The Artichoke Fail (And Truly Great Pizza)

For Christmas, my boyfriend gave me a written note promising to take me to a local pizza place that he'd been to and really liked.   (He got me a couple other things as well...not just an IOU).  This past weekend, we finally had the chance to go.  I got my mouth all set for pizza, and we headed over there.  Unfortunately, when we arrived, we discovered that they had gone out of business! What a bummer! I hate when little local places can't make it.  :(  We were both really disappointed, but I think he was even more so.  He'd been so excited to take me.  After deciding that we still were in the mood for really good pizza, we headed over to one of our favorite pizza places.  Tony Sacco's is a chain, but they make some amazing pizza.  They use a big coal fired oven, and the crust is perfect.  We perused the menu for a bit, and then settled on the Marco Polo pizza. 

Let me tell you, I find going to new pizza places so much more exciting than I used to.  A couple years ago, it would not have mattered what the place was, I would have been ordering a cheese or pepperoni and cheese pizza.  There are so many more options open to me now! It's a good thing to because Mr. Boyfriend doesn't think a cheese or pepperoni and cheese pizza is worth much.  He needs more interesting toppings. The Marco Polo pizza held tomato sauce, chicken, artichoke, and sundried tomato.  I think I had artichoke once before on a pizza at Big Al's, but I couldn't really taste it.  It had been the most bland pizza I'd ever eaten.  I've had stuff made with sundried tomatos...flat breads and feta and stuff, but I'd not had them on pizza before.  This pizza was a whole new experience for me.  When it came out, I ate several bites of the pizza all together. (I've always been one to eat the toppings first, then the cheese, then the crust...I'm growing out of that on really good pizza, but I still do it at someplace like Domino's or Pizza Hut.) The crust, sauce, chicken, and sundried tomatoes were all amazing.  Honestly, I think Tony Sacco's is my favorite pizza place I've tried yet.  It was so delicious.  However, the more I ate it, the more the taste of the artichoke bothered me.  I picked a little off to try on it's own to make sure that's what it was, and yes...ick.  My boyfriend, who loves artichoke, said it had a funny taste to it, so I'm hoping that there is still hope for me to like artichoke someday.  Saturday was not the day though.  I ended up picking most of the artichoke off the pizza.  Thankfully, the pizza was delicious enough to make up for the icky artichoke.  We even ate the leftovers warmed up for dinner that night.

Veggies

I feel like I'm running out of vegetables to try.  I recently tried asparagus and found that it was delicious.  My grocery store does these dinner samples every afternoon.  They make up a full dinner and put out little plates for testing.  Then they give out a recipe card and have an area there where you can find all the things needed for the meal together.  One night they made some kind of chicken with asparagus.  I really liked it. 

I suppose I need to try brussel sprouts and radishes.  I'm not sure what else.  So far, I haven't tried a lot of vegetables that I've really hated.  In fact, I can't think of any off the top of my head (mushrooms don't count, do they?).  The more I eat vegetables, the more I find that I actually really like them.  They taste good, and they are good for me! What an excellent combo.  I'd like some suggestions for more unusual veggies that I should try.  If you have a favorite way to prepare them, then please share that as well!

Green Beans and Roast

Sometimes I forget that I'm not (or at least am trying not to be) a picky eater anymore.  It's hard to redefine yourself at 30! My picky eating as so much a part of who I was for so many years, it's hard to just let it go.  The other night my mom made a roast for dinner.  Growing up, my mom's roast was the only thing that I was ever forced to eat.  I have no idea why.  I never loved it, but I could get down a few ketchup covered bites...enough to keep my mom happy.  When she made it the other night, I automatically started coming up with my own dinner plans (she no longer makes me eat it...I mean, I am 30).  I made myself a delicious dinner with chicken covered in a pineapple salsa, really yummy green beans, and roasted potatoes.  It wasn't till much later in the evening that I realized that I'd eaten like a picky eater again.  Why didn't I just eat what my mom had made for dinner.  She so seldom actually cooks a meal (she and my dad are pretty content with sandwiches and simple things like that), and it's even more rare that I'm around when she does.  I should have at least tried some.  Who knows, maybe I'd really enjoy it now? 

My own dinner really was yummy though.  The green beans were especially good.  I used to hate green beans, and now I love them! Sometimes I wonder if I'd have been more likely to try vegetables if more of them had been presented to me fresh and in their natural color.  There is nothing appetizing to me (though I will eat them now) about that muted green bean from a can color.  A nice, fresh green bean looks so delicious.  It's bright and crisp and lovely.   I think my first experience with re-trying green beans was at PF Chang's last year.  I tested out their spicy green beans and LOVED them.  I've even tried to copy them at home a couple times.  SO good! After that, I started buying fresh green beans to cook with more often.  They are cheap and plentiful around here, so we eat them a lot.  One of my favorite ways, which I used the other night, is to saute some purple onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil, and throw in some green beans that have been boiled for about 5 minutes...add a little salt and pepper, and YUM! Try it sometime! My parents had some of the beans I'd made, and they both said they really liked them (though my mom ate around the onion. My pickyness was come by honestly).