JBug's Kitchen Antics

Pizza alla Napoletana

What better way to make use of summer's finest fresh flavors than by making a simple pizza. Did you know an authentic Italian pizza contains only a few simple high quality ingredients?

I know that may seem weird to most of us because we're used to piling a bunch of crazy stuff on pies but according to Biba Caggiano in her book, Modern Italian Cooking "good pizza should not be smorgasbord of contrasting and, very often, clashing ingredients, but rather an orchestration of well-balanced tastes that complement each other. To be good, pizza needs only three things: a crisp good dough, fresh tasting ingredients, and a light hand in using them."

As you can see, this Pizza alla Napoletana contains only a few ingredients but they've got to be stellar. It is ideal for using those perfect tomatoes fresh from your garden, if and when you're so lucky to have some. As for me, I simply squeezed the juice and seeds out of a vine ripened orb and called it garden fresh. Hey a girls gotta' do what a girl's gotta do, but some of those lovely tasty little mini plum or cherry tomatoes packed with flavor would work just as well.

Along with a couple of minced garlic cloves, a sprinkle of oregano, some fresh mozzarella as well as assorted grated Italian cheeses courtesy of Trader Joe's and a smidgen of good olive oil, last night's dinner was ready before I was. 

Incidentally, this pizza looks less "rustic" than usual because I cooked it in a number 9 cast iron pan that I warmed on top of the stove before it hit a 500 degree oven. The result was an incredibly crisp crust - relatively thin just as I prefer and cleanup was a cinch. No messy peel to wash, no cornmeal mess to sweep off the oven floor and no leftovers. Darn! 

Pizza alla Napoletana (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Modern Italian Cooking, Biba Caggiano)

2 fresh ripe tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning or 2 tablespoons fresh oregano

3/4 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese or 4 cheese blend

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pizza dough for 1 12 inch pie

Preheat oven to 500. Brush a small amount of oil onto bottom of a well-seasoned 9 or 10 inch cast iron pan. Roll or stretch pizza dough out to 12 inch size and line bottom of pan. Using kitchen shears, cut off any excess dough. Squeeze juice and seeds out of tomatoes and slice very thin. Arrange on top of pizza dough followed by garlic, oregano and grated cheese. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil. Place plan on high heat and cook for 2 minutes or until pizza starts to sizzle. Move pan to the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden. 

A year ago - Roasted Salmon with Tomato Basil Relish

Two year's ago - Clam's Casino Casserole with Lemon Pasta

Hearty Meat Lover's Pan Pizza

Pizza seems to be a recurring theme around here and we've yet to get tired of it. Of course it's darn near impossible to get sick of something you can change at a whim whether it be a pizza with duck, figs and brie cheese, or clam's casino or simply fresh tomatoes, pesto and cheese. Why we've even had a deep dish pulled pork version. 

Making a pan pizza solves one of our biggest pie makin' problems. The art of moving a soft uncooked pizza from peel to pizza stone without cheating and using parchment paper has been known to cause some significant "blue air" around here from time to time, but I think I've finally found a way around that problem. Last night's meat lover's pizza made good use of one of our treasured cast iron skillets in a method that solves the moving issue and works perfectly for a gi-normous Chicago style pie.

I simply coated a well seasoned cast iron pan with a little oil and placed the rolled out dough inside. Next the filling hit the pan - in this case ground meat mixed with an assortment of well disguised veggies (hey I called it a meat lovers pizza didn't I?) mixed with marinara and a healthy dose of cubed fontina as well as grated mozzarella cheese. The cast iron pan hit the stove top on medium high for 3 minutes and finished cooking in a 400 oven for 25 minutes.

As you can see it was pretty darn good although I have to admit to preferring a thin crust pizza with fewer ingredients. I think we may need a little more practice perfecting the method. Oh darn!

