Rob and I have slowly come to the conclusion that most pizza that you can get these days is pretty disgusting. Pizza Hut's is way too greasy, Domino's is way too sweet; Rob won[t even touch Papa John's and is less than lukewarm about the other available chains. I still maintain that Tony's Pizzaria in Ventura -- a rundown shack at the corner of Figueroa and Thompson that serves really New York-style pizza and reminds me of home -- is the best, but Rob isn't all that fond.
So I decided to try to make my own pizza. I also wanted a more healthy pizza because Kaia was visiting us for her first overnight and she likes pizza -- in fact it's one of the few foods she'll eat.
I looked up recipes for pizza dough online and found one that had been well-reviewed from Giada DeLaurentis on the Epicurious web site. I made the dough with some rapid rise yeast and it came out really well and was easy to work with. I then fashioned my own pizza sauce using crushed tomatoes and a can of tomato paste for sweetness. I cooked it in a really hot -- 500-degree -- oven with my pizza stone (which sadly broke) and it came out really well.
In fact, Rob ate all the leftovers, except for those Dena ate after picking off the meat and he's wondering if we can't make it again this weekend.
The best homemade pizza
Pizza dough (from Giada Delaurentis at Epicurious.com)
3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 cups (or more) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Pour 3/4 cup warm water into small bowl; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. KNEAD dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. PUNCH down dough. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. ROLL out dough according to recipe instructions. (Start in center of dough, working outward toward edges but not rolling over them.)
*I spread my dough out in a large cookie sheet, which worked perfectly and was the right size for this recipe.
Pizza sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1 can Progresso crushed tomatoes with puree
1 small can tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic cloves and cook until fragrant -- about 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Add oregano, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and salt and stir. Allow to simmer on low heat for at least a half hour.
To make the pizza:
Place pizza stone in oven on bottom rack and heat oven to 500 degrees. Preheat for at least an hour. Spray olive oil spray on a cookie sheet. Stretch or roll dough out to fit on the sheet, repairing holes if they crop up. Top with tomato sauce, using a ladle and starting from the middle and woring out toward the edges, but not all the way t the edges. Top with whatever you like -- I use prosciutto and regular ham and it was delicious. Top with fresh mozzarella cut into quarter-inch circles. Top that with shredded Italian blend cheese and with grated Parmesan cheese. Cook on top of pizza stone for 10 minutes.
Like pretty much everyone in the country these days, we're watching our pennies as prices just rise and rise inexorably. I have a standing rule that I don't pay more than $5 for meat for a meal, which means that we're getting more interesting cuts of meat to work with. They had some pork pieces the other day and they just screamed "souvlaki" to me (Maybe I should check the dosage on my meds ;-). I totally love this recipe because it's so flavorful and so healthy; now I have to convince Rob it's really OK to eat something called "souvlaki."
Souvlaki
1 lb pork (boneless "country-style" ribs are good)
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
Pitas (I used whole wheat for better taste and health benefits)
olive oil spray
garlic powder
tszaziki sauce (Recipe follows)
Soak about 4 bamboo skewers in water for at least a half an hour. Cut pork into 1-inch pieces. Mix together lemon juice, zest, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss the pork pieces in the marinade and let sit for about 15 minutes. Put all the meat on the skewers, brush with marinade and grill over low heat for about 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Spray pitas with olive oil spray and sprinkle with garlic powder. Place each pita on the grill for 1 minute a side. Place skewered meat in pita and serve with tszaziki sauce and feta. You can also add lettuce and tomatoes.
Tszaziki sauce
1 cup European-style yogurt (you can find this at Trader Joe's)
1 cup chopped cucumber -- diced into 1/4 inch pieces
2-3 cloves garlic put through garlic press
Mix together and store for use with a variety of dishes.
Health update
I'm kind of getting tired of the health issues -- it makes me feel sooo old, so I'm putting this as an afterthought. I'm in the final countdown to knee replacement surgery and went to see my primary care physician yesterday. We had a nice heart to heart where I expressed my extreme frustration at having had to go through a completely needless surgery. While he didn't go so far as to agree with me, he did finally realize as he looked at my x-rays that my knee is in really really bad shape. He also noted that my other knee -- the right one -- is looking prety bad too and will likely need to be replaced down the line. The arthritis there is significant. So the question I had was how did what was mild to moderate osteoarthritis become a complete joint collapse in less than a year? And I'm getting no good answers.
I mean is this a trend that is going to continue as all my joints break down? He did a lot of blood work that didn't show too much out of the ordinary. My blood sugar is a bit high, but I'm watching my diet carefully and avoiding sugar anyway. I need to be able to exercise and sleep properly and that should get it right back down.
So right now isn't really a good time, but things will get better, I'm assured, once I have a new knee. I may end up down the road with all new joints, but I guess I'll have to deal with that as it comes. No need in getting all worked up now, although I suppose I have to resign myself to always having to go in the "special" line at metal detectors.
I did some online research and have started a regimen of suppliments that are meant to deal with the arthritis pain and the hot flashes of menopause, which are making the whole ordeal all that much more special. I'll report any progress.
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