Pizza Class

Ms. L and I suffer through countless emails a week ALL YEAR until the “Take for 10” comes out. This one week a year is when the Boston Center for Adult Educationoffers select classes for $10…instead of the regular $140 +$75 for materials.Last year we took a great class and were kicking ourselves that we hadn’t signed up for more than one. This year we were ready. There were so many we wanted to take.Well, we missed our chance and the classes we really wanted were full. On the waiting list we went. The next day we decided to try some others. I got a spot in the Pizza & Calzone class. Ms. L got wait-listed. I can’t say she missed much.bcae_lineup_390_590
I went by myself and was psyched my former colleague was there. It was nice to see a familiar face and the group was very friendly as well. I can’t quite say as many good things about the class.

If you read often, you’ve noticed I make pizzas and calzones all the time. I didn’t really learn anything and I wasn’t impressed. It really should have been called Pizza 101 or Intro to Pizza. Notice I didn’t mention calzones in either title option…that’s because we did not once talk about calzones in the class. I did agree with her sauce choice, it was a good one.
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We each got a blob of dough to play with. I felt like a 6-year-old playing while mom made dinner. Our instructor used refrigerated dough, and preshredded cheese. I mean I do too, but this seemed basic for a class.
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She also introduced us to a pizza stone. I love mine, and I’m glad I already knew the correct care instructions since hers seemed a bit incorrect.
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We made a big pizza on a pan and one on the stone to taste the difference.
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I’ll have to be more selective next time when choosing a class. I enjoyed the class I took last year, and I took a Intro to Blogging class and was really impressed. This just wasn’t the right fit for me.

Breakfast Pizza

The last time I made pizza with bacon I ended up wishing I’d done it breakfast-style. No time like the present! I broke out the pizza stone and got to work. Only after proclaiming my love for the pizza stone, of course.
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Ingredients

1 ball of dough
1/4 cup marinara sauce
4 strips of bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar
3 green onions, chopped

Directions

1) Preheat pizza stone to 375 degrees.
2) Top dough with sauce and shredded cheese making four divots for eggs.
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3) Sprinkle with bacon and green onions.
4) Crack eggs into divots and bake immediately.
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5) Bake for 35 minutes until crisp and egg fully cooked.

I loved this pizza! It wasn’t the greatest reheated…but I’m sure you can guess I ate it anyway. The egg got funky but hey, if it meant I didn’t have to grocery shop or find something else, then I’d eat almost anything.

I think I would also like to try a scrambled egg-type of pizza. Like this. Or this. I’m trying to think up fun and exciting new pizza themes for my next one. Maybe I’ll have to give a thin crust a whirl. Any suggestions for toppings?
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The pizza stone has changed my life and my pizza. It’s such a difference. If you have one, you’ll agree. If you don’t, you should go get one.  The dough is fluffy and puffy, which I love.

Not Quite Summer Food

During a stint of weather not feeling quite so summery a few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to make deep dish pizza. I haven’t made much pizza with so many calzones lately but I was feelin’ it.
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Ingredients

1 ball pizza dough
¾ cup tomato sauce
thick cut bacon
1 Valida onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
¼ cup pesto
2 cups shredded cheese

Directions

Cook bacon until crisp then chop. (Have you had thick cut bacon? It is like deli bacon and once you try it you won’t go back. Thanks for the intro Mrs. S!)
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Saute onions and peppers until softened but still somewhat crisp
Spread pizza dough into round cake pan and spread pesto over it
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layer onion & pepper mixture with cheese and then layer the bacon on top
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add more cheese and cover with tomato sauce then sprinkle with oregano or basil if you like
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bake at 400-degrees for 30-40 minutes
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I liked this one as a slight deviation from the norm. Once I weaseled some feedback out of Mr. J I agreed with him that the onion and bacon can’t stay as crisp as when they top a pizza. True story. I still really liked it. The bacon was substantial and smokey. The peppers made it a touch sweeter and maintained their slight crunch instead of being too soggy.

