Katie's Pizzeria Cafe

Earlier this summer, some coworkers and I went to lunch nearby at Katie's Pizzeria Cafe (aka Katie's Pizza).  I had been there for dinner a couple times before and really enjoyed each time, so I wanted to see what it was like for lunch.  Also, I heard how the business itself was up for sale, so I wanted to go eat there before ownership changed.

 

 

 

They had a nice lunch special where you could have a salad and a personal pizza for $14.  It even includes specialty salad (I got the Caprese Salad) and specialty pizzas (I got the Tre Amici - with Genoa Salami, Italian Sausage, Pancetta and Fontina - which is normally a $21 pizza!)

Caprese Salad

Service was pretty bad (waitress had to come back to re ask our order and she was quite slow with bringing us our food and our check), but the food was good!  Overall, I like Katie's Pizza because it is unique.  The pizza combinations on the menu are very creative, and you can tell she uses fresh ingredients.  The pizzas are also made with a true Italian style, where entire toppings are laid out on top of the pizza, as opposed to being chopped up and spread around.  If you go for dinner, I also would recommend sharing the eggplant appetizer (fried eggplant rolled and stuffed with four Italian cheeses and herbs with marinara sauces for dipping) which won me over.

 

 

Tre Amici Pizza

 

Note that Katie Lee, the namesake of Katie's Pizzeria, is starting up a new restaurant in Rock Hill called Katie's Pizza and Pasta.  It is set to open November 2013 and I can't wait to try it!

Involtini Recipe

When Jessie and I tried Peel Wood Fire Pizza on our staycation in September (see blog post here) we fell in love with their spinach artichoke involtini appetizer.  It was yummy pizza dough wrapped around a spinach artichoke dip.  Delicious!  I wanted to recreate it for a Holiday party appetizer and I couldn't find a single recipe online!  I did some further research on "Involtini" and found out that in Italy, Involtini is a type of dish where you wrap a food layer (typically meat) around a filling and then cook/bake it.  Sounds simple enough to me!  I grabbed a tube of my newest obsession, Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough (which I now always keep in my fridge for a last minute pizza dinner) and whipped up a traditional spinach artichoke dip.  Unfortunately I am marrying into a family of picky eaters (we're talking meat and cheese only) so I also made an alternate involtini with pepperoni and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Involtini out of the oven

First you roll the pizza dough out on a pan and then spread the filling over the entire piece of dough (spinach artichoke dip or pepperoni and cheese).  I didn't heavily fill the edges of the dough because I didn't want to have trouble rolling the dough and having it ooze out all over me.  After the filling is spread out, roll the dough longways into a spiral.  I usually bunch the ends to completely enclose the filling inside the dough.  I then brushed the top with olive oil mixed with Italian seasoning and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on the top (this turns out great once baked!)  Throw it in the oven at 400 degrees for only 10 minutes (or until it turns golden brown).

Pepperoni and Mozzarella Involtini slice

Once baked, I let it cool a big before cutting it into bite sizes slices.  I reheated when I served it later at Ryan's aunt house, and added marinara sauce and a Parmesan cream sauce for dipping.  They were gone instantly!  Super easy, Super Italian, and Super Good!

Last weekend I also tried a similar quick appetizer when I tore up pieces of pizza dough and made individual stuffed dough balls with pepperoni and cheese.  Those went fast too ;-)

Pasta Plus!

My name isn't JosiePasta for nothing... I love my pasta!  That's why one time during a summer internship at my current law firm I fell in love with a place called Pasta Plus.  We were having one of those LexisNexis tutorials during lunch, so they catered from the local Italian Diner in downtown Clayton.  I'm pretty sure I got back up 3 times for another scoop of their pasta con broccoli.... it was so creamy and decadent, and the shell shaped noodles were perfect to capture the sauce.

Two years had passed and I never had the chance to eat it again.  All I knew was that catered tub of pasta, I wasn't quite sure how the restaurant would be and I was too chicken to go by myself.  Finally, Jessie called me one day and asked to meet me for lunch in Clayton and pasta was on my mind (when is it not?!) so I suggested Pasta Plus.  We went at the perfect time and there was no line.  It was a walk up counter and the menu was full of every standard pasta dish you could think of: spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccine alfredo, mostaccioli, toasted ravioli... the list goes on and on.  It also has classic Italian sub sandwiches as well.  Very casual, with classic Italian checkered table clothes and framed posters of The Sopranos on the wall.  I already knew what I was getting before I walked in... Pasta Con Broccoli!!!  Jessie had the same.  They brought out our food to us, and just in time, because only 5 minutes after we ordered, the line got really long.

