2 Pizzas from Scratch

Pizzadelphia is quite a guy! After a rough couple of weeks, I was finishing up a big project so he decided to make me some pizza. In fact, he made 2 pizzas and they were both OFF THE HOOK good.

First up: Wowza-roni Pizza!



On this pizza: dough from scratch, olives, pepperoni, crushed chili peppers, goat's milk mozzarella, cow's milk mozzarella, tomato base, crushed black pepper

Verdict: gone in under 20 minutes. The goat's milk mozzarella is completely delicious - only a little different than traditional mozzarella, honestly, but yummy. And Pizzadelphia cut up the pepperoni into quarters, which is the best way to do it because then you don't have to contend with the whole piece of pepperoni coming off with a big slide of cheese... you know how that goes.

Pizza 2: Pineytime Station Pizza



On this pizza: dough from scratch, roasted garlic, toasted pine nuts, zucchini, tomato base, cow's milk mozzarella, crushed black pepper.

Verdict: OH GOD YES. Because we had already eaten a full other pizza, I only had half of my allotted slices of this one. This means I was able to enjoy it again during lunch on Monday. I like to eat leftover pizza cold, and I am here to tell you that cold or hot, this pizza rocked. Pizzadelphia roasted the garlic in the oven while he made, cooked, and we ate the first pizza. I love roasted garlic and it was really special to have on a pizza. He also toasted the pine nuts before putting them on the pizza. Here's a tip: put some toasted pine nuts on your next pizza. The zucchini still had a bit of texture to it, which was a nice addition.




In other pizza news, I may have found a place in Philadelphia to rival Bruno's. I tried it last night but faithful reader (and friend) PizzaMike recommended I have a second taste test before I go crazy with pizza proclamations. I'm going back tonight, so I'll have a full report on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend - eat some pizza!

You can't fool me, Distrito!

Last night Pizzadelphia and I visited Distrito in West Philadelphia for the first time. We are fans of Jose Garces and I'd been reading reviews of the bright pink lucha libre wonderland since it opened. We opted for a tasting menu and everything was going just fine when they brought to the table Huaraches Guisados.

This dish, was a flat, crispy dough with short rib, oxtail, 3 chile barbeque, cheese, poblano, crema, and radish (according to the menu, which I am looking at right now). It looked gorgeous - crema striped over the entirety of the dish. It was roughly the size of a large postcard or handbill, and rectangular in shape and cut into four strips.

Pizzadelphia and I took one bite, looked at each other in glee, and pronounced it pizza. YOU CANNOT FOOL US, JOSE GARCES. Crispy flat dough topped with multiple kinds of cheese, braised beef and other toppings? That is pizza. And it was totally delicious.



Distrito
3945 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19104
www.distritorestaurant.com

Pizza at home: now with goat's milk cheese!

I am not a big fan of goat's milk cheese, so I was a bit wary when Pizzadelphia brought home a block of goat mozzarella. No longer, though, because it is delicious.

Pizzadelphia made for me last night pizza from scratch, using garlic oil instead of olive oil in the dough. We didn't notice much difference, but just knowing it was in there was helpful for my soul. Crushed tomatoes were the sauce, topped with goat mozzarella, bacon (high five for bacon!), whole cherry tomtatoes, and just a couple of oil-cured olives. I'm pretty sure there were a few grates of parmigiana reggiano on top too. Everything came together beautifully and we continue to enjoy the crispness of crust the pizza stone provides.

I love whole cherry or grape tomatoes on a pizza. They get roasted and when you bite into them have a very satisfying pop and just explode with flavor. The danger, of course, is that they want to roll off your slice while you're holding it.

Slumdog Pizzanaire!

And the winner is...



Slumdog Pizzanaire!

Pizzadelphia concocted this amazing pie for us during the Oscars last night. He made dough by Mark Bittman's recipe in the essential tome, How to Cook Everything. The korma sauce went on the dough. Pizzadelphia then pan cooked some chicken that had been dipped in flour so that it would have a little crispness on the pizza. That went on top of the korma, along with some peas. The entire beautiful thing went onto a hot pizza stone and WHAMO! Fantastic pizza!

The pizza stone made a huge difference. The crust was crisp on the outside and soft inside. The middle of the pizza crust wasn't wimpy or sagging. The combination of flavors was wonderful, especially the peas. The korma sauce had an unexpected spiciness to it, which the peas balanced perfectly.

A winner, for sure!

OSCAR Pizza

I'm very excited for the Oscars this Sunday. The glitz, the glamour, the...pizza? Hell yes!

