Spiced Squash Pizza; Salmon Calzones; French Tear

     I think Jeff thought I was a little batty, putting winter squash on the grocery list I gave him this week.  I was actually aiming for pumpkin, but I wasn't sure if he would be able to find it, so I suggested alternatives like acorn squash, or buttercup, or anything along those lines.  He came home with acorn.

          The recipe had me peel the squash and then saute it in butter and oil.  Peeling the acorn proved to be quite an endeavor.  The shell is pretty firm.  I knew that there was no way I would be able to use a regular vegetable peeler.  I decided to go for the knife method.  This also ended up being quite difficult.  I didn't want to slice too deeply into the squash and risk losing precious edible "meat", but I certainly didn't want any of the hard green shell left on it.  First thing I did was cut it in half.  I didn't want the thing rolling out from under my knife while I was trying to cut into it.  That just seemed like it would have "missing digits" written all over it.

     The inside of the acorn was lighter in color than I like to see in an acorn.  I imagine that is because it is so far out of season.  A little research into this (after the fact) taught me that it was not ripe.  Apparently, the squash should have a little bit of yellow or orange on the outside, and the inside should be almost orange in color.  If not, it won't be nearly as sweet.  My pizza could have been completely different, had I used a "ripe" squash!

     I laid one half of the squash cut side down onto my cutting surface.  Then, I cut along the hump of the lowest lobe at three different angles to get the peel off of the entire length of the lobe.  I repeated this technique for each of the lobes until my squash only hand green in the creases of the lobes.  I repeated cutting along the lobes, but with ,my knife at a 45º angle in or out, depending on which side of the lobe I was working on.  Needless to say, this was a tedious task, and in hindsight, it may have been easier to cut the squash into the slices before peeling.  Maybe it could even be sauteed with the rind on it, and it could be peeled afterward, when the meat of the vegetable could just be slipped out of its skin.

     My house filled with wonderful holiday smells as I sauteed the squash - warm butter, cinnamon, allspice,  and cloves.  It was Christmas in May!  I sampled a little of the sauteed squash once it was cool enough to touch with my fingers.  It wasn't all that sweet, but the butter and seasonings did it wonders.

     I had made my crust dough Wednesday night, put it in the freezer overnight and thawed it all day while I was at work.  It had escaped its zipper bag packaging - not by blowing the seal or a seam or anything.  No, this dough decided to blow a hole right through the side of the bag and make a vertical escape a little at the time, making itself look like some kind of snake.

    The dough was nice and pliable, and rolling out into a fifteen inch circle was no problem.  It even continued to rise again, while it was waiting for its toppings.

     The recipe called for putting all of the cheese on before the rest of the toppings.  I don't like to do that, because then there is nothing holding the toppings onto the crust.  A net of cheese over the top of the ingredients holds everything in place.  I split the cheese up and put half on the bottom and half on the top.      
     My pumpkin slices didn't stay together in perfect crescents like I had hoped, but since I had decided I was covering them up with cheese, I wasn't really concerned too much with their asthetic appeal (maybe Mr. McNair was more concerned with that then dropping toppings on his chest while eating it).

     The next step was sprinkling the toasted pumpkin seeds over the squash.  In hindsight, I think that should be the last topping (even after the cheese).  They lost much of their crunchiness by being buried under half of a pound of cheese, but bury them I did.

SPICED SQUASH PIZZA

Adapted from James McNair's Vegetarian Pizza

Crust:

1 cup warm water

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

3¼ cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup olive oil



Squash:

1½ pound acorn squash (skin should have some orange or yellow to it)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

The Rest of the Story:

2 tablespoon of olive oil

3 tasblespoons salted roasted pumpkin seeds (shelled - green parts only)

8 ounces shredded smoked Gouda cheese

8 ounces shredded mozzarella

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Make the crust:  Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl.  Set aside for at least five minutes.  Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add the yeast and olive oil and stir on medium speed until well-combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix at medium speed until dough clings to the hook and looks smooth and elastic.  Place in a well-oiled bowl.  Cover with a damp towel or drape loosely with a piece of plastic wrap and set in a warm, dry place for at least an hour.

