Grilled Caprese Pizza with Artichoke

June 21, 2016

Without a doubt, the time seems to keep passing by faster and faster each year. I’ve arguably never felt so overwhelmed with work projects and with wedding season in full force, our travel game is real! I travel a decent amount for work and Jake travels about 4 times what I do, so with regular work travel combined with weddings (averaging at 6-12/year for the past few years), our summers seem to fly by in a blink. One thing I’ve really tried to focus on this year is to not wait for the weekend to partake in traditionally summer “weekend things” in an effort to squeeze as much of my favorite season out of this year as possible. Since to me there is almost nothing that feels more summery than barbecuing and eating dinner in our back yard, I’ve made it a priority for us to cook together/grill at least twice per week, even when it might be easier to heat up some leftovers and keep things easy.

I’ve been wanting to try grilled pizza for a while now and when one of our “weeds” in our back yard from the previous owner turned out to be an artichoke plant, I was feeling even more inspired than ever to fire up the grill. I purchased this pizza stone and pizza peel, picked up a few other ingredients from the store and we were good to go. I didn’t really put a ton of thought or time into researching a recipe for this (other than how to grill artichokes and I went by this aioli recipe) and instead just tried to keep it simple with things I knew would pair well together. This ended up being one of my favorite meals we’ve made together and we’ll definitely be making it again this week – I can’t wait!

PS: This recipe is all about timing so pour yourself a glass of wine and prep in advance if possible.

GRILLED CAPRESE PIZZA WITH ARTICHOKE

Prep: 15 minutes
Active: 45 minutes
Yield: 1 pizza (2 servings)
Wine Pairing: Napa Valley Red Blend or Edna Valley Pinot Noir

INGREDIENTS

4 medium/large artichokes
2 cups baby heirloom tomatoes
1 small bunch basil, chopped (15-20 basil leaves)
1lb. fresh pizza dough (I use Trader Joe’s fresh dough)
2 tbs. cornmeal
2 tbs. flour
8 oz. fresh burrata
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil
Freshly shaved parmesan

AIOLI INGREDIENTS

2 garlic cloves
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbs. vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

Fill a pot with 1-2″ of water and bring it to a boil while prepping your artichokes.
Prep your artichoke by cutting the sharp tips off the artichoke petals. Then trim the top of the artichoke (cut off about 3/4″-1″) and remove the smaller petals by the stem. If your artichoke has a long stem, trim it down to an inch or less.
Reduce water to a simmer, place artichokes in a steam basket and cover
Cook for 20-40 minutes until the outer petals easily pull off.
While your artichokes are steaming, knead and roll your pizza dough. Add flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and surface. Stretch your dough to desired size and shape (1lb. of dough dough should create a 10-12″ circle). Sprinkle pizza stone with cornmeal to keep your dough from sticking to the stone. Once dough is in place, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with 1/2 of your chopped basil leaves, add all of the burrata and finish with a dash of salt and pepper.
Fire barbecue to medium flame and place pizza stone on grill.
In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, the remaining basil, salt, pepper and olive oil. Stir to evenly coat tomatoes and transfer to a grill basket or foil and place on grill.
Remove artichokes from steam basket and cut in half length wise. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place on the top rack of your grill.
Prep aioli (directions below) while monitoring grill.
Allow your tomatoes to blister and artichokes to char slightly before removing. Scoop out the heart of 2-3 artichokes.
Once dough has reached your desired texture, remove from grill and top with artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Garnish with fresh basil and shaved parmesan. Plate remaining artichokes with aioli and serve immediately.
Serve with your favorite red wine (I recommend this or this). Cheers!

AIOLI DIRECTIONS

Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt using a large heavy knife. Whisk together yolk, lemon juice, and mustard in a bowl.
Combine oils and add, a few drops at a time, to yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until all oil is incorporated and mixture is emulsified. (If mixture separates, stop adding oil and continue whisking until mixture comes together, then resume adding oil.)
Whisk in garlic paste and season with salt and pepper. If aïoli is too thick, whisk in 1 or 2 drops of water. Chill, covered, until ready to use.