Hearty Meat Lover’s Pan Pizza (from JBug’s Kitchen inspired by dairygoodness.ca)

Crust:

2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 package yeast

1 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast in a food processor with metal blade. Pulse to combine. With motor running add water and mix until combined. Add additional 1 cup flour, olive oil and salt and mix just until dough ball rides top of blade – 10 to 15 seconds. Add more flour if mixture is too soft. Spray a bowl with cooking spray and move dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size – about 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, deflate dough lightly and place on a floured board. Cover with bowl and allow to rest for 20 minutes before rolling out.

Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional 1 tablespoon

1 pound extra lean ground beef

2 cloves garlic

1 cup finely diced zucchini

1 cup finely diced eggplant

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup diced mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1-1/2 cups marinara sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large skillet until shimmering hot. Add beef and cook, crumbling with a fork until meat is well browned. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan and when hot, add garlic, zucchini, eggplant, onion and mushrooms. Sauté until vegetables are very soft – about 10 minutes. Add chili pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and basil and cook an additional minute. Stir in marinara sauce and return beef to pan. Cook for 10 minutes or until mixture is very thick. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Pizza:

8 ounces fontina cheese, cut into quarter inch cubes

1-1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Sliced pepperoncino or pickled jalapeno peppers (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 12 inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray. Roll dough out to a circle at least 1 inch larger than the size of skillet and place inside. Arrange half the meat filling into bottom and sprinkle with cubed cheese. Place remaining filling on top of cheese, then sprinkle with mozzarella. Fold in any dough exceeding edge of skillet. Place skillet onto stove top and cook at medium high for 3 minutes. Move to preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes dough is browned and pizza is bubbling. Garnish with pepperoncino and serve. 

 A year ago - Braised Lamb with Bacon and Marsala

Two year's ago - Pork Carnitas

Pancetta and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza

Imagine a white pizza - meaning one made without a spec of tomato sauce but with a creamy buttery peppery nutmeg spiced white bechamel sauce, sprinkled with crisp pancetta and bits of smoky bacon,  sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers and pepperoncini. Kissed with smoked mozzarella as well as some of the unsmoked version, it's all hot, steamy, creamy and subtle in flavor.

The taste of the pancetta and bacon really stand out as does the smoked mozzarella. The pepperoncini add a very subtle bite of spice and the creamy rich bechamel really holds the whole thing together. It's the bomb!

There's just one little thing - I darn near drove the Big Guy nuts as he was building this beauty because I did something really stupid. Now I've made this pizza crust a b'zillion times - it's my "go to" when we're having pizza and ready in a flash because it's made in the food processor. It's really never fail, but fail it did last night. Actually to tell the full story, I can't blame the crust because the cook was at fault.

Moral of the story - measure, measure, measure. I eyeballed the flour and oil and wasn't careful with the water either resulting in a dough that was way, way too soft and hard to handle. It didn't have the crunch or consistency of our usual brag worthy version, and it was a giant pill for the Big Guy to roll out, never mind get from the pizza peel to the stone in the oven.  Sorry my darling man. I sure hope your blood pressure's back to normal!

Pancetta and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza (an original from JBug’s Kitchen)

Crust:

1 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

In bowl of food processor with metal blade, combine 1-1/2 cups flour with warm water and yeast. Blitz to mix well. Add 1 more cup of flour, olive oil and salt. Blitz just until dough forms into one ball and rides on top of the metal blade – about 20 seconds. Remove dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). After dough has risen, remove to a floured board and cut in half. Form into 2 balls and cover with a bowl. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before shaping. Makes two 12 inch pizzas.

Sauce:

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1-1/2 cups milk or fat free half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

In a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and whisk to combine well. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes stirring constantly. Whisk in milk and cook until thickened – about another 5 minutes, whisking often. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set aside to cool.

Pizza:

4 ounces pancetta, cooked until crisp

4 ounces smoky bacon, cooked until crisp

Roasted Red Pepper, diced (I used jarred)

Dry packed sun dried tomatoes

Pepperoncini (optional)

6 ounces smoked mozzarella, sliced

4 ounces grated mozzarella

Preheat oven to 500 with pizza stone on lower rack. Roll dough into 2 – 12 inch discs. Split sauce between 2 pizzas, then add rest of ingredients, ending with grated mozzarella to prevent sun dried tomatoes and bacon from burning. Bake for 12 minutes.

