Pear & Caramelized Onion Flatbread

Let's have a brief moment of silence in appreciation for the perfection that is cheese.

*SILENCE*


Now that that's out of the way, we can jump into what is a delicious, easy, and
not-made-out-of-a-zillion-ingredients meal. I called this flatbread, but it's more like sauceless pizza. Tomato, tom-ah-to, right?


This is crisp, chewy pizza dough topped with sweet caramelized onions and perfectly ripe fall fruit - all smothered in melty cheese. In the immortal words of Ina Garten: how bad could that be? The answer: not bad at all.


In fact, this was so good, I just might make it again. And as we all know, I do not make recipes twice. How might one tweak this recipe, you're wondering? One might add hot Italian sausage; sub apples for pears, leave the fruit out altogether and use sun-dried tomatoes or artichokes or olives or all of the above; use mozzarella cheese, or all cheddar, or all Gruyere; I could go on. A sauceless pizza is just like a sauced pizza: a blank canvas on which to paint by numbers using the fan brush of innumerable ingredie–OK, OK, I'll stop with the stupid art metaphor.


Misguided metaphors aside, MAKE THIS! You'll thank me later. (You're welcome.)

INGREDIENTS

One ball fresh pizza dough
olive oil
cornmeal
1 pear (not too too ripe), cut into thin slices
3 small onions, halved and sliced thinly
butter and oil for caramelizing
3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
3/4 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

STEP 1:

Caramelize the onions: heat a little butter and olive oil in a pan and cook the onions over medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, until brown and lovely. Set aside.

STEP 2:

Preheat the oven to 450. Sprinkle some cornmeal on a pizza stone or baking sheet. Shape the dough into a round-ish, thin crust. Rub all over with a little olive oil.

STEP 3:

Spread the onions all over the dough, then top with the pear slices. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over all that. Sprinkle cheese evenly over everything. Top with red pepper flakes if you want. Bake at 450 until cheese is melty and crust is getting golden brown. Switch oven to broil and cook for 2-4 more minutes, until many brown spots appear on cheese and crust. Remove from oven, cut into slices, serve and enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Pizza a la Mumbai

This is how I described this meal to Ross [picture the proud, self-indulgent grin of a 4th grader bringing home an A on a math test]: "It's pizza with homemade Indian-spiced marinara, curried spinach and chickpeas, and fresh ricotta!"


Ross' response [picture a blank stare]: "Were you speaking English just then?" [Me: *shakes head.*]


When he finally took a bite, he exclaimed, "Whoa! This is like...Indian pizza! I get it!" He has seen the light! *ANGELS SINGING ON HIGH* After another bite: "It tastes just like Indian food...only, on a pizza." Wonders never cease. Actually, I was thrilled that he "got" the "concept" behind this Meatless Monday meal. Not that it was on a Moto-esque level or anything. But for someone who doesn't do a lot of fusion food (unlike one of my favorite bloggers), I was sort of proud of myself.


Before I go handing out my very own James Beard award, I should remind us all that anything - anything - tastes good on a pizza. And lest you think it's a completely original idea, let me admit now, publicly, that it was inspired by - of all things - something I saw on a Bobby Flay show, and also by the lone vegetarian dish I had while dining at the porktastic restaurant The Publican.


Anyway, it was good. The flavors in the marinara and the toppings melded beautifully, and the ricotta added a rich counterpoint to the bold flavors. One note: I wouldn't skip the cilantro and peppers on top - their brightness and crunch really lighten up the tastebud flavor assault.

INGREDIENTS

1 fresh ball of pizza dough
flour
cornmeal for dusting
1 batch Indian marinara (recipe follows)
~1.5 cups fresh ricotta cheese
olive or canola oil
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 large bag baby spinach leaves, steamed then squeezed dry, roughly chopped
several dashes curry powder
salt and pepper
fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish
1/2 thinly sliced fresh finger pepper (optional), for garnish

MARINARA:
1 medium onion, diced
1 finger (or serrano) pepper, sliced, with all seeds
1 large can whole peeled plum tomatoes and all juices
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
handful cilantro, chopped
a few dashes cumin
1 cinnamon stick
a few dashes allspice
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

STEP 1:

Make the marinara: Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and finger pepper until beginning to soften. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to make it smooth (you can skip this step and have chunkier sauce). Turn off heat and set aside until ready to use.

