My Pizza Obsession

Ever since we got our cob-oven, I've been obsessed with the perfect pizza. To me, a perfect pizza is thin crust that is crispy on the outside and slightly chewy in the center. It has to have just the right amount of pizza sauce (and the perfect pizza sauce, of course), 100% mozzarella, a little bit of fresh basil and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. But I think the two most important components of the perfect pizza is the pizza dough and the pizza sauce.

I made the two components below: the dough recipe comes from Andrew Green from the April 2009 Food & Wine magazine. And I came up with the pizza sauce recipe. You can always tweak the sauce to your liking, but I made it the way I like my sauce: tangy, slightly sweet with just hints of spices. Also, since I'm not allowed to use the cob-oven while my husband is not here, I made the pizza in a super hot oven, and it almost comes out as crispy and delish as it would in a cob or wood-fired oven.

Pizza Sauce

• 1 can (1 lb. 12oz) of 6 in 1 All-Purpose Ground Tomatoes (6 in 1 Brand is a MUST!)
• 1/2 Tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 Tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 Tsp. dried parsley
• 1/4 Tsp. granulated garlic
• 1/4 Tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 Tsp. Grey sea salt or kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

In a glass or plastic container with a lid, combine all ingredients and mix well. Place in the fridge overnight to let the flavors meld together.

Pizza Dough

• 1 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. confectioner's sugar
• 1 pkg. rapid rise yeast
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

In a small sauce pan bring the water to 125 F. Use an instant-read thermometer to monitor temperature. Stir in the salt and sugar and let it dissolve. Next stir in the yeast and olive oil and let it rest at room temperature for 5 minutes until foamy.

In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour with the yeast mixture at low speed for 10 minutes. Let the pizza dough rest for 10 more minutes, then mix again at low speed for an additional 10 minutes.

Lightly oil a large bowl (ceramic or glass). Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp towel and let the dough stand in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours. This batch will make 2 large pizza, or about 4 to 5 individual 7" pizzas.

Margheritta Pizza

• Pizza dough
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• fresh basil leaves
• dash of dried oregano
• good olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Roll out pizza as thin as you possibly can. Place dough in a pizza pan, lightly dusted with corn meal. Drizzle a little olive oil over the dough, then spread the pizza sauce, leaving about 1/4" border around the pizza. Place the cheese slices over the sauce.

Bake at 500 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes, or until edges of dough are cooked and cheese is bubbly.

Remove from oven and drizzle a little more olive oil and a dash of dried oregano. Sprinkle fresh basil over pizza and let cool a couple of minutes before cutting.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I'm not a Sandra Lee fan as most of her recipes call for 70% canned or store bought ingredients and only 30% fresh ingredients, but at times some of her recipes do save many cooks a lot of time. So what I did here is we took part of her BBQ chicken pizza recipe but we raised up a notch by making our own dough and grilling our chicken. Yes, this definitely is not a Semi-Homemade recipe, but give it a try because homemade pizza dough is so good and this pizza was super cheesy and gooey!

INGREDIENTS

Pizza Dough

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup warm water (110 to 115° F)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

BBQ Chicken

• 1/2 pound chicken tenders
• 1 Tablespoon Butt Rub
• 2/3 cup barbecue sauce (we used Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce)

Pizza

• 3/4 cup shredded Smoked Gouda
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan
• Grilled chicken, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS

Make the dough: In a small bowl, dissolve the honey in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until it dissolves. Let the yeast mixture stand for 5 minutes, until a layer of foam forms on the surface.

In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the olive oil and the yeast mixture. Stir the flour into the wet ingredients, until all the flour is incorporated. If its too dry, add more water in tablespoon increments.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 15 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and put in in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a moist towel and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about 45 minutes).

After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's boss and punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out

About 15 minutes before baking, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F.

For the Chicken: sprinkle the Butt Rub (or your favorite grill rub) over the chicken. Heat your grill on medium-high for direct heat grilling. Grill chicken pieces, about 5 minutes per side.

