#115 One night, five different vegetable pizzas

 

Once you learn how to make your own pizza dough from scratch, the possibilities are endless. For very little cost, you can make any pizza that you want, even five different ones in one night! It's very quick and easy to do, even for a new baker like me.  Pizza dough keeps well in the fridge,  we had some uncooked dough that was a few days old so I decided  to experiment with different vegetables on mini pizza crusts,  the best tasting one will be made into a large pizza on the next pizza night. So I gathered all the vegetables that I had in the fridge, spinach, cherry tomatoes, arugula, onions, garlic, mushrooms and bell peppers. I also had some fresh and shredded mozarella cheese from the previous weekend, so I cut it into small slices and then joyfully worked on the dough- flattening and forming it is our favorite portion in the whole pizza making.

For our pizza dough, we used this recipe

FOR THE PIZZA SAUCE:

Ingredients:

8 ounces organic tomato sauce
24 pieces of sugar plum tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)
4 pieces of large fresh basil leaves
6 pieces of fresh oregano leaves
1 small onion
1 small garlic clove
2 pieces of mint
1 tablespoon water
3 pieces of brown mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. In a food processor, blend sauce recipes until smooth, best if made in advance and chilled for 1 hour.

 

Pizza #1:

Pizza dough, pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese. Sprinkled with fresh baby spinach leaves and fresh basil before serving.

Pizza #2:

Pizza dough, pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh halved cherry tomatoes. Sprinkled with fresh basil on top before serving.

Pizza #3:

Pizza dough, pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, red onions, sliced olives and marinated artichokes.

Pizza #4:

Pizza dough, pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, sautéed garlic, red bell peppers, then topped with sliced fresh basil.

Pizza #5:

Pizza dough, pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, sautéed garlic, sautéed mushrooms in olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper, olives, artichokes, then topped with sliced fresh basil and arugula  before serving.

So, which one won? Hmm.. I love all of the above! While it is simpler to just mix all the vegetables  in one big crust, this was fun to make and eat. The smallest pizza in the group was big enough to divide into 3 slices, so it was really fun to have small sizes of 5 different kinds of vegetable pizza. All five won, so there will soon be another mini pizza night, I'll make it exactly like this but will most probably add more mini crusts topped with grilled meats and pineapples. :)

#104 Mother's Day weekend, Serving 10 and the much beloved Pizza Magherita

This weekend, I had a taste of how busy it is to run a bed & breakfast place. Haha! We had guests over, (Yay!) well, actually they were my good friend's guests, and we all kind of stuck together from Friday to Saturday. Very fun and chill. It was a great weekend spent with amazing and genuinely nice people who carry funny and very intelligent conversations, wear smiles- all the time, love laughter, love good food and love planet/star gazing. We brought the massive telescope out, and I saw the moon, Jupiter and it's moons, Saturn and it's rings and a few bright stars, all in one night..which I was told was rare. Cool stuff!  I also had the pleasure of making breakfast and lunch, for...10 people, who know a lot about good food. Taking on the big responsibility of being an instant chef for a day is a remarkable experience for a neophyte food blogger like me, did I say yes to it because of the blog? Well, yes- it was definitely something to write about and cherish for many years to come, but I mostly did it  out of love for  friends; it was really fun cooking, but mind you, it was very, very nerve wracking around 15 minutes before serving.. It's been ages since I cooked for more than 4! Although I was on the brink of a major panic attack making 5 different breakfast dishes: pancakes, eggs, sausages, bacon and hashbrowns and preparing the table with breads, fruits and yogurt and all others in 1 hour, I kept smiling because I already said early on that I did not want help!..haha..to my relief, everything went fine for breakfast. I used our pancake recipe, but added whole eggs, and everyone loved it! There was nothing on the breakfast menu that I want to write about because the dishes were very simple, so I will only post 3 dishes that we enjoyed for lunch and dinner this weekend. First off is Pizza, we served several with a variety of toppings, but the recipe that I will share is the one that everyone went gaga over. We made our own tomato sauce to use for our Pizza Magherita. A variation  of pizza that uses only tomato sauce and cheese. You can add any topping that you want, but I learned that making a good sauce and simply adding fresh basil leaves is more than what you need for a satisfying pizza. The fresh mozzarella cheese tastes very different from the shredded ones. Absolutely delicious! This is by far the best one I made to date, and the pizza dough that we used is perfect. You  can keep left overs for two days in the fridge, and it was still be tasty and the dough will be soft but not mushy. I was worried that we went overboard with the pizza sauce, but no, its a really great tasting sauce. We used sugar plum tomatoes that we got from Trader Joe's,  some fresh herbs and lots of love to make this fantastic Pizza Magherita.

