P is for Passion, and Pizza!

Friday night is Pizza Night. I've been making pizza for years, all the while perfecting my technique for stretching dough, topping dough, transferring said dough to a hot stone in the oven, and mastering the time and temperature needed for near perfect pizzas. Not every pizza I've made is a masterpiece and since I buy my dough from a store not every dough ball is the same out of the bag, but I'm getting ready for that day in the not too distant future when I build a wood fired pizza oven in my back yard. Until that time I'll continue to make the best pizzas I can taking inspiration from local pizzerias like Emma's Pizza and Za Restaurant as well as blogs like The Wednesday Chef and Slice.

I always try to use the best ingredients possible, almost always making my own sauce and buying fresh and sometimes organic toppings when possible and reasonable. I do still buy my dough from either Trader Joe's or Whole Foods even though I have a bag of Tipo 00 flour in my pantry. Tipo 00 flour is an Italian flour that is higher in gluten (protein) than all-purpose flour and is also milled more finely. These properties allow for easier dough stretching and help create a chewier, crispier crust than doughs made with all purpose flour. The doughs from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods also have very different properties. The Trader Joe's dough is more prone to tears while I'm stretching it but it is much easier to stretch into a really thin crust. I primarily use Trader Joe's dough and have gotten quite good at stretching it without tearing. The Whole Foods dough is much more elastic and much less likely to tear while stretching but it is also much more difficult to stretch it really thin, if you like doughy pizza, try the Whole Foods dough. The Whole Foods dough is also much more prone to bubbling while it bakes. I prefer the Trader Joe's dough, do you have a favorite? Do you make your own dough?

To cook my pizzas, I place a pizza stone in the bottom third of my oven and crank the heat up around 500 degrees. The stone I have now is from Williams-Sonoma and is my third; it's by far the best I've had, going on six years. It's very important to put the stone in a cold oven and allow it come up to temperature with the oven. Putting a cold stone in a hot oven will inevitably lead to it's demise, sometimes in spectacular fashion with it cracking into dozens of pieces. Experimenting with different locations has led me to believe that in my oven, the lower third produces the crispiest crusts, which is what I'm after. Placing the stone higher in the oven will cook the top faster leaving a chewier, sometimes limp dough depending on what's on top of it. Experiment for yourself to find the ideal location for your pizza stone. My pizzas almost always take between 8 and 10 minutes to cook, again, depending on what toppings are on the pizza. For transferring the dough to the oven, I dust a wooden pizza peel (paddle) with corn meal.

Maybe someday I'll open a pizza place of my own, one can dream, can't he? Until then, I'll make pizzas in my oven, and soon, I hope, in my very own backyard, wood-fired, pizza oven. To see my next pizza creation, follow me on Twitter but until then, enjoy some of the pizzas from my very own Pizza Hall of Fame.

Bacon, Yukon Gold, Manchego, Cilantro, Basic Tomato Sauce, Truffle Oil

Smoked mozzarella, Cured Black Olives, Rosemary Sauce
 

Applegate Farms Pepperoni, Provolone, Basic Tomato Sauce

Caramelized Onion, Sweet Potato, Baby Spinach, Buffalo Mozzarella, Crumbled Goat Cheese, Basic Tomato Sauce

Apple, Pear, Caramelized Onion, Honey, Goat Brie, Walnuts, Olive Oil

Shredded Buffalo Chicken, Red Onion, Scallion, Manchego, Basic Tomato Sauce

Shredded BBQ Rotisserie Chicken, Red Onion, Scallion, Manchego, Barbecue Sauce

Caramelized Onion, Arugula, Brown Turkey Figs, Crumbled Goat Cheese, Olive Oil, Aged Balsamic

Melted Leeks, Thyme Roasted Cremini, Buffalo Mozzarella, Pecorino, Rosemary Sauce

Goat Gouda, Crumbled Goat Cheese, Cracked Black Pepper, Rosemary Sauce

Lemon-Garlic Green Olives, Sheep Feta, Crumbled Goat Cheese, Cracked Black Pepper, Garlic Olive Oil

Truffled Shitake Mushroom, Buffalo Mozzarella, Fresh Sage, Olive Oil, Truffle Oil

Pepperoni, Manchego, Pecorino, Oregano, Basic Tomato Sauce

Do you have a favorite pizza? Please leave a comment a share your passion for pizza!

