January Talking Meme: Favorite Recipe
Jan. 14th, 2014 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
readerjanerahirah asked, What is your favorite thing to cook?Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. Easy choice.
We were given the recipe, along with the pizza pan to make it in, by some college friends. Hub and I have tinkered with that recipe over time until it suits exactly what we like in a pizza. It's based on Giordano's pizza, but our crust is yeastier and less corn-mealy than Giordano's. We use a little less mozerella. I think our sauce tastes better.
In fact, that's one of the downsides of making The Best Pizza In the World: I'm pretty much spoiled for restaurant pizza. I can enjoy somebody else's thin-crust, but for deep-dish it's gotta be my own.
We usually make two pies: one spinach / black olive for the veggetarians in the crowd, and one with sausage and mushrooms. But there have been variations. Hub likes pineapple / Canadian bacon.
This pizza is a LOT of work. You have to start the dough rising a couple hours ahead of time. The sauce is best if it's also made ahead so the flavors mingle. There's much slicing involved, and then just when you've finally got it in the oven, the kitchen is a disaster zone and you have to clean while the pizza cooks just so you have some place to eat.
But it's worth it. Add a salad and some grapes, and it's one heck of a meal.
The process is also a social one. It's fun to get the family and guests involved: delegate the spinach-chopping, draft somebody into grating the cheese. When the whole kitchen is fragrant and the kids are getting antsy for their first taste, that's the closest we come to grandmother's house at Thanksgiving.
It tastes like homecoming.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-11 01:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-11 02:31 pm (UTC)Stuffed Pizza
(Makes one 14" stuffed pizza)
DOUGH
4 tsp. sugar
2 packages dry yeast
1 7/8 Cups warm water (105 - 115F)
5 Cups white flour
1 Cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbs. salt
3/8 cup vegetable oil
SAUCE
1 28 oz. can ground plum tomatoes (6-1 brand is best)
1 1/4 Tbs. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
STUFFING SUGGESTIONS
1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
6 oz. minced spinach
1 can black olives, sliced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. cooked mild Italian sausage
To make dough: Mix sugar, yeast, and warm water. Set to one side in warm place to activate yeast -- mixture should become foamy when yeast is activated.
In large bowl, sift together white flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. Mix in yeast mixture and vegetable oil. Mix until dough cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a floured surface and knead dough for 5 minutes until smooth. Pour a small amount of oil in bowl, use dough to spread oil around bowl, turn dough oiled side up, and set in warm place to rise 1 - 1½ hours until doubled.
To make sauce: Empty can of ground plum tomatoes into a medium sized bowl. Stir in olive oil, oregano, basil, salt, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. Stir with wire wisk to break up clumps of cheese and spices. (To allow flavors to fully mix, make the sauce one day ahead of time and refrigerate. Allow to return to room temperature before adding to pizza.)
To assemble pizza: Preheat oven to 450F. Prepare pizza pan by coating lightly with olive oil and sprinkling with corn meal.
Punch down dough and divide into two uneven portions. Use the largest portion to form the bottom crust: Roll the bottom crust out until roughly 18" in diameter, and then transfer to pizza pan. Fill bottom crust with cheese and fillings. Roll out remaining dough into top crust the same diameter as pan. Place top crust on top of fillings; cut off any excess dough beyond the edge of the pan, and then roll the top and bottom crusts together at the edges.
Lightly brush the top crust with olive oil. Use a sharp knife to pierce the top crust to prevent the formation of air bubbles while baking.
Bake for 10 minutes until crust begins to turn slightly golden. Remove from oven and spread sauce on top of pizza. (One 28 oz. can of tomatoes usually makes more sauce than you need -- store the extra and freeze it for use on your next pizza.) Return to oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until crust is well browned and the sauce has set.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-11 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-15 04:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-16 11:14 pm (UTC)