Monthly Archives: June 2011

Fennel, Sausage, and Goat Cheese Pizza

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Long time readers know that if there is one go to dinner that I love its homemade pizza. There is almost nothing easier than coming home and slapping some ingredients on dough. Plus it’s also my favorite go to meal after long runs. I pretty much have it down to a science. I love to experiment with different flavor combinations. Seriously, I think there needs to be a running pizza post on LCC, I make it that frequently.

Heather made a reader request last month for healthy pizza. I really love sweet potato kale pizza from the skinny bitch cook book. That recipe is vegan and totally delicious. Here is another healthy recipe. Ok, maybe it’s not as healthy as SB’s recipe but I think it turned out pretty well and let’s face it, it’s healthier than baked potato pizza (which is TOTALLY delicious).

For this pie, I prepped the dough as I usually do…

Then I spread a thin layer of goat cheese on the dough.

I also laid down a layer of chopped fennel. I love the flavor of fennel (like black licorice!). Does that make me weird? I feel like that flavor doesn’t get a lot of love.

Then I added the rest of the toppings I love. Right now I am really into Trader Joe’s applewood sausages. I rarely actually cook meat for myself due to extreme levels of laziness but I’ve been adding this sausage to random dinners. I also added a general sprinkling of spinach which, again, I’ve been adding to everything recently! There are so many ways to include spinach in meals.

Doesn’t that make you just want to eat a ton of spinach? Just me? Just me? Ah well.

Baked at 450, 14 mins later…

I wasn’t totally sure how this pizza would turn out. I used a WEIRD combo of flavor combinations. I mean sausage, fennel, and goat cheese? Perhaps surprisingly, this was pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

OK, time to spill! What is your favorite, but totally weird, flavor combination? Besides fennel, sausage and goat cheese I enjoy pretzels dipped in veganaise. Yes. I am going on record and admitting that. Embarrassing, I know.

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For the love of bacon

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It’s no secret; I’ve gone a bit overboard on bacon recently.

It all started with bacon at the Griddle.

Then there was bacon from Local.

Fake bacon from Real Food Daily.

And finally, post half marathon bacon.

I declared all of these to be the “best bacon ever” within the time frame of a month. I know; I have pretty much turned into a bacon whore. But things went to a whole new level on Thursday.

What happened on Thursday? Well, my new coworkers and I went to happy hour and then a few of us went to Art Walk in Downtown LA. We totally blew off the art in favor of food trucks and based on the line up that they had, can you really blame us? There were two lots full of trucks including India Jones, the Lobsta Truck, the Grilled Cheese Truck, Fry Smith, the Buttermilk Truck and Ludo Truck. Oh yes, it was like a lineup of my all time favorites.

I immediately made a beeline for this.

Better than I remembered.

My coworkers tried Buttermilk, India Jones, Fry Smith, and Ludo. Then we decided to was time to try CoolHaus. I’ve never been to CoolHaus before so I definitely wanted to check it out.

And then this happened.

Browned butter and candied bacon ice cream. The ice cream was like a supped up version of your traditional vanilla. The bacon added a little something extra but it wasn’t a literal bacon taste. I love browned butter and I think that it deepens the flavor of pretty much everything. I would get this again but there are so many other great flavors at Cool Haus but next time I think I would try like fig and balsamic.

As for the winner of best bacon? Not going to lie, RFD’s fake bacon is pretty killer. In the real bacon division I have to give it to the Coronado. The bacon was thick and tasted so good after 13.1.

Thank You, Lola

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Oh Bloggies, this week has been a week. Between recovering from last weekend’s half marathon, LCC Dad being in town until Tuesday, having a million errands to run, getting sick on Wednesday, and adjusting to my busy regular work schedule. Blogging got left behind last week. I’m still trying to get into the groove of working and blogging. I feel like I fell off the edge of the earth a bit this week. Thank goodness for weekend recovery and thank goodness for chunky Lola.

Chunky Lola cookies are another majestic creation from the Flour Cookbook. I actually make them pretty frequently but somehow they have managed to escape the grasps of the blog. It’s always a good idea to keep cookie dough in the fridge, right?

Right.

And there is nothing better than butter, sugar, and brown sugar mixes together for 10 mins.

Seriously. The Flour cookbook has opened my eyes to the fact that butter and sugar should always be mixed together for a minimum of 10 mins.

Cookie recipes really don’t deviate too much. Lola’s, however, are amazing because they have coconut, chocolate chips, and toasted pecans.

