Brad's Corner

Hello Fellow Questers, Here’s my report on our day at Pizza City Fest in Los Angeles.  It was a pizza lover’s celebration of the ever-growing and evolving pizza culture here in Southern California.  Pizza City Fest began as a celebration of pizza in Chicago only two years ago and, from what we saw here in LA, we’ll be seeing this event expand to cover many more cities across the country….Read More…

So, you know, when you’re in the market and see that jalapeños are on sale and you think to yourself, “I haven’t made Mom’s Soy Pickled Jalapeños in a while.”  Then you buy a couple pounds and make a batch.  Then you’re sitting on an abundance of these babies.  You know that feeling? No? Well I do. These peppers are great on so many things; they add a crispy pop…Read More…

I recently saw a post about pickling asparagus and, wow, that looked good!  After a couple of weeks the idea was still buzzing in my mind, so  I found a few recipes for a spicy pickled asparagus and made a couple of jars.  Both versions came out great, but this one (linked below) was my favorite using jalapeños rather than red pepper flakes to add the spice.  Plus, you end…Read More…

It was a beautiful day and I had some dough resting in my fridge.  What more could anyone want?  I could feel my wood fired oven calling out to me as I left the beach. I stopped by my market on the way home and the first thing that caught my eye were the pineapples.  They were perfectly ripe, not too soft, not too hard and I thought immediately of…Read More…

I think I stumbled onto something here. I was out market foraging one day recently and a little round of cheese caught my eye. It was a Cowgirl Creamery Triple Cream called Red Hawk. I was looking to make some pizza and I thought maybe I could play around with this, or worst case play around with it over some crackers! When I got home I tasted it. Yeah, it…Read More…

What day is it?  For that matter what time is it? I woke up the other night after a “nap” and heard my kids downstairs talking and laughing.  I walked downstairs and my son was sitting playing a video game talking to my daughter who was at the kitchen table painting – making some art.  It was about 3 AM!  I grabbed a glass of water and chatted with them…Read More…

There is nothing quite like a good Avocado Toast. Am I right?  These days, it’s all the rage and it seems like there is no end to what can be done to gourmet it up!  My favorite is with a runny egg and some red pepper flakes and, of course with a good sprinkling of flaky sea salt and pepper. At home I’ll add whatever I might have around:  chopped…Read More…

Queso Fundido! When life gives you lemons the old adage suggests you make lemonade.  I love good lemonade.  It’s sweet, but it has to be tart!  When it’s perfect it balances on the edge between the two taste sensations. Well, today I asked for some lamb merguez sausage at the market and was instead given some pork chorizo sausage. What to do? What to do?!! One thing was for sure,…Read More…

It’s been raining here in Los Angeles a bit lately.  Being hunkered down, I kept thinking about what I could make to eat.  Rain usually means make a stew!  I love stew in the rain.  It tastes better knowing it’s raining and cold outside and you are inside warming your body up as you enjoy a bowl of homemade stew. But, my inner yearning this time kept bringing me to…Read More…

This is a beautiful pizza!  I can’t take credit for the recipe…only my efforts to create one here at home in my Primavera wood fired oven.  And, as you can see, I think I did well! There is a local Italian restaurant here in LA called Eatalian Cafe.  The cafe is in an industrial district in Gardena and, when you go inside, it’s like a food processing warehouse that is…Read More…