A Fine BLT at Emma's Pizza

The BLT. A sandwich so simple yet so delicious. It would be easy to simply say "everything is better with bacon" and be done with it, giving the BLT the sandwich crown. I mean it's true, everything IS better with bacon but the truth is it is not just the bacon that makes a BLT so good. It's the fresh, crisp lettuce, the juicy, plump tomato, the sinful, rich mayonnaise, and finally, the crispy, smokey, salty bacon. Oh, the bacon!

The best BLT I have had in recent memory can be found at Emma's Pizza in Kendall, Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Emma's is known for its incredible thin-crust pizzas but also offers an assortment of salads and sandwiches worthy of their own recognition, including their BLT. Emma's BLT is constructed with extra-thick, double smoked bacon, house-roasted tomato, Boston Bibb lettuce and a smear of Ken's extra-thick mayonnaise on grilled Iggy's sourdough.

You should go to Emma's for the pizza, and stay for the BLT. Tell them One Food Guy sent you.

Tuesday's Tasting - Trader Joe's Wild Mushroom & Black Truffle Flatbread

I've told this story before, life gets in the way and my writing suffers. While away this time I did some more traveling in Europe and had the incredible opportunity to eat at a very special restaurant. A restaurant so special that I have to keep you in the dark for now, but please come back tomorrow to read about my awesome dining experience.

Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about a relatively new Trader Joe's freezer case product, the Wild Mushroom & Black Truffle Flatbread with Mozzarella Cheese. I have made two of these over the last few weeks because they are that good. If you know and love the aroma and flavor of black truffles, you too will love this flatbread pizza. Keep reading to learn more, or just go to Trader Joe's and buy some of these right away. Come back and finish reading while your oven pre-heats.

I have to admit I was suprised when I first saw this in the case; I thought, truffle flatbread, at Trader Joe's, really? Well after 8 minutes in a 425 degree pre-heated oven I wanted to personally thank the buyer who found this gem for the Trader, I don't care how he or she did it, I'm just glad they did. When I opened the oven to remove the flatbread I was overcome with that amazing truffle aroma that so many of us cherish and love. The crust was crispy and chewy at the same time providing just the right amount of bite and a modest amount of mozzarella melted nicely over the mushrooms, truffles, and truffle sauce. My first bite had my taste buds dancing with joy, and my second bite had me craving more and more. This delicious, perfectly seasoned, truffle flatbread is a winner and is $4.69 for one box.Go buy some, now.

Creative Cuisine at Emma's Pizza

I first heard of Emma's Pizza a few years ago but had no idea what I was missing until last week. I made plans with a colleague to have lunch here last Thursday and am so glad I did. For a lover of all things pizza, the menu can be a bit overwhelming with two dozen recommended pizzas and over 30 available toppings including three different sauces and an assortment of cheeses. Emma's also has salad and appetizer options, which we did not try, as well as beer, wine, and soft drinks including IBC Root Beer and Cream Soda. Big points for having IBC, I ordered a cream soda.

If you have read my past posts about my own pizza making experience, you know that I like interesting and creative pizza toppings. I previously found pizza inspiration from places like Fig's, but now Emma's has provided me with a new, fresh perspective on the art of pizza making.