Pasta Con Broccoli

The pasta con broccoli was so good and just as creamy as I remembered; however, maybe I've grown up since being a summer associate, because I could almost taste the unhealthiness of each greasy bite.  Oh well, it was amazing, and was a great treat!  It also came with two slices of the softest Italian bread I've ever eaten.  I saved it for the end and used it to sop up the leftover sauce.

Pasta Plus is a great idea for a fun catered event, and I really enjoyed stopping in for a quick, casual bite to eat.  Whenever I can't resist my pasta craving, I'm definitely heading up there again!

Tucci and Fresta's

Pasta House owners have opened a new Italian restaurant called Tucci and Fresa's, now located in the old Portabello's in downtown Clayton.

After hearing good reviews from a couple of people, I forced some co-workers to go try it out for lunch one day.  (yes... I had to force them since hearing the words "Pasta House" made it sound less appealing)

The lunch menu looked really good, with everything from salads, soups, to flatbreads and sandwiches, to pasta and meat entrees, and all at a pretty good price.  The dinner menu looked very similar to the lunch menu, with a few additions, but the prices were about twice as much as the lunch!  I hope they get twice as big portions then!

I started out with their house salad, which to my disappointment, wasn't at all like the famous Pasta House salad!  It was good, but I kinda expected the salad to be drenched in that yummy Pasta House dressing! (pretty much the only good thing about Pasta House).

For my entree I tried their Tortellini con Salsiccia, their trattoria specialty.  The portion was very generous, but nothing I couldn't take down.  Very good overall, especially the meaty sauce.  I definitely recommend it!

Tortellini con Salsiccia

The sandwiches looked good too!  The top choice, the Chicken Portobello Sandwich, which is a grilled chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms and fresh mozzarella.  Yum Yum!

Chicken Portobello Sandwich

The service was really nice too.  The waiters were very friendly and since the restaurant was new, were very attentive and asking our opinions about what we thought.  The only mishap was they messed up some of the prices on our check, but they cleared it up no problem.  Overall, no need to avoid Tucci and Fresta's if you are afraid of the Pasta House, because there are no similarities between the two.  It truly is a great Italian addition to Clayton for all of us who have become sick of eating at Cafe Napoli.

Recipe: Ricotta Gnocchi with Bolognese Ragu

The other day I made homemade ricotta Gnocchi.  The recipe provides a simple melted butter sauce to pour over the gnocchi, but I was craving a meaty ragu sauce, so I created a great bolognese recipe to top the gnocchi.  It came out delicious!  I found the gnocchi recipe at Epicurious.com and kind of just pieced together the ragu recipe myself.

Ingredients for Ricotta Gnocchi:

• 2 cups whole-milk ricotta (1 pound)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 ounces), divided
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

 Directions for Ricotta Gnocchi:

1.   Stir together ricotta, eggs, cheese, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add flour, stirring to form a soft, wet dough.

2.  Shape dough on a well-floured surface with lightly floured hands into 1-inch-thick ropes. Cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces with a lightly floured knife. Put in 1 layer on a lightly floured parchment-lined baking sheet.

3.  Cook gnocchi in 2 batches in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water), adding a few at a time to pot and stirring occasionally, until cooked through (cut one in half to check), 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain in colander. 

Ropes of dough before cutting up into gnocchi pieces

Ingedients for Bolognese Ragu:

• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 carrot, finely, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 rib celery, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1 pound bolognese sausage
• 1/4 pound pancetta, diced
• 1 can tomato paste 
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar, granulated
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh basil leaves
• Parmesan, for garnishing

Directions for Bolognese Ragu:

1.  Cut open casing of Bolognese sausage links and break up meat into ground pieces
2.  In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and heat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3.  Add bolognese sausage and diced pancetta and stir into vegetables.
4.  Add the tomato paste, sugar, milk, and wine and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
5.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from the heat.
6.  Top gnocchi with sauce and garnish with fresh parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.
7.  MANGIA BENE!!!

Ragu Simmering

Ricotta Gnocchi topped with Bolognese Ragu

The Gnocchi was really rich, so I would recommend only putting a small amount per plate (thing of how many large ravioli you would eat at a restaurant).  I put about 7 on my plate and I was stuffed.  I got the pancetta and the bolognese sausage links from Salume Beddu, a butcher shop in South City, right off Hampton Road.  Salume Beddu was really cool, and in addition to their butcher shop, they also serve sandwiches containing the meat they cut.  There are tables to dine in, or you can take them to go.  I definitely want to go back on a Saturday and grab a sandwich or panini.  They looked really good.

Salume Beddu Butcher Shop

LoRusso's 2011 Pasta Bowl Winning Recipe

Each Monday after the Super Bowl, LoRusso's Cucina on Watson Road holds the annual Pasta Bowl competition where people come to sample three recipe entries and vote on the winning dish.  All of the proceeds go to Operation Food Search and the winning recipe is featured on the menu for the entire year, with $2 being donated each time the dish is ordered.

