Pizza Perfection!

My friends and I were in the mood for pizza, and after having read rave reviews in New York Magazine about Kesté Pizza and Vino (www.kestepizzeria.com) on Bleecker, we decided to give it a try. I figured that since I am traveling to Italy next week, this would be the right time to gather the appropriate data for my firsthand comparison of Italian pizza to American pizza.

If you are looking to get a table right away for dinner, then I suggest you arrive by six or earlier. Our party arrived at around seven, and there was already a mob amassed out front. I do need to compliment their host, who seems to have finessed the skill of crowd pleasing in a short amount of time. He remembered my name from the moment he put me on the waiting list, until we had paid the check at the end of the meal, and graciously thanked us for coming. He would also bring out fresh pies, cut into slivers, to whet the appetites of the hungry hoards that gathered on line outside, eagerly awaiting their taste.

It took less than a half hour to get a table, and we sat toward the back, where you have an excellent view of the pizza maestro himself, Roberto Caporuscio, assembling his prestigious pies and popping them into the wood burning, bell-shaped, brick oven. All of the ingredients are so simple, vibrant, and unbelievably fresh. You are practically drooling from all the sights and aromas until your own pizza arrives.

My dining companions and I are relative purists when it comes to pizza, so we all opted for simple selections in which we could adequately enjoy each specific element. The pies are very thin crust, and are about one foot in diameter. (Yes, we each got our own pie, thank you very much!) We ordered one Margherita pie, and two Regina Margherita pies. The only differences are that the regular Margherita is made with fresh mozzarella, and the Regina Margherita has grape tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. Both pies are essentially crust, tomato sauce, cheese, basil and extra virgin olive oil. The simplicity and utmost quality of each ingredient on its own is what contributes to the wonderfulness of this pizza.

Any good pizza needs to start with a good crust. Any aficionado knows that a tasteless crust equates to a lame slice of pizza. And since pizza dough has so few ingredients (flour, yeast, salt, and water), choosing the right balance makes all the difference. These pizzas are very thin crust, and the dough is tasty, crisp, chewy, and slightly salted — all the defining qualities of an excellent pie. The crust has all those wonderful air pockets that are crisp on the surface, and slightly chewy and gummy inside, permeating throughout the dough.

Beyond the dough, the tomato sauce seems to be delightfully unaffected. The simplicity of the ingredients is what makes each element really stand out in the crowd. The sauce seems to be little more than a medley of crushed/pureed delicious, ripe tomatoes. And it is no surprise that the cheese is clean, fresh, sweet, and melted to perfection. The buffalo mozzarella is a bit more tart and tangy than the regular mozzarella, but you can’t go wrong with either. This pizza absolutely hits the spot. Complimenting it with a ½ carafe of wine is even better.

After leaving Kesté in our pizza induced coma, we wandered a block and half to L’Arte del Gelato (www.lartedelgelato.com), which has some of the finest, mouth-watering gelato and sorbet in the borough of Manhattan. It probably deserves its own post – it is that delicious. It was the perfect cap to a wonderful Italian dinner, and my friends and I have full intentions of repeating this excursion once I return from Italia!

Kesté Pizza and Vino – 271 Bleecker, 10014

Turkey Osso Buco

In addition to my restaurant and food reviews, I will be posting recipes that I have either made or tasted and loved, so that you can partake in the deliciousness as well, right from your own home. And you can submit your own favorite recipes for possible future posts on Your Omnivore!

Turkey Osso Buco with Parsley and Rosemary Gremolata

To give credit where it is due, I got this recipe from an episode of Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network. When I cooked it, I left out the Gremolata portion altogether, and I thought it was fantastic. I love this recipe, and it is especially great if you are entertaining, or if you want to have excellent leftovers for the next day. The turkey becomes so tender and flavorful in the recipe – you can cut it easily with a fork. Also, when I made the recipe, I used an entire boneless turkey breast only (skinless), cut into about 6 pieces. I served it on top of whole wheat pasta, and it came out great!

1/2 breast of turkey (cut into 3 pieces, preferably by the butcher)
2 turkey thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups reduce-sodium chicken broth
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 whole cloves

Gremolata:
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon, zested
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced rosemary leaves
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions
For the Turkey Osso Bucco: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pat the turkey with paper towels to dry and ensure even browning. Season the turkey with salt and pepper. Dredge the turkey in the flour to coat.

In a heavy roasting pan large enough to fit the turkey in a single layer, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the turkey and cook until brown on both sides, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the turkey to a plate and reserve.

In the same pan, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Season vegetables with salt. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Return the turkey to the pan. Add enough chicken broth to come 2/3 up the sides of the turkey. Add the herb sprigs, bay leaf, and cloves to the broth mixture. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan tightly with foil and transfer to the oven. Braise until the turkey is fork-tender, turning the turkey after 1 hour.

Meanwhile, for the Gremolata: Combine the chopped parsley, lemon zest, garlic, minced rosemary, and a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper in a bowl. Cover and reserve until serving the turkey.

To serve, transfer the turkey to shallow serving bowls. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the sauce over the meat. Sprinkle each piece of turkey with a large pinch of Gremolata. Serve immediately.

Walking the Plank

If you ask me, there isn’t enough fish served on a plank in this city. But luckily, this is exactly what I enjoyed at Gemma. Gemma is one of those places I’ve walked by a number of times but never managed to stop in for a meal. Either the place was packed, or the time was off, etc. This time, it was around 6pm on a Saturday, and although my fiancé and I are relatively young folks, we tend to enjoy earlybird dinner hours. Just one of those things…

For our meal, we decided to start by sharing an order of spaghetti with pomodoro sauce. The spaghetti was deliciously al dente, and the tomato sauce was slightly creamy and garlicky. I think the creaminess came from the olive oil mixed with the tomatoes, and perhaps a hint of parmigiano cheese and basil mixed in. Very tasty.

For my main course, I ordered the Branzino cooked and served on a cedar plank, with a side of string beans. The filet was perfectly seasoned – with just enough salt and aromatic spices, and the flavor that the cedar plank infused into the fish added a perfect smoky taste that I rarely experience in seafood. And the beans, though cooked, still had a nice bite to them, and they had a really good garlic and oil sauce on them as well.

My fiancé ordered the cod over Sardinian couscous and spinach. The cod was cooked perfectly – moist and flaky, and the couscous was like none I have ever tried. It seemed to be more like mini versions of the dumplings you might find in a southern chicken and dumplings dish. They were delightfully gummy, and the dish came in a lemon butter sauce that added nice taste to everything.

No dessert needed after this hearty meal. We left feeling satiated, but not overwhelmingly full, and I would definitely return to try some more of their dishes.

Gemma, 335 Bowery, 10003