Pizza ovens are convenient, sure, but not a must have…All you need for this delicious pizza recipe is a grill and an appetite!  This grilled pizza made for one happy household of mine, and I’d reccomend this recipe to anyone that is looking for a fresh take on a classic dish—made with ease.
This pizza was legit and I’m enjoying every minute of #PizzaWeek. Hope you are too!

Start by adding 1 cup of warm water to a measuring cup.

Add 1 tbsp of sugar…

…3-4 tbsp olive oil…

…1 tbsp salt…

…and 1/2 a packet of yeast. 

Mix for 2 minutes and then set aside for 10 minutes and allow the yeast to ferment.

When the yeast is done fermenting…

…go ahead and add 1 1/2 cups of bread flour to the starter mix.

Begin folding the mixture for 5-7 minutes.

Add additional flour if necessary.

The dough should be slightly thick and tacky in consistency.

Oil a medium mixing bowl with a tbsp of olive oil.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and give in a quick toss to oil the outer portion of the dough.

Cover and let the dough rest in a warm/drak area for at least one hour, or until doubled in size.

As the dough rises bring 1 cup balsamic vinegar…

…and 2 tbsp brown sugar to a simmer.

Reduce for 3-4 minutes, or until the reduction generously coast the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and set to the side.

Once the dough has risen, generously flour your work surface and turn the proofed dough out on the board. Lightly flour the top of the dough.

Begin kneading the dough for 2-3 minutes…

…and then cut dough in half.

Roll out each portion of dough to your desired thickness, or about a 1/4″.

Transfer the dough to a grill on med-high heat.

Grill each side for 2 minutes.

Then remove from remove from the heat and transfer to a baking sheet.

Repeat steps for extra pizzas.

Start by seasoning the crust with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the top of the pizza crust with Olive Oil.

Top the pizza with a handful of torn basil…

…a shredded mozzarella and parmesan blend…

…sliced vine ripe tomatoes…

…fresh spinach…

…more of the mozzarella blend…

…several chunks of goat cheese…

…and a few dollops of ricotta cheese.

Bake at 400ºF for 7 minutes.

Remove from oven when the crust is golden brown. Top with fresh parsley…

…and a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.

Slice it up and enjoy!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:61]

| Top Left: Boos Cutting Board | Top Right: Baking Sheet |

| Bottom Left: All-Clad Pan | Bottom Middle: All-Clad Grill | Bottom Right: Good Grip Containers |

It’s been a highly a requested week and I’m happy to make it a reality…#PizzaWeek is back and I’m kicking off this glorious occasion with a pizza made just the way I like it! A Fennel Sausage Pizza made with a fresh herb sauce, piled high with spicy fennel sausage and mounds of melted mozzarella goodness! Hope you enjoy. This is one solid pizza recipe.

Start by adding 1 cup of warm water to a measuring cup.   

Add 1 tbsp salt…

…1 tbsp of sugar…

…half a packet of yeast…

…and 3-4 tbsp olive oil.

Give that  a good mix and then set aside for 10 minutes and allow the yeast to ferment.

While you’re waiting for the yeast to ferment, finely mince 3 tbsp of oregano, basil, and parsley.

Add them to a small mixing bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil…

…2 tbsp parmesan and 1 tbsp garlic powder.

Mix well and set aside.

When the yeast is done fermenting, go ahead and add 1 cup of bread flour to the starter mix.  

Begin folding the mixture for 5-7 minutes.

Add additional flour if necessary.  

The dough should be slightly thick and tacky in consistency.

Oil a medium mixing bowl with a tbsp of olive oil.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and give in a quick toss to oil the outer portion of the dough.  

Cover and let the dough rest for at least one hour, or until doubled in size.

As the dough rises, finely grind together 2 tbsp of fennel seeds, 1/2 tbsp chili flakes, and pinch of salt.

Add this spice combo to 1/2lb of pork sausage and generously mix the ingredients.

Roll the sausage in about an 1″ sized meatball, add to a sauté pan. 

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 500°F.

Once the meatballs are cooked, generously flour  your work surface and turn the proofed dough out on the board.  Lightly flour the top of the dough…

…and begin gently stretching the dough in a round pizza shape.  Thickness it up to your preference.

Before you finish stretching the dough, transfer it to a baking sheet or pizza peel that is coated in semolina flour. Give the dough one last little stretch.

Start by generously topping the pizza with the herb spread…

…add the torn cooked sausage…

…slice red onion…

…sliced fennel…

…and a good top off of shredded mozzarella.  

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 500°F or until the crust is golden brown.

Quickly top the mix with fresh arugula and thinly slice fennel that has been tossed in a drizzle of olive, salt, and pepper.