About one minute before you remove chicken from grill, brush two tablespoons of the bbq sauce over chicken. Set chicken aside to cool and chip into 1" bite-sized pieces.

For the Pizza: Punch the dough down, and roll out into a 16 inch flat circle. Spread remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough. Sprinkle smoked Gouda, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and Parmesan. Next spread the onions and chicken pieces and top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into pieces.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Last week I started my cooking club again. After a long hiatus, we all decided it was time to bring it back. Many of the cooking club members got married, or had kids, or had changes in their lives, so it was difficult for us to get together. But I decided to start 2009 with a kick and bring back our cooking club.

Our theme this time was "What Would Obama Eat?" My brother-in-law, Tim, who lives in Chicago, made deep dish pizzas, I made Italian beef sandwiches, and we had mini Chicago dogs and other excellent appetizers other cooks brought. All in all, it was a fun and successful cooking club. Everyone had a lot of fun and below are a few pics of our "meeting" and recipe for the deep dish pizza. Mmmmm....

INGREDIENTS

Pan Dough

• 1 cup warm tap water (110-115 degrees)
• 1 1/4 ounces active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup course ground cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Pizza Toppings

• 1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
• 1 lb Italian sausage, removed from the casing and crumbled
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped fine
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and yeast and dissolve the yeast and sugar with a fork. Let it sit for a couple of minutes then add 1 cup of flour, all of the cornmeal, salt, and vegetable oil, and mix well with a spoon.

Continue stirring in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Flour your hands and the work surface and knead the ball of dough until it is no longer sticky.

Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl, sealed with plastic wrap, for 45-60 minutes in a warm place, until it has doubled in size.

Punch it down and knead it briefly. Press it into an oiled 15-inch deep dish pizza pan until it comes 2 inches up the sides and is even on the bottom of the pan.

Let the dough rise 15-20 minutes before filling.

Preheat the oven to 500°F.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Cook the sausage until it is no longer pink and drain the excess fat. When the dough has finished its second rising, lay the mozzarella cheese over the dough shell. It's ok to overlap.

Distribute the sausage and garlic over the cheese. Top with the tomatoes and sprinkle on the seasonings and Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes at 500°F, then lower the temperature to 400°F and finish baking for 25-35 minutes longer.

Lift up a section of the crust from time to time with a spatula to check its color. The crust will be golden brown when done. Serve immediately.

Pizza Margherita, Sort Of

I just love buying ready-made pizza dough. I really love the pizza dough that Mona Lisa sells in their deli in Little Italy (SD), but Trader Joe's pizza dough comes in a close second. The reason I love to use pizza dough is because I can make it as thin or thick as I want. I personally love thin crusts with crusty edges...yummy. The traditional pizza margherita has tomato sauce, basil, fresh mozzarella and a Parmesan cheese, however since I had a pint of ricotta in the fridge I decided to go with that instead of fresh mozzarella. When making pizza, make sure you take the dough out of the fridge 30 minutes before you shape it because room-temperature dough will be easier to work with.

INGREDIENTS (makes one pizza)

• Store bough pizza dough,
• 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (use San Marzano tomatoes, if possible)
• 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly, ground black pepper
• Several fresh basil leaves (about 10), if they are very big you can coarsely chopped them
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F and, if you have one, place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven.

Form dough into a 12-inch pizza round or rectangle to 1/2" thick or thinner. Place on a pizza peel or sheet pan.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine tomatoes, olive oil, and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and process until smooth.

Pour sauce over pizza and smooth to spread evenly, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the edges of the dough. Sprinkle basil leaves on top of sauce and then top with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Finally, drop teaspoonfuls of ricotta then sprinkle mozzarella and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and the edges are golden brown. It's so easy and so good!

