I love my new apartment…really I do.  But sadly, as much as I have compared to the old apartment (windows, light, drawers…an apartment that doesn’t smell dank all the time), I would love to have a place to grill out.  Enter my wonderful friends Carmen and Aster!  I had been dying to try grilling pizzas and Carmen and Aster have a fabulous rooftop deck (I’ve brunched there before, remember?) – put two and two together and I was back in my old Shaw stomping grounds!  And this time, I had dough!

Let me just start off by showing you Carmen and Aster’s beautiful deck gardens:

Gorgeous, right?  Who wouldn’t want to eat among these beautiful plants?  They have mint, they have basil, they have parsley…and they share.  Need I say more?

On Saturday evening, I headed over to Shaw with Brian and another friend who was kind enough to drive us all.  Brian supplied his homemade Sangria (which was fan-freakin-tastic, mind you) and I brought along olive oil dough balls, fresh mozzarella from Blue Ridge Dairy, pepperoni from Red Apron Butchery, pesto and my homemade tomato sauce.  I hadn’t been back to Shaw since moving to Columbia Heights and sadly, I hadn’t seen Carmen and Aster since than either.  So I was giddy with joy to be back.

Carmen and Aster had a new gas grill but none of us had ever grilled pizza before.  I will admit, I was a little nervous about tossing dough onto a grill.  I was convinced the dough would ooze through the breaks in the grill rack and we’d all be eating hot dogs.  But alas, Carmen and I became quickly adept at the whole process.  It turned out to be a great idea for a dinner party as everyone got to participate in each step of the pizza making process!

I put one of the guests to work rolling out the pizza dough (even though I had only just met him that night…and yes, that would be called being bossy…and this should surprise no one) while Carmen and I set up the table on the rooftop deck and got the grill going.  Putting out the toppings first allowed the guests to make the pizzas while Carmen and I tended to the grill.  And even better, guests brought some toppings as well!

After the dough was rolled out, we tossed it straight onto the grill (okay tossed isn’t really the right word…Carmen and I lovingly placed it on the grill – we were scared out of our gourds it would melt).  We let it grill on one side until bubbles started forming on the top and the bottom became more solid.  We then flipped it over to grill for only a short little time (I’d say about 15-30 seconds…it wasn’t really an exact science…especially once the Sangria began to flow).

Once it was grilled for a short time on both sides, we quickly took it off and guests began dressing the less grilled side of the pizza.

Once the pizza was topped, Carmen and I placed it back on the grill to allow the toppings to meld together and the dough to finish cooking.

Carmen and I got a system going with grilling the pizzas and before you know it, we had well over 5 pizzas grilled and on the table.  Guests began eating as the pizzas were taken off the grill, so a new pizza was always available to them.

Seriously, this is a fantastic Summer dinner party idea.  As the guests were topping the pizzas (and very creatively might I add), it gave them a chance to talk and get to know each other.  I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful (and newly married) couple, Steve and Joe – and I found out we were neighbors!  And I also got to catch up with my friends Gene and Jim…who were also JUST married earlier that week!  To celebrate these two joyous occasions, Carmen got the fabulous idea of getting mini wedding cakes for the happy couples!  And tiaras…that lit up!!!!

It was a wonderful evening and a beautifully mild Summer night.  Usually by mid July in DC, the humidity’s so high my hair becomes a permanent Brillo pad.  But we’ve been fairly lucky so far and have had a mild Summer…and this night was no exception.  So we ate under a brilliant sky (hop over to Brian’s blog to see a picture of it…I was a bit distracted) and enjoyed a light breeze on the deck.  And I thought to myself…damnit, I need to get a freakin’ rooftop deck!

I have found recipes in unusual places, but this has to be one of the oddest ways I discovered such a slam dunk of a meal.  It all started when the Boy told me Robert Rodriguez, the director of such hits as Sin City, Desperado and Spy Kids, had segments on some of his DVD’s called “Ten Minute Cooking School”.  To say I was skeptical is an understatement considering I’m not that big of a Robert Rodriguez fan (the Boy is now weeping in the corner because he is quite the Rodriguez fan boy).  But I will admit I was curious about what the director of such (mostly) violent movies would know about cooking.  That and I am almost positive the Boy wants me to make the Puerco Pibil that was the subject of one of the Ten Minute Cooking Schools.