PIZZA MAGHERITA

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough, recipe here
Fresh Mozarella cheese, sliced
Sugar Plum tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, halved
Fresh Basil


FOR THE PIZZA SAUCE:

Ingredients:

8 ounces organic tomato sauce
24 pieces of sugar plum tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)
4 pieces of large fresh basil leaves
6 pieces of fresh oregano leaves
1 small onion
1 small garlic clove
2 pieces of mint
1 tablespoon water
3 pieces of brown mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500 F degrees.
2. In a food processor, blend sauce recipes until smooth, best if made in advance and chilled for 1 hour.
3. Form pizza dough into a circle, then spread a thin layer of the tomato pizza sauce.
4. Top with sliced fresh mozzarella cheese and halved sugar plum tomatoes. (you can use cherry tomatoes too)
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
6. Scatter fresh basil leaves over your freshly baked pizza.

 

 

Looks like Christmas, in the Spring. It really felt like it was Christmas time, it felt like I'm home with family being with these amazing people. There was Bob who said, "you're in the family now".  And there's the lovely ladies who said, "thank you, it was delicious" a million times. And then there's also the gentlemen who uttered the word "fantastic, outstanding, thank you" so many times. I heard and saw so much love and so much kindness  not just towards me, but towards everybody in a span of 6 hours, and more during dinner. Lunch ended with hugs. Simple things like kind words, touch and smiles can truly move hearts, it was a Saturday morning well-spent, indeed. :)

 

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms especially to my beautiful mother! 

It was one of the best Mother's Day weekend, what would have made it perfect is if I had my entire family together. Next Mother's Day will be the best one ever!

#73 Barbecue Pizza with Jalapenos and Fresh Mozarella

If you like barbecue sauce on your pizza...you will looove this. I had a little problem making the sauce for the pizza because I only had dijon mustard. I used it anyway, and because Dijon mustard has vinegar in it, I skipped the vinegar that is needed in the sauce. But I will post the original recipe. This pizza, using my favorite recipe for the dough, is crunchy, spicy and sooo good!

Yield: serves 6 people


Barbecue Pizza with Jalapenos and Fresh Mozarella


Ingredients:

3/4 ounce chicken breast cutlets
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Cooking spray
Pizza Dough see recipe here
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup unsalted ketchup
3 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup pickled Jalapeno slices
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves


Directions:

1. Place a pizza stone or a heavy baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 450 F degrees (leave pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven as it preheats)
2. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with black pepper and salt. Combine brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder and cumin in a small bowl, stirring well to combine. Set aside 2 teaspoons spice mixture; rub the remaining spice mixture evenly over all sides of chicken. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; saute 3 minutes on each side or until the  chicken is cone. Let chicken stand 10 minutes; slice thinly against the grain.
3. Roll dough into a 14x9 -inch rectangle (or a 14-inch circle) on a lightly floured surface; pierce dough with cooking spray. Carefully remove pizza stone from oven. Sprinkle cornmeal over pizza stone; place dough on pizza stone.
4. Bake at 450F degrees for 9 minutes. Combine reserved 2 teaspoons spice mixture, ketchup, mustard and vinegar. (I substituted the yellow mustard with 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard and omitted the vinegar). In a small saucepan, heat the combine mixture over medium heat. Bring mixture to a simmer; cook 3 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Remove partially cooked crust from oven; spread ketchup mixture evenly over crust leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Top with chicken, onion, jalapenos and cheese. Bake at 450F degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is browned. Sprinkle with cilantro. Slice and serve.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

 

A slice of LOVE goes a long long way...

#55 Pizza Dough

 

The day I learned how to make pizza, I felt very powerful. :) There is no need anymore for me to spend a lot of money to enjoy a gourmet pizza. And it's so easy to make. It should be easy for you too. With a little bit of hard work and patience, you, your family and friends can enjoy a great Italian dish and put only the best ingredients in it. :) This pizza dough is great, it's crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. Organic bread flour is the best ingredient to use for this recipe, because the all-purpose flour makes the dough chewy. We love marinated artichoke hearts and olives, so of course, we put plenty on top! 

Pizza Dough


Ingredients:

3 1/2 to 4 cups of bread flour, plus more
1 teaspoon sugar
1 envelope instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups of water, 110 degrees F
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons


Directions:

1. Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of the oil and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball.
2. Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.
3. Cut dough in 3 parts if you want a thinner crust. Flatten it to form into a round pizza. Add your favorite topping.
4. Bake in 500 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.

Recipe adapted from The Food Network's Bobby Flay.

The sound of the crust, the finest shredded mozzarella, and the toppings that I like. Perfect!