fancy pizza
I saw a cherry arugula pizza in a magazine recently and couldn’t stop thinking about making one. So here it is. It was all I had hoped it would be. Slightly sweet and with a touch of bitterness to balance it. The crust was freshly made and perfectly fluffy. Pizza can be gourmet too.
We’ve been sorely lacking in the pizza dinners recently. Time to bring them back on a more frequent basis. Eating vegan pizza at restaurants is fun, but I’ve always preferred our homemade versions.
Plant Based Parties
This Saturday, Shawn and I attended a launch party for Plant Based Parties, a vegan catering company here in Los Angeles. We knew it would be awesome, because Jennie Cook, the chef behind the event made an amazing feast for our wedding.
We were delighted to find a fantastic tasting menu with a variety of things to sample. I started with a little plate, trying to pace myself.
First up was a beet burger slider, zucchini walnut fritter with avocado crema and a polenta bite. So good. I am officially obsessed with beet burgers, but these had the perfect balance of beety goodness and moist, seasoned filling all wrapped up in an adorable slider package. The zucchini fritter was crunchy and paired perfectly with avocado crema. The polenta bite? Perfect. Plain and simple.
We filled our plates time and time again, as every dish was delightful. Here are a few more samples: Old school ratatouille, onion baghi, asparagus tart and quinoa cake. Each was carefully prepared with a superb balance of flavors and textures. I was a big fan of the quinoa cakes as they were simple but deeply satisfying. I could see myself eating them every day.
We also had zucchini cannelloni, double stuffed potatoes, black bean tempeh piccata and the onion baghi again. The tempeh piccata was definitely a favorite, as it was crispy and just slightly spicy. I loved the fresh taste to the zucchini cannelloni as well. Oh and did you notice that pizza up top? Did I mention there was a giant dragon pizza oven. Delicious thin crusted pesto pizzas baked while we ate. (more…)
batman birthday
This weekend we had a birthday party for Shawn’s brother Kyle. He is a regular fixture over at our place and today he turns 20. So of course we had a completely age appropriate party. A Batman party. Oh yes. And not just any Batman party, but what we deemed a “fun food” Batman party. It was pretty sweet.
There was potato salad, shells & chreez bites, and snake dogs. There were balloons, streamers and a few key Batman decorations. We also had one very hastily decorated coconut cake. It was nice to hang out, eat a bunch of yummy stuff and end the night watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (we already watched the Tim Burton’s Batmans last weekend).
Happy Birthday Kyle! (You folks should probably wish him happy birthday too…)
full of life
It’s times like this weekend when I feel as is my plate is completely full. It’s been a busy week on all fronts. Kim and I held the second dinner for A Moveable Feast. Everything came together smoothly and I feel as if something truly special is just beginning. Of course, while I had my camera on the kitchen counter, ready to photograph the meal we created, in the excitement of it all, I didn’t take a single photo from the night. Perhaps it is for the better, to continue with the mystery.
I couldn’t help but share some of the makings of the feast though, just some tidbits.
Mainly, I am just endlessly happy that I was able to make a vegan bastilla; a dish I enjoyed on special occasions as a child. Such a major accomplishment for me.
I know the next dinner is just around the corner, and we’ve already started planning, but in the mean time I’m trying to focus my attention on the multitude of other projects I have always queued up in my mind.
I feel like there is something just on the horizon that is about to reveal itself.
A Moveable Feast
I couldn’t be more excited to share some awesome news here on Cute and Delicious, one that I’ve had to keep under wraps for a little while now. I should just get to point, yes?
Kim Garr of C’est la Vegan and I have teamed up to bring you a very exclusive vegan supper club: A Moveable Feast.
We’ll be bringing gourmet meals into a private setting for small groups a few times each year. We are designing unique menus of completely homemade dishes with seasonal ingredients.
Just about a month ago, we threw our first dinner to see how everything would come together, to much success. You can read a full review, with all the details about our next event here over on Quarrygirl.
Our first offering will be on July 9th at 7pm at a secret location in Studio City. We have only 6 available seats available. Each seat is by donation (recommended between $75-$125). Email veganfeast@gmail.com to reserve your space.
