This week's meal plan from my 6-year-old

So this week I enlisted the help of my 6-year-old for this week's meal plan. I was half expecting it to look something like this:

Monday: Lemongrass Coconut Chicken Soup - he suggested "soup" on Monday. I suggested we make Ming Tsai's Lemongrass Coconut Chicken Soup from Simply Ming One-Pot Meals. One look at the photograph and the mention of coconut milk and he was sold.

Tuesday: Roast Chicken with Mac & Cheese and Green Beans - He drew a picture of a storm cloud and snow flakes. I asked him what we should make on a snowy day. He offered mac and cheese. I added a roast chicken (I'm anticipating we will have loads of time indoors for lots of cooking due to the impending blizzard) and green beans. He said okay, but would NOT be eating any chicken. Fine. 

Wednesday: Chili (or Beef Stew) - He suggested Turkey Chili, which we JUST had last night. I offered we make another "type" of chili (I was inspired to make Cooks Illustrated's Guinness Beef Stew by The Fortuitous Housewife). "Can I have it with chips?" Sure, kid.  

Thursday: Pizza - He reminded me we hadn't made pizza in a while. So I agreed we could make some this week. We'll do the usual plain cheese plus Hawaiian Ham & Pineapple. I'll be so sick of shoveling snow, perhaps this will magically teleport me to Hawaii? 

Friday: Scallion Pancakes - It's International Night at my kids' school, so we'll be feasting on a variety of cuisines from around the world. I plan on making and bringing these super easy and ridiculously addictive scallion pancakes by Joanne Chang. 

Have a great week!

New York is known for their pizza. Chicago is famous for their deep-dish style. And Phoenix? Best pizza in the entire U.S. of A? According to Bon Appetit, The New York Times, Gourmet, Mario Batali and Oprah just to name a humble few, the answer is yes. So I had to find out for myself on a recent trip to Phoenix.

Chris Bianco, owner of Pizzeria Bianco has been serving up his critically-acclaimed pie since 1996. Located in Heritage Square, Pizzeria Bianco is nestled next to family-friendly spots such as the Arizona Science Center, Arizona Doll and Toy Museum and the Phoenix Family Museum. With only a handful of tables, I've read that wait-times can be ridiculous (like four hours!). Thankfully we arrived right after the lunch rush so did not have to wait to be seated.

The exposed brick and dark wood give the restaurant a cozy, casual but sophisticated vibe (read: not your hole-in-the-wall-mom-and-pop joint). I sat facing the brick oven tucked in the corner, watching staff stretch, toss and shuffle pizzas in and out of the oven. The smells were heavenly.


Our server was very friendly and promptly brought us drinks and answered all of our questions. Pizzeria Bianco's menu is small - which I welcomed as I'm terrible at making up my mind when it comes to eating out. The menu consisted of two small plates (apps), three salads, six pizzas and a handful of extras. We ended up ordering local organic greens with red wine vinaigrette, the Margherita (tomato sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil) and Wiseguy (wood roasted onion, house smoked mozzarella and fennel sausage).


The salad was perfectly dressed and the greens were crisp and fresh. It was a pretty simple salad... maybe too simple if it were not for the yummiest olives I have ever eaten.


The Wiseguy is a white pizza. I'm usually not a fan of white pizzas, but this pie has made me a convert. Everything was cooked to perfection and there was not one topping that overpowered another.

My only complaint: it can be pricey. It only comes in one size - personal sized which is about six small slices. The price: $12-$16 for one pizza. My sister ordered anchovies on the side ($5). We got charged an extra dollar for having it on the side instead of a topping (a fair price in my book to keep those things off my plate). I guess with pizza aficionados coming from all corners of the country and proclaiming it to be the best pizza, you can charge whatever you like.

I do not claim to be one of those pizza aficionados, so really not in position to categorically proclaim it to be the best pizza in the country. I will say it was definitely the best pizza I've had so far. Or as my son put it, it was "too good."

 

Boy and cheese pie (Santarpios, E. Boston)

Proud moment: baby boy eating pizza like a big man (folded in half) at favorite old-school pizza joint.

Nice to finally meet the person behind the twitter handle

Nice to meet a down-to-earth CEO that is passionate about his business

I'm sure you could make a personality test out of the toppings you choose.

What does this say about me?

CEO Brad Sterle serving up the masterpieces

Tucked away on an industrial road along the Charles river in Watertown is "The food lover's food store" a.k.a. Russo's. Because there are a lot of food lovers in the greater Boston area, navigating the place can be challenging. Tiny aisles, tons of people, not to mention a crazy assortment of produce that makes you stop and admire (it's hard not to touch the buddah's hand).

There are tons of resources on why Russo's is so great (be sure to check out @foodiemommy's blog post: Why I would clone Russo's). I wanted to take a different spin, and since we shop at Russo's multiple times a week, I thought I'd share my top 10 tips and traps to avoid.

1. When to go: Or I should start with when not to go - the weekends, the day or two before a major holiday and lunchtime. It can be an absolute zoo with lines winding to the back of the building. If you need to go on a weekend, get there when it first opens. During the week, we like to go before lunch as everything is still fresh and fully stocked. Late afternoons are good because this tends to be a bit more quiet. 

2. Parking: If you're coming from Watertown Sq., park in the lot to the left of the building. You may have to dodge some of the delivery trucks coming and going, but this lot has a better flow than the original lot. You also avoid the traffic light by parking in this lot.

3. Cart v. Basket: If you're only going for a few items, definitely grab a basket. You will thank me when you can deftly maneuver around the traffic jam of shopping carts.

4. Flowers & Plants: There's a good chance you will want to add a bouquet of flowers or potted plants to your shopping list after you see what is available (and at reasonable prices). My advice is to purchase your food first then buy plants/flowers. There is a register for plant sales just outside the entrance.

5. Pantry items: Russo's has a great variety of pantry items from dried pasta, to fish sauce, honey, chocolate, marinades - you name it. But because these items are stocked below the produce, it's pretty tough to find a specific item since there are no aisle markers. Not to mention poking around down there holds up cart traffic. My advice is to make note of some of the items for another trip or explore during slower periods.

6. Breads: Russo's bakes most of their bread on premises. For fresh out of the oven goodness, you will want to get there when it opens. By mid-late afternoon, most of it is gone. They will even slice a loaf of bread for you (Farmhouse is our favorite).

7. Deli counter: Russo's deli counter is small but offers top quality artisan meats. It can be chaotic, and this corner of the store can get jammed pretty quickly. Be sure to check out the menu of freshly prepared sandwiches (and order by the cheese counters).

8. Rosticceria: Russo's has a small but delicious assortment of prepared foods . This area can get especially packed around dinner time. Not always available and even hard to find is their fresh baked pizza for only $1.25 for mongo, deep-dish style slices. We've had luck getting a slice or two just before lunchtime.

9. Treats: Russo's offers tons of baked goods - from cookies, to pies, to cakes and pastries. You almost can't go wrong with any of it. But if you are there in the AM, check out their scones and muffins by the salad bar (ha!). Outstanding.

10. Checking out: There are limited registers, so the line to check out can get pretty long. Because the registers are in tandem, the registers closest to the front of the building often get overlooked. There is a line for 6 items or less - so take advantage of that if you qualify. But don't be surprised if that line is packed with folks buying a pie or flowers on a holiday.

Oh yes, one last word of advice. Small carts and small aisles can get nuts with more than one kid.

Happy shopping!
Russo and Sons
560 Pleasant Street
Watertown, MA
617-923-1500