STEP 2:

In a skillet, heat about 1 T. olive oil. Cook the chickpeas, seasoning with salt, pepper, and curry powder, for a few minutes, until chickpeas are hot and coated evenly with the spices. Remove the chickpeas and set aside. In the same pan (don't bother wiping it out), put a little more oil and the squeezed-dry spinach in the pan, and season with salt, pepper, and curry powder. Cook until hot and spices are evenly distributed.



STEP 3:

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Dust a little flour on your work surface and roll out the dough until desired thinness (I think thinner is better, but that's just me). Spread a little cornmeal over your pizza stone or baking sheet. Place the dough on top. Brush with a little olive oil. Spread the chickpeas and spinach over the dough evenly. Place dollops of fresh ricotta enenly around the dough. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the whole thing. Top it all with dollops of the marinara.



STEP 4:

Bake until dough is crisp and bown on the edges and ricotta is beginning to brown in places. Remove from the oven and cut into slices. Top slices with a little fresh cilantro and sliced finger peppers. Serve and enjoy!

Anthony Bourdain and Basil-Oil & Asparagus Pizza

J'taime Tony! Ever since I read Kitchen Confidential a couple years ago, just about the time my love for all things culinary was really starting to blossom, I have had a growing obsession with Anthony Bourdain, the former chef-turned-travel-host and star of the Travel Channel's fantastic No Reservations.


If you haven't seen No Reservations, it's basically a raw, documentary-style travel show focused on Bourdain's travels around the world - Istanbul, Saudia Arabia, Singapore, you name it. It's wickedly well-written (by Bourdain himself) and compulsively watchable.

For lovers of the show (and all things Tony), seeing Anthony Bourdain on stage is a dream come true. He basically talks for about an hour, an hour and a half - very much in the style of his show, although sans bleeping - and then takes questions from the audience for another hour. He tells behind-the-scenes stories, but he also pontificates (hilariously) on everything from how not to piss off your host to why he thinks vegetarians are a-holes.


Perhaps most famously, he slaughters the Food Network and almost everyone on it (he is well-known for past diatribes against Rachael Ray, although he's left those jokes in the past since she sent him a fruit basket). He actually respects Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, Emeril, and Mario Batali (also one of his close personal friends) - but Sandra Lee: watch out. Tony no like. (And it seemed as though the audience couldn't agree more - we erupted in applause when he told tales of her "pure evilness." Actual quote: "Sandra Lee does to food what Hitler did to Poland." Cue audience hysterics.)


The thing I love about Anthony Bourdain is his deep respect for the sheer diversity of world cultures and the people who live, eat, and breathe those cultures every day. He urged us all to "be grateful, and try our best to be polite" as we explore all the world has to offer. That's a philosophy I can most definitely get behind.

Before I left for the show, I whipped up a sauceless pizza that captured one of Spring's best treats: asparagus. I dedicate a slice to the inimitable Anthony Bourdain. Cheers, Tony!


INGREDIENTS

1 recipe hand-method pizza dough (or store-bought)
a few spoonfuls basil oil (recipe follows)
torn fresh basil leaves
small fresh mozzarella balls, halved
several asparagus spears, just the fluffy ends (reserve the rest for another use)
grape tomatoes, halved
freshly grated Parmesan
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

Basil Oil:
~1/2 cup olive oil
~a dozen basil leaves, torn

STEP 1:

Bring your pizza dough to room temperature and preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Make the basil oil: in a small saucepan, combine the olive oil and basil leaves over medium0low heat and cook until the basil looks fried. Strain the oil into a jar and discard the basil.

STEP 2:

Roll out the pizza dough. Sprinkle your baking stone or pan with a little coarse cornmeal (to prevent sticking). Place the dough on the cooking pan. Spread a little basil oil over the dough's entire surface. Place the torn fresh basil leaves around randomly (as much or as little as you like - I used about 3 large basil leaves total).

STEP 3:

Spread the asparagus ends, tomato halves, and mozzarella ball halves randomly around the pizza in a single layer. Grate Parmesan cheese over the top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Drizzle a little more basil oil over the top. Bake at 500 until the edges are browning and the cheese is browned in places. Cut into pieces, serve, and enjoy!