Sautè the squash:  Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and strings (I use a grapefruit spoon for this - it makes it easier to detach the stringy stuff from the good stuff) and discard.  Place the squash cut side down on a cutting board and cut the rind off with a sharp knife, being careful to remove all of the "skin" from the squash.  Repeat with the other half.  Slice both halves into ½ inch slices.  Put the butter and olive oil into a large skillet and heat it up over medium heat.  Add the squash and sautè for a few minutes until the squash begins to soften.  Add the cinnamon, allspice, and cloves and continue to cook until the squash is lightly browned and tender.

Assemble the pizza:  Preheat the oven to 500º F with a pizza stone inside, if using.  On a cornmeal or flour dusted pizza peel or board, roll or stretch the dough out to a fifteen inch circle.  Brush the dough all over with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, making sure to get all the way to the edges and over the sides.  Spread half of each of the cheeses over the crust.  Arrange the squash slices over the cheese.  Scatter the pumpkin seeds over the squash.  Top with the remaining cheeses.  Sprinkle the red pepper flake over the cheese.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is starting to brown and crust is golden.  Allow to rest for a couple minutes before slicing.



     The Salmon Calzones called for the whole wheat crust again.  The original recipe for the crust called for all whole wheat flour, and we thought it was a little too tough, too earthy, and not nearly soft or fluffy enough.  I tried replacing a third of the wheat flour with regular bread flour, hoping that would help.  It still seamed pretty dry and stiff.

It had hardly risen at all when I had gotten home from work on Thursday.

     It took quite a bit of elbow grease to roll each third of the dough into a six inch circle, and they were pretty thin. 



     I had cooked the salmon Wednesday night.  I just sprinkled it with salt and pepper and broiled it for a few minutes until it was just barely done.  Jeff and I each sneaked a piece to try.  Of course, it wasn't just a nip of food - we were performing a very important observation - we were testing the fish to make sure it was done.  It was moist and almost sweet and very delicious.  I was almost sad that it was going into a calzone instead of directly into my mouth at that moment.
     Once it completely cooled, I mixed it with the geren onions, mushrooms and dill.  I covered the container I had mixed it in and placed it in the refrigerator for Thursday.  When I had dolloped and spread the ricotta cheese over half of each of the three dough circles, I started adding the salmon mixture.  There was quite a bit of this concoction, and we ended up not using it all.  Had I been alone, I probably would have forced the salmon into the calzones, but Jeff and Pam voted to leave some out so that we might be able to close the dough up properly.

     I left that task to Pam.  She has a knack for sealing up dough.  No matter how hard I try to do it, it always seems to come unsealed, unraveled, and/or blown out the sides. 

SALMON PIZZA TURNOVERS

Adapted from The Everything Pizza Cookbook by Belinda Hulin

Crust:

½ cup warm water

1 teaspoon yeast

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup bread flour (you may want to adjust these two - maybe switch the measurements for the two flours)

1½ teaspoons olive oil

Filling:

½ pound salmon filet (I started with 3/4lb, ate some, and still didn't use it all)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon seasoning salt (I used Harley's)

2 green onions

2 ounces chopped mushrooms

7½ ounces whole milk ricotta

2 tablespoons fresh dill

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Make the dough:  Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl.  Set aside for at least five minutes.  Combine the salt and flours in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add the yeast mixture and the 1½ teaspoons of olive oil.  Stir at medium speed until dough comes together, clings to the dough hook, and looks smooth and elastic.  You may need to stop the mixer a few times to scrape the sides of the bowl in order to get all of the ingredients incorporated.  Place dough ball in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or drape loosely with a piee of plastic wrap.  Set it in a warm, dry place to rise for at least an hour.

Make the filling:  Preheat the broiler on high.  Place the salmon on a greased broiler pan, skin side down, if applicable.  Sprinkle the fish with the lemon juice.  Scatter the seasoning salt over the lemon juice.  Bake in preheated oven for about 5 minutes or until fish can easily be flaked.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Change oven to a baking setting at 500º F.  Divide the dough into three portions. On a cornmeal or flour dusted board, roll each portion out to a 6 inch circle.  Flake the salmon into a bowl, discarding the skin, if applicable.  Add the green onions, mushrooms, and fresh dill.  Spread 1/3 of the ricotta over one half of each of the circles.  Spread 1/3 of the salmon mixture over the ricotta.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Fold the untopped half of each circle over the filled side and pinch the edges of the dough together to form a seal.  Cut slits in the tops of the calzones for venting.  Brush the tops of the calzones with olive oil to encourage browning.  Bake in preheated 500º oven for 15 minutes.

