Food and Wine Pairings

We were all happy to be back in the full swing of Pizza Night again this week. I have found that, with new traditions, diligent repetition is key. We all know how easy it is to take a week off from a new thing, life comes in to play and very soon - if you are not careful - the new thing will evaporate into thin air as part of history.

This week we had the usual suspects, Larry, Sr., Sara, Larry, Jr., Todd, Me and also William (Larry, Jr.'s brother). Our pizzas were Barbecue Chicken and Veggie.

Larry, Jr. and I now have the iPhone 4 so we made our Virgin Video of Pizza Night in action. You can expect to see more of these videos in future posts. The MC in this video is Larry, Jr. and the Pizza Artiste in the background is the infamous Sara you have heard so much about. I am the one behind the camera that you hear commenting here and there.





As you can see from the video, the barbecue pizza got a good helping of barbecue sauce. I know it may  sound extreme, but if you recall from the BBQ Extraordinaire post, the barbecue sauce tends to dry on the grill so a generous helping is needed to keep the pizza tasting moist.

This time we had chicken instead of pork on the barbecue pizza followed by pineapple, red onion and mozzarella cheese.

As always, we need our salad, which we took in the form of a Veggie Pizza. Sara used olive oil, garlic salt and pepper as the base followed by red onion, artichokes, fresh tomato, green and red pepper, fresh basil leaves, feta and shredded mozzarella cheeses.

Both pizzas came out looking absolutely magnificent. The feta cheese browned a little too enthusiastically, but was not inedible in the least.

The barbecue pizza looked and smelled delectable, which is what we expected, but Sara had other ideas. She had a secret ingredient that she added to the pizza at the table. Do you know what it is? Can you guess?

White wine. How we wish we had a video to get this stunning performance!

I know, I know, you want the story. Well, right as we were all about to sit down and grace the food Sara smacked her "top-heavy" wine glass over and white wine drenched the barbecue pizza. (Yes, I also thought it was better to add the wine while cooking but I'm not the expert here.)

There was a stunned silence around the table as everyone tried to fathom what had happened but the moment was short-lived and soon we were all brave enough to try it.

You wouldn't even believe me if I told you, but it was actually really tasty. The wine brought balance to all the flavor int the pizza. It probably paired with the cheese or something.

So, there you have it. Wine and food paired perfectly.

No Pizza Party

I just thought I would pop in here and let you know that Sara had a meeting last night and, thus, we did not have pizza night. It might still happen this week depending on our schedules.

Check back again!

Coconut Creme [Pizza] Pie

Monday night differed from the norm in which the pizza really didn't take center stage. Instead, Todd had five gorgeous steaks that needed to be cooked - I know, right, how unfortunate for us! "Let them eat [steak]!"

However, Sara in all her brilliance, didn't let a good pizza opportunity go to waste. I know what you're thinking, but no, we didn't use the steak on pizza nor did we make a veggie pizza instead of starch and salad. We've threatened for weeks to do this and here was our chance - a dessert pizza!

For dinner we would have the lovely steaks pictured above accompanied by baked potatoes, bread rolls with melted cheese on top, and a lovely baby spinach salad with a sugar, white vinegar and olive oil dressing which is absolutely to die for. 

Then for dessert we would have pizza. Sara was quite ingenious with her toppings. She used coconut creme filling as the base followed by chunks of pineapple, sliced peaches, chopped blackberries (no, those are not olives) and finished with coconut.

Seeing as we were using the grill for steaks, we thought it best to bake the pizza in the oven this time so that the continual opening and closing of the grill to check the steaks would not interfere with the baking of the pizza. Sara turned the oven to 425°F and baked the pizza on a pizza stone for 25 minutes.

In the meantime, we feasted on delectable steaks. Todd brought some red wine that paired excellently with the meal and, although I would love to give you the lowdown on the wine, it is not my forte. So, when Todd sends me the information I will post it on here or maybe he can comment on the post with more on the wine. I just know that it tasted amazing!

Critique on the dinner: not enough salad! Not that I needed anymore; I was so stuffed because you just don't let food like that go to waste.

