Our Favorite Meal

You may notice from the pictures that we’ve had a change of venue. Last month we moved back to California after nearly 3 years in Basel, Switzerland. Basel had captured every part of my heart, but there are some things I love about being home. First, of course would be family, but a close second is the convenience of grocery shopping. While I can now source ingredients with ease, I’m trying to eat healthier and figure out which brands offer good organic ingredients and great taste. In an effort to give the girls a stronger sense of normalcy I have been making many of their favorites. This post is dedicated to our favorite family meal, which includes pizza margherita, Parmesan gnocchi and a flavor packed spinach salad. I take a lot of help from the store on this one, so it is fairly quick and easy. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. If you are having a party this is a great meal to double and feed a crowd.

Pizza Margherita

Ingredients:

2 medium Roma tomatoes
- Slice thinly.
A few fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
- If you only have dried basil that works well too. Just go easy on it because dried herbs are very flavorful.
1 bag/2 cups grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
- You can use fresh buffalo mozzarella, but let it drain for a good hour before you slice it. If you skip this step you will have watery pizza.
Approximately ½ cup pizza sauce
- We go easy on the sauce, but you can adjust this to meet your tastes.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
garlic powder
1 store bought dough

Directions:

Stage 1: Preheat oven according to dough package instructions. Grease your pan, and stretch the dough to the thickness you desire. Take a fork and “dock” the dough; poke holes in random places to prevent bubbly crust. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle garlic powder to taste.

Stage 2: Scatter cheese around evenly. Top with tomatoes and basil.

Stage 3: Bake according to instructions and serve hot.

Butter Browned Gnocchi with Parmesan

Ingredients:

1 package fresh gnocchi (any flavor is fine)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan

Directions:

Stage 1: Grate the cheese using a Microplane and set to the side on a flat plate or in a pie dish.

Stage 2: Boil a large pot of water and salt it well. Toss in gnocchi and cook it according to package instructions. This only takes about 2 minutes. While it is boiling, heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt your butter.

Stage 3: As the gnocchi rise to the top of the water, remove them and place them in a single layer in the butter. Brown the gnocchi on both sides (about 3-4 minutes per side), and place on top of reserved cheese. Move around with a spoon to coat pasta with the cheese and serve immediately.

Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

1 package baby spinach or spinach and greens mix
1 roasted red pepper sliced thinly
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes quartered
1/2 small red onion sliced thinly
2 slices of bacon crisped and chopped
- This can be easily omitted for a meatless option
¼ cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts chopped
¼ cup chopped or crumbled feta cheese
Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
- You will only need about a quarter of this dressing. You can reserve the rest in an air tight container in your refrigerator for about a month. It is a good marinade for chicken, fish or shrimp and delicious on plain greens.