Pizza Monkey Bread in a Skillet

I like the Dorot Gardens Prepackaged and Portioned Herbs that are stored in the freezer and are available for use whenever the urge to cook strikes. For this recipe, I’m using the crushed garlic and chopped basil for a savory monkey bread.

This twist on traditional pizza is made in a skillet and makes perfect pizza bites that just pull apart. With the garlic basil butter, it is a cross between the best garlic bread you’ve ever had and a pepperoni pizza.

Delicious as a meal or an appetizer. Lovely pizza flavor and everyone went back for more until it was all gone.

16 Bridgford Parkerhouse Roll Dough
1 cup pizza sauce
½ cup butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced or 4 cubes Dorot Crushed Garlic
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped or 2 cubes of Dorot Basil Cubes
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
¼ cup chopped pepperoni
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Thaw the 16 rolls in the refrigerator. Lightly oil a 10 inch cast iron skillet.

Place ¼ cup butter, garlic and basil in a small skillet. Melt the butter and stir to let flavors combine. Remove from heat and set aside. Combine cheese and pepperoni and mix well. Grate the remaining ¼ cup butter into the cheese mixture and stir.

Place ½ cup pizza sauce in the bottom of the skillet. Dredge the thawed rolls of dough in the garlic basil butter. Then dredge in the cheese, pepperoni and butter. Place the rolls in the skillet until filled. Sprinkle over the top any leftover cheese pepperoni mix. Set aside in a draft fee area for 1 hour or until the rolls are puffy. I put mine in the cold oven with the oven light on.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the skillet on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes or until rolls are browned and cheese is bubbly. Put a sheet pan beneath to catch any drips. Allow the monkey bread to sit in the pan for 5 minutes to cool before turning out onto a plate (be careful of the small amount of pizza sauce that wasn’t absorbed by the rolls while cooking). Sprinkle the top with red pepper flakes if using. Warm any remaining pizza sauce for use in dunking.

Cast Iron Skillet Sourdough Pizza

It’s the new year and I’ve started it off by building a new starter. I’m using the King Arthur Flour method and it is good and healthy so I decided to use some of the discard for pizza.

Sourdough starter alone requires a long, slow proof but with a little boost from some active yeast, you can have lots of flavor in only about 4 hours. It can go longer so, if you want pizza for dinner, start the dough before you leave for work and it will be ready to go when you get home.

For home cooks without pizza ovens, I really like the cooking method from Bon Appetit that uses a cast iron skillet and a stove top step to make sure the crust comes out browned and crunchy. Of course, Michelle and I have modified it a bit.

The sourdough crust gave very good flavor and texture to a quite delicious pizza.

Sourdough Pizza Dough
1 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon active yeast
1 teaspoon cornmeal

Pizza sauce – dashes of basil, thyme and oregano plus a sprinkle of salt in a cup of tomato sauce heated in a saucepan over low heat. Taste after it is warmed and add more of whatever it is missing. If using a can of sauce, consider adding in a pinch of sugar to combat any metallic taste.

Toppings of choice – pepperoni, sautéed mushrooms and grated mozzarella cheese.

Stir sourdough starter before removing one cup. To it add 1/2 water, oil, salt, flour and yeast in a stand mixer and mix together until it forms a shaggy but sticky dough. Place in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for 2 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with a cast iron skillet inside.

Use a 9 inch pan for a thicker crusted pizza and and 10 inch for a thinner crust. Using your fingertips, press the risen dough into a rough circle to fit in the skillet.

When the oven is at temperature, remove skillet and drizzle olive oil over the bottom. Use a basting brush to coat the bottom and sides with oil. Sprinkle the corn meal in the bottom for an additional crunch. Carefully set the dough into the skillet, letting it slump around the sides. Beware of touching any of your skin to the sides as the skillet is very, very hot.

Place the skillet over an element on the stovetop set at medium high heat. Prick the bottom with a fork a few times. Once it starts to bubble, add a little olive oil and use the basting brush to coat the base of the pizza and the crust. Add a light sprinkling of kosher salt.