Caramelized Onion Tart

During the fall season, I tend to crave savory dishes. And one of my favorite types of savory food is in pizza or tart form. Here is a great onion tart that will definitely tickle your senses. And remember, you do not have use the ingredients below--you can customize in many different ways; add mushrooms or olives; swap out the cheese for a different variety; add sun-dried or oven roasted tomatoes; just do whatever appeals to you!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 large yellow onions sliced into ¼" slices
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup ricotta cheese at room temperature
• ½ cup cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted frozen sheet, keep chilled until ready to use
• ¼ cup blue cheese or gorgonzola cheese
• ¼ cup currants

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375° F

Heat olive oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add onions and sauté until onions start to lightly caramelize, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add chopped thyme and garlic. Continue sautéing until onions are more golden and caramelized, about 8 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and let cool.

In a bowl, mix ricotta and cream cheese together until smooth. Set aside.

Remove puff pastry from refrigerator and quickly roll out into 9"x13" rectangle. With sharp knife or pizza wheel trim all edges to ensure it can spring during baking. With a sharp knife score a line about 1/2" from edge all around border of pastry, making sure not to cut all the way through. This allows the border to puff.

Spread the cheese mixture evenly between the score lines. Cover with the onion mixture, again spreading evenly between the score lines. Sprinkle the blue cheese and currants over the onions.

Bake at 375° F for about 25 - 35 minutes, until puff pastry is golden on top and crispy and golden on the bottom. Remove from oven and cut into 2' squares. Eat it while hot, or at room temperature.

Greek Style Naan Pizza

My husband and I pet and house-sitted my brother's place this weekend. Unfortunately, my brother and his wife didn't have much in their fridge and I had to come up with something to eat. In their freezer I found frozen Naan bread, which you can buy at Trader Joe's. I also found in their fridge a few Kalamata olives, feta cheese, one red bell pepper, sliced mushrooms and a jar of ready-made pesto. And voila, my Naan Pizza, Greek Style, was born! This makes a great light dinner or a great lunch.

INGREDIENTS (makes 2)

• 2 frozen Naan from Trader Joes' (in the frozen food section)
• 2 tablespoons ready-made pesto
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into 1" strips
• 6 chopped Kalamata olives
• 6 sliced button or crimini mushrooms
• 1/4 feta cheese, crumbled
• Olive oil
• A few grinds of fresh black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place Naan on a baking sheet and thaw it in the oven for 2 minutes, then promptly remove.

Spread one tablespoon of pesto onto each naan bread. Top each naan with the red bell pepper strips, chopped olives and sliced mushrooms. Top each with the crumbled feta cheese and place the pizzas in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until veggies are heated through and feta cheese slightly melts.

Remove from oven and drizzle each naan with a little olive oil and a few grinds of black pepper and serve immediately.

Portobello Pizza

Since this is the first Friday of the Lent season, I'm giving props to all things "non-meat." I was amazed to see how many vegetarian recipes are out there. Everything from lentil burritos to vegetarian enchiladas. Here is my now famous, Portobello Pizza. If you're a meat lover, you'll love this pizza because the Portobello’s have a meaty flavor to it. You can make your own pizza dough, but I find that store bought pizza dough works well, too. I highly recommend Trader Joe's pizza dough. You'll find it in the cheese section.

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 large pizza)

• 2 Portabellas (big ones)
• 1 large red bell pepper
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 1 package of pizza dough
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce (any pizza sauce will do, however I have to promote Trader Joe's pizza sauce b/c it tastes very fresh)
• 1 large Plum tomato, sliced
• 4 oz. Goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup grated low-fat Mozzarella cheese
• 3 Basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• A cold ice-bath ready for the pepper

First pre-heat your broiler.

Drizzle about a teaspoon of olive oil all over the red bell pepper and put it in a sheet pan. Next, drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil under each cap of mushroom, sprinkle with salt and pepper and put it in the same sheet pan with the red bell pepper, cap side down.

Place the veggies under the broiler. Broil the mushrooms for 5 minutes, the remove and let cool. Let the pepper blister all over. This will take about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the pepper once it has blackened and blistered all over.

Immediately plunge the pepper in a bath of cold-ice water for 30 seconds. Remove and peel away the skin. Seed the pepper and cut it into strips. Set aside.

Slice the Portabellas into 1/4" thick slices and set aside.