     While she was doing that, I started working on the cocktail of the day.

FRENCH TEAR

1-3/4 measure spiced rum

3/4 measure orange liqueur (such as Cointreau)

1/2 measure black raspberry liqueur

1 measure pineapple juice

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker.  Shake vigorously.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a piece of pineapple on the rim of the glass.  Enjoy!

     It was gorgeously pink, definitely fruity, and quite delicious.  It was juicy with a hint of spice, and dangerously easy to drink.

     Our cocktails were poured (and tested), and the timers were going off.  The squash pizza looked great.  The cheese was bubbly and brown.  The toppings appeared to ooze together in one mass of pulsing, volcanic goodness.  

     The calzones, on the other hand, did not look as appetizing.  The beige crust remained the same color.  It was difficult to determine whether they were "done" or not.  The dough neither rose nor browned (or at least it didn't brown enough to contrast the brown the dough already had in it).  A couple of taps on their exterior, though, indicated that they were definitely crispy.

     The squash pizza was great.  Despite the fact that the squash was apparently not completely ripe, it added depth and earthiness to the cheeses.  It merged with the cheese to make a coherent creamy topping.  I am not sure that I would have been able to pick out the squash had I not known it was there.  The warm wintery spices were a fabulous contrast to the creamy, rich cheese.  It brought out the nuttiness of the smoked Gouda.  The pumpkin seeds were a little lost under all of that cheese.  If I had to do it over again, they would have been the last ingredient to add to the pizza, so they would have remained distinct, crisp little nuggets atop a mountain of soft, warm gooey toppings.

     The salmon calzones were good, but not fantastic.  I got thumbs down from both Pam and Jeff on the crust.  It was too dense, too chewy, and a little too wheaty or something.  It needed to be fluffier.  Jeff said I should give up on whole wheat altogether, but I think I just need to keep working on the formula.  The filling was great - the salmon mixed with the ricotta, lemon, and herbs were fabulous together.  It was bright and rich at the same time.  The sealed packages were molten hot right out of the oven and even several minutes later.  We ended up pealing off the disdainful crust and allowing it to cool for quite sometime after one of us (okay, maybe all three of us) had taken that regretful first molten bite.

\

Tex-Mex Pizza with Perfect Margaritas

     When we learned that it was just going to be me and Jeff (and Pele) here for pizza on Thursday, I let Jeff chose which one I was going to make.  The next two pizza recipes in line were a Tex-Mex Pizza and Salmon Calzones.  He requested the Tex-Mex, paired with perfect margaritas.  It sounded like a fine idea to me.

    

TEX-MEX PIZZA

Adapted from All the Best Pizzas by Joie Warner

3/4 cup warm water

1 teaspoon yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1-3/4 cup bread flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large jalapeno pepper (about 2 ounces)

5 ounces of seeded and diced fresh tomatoes

2 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

4 ounces sharp cheddar

1 ounce Parmesan

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 ripe avocado

1/4 cup sour cream

Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl.  Let stand for at least five minutes.  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt until well mixed.  Add the yeast mixture and stir at medium speed until dough starts to come together.  Turn off mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to incorporate all of the ingredients.  Continue to stir at medium speed until all ingredients have come together, dough starts to cling to the hook and appears smooth and elastic.  Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or drape loosely with a piece of plastic wrap.  Set in a warm, dry place for an hour to rise.

Wash the jalapeno.  Heat a small skillet up over high heat.  Place whole jalapeno in the pan. Roll jalapeno in the pan as necessary and hold in place in order to get all sides of the pepper blackened.  Remove jalapeno from pan and allow to cool. (Alternatively, roast the jalapeno under a broiler for a few minutes on each side).  Once it is cool enough to handle, peel the skin off of the pepper and discard.  Remove the stem and seeds and finely dice the pepper.

Preheat the oven to 500º F with a pizza stone inside, if using.  On a cornmeal or flour dusted pizza peel or board, roll or stretch dough out to a 15 inch circle.  Brush dough all over with olive oil.  Scatter the diced tomatoes over the dough.  Repeat with the jalapeno, onions, and garlic.  Cover the vegetables with cheddar cheese.  Sprinkle the Parmesan over the cheddar.  Transfer pizza to the preheated pizza stone, if using, or to a greased pizza pan and place in the oven.  Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden.  Sprinkle the pizza with the cilantro.