A year ago - Old Fashioned Lemon Pudding   Two year's ago - Mushroom and Marsala Soup

Duck Pizza with Figs, Pancetta and Brie

One of the major pluses of cooking for two is that a lot of recipes are made for 4 servings which means that fabulous dinner of braised duck we had night before last got a reworking for dinner as the most incredible pizza ever made.

Now we've made duck pizza before but honestly I'm thinking it was just a prelude to an even better version this time. A perfectly thin and incredibly crisp crust is the basis as always, but last night's seemed thinner and crisper and absolutely more delicious than any before which makes not one bit of sense because it is the same recipe we always use.

A creamy sauce made from heavy cream and the white rinds of the brie is reduced and tops the crust, followed by leftover braised duck, pancetta pieces, juices and all and some of the figs all sliced up nice and evenly. Topped with golden brown onions jazzed up with some dry sherry and guilded with slices of brie, it all hit the pizza stone in a 500 oven for exactly 12 minutes.

Garnished with some pomegranate arils that cut some of the richness of the other ingredients just perfectly it was amazing, particularly served with a rather incredible bottle of 2006 Sagrantino di Montefalco we sprung $9.99 for at Trader Joes - which to be honest is an absolute fortune for us cheap under $6.00 a bottle winos. Heaven in a glass to go with heaven on a plate.

The bonus - I lifted barely a finger to help and I even tried to keep my "advice" to a minimum. It was the Big Guy's labor of love. Lucky, eh?

Duck Pizza with Figs, Pancetta, Grilled Onions and Brie from JBug’s Kitchen Antics inspired by Emeril Lagasse

Crust:

1 cup water

1 package active dry yeast (Rapid Rise is fine)

2-1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

In bowl of food processor with metal blade combine 1-1/2 cups flour with warm water and yeast. Mix well. Add 1 cup four, olive oil and salt. Combine well until dough forms into one ball and rides on top of the metal blade (about 20 seconds). If dough is very sticky add more flour; however dough should be very soft. Remove ball of dough from processor and place in lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. After dough has risen remove to a floured board and cut in half. Form into 2 balls and cover with bowl. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before shaping. Makes 2 – 12 inch pizzas

 Sauce:

2/3 cup heavy cream

Rind from 8 ounce piece triple cream brie cut into small pieces

Combine rind and cream in a small pot. Heat over medium heat, whisking from time to time to dissolve cheese into cream. Bring to a simmer and cook until cream has reduced and sauce is thick – about 10 minutes. Watch carefully so you don’t reduce it too much!

 

For the pizza:

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons medium dry sherry

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat heavy skillet over medium heat. Add butter and when melted, add onions. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until onions have caramelized and turned a rich amber color (about 30 minutes). Remove from heat and add port. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

1-1/2 cups chopped or slivered cooked duck leftover from Braised Duck

2 ounces of diced pancetta with juices leftover from Braised Duck

6 precooked leftover figs from Braised Duck, thinly sliced

8 ounce piece of triple cream brie sliced, (rind removed as above)

Pomegranate arils

Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat oven to 500. Shape crust into 12 inch pizza. Top with half of Brie sauce, and half of the duck, pancetta, figs and brie. Transfer to pizza stone and bake for 12 minutes. Garnish with pomegranate arils. Repeat for second pizza.

A year ago - Pomegranate Gelato   Two year's ago - Shaker Lemon Pie

 

Pulled Pork Pizza - Deep Dish Style

Remember the oven roasted pulled pork we made a little while ago that I bragged about being the best? Well, it resurfaced from the freezer last night to form the basis for this Chicago style deep dish pizza.

