Friday Pizza with a twist

How to make Friday Pizza Mario Batali style

As you know, I make pizza almost every friday, also known as Friday Pizza. I have been making the same pizza for years, so I recently tried a new recipe. And you know what? I will probably make it this way going forward instead of the old way.

Because H-O-L-Y C-O-W: It turned out amazing!

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Friday Pizza Ingredients

Dough:

  • 1 1/4 cups warm water
  • 1 1/4 ounce pack active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 medium carrot, grated
  • 2 (28 ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes
  • Salt

 

Friday Pizza Ingredients

Friday Pizza steps:

Pizza dough:

  1. Combine yeast. warm water and sugar, let sit for 10 minutes (until frothy)
  2. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl
  3. Add yeast mixture and mix the ingredients until the dough is too stiff to stir. Continue with your hands until the dough doesn’t stick to the sides (add flour as necessary)
  4. Leave to rise.

Pizza sauce:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add onion and garlic, cook until soft and light golden brown (about 8-10 minutes)
  2. Add thyme and carrot, cook 5 more minutes, until carrot is quite soft
  3. Add the tomatoes and juice, bring to boil, while stirring (and crushing the tomatoes)
  4. Lower the heat after it is brought to boil, let simmer for 30 minutes
  5. This is where I put my twist: put it in a food processor. This will make it a smooth sauce (I don’t like lumps).
Friday Pizza

Friday Pizza

When you have made the dough and the sauce, roll out the pizza (or toss it if you are that good), add the sauce and whatever ingredients you like. In the picture there is regular margherita and a four cheese pizza, also a recipe from Mario Batali. Here are some of his recipes. 

Weeds with Sausage Ragu

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Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 4 sweet italian sausage links (or sausage of your choice)
  • 1/2 6 ounce can of tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • salt and pepper
  • Pasta — Strozzapreti or casarecce
  • Optional (recommended): thyme, preferably fresh

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Preparation:

  1. Soften onions in oil, about 6-8 minutes
  2. Add sausage, cook until brown, about 10 minutes
  3. Add paste, cook for about 5 minutes
  4. Add wine, boil down until absorbed
  5. Stir in milk, season with salt & pepper (and thyme)
  6. Reduce heat, cook for about 15 minutes
  7. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta

And voila, you got yourself some weeds with sausage, courtesy of Piemontegirl and Mario Batali.

Bon apetit!

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Salsiccia Ragu

Piemontegirl will now teach you how to make a salsiccia ragu that’s similar to everyone’s favorite “bolognese” but is so much better that you will never eat Bolognese again. Just follow these easy steps. Of course ingredients are vital, but if you have those, you should be good to go! If Piemontegirl can do it, so can you!

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Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 4 sweet italian sausage links (or sausage of your choice)
  • 1/2 6 ounce can of tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • salt and pepper
  • Pasta — Strozzapreti or casarecce
  • Optional (recommended): thyme, preferably fresh

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Preparation:

  1. Soften onions in oil, about 6-8 minutes
  2. Add sausage, cook until brown, about 10 minutes
  3. Then, add paste, cook for about 5 minutes
  4. Add wine, boil down until absorbed
  5. Stir in milk, season with salt & pepper (and thyme)
  6. Reduce heat, cook for about 15 minutes
  7. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta

Bon apetit!

Piemontegirl

Orecchiette with Sausage & Rapini

pasta

Ingredients:

1  broccoli head

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 4 tbsp

1/4 cup whole skinned almonds, toasted

5 cloves roasted garlic
Pinch of hot red pepper flakes

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano

3/4 pound fresh pork sausage

1 pound orecchiette

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Prepare an ice bath and set aside. Boil water in a  pot. Blanch the broccoli for 5 minutes . Remove broccoli from the boiling water and shock in the ice bath. When the broccoli  is cool, drain and pat dry with a paper towel and reserve.

In a medium pan, add two tablespoons olive oil and cook the broccoli until lightly browned. Meanwhile, place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the broccoli, garlic, hot red pepper flakes and half of the Parmigiano to the bowl of the food processor and season with salt and pepper. While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle in 1/3 cup olive oil until a smooth pesto has formed.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large  pan, add two tbsp olive oil and heat until just short of smoking. Sear the sausage until golden brown on both sides. Then, using tongs, break the sausage into small pieces and lower the heat.

Place pasta in the boiling water and cook two minutes less than indicated by the package instructions. While the pasta is boiling, add 1/4 cup pasta water to pan with the sausage. Add the pesto and work into the sausage with tongs to form a sauce. When the pasta is al dente, add it directly to the sauce and toss vigorously. Add butter and the remaining Parmigiano, remove from heat, and toss to incorporate. Plate and serve immediately.

Recipe from Mario Batali

Day 5

Today we were back at Otto for lunch, this time with remarkably better service. I had the pizza this time and it was incredible. I recommend the prosciutto and arugola pizza. The wine this time was the Burlotto Dolcetto, very good! Our friends came down for the day and we spent some time in Washington Square park.

IMG_6605For dinner we went to Babbo, one of my favorite restaurants. I always love going there, the service is amazing and the food is incredible. And they have a very good wine list! A very good day.

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NYC Day 2

I woke up at 6… In my defense I went to bed at 21:45, so I got a decent amount of sleep. After walking around in Soho, my brother and I went to Barry’s Bootcamp (which was amazing) before we met up for lunch at Otto. I have been to Otto a few times, and it is a place I like to go. However, today’s experience did not reflect past visits. I was very disappointed. The wine, Langhe by Burlotto, was very good. That is one area where Otto is doing well: they have a very good wine list. Many wines that are good but not so expensive.

The day quickly turned around because I was lucky to have aperitivo with Mauro Veglio, his wife Daniela and a few other piemonte people, including Marta Alessandria. It is always great to see the Veglios and today was no exception. I got to practice my italian, meet some new people and of course drink some wine. I hope to see them tomorrow or Tuesday as well.

We, my family and I, ended the evening at Lupa. As I have probably mentioned before, Lupa is one of my favorite restaurants. The food is incredible, the atmosphere is so comfortable and the staff is amazing. If you go, you should try both the Bucatini and the Tartufo (both pictured above). So good. The wine, Marcarini, was good but should be kept for longer. It was too closed off, not enough freshness.

 

NYC Day 1

It is so good to be back. I went directly from the airport to my brothers apartment, dropped my bags and headed straight for Lupa! Truly one of my favorite places. I always feel like I am coming home. I had a few glasses of Moscato, said hello to Joel, my favorite person at Lupa and met up with some friends.

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After Lupa, my family and I went to Maialino for dinner. Maialinos food is good, but it’s the wine list that has us coming back for more. They have a ton of cool old stuff that is not too expensive and the selection is huge. Tonight we had Herzu by Ettore Germano, Langhe Nebbiolo by Burlotto and a 1994 Dolcetto by Bruno Giacosa. A great start to my NYC trip!

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Headed to NYC

Saturday morning I leave for NYC and my schedule is jam packed with lunches, dinners and lots of wine! And of course my brothers gradutation!

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French Toast @ Blenheim

I’ll be stopping by many of my favorite places. Those who made it on the list this time are:

These are my regular spots and I can’t wait to be back!

 

 

 

 

Friday Pizza and Recipe

Dough: Flour, 1 tsp yeast, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, water (body temperature)

Mix the yeast with body temperature water (however much you want), add the salt and sugar. Then add flour until the dough is perfect to work with.

Sauce: tomato paste, basil, oil, pepper

Mix the ingredients together. The amount depends on how much you want to make, play it by ear.

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Last nights Friday Pizza with Vietti Perbacco!