That's Amore!!!
This is a great classic lovesong sung by the late, great Dean Martin. The song just makes you happy, especially if the one you love is standing right next to you. What makes this song so great though is that the songwriter incorporated love and pizza into the song! The only thing that goes better with pizza is a nice cold beer!
Eating pizza is one of the best things about living. A great tasting pizza can make a crappy day become the best day ever!! Sharing pizza with family and friends strengthens bonds and makes bellies fatter. The only problem with pizza, at least here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is that it is really hard to find a great pizza. I am a snob when it comes to pizza. I will not eat Domino's, Papa John's or Pizza Hut unless all other options have been exhausted or its free! I do like Papa Murphy's, but I have to drive too far to get one. I think I've finally found the answer!! I've decided to start making my own pizza. Thanks to my uncle Price who gave me a video, book, and starter flour I am now in business.
So today I tried my hand at making my first-ever homemade pizza! Those of you that know me know that I can find my way around a kitchen. I love to cook and I really love pleasing the palate of those who are eating my food creations. I am usually not intimidated by the challenges a recipe or process can throw at me, but a pizza is very manual in the creation process. I am used to kitchen appliances giving me a hand. Pizza making all starts with the dough. On Wednesday I actually began the process by creating the dough with flour, water and yeast. I kneaded the dough into a ball for 10 minutes and then slid it into a bag to chill in the fridge for 2 days. (Needless to say, if you are craving pizza really badly making it may not be the best option!!)
Working the dough was an adventure! My thoughts were, "how do I get a stretched out dough crust from this blob that is staring back at me?" Like I said, this is the first homemade pizza ever for me. I started working the dough out into a disc-like shape, but the fun part was still to come! Next I had to start slapping/throwing the dough between by hands. There is a rhythm to this that I will someday master...I hope!! I am sure if you could see me doing this you would be reminded of a white person dancing...absolutely no rhythm or coordination was involved!! But after about 5-10 minutes of stretching this dough out I finally had what looked like a pizza pie crust!! I was proud that it resembled a pizza and did not have holes in it!!
Now that the hard part was done and the pizza stone was in the oven heating to 550 degrees. I was ready to throw some toppings on this bad boy! I went pretty traditional with italian sausage, black olives, onions, 'shrooms, and of course loads of mozzarella! Once that stone reached 550 degrees the pizza went in for 9 minutes. That 9 minutes seemed quite a long period of time. I was ready to test the fruits of my labor. More importantly I was excited for Tammy to sink her teeth into this pizza. Between the two of us, she is the pizza connossieur. Quite frankly, I am one of the only people I know who gets burned out on pizza pretty quickly. Tammy and her sister Becky I believe would eat pizza everyday for every meal! Suffice it to say, Tammy's favorable opinion of my pizza was of the utmost importance if I hope to continue with the homemade pizza making.
As Tammy took her first bite I wasn't sure of what to make of the face she was making. Thoughts of disaster filled my brain. She took her sweet, prescious time chewing. "Do you like it or not?" I was thinking. Finally she swallowed the pizza and proceeded to tell me it was probably the best pizza she's ever had!! "Wow," I remarked. Tammy can lay it on pretty thick when she is encouraging me, but she said she was serious. I had my first bite, and I thought much the same. Some of you may not know, but I do not care to brag about my food when it is really good. Just ask Tammy!! While I don't truly know if this pizza was really the best Tammy or I have ever had (I am still partial to Giordano's in Chicago), but my pizza definitely ranks right up there. All I do know is it tasted a heck of a lot better than Domino's, Papa John's, or Pizza Hut which is all I wanted to accomplish anyway.
I felt like a "King of the Kitchen" today. I tackled a challenging process with relative ease and the product came out beautiful and tasty. I got to enjoy my masterpiece (see pic below
) with my beautiful wife and strengthen the bond that we share. If only I had had a cold beer!!!
Now that would've been AMORE!!
