Chicken Pizza

I was looking forward to making a comforting chicken risotto today, so took the time to buy a rottiserie chicken, parmesan cheese and rocket, only to get home, open the cupboard and find that I have no risotto rice. Damn. I do however have a fresh margherita pizza which I shred some of the chicken over before baking to make a basic Chicken Pizza. Risotto will have to wait.

Chicken pizza

A Tourist's Pizza

So this was the start of my weekend in the beautiful Italian capital of Rome! After taking the early evening flight out of Stansted, Her and I get waved through passport control and head out for dinner, absolutely ravenous, with the time approaching 11pm. We walk the short distance from our hotel to Piazza Barberini and after checking out a few places settle on a place just off the square a little way along Via Sistina towards the Spanish Steps. I don't remember the name of the place, but I do remember it was half full and a reasonable looking, if clearly catering for tourists; a particularly remember the fake vines adorning the walls. I had a Pepperoni Pizza with a thin base with a couple of glasses of bianco della casa (house white wine) with tiramisu for dessert. It was fine if unremarkable; filling enough for a couple of hungry new arrivals.

Pepperoni pizza

Tiramisu

Pizza Hut, Cambridge

I was in London today as my sis and I took our Old Dear for a belated birthday day out. My sis being the family's Metropolis dweller and fashionista (of blog writing variety) who wouldn't, no couldn't allow herself to take us out somewhere less than excellent, picked perfectly again and took us to Charlotte's Bistro in Chiswick.
It is a unassuming place on Turnham Green Terrace with a split level, bar at the front and raised dining area at the rear which has a large skylight. 3 courses of beautiful dishes for lunch at near Michaelin starred quality for under £20, friendly and informed staff too. Well worth a visit if you're in the area, even for dinner which is under £30 for 3 courses.
However, my actual dinner wasn't until later at Pizza Hut on Newmarket Road in Cambridge, which was the only place still serving food that was not (just) a takeaway on our way home. Much later, in fact after 10pm, after I had seen a preview evening as part of Her art exhibition with other artists which is part of Cambridge Open Studios. Worth a look on July weekends. The food was actually okay, we had a large, thin crust, Chicken Supreme, but the situation must've looked terrible. A man dragging his dressed up girlfriend into Pizza Hut late at night seemingly for a date of pizza and endless salad refills. Classy.

£10 Pizza

A really exciting day today as Her and I went to watch Paul Simon play his Graceland album at Hard Rock Calling Festival in London's Hyde Park. After the watching the documentary made for the 25th anniversary of the release of the record, which stoked the fires of anticipation that little bit more, the little man did not disappoint. In dry conditions (a rare moment of mercy in this wet summer) he started out playing a greatest hits set then introduced various guests before the show morphed into a full-on celebration of Graceland after the sun went down.
Stunning. Unlike the festival food we had! We opted to forgo the usual festival fayre of burgers and such like and went for a £10 Pizza. It was Hawaiian. We waited around 20 minutes for it. And we laughed our heads off when we opened the box. Inside contained a sad 7 inch pizza with a bit of tomato sauce spread on the base topped with cheese and a meagre sprinkle of ham and pineapple. I guess you don't go to festivals for the food!

The FA Cup Final

I hosted the FA Cup Final today for my friends and I had thoughts of various food based themes, perhaps a Wembley cake?

Lovely to do but there's no way I could have beaten this fantastic effort. As it transpires I didn't have much time, so I let the football between Chelsea and Liverpool be the centrepiece. Beer, pizza and crisps were the traditional accompaniments; the grapes less so but healthier.

Lazy Pizza

Exactly as the title. Pizza. Out of the freezer, into the oven and into my mouth 20 minutes later. Still better than yesterday's fish pie.

Pizza

 

Spaghetti

Lazy eating today; my effort only stretches as far as defrosting a portion of Bolognese sauce to have with my Spaghetti and a liberal topping of grated Parmesan cheese. Real lazy. I did toy with ordering pizza, but my sin today is sloth not gluttony! A Tuesday 2-for-1 deal would be too much on a warm, appetite sapping day such as today.

Spaghetti

Pepperoni Pizza

For my money, pizzas are perfect food before going out to line the stomach to soak up any alcohol that may be consumed in the evening. The phrase "eating is cheating" may have been acceptable as a student, but in real life nobody wants that skull crushing hangover the next day. My choice as I run out of the house is Pizza Express' Pepperoni Pizza, most of which I eat before remembering about the blog.

Pepperoni pizza

Filthy poker food

I’m hosting poker tonight and so I’ve made a decision to start the night how I mean to go on, by eating absolute rubbish. A leaflet of Domino’s vouchers drops through the door and decides for me my designated bad food outlet. Or so I thought until I phone up and realise that everyone else in the city has the same leaflet of vouchers, meaning an order will take an hour and a half. Not quite the fast food I was looking for. Having decided on Pizza, I order from Pizza Hut Delivery instead picking three large pizzas for my guests and me: A Pepperoni Feast, a Veggie Sizzler and a Super Supreme which is delivered half an hour later. Most of the slices disappear almost immediately, but a couple are left over. Some hours later, after several Sols with lemon (I didn’t have any lime) and many hands of pokers later, I decide that the remaining slices of Veggie Sizzler make a perfect after hours snack. I eat this in near darkness; I may not have been tempted in the sobering light of day…

Half eaten Veggie Sizzler

Teri-Aki, Cambridge

D and his family come over, typically after they said they would, casting various aspersions to Cambridge’s rush hour traffic and after some discussion we go to Teri-Aki, but not before we considering Domino’s Pizza! Domino’s, rather unsurprisingly, do not deliver to where D lives in rural Lincolnshire and it is a 30 minute round trip collection trip to his nearest branch. He still needs to be persuaded that it’s easier for him to get a pizza than a Bento box in his neck of the woods.

This talk of ribs over the last day or so has inspired me to have Spare Ribs Udon, Spare Ribs noodle soup, together with a Soft Shelled Crab in Tempura Batter. The latter inspired by an excellent dish in a Korean restaurant in London which my sister frequents. It is just as good here with the moderate crunch of the light batter contrasting well with the slightly sweet crab meat and shell. My main comes in a huge bowl with the ribs sitting on top of vegetables and thick slippery, white noodles in soup and it’s only now I realise what a logistical challenge this will be to eat with only chopsticks and a spoon! Luckily the meat is easily stripped from the ribs for a fulfilling dinner and unlike D’s wife, K, I don’t have a toddler sitting on my lap while eating mine; K performing this multitasking balancing act is my evening’s entertainment.