Our usual pizza dough whizzed up in 30 seconds flat in the food processor morphed into the perfect crust to fill a 12 inch spring form pan. Barbecue sauce formed the next layer, followed by pepper jack cheese, golden brown onions, sauteed mushrooms with a touch of garlic and lots of black pepper, followed by that perfect pulled pork. Pickled jalapeno topped it along with fresh mozzarella and a little more pepper jack. Our mouths were weeping with anticipation!

Twenty minutes in a 500 oven while we celebrated Pink Mountain Friday and there you have it ....dinner! We spoil ourselves don't we?

Speaking of spoiled, the Big Guy's off to enjoy his usual Saturday bowl of menudo followed by grocery shopping. I'm off the hook on that today because the Maxer dawg picked midnight to dance the seizure jig and it doesn't look like he's quite finished yet. We're certainly not complaining though because he made it 9-1/2 weeks between jigs, and that's almost a record. As of this moment he and Finnigan are enjoying the morning sun, watching the world go by from the den window.  It's a good life Charlie Brown!

Pulled Pork Pizza – Deep Dish Style

Crust:

1 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2-1/2 cups bread flour (or all purpose)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

In bowl of food processor with metal blade, combine 1-1/2 cups flour with warm water and yeast. Blitz to mix well. Add 1 more cup of flour, olive oil and salt. Blitz until dough forms into one ball and rides on top of the metal blade – about 20 seconds. If dough is very sticky add more flour and mix again, however the dough should be very soft. Remove dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). After dough has risen, remove to a floured board and punch down lightly, cover with bowl and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Filling:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

Coarse ground black pepper and salt

1/3 cup barbecue sauce

1-1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

1 cup pulled pork

1/4 cup sliced pickled jalapenos

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high in a large sauté pan. Add onions and cook until softened and just starting to turn golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining oil to pan, heat and add mushrooms. Sauté until browned. Add garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook for a minute more. Remove from pan and cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 500. Spray a 12 inch spring form pan with cooking spray and place all of dough into center. Working with a small roller or your fingers, spread dough evenly onto bottom and up approximately 1-1/2 inches on the sides of the pan. Spread barbecue sauce over dough on bottom of pan and sprinkle 1 cup of pepper jack cheese on top. Add onion and mushrooms followed by pulled pork and jalapenos. Finish with mozzarella cheese and the remaining pepper jack. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is browned and filling is bubbling. Remove from oven to a board. Remove sides of pan and slide pizza from bottom disc onto board. Slice and serve. Download Pulled Pork Pizza

A year ago - Braciole, Italian Stuffed Beef Rolls

Friday Night Special Stromboli

Picture this. Soft fresh mozzarella cheese and provolone melting through marinara moistened hot Italian sausage, sauteed onions, roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes all wrapped up nice and tight in a crunchy on the outside and soft fluffy on the inside dough with every bite made better with a sliver of fresh basil right from the herb garden. The flavors explode in your mouth and the cheese drips down your chin. The first piece goes down so fast you've hardly tasted it but the second one, oh my ...and as for the third...well...It's a race to the finish!

That's what we had for our Friday night special last night, along with a bottle of Willamette Valley Pinot - it was blissful. Best thing is, we somehow managed to leave a third of it for lunch later today. Aren't we special!

Friday Night Special Stromboli (a JBug’s Kitchen original)

Crust:

1 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2-1/2 cups bread flour, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

In bowl of food processor with metal blade, combine 1-1/2 cups flour with warm water and yeast. Blitz to mix well. Add 1 more cup of flour, olive oil and salt. Mix until dough forms into one ball and rides on top of the metal blade – about 20 seconds. If dough is very sticky add more flour and mix again; however the dough should be very soft. Remove to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). After dough has risen, remove to a floured piece of parchment paper, cover with cloth and let rest for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes has passed, roll dough out to approximately 14 x 17 inches.  Spread the following filling in the middle, on the long side.

