Evan’s foodie background + Pizza + something else=This brand new blog! This post was originally composed on April 29, 2010
I am a foodie! How did I get that way? In short, I come from a family of fanatical foodies (cool alliteration). My mother cooked frequently: Proteins from the Kosher Butcher at Tikva (sic) Meats in Staten Island; MORE RED MEAT than a person could ever imagine. That doesn’t really help my current situation with high cholesterol…My mother’s side of the family has also inspired my sisters to cook. My sister, Joyce, modified Grandma’s Stuffed Cabbage recipe by substituting Ground Turkey Meat instead of Ground Chuck. My sister, Carolyn, makes everything from soup to nuts (an expression I’ve been dying to use somewhere in my writing): Proteins, Quiches, Stuffed Mushrooms, Italian Food, Gluten Free, etc. My Grandmother (may she rest) had a few tricks up her sleeve…killer Matzoh Ball Soup, Stuffed Cabbage, and some permutation of Chicken in a pot, etc. When I asked her for the recipe, she’d reply something along the lines of: “I don’t have the recipes written down because the knowledge is in my hands.” Naturally, there’s no comeback for that. If Ace Ventura was created back then, I would have said, “all righty then.” Mildred’s daughter, my Aunt Phyllis, makes an awesome “potted” meat, which is braised for a few hours. She also used to marinate Kosher Chicken Wings in French dressing. I’m not sure of the exact trademark brand, but I do remember bottles of Milano 1890 French Dressing (Shop rite has the answer). Then, she would slowly barbeque (a verb as well as a noun) them because sugar tends to burn quickly with HOT temperatures. Aunt Joni cooks a hodgepodge of foods. However, she abuses Chef Mic (the microwave). Joni can outperform anyone with a microwave keypad—even avid “texting” aficionados do not hold a candle to Joni. My uncle, Harry, used to take me to legendary places: Peter Luger Steakhouse, Juniors on Flatbush Avenue, Hop Ki on Canal Street, Triplets, Villa Borghese (the greatest Spiadini Alla Romana) in Brooklyn, etc. In sum, all of the aforementioned family members plus living in New York have certainly influenced my cooking and deep love for food. “What about the pizza, Evan?” I must have had a Wayne Dyer Quantum Moment (an epiphany of drastic proportions) when I first saw a man flip Pizza Dough in the air, swirl fresh Pizza Sauce with a ladle, and sprinkle high quality Mozzarella Cheese with various seasonings (most likely oregano, basil, and Parmigiano Reggiano). When that mysterious round thing came out of the oven 10+ minutes later, it was life-changing. I think this crucial segment of Evan J. history occurred at the defunct Rocco’s Pizza in Greenridge Plaza, Staten Island, Circa 1979; it could have been Val’s Pizza… I was so inspired that I bought Pizza Dough for a buck, rode my bike uphill along Richmond Avenue, and proceeded to make a mess in my mother’s kitchen. Her rules were simple: Clean up your mess and don’t burn the house down. After various attempts at flinging the Dough in the air, waiting for it to peel off the ceiling, and cooking a pizza on an oven rack, I decided that I wasn’t set up to create an edible product on par with Rocco’s. I took the Dough and moved on to Calzones—a blog for another day… However, I currently found a solution to making a pizza at home with whatever ingredients I want. I didn’t have luck with Pizza Stones, so I bought some Alfagres Quarry Tiles and placed them on the racks—it works like a champ! If you fast forward to 2020, I purchased a 14 X 16 Pizza Steel from Nerd Chef…
Pictured above: 2 Alfagres Quarry Tiles, a Pizza Cutter, and some frivolous decorations…
Cooking time: The dough takes 2 hours, the sauce takes 15 minutes, shaping the pizza is about 10 minutes, and 10 minutes to cook. Total time=2 weeks.
There are recipes on my blog that you should check out… Both the Pizza Dough and Pizza Sauce recipes have been on my blog since its inception… I’ve created some crazy combinations and still working on some newer ones. One of my favorite Pizza combinations is Roasted Garlic, Oysters, and Smoked Mozzarella or Gouda (whichever is available–inspired by the infamous Clam Garlic Pizza from the Roadhouse on Staten Island, and Pagliacci’s “AGOG” Pizza from Seattle, Washington. New Haven style from Pepe’s is also legendary. I’m always working on Pizza Hybrids (for lack of a better term), yet I just love a pie with cheese and sauce. Picture John Travolta walking down the street during Saturday Night Fever:
Today’s hybrid consists of the following:
My uncooked pizza sauce
Pesto in a tube
Mushrooms
Part Skim Mozzarella (whole mile or Buffalo might be okay, but it’s HEAVY)
Turkey Pepperoni
Truffle oil
Italian Seasoning, Kosher Salt, and Fresh Ground Pepper.
A Pizza Dough that mimics an “Everything Bagel.” Mix onion flakes, Kosher Salt, Poppy Seeds, Garlic Powder, Pepper, and Fennel into the dough after it has proofed. Just go lightly on the Salt and the Fennel because they can be overpowering.
In short, have a good time with the dough at first, place it on a floured Pizza Peel, swirl on your sauce, add the remaining ingredients, stick it in a 500 plus degree oven on a Pizza Stone, Tiles, or Steel. Cook it until it’s golden brown and bubbly, then eat!
“Excuse me while I kiss the pie…” Okay, it was a bad attempt at a Jimi Hendrix pun… We’ll talk soon!
Evan J. wanna be Gourmet