Cut the avacado in half around the pit.  Squeeze the half with the pit to remove the pit.  With a knife, cut slices into the inside of the avacado without cutting through the peel.  Make slices perpendicular to the original slices, creating a cross-hatch pattern inside the peel.  Scoop the flesh of the avacado out with a large spoon.  Repeat with the other half of the avacado. Cut pizza into eight triangular pieces and sprinkle some diced avocado over each piece.  Dollop each pizza slice with half a tablespoon of sour cream.

     I started on Wednesday with the dough for the crust.  Once the dough was made, I put it in a zipper bag and put it in the freezer overnight.  I took it out again Thursday morning before work and placed it on my counter to thaw and rise while I was gone.  Either my yeast is really strong, or my house is too warm, or something, but my dough rose so much it almost exploded the plastic bag it was in.  It must have been too much pressure for the dough, because it appeared that it collapsed inside the bag, but the gas it had released was still in there.

     My dough was particularly sticky this time around, so it took a couple of dustings of cornmeal to roll out my dough.

     Once it was rolled out, I brushed it with olive oil.  I am not sure what this does for the pizza (other than add calories).  I have heard theories that it creates a barrier between the crust and the toppings (why do you need one?), that it helps cook the interior of the crust (the oil heats up faster than the other ingredients?), or that it just adds an extra dimension of flavor.   One website I found said that it helps crisp up the edges of the crust and keeps it from cooking up dry and dusty (so why brush the entire thing with oil?).  I don't know. I may have to experiment with this - make two pizzas with the same ingredients and brush one dough with the oil and not the other to see what the difference is.

      I actually had found a pretty decent looking tomato at Cub, despite the fact that it is the middle (almost the end) of May, and we are still worried about snow.  I am sure that they were flown here from Florida or something.
     "Seeding" tomatoes is kind of a fun thing for me.  I like getting my hands in there and feeling the squish of the goo between the membranes of the tomato.  I like getting my thumb way down into the tomato and having the gelatenous material squirt out from beneath it.

     I thought one whole tomato (about five ounces worth) was going to be a lot of tomatoes, but once I had them atop my dough, it looked somewhat sparse.

     Had I completely read through the entire recipe on Wednesday night (or any time before this point), I would have known that the jalapenoes were supposed to be roasted, and I could have done that on Wednesday night to save time after work on Thursday.  Ah, but I did not, so I started the roasting process.  I thought perhaps the cookbook would have good tips on how to do this.  They suggested putting a rack cover the electric burner and setting the jalapeno on it until the skin was blackened.  I did not try this method, because I didn't believe it would work.  I threw my jalapeno in a preheated skillet, which, on hindsight, doesn't seem like the best method either.  The jalapeno is curved a little bit, so it is difficult to get all of the sides blackened.  The inside of the curve didn't touch the heat of the pan unless I forced it to by smashing it onto the pan with the spatula at the backside of the curve.  When I would roll it onto a new side that needed to be blackened, it wanted to roll over again.  I think roasting it under a broiler would have been a better method.  

     Then, peeling it seemed to be a difficult task as well, and I blame the "roasting" method I had used.  Since I had stripes of jalapeno that didn't feel the heat of the pan, the skins there were still firmly afixed to the flesh of the jalapeno.  Still, I worked through it and did the best I could.

     The rest of the assembly was a breeze, and it came together in almost no time at all.

     I was ready to make our "perfect" margaritas.

PERFECT MARGARITA

2 measures Patron anejo tequila

1 measure Cointreau

1 measure freshly squeezed lime juice

Kosher salt

Combine all ingredients (except salt) in an ice-filled shaker.  Shake vigorously.  Run the lime wedge around the rim of a cocktail or margarita glass.  Fill a plate with Kosher salt and place glass rim side down into the salt to coat the rim of the glass with the salt.  Strain liquids from cocktail shaker into the salt-rimmed glass.  Garnish with a lime, if desired.

     This was fantastic!  It was just what we were looking for, and it worked very well with the pizza at hand. It was bracing and limey with a little bit of orangy sweetness on the finish. 

     Jen had texted me that her flight had come in early, and could she still come over?  I wasn't sure when she had sent the text, because my phone had died, and my texts only tell me when my phone received it, not when it was sent.  I dished up a couple of slices of pizza for me and Jeff, saw the text and called her.  She said she would be right over.  I mixed up another drink for her, and sliced another piece of pizza.

