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.

Wedding Pumpkin Pudding (or pie)

For our wedding we were presented with many thoughtful gifts. One of our favorite gifts were a threesome of lovingly home grown pumpkins from our friends' garden in San Anselmo, CA, who traveled with the pumpkins to Massachusetts. They became beautiful additions to our home and table, which we enjoyed throughout the fall and holidays.

Last weekend during a three day snow, I decided it was time to enjoy the Cinderella pumpkin more fully. I didn't feel like making a crust, but found a simple fresh pumpkin pie recipe on the food network website which I adjusted slightly when I discovered I had more pumpkin than the recipe called for (after roasting and mashing). In addition, I baked the recipe in ramekins in a bath as pudding, sans crust. The result was simple, individual and delicious pumpkin puddings. We saved some seeds hoping to grow them this summer and pass the love to friends.

One roasted pumpkin (2 cups)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Preheat to 400. Halve pumpkin, lay cut-side down in adequate baking dish, include ~1 inch of cooking liquid. I used cider, water is fine. Pierce the skin of the pumpkin with a fork a few times, bake for 30-45 minutes until nice and soft. Remove from the oven. Let cool. Scoop pumpkin flesh into a large mixing bowl and mash/puree to desired consistency (if you leave chunks there will be chunks in the pudding/pie). Add all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bake in ramekins in a water bath (half way up ramekins) on the lower oven rack at 400 until the edges of the filling are set, but the center is still slightly soft, about 50 to 60 minutes. Cool. Serve room temperature or slightly warm. Makes 6-8 servings. Serve warm. I topped mine with vanilla ice cream, whip cream is good too.

Note: If you prefer pie use the 'all-butter pie dough' recipe posted in the Dec. 1, 2009 entry of this blog, also found at Food & Wine here. You will need to roll out the crust and fit to 9 inch pie plate and follow Food & Wine directions: 'Line the pie shell with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the center of the oven until nearly set, about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the crust is pale golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly.' Then fill with pumpkin mixture and bake using pudding directions above.