Ina's White Pizza with Arugula, Denver's Chalk Art Festival and Strawberry Salad with Feta and Almonds


The other day I found myself thinking about Ina Garten. I love her as much as you can love a 64-year old, former nuclear policy wonk/budget writer, author, gourmand, home entertaining super-star that you don't really know. And I totally credit Ina with inspiring me to cook-- I mean really cook, for the first time, which happened about 3 years ago. She got me to value high-quality ingredients, delve into seasonal cooking and, okay, decadent desserts too. Time is flying because it's more than a year and a half since I met her at this book signing...and it feels like yesterday. 
I have all of Ina'a cookbooks and decided to revisit Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics. That's when this recipe for White Pizza with Arugula caught my eye. Now ever since I made homemade tart dough (pâte brisée), I've become a big fan of making things from scratch...time permitting. Sure, there are some really good quality store-bought pizza doughs out there, but I decided to make my dough the night before, after the boys went to bed.
The dough was perfect but next time I think I will have to let it get a little more pliable before I start kneading it. I don't think I kept it at room temperature long enough. As for the baking time of the pizza, the recipe calls for 10-15 minutes in the oven. My pie was done in about 9 minutes-- and had I kept it in the oven for one minute longer, it would have burnt to a crisp. Maybe it's my oven or maybe it's the altitude-- just keep an eye on it.

Now I prefer making recipes that don't require me to buy a ton of ingredients, and in this case I had some goat cheese in the fridge and some leftover fontina cheese from this recipe. I also had a big bag filled with arugula, so pizza with greens it would be. 
I loved this pizza. There's creamy, cheesy goodness, tangy-lemon dressing and peppery arugula. You can see how this one might be hard to beat...
For the garlic oil I used some of my new purple garlic which I picked up at my local farmers market.
Dressed arugula.
White Pizza with Arugula (Courtesy of Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)
Makes 6 Pizzas
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
1 1/4 cups warm (100 to 110) water
2 packages dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
Good olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
Kosher salt
For the Garlic Oil:
4 cloves garlic, sliced
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
For the topping:
3 cups grated Italian fontina cheese (8 ounces)
1 1/2 cups grated fresh mozzarella cheese (7 ounces)
11 ounces creamy goat cheese, such as montrachet, crumbled
For the vinaigrette:
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces baby arugula
1 lemon, sliced


Directions:
Mix the dough
:

  • Combine the water, yeast, honey and 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. When the yeast is dissolved, add 3 cups of flour, then 2 teaspoons salt, and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1 more cup of flour, or just enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl.
  • Knead by hand.
  • When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic.
  • Let it rise.
  • Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.


Make garlic oil:  Place 1/2 cup of olive oil, the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Set aside.


Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. 
Portion the dough.
Dump the dough onto a board and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Place the doughs on sheet pans lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Stretch the dough.
Press and stretch each ball into an 8-inch circle and place 2 circles on each sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature.)

Top the dough.
Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil, and sprinkle each one liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with fontina, mozzarella and goat cheese. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon more of the garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes,* until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.**


Make the vinaigrette.
Meanwhile, whisk together 1/2 cup of olive oil, the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Add the greens.


When the pizzas are done, place the arugula in a large bowl and toss with just enough lemon vinaigrette to moisten. Place a large bunch of arugula on each pizza and a slice of lemon and serve immediately.

* Mine took 9 minutes.

** Note: I brushed some of the garlic oil on my pizza mesh (wire) and placed my pie on the mesh. I placed it on my pizza stone-- which I had preheated for 20 minutes at 500 degrees.
                        


TIP Make sure the bowl is warm before you put the water and yeast in; the water must be warm for the yeast to develop.
TIP Salt inhibits the growth of yeast; add half the flour, then the salt, and then the rest of the flour.
TIP To make sure yeast is still "alive," or active, put it in water and allow it to sit for a few minutes. If it becomes creamy or foamy, it's active.

* * *
After lunch, I took the boys down to Larimer Square for the Denver Chalk Art Festival. Now here in the house we use sidewalk chalk all the time. This festival, however, took it to a whole new level. It was so cool. And so creative. Otis really wanted to add his own unique touch to some of the murals, but I told him maybe next year. He looked excited about the prospect and when we got home he started on his sketches. Theo watched him carefully...maybe he'll be the budding artist of the family!                    

***
Today I used some leftover greens to make this salad for lunch. It was delicious! 

Baby Lettuces, with Feta, Strawberries and Almonds (Courtesy of Food & Wine Magazine)
Serves 8
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 small shallot, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, preferably Banyuls
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
12 cups packed assorted baby lettuces (about 6 ounces)
1 quart strawberries, hulled—small berries halved, large ones quartered
4 ounces feta (preferably French), crumbled (1 cup)
1 cup smoked almonds, chopped

In a small bowl, stir together the mustard, honey, shallot and vinegar. Stir in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Put the lettuces in a large bowl. Add the strawberries, feta and almonds. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, toss well and serve.

