I’m a Twitter addict…I’ll freely admit that.  And trust me, you don’t want to follow me on Twitter…so many people think I’m going to tweet about food all the time.  In reality, I tweet about inane things like how bad Pat Sajak looks in HD or that I’m officially a Gleek.  But one of the things I love most about Twitter is being able to connect with local restaurants and businesses.  So I was all atwitter (pun intended) about the Washingtonian Pizza Pool going down between two of my favorite Columbia Heights restaurants:  RedRocks  Pizzeria and Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza (both of whom I follow on Twitter).  When Pete’s lost admirably to RedRocks, I was a little sad (Pete’s is closer to my house, so I go there more often…both places, however, make awesome pizzas) but happy that Columbia Heights was being represented in the Finals. 

When I learned that Flippin’ Pizza was also in the finals, I was miffed.  Flippin’ Pizza is not a local restaurant…it’s a chain from California.  And yes, I’ve had their pizza…it’s okay but nothing like the NY style pizza they claim to be (I spent my summers in Brooklyn in my youth, so I know what real NY pizza tastes like…and Flippin’ Pizza ain’t it).  And if we’re really going to split hairs, Flippin’ Pizza isn’t even in DC…it’s in Reston.  They have plans to open a location in DC sometime in the near future, but it’s not here yet…and it’s not worth the trip out to Reston in my very humble opinion.  Even worse, there was talk that they were getting their Cali fans to vote for them in the Pizza Pool.  That got me more than a little under the collar.  So I’m taking to the old blog and asking everyone out there (in DC mind you…I don’t want to encourage cheating) to head on over to the Washingtonian Pizza Pool and vote for RedRocks!  Not only are they a local restaurant, they’re a GREAT local restaurant and I’m all about supporting local! Voting closes on Thursday, September 10th at noon, so please vote and spread the word!

I love my new apartment…really I do.  But sadly, as much as I have compared to the old apartment (windows, light, drawers…an apartment that doesn’t smell dank all the time), I would love to have a place to grill out.  Enter my wonderful friends Carmen and Aster!  I had been dying to try grilling pizzas and Carmen and Aster have a fabulous rooftop deck (I’ve brunched there before, remember?) – put two and two together and I was back in my old Shaw stomping grounds!  And this time, I had dough!

Let me just start off by showing you Carmen and Aster’s beautiful deck gardens:

Gorgeous, right?  Who wouldn’t want to eat among these beautiful plants?  They have mint, they have basil, they have parsley…and they share.  Need I say more?

On Saturday evening, I headed over to Shaw with Brian and another friend who was kind enough to drive us all.  Brian supplied his homemade Sangria (which was fan-freakin-tastic, mind you) and I brought along olive oil dough balls, fresh mozzarella from Blue Ridge Dairy, pepperoni from Red Apron Butchery, pesto and my homemade tomato sauce.  I hadn’t been back to Shaw since moving to Columbia Heights and sadly, I hadn’t seen Carmen and Aster since than either.  So I was giddy with joy to be back.

Carmen and Aster had a new gas grill but none of us had ever grilled pizza before.  I will admit, I was a little nervous about tossing dough onto a grill.  I was convinced the dough would ooze through the breaks in the grill rack and we’d all be eating hot dogs.  But alas, Carmen and I became quickly adept at the whole process.  It turned out to be a great idea for a dinner party as everyone got to participate in each step of the pizza making process!

I put one of the guests to work rolling out the pizza dough (even though I had only just met him that night…and yes, that would be called being bossy…and this should surprise no one) while Carmen and I set up the table on the rooftop deck and got the grill going.  Putting out the toppings first allowed the guests to make the pizzas while Carmen and I tended to the grill.  And even better, guests brought some toppings as well!

After the dough was rolled out, we tossed it straight onto the grill (okay tossed isn’t really the right word…Carmen and I lovingly placed it on the grill – we were scared out of our gourds it would melt).  We let it grill on one side until bubbles started forming on the top and the bottom became more solid.  We then flipped it over to grill for only a short little time (I’d say about 15-30 seconds…it wasn’t really an exact science…especially once the Sangria began to flow).

Once it was grilled for a short time on both sides, we quickly took it off and guests began dressing the less grilled side of the pizza.

Once the pizza was topped, Carmen and I placed it back on the grill to allow the toppings to meld together and the dough to finish cooking.

Carmen and I got a system going with grilling the pizzas and before you know it, we had well over 5 pizzas grilled and on the table.  Guests began eating as the pizzas were taken off the grill, so a new pizza was always available to them.

Seriously, this is a fantastic Summer dinner party idea.  As the guests were topping the pizzas (and very creatively might I add), it gave them a chance to talk and get to know each other.  I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful (and newly married) couple, Steve and Joe – and I found out we were neighbors!  And I also got to catch up with my friends Gene and Jim…who were also JUST married earlier that week!  To celebrate these two joyous occasions, Carmen got the fabulous idea of getting mini wedding cakes for the happy couples!  And tiaras…that lit up!!!!