The Night of Grilled Pizza

Isn't it great when something turns out better than you expected?


I fully expected that my first time grilling pizza would culminate in an utter disaster: singed eyebrows, charred dough, and undercooked toppings. Shockingly, I grilled 8 pizzas (with the indispensable help of my lovely sous chef, Kara), and each one of them was delicious in their own way.

I won't belabor this post, since the pictures really say it all (thanks to fab photog Josh), and there are many, many comments to sift through, but I will say that The Night of Grilled Pizza was most definitely one of the most successful, delicious, and all-around fun blogs to date! I hope it will become a summer tradition for some of you as well.

GRILLED PIZZA

INGREDIENTS

2 batches of fresh pizza dough, cut into 8 sections
olive oil for brushing
flour for rolling

Assorted sauces and toppings:

marinara (recipe follows)
pesto (recipe follows)
roasted red peppers
sauteed mushrooms
caramelized onions
kalamata olives
dried figs (sounds weird, but with chevre, is amazing)
ricotta cheese
chevre
fresh mozzarella
fresh baby spinach
grape tomatoes
parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated



EQUIPMENT

a grill (we used a charcoal grill)
ample surface area - we brought out two small tables, then had another one for the wine and glasses
rolling pin
pizza slicer
grill tongs
large spatula with a long handle
sharp grill skewers or a sharp paring knife to poke holes in the dough bubbles
brush (for the olive oil)
large tray (for setting grilled dough on, and used as a surface on which to top the pizzas)
cutting boards


DIRECTIONS & TIPS:

- Remember that there is no heat source above the pizzas, so all your toppings should be chosen with that in mind; things like onions, mushrooms, and the like, which aren't very good on a pizza when they're raw, should be pre-cooked - by caramelizing, sauteeing, and the like. Things like fresh baby spinach and tomatoes are fine raw, although you could pre-cook them if you wanted. We used only vegetarian toppings, although you of course have an assortment of meats, as long as they were all pre-cooked: crumbled bacon, Italian sausage, chopped chicken, etc.



- You need to grill one side of the pizza first (the side which will eventually have the toppings on it). Our method took tow people: Kara stood by the grill, tray ready, while I grilled two pizza dough rounds on the grill. When they were browning and had nice grill marks and bubbled up on the raw side (the side facing up), I poked holes in the bubbles with skewers and slid them off the grill with a spatula and onto Kara's tray.



We then turned them over, so they were grilled-side up, and brushed them with olive oil before we topped them (except when we topped them with pesto - they don't need any more oil than is already in the pesto). Then we returned them to the grill (topped side up, raw dough side down, obviously), and closed the lid, checking on them every few minutes.



Once they were nice and crispy on the bottom, and the toppings were heated, we put them back on the tray, then transferred them to a side table where we cut and served them. So basically, we had 2 pizzas at a time, adding up to 8 pizzas over the course of about an hour and a half. This was a good method.

- We found that most delicious combinations of toppings were the simplest: fig and chevre; pesto and ricotta. When you start to add too many toppings, not only can the crust become too weighted to be light and crisp, it can also get soggy; also, too many toppings tend to cause competing flavors.


- I think the key to having really delicious, simple pizzas, is the quality of the toppings. For instance, rather than buy pre-made pesto and marinara, I made my own (not as hard as it sounds). Check out the recipes below. Besides that, just make sure you buy good cheese (since cheese is integral to a great pizza), and fresh toppings. It's as simple as that. NOTE: we could only find SunMaid dried figs, which, out of the package, are crusted with sugar and much too sweet. I just soaked them in a warm water bath for about 10 minutes, then drained and dried them. They are much better that way.

QUICK MARINARA RECIPE:

drizzle olive oil
3 garlic cloves, mashed but kept whole
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2-3 T. balsamic vinegar
splash of wine (white or red is fine)
fresh chopped parsley
dried Italian herbs (oregano, basil, whatever you have)
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

Heat the olive oil in a pot. Cook the garlic cloves for a few minutes in the oil, until fragrant (you will fish them out later). Pour in the rest of the ingredients and cook over medium-high heat until the sauce is reduced/thickened. Fish out the whole garlic cloves and discard.



