Pizza with Onion, Shallot, & Garlic Sauce

Dice the fresh onions (I use Vidalia, Walla Walla, Oso Sweet or other), fresh shallots, and fresh garlic and saute in olive oil until edges turn brown. Start with the onions, as you dice the shallots very fine, add them, then thin slice the garlic cloves. Add brown sugar or other natural sweetener to aid the browning process. Properly formulated, this makes a sticky sauce to spread over pizza about half an inch thick. Saute some sliced mushrooms and maybe some cooked quartered artichoke hearts. Pictured are Kalamata olive and chopped asparagus.

My advice - don't skip on the shallots or garlic. Dice the shallots until "grits" size - they have a bit too much fiber. At minimum use mushrooms and olives in my opinion. Make sure all ingredients are cooked before putting them on the pizza. I use the nice pizza oven stone and the wooden pizza "peel" so I have to work quickly.

The pizza bread is really much more water than bread normally has. It would be very sticky if not kept coated in flour. If the water and flour ratio is right you can work a little whole wheat into the recipe no problem.

Artisan Whole Wheat Boule

3 cups organic whole wheat flour 

3 cups unbleached organic white flour (or 2-4 cups actually) 

3 cups of warm water

3 teaspoons of yeast

2 tsp brown sugar

Put a stopper in kitchen sink. Fill the pottery (works best as the clay body retains more heat than glass or metal) bread bowl with hot water, fill sink with hot water, dump hot water out of bread bowl into sink, replace with 3 cups of warm (98.6 degrees F., or body temperature) water. Melt brown sugar then yeast in water and whisk in 3 cups of flour. Let it set and rise for about 15 minutes. Then remove bowl from sink and add flour while mixing with strong wodden spoon. The exact amount of flour varies BECAUSE flour in not a uniform product. There are many types of flour and all of them are sold under the same label, in this case, "organic whole wheat" and "unbleached organic white". You add flour while stirring until mixture is no longer sticky and comes away nicely from the side of the bowl. The next step is to knead, and too sticky will not knead well, so you have to use your judgement. If you add too much flour, the bread will not rise well. Transfer the dough to the floured counter top and knead 100 times (approx) or until the gluten makes the dough very buoyant and responsive. In the mean time you have filled the sink with fresh hot water and place the mixing bowl back in it. Flour the outside of dough well and put it back into the floured bowl to rise. Preheat oven to 350. Dough should double in size. Place the round dough on a sheet and into the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Variations: knead in raisins, cinnamon, walnuts, brown sugar. Or try fresh chopped garlic grits, fresh diced rosemary and pitted kalamata olives. The latter can be dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar rather than buttered when done.

Mushrooms sauteed in butter, garlic, and de-glazed with white wine

Pizza

The picture shows a pizza oven we only dream about owning. Our pizza crust is still under development. Usually it is about half whole wheat and half unbleached flour with about 2 cups of flour to one cup of warm water and one package of dry yeast, approximately. It has to be kept at 100 degrees until it doubles. Here are some of the favorites:

Traditional tomato sauce topped with green olives and blue cheese, with Italian four cheese blend. (vegetarian)

Basil pesto sauce with pine nuts and parmesan, asiago, etc. (vegetarian). A good basil pesto sauce spread over the bread, maybe garlic grits, pine nuts, chopped fresh basil and parmesan, topped with a softer melting cheese

Sliced portobello and brie (no other sauce) (vegetarian)!! Simple - slice the portobellos somewhat thin and arrange to cover the pizza, then layer the brie over the top so it just covers the pizza when done. Use the brie skin too! The best part. Cook until it is all done, serve.

Basil leaves, sliced tomato, and sliced fresh mozzerella balls (vegetarian)!! A traditional. Also fresh sliced garlic is an option.

Stewed tomatoes with red wine reduced onions, rosemary and anchovy: (low fat, but high in Omega oils) Soak anchovy fillets in milk. Slice a large whole onion and saute in red wine with liberal dose of whole dried rosemary leaf herb, until wine mostly evaporates, then add the stewed tomatoes and cook mixture until warm. Spread over pizza dough and arrange anchovies and cook.

Walnuts and Gorgonzola, with herbs!!!! (again, no other sauce). Layer finely chopped walnuts and crumbled gorgonzola and lightly cover with four cheese blend. Cook.

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese: If you can find the red pepper Adjar sauce use that with garlic to create your red pepper sauce then add strips of roasted red pepper and either goat cheese crumbles or chevre log cut into sections, maybe a very thin layer of romano (lactose free!!!)

Cooking Out

    

                                  

         I always grill over wood or charcoal fire. I will add mesquite or hickory wood to the charcoal fire to create smoke and put the lid on the grill when the meat is cooking. 

Chicken I marinate with Jamaican allspice, garlic powder (not garlic salt), mild paprika, hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco, but less expensive), and soy sauce. Mesquite chips burning and producing smoke is mandatory. 

For pork I just use ground chipotle pepper. I buy pork very red so that as soon as the red is cooked out it is done. 

I cook indirectly with the charcoal in one corner of the grill and the meat in the opposite corner. BBQ sauce is added only when the dish is served, Kansas City style. I normally use Pickapeppa Jamaican style sauce, & Christa uses Kraft Honey BBQ sauce. I buy the family pack and make a project out of cooking so there will be cold leftovers during the week, especially cold pork.

- Eric

Orzo

This is orzos with sauce ramatuelle.

1 lb. orzo set to boil, al dente

meanwhile in a large serving bowl combine:

2 Tbsp olive oil

4-5 large ripe tomato, chopped

1/2 bulb garlic, cloves peeled, sliced, diced, then crushed with the back of the fork in 1 1/2 tsp salt.

1 full cup sweet basil leaves, coarsely chopped.

one 8 oz. can california black olives, sliced.

Fold ingredients into the hot cooked orzo (they will cook slightly by thmselves) and serve.

- Eric & Christa

Our "Chef" Jeremiah