Finally, the pizza was ready to come out of the oven and boy, was that a beauty. As you can see, the coconut toasted beautifully on the top. Now, I can imagine that you would think this would be sickly sweet, but actually the salty crust balanced that out very nicely.

In fact, the men all thought that we should sprinkle some brown sugar over the pizza just to sweeten it a bit. Me? I had other ideas. Whipped cream, baby. This is what I call a dessert pizza!

Far from the Madding Crowd

Sometimes the perfect antidote for a Monday is a quiet evening with family. No big to-do; just an evening where you can let you hair down and feel at home. That is how our Monday was; quiet, chilled and enjoyable. Perhaps it could be attributed to the fact that only four of us were present; Larry, Sr., Sara, Todd and me. Larry, Jr. had to work but I intended to take some pizza to him afterward.

I arrived at around 6:30 pm with the dough, which rose beautifully and left my house smelling of yeast.Sara and I steadily got to work while exchanging stories of our respective days, the people in it and some ideas for future pizza nights. She had spent all day at The City Grocery with her sister helping Todd gussy the place up so she seemed to appreciate the lack of a rush.

Sara, once again, expertly rolled out the dough while chatting to me as if it was the easiest thing in the world. I'm so relieved that the dough-roll-out baton has not been passed to me quite yet. The last time I tried it, things got ugly and I needed to be rescued. So, I've come to appreciate the strengths in others that fill in for my weaknesses. That is what makes a tradition like our Pizza Night so wonderful. Everyone can bring their strengths to the table and we can all learn from each other.

Larry, Sr. was still recovering from his wisdom extraction procedure so Sara and I allowed him to relax and watch television while we worked. Todd was still at work and would join us later. We made two pizzas as usual. One meat-lovers and one veggie.

Meat-Lovers Extraordinaire:
If you have been reading along with us you should be familiar with this classic. We used some home-made Bolognese sauce as the base. Sara laid it on quite thick this time and added pepperoni, salami, capicola, Italian sausage and LOTS of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
 

I was on the Veggie committee. We decided to try some Sundried Tomato Hummus as the base followed by thinly sliced tomato, cubanelle, green pepper, green onions, fresh, whole basil leaves, Feta cheese and finally, Mozzarella cheese. We were going to follow this up with fresh avocado after the pizza came off the grill but unfortunately it was too late for the avocado...

Sara and I were on the grilling committee this time and we were fully prepared. She had preheated the grill to 600°F with all the burners on. When the time came for the pizzas to go on she turned all but the outside two burners off, closed the lid and walked away. We were confident as we returned to the house and our Blue Moon's in chilled beer mugs.

Our confidence paid off; those pizzas were beautiful! The veggie pizza crust was crisp while the Meat-Lovers crust groaned under the pressure of all the meat and cheese. You know that was good eating!


Some of the suggestions we had for future pizzas was for mushrooms, red or caramelized onion and maybe kalamata olives on the veggie pizzas. I also suggested perhaps taking a cue from Carrabba's Chicken Bryan and do a pizza with grilled chicken, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and a basil lemon butter sauce. And I am also wondering what a Gruyere and red onion pizza would taste like.

So, until next time, thanks for reading. Hope you have a great week. Check back again next week to see what wild and wacky adventure we are on.

Pizza Team Bye Week

As you may or may not have noticed, we did not do Pizza Night this week. Not because we didn't want to, but because Sara was out of town and Larry, Sr. had his wisdom (teeth) removed. We didn't feel it would be fair to eat pizza in front of him when he wouldn't be able to join us.

Thanks for checking up on us - we promise we will be back again on Monday night with a post on Tuesday or Wednesday.

BBQ Extrodinaire!

Yes, for those of you who have followed diligently, we finally had our City Grocery Barbecue Pizza.