BY-HAND PESTO RECIPE:

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
lots of fresh basil, finely chopped
3/4 c. nuts (I used walnuts, but pine nuts are traditional)
big handful grated parmesan cheese
a few garlic cloves, finely minced
glug olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients. The mixture, when left sitting, will have a tendency to separate, so just stir it before putting it on the pizza. You could of course use a blender or food processor, but I like the by-hand method; I think it tastes fresher, and I like it a little chunkier.



I didn't realize until I was rolling out the dough, with Adam watching intently over my shoulder, that he would be an especially tough judge of my abilities. Why? Because his family owns and runs a pizza joint in the Chicago suburbs! Adam has been lobbying to come over for a blog for forever, and of course it would be my luck that I chose to cook the one thing he probably knows best. Of course, we had a pizza-throwing contest (he was the clear winner). I was, however, successful at getting flour on myself from head to toe.




THE FINAL EIGHT (topping combinations), plus JUDGES' COMMENTS:

Pesto/ricotta/parmesan (2) (I made it a second time because it was so popular the first time)

"This is everything I love about the earth on pizza dough." - Kara

"NIce, thin crust that's not too crispy - it still has a nice chew to it." - Kara and Josh

"It's like if dessert had salt in it. But my slice had a bite taken out, so that was annoying." - Jess

Marinara/spinach/mozzarella/tomato

"A little plain." - Jess

"To be able to anticipate the simplicity of this is great." - Sarah

Olive oil/fig/goat cheese/parmesan

"Ooh, this is a weird one...what's going on here?" [Me: "Fig and goat cheese."] "I did not expect to like the fig one, but it's good." - Adam

"Rustic. Authentic." - Sarah

"This is surprisingly good." - Josh


Marinara/mozzarella/olives/mushrooms

"Loved it, but maybe the olives and mushrooms were competing." - Sarah

"I think you should lose the olives." - Kara

"Love the spice! Dig it!" - Jess

"I continue to not like olives." - Adam

Marinara/Pesto/Caramelized onions/ricotta

"The taste of the marinara and the pesto slightly competes. I enjoy them both so much on their own, I didn't need the combo." - Kara

"Loved it. Perfectly rich." - Jess

"I loved it because of the onions." - Sarah

"I really liked the mix. Loved the onions. Anything with goat cheese, though, has me sold." - Shawn


Marinara/roasted red peppers/mushrooms/mozzarella

"Good combo. I love soft cheese." - Sarah

"Favorite so far, although something about it made the crust soggy." - Jess

"It was just 'eh' to me." - Kara

Olive oil/goat cheese/fig/carmelized onion/parmesan

"Decadent." - Sarah [NOTE: my favorite comment of the night.]

"Oh, I thought it was really good. I'm trying to think of something cool to say...mmmmmmm." - Kara

"I still like the original fig one better. I love the simplicity of the first one. It wasn't even like pizza. Just, whatever the hell that was, I liked it." - Adam

"I liked it." - Josh

"The perfect combination of sweet and savory." - Jess (?)

GENERAL COMMENTS:

"I've been reading about these dinners forever, and it exceeded my expectations." - Adam

About Shawn's delicious salad:

"Pleasantly surprised." - Adam

"Coming from someone who doesn't eat salad, I loved it. When I first saw the onions in there I was skeptical, but I ate it all and it was soooo good." - The Fearless Cook

"Refreshing and light." - Kara and Sarah

"This entire night has opened my eyes to a whole new world of culinary experiences which I never knew existed....which basically means figs and grapes." - Adam

Thanks to Jess, who recorded all this with aplomb, and also looked totes adorbs in her tiara:



My vote on my dish(es): 9 stars. I'm giving myself extra credit for A.) fearlessness, and B.) not completely screwing up the whole process. The pizzas were all delicious in their own way, and I'm really glad I decided to try grilling pizzas in the first place! Who'd a thunk?

Thanks so much to photog/grillmaster Josh, court reporter Jess, pizza expert Adam, salad creator extrordinaire Shawn, brave out of town guest Sarah, amazing sous chef Kara, and to everyone for reading! More soon...