New York

September 24, 2015

New York is one of my favorite cities in the world so when one of our closest friends decided to get married there, we were thrilled to be making a trip back. This is by no means a full city guide as we only had a few days to explore, but here were a few of my favorite places on this trip:

E A T

The Spotted Pig: It’s honestly tough to have a bad meal in New York because there are so many restaurants that the competition is incredibly high and some the best chefs in the world call it their home. The foodie scene is unparalleled. The Spotted Pig was the best meals I’ve ever had in New York City – so much so that I went twice in a day with two different groups of people – Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone! You need to order:

The Deviled Egg – My dad makes a MEAN deviled egg, but this one was easily my second favorite ever.
Devils on Horseback – Absolutely insanely delicious dates wrapped in bacon – a wonderful balance of sweet and savory. The perfect salty, savory crunch of bacon followed by a soft, decadent date on the inside – YUM.
Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Gnudi with Basil Pesto – My mouth is watering just thinking about this dish. I’m a huge pasta person in general, but gnocchi and ravioli are my jam. The gnudi is made up of several balls of ricotta stuffed pasta – a little smaller than a golf ball each. Lightly covered in a delicious basil pesto, the gnudi is absolutely perfect. I ordered this dish both times and had a really hard time sharing.
Chargrilled Burger with Roquefort Cheese & Shoestring Fries – I was lucky enough to try this burger on both trips. I can say without a doubt that this is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life. Perfectly seasoned and juicy with just the right amount of mild/medium blue (which I usually don’t love on a burger). The shoestring fries take this dish over the top and are absolutely addicting.

Bleecker Street Pizza: The first time I had pizza in New York, it was at a shitty, 7-11 style joint at 4:00 in the morning and it was TERRIBLE. The crust was flimsy, the cheese resembled that of 90’s cafeteria pizza and it was honestly disgusting. To this day, it was the only bad meal I’ve ever had in New York. I swore that I was a Detroit style (square) or Chicago style (deep dish) girl at heart and that my life was totally fine without New York pizza. Since so many people rave about it including our foodie friends and since it was 4:00 in the morning on Saturday (and I was a bit tipsy and easy to convince), I decided to give it a try again at Bleecker Street Pizza and my pizza world was flipped upside down. The PERFECT size slices that can be folded in half (but not flimsy by any means!) with the best, unforgettable crunch. NOMS! Absolutely mouth-watering pizza. Order:

Whatever the hell kind of pizza you like because absolutely nothing is going to suck.

Burger Joint: Hidden behind a curtain in the back of Le Parker Meridien on 56th and 6th, this place rocked our world. We went after a 7:30 showing of Les Miserables and I’m so glad our friend made the suggestion. While they have the best diner style burgers and shakes imaginable, there’s nothing fancy about this place. I felt like I’d been transported to a funky old diner in Detroit with mismatched decor, autographs on the wall, wood paneling and all sorts of grease and smells. So delicious. Order:

A cheeseburger with everything on it.
Fries
Shake

D R I N K

Experimental Cocktail Club: Jake and I aren’t exactly big into clubs (although I did have a clubbing spree when I first moved to LA – hay Hollywood!), but we were spending time with our friends who know all of the best places in the city, so ECC in the lower east side it was! Slightly swanky with great decor and an incredible DJ, ECC brings in the best mixologists in the world to craft cocktails that are some of the best you’ll ever have…. so good that we were there until just before closing. Eeeek! Order:

Burning Passion Punch – But ONLY one! An awesome combination of rum and passion fruit. They slice open a passion fruit and set both halves on fire before delivering it to your table. Delicious.
Brazilian Magic Punch – Yaguara Cachaca, coconut milk, almond milk, pineapple, verjus, agave, black and white peppers, Chilean peppers, cocoa beans, vanilla, rose buds – WHAT?! Hands down the best cocktail I’ve had in years. Order it. You won’t regret it.

B R E A T H

The High Line: If you’re eating and drinking as much as we were, a trip to the High Line is a must. An elevated railroad turned beautiful park, the High Line runs from Gansevoort St. in Meatpacking to West 34th Street on the city’s west side. It can get a bit crowded so go early and enjoy some pretty stunning views of Manhattan.