After looking over Emma's recommended pizzas, we settled on the #3 and the #7. The #3 has baby spinach, roasted sweet potato, caramelized onions and garlic with Emma's slightly spicy rosemary sauce and mozzarella and goat cheeses layered on perfectly thin crust. The #7 has pepperoni and diced hot cherry peppers with Emma's traditional sauce and mozzarella on the thin crust. With so many choices, these stood out as good options

When the pizzas finally arrived, I almost started to drool. Perfectly baked, perfectly topped, these pizzas looked absolutely fantastic. As good as they looked, they tasted even better. The roasted sweet potato and sweet caramelized onions provided great contrasting flavors to the slightly spicy sauce and the tangy goat cheese of the #3. I LOVED this pizza and have already begun working on my own reproduction of this pizza at home. The pepperoni and hot cherry pepper pizza was also excellent. The perfect amount of topping and the perfect balance of flavor made this pizza a winner. If you love pepperoni pizza, you'll love this version with the added hot cherry peppers, so good. If you live anywhere close to Cambridge I highly recommend that you frequent Emma's Pizza for amazing, fresh, and creative pizza. And if you don't live close, move here for the pizza. Seriously, it's that good.

#3 Baby Spinach/Roasted Sweet Potato/Caramelized Onions/Garlic/Rosemary Sauce/Mozzarella/Goat Cheese

#7 Pepperoni/Hot Cherry Peppers/Traditional Sauce/Mozzarella

Emma's Pizza

40 Hampshire Street
Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
Ph. 617-864-8534

And here is my version of the #3 fresh out of my own home pizza oven (a stone in a 500 degree oven with a stone) with baby spinach, roasted sweet potato, caramelized red onions, fresh garlic, a simple oregano sauce, and chevre and manchego cheeses.

I missed my anniversary!

I can't believe I missed my own anniversary! No, not my wedding anniversary, that's in May, but the third anniversary of my first post, August 4, 2006 here on one food guy. Has it really been three years? After one hundred ninety posts, I have eaten a lot! I also have a different job than I did three years ago, one that I really enjoy although still not food related, and I have traveled a lot. I've been to England, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Scotland, and Switzerland. I've also traveled domestically to Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma, and Miami. I have eaten great food in almost all of those places and have written about many of them.

When I started writing three years ago I had just returned to Boston after a six month consulting contract in New York City. While I did eat VERY well, taking full advantage of my expense account, I had no idea that I would soon eat so well around the world. Then that winter I went to California for a week, visiting friends in and around LA then driving north to Napa and Sonoma Valleys. I ate very well there too. Later in 2007 I began the new job and my worldly travels began.

I ate snails in London, England. I devoured several crepes and some foie gras in Paris, France - I bet a foie gras crepe would be fantastic! In Frankfurt, Germany I bought the most amazing gummy bears, and a beer stein. While in Luzern, Switzerland I ate an ostrich steak, and lots of fondue, although not at the same time. And I ate many buttered pretzels, some with salami, some without. I also discovered that the city has some pretty outstanding sushi. In Edinburgh, Scotland I ate haggis, and liked it, a lot. While in Chennai, India I ate sheeps brain, it wasn't bad although the texture was a little...challenging. I only wish I was able to eat some local jerk chicken while in Jamaica. Alas, I was there on business for just a few days and never got to leave the hotel, what a shame.

So why did I start writing you ask? Fresh from six months of eating well in NYC, I was flipping through the August 2006 issue of Food & Wine Magazine and read about taking perfect food photographs and four Best-Shot Blogs were referenced . I thought, "Wow, what a great idea! I can write and I love to eat, why don't I start my own blog!" So I did. The first few blogs I visited included Chez Pim and 101 Cookbooks but my real inspiration came from some of the west coast writers I would soon come to know. I learned that LA had a burgeoning food blogger scene and Eat Drink & Be Merry, Oishii Eats, Daily Gluttony (now Rants and Craves), and Immaeatchu became regular reads. I started writing more, I came up with Tuesday's Tastings - a once weekly review of products found in Trader Joe's freezer case now currently on hiatus - and I mourned the loss of one of my favorite Trader Joe's products, Spinach and Tofu Egg Rolls.

I also starting making pizzas at home. I have nearly perfected my fig and goat cheese pizza and I owe my sister-in-law a big thanks for sharing her idea for this amazing apple, pear, goat brie and walnut pizza I made a few months ago. I always use sheep or goat milk cheeses and bake my pizzas on a stone at 475-500 degrees fahrenheit. Somes I use red sauce, sometimes pesto, and sometimes no sauce at all, just some good olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and crushed red pepper. I love making pizza so much that I hope to construct a wood-fired pizza oven in my backyard some day.