This past February, my recipe won the 2011 Pasta Bowl and is currently featured on the menu.  The dish is Bucatini (a long thick spaghetti-like noodle with a hollow center) with a light pesto sauce, sun dried tomatoes, shrimp, pancetta and pine nuts.

Bucatini Noodles

It was a really close competition (I only won by 5 votes) and it was a really fun event to come and try all of the pasta dishes.  Below is my winning recipe:

“Bucatini a la Pesto with Shrimp and Pancetta”
Serves 6 as an entrée

Ingredients:
1 lb. Bucatini Pasta
1 lb. 20 Count Deveined, Peeled, Uncooked Shrimp
½ 1b. Pancetta, sliced ¼ inch thick
6 ounces of finely diced Sun-dried Tomatoes
1 tsp (or more to taste) Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2-3 Large Garlic Cloves (pressed or finely minced)
¼ cup Pine Nuts
½ cup of finely grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese
¼ cup plus more for garnish largely grated Parmesan Cheese
½ cup Pesto Sauce (chopped basil, parmesan cheese, olive oil, chopped pine nuts)
Salt and Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Directions:
1. Put a large pot of cold water over high heat, salt water liberally and cover pot with lid; Once water comes to a boil, put in Bucatini Pasta and cook for 9 minutes until Al Dente; drain pasta but save 1 cup of residue pasta water from the pot.
2. Dice Pancetta into about 1 inch slices; Place a separate large, high sided skillet over medium heat; Brown the pancetta until it is just about to turn brown (want it with a slight crisp, but not too crispy); Remove pancetta from the pan and place on paper towels; Discard the fat from pan and wipe down.
3. Season shrimp with salt and pepper; Put 1 tablespoon EVOO in high sided skillet and heat to medium heat. Sauté garlic and shrimp in skillet for about 4 minutes until shrimp turns pink.
4. In separate small pan, toast pine nuts over medium-low heat for a few minutes.
5. In a small bowl, mix pesto sauce with finely diced sun-dried tomatoes and with finely grated fresh parmesan cheese; add EVOO (or the olive oil from the jar of the sun-dried tomatoes if you used a jar) to the mixture until it gets a good texture
6. In a large bowl or pot, mix Bucatini Pasta, Residue Pasta Water, Pine Nuts, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Shrimp with Garlic, Pancetta, and Pesto/Sun-dried Tomato Sauce Mixture
7. Plate pasta. Garnish with large grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese.
8. MANGIA BENE!!!

Josie and Josie with the winning dish!

If you haven't been to LoRusso's, I definitely recommend it.  My family has been eating there for years and recently we threw Jessie and Joe's engagement party there in the banquet room they have for big parties.  LoRusso's also catered our college graduation party a few years ago where we had a big salad and pasta buffet for our guests.  The food is great and the atmosphere is definitely old school Italian (they even have a piano player Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights).  The chef, Rich LoRusso and his wife Terri run the place and are there everyday (except closed on Mondays).  I definitely recommend that you try my pasta bowl dish and absolutely do not forget to order the flash fried spinach for an appetizer!!!!!!

Josie with Chef Rich LoRusso and his wife Terri

Note: our cousin Mary Ann won the 2010 Pasta Bowl with her yummy eggplant pasta dish and Jessie won the 2009 Pasta Bowl with her penne with sausage and tomatoes.  We've definitely kept it in the family!  Keep an eye out for future posts providing you with their winning recipes!

Patane Pasta Bowl Winners: Mary Ann, Josie and Jessie

Restaurant Review: Sugo's

With all of the new Del Pietro restaurants popping up, Jessie and I decided to try the classic Italian cuisine at Del Pietro's Sugo's Spagehtteria, located in Frontenac.  We are a little turned off by the restaurant's location in a strip mall (with the door shut, you can't even tell the restaurant is open), but when you walk inside you get to experience a rustic setting with hearty wood tables and tiny tealight candles lighting up the large dim room.  Once our eyes adjusted, we ordered a glass of wine while we waited for a table (even on a Tuesday night, the place was packed).  There really isn't a bar, but rather a long wooden table with several bottles of wine sitting on it.  And no bartender, simply the hostess turning around and grabbing a bottle and glasses.  There is a make-shift waiting area off to the side with 3 taller circular tables, right next to the people eating. 

Front door of Sugo's Spaghetteria

Once we finally got seated, we didn't see our waiter for a while.  We were so thirsty Jessie actually got up and grabbled us some water from the side table, because no one would wait on us!  Although our wait was long, once we gave our order, the food came out in less than 5 minutes!  In fact, we didn't even have time to get bread.  Luckily a really smiley guy (who was not our original waiter) noticed we were missing bread but had our food and offered to get us some.  He continued to help us out the rest of the night... we named him "Smiley."  We liked him.

