Pizza, Pizza, Oh! Pizza

Well, this is part 2 of 2, does that make sense? Anyway, I promised that I would go over some recipes of pizza and some other tidbits of information. Well here are the tidbits first.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Pizza/PizzaHistory.htm There was so much I couldn’t cut and past that. So I hope that you aren’t too bored. It is very interesting to see the history of pizza. I remember pizza….What can I say. My earliest recollection was when my Mom would make it from scratch. It was a very easy process. You just make the dough, spread it out on a pan, put some sauce and other goodies on top, sprinkle the cheese and throw it into the oven. It always didn’t come out right, it could have burned sometimes, and my Mom wasn’t much of a pizza maker. But, it was the thought that counted. Our pizza crust was usually very brown and sort of crispy like a pretzel, in fact I think it was a pretzel......Forgive me Mom, I was just kidding…..I remember my sister taking over the reins of pizza making. She did okay, but she would buy those rolls of pizza dough and spread them out and pour over the contents of the box, and sprinkle the fake cheese on top and put on whatever protein that felt comfortable using and Voilà, it was done. It was funny, that pizza crust also tasted and had the consistency of pretzels, Well, what I say my Mother like Daughter. I am sure my sister will be calling me after she reads this one. I know for a fact, she makes a fantastic pizza now. So, I hope I made up for the last (truthful) comment. ( Today we have every kind of pizza in the frozen food section of our stores, in every grocery story, they have fresh and cooked. I have a few favorites, and they are made my Papa Murphy’s, the Garlic Chicken and the Cowboy, two of my most favorite ever. Try the Garlic Chicken and you will know why. You will probably eat the whole thing. Well, here are some of the recipes I told you about. I hope you enjoy them. Some of these are difficult to make, but the satisfaction of doing it yourself and enjoy watching your family devour it, is worth the effort. So for the purest of us….

Who else can make the one of the nation’s best pizza…..duh, Chicago.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Crust:
Ingredients:

2 packages quick-rise dry yeast

2 cups tepid water (90 degrees F)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup cornmeal

5 1/2 cups flour, divided

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in water. Add oils, cornmeal, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat for 10 minutes with a mixer. Mix in the additional 2 1/2 cups flour. Knead for several minutes. Pour the dough onto a plastic countertop and cover with a very large metal bowl. Allow to rise until double in bulk.
Punch down and allow to rise again.
Punch down a second time and you are ready to make pizza. Oil a round cake pans with olive oil. Put a bit of dough in each and push it out to the edges, using your fingers. Put in enough dough so that you can run the crust right up the side of the pan. Make it about 1/8 inch thick throughout the pan.
Filling

1/3 pound sliced Mozzarella cheese

2 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained and squished

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Salt, to taste

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:

Place the cheese in tile-like layers on the bottom of the pie. Next put in the tomatoes and the basil, oregano, garlic, and salt, reserving the Parmesan cheese for the top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Drizzle the olive oil over the top of the pie and you are ready to bake at 475 degrees F until the top is golden and gooey and the crust a light golden brown. This should take about 35 or 40 minutes.
Additional variations:
Before you put on the Parmesan cheese and olive oil drizzle you might like to add Italian sausage, yellow onions, peeled and diced, pepperoni, sliced thin, mushrooms, sliced, green sweet bell peppers, cored and sliced thin.

Another Version:

Chicago Style Italian Sausage and Pepper Deep Dish Pizza

Difficulty: Easy Yield: 2 (12-inch) pizzas
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 cups thinly sliced green bell peppers

1 pound Italian sausage links, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 recipe of Basic Pizza Dough

12 ounces grated mozzarella cheese

2 cups tomato sauce

2 tablespoons dried oregano

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to sauté for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, add the sausage and render for 4 to 6 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Divide the dough in half and roll into a 14-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. Press the dough into 2 greased 12-inch deep-dish pizza pans. Sprinkle each pizza with 6 ounces of the grated cheese. Spoon 1/2 of the onion and pepper mixture over each pizza. Sprinkle 1/2 of the sausage over the onion mixture on each pizza. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the top of each pizza. Sprinkle each pizza with 1 tablespoon of oregano. Bake the pizzas for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the pizza from the oven and cut into individual servings.

