Z Pizzeria & Cafe

Last Sunday we decided to try Z Pizzeria & Cafe for brunch. We have been meaning to try it for quite some time and now that we have, we SO wish we would have sooner! It's a fantastic little place! Located in the center of a darling little neighborhood and run by the sweetest owners (Zach and Miranda), Z Pizzeria is ready for success! They have recently moved location and have a sweet little patio to enjoy lunch, brunch or dinner on this summer.

Our brunch:

Iced latte, mocha, hot coffee and hot cocoa
Banana Brulee Oatmeal with fresh fruit and cream
Scones with house made honey butter

Everything was tasty and we had a chance to chat with the owners out on the patio. We enjoyed our meal so much that my husband ordered a lunch later in the week for a work event (also amazing!). I highly suggest you give this local cafe a chance and let me know what you think!














Z Pizzeria & Cafe
1588 E Stratford Avenue
SLC Utah 84106

(801) 484-9792

Cast Iron Cooking

There really is nothing quite like cooking with cast iron. I have recently really started to educate myself on the benefits of cast iron and even begun my own little beginning of what I hope will be a large collection someday. My father always cooks with cast iron and has an awesome collection! He started with dutch ovens and branched out from there while I was busy collecting All Clad and Le Creuset. While I love those pans, you can't beat a good Lodge. They cook evenly and get HOT! I made the following two recipes for dinner and decided it just wouldn't be fair to keep them to myself. They beg to be shared.

Soy~Honey Chicken (baked)

6-8 chicken pieces (skinned and washed)
3T olive oil
1/4C honey
1/4C soy sauce
salt and pepper

Heat your oven and a 10" cast iron skillet to 400 degrees. Remove skin from chicken, wash and pat dry. Once the skillet is hot, arrange chicken to fit inside, drizzle with olive oil, honey and soy sauce then sprinkle with salt and pepper and return to oven to bake for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, flip each piece over and continue to bake 15 minutes. The sauce will be dark and sticky.





Spinach and Mushroom Saute' with Parmesan

1 pound fresh spinach
1 pound baby bella mushrooms
1 clove garlic
3T butter
1/4C parmesan (I used fresh shaved)

Stove top: heat skillet and melt butter till bubbly and nearing brown. Add minced garlic and toss 30 seconds. Wipe and slice mushrooms and add to the hot skillet. Saute' 5 minutes (the mushrooms will darken and start to caramelize). Trim spinach and toss whole leaves into the skillet. Allow the leaves to wilt (approx. 4 minutes). Turn heat off and sprinkle with parmesan allowing it to rest about 2 minutes.









I plated the chicken first and spooned the pan sauce all over the top then topped the chicken with the spinach and mushrooms.

April Mac Attack

Mactweets #6
This months challenge was to create a macaron based on an April holiday. Hard to nail down just one and it being springtime, I just went with "springish" macs. I recently posted my berry curd and wanted to use it as my filling. I was fortunate to spend a Saturday baking, eating, talking and spending wonderful time with Becky of VintageMixer and she had never made macarons so you will see photos of 2 macs here... 1) basic shell with triple berry curd filling (design work done by Becky) and 2) basic shell (dyed blue.. turned green) with chocolate fudge filling rolled in lemon zest. Becky and I tackled these together and had such a fun time doing it! I think she did a pretty amazing job for her first macaron attempt. She is also the photographer for this post. We used the 2 egg white recipe that BarbaraBakes and I came up with last month. Have I mentioned how blessed I am to have such wonderful baking partners and foodie friends here in Salt Lake with me? It's fun to bake with a friend and then share our stories with all of my food blogging friends here!

Triple Berry Curd

I love curds! Typically lemon curd is the most common (for good reason... it's amazing). Meyer lemon curd is especially wonderful! Check the end of this post for some of my favorite curd recipes from some of my favorite bloggers. Spring seems like such an excellent time to make curd. It's fresh and fruity, it freezes well and is a perfect cupcake or cake filling, topping for pancakes, waffles, crepes and toast as well as muffins, scones and a host of other breakfast breads. A few weeks ago, a blogger friend made strawberry curd and that inspired me to make this triple berry curd. It is absolutely heavenly. I have filled chocolate cupcakes and paired it with a cream cheese spread on fresh bagels so far and it is equally amazing licked straight off the spoon!

Triple Berry Curd

4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup pureed strawberries
1/2 cup pureed blueberries
1/2 cup pureed blackberries
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 Tablespoons butter (cut into pieces)

Whisk egg yolks and whole egg together in a heavy bottomed pan and heat thoroughly (careful not to boil). Whisk in sugar and stir until thickened. Stir in berry purees and vanilla. Continue to whisk until mixture is very thick and remove from heat. Stir in butter, one piece at a time, until combined and pour into your choice of jar or container. This recipe makes 18-20 ounces. Cool counter top and then refrigerate up to one month or freeze up to 5 months.

Favorite curds:

Meyer Lemon Curd by TheTableRunner
Strawberry Curd by MeleCotte
Lemon Curd by SLCFoodie

Saffron and Lemon Artichokes

2 large artichokes
1 lemon~juiced
6 saffron threads
1/4C warm water
3T olive oil
1 clove garlic~minced
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil the artichokes for 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, soak saffron threads in warm water while the artichokes boil. Combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper, stir in the olive oil. Drain artichokes and place on a baking sheet (stem side down, leaf side up). Add saffron water to the lemon mixture and drizzle down the leafy part of the artichoke so all of it soaks down into the leaves and is held there to bake. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and peel the leaves. Arrange on a platter with the hearts in the center and serve with melted butter and mayo infused with saffron to dip. Season all over with salt and pepper. This recipe is easily doubled... or tripled (consider this... they go fast and are so delicious).