Claro’s Italian Market is the closest I can get to Bay Cities from Claremont. The sandwich above is Kobe Beef, sharp cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickles, italian dressing, mayo and mustard. The market is in Upland and is actually a surprising little Italian oasis among strip malls and strip clubs. They have a great imported prosciutto and their market serves up a lot of authentic, imported Italian goods. Just don’t go there asking for pesto on your sandwich (sorry Monica) because you might get a dirty look. Just get the sandwich with everything and you should be happy. There are a few locations but here is the one I go to:
Upland Store
1655 North Mountain Ave.
Upland, CA, 91786
A Very Mozza Christmas Eve Dinner
I recently received the Mozza Cookbook and was dying to cook from it. Lucky for me, we were having our best family friends over for Christmas Eve and I knew this was going to be my big opportunity. I scoured the cookbook for a good week, coming up with the best (and healthiest) recipes. The recipes were hard and required about two shopping carts of ingredients but I was up for the challenge. I know I sound like some weird cooking super hero freak right now, but I like to build up the excitement because this was legitimately the best meal I have ever cooked. Unfortunately, you aren’t getting any recipes out of me because then you wouldn’t have to buy the Mozza Cookbook, which I want you all to do. The recipes are also too long and I am too lazy to type them up. Basically, drool over my cooking then buy the cookbook!
The final menu was as follows:
Hors D’oeuvres
Olives al Forno
Prosciutto-wrapped Breadsticks with Truffle Butter
Simple Arugula Salad - oops didn’t take a picture but it was green and leafy
Pizza
Margherita with Mozza Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella and Basil - oops didn’t take a picture of the final product but here is one of me making it. Extreme precision, as you can tell.
Meat Lovers - Sweet Italian Sausage, Prosciutto and Bacon
Tomato Jam, Burrata and Prosciutto - Ok, here is a recipe. Martha Stewart’s Tomato Jam. This was one of the biggest hits of the dinner. It tasted great on pizza and even better on crackers the next day. Definitely make this to keep around the house. This obviously wasn’t in the Mozza Cookbook but I had it at a friends house over summer and was looking for any excuse to try and make it for myself.
Sides
Shell Beans with Cherry Tomatoes and Oregano
Sautéed Cavolo Nero
Roasted Carrots Siciliana with Currant Relish (aka my prettiest, yummiest dish)
Pancetta Wrapped Radicchio with Aged Balsamico Condimento
Dessert
Rosemary Olive Oil Cakes (aka holy shit you have to make these)
That’s all! Don’t you have a strange desire to be best friends with me now and have me cook you extravagant meals? Anyways, everyone should get the Mozza Cookbook, it has great recipes that are easy to follow but hard enough that you feel really proud of yourself afterwards.
