So as I was sitting down to write this post about pizza, I had lofty plans to follow it with the beautiful pictures we shot last night as we were cooking. I didn’t realize at the time that pizza, especially rustic homemade pizza, pretty much looks like the dog’s dinner when photographed without a food stylist, lights, and lots of re-shoots. Oh, and then there’s the whole using-something-else-that-looks-good-on-camera-as-a-substitute-for-the-actual-food thing, which, although it’s fun to think about (is that really milk on that cereal or did they use glue again??), isn’t my thing.
What I did accomplish, though, is making a very good homemade pizza entirely from scratch. We used the bread dough that we call the Plan B dough (a faster and less exciting white dough than our favorite one) and instead of using a pizza stone (who has one?!) I inverted my largest cast iron skillet and let it heat up for 30 minutes in a 450 degree oven. This is the same principle as baking bread in a pre-heated dutch oven, although not as effective because the skillet doesn’t have a lid. Neither does a pizza stone, so it must be the only way to go – still working on how to get that one to work. Anyway, as the skillet was heating up I mixed up a quick batch of pizza sauce from a can of ground tomatoes, some garlic, some fresh basil, salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar to balance the acidity. I rolled and hand stretched the dough to form hideous excuses for circles, dusted the skillet with corn meal to prevent sticking, and precariously positioned the dough “round” onto the pan. I couldn’t figure out how to move a pre-dressed crust from the counter to the pan, so on went the naked crust and I quickly assembled the pizza with the rack pulled out halfway, doing a little acrobatic thing so I didn’t burn my legs on the open oven door.
Success! We had a plain cheese pizza for the kids (I used an Asiago and cheddar blend which Sara called the most delicious cheese blend ever) and a meatball and red onion pizza for us, using some of the Noprah** meatballs we made last week and froze. Overall I’d give the pizza an A- as we still need to perfect the thickness of the dough so our tastes, but not at all bad for a dinner for four that cost about $1.50 in total.
**Noprah meatballs – About 4 years ago I read an article about a restaurant in Montecito, California that made turkey meatballs that Oprah feel in love with and ate every day for lunch for the entire summer. The key to the meatballs was raisins. I adapted the recipe and ended up with a turkey and pork meatball that includes 3 key ingredients: fennel seed, grated zucchini, and a puree of dried plums. The fennel balances spicy red pepper flakes, and the zucchini and plums provide lots of moisture and a touch of sweetness. Try adding these key ingredients to your current meatball recipe to see what I’m talking about, and don’t forget lots of hot red pepper flakes! (OK, OK, they’re prunes. Yes, prunes…which are the same thing as dried plums you know, and just sound so much more appealing…and yes, they’re in a jar…and yes, it’s in an un usual section of the grocery store. OK, fine, they’re baby food prunes. So shoot me.)
