LIFE WITH BENEFITS (AND RICOTTA-STUFFED EGGPLANT ROLLS)

When I landed my first job after college, my dad said, “How are the benefits?” I said, “They’re great. I’m living in New York City. I get to travel. I have a nice cube.”

Of course, my dad was referring to the benefits that didn’t much interest me. Unless I was in a car accident, health insurance was an afterthought. Unless I was in a tragic car accident, life insurance was a non-issue.

Life’s a lot different now...

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4 PM FIX: CHERRY TOMATO RISOTTO WITH ARUGULA AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA

Arborio and Carnaroli are special varieties of rice with a starchy outer layer. They are preferred for risotto because they absorb liquid while releasing some of their starch into it, giving the risotto a creamy texture. This recipe is easy and pretty, especially when made with cherry tomatoes in a variety of colors, a confetti of goodness. 

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GOLD FRIENDS & OTHERS (AND THE SPARERIBS THAT UNITE)

Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold. My childhood best friend, Laura, and I used to sing this song in the round, sitting on top of one of the huge, gray boulders on her property. 

This week I’ve been thinking about that verse and wondering, what about the bronze friend? Or the lead (toxic metallic) friend (aka Frenemy)? Where do they fit in the friendship category? Silver and gold friends are easy to define. Bronze ones not so much...

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4 PM FIX: THREE CHEESE WILD MUSHROOM PIZZA

Ciao'd while toasting the return of football season. Go Giants. And Broncos. 

RECIPE

THREE CHEESE WILD MUSHROOM PIZZA

I cannot take credit for this recipe in its entirety. My friends at epicurious.com offer a recipe for Truffled Tallegio and Mushroom Pizza on their site. It was created by Paul Grimes for Gourmet magazine (RIP. Sad face) in 2008. I have adapted the recipe a bit but not enough to take credit for as my own. Here are the few changes I made simply based on my preference:

Instead of 3/4 pound of the one cheese (Tallegio or Fontina) in Gourmet's recipe, I call for 1/4 pound of each of three cheeses: Tallegio, Fontina, and fresh Mozzarella. Gourmet's recipe calls for "sliced mushrooms" without indicating variety. The the mushrooms Gourmet photo look to me like the common variety rather than an assortment that includes wild mushrooms. I used a combination of wild mushrooms and cremini mushrooms on my pizza. Finally, Gourmet offers the option of drizzling the finished pizza with truffle oil. While this is a beyond delish finish, I suggested fresh thyme which is more in line with the 4 PM Fix concept of using pantry ingredients. 

Regardless of the pizza you choose to prepare, you can be assured that the recipes are super simple, quick, and #dolcevitadelish. Plus, pizza is always a good vehicle for promoting family time. My 17-year-old son helped me prepare mine. Go figure. 

Epicurious, Gourmet and Paul Grimes get first billing. Here's the link again to the original recipe.

And here's mine (it's in the photo above):

Serves 4

1 pound pizza dough
Olive oil, for brushing dough
½ pound sliced mushrooms, assorted varieties
¼ pound chilled Taleggio cheese, rind discarded and cheese sliced
¼ pound chilled Fontina cheese, rind discarded and cheese sliced
¼ pound fresh mozzarella, sliced and each piece patted dry
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Put a large heavy baking sheet on the lower rack of the oven, and then preheat it to 500ºF.

Stretch out the dough on a lightly floured surface (do not roll it) into a shape (rectangle or oval or completely organic) approximately 16 by 13 inches. Don’t stress it. Transfer to a parchment-lined tray or baking sheet. Poke the dough all over with a fork. Brush with a bit of olive oil.

Slide the dough along with the parchment onto the hot baking sheet. Bake until the top is puffed and both the top and bottom of the pizza is beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven and prick any large bubbles. Top the crust with the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the cheese on top.

Bake the pizza until the edge of the cheese has browned and the cheese is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes.  Scatter the thyme on the pizza. Serve immediately.  Recipe adapted from Gourmet|epicurious. 

ROBERT FROST, MY DAD, AND ME (AND THE BLUEBERRY FOOL, TOO)

My mother is a voracious reader. When I was young, our bookshelves were lined with Book-of-the-Month Club picks, Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, and selections from her Book Club.  The outlier was an anthology of Robert Frost’s poems. Inside the cover, which had faded from jade green to the hue of a succulent garden, my mother had written to my father, in fountain pen ink the color of blueberries,  "To Joe, for your love of Robert Frost and my love for you." It was dated 1961, the year before they married...

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