Pizza!

For Christmas, one of my girls bought me two pizza stones.  I've always made my pizzas on baking sheets, and it's worked fine, but I figured I'd give the pizza stones a try.  Of course, lacking a pizza peel (a lack which has since been remedied), I put the pizzas on cold stones, but they were still fine.  And they looked pretty fancy.  My dearly beloved was quite pleased to have pizza for his birthday last Friday - or as pleased as an adult man can be over being reminded that he's getting older!

So, just in case you need a great pizza crust recipe, Mr. James Beard to the rescue.

JAMES BEARD'S PIZZA CRUST

1-1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil

Pour the warm water (about 110F) into your mixing bowl or bread machine bowl; sprinkle the yeast over it, and add the remaining ingredients in the order given.  Run the bread machine through its first knead and rest cycle, or beat the flour in at the lowest speed with a stand mixer, and let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes (or follow the directions over there -----> for other methods of mixing dough).  Split the dough in half, roll out to fit your pizza stone or baking tray (which may take the whole batch, depending upon the size of the tray and how thick you want your crust), sprinkle the stone or tray with cornmeal and put the crust in place.  Top with sauce and whatever toppings you desire (I used mushrooms and ground beef with onions and garlic on one, and tomatoes with ground beef with onions and garlic on the other), liberally cheese the top of your pizza, sprinkle with some oregano, and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 400F.

And, remember, a birthday pie is a great way to end the day!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

James Beard's Pizza Crust

I decided to make pizza on Wednesday, because so much was going on that we needed a quick and easy dinner.  Of course, having carefully read my James Beard Menu Cookbook recently, and having made his outstanding white bread, I recalled that there was a recipe for pizza crust.  James Beard was and is a very trustworthy food creator, and so I decided to give it a whirl.

JAMES BEARD'S PIZZA CRUST

1 cup warm water
1 tbsp (or 1 packet) yeast*
4 cups flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil

Dissolve the yeast in the water, add the sugar, and then add the flour, salt and olive oil.  Mix according to my yeast bread directions located to the right------->
Let the dough ball rise in a warm place until doubled in size, punch down and split it in half.  Roll out each half to fit a round pizza pan or a small rectangular baking tray; top with your choice of sauce, meat, vegetables and/or cheese.  Sprinkle oregano over the top and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake at 400F until browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

*Note that I used double the amount of yeast so my dough would rise faster - in about 15 minutes.  Also note that I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 so I could make 2 large trays of pizza.  Ryan's home from college, after all, and he is hungry.

The boys received this pizza very enthusiastically.  My dearly beloved declared this to be my best pizza crust ever.  And, all of the leftovers were gone before dinner Thursday.  Case closed; James Beard wins again!

Happy Friday, everyone!  Time to start working on my holiday menus!

(Almost) Health Food Pizza

Late last week, my dearly beloved was bemoaning the fact that there was "nothing good" to eat in the house and he can't ever have good food again.  (To be fair, he and his sons always wail about the fact that there is "no food in the house" and yet can't tell me what would constitute food, other than perhaps pounds upon pounds of cooked meat sitting in the fridge, awaiting their consumption).

So I decided to show him that (a) he can have good food, and (b) upon half an hour's notice, or thereabouts, I can produce something from "nothing".

ALMOST HEALTH FOOD PIZZA

1-1/2 cups warm water
2-1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups regular flour
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tbsp yeast
olive oil for brushing
sauce
oregano
shredded mozzarella

Pour the water in your bread machine bucket or mixing bowl; sprinkle with the yeast, then add flour, salt and olive oil.  Mix according to my directions over there --------> (or in any way that makes you happy).  After the dough has been mixed and kneaded for about 10 minutes, until it is smooth and shiny, remove from the bowl, split into 2 and roll out onto 11"x17" baking trays.  Brush the tops of the crust with olive oil, spread sauce over the crusts (I used leftover spaghetti sauce from the previous night, because I have never bothered to remember that cooking pasta for 5 requires considerably less sauce than pasta for 11), sprinkle with oregano, and top with shredded mozzarella (I used about 8 ounces per pizza).  Put into a cold oven, set for 425F, and walk away for 20 to 25 minutes.  It will rise, it will cook, it will smell drool-worthy, and everyone will be happy.

