Pizza Ca-Blast! - I

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
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Yesterday I had invited some friends over to our home for a pizza party. This was aligned with the 2001 Cabernet Virtual tasting found here in the Wine Forum.
There was 8 of us and I kept it very casual. Served were my triple threat garlic knots, fresh mozzarella with beefsteak tomatoes and basil, smokey bacon wrapped dates, and a host of other nibbles.
The pizzas were: cheese with san marzanos, my rendition of a ‘grand ma’s’ pie (a pre cooked and compressed dough, mozzarella, marinara with a touch of red wine vinegar, and a bath of pesto infused extra virgin olive oil, baked in an oily pan until crisp and crunchy), an all white pie of fresh mozzarella & ricotta with half chanterelles mushrooms and the other half chopped clams, and lastly another red round cheese and tomato with half pepperoni. (I boiled the slices of peperroni to eliminate the grease).

Gathering.

Barb, Kat, Cheryl, Nano and Mike W

The first round pie.

The ‘grand ma’ pie

Barb, Nano, Kat, and Pobega

The line-up.

Thanks to Nano, Mike and Kat Whitehead, Cheryl, my Cousin Mike, (the newbie wino), and my beautiful wife (for putting up with me. Not an easy task).

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Nice.

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Man that looks good, Mike.

I guess my invite got lost in the mail? [cray.gif]

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.

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I expected to the chanterelle to be my favorite, but the clam kicked butt as did the grandma’s pie. The last one, though, was the best. I didn’t have the pepperoni, just the plain and it was awesome. [notworthy.gif] You are a master, Mike.

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Mike, that’s a nice spread, to be sure, and a great array of wines.

Cheryl, do you have any notes you want to share also?

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Mike, I love your grandma’s pie… looks like a good ole fashioned Sicilian! Would you mind going into more detail about how you made it? A good Sicilian is hard to find outside the NY area, so I’d love to try to make that at home.

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Okay . . . I know what a Brazilian is. Is a Sicilian similar somehow? Do I need to go to the Urban Dictionary?

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Why do people drink cabernet with pizza? I don’t get it.

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The dough is pressed between two oiled bake sheets and is placed in the oven until slighly browned. 10-14 minutes. Then I remove and roll with a rolling pin to make dense. let cool. I add a very light layer of watery sauce, some processed mozzerella and provolone. Then I put a few ‘lines’ of fresh sauce with a touch of red wine vinager for an acidic boost. I then add the secret ingredient: a pesto and extra virgin olive oil slushy mix, all around,some grated locatelli and into the oven it goes. 450 for about 6 or 8 minutes.

It frys slightly in the bake sheet.

My family favorite.

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Let me Google that for you… :smiley:


12

That sounds fantastic! I haven’t had anything like that in a few years. Time to experiment!

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Mike…looks really good (as TASTY)…sounds like a good event.

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As not all of us are familiar with the attendees, can you identify them in the photos for us?

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Yeah . . . I guess you can call me Ralphie May, but which one is Cheryl?

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Melissa, that yours?
In my best Forrest Gump voice:
‘That’s my square’.

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I don’t get the Ralphie May reference, Bob, but to answer the quesion, I am holding a wine notebook in my hand, (wine geek through and through), in the brown sweater.

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I’m sorry, Cheryl, seriously. I was making a joke that has now backfired. Google Ralphie and watch some of his videos - maybe you’ll see where I was coming from with my bizarre sense of humor. I knew who you were because, among other things, I’ve seen your picture before. [give_heart.gif]

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So, this is your sense of humor, Bob? - YouTube" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Learn something new every day. [shrug.gif]

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I wish! No, I’ve never made any sort of deep dish pizza at home, but your grandma definitely put the bee in my bonnet. I will try it soon! Have to figure out what pan to use-- I"m leaning toward a cast iron skillet.