Perfecting Pizza

There is more than one way to do just about anything. Although Aaron has shared favorite pizza dough recipes in the past, we both felt that the end result, although tasty, was missing what our favorite restaurant pizzas attain; chewy, steamy, puffy edges. Aaron is one giant step closer to those delicious ambitions. Making the task of taster that much more enjoyable for me, the wife. Not only did this dough culminate in my favorite pizza crust characteristics, but it also made three 12" pies which is handy for leftovers and accommodates toppings for discerning (and diverging) palettes.

The biggest differences in this recipe from previous postings is that (1) Aaron used an electric mixer to make a starter dough and (2) he let the dough rest for hours. I think both steps improve the end result, increasing elasticity. This recipe also brings us back to the summer, as he used basil pesto that had I made and froze at the end of the summer, to top one of the pies. Other toppings he used; prosciutto & roasted red peppers, and red sauce. You can find the dough recipe here. It is worth the extra rest-time and there is a video that explains it all.

At the end of the summer we had lots of basil growing in our yard; more than we could eat immediately. I harvested it and made a pesto using apricot kernels, rather than pine nuts. I bought the apricot kernels at Trader Joe's out of curiosity. I haven't quite acquired a taste for them. They look like almonds, but are smaller and a little sweet. When I went to make the pesto I realized I had no pine nuts, almonds, etc. and threw these in instead. They made a nice, crunchier-than-normal pesto that was fantastic on this crust with fresh mozerella.

Basil Pesto
Basil
Apricot Kernels (we happened to have these)
Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese
~2 Cloves of garlic

Shred the Parmesan cheese. Rinse and dry basil leaves. Combine all ingredients in a food processor until you achieve the taste/consistency that you like. Use right away or store. To store, keep in fridge with a layer of oil on top to prevent color change, or freeze to have a little summer in the winter.

Red Sauce (Aaron's basic sauce)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp oregano
salt & pepper

Saute garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil. Once soft add tomatoes. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 2 tbsp oregano, the sugar, the remaining olive oil, salt & pepper to taste and simmer for 20 minutes.