My sister, Jennifer, and her family weren't going to be able to make it until after 8, because her daughter had a softball game. Pam had also originally said she wasn't going to be able to be there until after 8, because she had a simulator session for her job as a pilot for Delta. I found this out Wednesday night, after I had done all the prep work (I do as much prep work as I can - cutting veggies, making crust, browning meats - on Wednesdays, so I can get the pizza on the table before everyone expires from hunger). My crust was made, the chili was cooling, the cookie "crust" was done. All that was left to do was assemble both pizzas and bake the chili pizza.
I have made the basic crust recipe several times from this book (The Complete Book of Pizza by Louise Love). It claims it makes one deep dish pizza or two 14" thin crust pizzas. I have figured out that it really is twice as much as it needs to be. The first time I used the entire recipe, it was for a sausage pizza, and it turned out like a loaf of bread with something inside of it. Delicious, but seriously filling and bread-y. If I am making a deep dish pizza, I make the entire recipe, but put half of it in the freezer in two Ziplocs to use for another week's pizza (or two thin crust pizzas).
The chili recipe for this pizza was very easy. I have generally found chili to be easy, so I am not sure why I am surprised. I would have liked to kick the heat up a bit, and we did so post-oven with some minced jalapenos that we each sprinkled over our slices. I ended up only using half of the chili. Pam pointed out that it is only fitting, since we only used half of the crust. She may have a point there.
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| From The Ultimate Book of Cocktails By Stuart Walton |
A side note: It has been a spacey day for me. I couldn't figure out why no one put their garbage out this morning, and I was wracking my brain as to what kind of weird holiday may have occurred this week that I had to work through. It had been Memorial Day, and I had already forgotten that I had Monday off. Anyway, so I was doubling the drink for each cup. I read that we needed 1 measure of lemon juice for each drink, so since I was doubling I would need two measures for each. Then, I reached for the lemon juice from the fridge. On my way back to the counter, I went over it again in my head: 2 measures for each drink, since I was doubling, I needed four per cup. Pam and I were chit-chatting as I was doing this, and as I am putting the third measure in the second cup, I mention that I thought that was a LOT of lemon. Pam agreed, so we rechecked the recipe (argh!). I DOUBLED THE DOUBLE. It was already co-mingling with the gin. Pam suggested we combine all three cups and redistribute. It was a fabulous idea. I also ran out of simple syrup (and I am not too fond of overly sweet drinks), so we had 1½ measures for each cup, where it called for 2 (for a double).
When we brought the drinks to the ball park, Roger and the neighbors were jealous. Roger and neighbors Michelle and Chris helped Jennifer with hers (she is kind of a light-weight, anyway). It was a hit, but we found an interesting note. If you wanted a consistent flavor, you had to keep stirring. We originally had a really lemon-y drink. A couple sips later, and it was gooey sweet. Roger sipped from the top and got only ginger ale. Michelle sipped it and said "that would be even better with lemon in it". HA! Pam's ending opinion of the drink was that it needed more gin. That is usually my ending opinion of any gin drink.
Pam and I decided to leave the game early to make sure that the pizza was ready when the Liggetts arrived. Of course, we had finished our drinks, and we were now quite hungry (and thirsty after that walk). We put the pizza in the oven, and started working on something else to drink. Pammy added gin to the remainder of her drink, and I finished the gin and tonic I had made while waiting for company. We took some of the leftover chili and combined it with cream cheese and cheddar cheese and nuked it for an impromptu dip. We decided it wasn't spicy and added salsa. That had the strange effect of making the dip disappear from the bowl.
The pizza came out of the oven, the Liggetts arrived, and we found ourselves thirsty again. We decided to open the last bottle of wine that we had brought back from Washington State when we were there visiting relatives in April. It was Challenger Ridge Syrah. It was a beautiful pairing with the chili and cheddar. It was big and juicy and delicious.
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| Last two pieces of Chili Pizza |
My nephew, Jonah, by his parents' rules, was allowed to either have a piece of candy his sister, Grace, had given him or the dessert pizza that was on my menu tonight. I told him it was like a big, chocolate chip cookie with milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate chips inside of it, and it has Nutella spread over the top. He chose candy. It was nice of him to leave more for us.