The other reason I love all Flour Cookbook cookie recipes is that they all call for the dough to be refrigerated. I’m not totally sure why but I’ve found that cookies are always better when the dough has been chilled. Weird, I know but it always makes it better.

And the final product?

Exactly what I needed to make it though a busy week.

For real, if it weren’t for these babies I don’t think I would have made it past Tuesday. On a happier note, I’m starting to feel less sick. I only have a cold but I’m such a baby when I have a cold. Half marathons? No problem! Light head cold? I crawl into the fetal position. Don’t worry I have plenty of awesome posts coming in the next week. You want a preview? Let’s just say that there will be bacon ice cream, marathon training plans, half marathon training wrap up, and a new pizza recipe!

What helps you get through crazy weeks? Obviously I rely on cookies, wine, friends, and bad reality TV.

Traveling to San Diego & the Coronado

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Saturday LCCDad and I headed down to San Diego for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon (where I set a 9 min PR, running 2:02. Read the race recap!) We packed up early…

And hit the road. But not without stopping at Clementine for breakfast, obviously.

I started the carb loading early with a bagel and lox. This is probably one of my favorite breakfast items, after pancakes. And bacon. And breakfast potatoes.

I also had a latte, which I promptly spilled all over my white blouse. I have issues. We know this.

Because of the spilling incident we had to go back home but pretty soon we finally hit the 405 South.

You might remember that one of my goals for 2011 was to explore California. Signing up for races is really a great way to explore more parts of the state. I’ve never been further South (in CA) than Corona del Mar. Dad and I decided to take the 405 until Long Beach, cut over to the 1 and then after going through the beach towns in Orange County cutting back to the 5. The ride was long but the views were gorgeous.

We stopped in Laguna Beach for Starbucks and a bathroom pit stop. I restrained myself from doing impressions from Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. I loved the area near the beach! The vibe was perfect for this beach girl.

And then we hit the road again, but stayed within view of the beach.

Before we knew it we were in San Diego. The city is so beautiful! Now I know why so many of my classmates are working there this summer.

We stopped in at the expo which was a mad house! Dad was illegally parked so I ran in, grabbed my packet and ran out. There weren’t that many freebies but I did get a new technical tee:

Not a huge fan of black running shirts (too hot) but I’m sure I will still manage to get plenty of wear out of it.

After getting out of the expo mess we drove somewhere much more relaxing: Coronado. Coronado is an island and to me, Coronado is like Martha’s Vineyard, Marco Island, and Palm Springs had a love child and placed it on the Pacific Ocean. I pretty much never wanted to leave. I was very fortunate to travel with my Dad, who wanted to stay at the Coronado Hotel. I am a very fortunate girl.

The Coronado was absolutely beautiful!

Source

The outside of the hotel is pretty iconic and it sits on the beach. I am 100% a beach girl so it was pure bliss. The rooms were also very nice! I was lucky to have my own room on this trip.

LCCDad is making a cameo in that one!

Laying on the bed.

I was a happy camper.

This was the view!

The hotel itself is HUGE! There were two weddings that I saw taking place on various parts of the beach. This place is a well oiled machine!

The rest of the day consisted of frantic sun screen applying, pool hanging and a bananas pre race meal at the 1300 Ocean restaurant in the hotel which included a glass of malbec, burrata cheese with broccoli and a blood orange sauce, seared diver scallops, mac and cheese, and an orange crème brule. I didn’t photograph but it was a great pre race meal.

Overall between the drive south, exploring a new city by running through it, staying at the Coronado and setting an incredible PR it was a pretty special weekend. Special thanks need to be given to LCCDad for an epic trip and weekend.

The past two days have been crazy busy between work picking up and LCCDad not leaving town until this AM. I am still on cloud 9 due to my new PR. I tweeted this and this true:

I’m already debating returning to the scene of the crime in August for another half marathon. Sub 2:00 or BUST!

Anyone know of any good half marathons in So Cal this summer? Or alternatively what hotel have you always wanted to stay in? I seriously want to stay in the 7 star hotel in Dubai because I seriously love luxury (I know, you’re probably not surprised)

San Diego Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon Recap

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What a day it has been!

When I set out this morning on my second half marathon I wasn’t sure what to expect. I set some conservative goals a week or so ago on the blog and truthfully, I wasn’t sure myself what I was capable of. I knew it would be nice to set a new PR (personal record) but I certainly didn’t expect to set a new PR. Well, not only did I set a new PR in San Diego I trounced my old PR by 9 mins!