 1 pound hot Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled and well drained

1/2 cup marinara sauce

1 large onion, sautéed until soft and golden

2 roasted red peppers, sliced

1/3 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese sliced

4 ounces sliced provolone

Sprinkle of freshly ground pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, dried basil

Coarse ground sea salt

Using parchment to assist, fold in ends of stromboli, then sides to have dough meat in the middle. Pinch well to close. Move parchment paper onto large sheet pan and sprinkle stromboli with course salt. Bake in preheated 375 oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Drain any excess liquid from pan and remove Stromboli to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Clams Casino Pizza

Ah Friday night - pink mountains, martini, no fuss dinner. Did I just say "no fuss dinner"? In your dreams people, because this one has a ton of prep but oh my goodness, it is some KGB (kinda' good boy).

If you like the flavor of clams casino, just imagine all of that good stuff like crispy bacon, sauteed onions and garlic, gorgeous Oregon coast gaper clams chopped and cooked in white wine all on a bed of nutmeg flavored bechamel, displayed on a crisp crust garnished with sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers and a mixture of mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and fontina cheeses. A touch of fresh basil and parsley, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and I mean honestly, this might just be the best thing we've had since our duck pizza from a few months ago.

We can thank that sexy studfmuffin Tyler Florence for the inspiration and I say inspiration only because I butchered his version to suit our preferences, but here's the link to his recipe anyway in case you'd rather make it HIS way than MY way and oh, by the way, it kind of blows the theory of "no cheese with seafood" right outa' the water. Wonder what other kitchen rules I can break before I hang up my apron.

Clams Casino Pizza (inspired by Tyler Florence at foodnetwork.com)

Pour yourself a glass of wine and relax, because this pizza takes a fair bit of kitchen time to prep, but it is worth every second.

Crust:

1 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2-1/2 cups bread flour (or all purpose)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

In bowl of food processor with metal blade, combine 1-1/2 cups flour with warm water and yeast. Blitz to mix well. Add 1 more cup of flour, olive oil and salt. Blitz until dough forms into one ball and rides on top of the metal blade – about 20 seconds. If dough is very sticky add more flour and mix again, however the dough should be very soft. Remove dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). After dough has risen, remove to a floured board and cut in half. Form into 2 balls and cover with bowl. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before shaping. Makes 2 – 12 inch pizzas.

Sauce:

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1-1/2 cups milk or fat free half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

In small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and whisk to combine well. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk and cook until thickened (another 5 minutes). Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set aside.

To assemble pizza:

1/2 pound bacon, cut into strips

1 small onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups chopped raw clams

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 teaspoon old bay seasoning

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers

1/2 cup slivered sun dried tomatoes

2 cups grated Italian 4 cheese blend (mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and fontina)

Fresh parsley and basil for garnish, and red pepper flakes if you wish

In a large sauté pan, cook bacon over medium heat until done and just starting to crisp up. Move to a bowl and set aside. Add onion and garlic to pan and cook, stirring often, until onion is softened. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Add butter to pan and when melted add clams, wine, old bay seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper (be careful with the amount of salt you use because the clams are naturally salty). Cook for 2 minutes until clams are just opaque. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Preheat oven to 500 with pizza stone on lower rack. Roll dough into 2 – 12 inch discs. Split sauce between the two pizzas, and then add cheese, sautéed onions/garlic, clams, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers. Top with a sprinkle of more cheese to protect sun dried tomatoes from burning. Bake for 12 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and basil. Makes 2 – 12 inch pizzas. Download Clams Casino Pizza

Flatbread Pizza

Yesterday was one of those days. Why is it inevitable that when the big guy's out of town bad things happen around the house? Record cold temperatures in this man's country meant there was no water coming out of the shower yesterday morning due to frozen pipes but thanks to a little luck and a long conversation with our neighbor Donna who has dealt with the same problem before, hot water was flowing by noon. Praise be.

Unfortunately during the whole episode I managed to somehow wrench some muscles in my lower back which makes getting into or more importantly getting out of the Miata impossible and with the cupboard darn near empty, ingenuity was on the menu last night. 

