Basic Pizza

We heated up the big oven and made pizza for Katie and Isreal the other night!

Basic Pizza
The trick to great homemade pizza is 'Less is More.' A little sauce, a little cheese, on a thin crust!  You won't be disappointed. This recipe is a perfect balance of cheese, herbs and tomato.  Use it as a starting place on your road to being a great cook!

  The Dough:(enough for 2 - 12 inch pizzas)
1 PACK Dry active yeast
3-4 C All-purpose flour
2 TBL Extra virgin olive oil
1 C Water, at 100∞
1/2 TSP Sugar
1 TSP Salt
Toppings: per 12 inch pizza
1/2-3/4 C 1/2 - 3/4 cups basic pizza sauce (recipe below)
2 TSP 2 tsp. fresh Thyme
2 TSP 2 Tsp fresh Oregano
2 TSP 2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 TSP 1 tsp. kosher salt.
1/2 C 1/2 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
1/2 C 1/2 cup grated Provolone cheese
1/2 C 1/2 cup grated Muenster cheese

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast into the water and let dissolve. Add 1 cup flour to the olive oil and mix into a paste. Add 1 more cup flour, salt, and mix well. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes. Add a little more flour and shape into a loose mound.  Set in an oiled mixing bowl, cover with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes or until dough rises 2-3 times in size.
2. Pinch dough down and turn out onto floured surface. Knead lightly for 1 minute into a ball. Cut the ball in half.  Flatten the halve out with palm of your hand. Roll dough out with rolling pin. Stretch and shape dough with fingers to approximate 12 inch round. Let dough relax and then reshape. Repeat this process at least 8- 10 times.
3. Dust your Pizza peel with cornmeal and place the dough on the peel. Pinch and lightly dress edges with olive oil.
4. Top with Basic Pizza Sauce, then fresh Thyme, Fresh Oregano crushed red pepper, salt and then the cheeses and bake in a 450f oven or grill on a pre-heated pizza stone for 4 to 6 minutes (depending on the thickness of your pizza) or until edges turn golden brown and dough puffs up.


Basic Pizza Sauce

This quick and easy sauce is also excellent over pasta!

1 TBL Extra virgin olive oil
2 CLOVES Garlic, minced
1/2 C Red wine
14 OZ Diced tomatoes
1 1/2 TSP Brown sugar
1 1/2 TSP Kosher salt
1 TSP Greek or Mediterranean oregano
1/2 TSP Crushed red chile
1 TSP Italian seasoning



1.Saute the garlic in the olive oil until soft but not browned in a medium sauce pan.
2. Add wine and stir, loosening any bits of garlic that stick, add all other ingredients and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Puree with a stick blender, taking care as hot liquids expand when blended!
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool down before using.
 I like it best after resting in the refrigerator over-night. Makes 2 cups.

Cibo

Cibo

Kathy’s mother died last week. An old friend of her mother’s upon hearing the news asked if we would book a room for the whole family to have dinner and she would fly in and we all could spend an evening of celebrating her life. Kathy loves the Internet and so she spent a few hours looking for a place that could provide a room and a nice dinner. She settled on a little Italian bistro that is in an old house in central Phoenix. It looked cozy and artsy and it had won several “Best of Phoenix “ awards.

So today was her day off and she asked if I would like to go and take a look and try out the food.

I have one word to describe my experience “WOW” If you live anywhere near Phoenix go to Cibo located at 603 n 5^TH ave. No I don’t mean in the future I mean right this minute. The food is that good.

Cibo is housed in a 1930’s classic Arizona bungalow. The fixtures, wine and art alone are worth the trip. This is the real deal as far as food is concerned. We started out with the Bruscetta; Fresh Mozzarella and proscuito, then little organic grape tomatoes sliced and dressed beautifully with a hint of fresh basil and last a white bean salad that was so subtle with just a suggestion of lemon zest, all of this served on a toasted of slices of some of the best bread in Phoenix. The portions were generous and the chef is the kind of talent that Phoenix is so often sadly missing. We were going to have a wood-fired pizza but at the last minute decided on the fresh orchette pasta with meatballs that was so well thought out, we loved it, but what really wowed me was the little side salad that came with the pasta. The combination of organic arugula and pine nuts with a few shavings of Parmesan ragganio was one of the best salads I have ever had. Let me say that again this was one of the best salads of my life! When it came I asked Kathy if it was dressed, because visually the dressing was so light that I couldn’t see it. What I really tasted was the wonderful fresh organic greens the dressing was accent.

While I was writing this Kathy was in the kitchen opening the crepes that we brought home, upon tasting she called in from the kitchen, “Joe you might want to wait until you taste this before writing that!” The crepes have traveled home to Cave Creek and are now cold and still they are light and well defined with a great balance between chocolate and a light hint of cinnamon.

Cibo is that rare combination of a friendly staff, hand’s on owner’s that pay attention to every detail and Chef Guido Saccone, who is dedicated to providing the best, light Italian food that I’ve had in Phoenix!

Grilling Vegetables MCTV

Grilling Vegetables is easy. The problem is, the moister content of vegetables is too low so they burn before they can become fully cooked. The answer is, to make a basic vinaigrette and to toss the vegetables in the vinaigrette before grilling.

Basic vinaigrette

½ cup Extra Virgin Olive oil

Juice of ½ fresh lemon

3-5 cloves garlic, smashed

Pinch of Italian Seasoning

Pinch of crushed red chile

1 tsp. dark brown sugar (optional)

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Whisk it all together and toss the vegetables well before grilling.

Just keep a few things in mind hard vegetables like winter squash, beets or carrots take about twenty minutes to become soft enough to eat so start them first and when they start to soften add the other vegetables. Secondly the oil in the vinaigrette will flare up so keep an eye on the vegetables while they are directly over the fire. Once they are browned or grill marked enough move them away from the direct heat. Please send any thoughts, comments or questions and I’ll answer ASAP. I hope you enjoy these videos and please share them with your family, friends and online social networks.

Warmly,

Mad Coyote Joe

Who Are You?

Who Are You?

I was going through my Blog Stats. This tells me who is reading my blog and where they are. Below is the breakdown for the past few days. Historically most of my readers are from the good old USofA. Next it’s Germany then Canada, Australia, Russa, Iraq, Malaysia, Netherlands (I sure this is my friends Sabina and Roland), Japan then Thailand. These are rounded off but in correct order. Germany in number two was a big surprise, I would have thought England or Canada. This week I'm getting new readers from Asia and Eastern Europe.

Okay I’d like to know who you are and where you are from, so if you have the time and the desire to help. Please tell us a little about how you ended up at our site and where you are from. I write on everything from food to low cost building design, with crime stories and poetry thrown in, along with stories about our open mic. What drew you to our site? This will tell me where I’m serving you and not just practicing my writing. Just go to the bottom of this posting and click on comments.

United States 115

Canada 4

Singapore 4

United Kingdom 3

China 2

Slovenia 2

Australia 1

Spain 1

France 1

Spain 1

Historic Views by %

United States 87%

Germany 3%

Canada 2%

Australia 1%

Russia 1%

IIraq 1% Malaysia 1% Netherlands 1% Japan 1% Thailand 1%