Backing up to this morning…

I woke up in the Coronado (another post about the Coronado to come later) at 4:00 AM. Even though it felt extremely early I rolled out of bed and got ready. Traveling for a race meant I was forced to lay everything out the night before.

It takes a village people.

Then I dined on a typical pre race meal: coffee, huge glass of water and a bagel with peanut butter.

Hotel coffee was nasty. It made me miss my little French press but I dealt with it.

Dad came over and I handed him a bag of things I’d want at the finish (flip flops, camera etc). He took a picture of me before I headed out.

This is my “it’s 4 am, don’t eff with me” face. Please ignore the fact that I’m breaking out like the before picture on a proactive commercial.

The Coronado was great. They provided a shuttle to the start line. I picked up the shuttle at 5. There were several more experienced runners on the shuttle and it was fun to chat with them. Many of them had run Chicago so it was interesting to hear what I have in store for me this fall!

The race started in Balboa Park and was very well organized. I managed to make it to bag check and drop my bag with very little trouble. Then I waited in line for the bathroom and ran into Melissa! Melissa ran the FULL because she’s a rock star like that. Melissa also was with her boy friend Whit, who was running his first half marathon and her friend who was so fast she got seeded in corral 2! Melissa, Whit and I slipped into corral 18. I saw a 2:10 pacer and thought to myself that as long as I could stay in front of them I would be able to PR. Before we knew it we were walking forward to the start, the gun when off and we were running. I lost Melissa and Whit quickly.

I wasn’t sure when I crossed the start line but I felt great. The first three miles my foot felt a little tight but it loosened up and I was cruising but I actually didn’t feel like I was killing myself. I just felt like I was out for a casual jog. At mile 1 I finally saw a clock and it said we we’re 30 mins in (because I didn’t cross the start line immediately). At mile 2 the clock said 39 mins. I realized that I was running 9 min miles and feeling fantastic. I hit the 5k at 26:56 which is only 1 min and 30 secs off my 5K PR. I was pretty excited about this development.

Seriously, I cannot overstate how good I felt for the first 10 miles of this race, especially miles 1-5. I was doing my thing, enjoying my music and looking around. The first 5 miles were beautiful, shady and every short uphill had a downhill. The bands along the course were having a good time, keeping the energy up, and there was good crowd support including a little boy clutching a sign that said “I thought this was supposed to be a Justin Bieber concert”. So adorable. I was a happy camper for the first 5 miles.


At mile 4 the full marathoners split off from the group and we ran onto Route 163. Again, this part of the course was shady and I felt great. My legs were starting to feel tired on the up hills but the down hills revived them. I felt nothing like I did in Malibu. At this point in Malibu I was already digging deep and swearing I would never run another race, not even a 5k, as long as I lived. I walked though all the water stations. We were running on the 163 for a while (I believe it was miles 4-8).

At one point there was a water station staffed with all Big 10 School Supporters. They all had flags and T Shirts representing the different Big 10 schools. For those that don’t know my Dad went to Northwestern and I grew up walking distance from the school. We are season ticket holders for Football and Basketball plus I worked at NU in a social psych lab for two summers in Undergrad so my family has a close connection with the school. Sadly however there was no Northwestern representation. I yelled at a Michigan man asking where NU was but he said there weren’t any. Thus I was forced to take water from an Ohio State supporter. I ran over the 10k strip at the 55:02 min mark which is faster than I ran a 10k in October. Can’t lie, that makes me feel like a baller. I also took a Gu between mile 5 and 6. Mile 5 was also the magic point where I stopped really caring about my finishing time.

Miles 7 – 9 are kind of a blur. I was still feeling and chugging along. A women ran up beside me with a 2:10 pace number on her back. I tapped her on the shoulder and asked her if she was doing her pace and she said no, she was doing 9 min pace. I felt good at that point. I knew that I had built up a good bank of time. I was on track to PR even if my pace dipped down a little bit. Then, just before Mile 10 I saw LCCDad! I actually saw him before he saw me. I’ve only ever seen family spectators at the finish line and seeing him really put a pep in my step. Later, he said he was shocked by how good I looked.

Waving back between mile 9 and 10.

I crossed the 10 mile mark at 1:30:19.

