pizza perfection

Homemade pizza has been one of our go-to meals since we've been married - we tend to make it about once a week. For a long time, though, we used those Boboli pre-made crusts. For some reason, these crusts are harder to find in c-ville grocery stores, and when we do find them, they are more expensive (it's kind of a myth that a small town is cheaper than a big city, we are finding..). So about a month ago we started making our own - and found it surprisingly easy! Not to mention it is much cheaper and healthier without all the preservatives. I don't think we could ever go back to the pre-made version now.

And since it's harvest time in Virginia, this week we stepped up our homespun pizza by including freshly picked basil for a pesto sauce, topped with cherry tomatoes from the garden along with caramelized onions and goat cheese. Yum!! This pizza turned out to be a delicious summer meal.

Homemade dough, using this recipe. Subbed out 2/3 of the flour for whole wheat, and used our KitchenAid mixer. And Steve has become quite expert at hand tossing for a nice thin crust.

The one challenge we found with homemade dough is that it is much flimsier than the pre-made ones. On our first attempt, we followed the general advice of pre-heating the pizza stone in the oven as usual, and added toppings to the rolled out dough before attempting to transfer. This made a huge mess, as dough stretched out and toppings globbed together in the center. So now we first transfer the dough to the pre-heated stone, and then quickly top with sauce, veggies and cheese before placing in the oven.

 Pesto - just a classic Genovese basil~ 1 c basil + 1/4 c olive oil + 1/4 c parmesan + 1/4 c walnuts (we didn't have pine nuts but walnuts work really well too) + dash of salt and clove of garlic. Very simple to whip up in the food processor. However next time I might try the true Italian method using a mortar/pestle - especially for a small batch like this. I had some trouble getting everything chopped correctly because it kept clumping up under the blade. And since the word "pesto" comes from "pestare" meaning "to pound", the mortar/pestle (same root word!) gives a slightly more authentic flavor. Thus ends my language nerd tangent...

Caramelized onions have been key to a delicious pie since the first time I attempted my own back in grad school. I'm still adjusting to getting them right using an electric stovetop - gas is so much easier! My technique is generally to cut the onion thin, start off with a higher heat to get them sizzling, splash with balsamic vinegar, and then reduce the heat, letting them cook at a low temperature until they caramelize. Another sign of progress in terms of healthy eating ~ we used to throw in brown sugar to help with the caramelizing process, but the balsamic vinegar results in a sweetly flavored onion without the extra sugar.

And, voilà! I mean, ecco! (Sorry, there's that language nerd again.) Finished product. Steve's half has mozzerella. I generally prefer to go cheese-less, but I make an exception for goat cheese! Yum. Oh and you may notice that one quarter of the pizza has tomato sauce, just because the pesto didn't quite spread the whole way. And we don't want to skimp on sauce of course. Seriously, this baby was so good!! I really felt like I was getting in touch with my Italian roots with this one -

I think my grandma would have been proud :)