RECIPE ~ Restaurant-Style White Pizza January 31, 2010

I have tried to make pizza with a round pizza stone, a square pizza stone and several types of metal pans. I have also tried to make pizza right on the oven rack with no pan or stone. All of these attempts have resulted in either sub-par or very average pizza.

Then Sam’s dad showed up one day with this amazing vented aluminum pizza pan, which he picked up from a kitchen supply store. I am not sure if you can get this pan from a regular kitchen store, so if you want to make great pizza then go to your nearest restaurant supply store. They are so much fun to shop at. So, thanks Frank! Because of you, we’re now able to enjoy restaurant-style pizza that is made at home.

Now that I’ve finally figured out how to make a good pizza, I will try a bunch of pizza dough recipes and report back once I figure that out (suggestions are welcomed)! In the meantime, this recipe uses store-bought fresh dough. On a separate note, we are the proud parents of a new gas stove. The top has five burners — the super burner has 18,000 BTUs, and there is also a grill burner in the center. Yay! Sam and his friend Rich installed the gas line and a new outlet last week, and the range was delivered Saturday. I was extremely skeptical about this gas-line installation, but it was a truly professional job. So Sam, you were right and I was wrong (I may not ever say this again, so enjoy it).

Serving size

This pizza will serve about 4 people

Ingredients

• Store-bought pizza dough (I have tried a few and definitely prefer the fresh dough from Whole Foods)
• About 3/4 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese
• About 1/2 lb. fresh part-skim ricotta
• Fresh basil
• Good quality extra virgin olive oil
• Garlic or garlic powder
• Ground white pepper to taste
• Kosher salt to taste
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 – 3 eggs (optional)

Instructions

Set the oven to 500 degrees. The dough should be room temperature. Now, stretch the pizza dough. Here is a great video on YouTube that demonstrates how to stretch pizza dough including what to do if you rip a hole in the dough while you’re stretching it.

The magical pizza pan that Sam's dad Frank bought us. Thanks Frank!

Lay the dough on the magical pizza pan then pour on some very good extra virgin olive oil (not your regular daily oil, but your excellent oil that you use to make salad dressings, etc.) Brush the oil so it is evenly spread. White pizza does not have a sauce. It just has oil!

Brushing the oil on the dough

Shred the mozzarella.

Shredded mozzarella

Top the pizza with the mozzarella, then spoon the ricotta on to the pizza and add the basil leaves. The ricotta can be spoon-sized dollops — there is no need to spread it out. It will melt down when the pizza is baking. Sprinkle on the fresh pressed garlic (or the garlic powder) and the crushed red pepper flakes. Season with kosher salt and ground white pepper to taste.

Ready for the oven

Place the pizza in the 500 degree oven and bake for about 20 minutes. If you want to add eggs to your pizza, do so about 2/3 of the way through the baking process. I will pause for a second to discuss eggs on pizza. No, it is not strange and no, I did not make this up. Yes, it is delicious. Typically, eggs go on white pizza that also has diced pancetta, like the carbonara pizza from Osteria Marco, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Denver. However, it is also delicious on plain white pizza.  Sam was not in the mood for eggs, but I was. Here it is, ready to eat!

Ready to eat!

This pizza truly was like restaurant-style pizza. The dough rose beautifully, the cheese was brown and bubbly, and perhaps most importantly the bottom was as brown and crispy as the crust over the entire bottom. Not soggy, not uneven — truly delicious. I credit the pan, and perhaps also our new gas range that was installed on Saturday.

We are the proud parents of a new gas range!

RECIPE ~ Chicken, Kale and Wheat Berry Soup January 31, 2010

Okay, the title of this recipe sounds like it’s right out of the “I have a big butt and I really need to lose weight now” cookbook. Well, it’s true. I do have a big butt. AND I do need to lose weight. Since like 1985. Whatever, it’s the new year, Sam and I got the Wii Fit, and when we did our body tests and our Miis plumped up a bit we knew there was no more denying it.