After mile 10, the heat started to get to me. It wasn’t even that it was hot, it was more that it was very sunny. There was no marine layer this morning (layer of clouds that keeps the sun away until the late morning, its common along the coast in CA in June) and the sun in Southern California is HOT. I knew I had time in the bank and I didn’t want to burn out by forcing myself to run like crazy. I was feeling hot and a little bit nauseous so I decided that for the final 3 miles to use a walk/run method. I walked through water stations, taking two and pouring them on my head. It was hot but I ran and walked my way through the final 3 miles. Between mile 11 and 12 I grabbed a cup thinking it was water and poured it on my head. Sadly, it wasn’t water, it was Cytomax a nasty sports drink that I was not partaking in along the course. Then I threw some water on my head to water down the Cytomax. One of my head phones was in the line of fire and got water logged. Whoops.

Before I knew it I was coming up to the Mile 12 sign. I started to run again. There was a short incline just before the mile 13 sign…

This is me at mile 13. After I saw the mile 13 sign I took off at an unreal pace to the finish. Way faster than I ever sprint at the end of a run.

I crossed the finish line at 2:02:58. Not only is this a PR, it is 9 mins faster than I ran at Malibu! Average pace: 9:20. I also finished 214 out of 1092 in my division!
This is a major step up from my last half marathon and I am very, very proud of this accomplishment.

Post race photo! LCCDad even got me flowers. I believe that I was tweeting the good news in this photo. You can see in this picture that I ran in my new running skirt. It worked out well and I didn’t chafe. This is for sure going to be my go to skirt for marathon training.

After the race we walked about a mile back to the trolley station, took the trolley to Qualcomm stadium where we parked. My legs felt good while walking but I am sore and I will be feeling it tomorrow. I also had a lovely blood blister on my right foot which is not going to be pleasant tomorrow. It actually grossed out LCCDad. I am almost at the point where I need new shoes. Hopefully I can remedy this blood blister issue with the next pair of shoes. We made our way back to the Coronado, showered and grabbed lunch. I was starving!

The lunch view.

I never want to leave San Diego. Seriously, a 9 min PR AND this view? Not leaving.

To start I had a beer, because running makes me crave beer (don’t ask). This was a local seasonal beer but I forget the name. It was like a lighter version of Blue Moon.

To eat I had a chicken BLT. The bacon might steal the title of best bacon. It was so thick! Plus, the tomatoes were heirlooms. Obviously, I also had fries. Duh.

After lunch we hit the road back to LA. I will be back later this week with posts about the Coronado and a running post about the two halves I’ve done and laying out how I will cover my training for Chicago on the blog.

Overall, I had an amazing experience at Rock n Roll San Diego. I will definitely be back for another race! Extra thanks for all the tweets, texts, facebook notes, and blog comments I got during and after the race. You guys are the best! 

Getting Ready for San Diego

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For the first time in my life I’m packing more socks for a trip than I am shoes. I have more “things” than I have tops and bottoms. I’m packing snacks. OK, so I always pack snacks. That isn’t so different but I am packing some serious Gu.

Seriously, how do I know which pair of running socks I’m going to want on Sunday? Clearly they all need to make the trip. I’m still working on my playlist for the race and I will post it in my recap. I also am packing copious amounts of body glide because chafing is bad.

LCCDad arrived today and I met up with him after work for cocktails poolside at the W and an amazing dinner at Pecorino in Brentwood. Oh my goodness it was good. I had a grilled eggplant appetizer, pappadelle with fava beans and pesto for an entrée (the same that I had over spring break) and pear gratin for dessert. It was fantastic! Didn’t blog because I was catching up with my Dad and didn’t want to feel like I was working (plus I have an insane blog backlog right now).

LCCDad brought me a little something which I know LCCMom had a hand in picking out…

A running hat and a running watch! Pretty much the best gift ever. I need the hat to keep the sun off my face while running. The California sun is hot and this hat will prevent sunburn and wick sweat. I have never run with any kind of watch and I don’t plan to wear it for the half. Running with something new seems like asking for painful chafing but I will need this for marathon training. The watch is small and it will be nice to finally be able to track my runs. You can also see my packing list, which has pretty much every possible item I could even possibly need to run. Running takes so much more than just clothing and shoes.

Tomorrow morning I head out with my Dad for the drive south. We will probably meander down the coast, drop in at the expo and then pool hang in the afternoon. We’re staying at the Coronado which should be beautiful! I can’t believe I’m running another half marathon in 48 hours. Can’t wait to share the experience with all of you!

In the meantime, if you want to read about my training and race goals, click here!

Saturday Brunching

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Saturday I drove east to Silver Lake for lunch with my awesome cousin Joe. Joe is actually my mother’s cousin which makes him my first cousin once removed (I think). I love hanging out with Joe because 1) he’s been in LA forever and knows a ton about the city 2) he is a great conversationalist and is up on politics AND popular culture 3) he reads Dlisted which automatically makes him good people. We had brunch at Local. I’ve been to Local before but never blogged about it.