Todd, one of the Pizza Night Team Members is part-owner of the City Grocery on 12th Avenue here in Pensacola, Florida where they smoke Pork Butts daily. They sell meat from the butts and also use it in their Deli sandwiches. If you live in Pensacola and you have not been by there it is time you went. They have absolutely incredible Deli sandwiches that give Subway and Firehouse Subs a serious run for their money. Friday evenings Todd hosts a free wine tasting at The City Grocery where you can meet and greet several from the area, have a bite to eat or just sip some wine and have a good time. The wine selection for the evening is very well rounded and all so good - which makes it a tad difficult to pick which one you want to buy. They don't have a website yet, nor is there a Facebook page, but I have scanned in the menu to give you an idea of what you are missing out on by sticking to the places that you already know. Larry and I try to go for there for lunch once a week and try a different sandwich each time. Our favorite thus far has been the Mardi Gras PoBoy. But, don't take my word for it, just go by there and try it for yourself. And, if you are not from the area and don't foresee a trip in the future, then just take my word for it. We'll have a few sandwiches for you

So, now that you are familiar with The City Grocery I will continue with Pizza Night. We had ten people attend last night. Quite a crowd! Seeing as the Pork Butts are so delicious, we've really tried to bring this pizza about for a while. And, all the delays made it worth the wait. Larry and I went to The City Grocery for lunch yesterday to find Sara and Pat (Todd's mom, Sara's sister) there already. Sara, the illustrious pizza artist is also an interior decorator with Pat and they are helping Todd with the The City Grocery's look. She is surprising; you never know what else she is going to be good at. She tells me it is experience that makes her this great. Well, I can only hope that one day I can roll some pizza dough like she does. I'm still waiting for her to throw it up in the air, but, we'll need some extra dough to practice with and as you have no doubt read, we've not been in the dough lately.

Sara assured me when we left The City Grocery that she was taking the ingredients home with her so that Todd wouldn't be able to forget them again. Did I mention it was worth the wait? Okay, try to imagine this: Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue sauce in which you can actually taste the sweetness of the raspberry, tender and juicy pork butt meat shredded, pineapple chunks and onion spice topped with fresh mozzarella cheese. You probably need to wipe that drool from your chin.

But, as you can see from the picture above, we had three pizzas last night and I know you are just dying to know what the other two were. Well, I won't keep you in suspense any longer.

Of course, it wouldn't be right if we didn't have a Vegetarian pizza. This one was different from the normal ones. Garlic salt was sprinkled on the base with olive oil drizzled over it. Yes, you guessed it, the Parmesan cheese came next and then the fresh basil leaves, tomato, Terra Verde ?Marinated  Artichoke Hearts (from Sam's Club), and Terra Verde Marinated Green Asparagus which is delicious with a bit of a tang to it. To complete the flavor sensation we added both Feta and Mozzarella cheeses.

And, the final masterpiece, a Meat Lovers Pizza! I made this one myself under the tutelage of the Maestra herself. I bet you think we started with a marinara sauce, but you would be incorrect. Remember, we always try to break out of the box. If it would seem usual and expected then just know it will change.

The base was Paul Newman's Alfredo sauce with garlic salt, already cooked ground beef, Pepperoni, Italian salami, Capicola, bacon bits, Feta Cheese and for a change, some Boar's head Mozzarella cheese that Todd brought from The City Grocery. It almost looked smoked with its darker hues and golden edges.

Oh, it looks like you're drooling again. Do you need a towel or something?

The evening would not be complete without some "constructive criticism". We always welcome criticism but also reserve the right to ignore them if we see fit. Sometimes we might just forget you said anything; it's not personal. And, last night we had quite a few thoughts. I personally picked the barbecue as my favorite, but Larry, Sr. and Jr. both liked the Meat Lovers the most.

The critique on the barbecue pizza was that it was a little dry. This might be because the pizza was pulled off of the grill in order not to burn the bottom. Seeing as the crust is quite thin and the toppings quite heavy you need to pay close attention to cook it evenly on the top and the bottom. Sara and I thought that popping the pizza under the broiler for a few minutes would take care of browning the top, which it did beautifully as the picture at the top shows. I suppose the broiler might have dried a few spots on the pizza seeing as some said they did, in fact, have a moist piece of the pizza.


The only critique the Meat Lover's received was that it would have been nice with mushrooms and some would have liked to have it with Marinara. My colleague, Jennifer, just suggested Marinara mixed with Alfredo which I will have to suggest to Sara. It sounds good!