So you may not see butter, heavy whipping cream and other delicious ingredients for awhile. Don’t be hating. All of this said, the soup is actually quite delicious and healthy. Go figure! The stock, wheat berries and vegetables are all prepared separately, and then the persillade (garlic and parsley) and marsala wine are added at the end, for a very layered and refined flavor.

Serving size

This recipe will make about 8 servings.

Ingredients

Soup stock:

• One whole chicken (I prefer a ‘fryer chicken’ that is already cut into parts)
• Mirepoix (2 celery stalks, 1 large carrot and 1 medium onion, diced evenly)
• Bouquet garni (about 6 full stalks fresh parsley, 1 bay leaf and 4 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together)

Soup ingredients:

• 1 large leek
• 1 large carrot
• 2 celery stalks
• 6 tbsp. butter
• 1 1/2 cups wheat berries (I wanted farro but couldn’t find it, and this is a great alternative)
• Splash of olive oil
• 1 very large bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped into about 1 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• Persillade (3 cloves garlic, leaves of about 4 stalks parsley)
• Kosher salt to taste
• Ground white pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup marsala wine

Instructions

Rinse the chicken thoroughly, trim any extra chicken skin and place chicken parts in your soup pot. Cover entirely with cold water, set on the stove over low-medium heat and heat to simmering. This will cook the chicken and create the base for the soup stock. At no point should the stock ever bubble or boil. It should always be a very low simmer.

Starting the chicken stock

Meanwhile, dice the celery, onion and carrots — this is the mirepoix. All these veggies should be the same size, so they cook evenly. To chop the carrots evenly, trim the outside rounded parts until the carrot is somewhat squared off. To chop the celery evenly, smash it down flat (firmly but gently).

Mirepoix and bouquet garni

As soon as the soup stock is simmering, add the mirepoix and bouquet garni and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Do not allow it to bubble or boil. It should always be just barely simmering. Stir the stock occasionally and skim any foam or fat from the top.

Now prepare your wheat berries. Add 1 1/2 cup wheat berries to a pot and then 6 cups cold water. Splash a little  olive oil in the water. Over medium heat, gently boil the wheat berries for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. They will take a very long time to cook but will be plump and not crunchy at all when they are ready. They will still have a nice firmness to them, which makes them great for soup. When the wheat berries are finished cooking, simply leave them in their cooking water and set them aside.

Boiling the wheat berries in water and a little oil

After the soup stock has been cooking for 1 1/2 hours, remove all of the chicken and let it cool. Once it is cool, pull all the meat off the bones then add the bones back to the stock and continue to cook it for about 1 more hour. Shred the chicken up with your fingers and let it continue to rest.

Shredded chicken

Meantime, dice the leek, carrot and celery stalks (your second mirepoix, but this time with leeks instead of onion). Leeks are wonderful. They are an onion, but softer in flavor than regular onions.

Second mirepoix, but with leeks

When the stock is ready, remove and discard the chicken bones, then strain the stock and return the strained stock to the soup pan. Add the chopped kale and the tomato paste and cook for 20 more minutes over low heat, so the soup is just simmering but not bubbling or boiling.

Melt the butter in a pan over low-medium heat then add the mirepoix and stir it to coat it fully with butter. Give it a sprinkle of salt and continue to cook it for about 20 minutes, sweating the vegetables but now browning them (so keep an eye on that heat)! After the kale has cooked in the stock for 20 minutes, add this mirepoix to the soup and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Next, using a slotted spoon, spoon the wheat berries into the soup. Spoon a little bit of of the wheat berry water for some extra flavor, but don’t go crazy. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Meantime, prepare the persillade (which is really just a fancy French word that means parsley and garlic). Press the garlic in your garlic press, chop the parsley and then chop the two together, so it is all mixed together.

Persillade

Add the marsala wine to the soup. Finally, add the shredded chicken back into the soup. Add the persillade. Continue to cook for about 5 more minutes, until the chicken is hot. Remove from heat and serve!

Ready for dinner