I have to admit I didn't suffer much, other than having to bend down with the big guy's BBQ tongs in my hand to fish the garlic naan bread out of the bottom of the freezer and some finagling to get it into and out of the oven. Topped with a little leftover cheese sauce, mozzarella, cooked crumbled Italian sausage and jarred roasted red peppers, dinner was on the table in a flash. It was news to me, since I've never made a pizza on anything but a pizza crust before but I have a feeling I'll be doing it again really soon.

As for today - well things are getting a little more serious. I'm still gimping. There's no coffee in the house which is one issue, but there isn't any wine either and that's even more important. Wonder if Sprouts will deliver?

 

Stromboli with Meatballs

Yesterday was a busy day getting the big guy ready to blow this popstand for 5 days, and of course we had to work in a two hour power nap in the afternoon so consequently dinner took a back burner. Given a choice between PBJ sandwiches or using some of the meatballs left over from the other night, we chose the latter and made a stromboli.

We've shared this particular form of hand pie aka pizza with you before and as I'm sure you're aware, the choice of fillings is only limited by your imagination. This one held caramalized onions, mushrooms, a touch of ricotta cheese and tons of mozzarella, all piled on top of giant meaty orbs and wrapped up in a crispy pizza crust. Along side a tossed salad, it was a perfect Saturday night supper.

Here's some other examples of the stromboli we've made before along with links directly to the recipe. If you haven't tried making one of these, you don't know what you're missing.

  Pepperoni, Ham, Salami & Roasted Peppers

 
Mexican Version - Chorizo, Poblano Peppers, Ro-Tel Tomatoes

By the way, an easy way to put the stromboli together is to roll the dough out on top of a piece of parchment, load the stromboli up with goodies and then use the parchment to assist in rolling it all up. Seal the edges and flip your stromboli over seam side down onto a baking sheet again using the parchment, then slit the top and bake it up.

It's simple to make and delicious!

Pizza con Prosciutto Cotto

Dear Biba. Thank you for the inspiration from your book "Modern Italian Cooking" and for the translation, Pizza with Ham. It is a fabulous pizza although I admit I took a little "cook's" license and changed up the oregano you suggested for some of the pesto I made yesterday.

I admit I goofed somewhat and used fresh tomatoes instead of tomato sauce because I didn't want the pesto to muddy the sauce plus that gorgeous red orb was winking at me from the counter.Silly me. Obviously that's the reason you stress "plum" tomatoes in your Pizza alla Napoletana because the beautiful perfectly ripe small sized beefsteak I used had far too much liquid and made the center of the pie rather "moist". I should have roasted the tomato first and/or used the sun dried version.

Oh well, the outside crust was crisp and lovely anyway. I used a lot of fresh mozzarella too rather than the quarter cup you suggested, but recipes are just guidelines anyway aren't they and I am a self professed Class "A" cheeseaholic. A 12 inch pie is way too much for one person so I'll be thanking you for breakfast later. My love for cold pizza is surpassed only by my love of ice cream.

There is something I need to tell you though about your recipe for Basic Pizza Dough on page 302 of said book. Honestly I don't know how to say this and I hesitate to hurt your feelings although surely it must have been a printing error but 1 Tablespoon of salt is far too much of a good thing in a yeast based dough with only 1-1/2 cups of flour, unless you have a share in a local winery in which case the excess salt makes enormous sense.

But no matter. I confess I used a pre-made Trader Joe crust instead although had I really tried your recipe, surely I would have known better...but then again maybe not. After all you're the professional and I'm just a mere "hobby" cook as an impossibly snobby, autocratic, arrogant Austrian chef once told me. Course he's the idiot that "flew" through a screen door rather than opening it first. You can be sure I roared with laughter every time I saw him after that and I swear it took at least a month before the screen imprint on his forehead disappeared completely. Just proves that anyone can make a mistake, doesn't it. 

Thank you for your fabulous cookbooks and for the pages, and pages of inspiration they provide. Your "fresh interpretation of traditional (Italian) dishes" is a real treat to behold and I would be remiss if I didn't express my genuine appreciation for your talent.

