I prepared my toppings- some things I happen to have that sounded good. I love onions on pizza, so that was a given. I had some fresh mozzarella and basil leftover from the night before (I make a yummy cross between bruscetta and a tomato, basil and mozzarella salad- that will have to be posted next time I make it) and definitely wanted to use that. My meat/cheese drawer had some ham in it, so I grabbed that knowing Erik's penchant for meat on his pizza. Of course I got some red sauce too, I had some tomato and basil Barilla pasta sauce that seemed like it would work, and some good old shredded mozzarella as well. The assembled pizza looked fabulous- you can probably guess which corner was for the 2 1/2 year old ;) With the oven up to 450, I popped my creation in.
The result: The toppings were well done (a bit too much, see the close up of the sad fresh mozzarella) and the crust was too floppy on the bottom, especially in the middle, but the sides were fine. The flavor was great with the toppings and sauce that I chose.
What to change: I realized after the fact that the cookie sheet I chose has ridges on the bottom and was supposed to be a "hard to burn cookies" kind of a cookie sheet. Whoops. That doesn't make for a nice browned, crispy crust. Works great on cookies though! I guess I will have to figure out how to get pizza in and out of the oven via my peel and pizza stone. Next time, I will try. Maybe with two smaller pizzas instead of one big one it would be easier to shimmy onto the stone.
hahaha..that is one wild looking pizza...
ReplyDeletepractice makes perfect...its great that you like to try..
This is so fun! You should not be afraid of yeast! I'll see if Mike will email you the pizza dough recipe he uses - it's yummy and pretty simple (at least it looks simple to me ;)
ReplyDeleteThat looks delish! I especially love the Keagan corner. A couple words of advice from someone who's made Trader Joe's pizza crust pizza three times in as many weeks. Preheat the cookie sheet. Blind bake the crust for 3 or 4 minutes before applying the toppings. Brush the crust edge with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt before putting in the oven. Yummers.
ReplyDeleteA "Chef" Blog!...What a great idea!...:))))))))))
ReplyDeleteAnd, aren't I just proud as a Peacock to be named "Mentor"...An appellation I am delighted to bear....LOL
Pizza...Not an easy one...There ARE menu items that are always better when you have them in a Restaurant. Restaurants have advantages that virtually all home cooks cannot duplicate. A Pizza Oven is one of them. (Others include an Industrial sized Deep-Fryer, which makes Resturant deep-fried foods so good, and a Salamander Grill, which gives indoor grilled meat its wonderful flavor...there are more...)
The Pizza oven in the Italian Restaurant that I worked in, once upon a time (The Old Oak in Danbury, CT...of blessed memory), had one the size of a small Bathroom! A chest high sliding door opened on 4 huge shelves that rotated like a Ferris Wheel to bake the Pies evenly...and was never cooler than 575 degrees..NOT something you will find in youe average home Kitchen...:))))))
That said, you CAN make a decent pizza at home.
A "Pizza Stone", or its equivalent (They say Fire Bricks, purchased at the local Lumber Yard, work quite well) is mandantory. A "Peel" is also 'sine qua non'...and the secret to the Peel is Corn Meal (did you ever notice the grainy stuff on the bottom of a Restaurant Pizza?...Corn Meal!...You dust your peel with it and it helps the uncooked pie slide onto the Stone...The technique for 'sliding' is like many other 'athletic pursuits'...It's all in the Wrist!...that, and practice, practice (Henzy was right about that one!...:) It's a matter of placing the edge of the peel on the far end of where you want the pie and making a series of small jerky motions, holding the peel at about a 25 or 30 degree angle, all the while drawing the handle back towards you.
Other hints include not making the pie too big. Two smaller pies WILL work better than one large unwieldy one. And, do not put too much sauce on! Never get any sauce (or moisture of any topping!) onto the peel! It will make the pie stick, as you slide it off.
Oven temperature must be as hot as you can make it, as well. 450 will cook it eventually, but 550 is better (the hottest most home ovens can manage). I have heard of coal or woodfired ovens that are kept near 800 degrees!
SO, make your home pizzas...lets face it...that combination of ingredients is going to taste great no matter what happens!...LOL
LOVE the new Blog! Can't wait for more entries!
Love, Papa
Thank you all for the great comments! I would love Mike's recipe, when you think of it. I will definitely try preheating the cookie sheet and blind baking the crust first (great idea!), as well as using my pizza stone- they can go head to head and we'll see who's better :)
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