It is time now to build your pizza. We start with a light layer of tomato sauce. Then a generous amount of mushrooms, a generous amount of mozzarella cheese and sliced pepperoni. Placing the pepperoni on top of the cheese keeps the cheese from over browning in the oven, although you will need to blot the grease before serving.

Place the skillet in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Check the cheese. When it starts to go dark, the pizza is ready. Tap the crust edges to be sure – they will sound hollow. It may take 10 minutes more but watch it carefully.

Let stand for 5 minutes in the skillet before easing it out onto a cutting board. Wait another 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Cast Iron Skillet Alfredo Pizza

We had been talking about homemade pizza and decided to make a skillet version of Michelle’s famous Chicken Alfredo pizza that she used make at her restaurant back in the day. We added a few leaves of basil from her garden to the top after about 15 minutes of cooking for an added layer of flavor.

Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough Recipe:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt

Proof the yeast in the warm water. Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, knead the dough for around 10 minutes or until the dough comes together. Let stand in a lightly oiled bowl until doubled in size, about an hour. Punch down and divide in half. One half can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed in freezer for later use.

Prepare the chicken and Alfredo sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Coat a cast iron skillet with extra virgin olive oil. Set it in the oven while the oven preheats. When the oven is at temperature, remove skillet and sprinkle a little corn meal in the bottom for an additional crunch.

Form the dough into a circle, slightly larger than the skillet. Carefully place the dough into the pan and push it up around the sides about an inch. Drizzle with a little olive oil and prebake for 5 minutes. Let rest for a moment before spooning on the sauce and adding your toppings.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese and sauce are bubbly. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting, then serve immediately.

 

Chicken Alfredo Sauce for pizza

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup whipping cream
¼ cup milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 tablespoon white wine, optional
1 teaspoon flour

Roughly cut chicken and saute in skillet until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from skillet.

Cook whipping cream and milk on medium with the cheese and spices until it reaches a light simmer. Drop temperature to medium low and stir constantly until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add flour as necessary. The sauce should be a little thicker than you would use to put on pasta.

Return chicken to the pan, turning to coat. It is now ready to spoon onto the prepared pizza dough.

Pizza Domenica

I was part of a panel discussion on Economics and Gender Bias that was put on the Women’s Resource Center at Loyola University. Moderated by New Orleans City Councilwoman Latoya Cantrell, I was joined on the panel by Deborah Freda from American Association of University Women, and Melanie Bronfin from the LA Policy Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. It was a great discussion on the impact of gender bias from birth on and the need for pay equity.

Following the panel, I went out with the Interim Director of the Women’s Resource Center and another friend for carbs and gluten. We ended up on Magazine Street at Pizza Domenica. Domenica Restaurant is located in the Roosevelt Hotel but now you can get their delicious pizza Uptown.

We started with the whole cauliflower. I admit I was skeptical – $18 for a vegetable? And it isn’t even deep fried? However, it is roasted with almost an entire bottle of white wine and is tender and delicious and doesn’t taste a thing like the raw cauliflower one finds on a crudite platter. Bon Appetit recently posted the recipe and I may be tempted to someday try it myself.

We also had the garlic knots. Light strips of bread well seasoned with garlic and butter. These were finger licking good.

Our two pizza selections were the Margherita and Pepperoni. Oh, goodness these were good. The fresh mozzarella and basil on the margherita were divine and the thin slice of peppery pepperoni was nice and strong. The sauce was put on with a light touch but it was perfect on the thin crust which was chewy and not brittle. Either one was one of the best pizza’s in the city.

You order first before taking a table and delivery of the food is very quick. We were pretty much left alone after that and tea never got refilled but we filled the time with great food and good conversation, so we left happy.

Giordano’s Central Loop, Chicago

Traveling to Chicago means the chance to eat deep dish pizza at the source. My mom and I are just passing through but there was enough time to walk from Union Station to Giordano’s Famous Stuffed Pizza.

It was entirely worth waiting over thirty minutes for our pie – the tomatoes were very fresh, there was  so much lovely cheese and the toppings were very plentiful, too. It was one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever had.

I can definitely recommend this place for those downtown Chicago or just passing through on a train.