Bacon & Olive Pizza

I'd love for this to be a longer post, but as it turns out, I am leaving for sunny San Diego, California, in the morning! Yay to the maximum! I am going to visit my best friend of going on (gasp! we're old) 11 years, Alisha. We became besties when we both joined the swim team in the 10th grade...I guess that would have made it 1997...yikes!


For some reason, the night before I leave for a trip, I can never stop myself from going out and pre-celebrating, which I did by having my friends Kelly and Lindsey over for pizza, then going to Kelly's boyfriend's (and my good friends') basketball game - the playoffs! And they WON - along with the Penguins and the Braves: surely a good omen.


We followed up the game with a little more competition at Trivia Night at a nearby bar, and we came in 3rd place...which meant "winning" a free round of shots...ugh. Let's just say we took them like champions. (What did you expect?)

BACON & OLIVE PIZZA

INGREDIENTS

1 ball fresh pizza dough**
about 1/2-3/4 c. pizza sauce**
mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
green olives, sliced
kalamata olives, pitted, sliced
6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, then chopped into bits
parmesan cheese for sprinkling
olive oil
cornmeal for the pizza stone

**Use the recipes from this post.


STEP ONE:

Preheat the oven to 425. Sprinkling a little flour on the counter and on a rolling pin, roll out the dough until desired thinness. Sprinkle cornmeal on the pizza stone. Transfer the pizza dough to the stone. Brush with a little olive oil.



STEP TWO:

Top with sauce, then the mozzarella. Spread the olives and bacon around on top of the cheese. Sprinkle some parmesan over the top of everything. Bake until the cheese in melty and getting browned, and the crust is crisp and browned on the edges. Slice, serve, and enjoy!


Thanks for reading! More soon...

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Pizza

Yes, another pizza post! These seem to be quite popular. I actually like making pizza so much that, now that I'm unemployed, I've been fantasizing about opening my own pizza shop (in another country, mind you, where the pizza competition is less fierce).

I can see it now: Eli's Organic Thin Crust...the neon sign would be silhouetted against a tropical setting sun, palm trees swaying, reggae and the sound of waves wafting on the breeze...it could happen!


I made great strides in my homemade dough today by using the bread flour I bought (King Arthur brand, btw) - a tip I picked up on the interwebs. I also used a different brand of dry active yeast (Hodgson Mill) that boasts "25% more yeast per pack for higher rises!" Higher rises, indeed! My normal pizza dough recipe that yields two smallish (6-piece) pizzas, made two less-puny pies this time - the one I made gave way to 9 adult-sized slices!

The bread flour definitely makes kneading a bit more difficult - the dough is much stickier overall - but I think the end result is worth it. The crust was crisper on the outside and chewier on the inside - mmmmmm....

I was having trouble deciding what to top the pizza with until I remembered the fresh Michigan asparagus I got at the farmer's market. I figured that goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes would make fast friends with the asparagus, and I was right!

My dear friend Kelly came over - bottle of Two-Buck Chuck in tow - and we devoured 7/9 of this delicious pizza.

ASPARAGUS & GOAT CHEESE PIZZA

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH:

2 1/2 - 3 c. bread flour
1 1/2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. honey
1 package active dry yeast
1 c. warm water (110 degrees)
more flour for kneading
olive oil for rubbing

SAUCE:

1 large can crushed tomatoes
2 T. tomato paste
blend of dry Italian herbs, plus salt and pepper and red pepper flakes*

*I keep an herb blend around, pre-mixed, for just this purpose - I make a lot of pizzas. I just used an old empty herb shaker bottle and mixed dried oregano, thyme, parsley, and red pepper flakes in what seems to be a logical ratio. Works like a charm.

TOPPINGS:

1 small log goat cheese
1 bunch fresh asparagus, ends trimmed off, cut into pieces
fresh parmesan cheese, for grating
1/2 small jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes*
olive oil for brushing
cornmeal for sprinkling

*I don't care what anyone says, I HATE dry sun-dried tomatoes. The oil-packed ones taste a thousand times better.

STEP ONE:

Make the dough according to these directions (I added the honey as my own personal touch - take it or leave it). NOTE: I find the dough much easier to roll out and work with after it's rested in the fridge for a few hours, so I always try to make it 5-6 hours ahead of time, or the night before. I just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.

