Sasha's Kitchen: Goat Cheese Pita Pizzas

I made this nice quick meal last week when I didn't have much time to cook.  I made four of them, but my husband and I had leftovers as they were more filling than you might think.  This is an adaptation from the halloumi Greek pizzettes that I had made in the past, which were delicious.  These are a nice treat that is of course much healthier than conventional pizza!  I just love arugula on pizza and this is no exception.

Sasha's Pita Pizzas 
8 oz goat cheese, crumbled
four pocketless pitas
1 pint yellow grape or cherry tomatoes
2 cups baby arugula
1 T lemon juice
1 T olive oil, plus more for tasting pita
1/3 to 1/3 cup apricot jam

Preheat your oven to 350.  Brush the pita with olive oil on both sides using a pastry brush and toast for ten minutes.  Spread on the apricot jam.  Top with crumbled goat cheese and grape tomatoes (after halving the tomatoes) and bake for about five minutes.  In the meantime, mix the arugula with the olive oil and lemon juice.  Take pizzas out of the oven and top with the arugula mixture.  Serve immediately.

Sasha's Kitchen: Goat Cheese Pita Pizzas

Sasha's Kitchen: Greek Pizzettes with Haloumi and Fig

We recently visited my mom and stepdad in Rochester, NY (great time of year to go somewhere that cold, I know).  I always enjoy cooking with my mom when we visit each other, and this trip was no exception.  We made a couple of great new recipes together, including this pizzette recipe, and plenty of dumplings and a chocolate swirl cheesecake.  My mom shared this great pizzette recipe for little Greek pizzas made on pitas.  They were delicious and make a great appetizer or main course.

Mom's Greek Pizzettes (makes 4)

4 pocketless pitas

juice of one lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup fig jam

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 1/2 lbs haloumi cheese, thinly sliced

8 dried figs, chopped

2 cups baby arugula

Preheat the oven to 350.  Brush olive oil on both sides of the pocketless pitas.  Toast in the oven for about ten minutes until the pitas are lightly browned.  Spread the fig jam on the pitas on one side.  We used a delicious onion-fig jam from Wegmans, the best grocery store on the planet. Top each pizzette with the haloumi cheese and broil for about 3-5 minutes just briefly to melt the halumi.  Take the rest of the olive oil and mix with the lemon juice, oregano and arugula.  Top the pizzettes with the arugula and chopped figs and serve.  Yum!

Sasha's Kitchen: Greek Pizzettes with Haloumi and Fig

Sasha's Kitchen: Vegetarian White Pizza

As you probably know by now, I am a big fan of homemade pizza. I wish we had a grill so I could try grilling it on the crust as well, but we've been making some pretty delicious pizzas on our pizza stone for awhile now.  Making your own pizza at home doesn't take as long as you think.  You just need a mixer to combine the dough quickly and an hour of time for the dough to rise, and from there it's pretty smooth sailing.  A couple weeks ago, my friend Robin was visiting from Seattle and we made this pizza together using plenty of tasty vegetables.  The peppadew peppers (pimentos) were a nice touch - they add a bit of mild spice to the vegetable flavors.  This might be one of my favorite homemade pizzas yet!


Sasha's Pizza Crust
1 cup warm water
2 packages dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt


Sasha's Vegetarian White Pizza
broccoli, diced
1/4 lb peppadew peppers (pinentos) diced
1/2 large red onion, chopped
3 T Shop Rite's basting oil with herbs
1 package park skim milk mozzarella, shredded
1 package monterey jack, shredded

Combine the ingredients for the dough.  Before combining, activate the yeast with the sugar in the warm water for about 10 minutes until it bubbles and is frothy.  Allow the dough to rise in a well oiled bowl, covered, for about an hour.

Stretch the pizza dough onto a pizza stone.  You can make your own pizza stone as well, a project I've been itching to do - out of a piece of granite from the hardware store.  Dust the pizza stone with cornstarch first!  Top with the cheese (I mixed in the ShopRite basting oil with all kinds of great herbs into the cheese mixture).  You could also buy fresh basil, thyme and parsley and other herbs and cut them up and add to the cheese.  It makes the pizza - trust me!  Top with the broccoli, pimentos and red onion.  I also considered adding some yellow zucchini but felt it didn't need it.  Bake in an oven preheated to 400 for 30 minutes.  Cut into slices and enjoy!