 

Pizza Delicious

It was an evening to plot to take over the world and, honestly, what could possibly be a better place for that than at a pizza parlor?

We ended up at Pizza Delicious down on Piety. I had heard of this place when it was still a pop-up and had always wanted to go.

They serve a selection of New York style pizzas. You can get them by the slice, as a full pizza (with daily specials that include sun dried tomato and caramelized onions), as well as pasta dishes, cookies, etc. They also have a good selection of wines by the glass (I got a Chianti), beers and sodas.

The place is a little rustic with concrete floors and wood tables but the pizza comes out quick and hot and the folks are rushed but friendly.

I ordered a slice of the pepperoni. The pizza was pretty good – thin crust with a good chew, nice sauce and a generous helping of pepperoni on top. Next time I may order one of the entire pizzas so I can judge how good it is the next day.

I also got the garlic knots, which were more like balls. They were dense and chewy but could have used a bit more garlic butter!

The pistachio chocolate cookie was very good as well – nutty and chocolatey and a good way to end the meal.

I would definitely give them a second trip. Oh, and they have bicycle delivery in the Bywater area for the real locals.

 

Naked Pizza

I got a door hanger the other day for Naked Pizza. That naked in the title doesn’t mean no sauce or toppings but that it is an all natural whole food. The crust is supposed to full of prebiotics and probiotics.

It sells the rest of the pizza as follows:

Better taste, better for you. Our tomato sauce is all-natural—nicely spiced and herbed, with no added sugar or citric acid. Our cheese is 100% natural. Our vegetables are all-natural, no additives. Our meats are pork, chicken and beef—free of growth hormones and antibiotics. Full of love.

It arrived to my door about 20 minutes after I placed the order and was piping hot. I ordered the cheesy breadsticks and they were just a bit too cheesy.

The pizza itself was well covered in the toppings. The pepperoni was delicious and mushrooms looked fresh. The sauce was not overly sweet with a strong tomato taste and a peppery finish. The crust was dense and a bit chewy.

While I’m not sure I’m sold on the need for all this health stuff in my pizza, it wasn’t a bad pie.

Marco’s Pizzeria – Asheville

Driving around the city of Asheville, seeing where my Mom grew up, made us hungry. We stopped on Merrimon Avenue at Marco’s New York Style Pizzeria.

The garlic bread was good – on a pizza crust with lots of garlic. It went well with the glass of Peroni, an Italian beer.

The pizza was also good – nice peppery sauce that included fresh tomatoes, nice flavor and quantities to the pepperoni and a sprinkling of mushrooms.

Worth a visit for a quiet place to enjoy a pie.

Fellini’s Cafe

Before going to see the Running With Scissors production of Hell’s Belles at Mid City Theater, a group of us met up at Fellini’s Cafe in the Bayou St. John area. The place was nearly empty when we arrived at 6pm and it didn’t get too much busier before we left for the theater an hour later.

They have a pretty eclectic menu but I didn’t want anything heavy before the show so I ordered the small pizza. This crust but a nicely flavored tomato sauce with just a hint of peppery heat.

The waiter was quick to offer cocktails and take our order, although, since the specials board couldn’t be seen from our seats, he should have covered those. My Bloody Mary was good and he kept my water glass full, too.

Overall, it was a decent outing, made more enjoyable by the convivial conversation of our group than the ambiance of the place.

Midway Pizza

I went to Midway Pizza on Freret last night with a couple of friends. This place bills itself as the only
Deep Dish/Chicago Style in New Orleans.

We started with bread sticks – there was a nice, gooey layer of cheese but the sticks were made from the pizza crust and were just a little too dense for my taste. Also, the accompanying sauce was pretty darn bland.

The pizza itself was plenty good – lots of cheese, a good quantity of toppings and a peppery quality to the sauce. The dough was chewy and had a lot of mouth appeal.

Because the pizza is deep dish, most folks will be fine with two slices. The three of us split a 14” and only one piece was left over.

The waitstaff was very friendly, with a number of them stopping by the table to check on things. They were quick with refills and fixing our rocking table.

If you’re a deep dish fan, this is definitely a place to go.