The Veggie Pizza was delicious as I said. Todd suggested red onion and a guest suggested Balsamic Vinegar which I think will be a good addition for the future. Perhaps we might saute the onions in the Balsamic Vinegar  to caramelize them a little.

We never even mentioned next week's pizzas but I know you will check back next week and see what we had. Have a great week!

Dough Re Me

We've said it time and time again, it's all about the dough. No dough, no pizza. And, as we have said before, the Publix pizza dough is great for a Plan B - as was proved last week - but it just can't beat home-made dough.

This week we are having our Pizza night on Tuesday to accommodate some people from out-of-town that would like to join us. It actually worked out better that way since Larry had to work late last night anyway and is off today. This is actually a doubled blessing because he can now keep an eye on the dough and see if any of the three batches I made failed in which case he can make a run to Publix for Plan B. Yes, I know, be positive, have faith. I know all that. And, I agree completely. However, reality has proven that sometimes things just go wrong. At times you have bad flour, or your yeast is defunct or maybe Ol' Murphy is just having a field day with you. You can never tell which way it is going to go. The best way is just to be hopeful and prepared all at the same time.

Speaking of flour, for all you culinary novices out there like me, I have now discovered that the best flour to use is Self-Rising Flour. I know in the Rachel Ray Recipe she doesn't really specify except for where she gives a tip on how to convert the dough to Wholewheat and there she mentions All-Purpose. But, with last week's failed batch I just know that the flour was the problem since it happened two weeks in a row and the only difference was the flour I used. In the past I have always used Self-Rising Flour and switched to All-Purpose thinking, "Surely the Yeast mixture is enough!". I don't know why or what or when or whatever, I just know that in the past I never had this problem so being a culinary novice, I stick to what works and don't veer too far out of that sphere.

This morning I made three batches of dough as opposed to the two I normally make. We'll see how it goes. And just to prove my point, I set out three bowls of lukewarm water with a teaspoon of sugar and a packet of Active Dry Yeast in each bowl. They had equal setting times and they all looked different. One bowl had a yeast  foam cloud on the top touching the rims of the bowl whereas the other two were either weak or average looking. Same ingredients, same techniques, some type of yeast, yet different results. I'm sorry that I didn't think of taking a picture when I was making the dough but one day when the white iPhone comes I will buy one and do a video one day of the dough-making process and post it on here.

And, for all of you that lean slightly to the OCD side of things the dough-making process will be cheap therapy for you. I deal with this daily. When I whisk the dough, oil and yeast mixture together the shaggy dough forms and then invariably pieces of shaggy dough will get flung from the bowl and land all around me - on the floor, counters or on me. It's quite messy, but nothing that can't be cleaned up. Like I said, this will be a freeing exercise for you.

The other alternative is to have an actual standing mixer like Rachel Ray says to use. Perhaps, though, you're like me in that you are in your late twenties and your appliance wish list hasn't quite made it to that Kenwood just yet and all you possess is a cheapy Hamilton Beach hand-mixer seeing as you really don't bake but like to have one regardless... Well, don't despair. My little Hamilton Beach hand-mixer has provided pizza for many, many pizza nights thus far. Will I retire it as soon as the Kenwood crosses the threshold? Absolutely - and I'm sure that I'll be blown away by the sheer brilliance of the new machine.

I just wonder if I'll have any contact with the dough when I upgrade. Here I go back to being OCD. I don't really like getting my hands dirty but since I've been making pizza dough I have found that after I've used the hand-mixer the dough still needs a touch of kneading and then I get to "play with my food" as such. I know your parents said never to play with your food but I really just think they were wrong! Play, for goodness sake, please play with your food. Loosen up and just enjoy it.

Actually, "playing" with the dough really gives you an idea of how it turned out. If it is a little sticky like glue then you need a dash of flour in which case you sprinkle some on the dough and knead it in until it is less sticky. So, there you go, a really good reason to play with your food.

Some parting words, just remember that this dough making process is not a science. Many times the same actions will not yield the same results. The secret is - as Mr. Churchill once said - "never, never give up".

Since Pizza Night is tonight, check back tomorrow or Thursday for the results!