Sasha's Kitchen: Vegetarian White Pizza

Sasha's Kitchen: Spectacular White Pizza Variations

I've long prided myself on my pizzas, but lately my pizza making has really taken it up a notch. I have a crust that is absolutely to die for and have perfected my technique with shaping the pizza crusts to get them just the way I love my pizza. Lately, I've tried a couple different variations on white pizza, both of which I will share here. I used a combination of lowfat mozzarella, monterey jack and cheddar shredded cheese which are my favorite for white pizzas (I personally don't care for ricotta on my pizza, and neither does Brad, my husband). These variations include the use of ShopRite's new basting oil, which is filled with a delicious blend of herbs, a great new product that I received for free to review. Initially i was skeptical about using this on pizza, rather than to, say, baste a turkey. But it was spectacular. I mixed it in with the shredded cheeses and it added a lovely blend of herbs to the pizza, kind of like a garlic bread feel. So, I tried that on one of the pizzas below. Also, I found that pimentos are not just for southern cheese, they are absolutely perfect on a white pizza!

Sasha's Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
2 packages dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Sasha's White Pizza Variation One

two red onions, sliced into rings

organic turkey bacon from Applegate Farms (best turkey bacon ever!), cooked before adding to pizza

Fresh/dried Oregano and Basil to season

1 package shredded part skim milk mozzarella cheese

1 package shredded cheddar/Monterey Jack mix

Sasha's White Pizza Variation Two

two red onions, sliced into rings

3 T ShopRite basting oil

pimento peppers

1 package shredded part skim milk mozzarella cheese

1 package shredded cheddar/Monterey Jack mix

To prepare the dough, combine the warm water, dry active yeast and sugar in a bowl.  Allow to sit for about ten minutes until the yeast mixture is bubbly and frothy.  This indicates that the yeast has activated.  Combine in bowl, or in your stand mixer (I used my mixer for this) with the olive oil, flour and salt, until it forms a dough.  Place in an oiled bowl (sprayed with PAM, for example) and cover with a damp cloth.  Allow to rise in a warm place for one hour. I used to let it go longer, but I found that one hour makes a better crust that is not over-puffy.

Cook the bacon, or prepare the other toppings depending on which variation you are making. If you do the second variation, mix in the basing oil with the cheeses.

Stretch the pizza dough onto a pizza stone which is lightly coated with cornstarch. Top with the cheeses or cheeses with basing oil mixed in and add the other ingredients to top.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. If there's any excess oil, you can get rid of it using a paper towel.

Sasha's Kitchen: Spectacular White Pizza Variations

Emily's Kitchen in Seattle: Beer, Pizza and Meditations on Yeast

While living in Jerusalem I got into pizza making because there is not a good pizza to be found in that city. Now that a pizza stone has been introduced to my cookware family, I have been in a bit of a pizza frenzy. That, combined with an inherited bread machine, means I could make the stuff every night. Next project: making my own mozzarella. Stay tuned.

I have two pizza crust recipes that, so far, bring down the house. The first one is a winner because it doesn't need kneading or rising time - perfect for instant pizza gratification. The second one is my new favorite because it calls for beer. I swear, I am going to market it as a dating tool for women looking for husbands. What is closer to a man's heart than pizza and beer? And the two combined into one dish, topped with inches of melty cheese? Before you know it we'll all be saying, "E Harmony who...?" Top that baby with some fresh garlic and, voila, insta-aphrodisiac.

For another very delicious-looking version, check out Sasha's pizza and pizza commentary.

Instant Gratification Pizza Dough
Makes one thick crust or two thin crust pizzas

1 cup warm water, about 110 degrees
1 package yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 tsp. sugar/honey/agave

2 1/2 cups flour (I mix white and wheat, but do not use all wheat)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. of any or all of the following: garlic powder, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes...use your imaginative taste buds

Preheat the oven to 450.

Add yeast and sugar to the warm water, stir and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

If you get nervous, like I do, about getting your yeast water to be the perfect lukewarm temperature, mix 1/2 cup cold water with 1/2 cup boiled water. The yeast should proof, meaning that you should see the top layer of the mixture turning foamy and rising. If the mixture does not do this in 10 minutes, start over. It is important, when dealing with yeast, to maintain a positive attitude. I tell you, yeast knows when you're not in a mood to cook and it won't rise just to spite you. It's like a teenager: tend to it, care for it, and let it go its own way. When you turn back to it it will have met all your expectations and your heart will be warmed. If not, well, there was nothing you could have done anyway.

