On this Meatless Monday I find myself completely exhausted, but coming across this picture I had to share. Because I am salivating thinking about this pizza I had from Cafe Lift last month. I kind of don’t want you to know about it, because it’s uncrowded and unpretentious, and my favorite place to meet Slip for lunch on a work day. They have fabulous salads, sandwiches, and pizzas, including this delicious lovely, a huge pizza topped with tomatoes, ricotta, and spinach. Tempting specials every day. You can get by with a big meal on less than $15 (cash only). Yum! Dream of pizza tonight!

A few weeks ago Slip and I headed to our friends Amy and Craig’s house for a make-your-own pizza night. Lucky for us, we got to try a new technique— making pizza on the grill! It is not easy to get down, and not the most beautiful pizza (at least for beginners), but it sure was tasty. The crust was crisp on the edges, and the toppings were first class. To start, you’ll need Amy’s trusty pizza dough recipe:

Pizza Dough

Makes 4 Small Pizzas

• 3 Cups Flour
• 1 1/4 Cups Warm Water
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp. Fast Rising Yeast
• 1/2 Tsp. Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt

1. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix by hand (or in your KitchenAid using a dough hook, if handy).

2. The dough will be fairly sticky, but don’t add anymore flour— instead, scrape into an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and leave it to rise, 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

3. When dough is finished rising, either fire up the grill or preheat oven to 400 degrees (depending on your pizza making method). Break dough into 4 smaller pieces. Flour your work surface and begin to work more flour into the dough until it loses its stickiness, then roll it out to desired size (keep it 1/2” thick).

4. Leave dough to rise 10 more minutes before topping. If making pizza in the oven: bake on floured baking sheet for 10-15 minutes. If making pizza on the grill— halve an onion and dip it in olive oil, then use onion to oil the grill. Carefully place pizza dough on the grill (this is the hardest part) and cook until bottom is crisp, 5-10 minutes. Flip, immediately add your toppings, and cook until bottom is crisp, another 5-10 minutes.

Pizza on the Grill Ingredients

• Pizza Dough (see above)
• Pizza Sauce
• Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese
• Fresh Basil
• Veggie and meat toppings

We used Don Pepino’s pizza sauce, which should be in your grocery and is absolutely delicious:

Also, Craig used Alton Brown’s recipe for Caramelized Onions, which were simple and incredible. They were salty and sweet and buttery and I could have eaten the entire bowl. Other toppings included BBQ chicken, heirloom tomatoes, pepperoni, mushrooms, and fresh basil.

A first go at throwing pizza onto the grill:

(Messy but still tasty!)

Topping our pizzas:

Amy and Craig’s half and half (half with pepperoni, half without):

One of the pizzas I topped (and devoured, it was sooo yummy!):

If you’re planning to fire up the grill this Labor Day weekend, I definitely recommend this as a delicious and new way to make pizza, and new use of the grill!

Pizza appears often in our kitchen. But the pizza we made tonight was gorgeous (and really tasty, too). Yellow heirloom tomatoes. Roasted red onions. Fresh basil. Yummy.

Last nights dinner: whole wheat pizza dough topped with garlic, sauteed onions, mushrooms, and kale. Yummy!

Last week I was in NYC for a hot second (less than 24 hours!), but I had the opportunity to order some delicious lunch from Bella Blu on the Upper East Side. If you live on the East Side— or you’re just in the mood for some super yummy and interesting Italian food, I would definitely recommend this place! Besides the charm that accompanies what seemed like an all Italian staff (“Mil grazie, Bella!” as I departed, swoon), everything I tasted was delectable.

We started with my cousin’s new favorite salad in the whole entire world— an antipasti of sauteed artichokes on a bed of mache, pistachio nuts, and topped with thinly sliced Parmesan cheese that just melts in your mouth and on the salad. Incredible.

Next was an antipasti of buffalo mozarella, tomatoes, basil, and roasted peppers. Always a fan favorite.

The main course? A thin crispy pizza topped with tomato, mozarella, mushrooms, olives, artichokes and Prosciutto. I absolutely loved this— an amazing pairing of salty ingredients with the slightly sweet tomato sauce, and the perfect amount of sauce.

We ordered takeout but I picked up so I still got to experience the friendly staff. Eat in or out, the food is divine, wonderful Italian, so you can’t go wrong. And honestly there were so many pizzas and pastas I wanted to try, I might go back next time I’m in NYC! Mangia!

Today before leaving for work Slip whispered in my ear “let’s meet for lunch later”. Lucky me! After cleaning our apartment, some school work, and an appointment at the apple store, it was time to head down to Broad and Green and meet him at work. We decided to get fancy and we tried Osteria, rated by many as one of Philadelphia’s best restaurants, for lunch. The restaurant was bustling even though it was lunchtime on a weekday.

Although situated smackdab between two rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, right on Broad Street (at Wallace), Osteria has a homey, rustic and classic vibe. There is a second room next to the main dining room with large open windows between, making diners feel as if they’re outside on a country patio.  

We shared the grilled vegetable anitpasto platter to start.

Everything on the plate was delicious! And just adorable served on this pig shaped wooden board, no? Fresh arugula with shaved parmesan, cauliflower, red and golden beets, roasted red peppers, brussel sprouts with thick-cut bacon, sweet potatoes, smokey carrots, and a fennel and citrus salad. I saw this come to another table and had to have it on my own.

For the main course we shared the Parma pizza, which was mozarella, fontina, arugula and prosciutto di parma on an impeccably thin crispy crust.

We saw Marc Sommers say that the pizza margherita at Osteria was the best pizza on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”, and Osteria has been ranked one of the best Italian restaurants in America. Well, let’s just say those ratings hold true. The flavors and textures here were in perfect harmony, with salty cheese and prosciutto, and peppery arugula, thin and a really crispy crust.

I was sad we were in a rush to get back to work, so we had to skip out on coffee and torrone semifreddo, which sounded delightful— dessert is on the list for next time.

The only downside of Osteria to me? No soup on the lunch menu. Other than that, let’s just say I’m sure I’ll be back again, because there is so much more I want to try!

Pizza I made for dinner last night (with whole wheat dough from Trader Joe’s). Topped with carmelized onions, peppers, mushrooms, mozarella, and parmesan cheese. Very, very delicious.

The little fete with the banana pudding including some other treats, this lovely spread included. I adore fresh cherries in the summertime. And Swedish fish always.

These pizza puffs showed up again, and were again popped by all until they were all gone.

Wednesday Slip had the day off from work and as we were famished walking the streets of Rittenhouse Square we decided to stop into SliCE, a Philly pizza joint which has received many accolades and I’ve been wanting to try since I’ve lived here. It was top notch, although I can’t say I enjoyed it more than Mama Palma’s or Gusto. These are the slices we tried:

Carmelized onion, goat cheese, and bacon. This one was my favorite.

Veggie pizza with eggplant, roasted peppers, portabella mushrooms, red onions and tomato sauce. This was my least favorite— it had no cheese, and so many toppings that it became a tiny bit soggy.

Truffle pizza with garlic, portabella mushrooms, artichokes, and black truffle oil. Really rich but really good.