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Pizza, Pizza

A “Six-Hour” Pizza

My obsession with pizza continues. For the last several months, I’ve been experimenting with different dough recipes in an attempt to achieve a pizza with a crust that’s both soft and crunchy. Key to realizing this goal is finding the right percent of hydration, or the ratio of water to flour. Although it sounds pretty easy to do, it’s not. As the quantity of water goes up, the dough gets stickier and more difficult to work with. Sure, you can add a little flour as you go to make the dough more manageable, but add too much, and there goes the balance.

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Musing: Dining in the Time of Pandemic

A Pasta Frittata

Solace and joy. This is what I feel almost every night I prepare our dinner while confined during this pandemic. The relief and comfort that come from making an old family recipe or the joy from discovering a new one, along with a nightly cocktail, keeps us going.

Today, I’m highlighting just two examples of dishes from last week that sustained not only our bodies but our souls.

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Pizza Margherita

blogpizzasmallYesterday, I had an early evening engagement and wouldn’t be home in time to cook for dinner. So I thought: pizza. It’s really easy to make at home, even in a small NYC kitchen and, in my opinion, is far better and maybe even quicker than delivery.

Just before noon, I made the pizza dough following one of the best recipes I know. It’s from Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s The Italian Country Table. It makes a thin crust that perfectly balances crispy and chewy. The dough can rest covered for about 8 hours if you want to make it ahead of time like I did.

I sauce my pizza with a raw sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of oregano, some crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and cook the pizza for about 10 minutes before adding the cheeses and basil. I then top the pizza with some grated Romano, torn pieces of fresh Mozzarella, a few ripped fresh basil leaves, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cook for about another 7 minutes or until the crust is brown and the cheese melts.blogprepizzasmall

Here’s a link to Lynne’s recipe online: Classic Pizza Margherita. It includes the dough recipe as well as one for the sauce.

Wine Pairing: Chianti, chilled Lambrusco, Zinfandel