grape tomato, kale pesto and goat cheese pizza

The sweet tomatoes blend nicely with this spin on a traditional pesto and the creamy goat cheese mounds. A perfect way to welcome spring.

Being called to jury duty was never so complicated. I thought I was smart postponing it until my son's Easter break, but then what if I am on a ury that lasts more than a week? Who will take him to school then?

Being allowed to postpone a second time didn't make things any easier. Between school, a planned visit form the in-laws and going up to our country house, never mind working in year end inventory at my job, it has become problematic.

And I generally like jury duty.

So, I will see how it pans out in June, when I am now scheduled to serve. At least I wont have to worry about ferrying my son around before I go.

Here is a way to lighten your dinner in expectation of warmer weather - it will be here eventually, right?

The pizza dough recipe has never failed me. Not once. It is the best thing around and after reading this article, about how pizza is so easy, no one should be buying it out, especially at Roberta's, where a 12 inch pie can set you back $17, plus tip and tax.

Grape Tomato, Kale Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza
Makes one 10 inch thin crust pizza pie, dough recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Dough Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Kale Pesto Ingredients

• 8 fresh kale leave, torn to small bits
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt, to taste

Pesto Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor until well blended. Taste frequently and add more of what is needed.

 Dough Instructions

1. Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Knead everything into a homogeneous ball, incorporating all bits in the bowl.
2. Knead it for just a minute or two, inside the bowl. Lightly oil the bowl, turn the dough over so all sides are coated, cover bowl in plastic wrap and an opaque towel and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.
3. Dump it on a lightly floured counter and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands, beginning in the center and working your way out to the edge. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under the same plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.
4. Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature. Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like. I like my pizza cheesy so I tend to go heavy on the cheese. This can make the dough more soggy, so be careful about putting too much stuff on top.
5. Bake it for about 10 minutes until it’s lightly blistered.

mexican flavored pizza

While casting around for ways to use our pile of very ripe avocados I decided to make the tried and true recipe: namely pizza.

Wouldn't it be nice to be in Mexico right about now - when you are totally over the cold weather and you wake up with (Gasp!!) more snow to clear off the car. That white fluffy stuff that was so appealing until you realized your car was covered in it and couldn't move without its deceptively heaviness being hauled away. Thanks goodness for kind strangers - I've been dug out more than once by total strangers. Isn't NYC great!!

Mexican Flavored Pizza
Makes on small pizza

• Your favorite pizza dough recipe, or store bought pizza dough
• 1/4 cup corn meal, for below the crust
• 1/4 cup stewed tomatoes, blended
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 can corn kernals
• 2 slices provolone cheese, torn into pieces
• Cayenne pepper and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Roll out pizza dough a top corn meal, on a pizza tray.
2. Spread tomato sauce over top. Add corn, cheese and peppers.
3. Cook at 500 degrees F, or as hot as you can make your oven, for 10 minutes.
4. Add avocado. Serve hot.

broccoli and feta whole wheat pizza

After making a number of hugely successful pizzas with Smitten Kitchen's recipe, I was ready and able to try a healthier version - by adding whole wheat flour to the dough and eliminating all that ooey, gooey cheese.

This pizza was definitely healthier than its predecessors, but with the toppings I erred on the side of too dry; the feta doesn't melt at all and the broccoli stays firm. A nice dose of olive oil on the top of the dough helped, but it wasn't enough. Next time I'll use pesto. 

This month's Recipe Redux challenge is Pizza Party! Give the delivery guy a day off; whether it is for Friday Fun Night with the kids, a pizza chef competition among friends, or for Super Bowl Sunday (February 2). Here is a healthy pizza recipe that we can all look forward to after a long week…or a long day.

Really Simple Homemade Pizza Dough
From Smitten Kitchen
Makes one small pizza

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour (I used: 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1 cup bread flour)
1 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:

1. Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Dump all clumps and floury bits onto a lightly floured surface and knead everything into a homogeneous ball.
2. Knead it for just a minute or two. Lightly oil the bowl (a spritz of cooking spray perfectly does the trick) where you had mixed it — one-bowl recipe! — dump the dough in, turn it over so all sides are coated, cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for two hours, until it has doubled in size.
3. Dump it back on the floured counter, and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.
4. Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature. Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like. (I always err on the side of skimpy with toppings so to not weight down the dough too much, or if I have multiple toppings, to keep them very thinly sliced.)
5. Bake it for about 10 minutes until it’s lightly blistered and impossible to resist.

Toppings
1/2 cup olive oil
1-1/2 cup frozen broccoli florets, sliced as thin as possible
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 cups crumbled feta cheese

perfect pizza - at last

I have always wanted to be the kind of person who, with no notice, could whip up a perfect pizza from scratch. I have struggled with pizza for some time and had pretty much given up.

Then I turned a corner.

And I cannot for the life of me tell you what made it happen, but I am now that person!!

Thank you Smitten Kitchen. You can't know how much this means.

P.S. Is it sacrilege to use cilantro in place of basil?

{recipe}

whole wheat pizza {working with yeast}

After a successful class on pizza making I was feeling quite confident and decided to give a try at home... from scratch.... with only my faulty memory to go on...

Are you getting where I am going with this?

Well, I remembered how I was supposed to do baby CPR on the dough and then turn it around on my fists like I was a boxer, and it did spin out nicely to fill my pie tray... but the end result was, um, well, how do I say?

Yeasty. Yes, yeasty. In a bad way. I am not sure what went wrong.

I found a pretty basic recipe at Girl Versus Dough.

Ridiculously Easy Pizza Dough
Makes two pies. From Girl Versus Dough.

3 and 3/4 cup flour (one cup whole wheat, the rest bread dough)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/3 cup warm water
1 package yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup ice water
Olive oil

Topping
1/2 cup tomato puree
Small ball of mozzarella cheese, sliced
5 basil leaves
Whatever else you like - the sky's the limit - we used chicken sausage slices

1. Whisk flour and salt. Make a well and add warm water, sugar and yeast. When foamy, mix in 3 tablespoons olive oil; knead until smooth, 5 minutes. Brush with olive oil, cover in a bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Divide into two 1-pound balls. Use 1 pound per recipe (I then left one ball in the fridge  - and one in the freezer which I will use later- for a whole day until I had time to make the pie.).

2. Take one ball and push lightly on the edges moving outward (baby CPR) until the dough is a disk. Then drape it over your fists, held like you are a boxer, and turn it slowly around. It will stretch gently, hopefully without tearing. Place on a pizza tray and press out further until it reaches the outer edge of the pan.

3. Cover with a thin layer of crushed tomato puree. Place cheese slices and anything else you like around the pie.

4. Cook at the highest heat you can make your oven (around 500 degrees) for 15 minutes. Add basil leaves when out of oven.

So, what did I do wrong???