While ignoring the yeast, mix the flour, salt, olive oil and spices.
Add the proofed yeast mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Add more flour if the dough is too wet.
For best results, let the dough sit for about 10 minutes. But if you have no patience at all, just go ahead and roll it out. Divide it into two for a thin crust result. Top with desired toppings. I like to make an improv sauce of tomato paste, crushed garlic, red wine, sugar, salt and spices and mozzarella rounds, or a white pizza topped with crushed garlic, spinach and feta.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the edges are crispy and the cheese is starting to brown.

***********

Beer-and-Pizza-Lovers' Beer Pizza Dough
Also known in my house as "What am I going to do with this case of Miller High Life? Pizza Dough"

This recipe is made for bread machines, but I propose directions for a manually made crust below. However, I have not made it yet, so please, someone try it and let me know. Based on this recipe on recipezaar.

1 cup flat beer (room temperature)
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 3/4 cup flour (all purpose or a white-wheat blend) + about a 1/4 cup
1 package yeast (or 2 1/4 tbs.)
Spices, as desired

Enter the ingredients into the bread machine mixing bowl according to the manufacturer's instructions (with the paddle already inserted - not like the time I thought I made a whole round of dough without remembering to put it in).
Set the machine to the pizza dough cycle and go on with your day.
When dough cycle is complete, set the oven to 450. The dough may be sticky, so knead a little flour into it until it is nice and flexible. Roll it out onto the pan, top with desired toppings and make for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crust is crispy and cheese is starting to brown.

Alternatively, mix instant dry yeast in with the flour, sugar, salt and spices. Add the beer and oil, stir to combine. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for, say, 7 minutes or until the dough is pliable and not sticky. Add enough flour to sticky dough to make it smooth. Place dough in a bowl, cover and let rise for an hour in a warm, draft-free place. After an hour, or after dough has doubled in size, turn out onto the pan, top and bake. **Note: I have only tried the breadmaker version, not the manual version. Make pizza at your own risk.**

Emily's Kitchen in Seattle: Beer, Pizza and Meditations on Yeast

Sasha's Kitchen: My Favorite Classic Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella Pizza

One of my favorite easy meals to make during the week is homemade pizza.  This newest pizza was prepared just a couple nights ago using a pizza stone and conventional kitchen oven.  I have subsequently learned that there are couple of other excellent ways to prepare homemade pizza, including both "pizza stone" pizza and grilling pizza.  I have several friends who have been experimenting with grilling pizza, but living in a brooklyn condo, this isn't something I have been able to try at home.  I look forward to grilling pizza when visiting family at summer barbecues.  But, until then, I would like to share my homemade, pizza stone crispy crust pizza, which I think presents an excellent alternative for those of us without regular grill access.


Usually, I like to make adventurous pizzas with a variety of different toppings when preparing homemade pizza.  For a discussion on homemade pizza making and pizza stones in a prior post, click here.  That post also includes a recipe for my pizza with asparagus, goat cheese, yellow tomatoes, zucchini and caramelized onions.  Once an awhile, I prefer a plain marinara pizza classic.  Thus, a couple evenings ago, my husband and I prepared our tomato, basil and mozzarella classic.  The crust on this pizza was truly sensational, proving that my $18 pizza stone was truly money well spent in preparing a classic puffy, yet crispy crust.  I consider this crust to be so good that it qualifies as a homemade classic - it's just that good.


With such a basic pizza, it's all about the quality of the cheese that you use.  I used homemade mozzarella in making the pizzas from M&S Prime Meats around the corner.  As a make-it-yourself from scratch kind of girl, I have been itching to make my own mozzarella and ricotta cheeses to incorporate into both my pizzas and lasagnas.  However, the homemade mozzarella at M&S Prime Meats is always delicious and prepared fresh each day.


Pizza Dough
1 cup warm water
2 packages dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt


First, activate the yeast in the warm water with the sugar for about 10-15 minutes until it becomes bubbly and frothy.  Then mix with the other ingredients until it forms a dough.  I usually do this in my mixer, but it's not too hard to mix the pizza dough by hand.  Allow the crust to rise in a well-oiled (sprayed with PAM) covered bowl for about an hour and a half.  Cover the bowl with a damp towel.  Then top make the pizza, stretch out the dough into a pie.  I usually have enough dough for two pies based on the size of my stone.  The dough should be nice and stretchy so that you can pull it into a pie shape with your hands.  It takes a little bit of practice to stretch a pizza pie, but you'll get the hang of it with a little bit of practice.  It's an art.