Pizzadelphia challenged me to think up 5 pizzas, each representing the nominees for Best Picture. We'll make the one that looks best to consume during the show. (It's a shame The Wrestler isn't up for Best Picture because I could have made one hell of a heroically sad Jersey pizza.) The nominees are...

The Curious Case of Pizzamin Button
In honor of New Orleans, my take on a muffaletta!

Thick dough with aged provolone (see what I did there?), genoa salami, cappicola ham, and olive salad. Of course because Pizzamin Button has to be backwards, the toppings will be directly on the crust, with cheese on top, ultimately topped with sauce. Hopefully the sauce can be made of baby tomatoes. (see what I did there? again?)

Frost/Pizzon
This one was the hardest to concoct. NO WAY was I going to suggest a pizza topped with Nixon's famous favorite food - cottage cheese and ketchup. That would be an abomination of pizza. So, we'll take a line from the movie (which I have not seen), and go with the end when Nixon asks Frost what they talked about over the phone. Frost replies, "Cheeseburgers."

Cheeseburger pizza - thin crust, tomato sauce, a mix of American cheese and Red Leicester cheese, ground beef. Optional: sliced tomato, raw onion, and a layer of shame and deceit.

The Pizzer
I thought about making The Reader's pizza simply a tribute to Kate Winslet, but decided instead to go with the overall book theme and German/Jewish thing.

Thin crust latke pizza, with bratwurst...shaped like a book! The potato skins can be arranged like lines of writing on a page and the bratwurst can serve as page numbers. Sexy page numbers.

Slumdog Pizzanaire
Easiest and most delicious suggestion!

Naan crust, korma sauce, ground lamb. I want to eat this immediately.

mPIlkZZA
Pride Pizza!

Thin crust, traditional tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Toppings, arranged in bars, according to color:
Radishes
Orange Peppers
Yellow Banana Peppers
Broccoli
Blue Potatoes
Eggplant (skin on)


I'm interested to hear other ideas! Especially if you've seen these movies, since I haven't seen any of them.

Nothing says Valentine's Day like pizza

Pizzadelphia really outdid himself this V Day! My pizzacentric presents were great! First, he gave me triangular ziploc bags illustrated with cartoon pizza slices - the Pizza Saver! This will be perfect if there is ever a day we don't finish an entire pizza.

The second gift was a pizza stone. I'm excited to use this and get the middle of the crust nice and crispy on the next pizza I make!

Speaking of the next pizza I make, he did all the work for me! He made me a heart-shaped pie with more of the pepperoni and olives from Thursday's turnovers. Heart-shaped pizza?! Swoon.

Pizzadelphia's pepperoni and two olive pizza turnover

Last night Pizzadelphia brought dinner to me at the theatre - his first attempt at a pizza turnover! He made the dough from scratch, following the recipe in Mark Bittman's wonderful How to Cook Everything, and filled it with a ton of delicious ingredients. In the turnover was Whole Foods sauce; locatelli, parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses; pepperoni; green olives; and oil-cured black olives. It was folded into a neat little burrito-like pocket and baked in the oven. The dough was crispy on the outside and nice and soft inside. It didn't fall apart as I ate it and was wonderful.

And because Pizzadelphia knows me pretty well, he brought me two. Fantastic!

Pizza is the Best

I have always loved pizza the most. Sure, when I was 7 I wouldn't eat anything but hot dogs, but in any lifelong love affair there must be a time when one partner tries something new. But hot dogs suck and pizza is the best.

When people ask those hypothetical questions like "what if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life?" my answer is simple. My answer is pizza. I like cheese pizza, I like pizza with toppings, I sometimes like just the cheese and sauce, sometimes just the crust. I like pizza turnovers and pizza rolls. Pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening, pizza at supper time. When pizza's on a bagel, you can have pizza anytime. I'll even get down with Ellio's if I'm in a bind.

I grew up in South Jersey and I've lived in Philadelphia for five years. I work in theatre, which ups my potential for random pizza parties, as there is usually someone around who is hungry and will go in on a pizza with you. A lot of people want to talk smack on Philly pizza, but there are a few good spots. I'll let you in on them, as well as the ones to avoid.

I'm starting to make my own pizza and I'll let you know how that goes. My tremendous boyfriend, Pizzadelphia, is a much better cook and usually does the pizza dough preparation - but I'm good at giving credit where it's due. You'll always know who responsible for the pizza.

I'm also going to be traveling a bit in the next few months and I plan to check out the pizza in various places and report back. If you have any pizza tips, definitely send them my way. We're together in the pursuit of pizza!