First off, I had never actually seen what Robert Rodriguez looked like…until his oh so delicious mug came across the television screen.  Then I saw his kitchen…his oh so delicious kitchen.  He has a Viking stove tricked out more than P. Diddy’s cars and enough counter space to conceivably play football on.  With the kitchen and the yumminess that is Robert Rodriguez distracting me,  it took a few minutes for me to pay attention to what he was saying.  But once I did, I found his presentation style to be both humorous and approachable.  I watched the Puerco Pibil video first and knew instantly I wanted to make it.  He described each step concisely but without sounding condescending (and without making a novice cook feel out of depth).  And did I mention I found him to be unbelievably hot?

I watched the second Ten Minute Cooking School (on the Sin City DVD) on Breakfast Tacos only because I wanted to see more of Robert Rodriguez’s ass…I mean presentation style.   I wasn’t planning on making the dish because it had eggs in it and I have a thing about eggs (I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before).  But here’s the rub:  he showed the audience how to make homemade flour tortillas…and it was easy.  I didn’t even watch the full video before I was out the door to the grocery store to get lard, chorizo and a blend of cheeses that lends itself to Mexican cuisine.  I had soft tacos on the brain (well that and Robert Rodriguez’s ass…which was fabulous in case you were wondering) and I wasn’t to be denied!  And let me tell you this:  I will NEVER buy tortillas from a store again.  EVER!  These tortillas reminded me of the ones my mother made when I was a child and I loved them.  The chorizo filling I threw together was the icing on a fucking awesome cake…did I mention Robert Rodriguez is hot?  No?  Well he is…in case you were wondering.

Chorizo Soft Tacos

For the tortillas

2 cups all purpose, unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter, lard or combination of both, at room temperature (I used all lard)

3/4 cup warm water (use hot water if you used all lard)

For the Chorizo filling

1 lb Mexican Chorizo, removed from its casing

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon smoked Paprika

1 to 3 teaspoon ground dried poblano pepper (called ancho) – amount depends on how spicy you like your dishes

1 pound baby pearl onions, diced

2 medium sized garlic cloves, finely diced

Cheese and sour cream to top (I used a blend of cheddar, monterey jack and colby cheeses)

Start out by making the tortillas:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder.  Cut the lard into the dry ingredients using your hands or a pastry cutter.  Once the ingredients resemble a coarse meal texture, add in the water, forming a dough.  Knead the dough (adding flour if it’s too wet or water if the dough is too dry) until it’s smooth and elastic.   Make 8 to 10 golf ball sized balls out of the dough and place them on a baking sheet.  Place a dampened kitchen towel over the dough balls and let them rest for 20 minutes.

While the dough is resting, make the Chorizo filling.  In a saute pan, add a slight coating of oil and saute the onions and garlic until both are softened.  Remove the mixture from the pan and add the Chorizo.  Ground and thoroughly cook the Chorizo and drain (do not drain all of the oil from the Chorizo, but do remove most of it).  In a smaller skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin, coriander, paprika and ancho until the aromas start to release from the spices.  Combine the Chorizo, onion mixture and spices together in the larger saute pan and cook for another two to four minutes, incorporating all of the flavors together.  Set the filling aside.

Take one of the balls of dough and form it into a flat disc.  Using a rolling pin, roll the discs out on a floured surface.  You want to form discs that are about 6 inches in diameter.  If you have used all lard for the dough, the discs will be easier to roll out.  Be careful not to roll the discs out too thin!  Repeat these steps with the remaining balls of dough.

Have a basket lined with a kitchen towel ready to place the warm tortillas as you make them.  Heat up a nonstick griddle over medium to medium high heat (I started at medium heat and gradually adding more heat as I made more tortillas).  Drop the first tortilla onto the griddle and flip it to the other side after 10 seconds.  Once flipped, the tortilla will start to bubble up.  To encourage this, press on the sides of the tortilla with a metal flipper (I’m sure there is a technical term for this utensil but right now it escapes me).  Leave the tortilla on that side for about a minute and then flip it over one more time.  Leave it there for about 30-45 more seconds and then place the tortilla in the prepared basket.  Cover the tortilla up with the towel and then move on to the next disc of dough.  Repeat these steps until all the tortillas are cooked.  Take care to cover up the tortillas each time a new one is added to the stack.

Take one tortilla and top it with a spoonful of the Chorizo filling.  Add as much cheese as you want and then top with a dollup of sour cream (this part is optional…I am not a huge sour cream fan, so I didn’t use it).  Fold up the tortilla forming a taco and chow down!

By the way, did I mention Robert Rodriguez was hot?

I have the attention span of a five year old…after they have devoured all of their Halloween candy. It’s sad really because there are times when said short attention span gets the better of me. Just recently, while driving, I got distracted by my Blackberry and missed a turn. And by distracted, I mean I was busy taking a picture of me driving in my mother’s Miata…so I could post it on Facebook (disclaimer: I was at a stop light, so it wasn’t like I was barreling down the streets of Georgia with one hand on the wheel and the other on my Blackberry trying to strike a pose).