Turn off broiler and now pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, roll out your pizza dough into 12" diameter. Place it in a pizza pan. Spread the pizza sauce and top with the slices of red bell pepper and portabella mushroom. Then add the sliced tomatoes, dot with the goat cheese then spread the mozzarella.

Bake in the 400 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes. You want the pizza dough edges to brown and the cheese melt. Remove from oven and immediately cut into slices. Sprinkle the basil leaves and serve!

Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

Pizza! Who doesn't love pizza? Pizza is probably one of the most popular foods we consume. Why? Because it's easy to make, it cooks fast and it is customizable. And I think it's the customazation why this Italian fare is so popular amongst us. In America, pizza usually falls into two categories: thick and cheesy Chicago style or thin and more traditional New York pizza style. I personally like the thin and more traditional New York pizza. But of course, I have been told that no pizza here in the states tastes the same as a real Italian Pizza from Italy. But, for now, we have basic ingredients available to us that can help us create our own masterpieces.

Mona Lisa Restaurant in Little Italy, San Diego has, what I think, the best pizzas in the area. Bronx Pizza in Hillcrest also has excellent New York style pizzas but since I'm a Red Sox fan, I don't visit this joint during the baseball season! One of Robert's favorite pizza from Mona Lisa was the Sausage and Mushroom pizza. Since Dia de los Muertos was yesterday, my husband and I made this pizza in honor of my brother. We placed a slice on his altar as an offering. Of course, we ended up eating ALL of it. The key to this great pizza is ground Italian sausage from your butcher shop and to not crowd the pizza with toppings. Sometimes the simplest toppings are the best ones on a pizza.

For one pizza you will need:

• 1 package of Trader Joe's Pizza Dough (or any ready-made dough)
• 1/2 Cup your favorite pizza sauce (we used Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce)
• 1 pint of white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage, uncooked
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

1. 20 minutes before you start rolling out the dough, turn on the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roll out the dough, as per instructions, and place it on a pizza sheet or stone. The dough does not have to be perfectly round.
3. First, top the dough with the pizza sauce. Use the back of a spoon to spread it around. Use as little or as much as you like. We used a little over a 1/2 cup.
4. Sprinkle about one cup of mozzarella over the sauce, then place the sliced mushrooms over it.
5. Finish by topping it with the ground Italian sausage. Leave clumps of it (see above picture)
6. Bake in the hot oven between 15 to 20 minutes. You will see the sausage cook and brown (see picture below). Once the edges of the pizza turn golden brown and the cheese is melted, your pizza is ready.

The fuly cooked pizza. Isn't it fabulous?

Serve pizza with a salad and a nice glass of Burgundy or Lambrusco wine.

Pizza Sauce 101

Pizza is the most comforting, feel-good food out there. And for the first time last night, I actually made my first one. I bought the ready-made pizza dough at Trader Joe's, along with fresh mozzarella, grated pizza cheese, pepperoni and fresh basil. At home, my sister-in-law left an entire package of Sugar Plum tomatoes, so I decided to make the first 15 Minutes Pizza Sauce! The sauce was very rich and quite good. The tomatoes gave it a sweeter flavor and the oregano really kicked it up. First I started with my pizza sauce. In a large 10" skillet, I sautéed 3 minced garlic cloves and 1/4 cup chopped red onion on medium heat, just until translucent (about 3 minutes). Then I added a container (about a pint) of halved Sugar Plum tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, and a dash of sugar. I turned the heat to medium-high and cooked the tomatoes for about 10 minutes more. Then I added 2 julienned basil leaves and let it cook in for another 2 minutes. YOUR SAUCE IS DONE. Once the sauce cooled, I placed it in a food processor and processed it until smooth, but still a little chunky. Next, I rolled out the pizza dough and placed it on a pizza stone. You can use a regular pan; just make sure it's well oiled. I topped off my pizza with the cooled pizza sauce, about 1/4 cup of cubed fresh mozzarella, a nice helping of a mixed shredded cheese, pepperoni, and more shredded cheese again. I baked it at 450 F. for about 14 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown and the cheese begins to melt. Mmmmm, I just got hungry again just thinking about the pizza!

MANGA!