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!

The Almost Not Pizza Night - Plan B

Well, despite all the setbacks we suffered during the course of Monday, Pizza night was a success! It started yesterday morning already when I was trying to make the dough.

I can usually tell how the dough will turn out by the time that I have mixed the yeast mixture, oil and flour with the whisk attachment on my hand mixer when a shaggy dough should form. The shaggy dough formed but when I switched to the dough hooks and tried to get my shaggy neat and tidy into a ball it wouldn't work. Hence, a problem and I think it's the flour. I decided to replace the flour when I went to the store later but also decided that I would use my back-up allowance and swing by Publix for some ready made dough. I was in luck - it was already defrosted. Things were looking up. 

Larry and I arrived at Pizza Central early. So early, in fact, that no one else was there but we called Sara and let ourselves in. I had some extra energy since I didn't even make the dough so I decided I would oil the stones and roll out the dough for Sara so long. Boy, what a bad idea. Let's just suffice it to say that Larry took over and saved the day. 

Finally, Pizza Night was looking up. Sara was heating some Crab Etouffee in a pan for one of the pizzas while we waited on Todd to bring the barbecue sauce and pork for the other. We ate snacks in the meantime and just visited a while. 

Larry made some Peach Fuzz Cocktails with Vodka, real sliced peaches, frozen lemonade concentrate and ice which went down oh so nicely and also helped time pass more pleasantly.

Then Todd arrived. You guessed it, with only cheese. No barbecue sauce and not a shred of pork. Not to worry, we said and started raiding the fridge. I think the Peach Fuzz had a hand in my quick inspiration with Veggie Bacon Delight. Sara had used oil, garlic salt and shredded Parmesan cheese as the base. We tossed on some bacon bits and baby spinach. I sliced some fresh tomato very thinly, and shredded a cubanelle pepper which I also scattered on top and cheese to finish. 

The Crab Etouffee was also very simply done with just the sauce and some cheese so as not to overdo the flavors. 

Larry, Jr. took care of the grilling and did a marvelous job although sadly the Publix dough doesn't come out as crispy as my dough does. Not that the Publix dough is bad - on the contrary, it tastes really good. I just think I have spoiled us with my crispy crust. So, now at least I'm inspired to go back and solve that problem with my dough. 

As for the taste test: the Crab Etouffee was apparently as big a hit as all anticipated. What we didn't anticipate was the raging success of the Veggie Bacon Delight. In fact, not a slice of it remained behind! 

Next week, hopefully, we will be back with crispy crusts and the long awaited, much hyped barbecue pizza. See, Plan B was not so bad, it was phenomenal - again!