International Incident: Pizza

Ok, soI have a confession to make….  I have never before made my own pizza dough.  Does that make me a bad foodie?  In any case, I was delighted that, after the success of the International Bloggers’ Gnocchi Party in February, that Penny went ahead and decided to turn the party into a monthly “International Incident” with bloggers from around the world joining each other to make their own interpretations of one dish each month.  This month, our dish is pizza and my heart sank a little when I read it because it involved my nemesis – yeast…

In any case, I did a bit of research and found a Giada diLaurentis recipe on Epicurious that many reviews said was perfect for a first timer’s foray into pizza dough.  Thankfully, it was relatively painless as the past week has thrown a number of curveballs at me and then in the middle of the whole pizza making incident, I received notice that I had been chosen as one of the Mushroom Channel’s 2010 contributors!! So shall we just say, I was a little distracted throughout the whole process…

The dough making went ok, surprisingly easy, though it didn’t seem sticky enough at the time.  I was hesitant to add any more liquid to it so just let it be, overnight in the fridge…

As a topping, I was inspired by Local Lemons’ asparagus pesto, substituting pine nuts for the suggested walnuts.

Topped with chicken, basil, tomatoes and feta…

The dough was not really stretchy enough, as predicted and was a bit dry but it did ok in the oven on my new pizza stone…

And it cooked quite nicely once the toppings were on it…

About half way through cooking (at 425F for 12 minutes), I drizzles the top with some olive oil.  I was happy to see the edges browned up nicely..

As you can see the crust is a *little* thick but it was definitely tasty and I am glad it wasn’t one of those big doughy bases that mean you are eating more base than pizza topping.  I will be trying this recipe again and seeing how I can make it a bit easier to roll out thinner as I really prefer a thin crust pizza – it really was a super easy recipe and you can even make it the night before you need it.  My kinda recipe.  I am looking forward to the summer when I will be able to make pizzas without the stress of work/ grad school (and curveballs!) and Neil will be able to cook them on the BBQ!  Expect more pizzas on ELTW in the coming months!

Meanwhile, thanks to Penny for “hosting” our virtual pizza party and head on over and check out the roundup at Jeroxie – Addictive and Consuming or check out our photos on Flickr!

51 thoughts on “International Incident: Pizza”

  1. Good job on your first pizza! We make pizza every Friday using either Mark Bittman’s or Artisan Bread’s dough recipe. It doesn’t need to be pre-cooked, and works really well.

    Reply
  2. Awesome on your first try and glad to hear that you will be trying again soon. You have pulled through beautifully. I feel like having a piece of that now!

    Reply
  3. I guess we all conquer our firsts one day or another! You’ve never made pizza dough, but I’ve never made pesto either! I guess I will have to try my hand soon in another International Incident challenge. 🙂

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  4. I LOVE your choice of toppings, and think I will have to steal them for my next pizza night at home! Excellent work for your first go – actually, excellent work for any go, it looks delicious. You’ll be teaching those little hands how to make pizzas before too long I’m sure 🙂

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  6. I think your pizza looks divine. I’ve made my own crust only twice, and I have purposely aimed for a thick crust pizza each time. I don’t have a pizza stone yet (it’s on order), so you’re one step ahead of me.

    Congrats – it looks like a great meal!

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  8. Congrats on your first pizza dough! Your dish looks wonderful – I love all of the fresh ingredients! The asparagus pesto sounds like a great idea…and your pizza stone makes me want to purchase my own!

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  10. Your pizza appears to have been a great success! I love the toppings…yum! I have used Giada’s recipe for pizza crust. It is a great one to start with and I thought it was quite tasty. I look forward to seeing those pizzas on the grill!

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  11. I’ve yet to make my own traditional pizza dough, even though I’ve been vowing to (along with dozens of other ‘must-make’ foods). The puffing up of the dough is, to me, a sure sign of total tastiness. I love your use of fresh sliced tomatoes and the asparagus pesto sounds fantastic (add to list . . .)!

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  12. This combines all of my very favorite things and I’m loving the asparagus pesto idea. With you on the thin crust though- strange as an adopted daughter of Chicago but I’m in it for the toppings!

    Also- congratulations on the Mushroom Channel…I’m looking forward to working with you!

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  14. Wow! Fantastic attempt at the dough especially your first time! I’ll have to try that when I do pizza next. Mmm.

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  15. i’m totally intimidated by pizza crust too! it is one of my summer cooking goals to master pizza dough and get steve to master cooking them on the grill. he doesn’t know that yet . . .

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  16. BRAVA to you for tackling dough. I remember the first loaf of bread I ever made–I left it in the oven to cool. When it was cool, I tried and tried to cut it, to no avail. My sister took it outside and hit a baseball with it…

    Your pizza looks delicious–asparagus pesto. Yowza!

    Reply
  17. Ok people – sorry – I am just referencing this post in a new one and noticed I never responded to early commentors!!

    Megan – I need to check out Bittman’s recipe for sure!
    Penny – you will be pleased to see I tried again!!
    Jessica – pesto is SO much easier than pizza dough!!
    5 Star – yes the toppings were wonderful!
    Conor – ironically you actually witnessed the little hands making pizzas!
    Evelyne – it will remain my nemesis!
    Trix – thanks!
    Cherrie, Belinda and Jo – yes the topping was soooo good!
    Merry Jennifer – a thick crust can be good too!
    Andrea – the pizza stone is great!
    Divina and Christine- yes the topping really made it yum!
    Steph and Agnes – I liked the pizza dough bubbling too!
    Cathy, Anh, Bunkycooks, Kitchen Butterfly – yes I was pretty happy for a first try!
    Tracey – most a must-make food!

    Reply
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