Top the pie with plain tomato sauce, sliced mozzarella and oregano.  Bake for about 30 to 4o minutes at 400 degrees on your stone until the pizza is crispy.  Add fresh basil leaves a few minutes before you are ready to take your pie(s) out of the oven. 

Pizza

Sasha's Kitchen: My Favorite Classic Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella Pizza

Gilly's Kitchen on the Road: Changsha

I recently flew to Changsha (the capital of the Hunan Province in China) to attend my brother-in-law's wedding. I also visited Hong Kong for several days, and I will write about my dining experiences in that city in a later post. Our visit preceded the Chinese New Year by only one week. Oh, and clearly this post has nothing to do with vegan baking.

The majority of our meals in Changsha took place in banquet-type facilities (rather normal given that the meals were part of larger events, such as the rehearsal and the wedding itself) so I cannot discuss actual restaurants, but did take plenty of photos of some interesting dishes. We did have a meal at the Changsha Sheraton the first night we were there, even though we were not staying in the Sheraton. We also ate at Pizza Hut, which is a little different (ahem.. extremely different) than U.S. Pizza Huts! Therefore, this post will be more of a photographic tour of my dining experiences in Changsha.

Our first meal, as mentioned above, was at the Sheraton at an upscale restaurant and bar named Bar Zen. I had delicious bacon-wrapped giant prawns, and my husband had some sort of lobster pasta (not pictured).

Bacon-wrapped giant prawns (and a side of fries)

The following day consisted of meeting our translator/friend of the bride's family (a local college student preparing to further her education in the U.S.) and taking a trip to a main shopping district. We stopped for lunch at Pizza Hut, which in Changsha is a somewhat upscale-sort of restaurant with a very extensive menu. The bride and groom even suggested we stop in for a meal, so we took their advice. We ordered a rather odd array of dishes, from benign mashed potatoes and lychee smoothies to a fried shrimp pizza (which also had crab and octopus buried in the cheese) and a shrimp stuffed crust pizza (the stuffed knots alternated between cheese and shrimp).

Friend shrimp pizza (half eaten by the time I remember to take a photo)

Shrimp stuffed crust pizza

We then spent an hour or two walking around the shopping district, popping in and out of various stores and generally people-watching as our translator told us about cram schools and other interesting tidbits.

Gilly's Kitchen on the Road: Changsha

Sasha's Kitchen: Pizza With Yellow Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, Asparagus, Zucchini and Red Onions

I finally purchased a pizza stone with the intent of improving the crust quality on my pizzas.  My initial plan was to follow Alton Brown of Good Eats' advice and purchase quarry tile from my local hardware store to make my own pizza stone.  This is an economical option (probably less than $10), and would have been a fabulous idea if either of my local hardware stores carried tile in the first place; they did not.  Thus, rather than carry a heavy slab of quarry from a more distant hardware store, I simply elected to purchase a $17 pizza stone from Tarzian West, my local cooking supply store.

A pizza stone is, as Brown's advice highlights, a flat piece of stone that is used for baking pizza that facilitates the even distribution of heat throughout the entire pizza crust during the baking process.   It mimics the effects of cooking pizza the traditional way, in a masonry oven.  Quarry or stone has increased thermal mass compared with metal or glass, while the porous nature of the stone helps absorb moisture, resulting in a crisper crust.

I have experimented with a couple different crust recipes, including whole wheat pizza crusts.  The recipe below is a basic crust recipe that I like.  However, this doesn't meant that I won't experiment with some different crust variations in future pizza posts.  This recipe makes two medium sized pizzas, baked separately on the pizza stone.  In my experience this is enough pizza to serve four adults, or in our case, allows for leftovers.

Pizza Dough
1 cup warm water
2 packages dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt


Sasha's Pizza With Yellow Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, Asparagus, Zucchini and Caramelized Red Onions
1 1/2 pints of yellow cherry tomatoes
2/3 of a zucchini, sliced into pieces and cut in half
3 asparagus, cut into pieces
2 small red onions
2 tsp sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 containers of crumpled goat cheese

Pizza during the prep stage

To prepare the dough, combine the warm water, dry active yeast and sugar in a bowl.  Allow to sit for about ten minutes until the yeast mixture is bubbly and frothy.  This indicates that the yeast has activated.  Combine in bowl, or in your stand mixer (I used my mixer for this) with the olive oil, flour and salt, until it forms a dough.  Place in an oiled bowl (sprayed with PAM, for example) and cover with a damp cloth.  Allow to rise for about 2 hours.