It was a wonderful evening and a beautifully mild Summer night.  Usually by mid July in DC, the humidity’s so high my hair becomes a permanent Brillo pad.  But we’ve been fairly lucky so far and have had a mild Summer…and this night was no exception.  So we ate under a brilliant sky (hop over to Brian’s blog to see a picture of it…I was a bit distracted) and enjoyed a light breeze on the deck.  And I thought to myself…damnit, I need to get a freakin’ rooftop deck!

This simple Summer pizza has a bit of a back story (but then again, don’t all of my dishes have some disaster behind them).  It all started innocently enough when I came across a post by Pete from Pete Bakes about creating a make shift brick oven using unglazed quarry tiles.  I was growing disenchanted with the relatively small size of my pizza stones, so the idea of using these tiles to create a larger baking surface intrigued me.  And not one to sit on my laurels when it comes to buying things for the kitchen, I headed out in search of these tiles.  And this is when the story really began…

You’d think it would be easy to find unglazed quarry tiles, right?  Well then, you’d be wrong.  I started out by looking at the Garden District idly one day while walking along 14^th Street.  I didn’t find any tiles, but wasn’t too surprised given the fact that it’s not really Garden District’s specialty.  So instead I tried the Home Depot in DC…and was told they don’t carry them anymore.  No big deal, I thought, I’ll just try the Home Depot and Lowe’s stores in the ‘burbs.  Nope…same answer of “Sorry, we don’t carry those anymore.”  Had every store banded together and decided they no longer wanted to supply the home bakers of the world with their unglazed quarry tiles???? What the hell was going on?  Out of desperation, we stopped at a Lowe’s on the way home from somewhere in BFE Maryland one day and I lucked out.  I was giddy with excitement at finally getting my hands on a big box of tiles (that only cost me $9).  This is where you would think the story ended with me happily throwing dough up in the air and proclaiming victory, right?  Well once again, you’d be wrong.  And where my issues with geometry would come in.

I will freely admit that I didn’t like Geometry in high school.  I figured that unless I was going into a field that relied heavily on geometric principles, it would never be useful in my life.  This would probably explain why I didn’t comprehend that 6 inch by 6 inch tiles wouldn’t all fit nicely in my oven.  Or why I kept trying to force them in even when it was obvious they weren’t going to work unless they were cut.  I had no idea what I was going to do.  However, apparently the Boy had paid attention in Geometry class, as he whipped out a piece of paper, pen and a measuring tape and drew up the configuration I needed to cover the entire bottom rack in tiles.  This, however, wasn’t helping me now.  I was so looking forward to throwing a pizza on my new simulated brick oven that I may have had some irrational reactions (read: I went out to our balcony and started banging the tiles against the steps in hopes it would break just where I needed it).

Surprisingly, my tactics didn’t work, so I began calling around asking hardware stores if they cut tiles.  I called one place (I’ll refrain from saying the name but it’s a well known local hardware chain) and spoke with someone who said it’s not a service they normally offer.  When he offered to rent me a wet saw to cut the tile, I pointed out that I lived in an apartment and didn’t have the room to turn my place into a tile cutting factory.  He then graciously told me, “If you come by here by 5:30 tomorrow evening, I’ll cut ‘em for you.”  I was so ecstatic and thanked him profusely for offering to cut them for me.  The Boy offered to take them over after work since I didn’t get off until 5.  And I bet you’re probably thinking this is the end of the story and the beginning of my love affair with my new simulated brick oven, right?  Shock of all shocks, you would (once again) be wrong.  You’re not doing so well, are you?

When the Boy made his way to the hardware store that shan’t be named, he discovered that the person who offered to cut the tiles for us had already left…at 4:30.  I was apoplectic, not only at the lack of consideration on hardware guy’s part but at the fact that I wouldn’t be using my simulated brick oven that night.  But being ever so resourceful, the Boy had contacted several places in Annapolis and found a Lowe’s that was willing to cut the tiles for us.  So on his way home from work the next day, he stopped at the Lowe’s with the tiles in hand.  And they cut them…for free!  I’m still not sure how or why that came about, but I had my tiles!  So you’re probably thinking this is where I happily throw together this amazing pizza and toss it into my new simulated brick oven, right?  Congratulations because you finally got one right.

This is an easy pizza to make (if you’re not sobbing hysterically because of the lack of a simulated brick oven) and even better, it highlights the flavors of Summer.  All of the ingredients for the pizza toppings came straight from my trip to the Falls Church Farmers Market:  plump, big tomatoes; a huge hunk of elephant garlic; fragrant basil (that you could smell from a mile away at the market) and fresh balls of mozzarella.  Even the milk for the roasted garlic sauce that served as the base for the pizza came from the farmers market.  The freshness of the ingredients and the wonderfully versatile olive oil dough made for a fantastic Summer dinner.

Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella White Pizza

Toppings for the Pizza:

2-3 ripe tomatoes, sliced

1 small bunch fresh basil, julienned

1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar

2-3 tablespoons salt

1 batch roasted garlic sauce (see recipe below)

1 pizza crust dough (I used the fabulous Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Olive Oil Dough recipe)

Place the tomato slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle them with the brown sugar and salt.  Let them stand for at least 35 minutes before using them on the pizza.  Now turn your attention to the roasted garlic sauce.