We often get bacon on pizza because who doesn’t love bacon, and also because I can’t eat red meat so pork or chicken it is!

Once I thought of pizza and bacon I probably should have gone with a regular pizza on my stone. Maybe next time. I really want to do a bacon & egg pizza so that’ll have to be next. Check out some of these awesome looking ones, like this, or this, or this.

Not Crazy about Crazy Dough

I bought a Groupon for Crazy Dough and after some time went by, all of a sudden, I realized it was about to expire! Literally, it was the last chance so Mr. J and I got it for a weekend lunch. It was about 2:30 so I contemplated if we were old farts and it was early-bird dinner or if we were fashionably chic having a late lunch.
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Mr. J gets Crazy Dough for lunch sometimes and loves it so I was excited to try it. The menu looked great. I was intrested in a few I knew Mr. J woudln’t be as excited about so we each got our own personal pizza.I thought the Eggplant & Roasted Red Pepper sounded good. Tuscan Tomato Basil caught my eye. It was Balsamic Glaze and Ricotta that I came back to on the menu.
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Mr. J loooves the Potato Bacon Cheddar pizza but decided to change it up with Chicken Parmasan.Maybe because we got it to go, or maybe because we got traditional instead of Sicilian, but I wasn’t amazed. I popped into the Harvard Square to pick it up and was so excited as I passed the slices of Sicilian. I thought mine would be just as delectable.

The Balsamic Glaze and Ricotta on wheat dough was thin with crispy crust. I thought it was too thin. The balsamic glaze was good, but nothing to write home about. I thought it was flavorful but needed more to absorb it. It was too runny since there wasn’t much cheese or crust. Apparently my pizza was finished with olive oil and fresh basil…I missed that.

The Chicken Parmasan wasn’t anything stellar either. The chicken was in tiny pieces. I prefer to be able to see that the chicken is white meat and not mystery leftovers. The sauce was too sweet…too ketchup-y.
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I’ll give it another go, but I’ll probably eat there and I’ll probably choose Sicilian.

Is it weird that the box boasts best pizza of 2004 & 2007?

Likes: the possibility of great sicilian pizza, interesting toppings
Dislikes: too thin crust, not great sauce

Figs Does Pizza Right

Miss L and I love food more than the average people. We also LOVE birthdays. She took me out for an early birthday dinner at Todd English’s restaurant Figs. It was as amazing as ever.Want to know what else is amazing (other than a race)? I won another blog’s giveaway! Yesss! I have a b.good gift certificate coming my way!

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Mid week, the small Beacon Hill location was bustling. At 6:30 PM on a Tuesday we could wait 20 minutes or sit at the bar. To the bar we went! Miss L ordered a sangria as I peered at the open kitchen.

We decided you cannot eat at Figs and not order the Asparagus Frites. The asparagus spears are blanched, breaded in Panko, and lightly fried. They are served on arugula with honey mustard aioli. It is an amazing appetizer because the asapargus flavor comes through with a delightful crisp exterior. It is a simple but well executed idea!

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As good as the other dishes sound, pizza is the specialty so that’s what we got! We each chose our half. I got Portabello. It has garlic, oil, mushroom puree made out of Portabello stems, Fontina, roasted red onion, and truffle oil.

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At first sight, I thought the red onion was going to take over. The pieces were huge! These pieces might be big but the mushroom puree was amazing and was hidden but an awesome flavor. Also, you could put truffle oil on a flip flop and I’d love it.
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Miss L got a four cheese with Mozzerella and Ricotta. Also, some pieces were cut beyond my half of the pizza, giving me a bite of the sweet marinara and rich cheese. Miss L enjoyed it.
The pizza is thin but holds up well to delicious toppings. I want to try several of the others.Miss L, Mr. J, and sis ALL don’t care for mushrooms. Since they are the most common eaters of my meals it makes any dish with mushrooms shine with a halo on a menu.

A few ladies next to us at the bar were served very efficiently since they were heading to a show. Miss L and I lingered a bit but weren’t at all forgotten. I really should eat at Figs more often.