Just like last time I ordered this amazing apple and pecan pancake.

Guys, this pancake was insane. The roasted apples with cinnamon and pecans? Yes, please. This is one of the thickest pancakes that I’ve even had. I didn’t eat the whole thing because obviously I had to save room for this glorious plate of bacon:

Food porn. I’m not even kidding. I know a few weeks ago I said The Griddle has the best bacon ever but I think I need to revoke the title and give it to Local. This was the perfect combination of crispy and chewy. Amazing. If you are on the east side or just want a great restaurant in LA to try, you should hit up Local.

After brunch we hit the Silver Lake FM which had blood oranges! I haven’t seen them on the Westside in a few weeks. Literally, my heart skipped a beat and I bought like 7. Overall, a wonderful way to spend Saturday morning and early afternoon.

Tomorrow LCCDad arrives in LA and Saturday I leave for San Diego! I’m starting to get excited and a little bit nervous for Sundays half marathon. Fingers crossed it goes well!

Anyone have awesome weekend plans?

Back at it

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How was everyone’s long weekend? Mine was good. It was the last hurrah of vacation because I started work on Tuesday! This marks what will likely be the last internship that I will complete (did you know that I’ve done 6 total? True story) So far I really like the place I’ll be working and I am looking forward to going out in the world and actually doing something with my law skills. Very excited to see what the summer holds for me! More on that at the END of this post.

Before work started I made this fantastic dinner. It is Paula Deen inspired so you can probably guess what the main ingredient is (butter).

I give you: Shallot, Scallop and Goat Cheese Quesadillas.

Oh yes. Get excited. The inspiration for this dish came from Paula Deen’s Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. I took some of the elements of her Bay Scallop dish and rolled it into a quesadilla with some goat cheese.

I took 1 tablespoon of butter and melted it down at a low heat. Once the butter melted I added 1 chopped shallot. It is very important to cook the shallot and butter at a low heat slowly. Do NOT burn the butter. Seriously, just don’t. While the shallot is cooking take out a quesadilla (I used Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat) and spread it with goat cheese (again, I used Trader Joe’s spreadable goat cheese, but anything will work). Once the shallots are soft and lightly browned transfer the shallot to the quesadilla and set aside. There should be butter left in the pan.

Then, raise the heat in the pan to medium high and add about 8 baby scallops (which should be salted and peppered on either side) to the pan. If there isn’t enough butter then add about a half tablespoon more. Sear the scallops on either side for about three mins. Once the scallops are done, transfer to the quesadilla. So at this point you should have your quesadilla with everything in it. Lower the heat again, to medium, and place the filled quesadilla in the pan, heat it up, fold it up and cook until the quesadilla is crispy.

Yum. Shallots cooked in butter? Thank you, Paula. You are a goddess. The butter goddess. This will be a repeat quesadilla for sure!

National Running Day:

Did you know that today was national running day? Well it was! I hit the pavement after work for a 4 mile run (my favorite run around my neighborhood). I’ve been laying low on the running to ensure that nothing happens to my foot before my half marathon on Sunday but the 4 mile run felt incredible. My legs felt good and I had a fantastic runner high afterwards. Yay runners run!

What I’m Wearing Work Edition

Anyone who knew me, especially in college, can attest to that I love dressing up especially in business casual. Last week I took my suit (for court!), a blazer and a dress to the tailors. I hadn’t lost enough weight last summer to justify alterations and I didn’t wear them all year so some nip/tuck was much needed! In addition I dominated the Anthropology sale rack and Zara and came away with some fun new pieces. I’m so excited to wear them I thought that I would share them with you!

High Waisted Skirt, Zara

I don’t frequently shop at Zara (sometimes I feel like their proportions fit oddly on my body) but I did pick up this fun, high waisted skirt last week. Zara has cute stuff and is pretty affordable so I was happy to find something I really loved there.

Shift Dress, Anthropology Sale Rack!

I have an obsession with Antro. No joke. I really will know that I have made it when I can wear Antro to work every day. This dress fits like a glove and will pair well with a cardi.

White Blouse, Anthology Sale Rack

Not necessarily for work (maybe with a tank under, paired with a nice pant on casual Friday?) but this was fantastic for Saturday bunch in Silverlake. I paired with olive green shorts. I love how light and summery this top is!

How do you dress for work?