For the roasted garlic sauce:

4 garlic heads, roasted

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (or the highest temperature on your oven).  If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven now.

NOTE: Make sure you have all ingredients right at the stove and ready to go before starting to make the sauce. Also, make sure you have a small whisk at the ready.

Roast four heads of garlic for about an hour (see this post if you are not familiar with roasting garlic). Remove the garlic from the oven, slightly open each garlic pouch and allow to cool completely. Once cool, squeeze out the garlic “paste” from each clove of garlic into a bowl.

Next, warm the milk slightly (this can be achieved either via the stove or the microwave…I used the microwave and it worked great), making sure to keep it from foaming up. Set aside the warmed milk. In a saucepan, completely melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble, slowly stir in the flour and milk, whisking with the other hand. Whisk until the mixture is smooth, ensuring no lumps have formed. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the garlic paste. Continue whisking until the garlic is incorporated into the sauce completely.

To build the pizza:

When your dough is ready to use, roll it out on a floured surface until it’s about 10 inches in diameter.  Sprinkle corn meal on a baker’s peel (or the back of a baking sheet if you don’t have a peel) and place the dough on the cornmeal.  Using a large spoon, dollop some of the garlic sauce in the center.  Using the back of the spoon, spread the sauce out over the dough in a circular fashion.  Do not put sauce along the edges of the dough.  Continue to do this until there is enough sauce on the dough to your liking.  Place the tomatoes around the dough and then place the mozzarella slices strategically around the tomatoes and in the spaces where there are no tomatoes on the pizza.  Finally sprinkle the pizza with the basil.

Shimmy the pizza from the peel (or baking sheet) and onto the baking stone.  If you don’t have a baking stone, simply place the pizza in the oven on the back of the baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Check the pizza half-way through to see if one side is browning faster than the other.  If this is the case, rotate the pizza for even cooking.

I really should be baking…

I really, really should be baking…

Damnit, why are you making a pizza? Did you not hear me? You should be BAKING!!!!

Why do I even bother fighting my foodie urges?

I was very tired after work, so the intent was to rest. I knew I had holiday baking to do before Friday, but the thought of measuring and being all exact was too taxing. With that settled, my thoughts went to dinner and for some reason I immediately wanted a pizza. This is nothing new really, since I adore anything that usually involves bread and cheese. But I knew the kind of pizza I wanted wasn’t available via delivery. So I pulled out an olive oil dough I made (you can probably guess from which book I got the recipe) and threw together this very easy, very flavorful pizza.

Carmelized Onions, Spinach and Mushroom Pizza with Garlic White Sauce

Premade Pizza Dough (I used the Olive Oil Dough recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes, but you can use this one)

1 large onion, sliced thinly and carmelized (for instructions on how to carmelize the onion, hop on over to an older post)

1 small package crimini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 bag fresh baby spinach

4 ounces Vermeer cheese, grated

Garlic White Sauce:

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven (and a baker’s stone) to it’s highest temperature.

Make the garlic white sauce first. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for three minutes. With a whisk in one hand, whisk in the flour and cook for another three minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Cook for about four minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste and put aside.

Once the onions are almost completely carmelized, add in the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are softened and the onions are completely carmelized. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool. While waiting, grate the cheese and remove the stems from the baby spinach. You can rip the baby spinach into smaller pieces or use the leaves as is.

Roll out the dough into a large circle and gently place it on a baker’s peel sprinkled with corn meal. Pour the garlic sauce into the center of the dough and with a back of a ladle, in a circular pattern, evenly distribute the sauce amongst the dough. Be sure to leave enough space around the edges sauce free (no one likes sauce all over their hands). Sprinkle half the cheese on top of the sauce and then evenly distribute the onion/mushroom mixture around the dough. Top with the spinach and finally sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Carefully shimmy the pizza onto the baker’s stone in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes (you may have to rotate the pizza halfway through to ensure even baking), or until the crust is golden brown.

Somehow I don’t think any holiday baking will get done tonight.

I so love For the Love of Food’s Taste and Create monthly blog event. The concept is simple: two food bloggers are paired together and must create (and blog about, of course) a recipe from their partner’s blog. My Taste and Create partner this month was Tara over at Tara Blogs About Everything, who also happens to be a Daring Baker! This Summer, I took a bit of a break from the Daring Bakers group and was saddened to learn during said break I missed out on making pizza. But when I clicked over to Tara’s blog, I spotted the Daring Baker recipe and did a bit of a happy dance (sadly, I am not exaggerating when I say I did a dance in my living room).

I don’t just love pizza, I LOVE PIZZA. It’s the perfect excuse to combine cheese and carmelized onions, so I take it whenever I can get it. I followed Tara’s Basic Pizza Dough, but opted for different toppings…cheese and carmelized onions (surprise, surprise). I also threw in the last of the heirloom tomatoes for our area, prosciutto strips and fresh rosemary. And even as I write this post, I’m hungry for another slice (sadly, it’s all gone…too good to resist).