Sometimes life can get in the way of writing, but I have always found time to eat, always. I've been to many amazing places on this great earth and have enjoyed many a great meal. As I eat and drink my way through life I will continue to share my plate with you so; I hope you decide to leave a comment every now and then to let me know you're there.

Thank you so much for reading, I'm just one food guy.

A Pizza Masterpiece

Salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy, these are all great adjectives for the most recent pizza creation to come out of my oven. Delicious, fantastic, outstanding, these would aptly apply as well. I can’t take credit for the flavor combinations though; my sis-in-law Cori procured all the ingredients for this masterpiece and therefore deserves all the credit. This apple, pear, caramelized onion, goat brie, honey and walnut pizza was her idea.

What I did do was stretch the dough until thin and laid it out on my cornmeal dusted pizza peel. I then lightly brushed the dough with olive oil and seasoned it with salt, cracked black pepper, oregano and crushed red pepper. Then came a layer of caramelized onions and thinly sliced bartlett pear and crisp granny smith apple. Add to that thin slices of ripe goat brie, walnut halves and a healthy drizzle of honey. I found that it was easiest to stick the walnut halves onto the slices of brie to hold them in place as the pizza cooks.

I slid the fully assembled pizza onto a pizza stone in a 500 degree oven and  baked for 9 minutes. Sliced and then eaten, this pizza was outstanding. It deserves a place on my stone with the caramelized onion, baby arugula, black mission fig and goat cheese pizza that I love so much. If some day I own a restaurant, this pizza will certainly be on the menu.

Perfecting an Almost Perfect Pizza

What is the perfect pizza? The crust should be thin and crispy, and it should hold the weight of the toppings above it. The sauce should be a perfect savory balance of flavors, low in acidic bite, high in flavor. Or, the sauce should be left out and the crust coated with a thin brush of extra good olive oil. And then the toppings, what are the perfect toppings? For my perfect, or almost perfect pizza, I top the crust with caramelized onions, arugula, black mission figs, and soft, crumbled goat cheese.

In June, I was so close to constructing the perfect pizza, but something was missing. I thought the pizza I describe above needed a little something to balance out the sweetness of the caramelized onions, the figs and the sweet and tangy goat cheese. A small dose of balsamic vinegar should do the trick, I thought. So last night, I made this pizza again, and caramelized the onions along with some good 10 year aged balsamic vinegar. Was the pizza perfect? I don't know. I may need to make one with the balsamic vinegar and one without, on the same night, and do a taste test.

Whatever the case may be, my pizza of caramelized onions, arugula, black mission figs, and soft, crumbled goat cheese, drizzled with good olive oil (no sauce,) is the best pizza ever to come out of my kitchen. Should I continue to try and tweak it or leave a good thing alone and just enjoy one damn good pizza? I'll think about it while I'm at Fenway Park tonight watching the Boston Red Sox play baseball, eating a Fenway Frank and drinking an overpriced, watered down beer - it's all part of the Fenway Experience!

Constructing the Almost Perfect Pizza

I know, I'm way behind on posting; I still have plenty more from India and a recent trip to Switzerland. I also have some 'material' from a great restaurant in Boston called Toro and a Greek restaurant called The Aegean from right here in Framingham where I live.

But, love is in the air, and tonight was pizza night in Chez One Food Guy. Pizza night in my house started back in February and since then many pizzas have been made in my kitchen. I've tried whole wheat dough and herbed dough, no more though since the plain dough is simply the best. I've made pizzas with spinach, eggplant, chicken, and pepperoni, lots of sauce or a little sauce, and always a blend of Manchego, Pecorino Romano, and sometimes Cordobes - all sheep's milk cheeses.