This is a great classic lovesong sung by the late, great Dean Martin. The song just makes you happy, especially if the one you love is standing right next to you. What makes this song so great though is that the songwriter incorporated love and pizza into the song! The only thing that goes better with pizza is a nice cold beer!
Eating pizza is one of the best things about living. A great tasting pizza can make a crappy day become the best day ever!! Sharing pizza with family and friends strengthens bonds and makes bellies fatter. The only problem with pizza, at least here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is that it is really hard to find a great pizza. I am a snob when it comes to pizza. I will not eat Domino's, Papa John's or Pizza Hut unless all other options have been exhausted or its free! I do like Papa Murphy's, but I have to drive too far to get one. I think I've finally found the answer!! I've decided to start making my own pizza. Thanks to my uncle Price who gave me a video, book, and starter flour I am now in business.
So today I tried my hand at making my first-ever homemade pizza! Those of you that know me know that I can find my way around a kitchen. I love to cook and I really love pleasing the palate of those who are eating my food creations. I am usually not intimidated by the challenges a recipe or process can throw at me, but a pizza is very manual in the creation process. I am used to kitchen appliances giving me a hand. Pizza making all starts with the dough. On Wednesday I actually began the process by creating the dough with flour, water and yeast. I kneaded the dough into a ball for 10 minutes and then slid it into a bag to chill in the fridge for 2 days. (Needless to say, if you are craving pizza really badly making it may not be the best option!!)
Working the dough was an adventure! My thoughts were, "how do I get a stretched out dough crust from this blob that is staring back at me?" Like I said, this is the first homemade pizza ever for me. I started working the dough out into a disc-like shape, but the fun part was still to come! Next I had to start slapping/throwing the dough between by hands. There is a rhythm to this that I will someday master...I hope!! I am sure if you could see me doing this you would be reminded of a white person dancing...absolutely no rhythm or coordination was involved!! But after about 5-10 minutes of stretching this dough out I finally had what looked like a pizza pie crust!! I was proud that it resembled a pizza and did not have holes in it!!
Now that the hard part was done and the pizza stone was in the oven heating to 550 degrees. I was ready to throw some toppings on this bad boy! I went pretty traditional with italian sausage, black olives, onions, 'shrooms, and of course loads of mozzarella! Once that stone reached 550 degrees the pizza went in for 9 minutes. That 9 minutes seemed quite a long period of time. I was ready to test the fruits of my labor. More importantly I was excited for Tammy to sink her teeth into this pizza. Between the two of us, she is the pizza connossieur. Quite frankly, I am one of the only people I know who gets burned out on pizza pretty quickly. Tammy and her sister Becky I believe would eat pizza everyday for every meal! Suffice it to say, Tammy's favorable opinion of my pizza was of the utmost importance if I hope to continue with the homemade pizza making.
As Tammy took her first bite I wasn't sure of what to make of the face she was making. Thoughts of disaster filled my brain. She took her sweet, prescious time chewing. "Do you like it or not?" I was thinking. Finally she swallowed the pizza and proceeded to tell me it was probably the best pizza she's ever had!! "Wow," I remarked. Tammy can lay it on pretty thick when she is encouraging me, but she said she was serious. I had my first bite, and I thought much the same. Some of you may not know, but I do not care to brag about my food when it is really good. Just ask Tammy!! While I don't truly know if this pizza was really the best Tammy or I have ever had (I am still partial to Giordano's in Chicago), but my pizza definitely ranks right up there. All I do know is it tasted a heck of a lot better than Domino's, Papa John's, or Pizza Hut which is all I wanted to accomplish anyway.
I felt like a "King of the Kitchen" today. I tackled a challenging process with relative ease and the product came out beautiful and tasty. I got to enjoy my masterpiece (see pic below
) with my beautiful wife and strengthen the bond that we share. If only I had had a cold beer!!!Now that would've been AMORE!!