STEP TWO:

Make the sauce: combine all ingredients and heat over medium-high heat; let cook until slightly thickened.

STEP THREE:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough to desired thinness on a lightly floured work surface. Brush a pizza stone or baking sheet with olive oil. Sprinkle cornmeal lightly all over. Place the pizza dough on the baking surface. Brush the dough with a little olive oil all over.

STEP FOUR:

Spread some sauce on the pizza dough, then top with desired toppings. Grate some fresh parmesan over the top of it all. Bake at 400 until edges are brown and crisp. Slice with a pizza slicer. Enjoy!



Wow, who knew asparagus would make such a great pizza topping (OK, I sort of stole the idea from La Madia - so sue me)?!? It didn't need a thing - it was perfect going from raw to just roasting on top of the pizza. The goat cheese was great, as could be expected (I can't tell you how crazy I am about goat cheese - it makes me want to just hug every goat I see*).

*I never see goats.

And red wine with pizza with one of my favorite people on the planet...this exact combination of things is one of the top three best things in life, hands down. And I don't have to go to work tomorrow! And it's going to be a high of 70 - and sunny!


Ain't life grand?

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Whole Wheat Herb Flatbread with Prosciutto & Chevre

What a gorgeous Saturday!

Today was the first true Spring day Chicago has seen yet this year - it was sunny and 70 degrees, the perfect weather for bike riding by the lakeshore, a morning trip to the farmer's market, and general merrymaking.


And my trip to Green City Market was no ordinary jaunt, either; I had the pleasure of shopping alongside a local chef! I'm doing a little side project for a well-known caterer-cum-consultant who specializes in sustainability, and when he wanted to meet at the farmer's market to chat, I couldn't say no. He knows all the local farmers, and gave me the rundown on everything from amazing apple storage methods to which "green" farmers are actually riding around the backcountry roads in earth-hating Hummers. It was so great to get an insider's perspective on the market offerings.


I picked up a few ingredients there, including a nice green salad mix, which I knew would go nicely with the whole wheat flatbread that I'd been planning on since last night. Since making my own pizza dough recently, I had been wanting to try making it with whole wheat flour. It totally worked! Read on to see how to make it yourself.



WHOLE WHEAT HERB FLATBREAD WITH PROSCIUTTO & CHEVRE

INGREDIENTS

For the dough, use the recipe from this post, substituting whole wheat flour for regular flour.**

**NOTE: The dough was stickier than white-flour dough when I began to knead it, so I used regular flour on my work surface while I was kneading, adding more as neccessary.

I added chopped rosemary, dill, sage, and parsley (very well chopped, about 1/2 c. total herbs) just before I started kneading. Over the course of the kneading, they became well-incorporated into the dough.



3-4 slices prosciutto, cut into strips
crumbled herb goat cheese
3 shallots, sliced thinly
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 T. olive oil for shallots, plus more for brushing on dough
freshly grated parmiagiano reggiano
salt and freshly ground pepper
red pepper flakes
sprinkling of cornmeal for the pizza stone

STEP ONE:

Follow the directions for the dough. Leave dough in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight (you can use it immediately, but it is a bit harder to work with).

STEP TWO:

Preheat the oven to 425. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Cook the shallots until caramelized, adding sugar in the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time. Set aside.

STEP THREE:

Roll out dough until desired thickness (I like my thin). Brush the pizza stone with olive oil, then sprinkle with cornmeal.

STEP FOUR:

Brush the dough with olive oil, then season with a little salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Top with goat cheese, proscuitto, and parmigiano reggiano. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes, watching pizza closely. Cooking times will vary depending on the oven, etc. Slice and enjoy!


The slight sweetness of the dough was balanced by the saltiness of the prosciutto, and the creaminess of the goat cheese was a nice complement to the crisp crust. The only thing I felt was missing was a little something to dip the flatbread in - it was a tad on the dry side. Next time, I'd just have some marinara handy for dipping, just like you would for a calzone. The salad, which was nothing more than the lettuce mix drizzled with a simple dressing of lemon juice, dijon mustard, honey, and olive oil, was light, crisp, and springy.

I'm really happy that the whole wheat flour worked out - I can see many a whole wheat pizza in my future!

