This week’s topics include more fresh fish cooked by the Wannabe Foodie, the perfect corn on the cob recipe, a wine recommendation, and pizza the way it should be made (it’s not this guy’s first rodeo).
Pizza, revisited. Mofo's Pizza and Pasta, Incline Village, Nevada. This is a locally owned place serving great food. Everything, including the dough and sauce, is made in the restaurant. Nothing canned here.
We walk in and there's a guy hand tossing the pizzas and making it look easy. Clearly it's not his first rodeo. There were lots of people in the kitchen, but only this guy tossed the pizzas. Made it look ridiculously easy.
I like this place already.
Decor - exactly what you expect from a family owned Italian place, including the red and white checkerboard table cloths.
We order a large pizza with sausage and black olives. Thing 1 ordered a meatball sub (with homemade meatballs, of course!). At this point I have high hopes and high expectations.
Check out the pizza. It was delivered piping hot and looked beautiful.
First - the dough. As I said in a prior blog, the dough is literally the foundation of good pizza, and Mofo’s gets it. This dough is fabulous. Flavorful and chewy in a good way. Nice and thin, except the outer edge of the crust, which was thick enough to chew on as you pondered your next piece.
The toppings. The sauce was exactly what it should be and there wasn’t too much of it. The menu said that it came from the owner's dad. He was shot down in his P-38 over Italy during WWII. He lived for six months with Italian sheepherders. The implication is that he learned how to make his sauce during that time. Cool story and true or not, this is good sauce.
Back to the toppings. The mozzarella was clearly fresh. You could tell by the elasticity of it when you took a bite. However, the star was the sausage. Sliced flat and laid on the pizza like large medallions of happiness.
I washed the pizza down with a glass of wicker basket chianti. No, this isn't the best wine in the world. But, it's nice and dry and always goes great with Italian food. I need to remember to buy some for home.
All in all, Mofo's is a great little local place. Loved it. Very basic menu, but what they do they do well. Washed down the bitter memory of the Gordon Biersch pizza!
I can't wait to try the lasagna next time. Apparently it's one of their specialties.
Side note - the guy tossing pizzas like he was in Brooklyn was the owner's son. Think he's made a few pizzas in his time? The Things went up to watch him and he handed them small balls of dough to play with. Very cool.
What am I working on? When you have as much fish as I do, it’s fish. This week King Salmon that the Wannabe Foodie caught about a week ago.
People often ask me the best way to make salmon. That depends upon the type of salmon. King Salmon is the ultimate salmon and, in my ever so humble opinion, should only be seared at high heat to nothing more than medium. It’s almost like a fine beef steak that only needs minor seasoning and high heat. 
I brined these thick fillets for about 4 minutes in a very salty brine to season the fish and firm the flesh up. I let it dry out and come up to close to room temperature. Then I lightly seasoned it with Herbs de Provence.
I seared 2 of the fillets to just under medium rare and the other to just about medium. Check ‘em out. Take a good look at the fillet in its own pan. If that doesn't look good to you, there's something wrong with you and I can't help you.
Served them with broccoli tossed in fresh garlic, olive oil, kosher salt and pepper, and fresh corn on the cob tossed in butter, kosher salt, and lime zest. Here’s a picture of most of the meal. By the way, that's my fancy cooktop that we installed in the kitchen remodel. Isn't she pretty?!
The review? Not too bad. The fish was cooked just how I like it and the flavor was the brine was just barely noticeable. The brine firmed the flesh up nicely and allowed it to sear perfectly. Nice crust.
The broccoli was seared at high heat and carmelized in spots. It was nice, sweet, and crunchy and the perfect compliment to the fresh garlic.
However, the corn was almost the star of the show, and I say almost only because it’s hard to beat King Salmon that’s prepared well. The corn was cooked just past firm, tossed in warm butter, and lightly seasoned in kosher salt and fresh lime zest. If you’ve never tried it corn like this, you really should. The lime with the sweetness of the butter and corn is a wonderful combination.
Oh yeah, we also served a romaine salad with homemade vinaigrette, homemade garlic croutons, and cherry tomatoes.
That’s an all around healthy meal. I hope you’re impressed. Remember that the next time I write about beef, bacon, or some other wildly unhealthy meal.
Wine Recommendation. Domaine Serene Pinot Noir. This is what Pinot is all about. Lighter in texture and the wine doesn’t punch you in the face, though it has complex flavors that come out as the wine opens up (I remember plum, cherry, and berry). Awesome wine.
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