They ain't quite as good as John's on Bleecker Street, but Joey's House of Pizza in Brentwood (as well as the House of Pizza in the Arcade in downtown Nashville) is certainly very good and good enough to satisfy my cravings for authentic New York style pizza.
My only idea for improvement is for more locations and longer hours of operation. Until that happens, I'll have to settle for the occasional lunch with one of the ever-growing number of friends I have working in the Brentwood area.
Okay, one other request would be for the vegetable calzone not to have onions and green bell peppers, but that's a little too much to ask.
Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Thursday, November 15, 2007
How not to cook
It was time to get back into the kitchen last night and I wanted to do something a little special with my pizza (good pizza in Nashville is not terribly convenient for a West-sider). Claudia was kind enough to bestow upon me a few cipollini onions, which I hoped to prepare in some way with balsamic vinegar before plopping them on the pizza. I've had "balsamic marinated cipolline onions" at Memphis's tapas joint (I love to say that), Dish (no link because their site is an irritating flash-only site), but I didn't have time to marinate them. So I looked up some ways to prepare them and settle on this:
Sounds fairly simple, right? First, let me say that one should definitely not put too much oil in the pan (it will pop, but most people know this; I just got carried away). Second, adding the vinegar will create smoke if the pan is too hot (which is inevitable if you're using cast iron). Third, reducing a sugar, oil, vinegar concoction in your beloved cast iron pan will create an unholy mess. Fourth, even with your sharpest ceramic knife, it is impossible to cut those tiny onions into appropriately-sized rings (for pizza). Next time I'll know: cut the onions first, plan ahead and marinate the onions for several hours, cook in a regular saute pan. Regardless of the immense pain in the rear the onions caused, they were quite tasty, but kind of got lost on the pizza because I also had black olives, fresh tomato and white mushrooms on there (along with my own pizza sauces which is fairly heavy on the herbs). The best way to enjoy cipollini onions is really on their own and roasted in a balsamic marinade. This recipe (with some modification to taste) looks like a good one to try.
Next time...
UPDATE: Here's another recipe with cipollini (not onions) that looks scrumptious.
Peel and saute onions [whole, apparently] in 1T olive oil until browned on both sides. Add 1 tsp sugar and 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar to pan and reduce until onions are soft. Cool and slice into rings.
Sounds fairly simple, right? First, let me say that one should definitely not put too much oil in the pan (it will pop, but most people know this; I just got carried away). Second, adding the vinegar will create smoke if the pan is too hot (which is inevitable if you're using cast iron). Third, reducing a sugar, oil, vinegar concoction in your beloved cast iron pan will create an unholy mess. Fourth, even with your sharpest ceramic knife, it is impossible to cut those tiny onions into appropriately-sized rings (for pizza). Next time I'll know: cut the onions first, plan ahead and marinate the onions for several hours, cook in a regular saute pan. Regardless of the immense pain in the rear the onions caused, they were quite tasty, but kind of got lost on the pizza because I also had black olives, fresh tomato and white mushrooms on there (along with my own pizza sauces which is fairly heavy on the herbs). The best way to enjoy cipollini onions is really on their own and roasted in a balsamic marinade. This recipe (with some modification to taste) looks like a good one to try.
Next time...
UPDATE: Here's another recipe with cipollini (not onions) that looks scrumptious.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Pizza
Since I had a less-than-yummy dinner the night before, last night I decided to bust open that can of tomato sauce and make myself a pizza.
First things first. You've got to have a good crust. I like mine very thin and crispy and though I'm sure I could go to lots of trouble making one from scratch, I don't becase Weisenberger's Mill makes an excllent pizza crust mix for less than one dollar. I prepare as directed and let it sit for half an hour as suggested.