Basic Pizza Dough
The recipe in the book claims that it makes 2 thick crust pizzas, 2 stuffed pizza pockets, 1 thick crust pizza, 6 individual pizzas, but I think those amounts are half of what this recipe makes.
4½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (I usually use bread flour - I feel I need the extra rising power, since I make this in advance)
1tsp. salt
¼ cup Olive Oil
2pkgs dry yeast (I have never purchased in packets - I use 2½ fast yeast instead)
1½ cups warm water
2 tsp. light brown sugar
Measure ½ cup warm water (about 110º) in a measuring cup and stir in 2 tsp. of light brown sugar. Be sure the water is only warm - not too hot. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast and the dough will not rise. the warm water and the sugar help the yeast to become active. Dissolve the yeast to in the water and let set it aside for at least 5 minutes. The yeast will become frothy during this time.
Meanwhile, sift 4 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl with the salt. make a depression in the middle of the flour and add 4 tbsp of olive oil and 1 cup of warm water. When the yeast mixture has risen for 6 minutes, ad it to the flour.
Dust the surface on which you will be kneading the dough with flour. Now mix the ingredients in the owl with your hands, gather them together and place them on the floured board. Knead the dough for 8 - 10 minutes.
Knead the dough by pushing part of it away from you with the heel of one hand and then folding it back towards you. Repeat with the heel of the other hand. Then rotate the dough, turn and repeat. Add more flour to the board (it will become incorporated into the dough) if the mixture is too wet or too sticky. Eventually, the dough will become elastic and will stay together in a cohesive ball.
Rub a clean bowl with olive oil and place the kneaded dough in it. Moisten the top of the dough with oil, as well. Place a clean dish towel over the bowl and put it in a warm, draft-free place to rise. The oven is a perfect place to let the dough rise. The pilot light generates a little warmth, and there are no drafts to disturb the dough. However, if you're using the oven for something else, a cleared place on an upper cupboard is a good alternative as warm, draft-free location for the rising dough.
When the dough has risen for 1½ hours, remove it and place it again on the floured board. You are now ready to roll out the dough for the pizza of your choice.
That being said, I usually throw all of the ingredients into my Kitchen Aide with a dough hook and let it mix until it is smooth. Then I divide the dough by four, and usually use one fourth for each thin crust recipe, ½ for a thick crust pizza, etc.; and I put each of the rest of the fourths into plastic zipper bags and freeze until needed for another recipe.
Deep Dish Chili Pizza
1 recipe basic pizza dough (see above)
2T olive oil
1 large onion (not grapefruit sized)
1 clove garlic, minced
1lb hamburger meat
1 large can (28oz.) Italian plum tomatoes
2 cans (15oz each) red kidney bans
1T chili powder
1t ground cumin
1t salt
1 bay leaf
¼oz. unsweetened baker's chocolate
2C grated cheddar cheese
You can make this chili while the dough is rising. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and the chopped onions and garlic in it over medium heat for 6-7 minutes until they are transparent. Add the hamburger meat and brown it with the onions. If the meat gives up a lot of fat, tip the pan and spoon it out. Drain as much of the liquid as you can out of the tomatoes and the kidney beans. Add them to the meat and onion mixture with the spices and the unsweetened chocolate. Cook over low flame for 1 hour. This chili has less liquid than usual, so you have to keep an eye on it to be sure that it doesn't burn. Mash some of the kidney beans with you spoon when you stir the chili. Most of the liquid will have cooked off by the time the chili is finished.
When the dough has risen for 1½ hours. preheat the oven to 450º . Roll out the dough so that it is larger than the pan. Slip the dough over the deep dish pan that has been sprinkled with cornmeal Press the dough against the edges of the pan and neatly trim the overhanging dough. Brush with olive oil. Then spread the chili over the dough and cover with grated cheddar cheese. Bake for about 2 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Quick Hazelnut Spread Pizza (from The Everything Pizza Book by Belinda Hulin)
1 recipe cookie crust dough
1½ cups Nutella
1c chocolate chips
2 cups shredded coconut
Whipped cream
Prepare the cookie pizza crust as directed in recipe. This is good enough to stand by itself, so do not feel obligated to continue with this recipe. Spread Nutella over the baked crust. This is where I stopped, and the pizza was fabulous. Again, feel free to stop here. Spread chocolate chips and coconut over the top. Serve in wedges with whipped cream (I skipped this step, as well).
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