On one wall there is a huge chalkboard with the entire menu and the specials of the day.  The great thing about Sugo's is the simplicity, they really get it right.  The menu only has a handful of different items to choose from for each meal category (salad, antipasti, pasta, pizza), so you'd think it would be really easy to choose, but all of the items sound so good, it is actually hard to eliminate your choices down.  This post is here to help you choose: THE LASAGNA!  Jessie got Lasagna and it was to die for, not to mention the size of my head!  I definitely recommend splitting this item, or be smart like Jessie and eat half and save the other half for lunch the next day.  I think my favorite thing about the lasagna are the tomatoes they use.  They were really tangy and gave the lasagna a really big pick-me-up.  I also loved the big square shreds of fresh parmesan cheese on top.

Jessie's Lasagna

I decided to order the pasta special of the day, Pasta Diavolo, which is angel hair pasta with scallops, shrimp, mussels and clams in a spicy tomato sauce.  It was awesome!  I probably should have saved some to take home but I could not stop eating it.  And luckily Smiley brought us some bread, because the leftover sauce was so yummy to dip my bread in.  Like the Lasagna, there was something rich and tangy about the tomatoes that really added to the dish.



Josie's Pasta Diavolo

 Over all, Sugo's Spaghetteria exudes simplicity.  From the decor and ambiance, to the menu and food.  For people who like good rustic Italian food, I would definitely swing by Sugo's (and get the lasagna!).  And for all of you West County and St. Charles peeps, don't worry about coming out to Frontenac because Del Pietro also has Babbo's Spaghetteria in the Chesterfield Valley which is an identical clone to Sugo's, right down to the wooden tables, chalkboard menu and lasagna!  Note: Wine lovers, also try Del Pietro's contemporary wine bar, Via Vino, next door to Sugo's.

$24 Spaghetti?!

Would you pay $24 for spaghetti?!  Apparently thousands already do at Scott Conant's NYC restaurant Scarpetta (Italian for "Little Shoe").  I have to admit, I was a little skeptical once I heard the price... I make spaghetti dishes for under a couple bucks... what makes this spaghetti so special?!

Once you look at the recipe below, you may notice there is a tad more to it than your normal spaghetti-o's:

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Basil
Makes 4 servings

• About 20 ripe plum tomatoes
• About 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish the dish
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 ounce freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1/2 cup) 
• 6 to 8 fresh basil leaves, well washed and dried, stacked and rolled into a cylinder and cut thinly crosswise into a chiffonade
• 1 pound spaghetti, either high-quality dry or homemade

To peel the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water nearby. Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato. Ease about five tomatoes in the pot and cook, let boil for about 15 seconds, and then promptly move them to the waiting ice water. (Repeat this with the remaining tomatoes.) Pull off the skin with the tip of a paring knife. If the skin sticks, try a vegetable peeler, using a gentle sawing motion. Cut the tomatoes in half and use your finger to flick out the seeds.

To cook the tomatoes: In a wide pan, heat the 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium-high heat until quite hot. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and season lightly with the salt and pepper. (I always start with a light hand with the salt and pepper because as the tomatoes reduce, the salt will become concentrated.) Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes to soften. Then, using a potato masher, chop the tomatoes finely. Cook the tomatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened. (You can make the sauce, which yields about 3 cups, ahead of time. Refrigerate it for up to 2 days or freeze it for longer storage.)

To serve: Bring a large pot of amply salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente. Reserve a little of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat, gently tossing the pasta and the sauce together with a couple of wooden spoons and a lot of exaggerated movement (you can even shake the pan) until the pasta is just tender and the sauce, if any oil had separated from it, now looks cohesive. (If the sauce seems too thick, add a little pasta cooking liquid to adjust it.) Take the pan off of the heat and toss the butter, basil, and cheese with the pasta in the same manner (the pasta should take on an orange hue) and serve immediately.

We can't wait to try this recipe and let you know how it turns out!!!  Jessie has two of the Kitchen Aid homemade pasta maker attachments and so we will be making our spaghetti homemade!  Also, I gave out fresh basil plants as gifts at Jessie's bridal shower, so we'll have plenty of fresh basil to use!

Ryan and I are going to visit NYC in September and I am definitely going to put Scarpetta's on my list of places to go (if we have time in between all of the broadway plays :-P).  They also give you a complimentary bread basket that includes house-made focaccia, Sullivan Street Bakery filone and ciabatta, and a house-made stromboli with smoked mozzarella and salami (pictured below).  I can't wait!!!