Pizza!!

Hello, dear friends. It has been a while. Forgive me for being absent for some time, but I've been keeping myself busy with reading all of your wonderful blog postings!!

I've been seeing homemade pizza all over the blogosphere, and I thought, why not make a pizza of my own? I was going to make homemade whole wheat pizza dough, but I opted to just buy freshly made whole wheat pizza dough from Whole Foods. I admit! I copped out! Fine! So what!

As I was about to roll out my pizza dough on my floured countertop, I realized I was missing an important tool for the task -- a rolling pin. For those of you who are familiar, I am frequently lacking in seemingly basic kitchen tools (ladle, cooling rack, etc), so is it a surprise that I don't have a rolling pin? Anyway, I went to a few neighbors in the building to borrow one, but no one was home! So, I just used my hands and pushed the dough out until it was roughly a rectangle.


I transferred the dough to a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, and drizzled the dough with good olive oil. I used to own a pizza stone, but I have no idea where it went!


I sliced some fresh tomatoes, and removed the seeds/wet flesh to prevent the dough from getting too soggy. I placed the tomatoes on the dough, along with some dried rosemary, salt, and pepper.


Then I added some thinly sliced domestic prosciutto (I can't afford the good imported stuff!). I looooove prosciutto and its salty porkiness.


Then I added some slices of fresh mozzarella, drizzled a bit more olive oil, and a little bit more salt and pepper. Into a 450 degree F oven the pizza went for about 20 minutes.


And when it came out, the mozzarella was nice and melty, the crust was brown and crisp, and the prosciutto was crispy and glistening with fatty goodness!!!!!


I just adore arugula, so I dressed some arugula in a lemony dressing (lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper), and put the arugula on top of the pizza.

I was very pleased with my creation! The dough was chewy and whole-wheaty (just how I like it!), and the prosciutto added a really great salty flavor. The mozzarella was stringy and rich, and the arugula on top added a really fresh, crunchy, bitter bite to the whole thing. I urge you to experiment with pizza, with various toppings and flavors. You really can't go wrong, just go with what you enjoy, what suits your palate. Happy eating!


Whole Wheat Pizza with Arugula

Ingredients:
Premade whole wheat pizza dough
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tomatoes, sliced, with seeds/flesh removed
Dried rosemary
8 thin slices of prosciutto
1 ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced
Salt and Pepper
Arugula
Lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Flour your surface and roll out your pizza dough (or just use your hands).
3. Transfer the dough to a greased baking sheet (or, if you have a pizza stone, heat the pizza stone, and transfer your pizza to the stone using a peel)
4. Drizzle with olive oil.
5. Add the slices of tomato.
6. Sprinkle some dried rosemary, along with salt and pepper.
7. Add the slices of prosciutto.
8. Add the mozzarella slices.
9. Drizzle with olive oil, and add salt and pepper.
10. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
11. Whisk together some lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Coat arugula in dressing.
12. Remove pizza from oven. Add arugula on top.
13. Slice, and enjoy!

The best pizza in Boston -- Santarpio's!

Sure, Boston isn't known for its pizza... not like New York or Chicago. But, there are a few hidden gems around the city that, in my opinion, have a lot to offer. You will find that every food review in Boston presents the same duel: Santarpio's versus Pizzeria Regina. Santarpio's is in East Boston, while Pizzeria Regina's original location is in the North End (aka Little Italy). It has always been my opinion that Santarpio's wins hands-down! It remains a solo location (Regina has opened several locations.... it's become sort of commercialized), and it has retained its "charm", shall we say, with its dark interior, questionable health-code violations, and sticky tabletops.

My friend Nairi and I have been coming here for quite some time now, usually for lunch. Although they offer excellent grilled meats, including homemade sausage, we always opt to split a nice pizza. This time, we got a half cheese - half mushrooms and peppers.


The pizza is just smothered in cheesy goodness! I think it's the sauce that makes it distinct -- it's sweet, tomato-ey, and just delicious. The vegetable toppings are buried underneath the cheese.... and the cheese is browned so nicely!


Of course, in addition the sauce, the quality of the crust is very important. Santarpio's crust is thin, crispy, and sprinkled with crispy semolina. This particular pizza unfortunately had a soggy center, which does not happen every time, but the crust was generally delicious. It was simultaneously crispy and chewy. Yum!!!


Not to mention, the price is right! For a pizza with these toppings, and two sodas, the total came out to only $15.50. Yeah! A bargain!

If you're ever in Boston looking for an off-the-beaten-path, genuine Boston restaurant, definitely head over to Santarpio's. The pizza is delicious, the grilled sausage/lamb is delicious, and the service is so-so (but what do you expect, it's East Boston!). But, it is well worth it!!!