"Pieces" of Pizza

Pizza Pull-Apart Bread - one of the greatest recipes to stumble upon during a procrastinatory hour.

What You Need:

Trader Joe’s Sourdough Loaf (or any crusty loaf of bread)

Trader Joe’s Garlic Loaf

16 oz  fresh mozzarella, grated

15 oz black olives, sliced

8 oz sliced pepperoni

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp black pepper

2 Tbs butter of butter spread (I used Smart Balance)

The concept here is simple: shove pizza toppings into a loaf of bread and bake it. 

This recipe couldn’t be easier and I swear, if you have kids, they’re going to go nut-bar helping make dinner once you explain to them the concept. 

All you do is cut the loaf of bread crosswise in a checkerboard pattern: go all the way down through the loaf and stop just short of the bottom.  The idea is that after you put all the toppings inside you pull the pieces out kind of like bread sticks.   Mix the pepper and oregano into the cheese so it has some “pizza” pizzazz. 

So, after you’ve cut the bread and seasoned the mozz, take your cheese and pack it down into the bread.  Then the pepperoni and olives.  It goes without saying that you can swap out these toppings for anything you and your family like.  I personally am a big pepperoni/olive fan.  Weston isn’t a fan of mushrooms so we don’t usually pair those with our pizza flavorings.  Bummer.  He’s good about eating stroganoff, though, because it’s one of my favorite meals :)

Sprinkle on another layer of cheese and make sure the toppings are well packed and the bread is filled to the brim.  Take your butter and brush the tops of the loaves with it.

Pre-Bake

Wrap the loaves tightly in aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  You can crank up the heat to 375 or even 400 for the last 5-10 minutes just to be sure the bottoms are crisp. 

Unwrap the loaves and dig in! This is perfect as a new and improved dinner treat, a potluck, or Game Daaaaay! Close call on Saturday, boys, but a win nonetheless. Go Blue!

Post-Bake

The Perfect Pesto Pizza

Making pizza is one of those things that never gets tiring.  There are so many combinations I couldn't possible write down every one I experiment with.  But when I find one that really works - it's worth (yet another) pizza post.

I got it in my mind to make pesto pizza when I was doing a little cleaning of the freezer and noticed a container I had frozen from the last time I went to Costco.  Side note: freeze pesto with a layer of olive oil over the top and it'll be fine for months.

To really take this over-the-top I decided to make my own pseudo-sundried tomatoes.  They actually turned out phenomenal! Just halve some sweet cherry or grape tomatoes and place them, seed side up, on a baking sheet.  Bake at 300 degrees for about 40 minutes.  The juices will evaporate and the sugars concentrate leaving behind a wonderful snack - or pizza topping.

After pre-baking your crust, cut some thick slices of mozzarella.  

 

Slather the bread with pesto and arrange the cheese over it - then the tomatoes.  

Since the dough is already cooked, I just turned on the broiler and broiled the pizza until the cheese was just melted.  That only took about 10 minutes - super simple but the flavors melded together for the perfect treat to end a rough week.

The Three "Ps:" Pizza, Party, Perio

I wanted to give y'all a little update on homemade pizza-making:

The other night some friends and I got together to go over some information for an upcoming Periodontics exam...and hey! the girls gotta eat so we got some Whole Foods dough, a giant 12oz chunk of fresh mozzarella, and a jar of pasta sauce (because I find marinara to be a little too bland at times and didn't have enough time to doctor it up). Nishal brought some olives and mushrooms for toppings and in about 40 minutes we had a delish dinner.

Here's what you do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Dust your rolling area with flour

Cut the dough in half and roll each into a rectangle using more flour so the dough doesn't stick

Lay each half onto a baking sheet and poke holes with a fork

Blind bake (as in, throw the dough into the oven with no sauce yet) until they have almost cooked through - about 15 minutes. The crust will clearly be cooked on the outside - it'll be hard, like crust should be) and a light brown color - you'll also be able to slide it around when you shake the pan. Just don't go too crazy with this step or you're dinner will end up on the floor.

Take the crusts out and spoon over the sauce, layer on the fresh cheese, and sprinkle the toppings.

Bake until the cheese is melted - about 10 more minutes. When you take it out, throw on some chopped fresh herbs - we used oregano - but basil would also be nice. This adds a great freshness and POP.

Let rest for a while, then cut into squares and serve!

Dr. Who and Pizza Night

I have a few friends who are into SciFi shows - I myself can take 'em or leave 'em. But time with friends is always a must for me, so when they invited me to their Dr. Who Mini Marathon events last week, I agreed and surprised myself by getting into the show too!

We were going to order pizza, but I suggested making a couple instead since I had a bunch of cool ingredients in the fridge. As usual, we bought the dough from Whole Foods (which has upped the price to about $3 from their original $2.50). I cut the dough in half and rolled each out then let them rest for about 30 minutes. I poked the top for air ventilation and blind baked them for about 13 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

We covered one with pesto and layered over fresh mozzarella. The other got a spicy marinara cover and was topped with pepperoni, and marinate olives from the olive bar at Whole Foods. We baked the pizzas a second time just until the cheese was melted and the toppings had a nice crisp on them.

Upon tasting the finished products, the pesto pizza was absolutely divine: nice and buttery from the olive oil in the pesto and the gooey-ness of the fresh mozzarella. I will be making this again soon!

Giovanni's: Good Times, Good Pizza

My search for the best pizza Richmond is over...I think.

For the past 2 months I have been craving pizza. Pizza with cheese and tons of topping and good flavor and a crispy crust and flavorful sauce. Yes, it's a tall order. Too tall, so I thought. But as you know by now, Weston came in last weekend to surprise me for Valentine's Day. And I was getting ready to "go out with a friend" who had put me in charge of finding a good pizza place. After flipping through a Richmond magazine I have been saving since the summer, I decided the picture from Giovanni's looked most like what I had been craving. Since the dinner was actually a made-up story meant to lure me outside, I didn't go with my friend, but Weston and I went there for dinner that evening, instead. (Next time, Sharon, I am taking you to Kuba Kuba)

Here's me holding my new best friend: the enormo Meat Lover's pizza. The owner, John, was the nicest ever and kept asking if I was sure I wanted to order this giant pie. When I told him how badly and how long I'd looked for a pizza like the one in the picture I saw, he personally started ours. The Meat Lovers, as shown at the top, feeds probably 6 people: the slices are big and there are 12 pieces. The price is unbelievably fair: $20 when rounding UP.

Weston ordered their Sweet Tea and I got to sip a little, too - it was delish. The perfect way to wash down all the cheese and toppings. Be prepared because there's a lot of them. The crust held up nicely and the sauce had some spice to it. Now, I like my pizzas sauced lightly and Weston likes his a little heavier and we were both very happy. Our waitress was so sweet and very friendly - she asked if we wanted an edge or a middle or a bit of both - it's that kind of care that makes me know I'm going back.

The entire pie fed us for 3 meals together and two separately (I sent some home with Weston to Michigan). I was also incredibly pleased with how little oil seeped out during the reheating process - considering all the cheese. For a perfectly heated slice, preheat the oven to 350, line a pan with aluminum foil, cut your slice into dipper-sized pieces (3 inches across) and heat for about 10 minutes.

My new mission is to try as many pizza places as I can in this great city. But Giovanni's will always hold a special memory: the experience was wonderful; I just felt so happy the entire time I was there and every time I reheat a slice I get to relive an amazing evening all over again.