Note: you can add cooked meat, onions or whatever before sprinkling on the cheese.  I dislike onions, can't eat peppers and despise mushrooms, so those are out of the question.  I also didn't add ground beef in an effort to control the cholesterol content.  Feel free to splurge, if you'd like.  But it was great "as is".

After making a smaller batch for lunch one day, I made the double batch for dinner when the newlyweds were passing through.  Everyone loved it.

So there you are, in about the time it takes to phone in an order and go fetch it, you can have fresh, piping hot, Almost Health Food Pizza!  Glad to help you out.

Hope you're all having a great Monday.

Pizza for Pi Day

Saturday was 3.14, which, as we math fans know, is Pi. Hence, Pi Day. What better way to celebrate than Pizza Pie? The kids love it, I don't, which is irrelevant, and the girls made it, which is even better.

I tried a new crust recipe, and my dearly beloved informed me that this was the best pizza he'd had since leaving New Haven 40 years ago. I guess you might say he sorta liked it? For the record, I used pizza sauce from cans. I don't feel the need to take hours to make the sauce for something I think of as "fast food".

CRISPY PIZZA CRUST

1-1/2 cups water
3 tsp yeast
2 cups flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 tsp salt
2/3 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil

Soften the yeast in the water, stir in the rest of the ingredients. For one batch, you can mix this in a bread machine. For the record, if you're tripling this recipe, be careful mixing it in a Kitchenaid mixer. Mine overheated, and shut itself down for half an hour. I was less than pleased. The triple batch made 2 large baking trays plus 4 small baking trays. There were leftovers.
But everyone else was pleased with the results. What more can one ask on a Saturday night? Tomorrow, I'll show you our dessert for Pi Day.

Calzones!

I'm not going to lie. I've heard of calzones before, but had never had one. I'd never seen one, either. For Christmas, my biggest son bought me "fun food stuff" including some tiny bear pans (I'll tell you about those some time soon), and a pizza stone. So I figured I'd make one white pizza for New Year's Eve, and everyone could have a slice with their many selections of meat. Well, my middle daughter took up rooting for calzone instead, because she buys them at college and loves them. Off to Beth Hensberger's bread machine cookbook for guidance, where I learned that calzone translates to "trouser leg". Super. Now, how do I cook the things?

So, I used Beth's recipe for the crust, and adapted a recipe for stuffed shell stuffing I found in that day's newspaper (where the food people were telling us how much money we can save by cooking instead of eating out every day - DUH!!!!!). My little guy couldn't finish his, and I didn't even touch mine that night, although I reheated it the next day, and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did everyone else. Heck, they didn't even know this was pretty good for them!
CALZONES WITH SPINACH, CHEESE & SAUSAGE STUFFING

Crust for 4 "personal sized" calzones:

1-1/8 cups water
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp yeast
1-1/2 tsp salt
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Mix in the bread machine or by hand or mixer. Let the dough rise for 15 minutes, while the filling cooks, then form into 4 balls and flatten each to about 6" to 8" diameter.

Filling:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large finely chopped onion
1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 box frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
1 large egg
1 pound Ricotta cheese
2/3 cups grated Parmesan
1 tsp dried basil

Cut the sausage in pieces, and saute in the olive oil with the onion and garlic until cooked. Put in the food processor and pulse to cut into small pieces. In a bowl, mix the Ricotta and egg; stir in the spinach and basil, and add the sausage mix and Parmesan. Spread 1/4 of the mix on one half of each calzone dough. Liberally sprinkle the top of the mix with grated mozzarella, fold the dough over on top of the filling, holding the dough back about 1/2" from the bottom edge, then fold the bottom edge over the top part of the dough. Bake at 425 for 20 to 25 minutes, and let stand for a few minutes for the filling to set. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.I've been told I must make these again, so I guess they were a big hit!

DIY Pizza

Yesterday, we had a lovely, 65 degree day - our first real, live taste of spring. I swear that I watched my lawn getting greener by the hour. (Chew fingernails nervously) My son Jeffrey won't be home from college until May 10th, so, while I'll reluctantly ride the tractor right next to the house, the chances of me mowing my entire yard are less than the chances of me wearing a sweatsuit (which I've never in my life owned - if you can't wear it with minimum 2" heels, pearls and diamonds, it's not in my wardrobe). Of course, after playing outside all day, I thought the little boys deserved an exciting dinner. They had been clamoring for pizza, and while there are plenty of real Italian pizzerias around here, I just don't like the stuff well enough to fork over $30 or $40 to feed a measley 4 people.