Slice it up and enjoy!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:60]

| Top Left: Boos Cutting Board | Top Middle: Anchor Measuring Cups | Top Right: Pizza Stone |
|Bottom Left: Pizza Peel | Bottom Middle: Motar and Pestle | Bottom Right: All-Clad Pan |

Deep Dish vs. Thin Crust…For some it’s a preference, for others it’s a way of life, and for two cities—it’s an all out war! I personally can appreciate them as two separate entities.  After all, they’re prepared differently, baked differently, and contain an assortment of different ingredients.  Of course the commonalities are apparent: sauce, cheese, and dough—but the differences do exist and they are significant. So in the spirit of #PizzaWeek, I am going to break it down for you as best I can.

Photo Credit: Five Points Pizza

Deep Dish, or Chicago style pizza, is most obviously thicker than it’s counter part; the Thin Crust Pizza, also known as the Neapolitan or the N.Y. style pizza…but what else separates the two? For starters, the prep. Thin crust pizza is made with dough that has had plenty of time to rest, hence allowing the yeast to become “played out,” or less active.  In turn, the dough rises very little when baked. With a thick crust pizza there’s no wait.  You can go from making to baking the dough. With the yeast in a very active state, the dough will rise and become quite thick—attributing for a deeper pizza. 

Secondly, thin crust dough if stretched, or tossed to stretch.  That makes the edge-to-center thickness very similar in depth.  The outer crust may rise slightly more, given the lack of weight from the ingredients, but not much.  A thick crust dough is simply pressed into a pan, leaving about an inch of crust pressed snuggly against the wall of the pizza pan.  This creates that bowl, or quiche like structure of a deep dish pizza.  Perfect for holding in mounds of ingredients.

Photo Credit: Caputoflour.com

Secondly, they both use different variations of similar ingredients. What do I mean by that?  I mean a thin crust pizza not only uses a dough with little to no rise, but typically it’s made with a finely pureed tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, and thinly slice meats.  A deep dish pizza is VERY different.

Deep Dish pizza is made using slices of cheeses (vs. shredded), often times a chunky tomato sauce, and large pieces of meat; like chunks of ground sausage. Why so much heartier? Simply put, because you can.  Deep dishes lend more available space to more ingredients.  If you were to put the same items on a thin crust pizza they would run off the side and create a less than appetizing mess. Even more importantly…bake time.

Photo Credit: John Della Vecchia

What makes these pizzas even more different than what’s in them, is the way these ingredients are layered and baked.  Thin crust pizza’s bake very fast.  In a traditional pizza oven that can reach upwards of 1000°F, pizza bakes in less than 2 minutes. Therefore everything has to be able to cook rapidly throughout; hence the thin crust, thin sauce, thinly sliced meat, and shredded cheese. This rapid way of cooking allows the outside of the crust to become charred and crunchy, while the interior of the dough remains fluffy and chewy. It’s the best of both worlds!

Since thick crust pizza uses a thicker dough, and thicker ingredients, it takes more time to cook.  That leads to an entirely different method of layering the ingredients.  Cheese cooks rather rapidly compared to large pieces of meat.  To avoid the cheese burning, traditional deep dish pizzas go: dough, sliced mozzarella, meat, and then sauce.  The moist sauce allows for the crust to have enough time to bake throughout and keeps everything else, the cheese and meat, from burning.

At the end of the day, it really is a matter of preference and they’re both delicious! That said…which do you prefer?

 Every college student out there has, at one point or another, become well acquainted with the classic Instant Ramen! It’s quick, it’s easy, and it always hits the spot.

For #SemiHomemadeWeek I’m taking this simple classic to the next level! Hope you enjoy my take on Instant Ramen, Pho style.

 Bring 2-3 cups of chicken broth to a low boil.

 Add about 1 tsp of lime zest…

 …1 tsp dry ginger…

 …and a pinch of salt.

 Combine ingredients over heat. 

 Chop 1 cup of cabbage into approximately 1″ pieces… 

 …and drop into the heating broth.

 Add 2 packs of instant ramen (noodles ONLY) to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes.

 While that cooks, chop 1 red onion…

…and 1 serrano pepper.

 When the noodles are cooked, mix in the fresh basil…

 …and carefully pour ramen into a large bowl.

 Top with fresh cilantro…

 …the sliced red onion…

…sliced serrano peppers…

 …and corn shoots.

 Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and enjoy!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:59]

| Top Left: Boos Cutting Board | Middle: Hand Grater | Top Right: Shun Kaji Knife |

| Bottom Left: All-Clad Sauce Pan | Bottom Right: Bowl |