Tonight was a special night though, I had a great pizza cooking in my head all day and couldn't wait to get home to make it. I stopped at Trader Joe's on my way home to pick up the dough and other necessary ingredients. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, I made a caramelized onion, baby arugula (also known as rocket,) black mission fig and goat cheese pizza. My inspiration for this pizza came from a couple different places, for the arugula and goat cheese, thank you Wednesday Chef, and for the figs, thank you to my good friend Jason in Luzern, Switzerland. He recently made me a salad with fresh figs and now I can't get enough of them; I used dried figs for this pizza. The caramelized onions were all my own. Here is how I made this fabulous pizza.

Black mission figs, caramelized red onion, baby arugula, Trader Giotti's basic pizza dough, Trader Joe's First Lady Reserve unfiltered olive oil, and soft goat cheese (not pictured)

After letting the dough rest on the counter while I caramelized the onions, I stretched it gingerly over the back of my floured knuckles just so it was paper thin, almost to the point of tearing. I lay the dough across a pizza peel dusted with corn meal.

Next, I gently brushed the dough with unfiltered (flavorful) olive oil and spread out the caramelized onions.

On top of the caramelized onions goes a nice thick layer of baby arugula; don't worry, the arugula will wilt down.

I then generously sprinkled on some black mission figs that I quartered

and some soft goat cheese. And topped it all with some kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a good drizzle of the Trader Joe's First Lady Reserve unfiltered olive oil.

Then onto the pizza stone in a 475° oven and ten minutes later...

We have the Almost Perfect Pizza!

You're wondering why it's the Almost Perfect Pizza, right? Well this pizza was certainly delicious. The crust was perfectly thin and crispy. The caramelized onions, arugula, figs and goat cheese were nearly perfect together. But something was missing, just a little something to offset the sweetness of the fig and caramelized onions. The missing piece, I believe, is a little acidity to balance out the sweetness. This pizza as it is has shot to the very top of my pizza menu, and next time I will caramelize the onions with just a touch of aged balsamic vinegar...PERFECTION!

Pizza Night!

Pizza. It's a food of love as one of the Food Network celebrity chefs would say. Good old fashioned comfort food. And tonight, it's home made! I got the idea from my friend Mike who said he was making pizza with his wife, so thanks Mike.

I stopped in to Trader Joe's on my way home from work to pick up all the fixin's. I bought a bag of ready made pizza dough ($.99) from the refrigerated case, a block of Manchego cheese ($5.19), a package of pepperoni ($2.69), a package of grilled chicken strips ($5.69), and a jar of Trader Giotti's Pizza Sauce ($1.89). I already had Pecorino Romano cheese at home as well as dried oregano and crushed red pepper. This was going to be some good pizza and all for $16.45, about the priced you'd pay for one pizza at a fancy pizza place.

One package of dough is enough for two good sized thin crust pizzas. I removed the dough from the bag - make sure you flour your hands or the dough will stick to them - and placed it on my floured Boos board. Using my pastry scraper I divided the dough in half and began to work each half into a flat shape for the pizza. If the dough is cold, as mine was, it will need to rest and warm up before you'll be able to really stretch the dough. When cold, the dough will be very elastic and won't retain it's stretched shape very well.

Once the dough has rested for about ten minutes, I stretched it out using my knuckles underneath the dough. If you use your finger tips, you're likely to tear the dough or poke a finger through. So I stretched out my dough and placed it on our pizza peel that I dusted with cornmeal; the cornmeal will help the pizza slide off the peel and onto the pizza stone in the oven. I then spread a good coating of Trader Giotti's Pizza Sauce on the dough. J wanted to help make the pizza so she spread about a cup of shredded Manchego cheese, half a cup of grated Pecorino Romano, a healthy dose of dried oregano, crushed red pepper and freshly ground black pepper. Doesn't this pizza look great already?!

Next, J added some sliced pepperoni and pieces of grilled chicken,

and into a 450 degree oven for twelve minutes. Wow this pizza looks great!

While pizza number one (above) was in the oven, I worked on pizza number two. I used the same cheese and spice blend, but made this pizza half pepperoni and half grilled chicken, just to mix things up.

Yummy pizza on a cold Friday night. It doesn't get much better than this!