Suggested Pairing:
Bright, berry-scented rosé echoes the strawberries in this summer salad. Pour a crisp, dry rosé from Provence.
Pizza bianca

Tarry Lodge Inspired Pizza: Goat Cheese, Pistachio and Truffled Honey

Most of the time I follow the recipes from my favorite cookbooks or food blogs.  On occasion I adapt them to better suit my taste preferences (or those of the more discerning Señor Otis).  Here, however, I tried to recreate the pizza I ate a few months back at Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich's (yes, son of Lidia) Port Chester eatery, Tarry Lodge.  
The pie is pretty much adaptable once you have the following ingredients: good quality pizza dough (home made or store bought), olive oil, red onion, chopped pistachio nuts, goat cheese, salt, and honey (admittedly truffled honey is the way to go, but I used the store-bought kind...you know, the one in the little plastic bear with yellow top).  
I pre-heated the oven to 475 degrees and put the pizza stone in the oven.  It took about 1/2 hour for the stone to get hot.  Then I divided the dough so that I had enough dough for 2 small pies (each the size of a traditional pizza stone) and sprinkled it with a generous amount of flour.  After flattening the dough and stretching it onto an oiled mesh disk, I drizzled it with olive oil and honey.  I brushed the edges of the pie with additional olive oil. 
Then I put the red onion (very thinly sliced) and pistachios on the pie and sprinkled it with some salt.  
Into the oven it went on my pizza stone...
After about 7 minutes, I took it out of the oven and drizzled it with a bit more olive oil and honey.  Then I put the goat cheese on top of the pie.  I cooked it for about 3-4 more minutes and then dinner was served. (Pie should be slightly golden.)
Thanks for the inspiration, Tarry Lodge!

5Pointz, Long Island City, Queens and Pizza Margherita


On the day the world was supposed to end (May 21, 2011), we hopped on the subway and headed towards Queens. I really wanted to check out 5Pointz, a graffiti/street art project on the facade of a 200,000 square foot factory building in Long Island City. It had long been on my list of places to visit, so I was glad we finally got to see it.  
At 5Pointz, artists get permits to "tag" and paint; it's all completely legal. Most of the work is ephemeral and only lasts a few weeks before it is painted over, but the really good stuff stays around for a bit longer...

Matt, Otis, a very pregnant yours truly, and our dear friend  Andrew (a supremely talented modern classical composer who's working on a piece called Otis!) decided that before we took in all the street art, a pilgrimage to Jackson Heights' Delhi Palace was in order. With bellies full of delicious Indian food, we then set out 








 



* * *
It was a nice weekend and nothing could cap it off better than some homemade pizza.  I was craving a DiFara style pie, but not wanting to wait 2 plus hours in Midwood, I decided to make the pizza myself by adapting a recipe I saw in Saveur. 
Cook's Tip: Use high-quality, fresh mozzarella and slice the cheese into 1/4 inch rounds. Place the cheese in between 2 paper towels. Put a plate on top of the covered cheese and weigh it down for 20 minutes.  You can use a large can of tomatoes or some other canned product for the weight.  This will get the moisture out of the cheese so you don't have puddles on your pizza!   

Yields 2 11-inch personal pies
Ingredients
1 ball of dough (I purchased a ball of pizza dough from Union Market and it was excellent.  Another good option-- your local pizza shop.  Many will sell you a ball of dough for a buck or two.)
Extra-virgin olive oil
San Marzano tomato sauce (recipe follows)
One large ball of mozzarella di buffala (it's expensive but worth it)
Basil leaves
Salt and pepper
Directions
Remove dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.  Put a pizza stone on the lowest rack in the oven and heat oven to 500 degrees; heat for at least 40 minutes.  Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (I divided my ball into two), dust with flour; using your hands, stretch and shape dough into a 11-13 inch circle.  Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment paper or an oiled pizza mesh(I use the mesh).  Drizzle oil around rim of the dough.  Spoon about 1/2 cup tomato sauce onto dough leaving 1/2 - 3/4 inch border. (Original recipe had 1/4 cup of sauce on the dough.  I used more.)  Season with salt.
Arrange mozzarella di buffala evenly over pizza.  Drizzle pizza with more oil.
Using a pizza paddle or grasping the edges of the parchment paper, transfer pizza to pizza stone.  (I used a pizza paddle.)
Bake until golden brown, about 13 minutes.  Keep you eye on the pizza.  One Saveur commenter noted that his pizza was ready in 8 minutes.  Our oven took 12-13 minutes and it was perfect.
Slide pizza back onto the paddle and transfer to a work surface.  Top with basil, drizzle with more olive oil, if you like (and I do!), and put the pizza back on the stone for 1 minute.  Remove pizza from oven.  Slice.  
Repeat with remaining dough and toppings.  Reserve remaining sauce for another use, such as pasta. 


Basic Tomato Sauce
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, inspired by 101 Cookbooks)
Ingredients
2 tablespoon butter or olive oil
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 clove garlic, chopped
A couple glugs red wine
1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
1 15-ounce can pureed tomatoes
A handful of julienned basil (optional)
Zest of one lemon (optional)
Directions
Melt butter in saucepan over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Add shallots, red pepper flakes, salt, and garlic sauteing them together for a few minutes until the shallots are translucent and beginning to color. Add the red wine, letting it sizzle and cook down slightly, then the whole and pureed tomatoes. Breaking the whole tomatoes up with a wooden spoon, let the sauce simmer for a few minutes. Season to taste. I used an immersion blender to puree the sauce, but if you like a thicker texture, leave it as is.