Thinking Outside the Box: Pizza

Sometimes, you have the think outside the box... the pizza box, that is. Treating yourself to really good pizza from scratch is easier than you think. Here are a few of my favorites...

This recipe, adapted from Pizza: Any Way You Slice It by Charles & Michele Sciolone, is among the very best pizza I have ever tasted. It takes a bit of time, but it's absolutely worth it.

Neapolitan Style Crust

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 cup cake flour
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
Extra virgin olive oil for the bowl

Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the water. Combine and let stand until the yeast has formed a nice, foamy top.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine the cake flour, 2 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour, and the salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic (usually about 10 minutes).

Lightly coat a large bowl with oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to oil the top. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Flatten the dough with your fist. Cut the dough into 2 to 4 pieces and shape the pieces into balls. Dust the tops with flour.

Place the balls in a medium floured bowl or plate and cover each with plastic wrap, allowing room for the dough to expand. Let rise until doubled, about 60 to 90 minutes.

30 minutes before baking the pizzas, place a baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles on a rack in the lowest level of the oven. Turn on the oven to 475 to 500 degrees F.

Shape your pizza crusts, top as desired and transfer using a pizza peel. Bake 7 to 8 minutes.

Although not quite as flavorful, I usually opt for a New York style crust. Use 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast, 1 1/3 cups of warm water and replace the cake flour with ordinary, all-purpose flour. I top mine with homemade marinara (minced garlic, touch of extra virgin olive oil, 1 can of crushed tomatoes, pinch of dried oregano and salt and black/red pepper flakes to taste) and whole milk mozzarella. As much as I love fresh mozzarella, it will invariably make the crust soggy. If you have a remedy, please do tell.

Here's another recipe that both my sister, Sue, and her lovely daughter, Meg, make. Of course, no matter how much I try, their pizza always tastes better than anything I make... probably because they're sitting across the table from me. When my sister invites us over for pizza, she kneads her dough by hand for upwards of 25 minutes... it's to die for.

4 cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons sugar, divided
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet yeast
1¼ cup + 1 tablespoon warm water

Using a bread machine, proof your yeast with ¼ teaspoon sugar dissolved in the warm water. Add the flour, salt and olive oil to your bread machine. Follow manufacturer’s instructions.

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Separate dough into even portions. Flatten onto pans or directly on a stone. Cover with desired sauce (Meg happens to love Boboli brand) and toppings. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

And, here's still another...

This recipe uses a bit more sugar and salt, as well as semolina flour for a more textured crust. Certain people (you know who you are) won’t put anything in their mouths with green leaves or tomato chunks on it, so try the following: Take a small amount of dough from the batch and make a couple of mini pizzas for the kids, complete with their favorite toppings.

2 cups unbleached white flour (plus additional)
2 cups semolina flour
1 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 teaspoons sugar
1 packet yeast
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup warm water and ¼ teaspoon sugar. Let sit and proof for ten minutes.

In the meantime, add salt and 3 teaspoons of sugar to the flours. Add the yeast mixture, the additional ¾ cup of water and the olive oil. Blend thoroughly and turn out onto a clean cupboard or cutting board. Add flour as needed until dough is soft and pliable. Continue kneading by hand for 10 to 12 minutes.

Place in large bowl greased with a little olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap until dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Separate dough into two equal portions. Spread out onto pizza pans and top with sauce, cheese and fresh basil.

Be warned, however, that re-heating pizza of any kind is apparently fraught with danger… at least in our family.

Years ago, Sue hid a balloon in the oven for a treasure hunt. It wasn’t discovered until after a pizza was put in the oven to warm. The balloon had exploded; its rubber remains caked all over both the pizza and the oven’s walls. You needed a chisel to get it off.

Not to be outdone, years later, a certain sister (I have been blessed with 3) decided to warm her pizza... in the box. She left the room, only to find the pizza box and slices contained within had caught fire. As she removed the burning cardboard mess, pieces of burning paper flew around the kitchen. A few finally settled on our mother’s newly installed vinyl floor, burning right through the plastic. At least $1500 later, the floor looked good as new. Well, that’s because it was.

Fruit Crisp

I received this recipe for apple crisp (what seems like) a lifetime ago from my dear sister, Sue... truly the cat’s pajamas as a mother, sister and novelist. I've found that adding a tablespoon of cornstarch and a bit of sugar to the fruit makes all the difference. Don’t be afraid to add a couple of peeled ripe pears, some blackberries or even a few tablespoons of Amaretto to the recipe, either. If you use berries almost exclusively, be sure to use at least a 1/3 cup of sugar for the best flavor.

4 cups apples, peeled, sliced and pared
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats (old-fashioned, not instant)
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg (freshly ground)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease baking dish (8 x 8 x 2 or 8 x 13). Place apple slices in pan. Mix remaining ingredients thoroughly and sprinkle over apples.

Bake for 30 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. Serve warm with light cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Pasta Vinaigrette

This is one of my most requested recipes. It was inspired by a dish from a mid-1980s issue of Bon Appetit magazine, which featured red wine vinegar and arugula. My version is ideal with quiche for brunch or chicken for dinner. If you actually have any leftovers (rare in our family), use it as the basis for a delicious frittata. And, any remaining balsamic dressing makes for a lovely marinade for chicken or steak.

1 lb. thin spaghetti (De Cecco brand is very flavorful)
2 small tomatoes, sliced in wedges (B.C. Hothouse are available throughout the year)
1/3 to 1/2 sliced sweet onion (Walla Walla or Vidalia are best)
1 to 2 cups mixed greens
½ cup balsamic dressing (or more to taste)
Freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

Cook the pasta (according to package directions) in a large pot with ample amounts of salt (1 to 2 tablespoons). Drain thoroughly and toss with the vinaigrette and sweet onion. Add the tomato wedges and mixed greens. Toss. Sprinkle with Parmesan, if desired.

Balsamic Dressing
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 + 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves
1 to 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ to 1 ¾ teaspoons oregano
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor.

Note: Be sure to make the dressing ahead, so the garlic has time to mellow.

Delicious Fresh Orange Muffins

This recipe for fresh orange muffins was adapted from one published for lemon muffins some 20 years ago in Bon Appetit magazine. I usually use the juice from one-half of an orange, which creates a particularly moist muffin. The original recipe calls for a light glaze, but a traditional orange cream cheese frosting, with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, a little grated orange zest and fresh orange juice makes these absolutely irresistible.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 8 oz. container orange yogurt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper baking cups. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix yogurt, melted butter, egg and orange juice in smaller bowl; stir into dry ingredients until just blended (batter may be a little lumpy). Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool before frosting.