Battery Park City: I’d never been to southern most point of Manhattan, but it’s where our friends were getting married and I couldn’t wait to explore a new part of the city. Watching the sun set over the Statue of Liberty was simply unforgettable and an experience I couldn’t recommend more.

S H O P

ABC Carpet & Home: There is so much shopping in New York that it’s hard to go wrong, but my favorite place there is still ABC Carpet & Home. I went exploring with Beth on Thursday afternoon and we spent a few hours wandering around each level getting design inspiration and doing some preliminary sourcing for the Napa project. We bought way too many cards and little gifts on the first level, but honestly could have walked away with anything in that store provided we had the $ and means to drag it back to LA.

And that’s a wrap! Where are your favorite places in NY?

Salad Wars – Easy Spinach Salad

October 8, 2014

As much as I wish I could say that I’m a health nut, it just isn’t the truth. I blame part of it on growing up with a should-have-been-a-chef father who was always whipping up something absolutely incredible that generally included rich flavors: garlic, spices, great meats, savory cheeses, etc. Now that I work in the wine industry, my foodie levels have only been heightened by pushing myself to think about pairings and learning more about what foods bring out certain characteristics in wines and vice versa. However, when I started running a LOT earlier this year (more than ever before in my life), I started to learn a few things about my body. Mainly that I absolutely could not continue eating anything and everything I ever wanted.

The issue for me is that it’s really hard to find healthy food that is flavored well and that I really, truly crave. I need salads that are way more interesting than the pre-made quinoa and kale station at Whole Foods during lunch to keep me going or else I wind up at the ridiculous taco joint down the street for the best fish tacos on the planet, or god forbid, CHIPOTLE, which is also conveniently within walking distance to the office. Additionally, I took a hard look at my bank account a few weeks ago and it’s just sad how much money goes to eating lunch out almost every day of the week. It’s no secret that packing a lunch saves you money, but it was a truth I chose to ignore for quite a while.

Enter Salad Wars which is mainly a great big experiment and challenge to find the best, most convenient and healthy salads out there. In my quest, I have found a few and to my disbelief, I’m actually excited for them by lunch or dinner – a feat I never thought possible 😉 Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing a few of those recipes and hope to inspire you to join me on the quest for good health.

#1 is my go-to Spinach Salad… check out the recipe below!

Prep: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients

2-3 handfuls of fresh spinach
1 handful of cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 avocado
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt (to taste)
a dusting of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

If you’re taking this for lunch and would like to prep it the night before, I usually mix the spinach, pine nuts, parmesan and a little salt in a travel container. I slice the avocado and tomatoes just before eating to keep things fresh 🙂

This salad could not be simpler, which I love. No dressing at all (including EVO) is always better than dressing, but cutting out pre-mixed, store bought dressing also cuts out major calories so I feel ok with a little drizzle of olive oil. With a tiny bit of salt and just a slight dusting of cheese, I’ve found that I don’t miss the pre-mixed dressing at all and I feel fulfilled and re-energized when I’m done eating instead of slipping into total food-coma… We’ve all been there after lunch. You know what I’m talking about.

*If you’re having this for dinner or if you’re allowed to have a taste of wine at work, this wine or this one are great options and pair deliciously with all of the flavors above 🙂 Cheers!

Blair Bear Turns ONE!

June 30, 2014

Happy, happy Monday! I hope you had a lovely weekend and are ready for the short 4th of July week we have ahead! Woohoo!