Once it's ready, I oil up my hands with a bit of olive oil and spread the dough out on re-usable parchment paper (more economical and versatile in the long run--see link on the side menu to purchase). As I said, I like mine very thin and crispy, so this can take some time. Then I spread a very light amount of tomato sauce on the crust. For the sauce, I use organic tomato sauce and add some chopped garlic, Italian seasonings, salt, fresh ground pepper and dried rosemary (because I love rosemary).
After the sauce, I sprinkle on a small amount of Sargento shredded mozzarella (I keep it in the freezer for pizza nights) and then the toppings. Last night, I carmelized some onions (sauteed in butter over medium heat until brown) for the first layer, added thinly-sliced Roma tomatoes, sprinkled on a little more cheese and then topped it off with some fresh sliced baby portobella mushrooms.
Once that's done, it's ready to go in the oven, preheated to 500 degrees. Here's where some other essential tools come in. I've made this pizza on a cookie sheet, but to get the crispy crust, a pizza stone is a necessity (it should be preheating in the oven; I keep mine in the oven full-time). Even if you like a thicker, chewier crust, the pizza stone ensures that the crust gets as cooked as it should before your toppings get charred.
To make life easier, pull the rack out from the oven to place the pizza on the stone instead of trying to squeeze into a 500 degree oven. This may seem obvious to some, but not for those who are a little inexperienced around the kitchen (or frequently absent-minded like myself). And to make life even easier, get yourself a pizza peel. Those are those long-handled wood implements you see pizza chefs use to pull the pies out of the ovens. I just have a small metal peel (which is easy to store) and it works great. Trust me, no spatula can do the job on getting a pizza in and out of a very hot oven.
After 9-10 minutes in the oven, you've got a pizza that's almost as good as any pizzeria (certainly better than most of the pizza joints in Nashville). And you can use your pizza wheel to slice the pizza right on the reusable parchment paper--it won't cut it.
First things first. You've got to have a good crust. I like mine very thin and crispy and though I'm sure I could go to lots of trouble making one from scratch, I don't becase Weisenberger's Mill makes an excllent pizza crust mix for less than one dollar. I prepare as directed and let it sit for half an hour as suggested.
Once it's ready, I oil up my hands with a bit of olive oil and spread the dough out on re-usable parchment paper (more economical and versatile in the long run--see link on the side menu to purchase). As I said, I like mine very thin and crispy, so this can take some time. Then I spread a very light amount of tomato sauce on the crust. For the sauce, I use organic tomato sauce and add some chopped garlic, Italian seasonings, salt, fresh ground pepper and dried rosemary (because I love rosemary).
After the sauce, I sprinkle on a small amount of Sargento shredded mozzarella (I keep it in the freezer for pizza nights) and then the toppings. Last night, I carmelized some onions (sauteed in butter over medium heat until brown) for the first layer, added thinly-sliced Roma tomatoes, sprinkled on a little more cheese and then topped it off with some fresh sliced baby portobella mushrooms.Once that's done, it's ready to go in the oven, preheated to 500 degrees. Here's where some other essential tools come in. I've made this pizza on a cookie sheet, but to get the crispy crust, a pizza stone is a necessity (it should be preheating in the oven; I keep mine in the oven full-time). Even if you like a thicker, chewier crust, the pizza stone ensures that the crust gets as cooked as it should before your toppings get charred.
To make life easier, pull the rack out from the oven to place the pizza on the stone instead of trying to squeeze into a 500 degree oven. This may seem obvious to some, but not for those who are a little inexperienced around the kitchen (or frequently absent-minded like myself). And to make life even easier, get yourself a pizza peel. Those are those long-handled wood implements you see pizza chefs use to pull the pies out of the ovens. I just have a small metal peel (which is easy to store) and it works great. Trust me, no spatula can do the job on getting a pizza in and out of a very hot oven.After 9-10 minutes in the oven, you've got a pizza that's almost as good as any pizzeria (certainly better than most of the pizza joints in Nashville). And you can use your pizza wheel to slice the pizza right on the reusable parchment paper--it won't cut it.
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