My attention span only gets shorter when a nifty new gadget or piece of gear is in my general vicinity (and by general vicinity I mean within a ten mile radius because I can sniff out new techie things like a police dog sniffing out cocaine at an airport in Miami circa 1983). So it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that when I set out to make these mini key lime cheesecakes for our New Year’s Eve celebration, my new baby kept distracting me. Sure, this is the same camera model I had earlier in the year. But I just now got around to replacing the one that had to be sent back due to a defective flash. And this time I actually read the owner’s manual from cover to cover…and discovered you can control the camera from your LAPTOP!!! I don’t need no stinkin’ camera remote, I have my Macbook! Wait, where was I going with this post????

Oh yeah, I was explaining how I got distracted from my intent to make these lovely little cheesecakes. Well, I have obviously digressed…shocking, I know. Nonetheless, I was supposed to start making these cheesecakes around 8, but didn’t actually get started until almost 10. But the ease of the recipe meant no real damage would be done to my sleep time. In fact, Deb has come up with one of the easiest cheesecake recipes I have ever come across (and I’m a girl that knows her cheesecake recipes – so head over to Smitten Kitchen stat for this one)! Because I decided to make these at the last minute, I didn’t have time to buy the mini cheesecake pans Deb recommended, so I used these great little mini tart pans that also have a removable bottom. I also changed up the crust by using Pecan Sandies (I used roughly half a full bag of the cookies or if you have a kitchen scale, seven ounces) instead of graham crackers.

While making the cheesecakes, I uhmmm, yeah kind of got distracted and overwhipped the cream cheese (how could I not take a few minutes to watch two idiot newlyweds select a God awful house on House Hunters???). I panicked because the batter ended up being a bit runny and I poured (what I thought was) too much in the first two tart pans. But all was not lost as the filling firmed up quite nicely during baking and even more after being refrigerated overnight.

If you like key lime pie but are ambivalent about cheesecakes, this is the dessert for you. The key lime is tart enough to overrule what some consider the overly sweet taste of a regular cheesecake. And that runny batter? It resulted in a more pie like consistency instead of the usually dense and rich filling common of cheesecakes. The fact that these came out tasting good is a testament to Deb’s recipe because my attention span just wasn’t with me that night.

On a side note, I want to thank all of you who have stopped by my little blog over the last year. I’m still new at this blogging thing, but have been priviledged to meet some wonderful people through it and have made some amazing food because of it. A new love of photography was born and an old love affair with my kitchen was rekindled. When I look back at the first few posts of Adventures in Shaw, I laugh because I had no clue what I wanted to say on this blog. But somehow I found my footing and my voice and by some miracle, people listened. I was moved beyond words at the outpouring of sympathy when I lost my darling Diva and was amazed that people I never physically met cared enough to send words of encouragement. For that, I am humbled and inspired to (and yes, I am sadly using an Emeril phrase here…forgive me but it’s appropriate) kick it up a notch in the new year (this includes a whole new look debuting shortly)! So now I’m off to ring in 2009 with good food and even better company! I hope you’re lucky enough to do the same. Have a Happy New Year everyone!

As I mentioned previously, instead of dealing with crowded restaurants or bars or annoying drunk people at parties (not that I ever enjoy dealing with annoying drunk people), I am staying in on New Year’s Eve for a grown up pajama party. The Boy is in charge of movies and I am in charge of food, so I’ve been pouring over cookbooks and food blogs trying to find fun and creative but simple foods to nosh on. I am also working on a signature cocktail that we will both love to ring in 2009. So far I’ve come up with these ideas:

• A mini rift on these lovely Philly Steve’steak sandwiches over at Cooking with Anne. To make them more portable, I was considering making them sliders using homemade buns and Monterey Jack cheese.
• Since I love, love, love onion rings, I couldn’t pass up putting these drool worthy onion strings on the menu (note to self, make sure to have PLENTY of breath mints on hand for that midnight kiss)
• This lovely spinach artichoke dip with (wait for it) homemade Wheat Thins (thanks again Pete Bakes!)
• Mini key lime cheesecake tarts OR mini apple pie tarts

Considering it’s just the two of us, I think that is plenty to bring in the New Year! Believe it or not, most of these things can be done ahead of time (both the wheat thins and buns for the sliders for instance) and the Boy proved to be fairly adept in the kitchen this weekend (more on that later), so I’m set! Now I just need to come up with a kick ass cocktail…any suggestions?