Italian Truffle Cheese Pizza

Hello all! It's been a while since I posted but here it goes! My inspiration for this recipe actually came from a restaurant called 800 Degrees Pizza from when my boyfriend took me to eat there. Funny thing is, we never ordered the truffle cheese pizza; I just saw it on the menu and thought it seemed tasty but was expensive (an extra three bucks for truffle cheese?!). Luckily, this is easy peasy gourmet; you can purchase all these ingredients from Trader Joe's at very reasonable prices. To be honest, I have no idea how it's supposed to taste like. However, my thoughts for this recipe are: Success!!! Often presumptuous of me? Well why don't you try it out and tell me what you think. I'm hoping to get into habit of posting more regularly! Enjoy!

On a side note, I always buy crimini mushrooms over button mushrooms because the overall flavor is better.

Italian Truffle Cheese Pizza
16 ounces of pizza dough, premade
4 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 ounces Italian truffle cheese, shredded or crumbled (or more depending on how cheesey you like it)
4 cloves garlic, minced
sprigs of fresh oregano
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

1. Split dough in half and allow to rest for 20 minutes. (Handling instructions may vary depending on the dough you buy or if you choose to make your own pizza dough)
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
3. Meanwhile, drizzle some olive oil in a hot pan and saute minced garlic until caramelized, set aside for later use.
4. After the dough is fully rested, stretch the dough out onto a baking sheet until the desired thickness. (I made my pizza super thin so it was a little less than a 11 by 17 inch baking sheet.)
5. Sprinkle the dough evenly with cheese. Add sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with caramelized garlic and fresh oregano leaves. Don't worry if the amount of mushroom seems overwhelming, they do shrink after baking. Lightly drizzle with olive oil.
6. Depending on the thickness of your pizza, bake for 8-10 minutes or until fully cooked. The cheese should be slightly toasted and golden.
7. Serve while it's still hot!

Kimchee Quesadilla

I got the idea for kimchee quesadilla during my college days when one of my roommates brought some back from the famed Kogi Truck. If you are not familiar with the Kogi Truck, it's basically a Los Angeles based food truck that has gained substantial popularity in the food industry and has since then caused the gourmet food truck explosion; they serve yummy korean fusion food. My impression of their food is that it is delicious but what they charge is a little steep for me; especially if it's just quesadillas. So I decided to make some on my own! After some experimenting and many calories later, I got something that taste pretty good! The only thing that's missing is the sauce but I'll figure that out later. Enjoy! (;


Kimchee Quesadilla
1 cup kimchee
2 stalks green onion shredded
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Mexican blend shredded cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, mozzarella)
tortillas (flour or corn is okay)

1. Heat sesame oil in pan over medium heat and fry kimchee and sugar until caramelized and translucent.
2. Add green onion and sesame seeds to the pan and cook until the green onion is wilted.
3. Place tortilla on a heated pan and sprinkle with cheese. Add one layer of kimchee and sprinkle with an additional layer of cheese and fold in half. Cook until the cheese is melted and the tortilla golden and crispy.
4. Serve immediately!