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Prosciutto & Sage Pizza with Homemade Dough

I'm not really into sports. But I'm so into food that if watching sports gives me a viable excuse to make something elaborate, I'll become an instant fan of whatever team my fellow eaters happen to be cheering for at the moment (Villanova, if you must know).

I have to give you the backstory about this pizza before I launch into the how-to's; my grand plan was to make my own ricotta cheese as well as my own dough and make a ricotta and prosciutto pizza. Lest you think I've never had any kitchen disasters, let me share The Ricotta Cheese Disaster of '09. Making ricotta is, ostensibly, easy. You bring a gallon of milk to a simmer, stir in some lemon juice, scrape the curds into a cheesecloth-lined colander, and voila - fresh ricotta. Well, the whole bring-the-milk-to-a-simmer thing is where it all went, er...sour.


I could smell the milk burning, but figured that cheesemakers around the world were probably well accustomed to this unpleasant scent. I stirred in the lemon juice, and to my utter amazement, the curds did in fact form into a cheese-like substance. I let it cool for awhile before I gave it a dubious taste, and, sadly, it tasted like burnt milk. In 60 seconds of curdling, my fantasies of parlaying my love of fromage into a post-advertising career raising goats in rural upstate New York were utterly crushed. Sigh. So after an investment of $15 and 2 hours, I had no cheese for the pizza I had promised to make with the LeCroys, and yet another notch in my belt of kitchen failures.

I'm actually sort of happy I ruined the cheese, because I bought the most deliciously fresh and melty mozzarella, which made the Prosciutto and Sage pizza a crispy, savory delight. And I'm proud to say the dough came out really nicely! It was a bit hard to stretch thinly without tearing, but it tasted really good, so that's a success in my book - it just took a little patience and some skillful patching of a few holes. Considering this was the first time I had made dough of any kind - literally, I had never before kneaded so much as a pie crust - I was pretty happy with the results.


Without further ado, I present:

PROSCIUTTO & SAGE PIZZA

DOUGH:

(I used Emeril's easy dough-by-hand recipe, and my only modification was to add one tablespoon of honey to the olive oil/yeast mixture - this recipe yields 2 dough balls that make about a 12-inch thin-crust pizza each)

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour, plus more if necessary
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine yeast with water, olive oil, salt and stir well to proof. After 5 minutes, add half of the flour and mix well to thoroughly incorporate. Add all remaining flour except 1/2 cup and mix well with your hands. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead dough for at least 5 and up to 7 minutes, adding enough additional flour as necessary to form a smooth and elastic dough. Dough should not be sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 2 or 3 quart bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, usually at least 1 hour.

Divide dough into 2 portions (for 2 (12-inch) pizzas) and form into balls. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured surface, shape as desired and roll out to a thickness of 1/4-inch

SAUCE:

(this makes enough sauce for 2-3 pizzas)

1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/3 can tomato paste with Italian herbs (or plain is fine)
splash of red wine
chopped fresh and/or dried Italian herbs; I used fresh basil and dried oregano and parsley
salt and pepper to taste
crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Mix all ingredients and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce has reduced a little. Spread on raw pizza dough that has been brushed with a little olive oil. Save the rest for another pizza (it almost makes a nice marinara sauce, or a good base for vodka sauce.)

TOPPINGS:

About 1/2 c. of the sauce, but just adjust based on how saucy you like your pizza
1/2 large log of very fresh mozzarella cheese (the kind that's really white and has some water with it in the container), sliced thinly (about 1/4" slices)
~10 fresh sage leaves, whole
very thinly sliced prosciutto di parma (I bought a quarter pound at the deli, and we only used about 3/4 of what I bought, but you could easily use all of it or less of it)
freshly ground pepper
fresh parmigiano reggiano for grating over the top (optional)


Preheat the oven to 425. Brush a pizza stone with a little olive oil, and sprinkle some cornmeal around (this prevents sticking). If you don't have a pizza stone, just use a baking sheet, or put the pizza directly on the baking rack in the oven. Top the pizza dough and sauce with the above toppings, or with any you like. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, but a keep a close eye on it, because baking times vary based on thickness of crust and type of toppings. Slice with a pizza cutter and enjoy!