Nola's Pizza

 There are a few food items that I have a hard time matching here in FL to that of the same items in NY. Chinese food (or any Asian foods), pizza, bagels, etc. don't taste the same...and FYI, putting 'NY style' on your sign doesn't help the quality of the food. But I continue to try and make little mental notes about particular places and what I ordered there, and sometimes try to give a place the benefit of the doubt and order different items.

Awhile back I went to this pizza place called Nola's Pizza, they let you order by the slice or the whole pie (or pizza if you aren't from NY). It's not the cheapest option and if you really don't care about it being NY style, just go somewhere else like a Pizza Hut where it's probably almost half the price. But as they say, curiosity killed the cat, and I placed an order for an X-Large pepperoni, cheese, and fresh garlic pizza. An X-Large comes with 12 slices and normally you wouldn't think this was a problem, but when the pizza came the slices were very uneven in terms of how they were sliced, some were large (normal size) and some were 1/3 of a normal slice. The garlic was okay but honestly you would probably (actually I know) be more satisfied making the drive to a local Grimaldi's and ordering there, their fresh garlic and fresh cheese is FRESH and they don't skimp on the garlic.

But taking into consideration my laziness that day I went with the easier option. On a scale of 1-10, I would probably give it a 6.7-7 which isn't too bad. I could fold the slices, at least some of them, and there was a little grease to it, and the sauce had decent flavor. Once the price came into it and if you are a real pizza snob, you may want to order elsewhere. But give it a try, I can't say I was disappointed, just not super happy.

 http://www.nolaspizza.com/

Slightly hidden, cute spot.

Had a Living Social coupon to try out the Backyard Bar in West Palm. It's a cute spot and has a good amount of outdoor seating, but in S Florida...I wouldn't count on it not raining. If it is raining, there is bar seating but it is very limited. We went on a Tuesday and it had Happy Hour all day but when using a coupon like this, they charge you regular prices.

We had their spareribs with a garlic bbq sauce, stuffed mushrooms, charcuterie plate and a cheese plate. If you are looking for a strong garlic flavor I would recommend tempering your expectafions on the bbq sauce but overall it was a good flavor. The charcuterie plate was good, the salami had good flavor and the ham was decent...although the little biscuits they provided with the crackers didn't really work.

Overall, it's a great little spot to try something different from the rest of West Palm but if you are looking for a decent wait when ordering your food...you may want to go somewhere else. Their kitchen is tiny and if they have over 10-15 ppl ordering, your wait will seem like years. Remember, it is also a bed n breakfast that hosts wine parties as well.

Eggplant Parm (Asian style)

Made eggplant parm tonight. Was pretty simple...took 2 eggplants, peeled and sliced. Took 3 eggs and beat in a bowl, then took another bowl and put in breadcrumbs. Dipped and breaded and cooked slices in oil. Drained. Put layer of sauce in a Pyrex, eggplant, parm cheese, repeat. My own choice was to infuse the sauce with Sriracha.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. With 5 minutes left, I diced up Serrano Peppers and sprinkled them on top.

Omelette, Kimmie Style.

Made an egg white omelette this morning. I cooked up some meatless crumbles, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and ricotta cheese and added it to the omelette. Yum! Oh, and I love sauce so I threw on some sauce on top...delicious.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza.

So during one of my frequent daydreaming sessions, I came up with the idea for spaghetti squash pizza. I didn't want to make it on dough or use my typical whole wheat pita bread so I wanted to use the squash as a substitute.

It was truly a labor of love and almost 2.5 hrs, a few re-starts, and a few glasses of white wine...we had our (almost there) desired result.

To recap, we cooked the squash like normal, flattened it out on a plate and after many attempts at drying it out, we put it in the freezer to make it hold its shape. We then added egg and some breadcrumbs in and put it into the skillet...cooked it on both sides and put it on the stone. (This is where I would, for the next time, cook it a 3rd time for awhile)...but we added the toppings on and baked it like a regular pizza.

For toppings we added: peperoncini, onions, green Spanish olives, black olives, meatless crumbles, mushrooms, cheese, sauce, cherry bomb peppers, and serrano peppers.

Overall, it was amazing and will take less time once the recipe gets perfected.