Tuesday, May 26, 2009

ann's memorial day treats




al forno was one of the first restaurants outside of the chez panisse orbit that really captured my imagination. buster holmes in new orleans was a favorite but it was pretty much a soul food place & not really inventive, just damned good. like mama lo's in gainesville & mother's there in new orleans too.

i never ate at al forno. i bought the cookbook for the restaurant when it came out(1991)& i was still at the outrigger. i couldn't do most of the recipes because of p'cola's lack of produce(you couldn't even get leaf lettuce back then)& ingredients. like truffled eggs, the IDEA of a grilled pizza stuck w/me. johanne killeen & george germon's idea of grilling pizza dough over a hardwood grill was mind-blowing to me. i cannot tell you why i never tried it until now. i will say it worked perfectly & was a perfect memorial day dinner. the pizzas were topped w/grilled onions & portobello mushrooms w/fontina cheese & garlicy red sauce w/fresh mozzarella & basil.

for a real treat, the cats decided to spend the morning in bed w/ann. she had a good weekend.


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