Impossible Hamburger Pizza

Ingredients:
Crust

2 1/2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix 2/3 cup hot water

1 envelope active dry yeast

Meat Mixture

1 pound lean ground beef

2 teaspoons oregano leaves

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

Topping

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

2 cups mozzarella or Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Directions:
Mix the baking mix and yeast and stir in the hot water. Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until smooth, about 20 times. Let the dough rest a few minutes.
While the dough is resting, cook and stir the meat and onion in a large skillet until the onion is tender and the meat is brown. Drain off the excess fat. Stir in the tomato sauce, oregano leaves, and pepper and set aside.
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half on an ungreased baking sheet into a 13 x 10-inch rectangle or on a pizza pan 12 inches in diameter. Pinch the edges to make a slight rim. Spread the meat mixture almost to the edges. Top with the green pepper and cheeses. Bake until the crust is brown and the filling is hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.
Cut into squares or wedges and serve.

This is a little different, but I think you will like it………

Taco Pizza

1 pound ground beef

1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 package taco seasoning

1 (8 ounce) can crescent rolls

1/2 pound American cheese, cubed

1 cup shredded lettuce

1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup black olive slicesSour cream

Brown the meat; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning mixes; simmer 5 minutes.
Unroll dough; press onto bottom and sides of ungreased 12-inch pizza pan. Prick bottom and sides with fork. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cover crust with meat mixture; top with cheese. Continue baking until cheese begins to melt. Top with remaining ingredients.
Serve with sour cream.
Serves 4 to 6.

Instead of cold pizza for the next morning, surprise you family with this. It will knock their socks off.

Breakfast Pizza

1 pound bulk pork sausage 1 package (8) refrigerated crescent rolls 1 cup frozen loose pack hash brown potatoes, thawed 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 5 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Cook sausage until browned; drain well. Separate dough into 8 triangles. Place in slightly greased 12-inch pizza pan, with points toward the center. Press over bottom and up sides to form crust. Seal perforations. Spoon sausage over crust. Sprinkle with potatoes. Top with Cheddar cheese.
In a bowl, beat together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour into crust. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over all. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.
You can use Monterey jack or Swiss cheese. Also, you can use about 1 1/2 cups potatoes instead of 1 cup.

Talk about surprisingly easy…….perfect when you are in a rush and want something good and fast for the big game.

During the Game Pizza

1 (14 ounce) jar pizza sauce 1 loaf French bread, split lengthwise and toasted 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced pepperoni 2 (4 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms, drained 2 green bell peppers, sliced into rings 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Evenly spoon sauce over toasted bread. Evenly top with pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.
Serves 6.

Basic Pizza Dough

Recipe SummaryDifficulty: Easy Yield: dough for 2 (12-inch) pizzas

Ingredients:

1 package of active yeast 2 teaspoons sugar 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F) 1/4 cup lard 3 to 4 cups flour 2 teaspoons salt Oliveoil

Directions:

In an electric mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, water and lard together to make a paste. Add the flour and salt and mix, using a dough hook, until the dough comes away from the sides and crawls up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl. Grease the bowl with olive oil and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until double in size, about an hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide dough in half. Roll the dough into balls, cover and let the dough rest for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped.

Chocolate Pizza

Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 home made pizza dough or use one of the recipes above, or purchased pizza dough 2 teaspoons of buttter melted 1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella) 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 2 tablespoons milk chocolate chips 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips 2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Position the oven rack on the bottom of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Directions: Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to a 9-inch-diameter round. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Using your fingers, make indentations all over the dough. Brush the dough with butter, then bake until the crust is crisp and pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Immediately spread the chocolate-hazelnut spread over the pizza then sprinkle all the chocolate chips over. Bake just until the chocolate begins to melt, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the pizza. Cut into wedges and serve.

Well you have it all, I am sure you all have your “best” of the best pizza’s out there, but I hope that you will try these and see if you like the real best of the best. See you later.