New Haven Pizza: Frank Pepe's Pizza

While stuck in the airport yesterday, I was trying to entertain distract myself from being impatient with my phone.  I found some fun pictures I completely forgot about.  Although I haven't really been able to enjoy it, Connecticut has experience an Indian summer the last few days.  It was 60 degrees last night at 7pm.  Makes it hard to believe we had snow just over a week and a half ago.

The infamous day started with Mr. J and I doing errands at Target.  This is something I look forward to...Mr. J not so much.  My attempt to make the day a bit more bearable led us to Frank Pepe.  Frank Pepe's is one of the two New Haven pizzerias that claim to make the best pizza.  This is one of the places that has walls lined with old school pictures of family member outside of the store as well as many famous autographs of all those who have come in to sample the goodness. 

For a small town, New Haven also claims to be the birth place of pizza and hamburgers.  Go figure!
You can order the famed clam casino pizza...white pizza with clams and bacon or you can make your own.

Frank Pepe's has pizza....just pizza, wine and soda.  It is some good pizza though.  We luckily slide in to one of the last two open tables for an early lunch.  The time we left there was a line of about 20 people waiting to get in...this is with the snowy situation.  The topping come big and flavorful.  If you get garlic you literally get huge garlic cloves.  And the large...well it is enough to fee 6 people.  We got a large and had leftovers for about 3 more meals.  That is with Mr. J's gigantic appetite.  We did watch in amazement as the table of 3 across the way scarf down the whole thing. 

Watching the snow out of the window I think the pizza might have made MY day a bit more bearable not just Mr. J's.

Nutella Filled Pumpkin Muffins

I like to look at foodie magazines when I am at the gym.  I have a great ability to read and run at the same time. Looking at food pictures and recipes gives me great motivation to keep on going.  Don't ask, it just works for me.  Recently I was eying the holiday baking issue of Better Homes and Garden.  They had this scrumptious looking recipe for Chocolate Filled Sweet Potato Cupcakes. I wanted them, needed them, had to have them.  Immediately.

When I got home I realized I had no sweet potatoes and no chocolate kisses.  Bad luck was on my side.  As I said before, I wanted them, needed them, had to have them.  Immediately.  No time for a grocery store run.  I improvised and out came Nutella Filled Pumpkin Muffins.  You can call them cupcakes if you add some Nutella Frosting.  For me they are muffins in the morning and cupcakes in the evening.  Nuff said.

Nutella Filled Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup Nutella (I probably used more than this.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine margarine and sugar in mixer with flat beater attachment at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and beat again to combine.

Add milk, vanilla extract and pumpkin.  Beat again, scraping down the sides of the bowl to get everything fully incorporated.

Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon batter into muffin tins. Carefully use two spoons to put in the Nutella.  One spoon shifts the batter while the other plops in the Nutella.  Gently fold batter over Nutella.  Bake cupcakes for 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. 

Cupcakes will stay fresh for 3-4 days when stored in the refrigerator. Makes 24 cupcakes. 

Frosting optional: I used extra Nutella.

This is just to prove that I didn't lick every last bit off of the spoons.   I did lick my fingers. Don't worry, my germs won't spread outside the family.   Mr. J liked them so much he said I had to promise not to give any away until he gave the OK.  I think he was still mad about me taking the oversize Snicker doodles into the office for coworkers. I am not sure he realizes at this point there are still 12 muffins left and I am going to be gone.

Plop them into the microwave for a quick 10 second pick-me-up and you are good to go.  Finger licking good I tell you.

I don't miss the Hershey kisses one bit.  I think the Nutella fits in just fine.

Moules and Frites

The winner of the charity giveaway was Share Our Strength.  Jen @ The Three Little Piglets got the winning comment.  Did you know that every $1 they collect can help feed ten meals? 

Monday flew by...I am kind of hoping that the rest of the week goes by just as fast. I have a ton to do but I am just hoping it will all be over with as soon as possible.  I am also hoping as I fly down south and then across the country everything will go as smoothly as planned. 

While I was in France my friends and I became obsessed with moules frites.  This mussels dish is so easy to whip up and seems like a gourmet meal.  Mr. J and I used to have this all of the time but it has fallen off my radar recently.  This weekend they were on sale at the grocery store and I happily grabbed the 2lb bag.

Add a bag of frozen french fries and you really do have a fast easy meal.  I actually only had sweet potato puffs but they worked just as well.

Moules


Ingredients:
1 2lb bag of cleaned mussels
1 15 oz can of chicken broth, low sodium
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp dried/fresh parsley
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes, optional

Direction:
1. Saute onions till translucent in the bottom of a dutch oven.  Add garlic and cook about 2 more minutes.  Stir as to not burn the garlic.

2. Add mussels, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes and chicken broth.  Cover with lid and let simmer on medium heat for 7 minutes or until mussels open.

3.  Remove from heat and top with parsley and more Parmesan cheese if desired.