Form into two medium sized pizza crusts (similar size to your pizza stone).  The dough should have risen and increased in size, and should be stretchy to the touch.  Stretch and contort it to form pizza crusts in the desired shape and thickness.  In the meantime,  place the stone (without any pizza on it) in your oven at 400 degrees to hear the stone to an even temperature.  Make sure to sprinkle the stone with cornmeal first.

In my opinion, the trickiest part of making pizza using a stone is getting the pizza from your cutting board or counter top, while you prepare it, onto the hot stone in the oven.  It definitely takes some skill (I'm working on it), but I managed to transition the pizzas alright.  This process is much easier if you have a pizza peel board, but it can be completed without one, as I did not use one.

To prepare my pizza recipe, cut the yellow tomatoes in half and mix with two tablespoons of olive oil.  Cover the pizzas with the tomatoes.  Add the asparagus and zucchini.  Sprinkle the goat cheese on top.  To prepare the caramelized onions, cut the red onions into circles and saute for a few minutes in two teaspoons of sugar and a bit of canola oil, until softened (no need to fully brown).  Place the onions on top of the pizza.

Carefully transfer the pizza from the cutting board where you prepared it onto your stone, as best you can.  Even if you lose a few ingredients, you can fix the pizza arrangement once you have it from the counter to the stone.  You also could quickly add the ingredients to the top of the transferred pizza pie once you have the dough on the stone, if that makes things easier.  Bake on the stone at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the pizza is lightly browned.

I was very pleased with the crispy quality of the crust on the pizza, and I liked the selection of ingredients that I chose for this pizza - they complemented each other nicely.  The yellow tomatoes are less acidic than red tomatoes, which is easier on the stomach.  They also have a lovely color combination, of green, yellow and purple.

Sasha's Kitchen: Pizza With Yellow Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, Asparagus, Zucchini and Red Onions

Sasha's Kitchen: Discussion Of Homemade Pizza Variations

I did not cook tonight. We ordered in sandwiches from a local sandwich shop in Park Slope. However, tomorrow, I will be preparing a pasta dish. However, I figured that tonight would be a good time to discuss some of the homemade pizza variations I have tried over the summer and fall.

You can really put anything on pizza. I love pizza with different and interesting variations. There are a lot of great pizza places here in New York. Some of my favorites are: Grimaldi's, Keste and Otto Enoteca.

The first step in making pizza is making a tasty crust. I have not experimented with a lot of crust variations, but have simply been working with a very basic crust formula. I have, however, experimented with different types of flours - including regular all-purpose flour and a mixture of all-purpose flour with whole white flour to make a whole white pizza crust. In addition, pizza crust preparation, like most bread preparation, requires using dry active yeast, so you should plan on allowing an extra hour for your crust to rise.

Pizza Crust

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 packets (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
1/4 cups canola oil
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour (either use 4 cups all-purpose or 2 cups all-purpose and 2 cups whole wheat)

To prepare the crust, add the warm water, dry active yeast, oil, sugar and salt to a bowl and whisk together. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, until the yeast foams and is "activated."

Add flour and mix. Transfer to a bowl coated in canola oil and allow to sit, covered with either plastic wrap or a warm dishtowel for 1 hour, until the dough doubles in size.

After the dough doubles, prepare your crusts. You can divide into 4 pieces and stretch with your hands and flatten until you have 4 smaller pizzas, or you can make 1 or 2 larger ones. You can freeze the extra crusts until you are ready to use them.

If you are ready to use the pizzas, then it's time to prepare a topping. Here are some variations I have tried:

Grape Tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula, balsamic and pecorino

Cut up grape tomatoes and use to top the pizza. You can use as many or as few as you like. I then used freshly made mozzarella from M&S prime meats in Park Slope, where they make fresh mozzarella daily.

The I baked the pies at 450 F for about 15-20 minutes until done. While the pies cooked, I mixed the arugula with some pecorino cheese and 2 T of balsamic vinegar. Then, I topped the pies with this mixture and baked for about 1 minute, just enough for the arugula to wilt.


Grape tomatoes, Goat cheese and red onion

First top with the tomatoes and goat cheese, Add some sliced and sauteed red onions and bake at 450 F for 15-20 minutes.

Third variation - simple pizza

Same as variation 1, but use a can of tomato sauce instead of grape tomatoes.

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Sasha's Kitchen: Discussion Of Homemade Pizza Variations