     Then, Pam called and said she was coming over.  Oops!  We had already eaten all of the pizza.  Had I known I was goign to have so many people stop by, I would have made another pizza.  The pizza had been deliciosu.  It was spicy but not overly so, and the roasted jalapeno gave it a warm toasty flavor that gave it a little extra depth.  The tomatoes were brightly flavored and a nice contrast to the richness of the cheese.  The avocado was perfectly ripe and rich and lovely.  The sour cream just added another creamy layer to the whole dish.

     By the time Pam had gotten there, not only had we run out of pizza, but we ran out of fresh lime juice.  We had some margarita mix stored in the basement, so we tried substituting that for the fresh lime juice, and it was a completely different drink.  It wasn't even close to the freshness of the first one and the true lime flavor.  It was lifeless and lost and overly sweet.  It was actually an insult to the tequila.

Return to the top of the page.

Return to the Tex-Mex Pizza recipe.

Return to the Perfect Margarita recipe.

Multi-Grain Cheese Pizza; Summer Squash Pizza; French Kiss

     Cheese pizza - you can't go wrong with it.  Unless, of course, you skip the cheese.  It's simple, it's comforting, and it's delicious.  Most of the time, it's the cheese that makes me love a pizza any way, so why not concentrate on it once in a while?  This recipe threw in a multi-grain crust to give you the illusion that you're eating healthy.

MULTI-GRAIN THIN-CRUST CHEESE PIZZA

Adapted from The Everything Pizza Cookbook by Belinda Hulin

1/4 cup warm water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1-1/4 cup bread flour

1/4 cup spelt flour

1/8 cup graham flour

1/8 cup brown rice flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 cup prepared tomato-based pasta sauce

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced up

1 ounce shredded Provolone cheese

1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese

1 ounce grated Asiago cheese

1 ounce grated Romano cheese

Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl.  Set aside for at least five minutes.  In the bowl of a mixer, fitted with a dough hook, combine the flours and salt.  Add the yeast and the olive oil and stir to combine.  Increase speed to medium and continue stirring until dough clings to dough hook and becomes smooth and elastic (you may have to scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times during this process to get all the flour incorporated).  Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or drape loosely with a piece of plastic wrap.  Set the bowl in a warm dry place for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven, with a pizza stone inside, if using, to 500º F.  On a cornmeal or flour dusted pizza peel or board, roll or stretch the dough out to 16 inch circle.  Prick all over with a fork.  Spread the pasta sauce over the crust, leaving a small bare border around the edge of the dough.  Combine the cheeses together in a medium-sized bowl.  Scatter cheeses over the sauce.  Transfer the pizza to the preheated stone or transfer it to a greased pizza pan and place in the preheated oven.  Bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until crust is starting to brown, and the cheese is melted and browning.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.

     The dough for this pizza was a bit more attractive than the previous "multi-grain" crusts I have made recently.  I think it was the elimination of the buckwheat flour.  To me, buckwheat turns everything a little gray or purply-brown.  This crust recipe was a vast improvement in aesthetics.  It didn't, however, crisp up, as I had hoped.  It cooked up fine - it wasn't doughy or anything - it just wasn't crispy, as I would expect a thin-crust to be.

     None of this mattered however, when I tasted that big blast of cheese.  The mozzarella added a nice creamy texture, and the other players added tang and intrigue.  It was gooey and flavorful with just a hint of the tomato sauce that lay beneath.

HERBED SUMMER SQUASH PIZZA

Adapted from James McNair's Vegetarian Pizza

1 cup warm water

1½ teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

3¼ cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup olive oil (for the crust)

Cooking spray

½ pound yellow summer squash

½ pound zucchini

1 tablespoon salt (for the squash)

2 tablespoons of olive oil (to brush over the crust)

10 ounces crumbled soft goat cheese

4 tablespoons fresh summer savor (divided)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

Combine the water yeast and sugar in a small bowl.  Set aside for at least five minutes.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt.  Add the ¼ cup olive oil and the yeast mixture.  Stir until combined.  Increase speed to medium and continue to stir until the dough clings to the hook and looks smooth and elastic.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or drape loosely with a piece of plastic wrap.  Set the bowl in a warm, dry place for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.  Slice the squash into ¼ inch rounds. Generously salt both sides of the rounds.  Place the squash in a colander and allow it to drain for at least a half hour.  Dry the rounds with paper towels, wiping off any excess salt.  Spray a baking sheet with the cooking spray.  Arrange the squash in a single layer on the greased baking sheet.  Spray the rounds with cooking spray.  Flip the rounds over and spray the other sides.  Bake in preheated oven for about twenty minutes or until squash begins to soften.