So, off we trotted to the supermarket to buy sausage for pizza; of course, Ryan wanted a pepper (which I can't eat, and didn't want, but couldn't refuse the kid for a buck). I tried Beth Hensperger's recipe for whole wheat pizza crust, precooked the sausage in the George Foreman grill, then sliced (and sort of crumbled) them in the new Cuisinart, and laid out bowls of toppings. And, yes, I did indeed use canned sauce; I just didn't feel like making my own. It was delicious.

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA CRUST

1-1/3 cups warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
2-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast
1 tbsp. sugar

Put all the ingredients in the bread machine, and mix on the "pasta" cycle. Let rise for 15 minutes, then flatten the dough to the desired size. This will make 2 trays approx. 11'x14". Note that the sugar was not in the original recipe, but since it was in all of her other pizza dough recipes, I added the same amount to this recipe. The tray should be coated with olive oil and sprinkled with cornmeal to ensure that it doesn't stick, although pan spray would probably work. Also, Beth Hensperger notes that this dough is hard to use, and you may develop holes in it as you flatten it. Well, even with my rolling pin, I got holes. Great thing about bread doughs - you can fix the hole and move on. I used added half again as much of each, to make two full sized trays and 2 "smaller ones" for the boys - Mark eagerly dubbed it his "free personal pan pizza" (I believe his buddy next door must have gotten the Pizza Hut reading award). No one ever noticed that this was not a standard pizza crust; my husband, who grew up just outside the very Italian city of New Haven, and considers himself an expert on Italian food (yeah, right - this from the man who's not certain he can cook instant oatmeal) said this was the best pizza he's ever had. Until about an hour later, after he had eaten an entire tray:

Hubby: "groan This is all your fault!"
Me: "Why?"
"You fed me!"
"I did not. I put out the pizza, and let you eat what you wanted."
"You should have fed me."
"You're a big boy."
"But I'm stupid....groan"

I do adore the man. He makes me laugh, even when he overeats (which is rare, because I feed him).

Pizza

I don't like pizza. Actually, I don't like anything in red sauce. So, making pizza for Friday night dinner is an awfully strange choice, isn't it?

A few years back, my fourth son had a friend whose father owned a pizza place. He was a sizable gentleman, so I had to believe that he knew how to make a good pizza. One evening, he came to pick up his 2 kids (kindergarten & 8th grade), who had been here for the afternoon and evening, and he brought us a couple of pizzas. One was a white pizza; I'd never even heard of such a thing. I actually liked it, although the kids scoffed at me. So when I found a recipe for pizza crust last year, I knew that replicating Donio's white pizza was on my "must" list.

This morning, my last 2 big sons and 2 of my 3 daughters returned to college (thankfully, the third daughter is still in high school). So I decided to break down and give them the pizza they'd been asking for since they'd gotten home. I made the pizza dough, the recipe shown below six times over, and told the girls to put on the toppings. Of course, the 2 big boys, 2 little boys and dog came to help. You'll probably never see anyone else write that 40 lineal feet of counter plus a table is not enough. Trust me, with the circus I had going on, it isn't. Anyway, the girls precooked ground beef and sausage (sweet and hot), and chopped 6 tomatoes, a pound of broccoli, a pound of mushrooms, and an onion. Shown below are white pizza with tomatoes and broccoli, and a ground beef and tomato (with sauce) pizza. All of the pizzas were topped with a combination of jack, mozzarella, white cheddar and provolone (I love cheese).

PIZZA CRUST:

1-1/3 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
3-1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2-1/2 tsp. yeast

Mix about 15 minutes on the dough setting, then take out and shape. Makes 1 tray (11x17"), or 2 12" or 14" round pizzas, or 6 "personal sized" pizza crusts.


After adding the toppings, bake at 475 for about 14 minutes. I switched my trays from top to bottom shelf and vice versa, so I could bake 2 per oven and have the crusts come out evenly browned. I do like my crust light, so you might want to add another minute or two baking time.

Even my circus didn't eat 6 large trays of pizza. We had 2 left over, which they happily munched on all day Saturday.