October 2nd: Margherita Pizza

Verdict:
Try Again: Margherita Pizza

Did you know Margherita is Italian for daisy? The things Wikipedia teaches me!

For the month of October, and maybe beyond, I am planning a once-a-week family pizza night. This is a super challenge for me, because Greg and Olivia love pizza and I don't. My goal is simple: make pizza that we all love. Homemade crust, sauce and toppings are all part of the deal. First up on the menu: from October 2010's Chatelaine: pizza dough + pizza sauce = Margherita pizza on Saturday night. Greg was working so it was up to me and O to get the crust made, let it rise twice, simmer up some pizza sauce, chop toppings and then put the whole deal together. Relatively easy, in fact, but we did miss Saturday afternoon swimming at the pool because I didn't want to leave my rising dough unattended. Should have made up for that on Sunday but we went to the gym instead. Alas. Here is the work in progress:

Plus the sauce:

The pre-and post-cooked pizzas:

And the finished result:

So, what did we think? Essentially, this is a review of three recipes. The pizza dough I made exactly as the recipe directed. It turned out beautifully, and cooked up thin and crispy, just as I like dough. When Greg ate his pizza later in the night, he didn't realize I had made the dough and thought I had bought a pre-made crust. Needless to say, I was not impressed! I think he liked the crust, but he prefers a thicker crust than I do, so I'm not sure...

The pizza sauce I made as directed, but upped the amount of garlic. The only thing I would change is using 3/4 cup sauce on the pizzas rather than 1/2 cup; the crust was a little dry with the lesser amount. The pizza sauce was delicious and fresh-tasting. I could have eaten it out of the pot, and did, a little bit. I should note I don't like tomatoes, so that is high praise from me. Also note that the link for the pizza sauce above forgets to list fresh basil in the ingredients, but does call for it in the directions.

The pizza is called "modern" Margherita. "Modern," I think, because it replaces basil with mint, and Bocconcini with goat cheese. I used basil, not mint, but did use goat cheese, as I already had some open in the fridge I wanted to use up. Again, when Greg ate his, he didn't realize it was goat cheese and thought he was eating bland Bocconcini. !!?? I think his taste buds were off their game. I loved this pizza. I thought it tasted simple, fresh and all-around good. Definitely, I would make it again. Olivia ate hers, slowly, but in its entirety. Greg liked it, I think.