The Southwest Voice

All > Columnists > House & Home > Home Cooking
La Cucina di Betty: The perfect pizza –– love at first bite
Topics:
Anonymous user Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:24:30 PDT
Viewed 1933 times
0 responses 1 comment For many years I have stayed away from homemade pizzas. I felt that they took too long to make and the crust was always soggy. I figured that the difficult task of pizza making was best left to Rusty’s.

But the more I read about pizza making and after many attempts in the kitchen, I feel I have come up with the perfect pizza. I even consider myself a pizza pro. Well, my family sure so and that’s  all that matters!
 
All you need to get started are the proper ingredients, a pizza stone, a pizza peel (which is a large, flat wooden paddle to handle the pizza), and a little practice and imagination.
 
When I make my pizzas I make them in four layers: the crust, the sauce, the cheese and the toppings. Don’t limit yourself, there are many variations to pizzas.
 
If you don’t have time to make your own pizza dough, there are many pre-baked crusts or commercial refrigerated pizza doughs on the market. I use to make homemade pizza dough, but I found out that I always had to plan ahead and it just took up too much of my time. I now buy pizza dough in the cold food section at Trader Joe’s. Their dough is fantastic and affordable. Why spend all that time working on the dough when you can buy something that tastes just as good as homemade? The time you save preparing the dough gives you more time to elaborate on your toppings.
 
When a pizza calls for a tomato sauce, make your own. Fresh pizza sauce really makes the pizza. I like to use it sparingly, spreading it thin, just enough to cover the dough. Too much sauce makes your pizza taste like tomatoes. You can use fresh tomatoes or canned. Whether fresh or canned, plum tomatoes are the best for making the sauce. When fresh tomatoes are used, I prefer to use Italian Roma tomatoes. The sauce recipe I am adding is my favorite. I make a large batch and then freeze it. I freeze one half cup per container, enough for one pizza. It is nice when you want to make a pizza and you have your sauce readily available in the freezer. The Trader Joe pizza dough freezes nicely, also. How much easier can it get?
 
Mozzarella is the standard cheese used for pizzas, but sometimes I like to mix cheeses. Try adding some provolone or fontina to your mozzarella for a nice, creamy blend. You can even use monterey jack, swiss or cheddar. Finishing off your pizza with a sprinkle or two of fresh parmesan cheese is a nice flavorful touch, but please do not use the cheese in the green can. That is so not acceptable on my pizzas!
 
Once you have the basic dough recipe and instruction for forming, assembling and baking your pizza, you can begin creating your pizza with any topping that suits your taste buds. I like to precook my toppings, it keeps the crust from becoming soggy. Saute your veggies until most of the liquid is cooked away. Always precook the meats you are using on any pizza. Avoid adding too many toppings, which will weigh down the crust. Also, if you add too many toppings the individual flavors are lost and your pizza loses it pizzazz.
 
I really do suggest you get out and buy a pizza stone before you get started. You will thank me later! You can buy them at Target, Olcott’s and even Trader Joe’s. Using a pizza stone is the key to making a successful pizza at home. There is simply no comparison to what happens to the crust when it is cooked directly on the hot stone. The pizza stone evenly distributes heat thorough the dough, and makes the pizza base firm and crunchy. Preheat your stone for at least a half hour before you bake your pizza by placing it on the lowest rack of a very hot oven, set at 450 degrees, My stone is dark and seasoned after many years of use. After each use I just wipe it off. If you must wash it, use water only and never soap. Soap will leave an aftertaste.
 
There are many ways to shape your pizza dough. I simply hold the dough in front of me by one of the edges and use gravity and my fingers to gently stretch it into a large circle. Get the kids involved in this one, they love to help. So what if the dough has a tear here and there? Just pat it back together on your work surface and continue with the stretching motions. Place the dough directly on the hot pizza stone, being very careful because the stone is very hot. Bake it in a 450-degree oven for five minutes only. Remove the crust with your pizza peel, slide it onto the peel and then move the peel to a work surface while you quickly dress your pizza. Brush on your tomato sauce, sprinkle on the cheese and place your toppings. Now slide your pizza back onto the stone and continue to cook for 10 more minutes.
 
Once you get it in the oven, relax. Pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy the wonderful smell that will emerge from your kitchen. Let it cool down for at least a few minutes before you slice it. From beginning to end, your pizza should take 15 minutes to cook. I recommend you to watch and use your judgement and taste while cooking it to your liking.

When ready to slice, I just take a large chef’s knive and go at it. You will look so professional! Sometimes for a large crowd I will make them in advance and if I’m not serving them immediately I will leave them on the counter uncovered and then reheat them on the stone for a few minutes in a hot oven.

If you follow my simple instructions you, too, can be a pizza pro. And get your kids involved, they can always get a job as a pizza maker!

I am including my family’s three favorite pizza recipes. Refer back to my column with the instructions and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Sausage Pizza
4 large Italian style sausages
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Trader Joe’s pizza dough
 
Remove the casing from the sausages and crumble the meat into a skillet. Saute the sausage until thoroughly cooked. Drain the meat. Pre-bake the crust in a 450-degree oven for five minutes. Pour the sauce over the crust, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and add the sausage. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

Mushroom Pizza
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, fresh and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Trader Joe’s Pizza crust
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 cup grated mozzerella cheese
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
 
In a skillet, add the olive oil and mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms for five minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes or so until all the liquid has evaporated. Adjust the seasonings. Pour the pizza sauce evenly over the pizza dough, which you have already prebaked for five  minutes in a 450-degree oven. Place the mozzarella cheese over the sauce. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes until the topping is bubbling and the crust in golden in color.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Three chicken breasts, grilled 
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded fontina cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large red onion, caramelized
Trader Joe’s pizza dough
 
Add salt and pepper to the chicken breast and grill. Cut into bitesize pieces. Place in the barbecue sauce and let stand for a couple hours. To caramelize the onion, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, stir to coat with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook over medium heat uncovered, cook until the onion begins to brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Pre-bake the pizza dough for five minutes in a 450-degree oven. To assemble, sprinkle on the cheese, arrange the onions and top with the chicken pieces. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. 

Pizza Sauce
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
28-ounce can crushed Italian tomatoes
6-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste
 
In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the olive oil, onion and garlic. Saute onions and garlic for five to seven minutes until the onion is soft and transparent. Add the tomatoes, paste, water, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary. This recipe makes three and 1/2 cups sauce. I freeze 1/2 cup sauce per ziplock bag. Use 1/2 cup sauce per pizza.

Send to a Friend

Report a Violation

Comment From: ativnon

I was lucky enough to have Betty teach me some of the best cooking skills I have ever learned in her very own kitchen. Everything she makes is ambrosia. (Not literally.) :) You can't go wrong listening to Betty when it comes to cooking. Or raising a family. Or being a friend. Or just about anything else! -Allison (Tivnon) Collins Portland, OR