Pierre's Gourmet Pizza

pierre's mobile kitchen at 3rd & izard

a nice customer eating a sample

pierre’s gourmet pizza express. there’s a new lunch truck in town and it’s dishing up gourmet pizza, salads and hot sammies. some savvy readers may recognize pierre’s from a now defunct NLR location. the same fabu recipes are being served-up here. the shrimp alfredo pizza ($10.50, 12") is not something i would order, but, pierre fired one up and i scarfed it down. fast. perfectly cooked skrimp made the pizza pure yum. the simple hot turkey sub ($5.95) is damn good too. call in your order, the pizzas & calzones are made from scratch and to order ~ so, good things take time. delivery available for large orders. catering available too. try the new food truck in town, you’ll love it!

Pierre’s Gourmet Pizza Express
3rd & Izard

501-410-0377

pasta with spicy skrimp & tomato sauce

super quick. super delish. adapted from cook’s country - a mag that is put out by america’s test kitchen. this recipe comes together super fast & you don’t need the skrimp. it’s super good without them. no need for parm cheese either. what? yeah, no need, cheese heads. here’s how;

you'll need:

1½ pounds extra large shrimp, peeled & deveined
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons, finely chopped jarred cherry peppers
2 tablespoons cherry pepper brine
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed thru a garlic press
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cans diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces each
1 pound pasta - recipe called for penne, i used spaghetti
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped

you'll do:

1. bring water to boil in a large pot.
2. combine shrimp, 2T oil, chopped cherry peppers, cherry pepper brine, ½ t salt & ¼ t pepper in a bowl that is large enough to marinate skrimps in, and set aside.
3. heat 2T olive oil, red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 1 minute, add garlic for 30 seconds then add tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened which will take about 8 minutes.
4. add skrimp mixture and simmer covered and stirring occasionally, until skrimp are just cooked through which will take only 3 minutes. do not over cook the skimps!
5. As the sauce simmers, add 3T salt and pasta to boiling water and cool for the least amount of time recommended on pasta package. reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water. remove pasta and add directly to sauce. turn sauce up to high and let the pasta simmer with the sauce so the pasta will absorb some sauce. add reserved pasta water if needed. season with salt & pepper. serve.

note: when packing away leftovers, add some pasta water. leftovers will be yummy!

bánh mì - update

wrapped sammy

side view of bánh mì

like a vietnamese subway!

before the tv show: the great food truck race on food network, bánh mì was a foreign phrase. oh? it's a foreign phrase for you? let me explain. a bánh mì is a vietnamese sub sandwich with a sweet and salty taste. sweet from the pickled daikon & pickled carrots and salty from the fish sauce. there are several meat choices and a good crunch from green bell peppers & cucumbers. super fresh from the cilantro and super cheap at $2.75 for an 8". find one anywhere there is a vietnamese population. i picked mine up at a far out new orleans vietnamese bakery.
 

Dong Phuong

14207 Chef Menteur Hwy

New Orleans, LA‎

(504) 254-0296‎)

update note: read the ny times piece on bánh mì here.

new england clam chowder

new england clam chowder w bacon!

clams to be stuffed (L). 7 lbs of clams = 1 cup of clam meat! (R)

new england clam chowder. never ordered it. never made it. &, 2 days ago, i would have said the cash & effort was not worth the outcome. but, today, i stand corrected. this soup is super delicious. a land locked state and somewhat labor intensive, this soup is for those special occasions. call up ulysses s. grant and hit the store. bacon-y, creamy & chocked full of tender clams…YUM! save 10 clams back and make anne burrel’s stuffed clams for an appetizer -> seriously, yummy. scrub the clams with a stiff brush. do not over cook the clams. clams are to be tender – not the rubberbands of your youth. after steaming the clams; pour the broth slowly or ladle it out of pot into a different vessel,  leaving some of the broth back ---it’s full of true grit, toss it. from the 7 pounds of hardshell clams the yield was 1 cup clam meat (not a typo). you ain’t livin’ ‘til you’ve made this. now, go to the atm. here’s how:

you'll need:

7 lbs. medium size hard shell clams, such as cherrystones, washed and scrubbed

3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into  ¼ inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped into medium dice

2 T unbleached all purpose flour

1½ lbs. red potatoes, cut into ½ inch chunks

1 bay leaf

1 t fresh thyme leaves or ¼t dried thyme

1 C heavy cream

2 T fresh parsley, minced

salt & pepper

you'll do:

1. Bring 3 C water to boil in a large dutch oven. add the clams and cover with a tight-fitting lid. cook for 5 minutes, uncover and stir with a wooden spoon. quickly cover the pot and steam until the clams just open, 2-4 minutes. (do not let the clams open completely.) transfer the clams to a large bowl and cool slightly; reserve the broth. open the clams with a paring knife, holding the clams over a bowl to catch any juices. with the knife, sever the muscle that attaches the clam to the bottom shell and transfer the meat to a cutting board and discard the shells. note: i did not chop the clams, i used them whole and loved it. mince the clams if you want. pour the clam broth into a large bowl, holding back the last few tablespoons of broth in case of sediment, set the clam broth aside. you will have about 5 C, if not, add bottled clam juice and chicken stock to make up the 5 C.
2. fry the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium-low heat until the fat renders the bacon crisps, 5-7 minutes. add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. add the flour and stir until lightly colored (like alisha keys), about 1 minute. add the potatoes, bay leaf and thyme and simmer until the potatoes are tender about 10 minutes. (it took my potatoes 20+ minutes.) add the clams, cream parsley, salt & pepper to taste, bring to a simmer. remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf and serve. YUM!

note: america's test kitchen recipe

Lost on a Hanger or Folded & Burned?

veg samosas $2.99

tomato soup $3.49



Baingan Bharta $8.99

 OK, LRB visited Amruth thanks to Groupon. the floor manager is a super nice dude and we wish him the very best. but---the waitress had the sniffles. loud sniffles. and, as she brought the food out, with both hands holding trays, was, uh, unable to cover her mouth as she COUGHED ALL OVER THE FOOD. LRB is a germophobe, but, it's a fact that most of us don't see what really happens to our food before it hits the table. while ordering, the question came up of: how spicy? and the replay was: spicy. oh, wow. LRB loves palate numbing spicy food. but, this here, my friends, was SPICY. so, if you go, say: medium. the veg samosa was a bit cinnamony. the tomato soup was fire engine red with a pool of grease floating on top. the main dish of Baingan Bharta (oven roasted eggplant mashed and cooked in spices, onions, bell peppers) was too spicy (my bad) and overly greasy (their bad). let's move on to the pervading smell. at home, the outfit i was wearing was immediately removed & FEBREEZED only to wake up to it stinking up my room. the coat was hung outside and the outfit is to be folded and burned.

snow day YUM!

spicy italian chicken sausage & tomato sauce with rigatoni. amazing the deliciousness you can throw together when there's nothing in the kitchen to cook. this is so quick & easy it doesn’t even deserve a recipe. 5 ingredients plus some herbs. YUM. ok, here’s how:

olive oil
sausage, leave whole, yo
garlic
28 oz can o tomatoes
herbs like: bay leaf, oregano, salt, hot pepper flakes and fresh parsley
pasta, in this case rigatoni
parmesan cheese, grated

get your pasta water boiling in large pot. heat olive oil in a large pan and brown sausage on 2 sides. add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, stir, then add can o tomatoes. bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. add herbs, salt, hot pepper flakes. grate parm cheese. chop parsley. add pasta to sauce, turn up the heat and allow the pasta to absorb the sauce a bit. plate and top with parsley and grated parm. YUM. YUM!

pea parsley pesto pasta

delish!

pea parsley pesto pasta. i love it when i get a culinary vision. super easy. vegan and delish! this is tomorrow’s lunch. 5 ingredients. here’s your shopping list:
 

parsley, 1 bunch
frozen peas

garlic, 1 clove
olive oil
bow tie pasta, 1 lb

bring cold water to a boil in large pot. salt water heavily, like a big hand full. when water comes to a rolling boil, add pasta. meanwhile: add parsley and garlic clove to a food processor and whiz. after pasta cooks for 7-8 mins, add a handful of frozen peas to pasta and cook together for the last 3 mins of pasta cooking time. transfer pasta & peas from boiling water with a spider strainer and place into a colander in the sink. keep the pasta water in the large pot and after you remove the pasta & that handful of peas, add the rest of the bag of frozen peas to boiling water and simmering for 3 minutes. rinse pasta and peas in colander with cold water. put pasta & peas into a large bowl. drain peas that were simmering in pasta water and add to food processor. whiz. slowly drizzle in olive oil into feed chute until 'pesto' is smooth & creamy. add pea pesto to the bowl of pasta and peas. stir well. eat.

note: yes, i know this isn't a true pesto.