Increase the oven temperature to 500º F.  Place the pizza stone inside, if using.  On a cornmeal or flour dusted pizza peel or board, roll or stretch the dough to a sixteen inch circle.  Brush the dough all over with the two tablespoons of olive oil.  Distribute the cheese over the dough, leaving a small edge bare all the way around the dough.  Arrange the squash slices on top of the cheese.  Sprinkle half of the savory over the squash.  Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone or to a greased pizza pan and place in the preheated oven.  Bake for about ten minutes or until crust is starting to become golden and the cheese is starting to brown.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining savory and the lemon zest over the top.

     It seemed wrong to have a summer squash pizza in May - especially since it was snowing less than a week ago.  However, it was 100 degrees on Tuesday.  That's Minnesota for you.  Also, it hurt a little to buy zucchini and summer squash when come June I usually have so much of it I have to give it away.  However, we never did get around to planting seeds in our green house, and we haven't even purchased any squash plants yet, so it may never happen.  And, as late as this season is starting this year, we may have to wait until July or August before we get any squash.

     I wanted to try something different.  The recipe was non-specific about the type of squash - yellow squash, zucchini, patty pan, or a combination thereof.  I was going to try the patty pan, but of course my local Cub did not have that available when I was there.  I haven't ever had it before, and I was curious on how to prepare it and how it would taste in comparison to the zucchini and yellow squash.

     I had made the crusts for both of these pizzas on Wednesday and froze them overnight.  I took them out Thursday morning to thaw and rise on the counter.  Apparently, one dough had a little more yeast or warmth or something and rose right out of the bag.  Instead of popping the bag, it just breached it a little, making just a little belly button of dough out a teeny hole.

     Jeff and I had a little fun poking at it and making it wobble like a Weeble until the dough started collapsing on itself.

     The original recipe had called for a pound of goat cheese.  I bought the goat cheese at Cub, where they only sell 4 ounce containers for a small fortune.  I cheaped out and only bought the one, thinking it would probably be enough.  When I sprinkled it over my gigantic dough, I knew I was wrong.  I called Jennifer and requested she bring more (I knew she had a stash).

     Her extra 6 ounces did the trick.  It looked much better.

To the best of my knowledge, I hadn't cooked with savory (the herb) before.  I was curious as to how it was going to taste.  Not curious enough to taste it before it went on my pizza, but looking forward to what it was going to become.

     This whole combination was delightful.  While it was true, I probably could have cut the crust recipe in half (it was monsterousy poofy), but I liked the crust.  It was soft in the middle with the right amount of crispiness to the outside of it.  The goat cheese sunk into it as it rose, infusing the crust with its tangy goodness.  The squash was surprisingly delicious for not having been seasoned much - although it was a little soggy (overcooked?).  The savory added a little bit of a floral note to the pizza and the lemon zest accentuated the tangy goat cheese.  

     And the drink?  Well, the drink was good, but I forgot one ingredient, so maybe it wasn't a french kiss.  Maybe it was more like a kiss with lips slightly parted.  Or maybe it was a polish kiss?  It was supposed to have grenadine in it, which sounds like it would be good in there, and I imagine that it would make the drink a lovely salmon color.  Ours was a bright yellow - pretty, but not as pretty as it could have been.  The flavor was good.  It was orange with a slight bite on the finish from  the anisette.  I am not sure which ingredient gave it the silky texture, but I liked it.  I think we all enjoyed it, because a couple of batches were made, and I didn't drink them all.  

FRENCH KISS

1 measure vodka

3/4 measure anisette liqueur

2 measures freshly squeezed orange juice

1/8 measure grenadine (apparently, this is optional)

Pour all ingredients into an ice-filled shaker.  Shake vigorously.  Strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with star anise.

Return to the top of the page.

Return to Multi-Grain Cheese Pizza recipe.

Return to the Herbed Summer Squash Pizza recipe.