S0… I’ve been dying to share this party! It’s as cute as can be and was featured on Style Me Pretty Living – pinch me! The last time I posted, I ran through the steps to create your own tissue paper fringe backdrop that we used for Blair Bear’s Birthday Bash. It’s one of my favorite DIY’s to date so if you haven’t checked it out yet, head on over here to see 🙂 Our EVP of Sales at ONEHOPE is a dear friend (you might remember her from here) and just over a year ago, she welcomed the cutest little girl into the world. Blair seriously has the absolute biggest personality and I could not wait to help her momma out with her first birthday party. Tiffany found a Panda Bear print that she loved at the Land of Nod, so we used that for inspiration for the color palate (mint, coral, pink, gold and white) and went from there. AND, since it happened to be around the same time we were launching our ONEHOPE Mimosa Bar, we decided to use it that day for the adults and set up an almost identical version (minus the bubbly of course) for the little ones. We created the tissue paper fringe backdrop for the Mimosa Bar and a fun tissue paper pouf version for the juice bar 🙂 In all, we had so much fun putting this together and not a single detail was overlooked. Check it out and view all of the vendors at the end! Xo

PS: The Mimosa Bar + Bubbly for the party provided over 50 meals to children fighting hunger. Cheers to that!

{The happy family! Yay to turning ONE!}

{The ONEHOPE Mimosa Bar in use with our hand crafted tissue paper fringe backdrop}

{Every case of ONEHOPE’s Sparkling wine provides 25 meals to children fighting hunger – so perfect for the adults to enjoy during a kid’s party}

{Guests mixed and muddled their own mimosas with fruits and juices they loved}

{BFF mommas with their BFF babes}

{Florals were a mixture of peach garden roses, bright pink ranunculus and tulips, and dusty miller}

{The juice and snack bar area was a replica of the adult’s Mimosa Bar (minus the champagne). Kids were able to mix their own fruit juices and grab their favorite sweets and snacks}

{Twelve months of Blair Bear!}

{YAY! You’re ONE!!!}

{Oh so thirsty! Birthdays are hard work :-)}

{The girls behind the scenes – Me, Beth, Tiffany and Sabrina}

Vendors/Sources

Mimosa Bar – ONEHOPE Wine

Sparkling – ONEHOPE Wine

Event Design and Florals –

Invitations – Five Two Eight

Photography – Kylie Chevalier

Desserts – Take Two Etc.

Tissue Paper for fringe, garlands and poms – Koyal

Lanterns – Koyal

Linens – La Tavola

White Peach Sangria

June 14, 2014

If there is anything in the entire world that I love about summer, it’s peaches. Growing up, my grandma and grandpa who had retired and moved to Florida, would move to Michigan for the summer to watch my cousin Mike and I during the day while our parents were at work. Since my aunt and uncle had a larger home on the lake, my grandparents would live there and my mom would drop me off every morning to spend my days running through sprinklers, swimming in the lake or having water balloon fights with the neighborhood kids. I remember my grandma always buying peaches and she would heat them up for just a few seconds before putting them over vanilla ice cream. The combination was so simple and heavenly and is one of my favorite memories from growing up.

When searching for sangria recipes for the summer, I knew we needed to include one with peaches and this was it! The quintessential summer sangria! Cheers!

PS: If I were to make this again, I would probably omit the apples and the lime to bring out more of that peachy flavor, but that’s just my two cents 🙂 Xo

Ingredients

1 bottle of ONEHOPE Sauvignon Blanc
1 bottle ONEHOPE Sparkling Wine (optional topper just before serving)
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1 cup raspberries
lime slices (1/2 lime)
orange slices (1/2 large navel orange)
2 ripe peaches (cut into wedges)
2 apples (seeded and cut into slices)
orange juice (from 2nd half of large navel orange or ~1/4 cup)

*Consider extra fruit for garnishing glasses if desired

Directions

1) Combine all ingredients in one of your sangria bar carafes and cover tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

2) Fill glasses with crushed ice and garnish with fresh orange slices, raspberries, and peaches. Top with sparkling before serving (if desired).

Yield: 4-6 servings

Recipe adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/white-sangria-recipe.html

Blood Orange Sangria

June 5, 2014

Happy almost Friday! Whew… it’s been a while, y’all! Life has been insane for the most part and I consistently feel like a chicken with my head cut off, but I just couldn’t stay away any longer 😉 With summer rapidly approaching, I created a bunch of sangria recipes for work and this one was one of my favorites. Blood oranges are SO good, their color is incredible and when combined with wine, strawberries and blackberries, the combination is to die for. As a huge lover of Pinot Noir, this recipe, which includes my favorite varietal, allows me to sip on a delicious red without completely overheating on a hot summer day. I can’t wait to make this again! Stay tuned for a few more recipes to add to your list of entertaining ideas for summer 🙂 Cheers!