Your faithful servant and wanna'be,

JBug

Pizza Night

Friday night dinners around here are for the most part relaxed and uncomplicated. The only issue is timing as I never know exactly when the big guy's going to darken the door. Unlike most people who like to make a quick exit from the office on Fridays, he often stays late to finish up and last night he was heavy into the stack of papers he's got to grade. It makes planning dinner a bit of a challenge and I've certainly learned the hard way to hold off on most of the "cookin" till he gets home.

Last night's pizza crust was ready for it's toppings long before the big guy was home, but thankfully it survived. Download Basic Pizza Dough  Actually it was about the best pizza we've ever made. Perfectly crisp, with just the right amount of toppings  - a quick meat sauce made with onion, garlic, lean ground beef, special spices and a can of crushed tomatoes, topped by pepperoni, roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes that got all caramelized from the heat and just the right amount of cheese. It was a real team effort as I did the prepping and the big guy got it put together and baked while I sat and enjoyed my libation and got over my funk about him being late, AGAIN!

Somehow the aroma of fresh pizza from the oven cures a multitude of things.

Pizza Pie Night - Well Sorta'

Happy May day everyone. The new month didn't start off as well for us as we would have liked. As some of you know, our little Maxer dawg has seizures. He's been pretty regular the last year as in every 28 days, but this was a longer stretch of 37 days and boy, did he make up for it last night and today. He had 7 seizures in less than 50 minutes by the time the 3 valium kicked in - all bad ones, and 2 more this morning, and 2 this afternoon. Honestly, I really thought his number was up. We're a little fragile today so if this post seems disjointed, blame it on no sleep and a lot of worry, though at the moment the boy's checking out the view from his favorite window beside the computer. He's having a hard time getting around though, and he sure looks weird. Don't know what he thought about the kittens running laps outside on the patio. Course that's assuming he's thinking at all. My sweet little boy.

Now, on to dinner. I really wanted to use up some frozen spinach I had in the freezer, so did a little research before deciding on this Pizza Rustica courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis.  Go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pizza-rustica-recipe/index.html  for the recipe. Since cooked spinach is one of those things that GMan has trouble with, I needed to find a way to disguise it somehow and this seemed the perfect solution.

It is amazing that in every culture there seems to be a type of meat pie - think of it. India has samosas, Mexico empanadas, Greece spanikopetas, England cornish pasties, Canada tourtiere - I'm sure with a little internet research I could wow you with many more. This is honest working people food - I just had to try the Italian version.

Although the recipe may seem rather involved, it really takes no time to put together. The crust is quite simple and really, really good. So good, I'm anxious to try it again with a meat filling such as Cajun meat pies, or picadillo.

 

For the filling I made a couple of additions to the recipe. I added roasted red peppers, jarred because I had them. I also sauteed a small onion till transparent and added it to the mix, and substituted 3 whole eggs for the yolks called for in the recipe. I beat the eggs together then held back approx. 2 tablespoons to brush on the crust, before adding the rest to the filling. It's very important that you really squeeze the moisture out of the spinach before you add it to the rest of the ingredients. If you don't take the time to do this, your pie will be way to "squishy" and the pastry soggy. By the way, the pastry is very forgiving, so if you goof like I did getting it into the springform pan, it patches very nicely. Unless you really make a mess, don't bother re-rolling it. Just do a patch job.

It is my opinion that the key to this pie is the proscuitto - or you could even substitute pepperoni. Without one or the other, it would be almost tasteless. It needs a strong flavor to carry it through, particularly since it is really delicious cold, and you know how the cold mutes flavors. I served it with a quick tomato sauce I threw together - onion & garlic sauteed, then add canned tomatoes whizzed first in the food processor, a 1/2 cup or so of red wine, 1 Tablespoon each of dried basil and oregano, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. I cooked the sauce on the stove top for the same length of time it took to cook the rustica in the oven. Of course, you could use purchased marinara sauce, but I like to impress myself.

This would be incredibly good picnic food as it cuts and holds well and would make a great change from the usual picnic fare. Viva Italia!