Jersey Joe’s Pizzeria

After reading San Diego Magazine’s feature on the newly opened Jersey Joe’s Pizzeria, I knew I wanted to go check them out. Images of zeppoles and pepperoni garlic knots danced in my mind.

I actually have never experienced New Jersey style pizza so I didn’t really know what to expect other than a thin crust. Once inside we were greeted with a large assortment of menu items. There was thin crust pizza, sicilian pizza, deep dish pizza, pasta, salads, and strombolis.

I must have looked out of place and overwhelmed because two customers dining, who appeared to be regulars, helped me out with a couple of recommendations and even helped my entire party squeeze into one booth by providing us with an extra chair from another table.

I was very interested in trying some of their creative pizza toppings because one of the things the owner mentioned in the article was that he wanted to bring East Coast style pizza to San Diego, and mentioned the conservative choices available for the average San Diego pizza joint. So we decided not to stick to the traditional toppings and instead we focused on some of the specialty pies which were on display.

First we started with some pepperoni garlic knots. I absolutely loved these. I’m going to have to make these myself sometime. The garlic flavor was strong and I liked the addition of the pepperoni flavor. I loved the way they looked too with the pepperoni peeping out.

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Fried Pumpkin Doughnuts

I have a love hate relationship when it comes to making fried doughnuts.

The process goes a little like this: I come across a recipe I want to try and I put it on the list and then put it off for weeks, using the excuse that I don’t have enough time. Eventually I convince myself it’s not that time consuming and make the recipe. As I’m making it, I get frustrated because even though the recipe isn’t hard, it is time consuming to cut-out the doughnuts and fry them and the process always takes longer than I anticipated. By the end, I decide I’m never going to do this again and it’s easier to just drive out to the nearest donut shop and buy some. And then I take a bite… and my vow is suddenly broken. Because the donuts come out so great. Fluffy, chewy, with just the right amount of sweetness.

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Matcha Green Tea Castella Cake

I’ve been craving castella cake for a while now, and I finally got around to making one this weekend. Castella cake (also called kasutera cake) is a japanese sponge cake which is moist and spongy despite not using any oil. Instead, it is made using a technique by whipping eggs (with the yolks) until they form peaks.

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