Brilliance panel at the Bushnell for a couple of months, and finally the big night arrived this past Saturday. Here’s the event description, from the Forum’s website:

“This live, unscripted panel conversation brings together a diverse group of popular experts, each with their own unique field of study and view of the world. The Forum will be fast paced and surprising, as [the panelists] discuss their own work, and so much more… technology, science, design, new ideas, our changing world and possibilities for our future. Bring your sense of wonder to this conversation with big thinkers and visionary minds.”

The moderator and panel, ready to discuss vision and brilliance.

The moderator and panel, ready to discuss vision and brilliance.

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Wordless Wednesday: Taste of New Haven’s Theater District Tour

In September I visited New Haven for my third Taste of New Haven tour, in the city’s Theater District. I owe you guys a recap but am low on time, hence a lovely Wordless Wednesday. Thank goodness for days of the week that start with “w”, right Meg? Sorry for no mention of Halloween, but I’m saving that til Friday (mua ha ha suspense).

Started out with a cocktail sampling at The Wine Thief with my pals Ripe!

Taste of New Haven owner/tour guide Colin Caplan, Jeff from Ripe, and moi!

Our first restaurant stop, Temple Grille, had something MADE for me…a build your own salad card!

Honestly one of the worst cocktails I’ve EVER tasted. I think it was a Cranberry Vodka but I tasted Cranberry Blah.

However the food was fantastic! Waffle & sweet potato fries, plus an ahi tuna sandwich on some delish wheat bread.

My favorite spot on the tour – Kitchen Zinc! No surprise since my fave food is pizza. The white bean salad on the left (with roasted tomatoes, basil pesto, roasted radicchio, pearl mozz) blew my mind.

The classic Margherita pizza! Adored this place’s thin crust.

My favorite pie – the Broccoli Rabe with roasted garlic, ricotta salata, mozzarella, and local Salemme hot pepper flakes. It had quite a kick!

My (first) plate.

Of course Jeff was my tour companion!

I actually enjoyed this fall beer enough to go back for a second glass!

The tour included a visit to Elm City Kettle Corn on the streets of Yale campus!

I don’t even really like kettle corn, but this was pretty yummy! We all got samples!

Stops at historical sites are scattered throughout the tour. Colin has written books on New Haven and knows so much!

We each got to try a gourmet Chocopologie chocolate. I chose the one with the dried rose petal!

Our last stop was Kelly’s, a gastropub that had pretty good food AND accommodated me with wine instead of beer! I had a mini salad, pulled pork sandwich, and fried brie.

Our last bite was mochi from The Mochi Store! I thought it was okay but this was Jeff’s fave part of the tour.

If you’re free tonight, head to the Taste of New Haven website to register for the Trick-Or-Eat Spooky Tour! It starts at 7PM and runs to the spooky hour of 11PM. Nosh on scary good eats and learn about the city’s haunted history!

Have you ever been on a food tour?

Which of these bites would you have wanted to try most?

Gorton’s Seafood Pesto Salmon Broccoli Pizza!

Don’t miss my giveaway for a free visit to Blo West Hartford, in honor of the last Think Pink Thursday at Cuvee. Giveaway ends tomorrow afternoon and the event takes place tomorrow night!

More quick yet tasty dinners have been taking place in the Croswell house thanks to the year’s supply of Gorton’s Seafood that I wonFrom the moment I found out I was the winner of this fabulous prize from BlogHer ’12, I have been dreaming of making the meal in this post. Pizza is my favorite food, and I especially love it with unique toppings! Clam and shrimp pizzas are pretty common on restaurant menus nowadays, but it’s not too often that I see a pie offered with a healthy helping of SALMON!

These two boxes were on sale at the grocery store – just $9 for both!

Gorton’s Seafood Pesto Salmon Broccoli Pizza

Ingredients/Cooking Tools:

  1. 1 box of Gorton’s Seafood Lemon Butter Grilled Salmon
  2. 1 box of Gorton’s Seafood Classic Grilled Salmon
  3. 1 Boboli 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
  4. 2 cups of chopped broccoli
  5. Garlic salt for broccoli (to taste)
  6. EVOO for broccoli (to taste)
  7. 1 cup of diced tomato
  8. 1/4 cup of Buitoni Reduced-Fat Pesto with Basil
  9. Cedar’s Tzatziki Sauce (optional)
  10. 1 ceramic pizza stone (optional, but it’ll make your crust more crispy!)

Directions:

  1. Add desired amounts of garlic salt and EVOO to chopped broccoli on foil-lined pan. Roast at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
  2. Place pizza stone in oven on a different rack – getting it hot before putting it in the oven with the pizza will aid in a crispy crust!
  3. Prepare salmon per package instructions. Dice up and place in a bowl.
  4. Mix diced tomato into bowl of salmon, add salt/pepper to taste.
  5. Remove stone from oven, place pizza on top, spread pesto onto pizza.
  6. Spread salmon and roasted broccoli atop pesto (I ended up with some leftover salmon and broc on the side to avoid too-heavy slices since it was a thin crust).
  7. Place stone with pizza back in the oven and cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (time can vary depending on your oven and how “done” you like your pizza!)
  8. After removing pizza and letting it cool, drizzle tzatziki sauce on top if you wish!

Couldn’t get in fast enough to take a pic!

The pizza was seriously out of this world delicious and the leftover salmon even stayed fresh in the fridge long enough for me to polish it off as a snack five days later! My mom and I finished almost the entire pie between the two of us and the tzatziki was the perfect compliment to the salmon – reminded me of a lox and cream cheese combo! I only wish I’d had some capers to add…next time! And the best part of pizzas is their easy customization. You could add or take away any of the ingredients on this recipe and simply use it as inspiration for future topping combos!

I also liked using one box of plain salmon and one box of lemon-butter, like I did last time my mom and I cooked with Gorton’s products. I’m all about trying as many different varieties of a food as possible! I don’t think I could really taste a difference between the two kinds, though. I am glad the lemon-butter salmon wasn’t too buttery or lemony, because I wouldn’t want anything to take away from the fishy flavor that I adore so much!

You can try Gorton’s products too, and you know that as Coupon Caitlin, I’m always looking to save money and help others do so. That’s why I’m directing you to this coupon on the Gorton’s Seafood website for $1 off any two items!

Has anyone tried any Gorton’s Seafood products since I last posted about them?

What’s your favorite pizza topping combo?

Have you ever tried a seafood pizza?

P.S. Total fail on my part…I didn’t even realized that this past Friday 9/21 was my one year blogiversary! I want to do a more reflective post to celebrate so I will be doing so when I actually have time to sit down and write something more thought-provoking this week…hopefully that’ll be soon. This has been one crazy work week!