PS: Huge thanks to The Nest and Inspired By This for featuring this recipe!

Ingredients

1 bottle ONEHOPE Pinot Noir
1 cup ONEHOPE Sparkling Wine (optional if you would like it bubbly)
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup blackberries
2 blood oranges (sliced)
Lemon slices (optional)
Lime slices (optional)
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup sugar

Directions

1) Combine all ingredients (except Sparkling) into a carafe, cover and refrigerate for 4-24 hours. The longer your sangria mixture sits, the more infused the flavors become 🙂

2) Before serving fill each glass with crushed ice and allow guests to garnish with their own fruits.

3) Top with sparkling if desired

Yield: 4-6 servings

Recipe adapted from: http://fabtasticeats.com/2013/01/29/blood-orange-blackberry-sangria/

Pumpkin Weekend

November 1, 2013

After so much recent travel, Jake and I managed to fly past one another all October long and spent the month apart. I’m looking forward to having a cozy weekend at home together to catch up, visit our favorite restaurants and enjoy fall. I’ll be doing some baking as well and I’m really looking forward to trying out some pumpkin based recipes including these waffles and these yummy donut holes. Can’t wait to see how they turn out! Hope you have a wonderful weekend 🙂

image via

Wine Wednesday (HalloWINE Style)

October 30, 2013

When one of our co-founders at work suggested that we put an adult spin on Halloween and pair our wines with classic trick-or-treat candy, I was game. She conducted a tasting and figured out which flavors would work the best with one another before passing it over to me to style and shoot. The office was FULL of goodies yesterday so we all did our own little tastings and they were AMAZING… Some of the pairings were really different and unique so I didn’t expect to like them all as much as I did, but I guess you really can’t go wrong with candy and wine! It was tough to pick a favorite. Thought I would pass these along for a little Halloween inspiration in case any of you wanted to give it a whirl on your own! And I know it might be tempting, but try not to eat all your kids’ Halloween candy 😉 Cheers!

Photo Shoot Friday

October 18, 2013

Since arriving back to scorching hot LA after the most amazing autumn week in New York, I’ve been gripping onto anything fall related with all my might – Pumpkin Spice Lattes galore, “Leaves” scented candles everywhere… I’m a little crazy about this season. Today I’m headed to the office to shoot all of our fall cocktail looks and can’t wait to start whipping up some delicious liquid libations! The creative side of my job is my absolute favorite and there are few things I love more than styling gorgeous shoots to share on blogs and across the interwebs 🙂 We were searching for inspiration yesterday and stumbled across this amazing food blog, Verses From My Kitchen. Everything is so perfectly styled and I love every last shot. We’re attempting to make a variation of this recipe today and can’t wait to share! Stay tuned and have a lovely fall weekend!!

All (gorgeous!) images via

Team Thanksgiving Dinner

November 21, 2012

Last week I posted about our chic Thanksgiving Table inspiration for my company’s HOPEgiving celebration. It’s the first time we’ve had a Thanksgiving dinner together so we really wanted it to be special in terms of food, wine pairings and decor. Our Online Marketing Manager has been making Thanksgiving dinner for her family since she turned 18 so she planned (and cooked!) an insanely delicious feast for us while I took control over the tablescape. The head of our Foundation has been wanting to write a new company manifesto, so we used the Holstee Manifesto cut up into bits to give everyone some inspiration with their place card. We all wrote a line that we live by and pieced the puzzle together over dinner which made for some wonderful team bonding. Lastly, our next big venture is ONEHOPE Coffee so I made sure to include some coffee beans mixed in with the florals as well as on everyone’s place setting as a reminder to be thankful for the incredible opportunities we have ahead. I have to say, it was an absolutely magical evening filled with amazing food (and wine of course!), ONEHOPE family cheer and excitement for 2013! What a great beginning to the holiday season!

PS: View Lauren’s to-die-for menu here and more on my tablescape and decor here 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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