#10
   ...
Well my wife is back east visiting her parents, my in-laws, for the 10 days. So it is Bob alone time! Which is fun for a few days and then starts to suck, but I will enjoy the few days prior to boring setting in! No open flame allowed while she is gone. Don't forget to feed the cats, don't
forget to water the indoor plants, the horses need water every third day. Keep everything picked up and the dishes done. (Yep that will happen when her plane is in the air on the way back, use a little technique I call "Clean-Con
level 10" warp speed deep cleaning.) Don't forget you cook for the Catholic Outreach Soup Kitchen this weekend. yes dear yes dear!!! Anyway after 22 years of being trained by this women I know the details! And I have learned a lot of words I thought were bad words, are TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. Unless I
use them!
So what to have for dinner tonight. My wife does not care for onions, so when she is gone I am having an onion fest, she does not care for Anchovies, so they are coming out. Well, while making the Pumpkin Stromboli I had success two version faster than I thought the proper balance would be reached. So I have a few pizza dough left in the reefer. So why not through together a pizza? Sure that will go down well and its
Friday.

Pizza crust:
3 cups flour, 1 package active dry yeast, 1 tsp salt, 1 cup warm water, 2 tablespoons oil. Proof the yeast in the warm water with a pinch of sugar. If it is good, combine the dry ingredients and mix in the water and oil. Stir till stiff, then knead for 5 minutes. Let rise til double, flour
lightly and knead for 4 minutes, separate into balls and place on floured plate, cover with plastic wrap and allow to develop in the reefer overnight to no more than 36 hours.

[Image: pizzadough.jpg]

Take it out the next day and flatten it, do not fold it, and roll or toss to a 14 inch pizza shell. Pizza Sauce, Tomato sauce, 1 tbsp oregano, 1/2 tsp basil, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Place 1/2 cup in center of pizza shell, spread to outer edges with a large spoon. Top with mozzarella cheese that has been shreaded.

[Image: start.jpg]

Now we have the fame work for a meal. But this baby is naked! We need to get the emperor some clothes!! So I have a bunch of sun dried tomatoes I did with the dehydrate this summer. 4 or 5 of them in the Kitchen Aid Chef Chopper and I have nice sun-dried tomato bits. Robbed a mess of the cherry tomatoes off the vine before the freeze a couple days ago. So they will go on for sure.

[Image: topping2.jpg]

But is still looks naked to me, so I have to dig around a little and get this pizza up to speed. Oh yah! I made pickled sweet peppers for the Pumpkin Stromboli. I can add them, I have some mushrooms that I sliced a while back they should go well.

[Image: topping3.jpg]

But still no SECRET ingredient. Ah, I know anchovies, the ultimate pizza topping. I love them and I owe it all to the United State Marine Corps. I was in when we still had barracks and lived 70 men to a bay. If you order a pizza it was lucky to make it all the way to you, unless you order it with extra anchovies, then no one wanted it. God bless the little anchovy, it kept my pizza safe during communal living conditions!

[Image: anchovies.jpg]

My wife claims to hate them, but I noticed she never misses a chance to use the Worcestershire sauce, I guess she does not know?  Any way this will complete the pizza nicely, salty, yet sweet. They are fantastic. And so it is into the oven with the dinner! No wait one more thing, I have some nice chopped hot cherry peppers that will add a little zip.

[Image: wetpeppers.jpg]

Then when it has cooked at 500 F on the stone for about 8 minutes it is ready to come out.

[Image: finished.jpg]

And so there you have it, MAN pizza! If anyone tells my wife I wrote this, I will deny it and claim a sinister plot to frame me.

It is important to leave a pizza rest for about 4 minutes or so prior to running the pizza cutter through it.

Now we come to the part I get asked about a lot. What wine goes with pizza? Everyone wants to know, what wine goes with pizza. I think most wines go with pizza, sort of, but there is one that I like, chianti is nice with pizza, but it is not perfect.

Nope for pizza we have to search back to our youth and remember what was really the perfect match with pizza.

Pretty girl, of course, but we are talking drink here...... yes the girl could be one tall cool glass of ........ but I digress, the perfect match to pizza comes from barley and hops meeting together!

[Image: beer.jpg]

And so it is that I will have a few pints with my pizza tonight. I have got the call my wife made it to her parents just fine. So now I don't have to worry til she is flying back to Colorado. Yes dear I fed the cats, yes the horses have water, ah nuts, can't a man just have his pizza and beer in peace?!!!!!

'Til we talk again, bust out the stuff and make a pizza or two, we always had fun with it since the kids could each top their own for dinner, it is a real fun food to bake!
Chef Bob Ballantyne
The Cowboy and The Rose Catering
Grand Junction, Colorado, USA
Chef de Cuisine
The Cowboy and The Rose Catering

USMC Sgt 1979-1985
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#11
  Homemade Pizza, Anchovies are great! bbally Well my wife is back...
No anchovies for me, thanks. When I feel like making my own "garbage pizza," it goes like this:
  • Crust
  • Sun-dried-tomato pesto
  • Mozzarella
  • Caramelised onions
  • Sautéed regular, shiitake, and portobello mushrooms
  • Roasted red bell peppers
  • Diced cooked ham
  • A moderate amount of grated smoked Gouda
  • Crumbled goat cheese
Actually, quite a bit of time and money for a "garbage" pizza! When some friends and I had a "game and make-your-own-pizza night," I made this, and everybody yelled for more.

As another novelty (since it's getting close to Thanksgiving), there's my "Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Pizza":
  • Crust
  • Instead of sauce, use the wet mixture of a sage, apple, and sausage stuffing (i.e. without the actual bread)
  • Slices of leftover turkey
  • Gravy
  • Grated smoked Gouda
  • After the pizza is cooked, garnish each slice with a slice of canned cranberry sauce
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
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#12
  Re: Homemade Pizza, Anchovies are great! labradors No anchovies for me,...
That Turkey pizza sounds interesting. How long have you been doing that pizza?
Chef de Cuisine
The Cowboy and The Rose Catering

USMC Sgt 1979-1985
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#13
  Re: Homemade Pizza, Anchovies are great! bbally That Turkey pizza so...
The first time was in 2001, so that makes almost six years. It's been a while, though, since I don't usually get turkey down here, but I have been thinking about it for this year.
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
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#14
  Re: Homemade Pizza, Anchovies are great! labradors No anchovies for me,...
That sounds superb! WHat a wondeful idea. That along iwth the Day After Turkey Sandwich in the new issue. I am going to try both this year.
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
Laura
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#15
  Homemade Pizza, Anchovies are great! bbally Well my wife is back...
I love your pictorial talents. The Pizza is gorgeous!
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
Laura
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Homemade Pizza, Anchovies are great!


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