Let me share with you some facts: I am single. I like cities. I prefer cooking to baking. I live for a cozy rainy day at home. I love a good craft. Coffee and red wine are my favorite worldly items. And perhaps the most important thing: I might have been created for domestication. I want nothing more than to live on a farm with a loving partner and bundles of cuddly babies. To spend each day baking, crafting, and jarring my own gourmet baby food Baby Boom style. I’d spend the weekends hosting elaborate dinner parties and at local wine tastings. They say I’d get bored after a while all couped up like that. I have my doubts.
I bring these things up because they might be helpful in understanding the recent past. That time a few months ago when I ventured to suburbia and found myself with access to sprawling markets, giant kitchens, and an array of modern culinary appliances. Better yet I was surrounded by people to cook for. I was, for a short while, in domestic heaven.
It started off innocently enough as a small getaway out of the city. Soon enough I caught myself walking through an abundance of property in a bathrobe and slippers chasing a turtle around with a camera. I had been sipping my morning coffee on the deck when I noticed him poking his head out at me. Since I had been photographing baked good items a few minutes prior I thought I would take the opportunity to take his picture. It turned out he was camera shy which is why I spent the better part of an hour squatting and whispering gentle words of encouragement for him to come out of his shell. Perhaps I need a family to take care of? Something to distract me from the type of madness that comes with such domestic longings.
Acting on this idea I decided to use my spare time in suburbia to host a family dinner- a basic yet delicious pizza dinner that felt charmingly rustic. I wanted things dressed lightly and simply, fresh greens and imperfect edges. For a starter we had a simple arugula salad with homemade pesto dressing. I wanted to taste the arugula so the salad was only arugula, tomato, olive, and dressing. The arugula was a segue way to the pizza which would also have arugula on it. In mentioning arugula in the context of pizza I want to call it rocket. I first came to appreciate arugula while living in London. They use ‘rocket’ a lot there, commonly on pizza and it works wonderfully. It’s bright green color and small and curvy edges make it an attractive garnish but it’s distinct taste makes it more useful than decorative. With a delicate peppery flavor that has an almost spicy quality it adds dimension and lends itself nicely to sharp cheeses.
The entree was three different types of pizza- fig & prosciutto (my favorite) a goat cheese, roasted tomato and caramelized onion one (a close runner up) and a margarita with pesto drizzle (for the fussy eaters) all with a side of going green brussels sprouts. While I love the fig & prosciutto one it is usually the goat cheese pizza that consistently steals the show. This reputation is what makes it a standard in my home for pizza night although I have no photographic evidence of this because it always gets devoured before I have a chance to pose it.
I made my own dough and for the first time I understood why people love bread making. I used a recipe for “amazing whole wheat crust” and it met it’s title. It was incredibly satisfying to watch the dough become four times its size. When I picked it up to divide it, it let out a precious little sigh under my hands and deflated just the slightest bit-I could feel a gentle puff of air just breeze against my skin. When I rolled it out (thin crust) it was stretchy and not at all sticky. I forgot the last pizza in the oven for quite sometime with my being distracted by eating the other pizzas and the dough refused to burn. It stayed the perfect color even when I had cooked it for far too long. When I tried this dough again a different time under rushed conditions I did not allow it to rise properly and still even with poor execution it was at worst okay. It is a good and humble dough.
The fig and prosciutto is my favorite because I am weak for a classic salty sweet combo. This combined with the texture of the soft chewy fig and the crispy thin prosciutto invokes all the sensations I need during a meal. I used a particularly sharp provolone to add even more sass. I loved the way it looked so rustic in an, ‘oh, look what I just threw together’ sort of way. I baked and served it on a pizza stone and the edges were particularly jagged and misshapen in the most comforting way.
You should adjust these pizzas as you desire so with the exception of the dough and a simple sauce recipe I am not going to give you specific recipes, just ideas. That’s right, I said no specific recipes, surprising isn’t it?
Goat Cheese, Roasted Tomatoes, and Caramelized Onion
To roast some tomatoes just throw them in an oven safe dish and coat them in olive oil with a bit of coarse salt, pepper, oregano, and a touch of sugar. Sometimes I use crushed red pepper flakes for some added heat. Let them roast at a high temperature (about 400 degrees or so) for a few hours. When they’re done toss in lots of minced garlic and parsley and bring them to room temperature before refrigerating. If you have the time it’s great to refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors settle. Usually for pizza making purposes I don’t bother to let them marinate in the refrigerator and just use them straight from the roasting pan. Don’t tell anyone but sometimes I simply drain a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes and toss them into the sauce instead of doing the roasting myself. I love the chunks of tomato with this particular pizza.
What I’ve learned about caramelizing onions is that there is an especially thin line between caramelizing and flat out burning so be careful. I think the difference is probably made by a longer cooking time over lower heat. I really like to use a lot of butter and sweet vidalia onions. I usually do two giant onions as they really shrink down when they cook. Just heat a high sided skillet and drop in about 1/2 stick of butter per onion. Melt the butter and add thinly sliced onion and a couple of pinches of salt. Cook over medium heat for about 20 min stirring frequently, cover with a lid for the first ten minutes of cooking.
Roll out your dough and place onto pizza stone or baking sheet. When using a pizza stone the stone should already be hot when you put the dough on. I always sprinkle a bit of corn meal on the stone or sheet before applying the dough. Spread the sauce over dough and top with roasted tomatoes, clumps of goat cheese, and caramelized onions. Place your toppings so that each slice will have an even amount. Sometimes I add kalamata olives or roasted garlic cloves. Bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
To roast a garlic cut off the top of the head while keeping the individual cloves in tact and still connected to each other. Rest it in tin foil. Pour a generous amount of olive oil over it and seal tightly. Roast at a high temperature for about 1 hour. When it’s cool enough to handle the roasted cloves will just pop out of their skin when pressed gently.
When making the goat cheese pizza I like the sauce to be a bit sweet so I normally add a bit of sugar and some red wine. The red wine doesn’t necessarily add sweetness but eh, well, do I need a reason?
Fig and Prosciutto
For the fig and prosciutto “pie” (that’s right, I’m from NJ) I used a really sharp provolone cheese. There was no red sauce just a rub of olive oil and a spread of some homemade pesto. I topped with a very generous amount of shredded provolone, halved figs, and 1 inch prosciutto squares. I baked for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees just until the cheese started to turn bubbly and a bit golden. Once it came out I tossed a giant handful of arugula right in the center.
Margarita
The margarita is just a basic pizza with fresh sauce and chunks of fresh mozzarella. Sometimes I use fresh basil leaves but this time I drizzled with some basil that had been turned into pesto and added fresh tomato slices. It looked significantly more attractive before baking but that didn’t stop anyone from eating the finished version.
Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Dough from Allrecipes.com
INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 ½ cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.
Simple Sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomato
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
Procedure
Over medium heat, heat oil in a saucepan until hot. Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a mild boil. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
