recipes 117, 118, and 119: a three-circle Venn of pizza!

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
Q: Who doesn't love it! A: Nobody! Everybody loves it!
I am somewhat of a self-proclaimed pizza connoisseur. The best pizza on earth comes from here in New Haven: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally%27s_Apizza and here in Brooklyn: http://www.difara.com/. You could try to challenge me on this one, but you wouldn't win. It is not open for debate. I wouldn't be able to choose between these two- Sally's in New Haven holds a very special place of childhood nostalgia in my heart. DiFara's in Brooklyn is newer to the scene of my life and I've actually only been there twice. They are both to-die-for delicious. And speaking of Brooklyn, specifically Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn... it is the best place I've ever lived (taking into consideration neighborhood alone, as the apartment itself had rats, no heat in the winter, and an objectively unusual living situation). If I was a neighborhood, I would look just like Carroll Gardens. Note: DiFara is not in Carroll Gardens. It's just that I got side-tracked by the Brooklyn topic. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending almost the entire day in Carroll Gardens with Tristan. My friend Jess and her husband Peter joined us for brunch. We got coffee from my favorite coffee place on earth, D'Amico's: http://www.damicofoods.com/, had brunch at Buttermilk Channel: http://www.buttermilkchannelnyc.com/...

Macaroons! The new cupcakes!

...got macaroons from Provence en Boite: http://www.provenceenboite.com/...



...and brought home a delish sandwich for dinner from the amazing Court Street Grocers: http://www.courtstreetgrocers.com/index.php?/eat/sandwiches/. It was a perfect day.   

"Brooklyn, we go hard, we go hard, B-R-O-OK!-L-Y-N!" -Jay-Z.

Don't worry, I went to a 2 hour hot yoga detox class to make up for it today. And FYI, I've been sticking to the Diet Coke Diminishment Plan. This means that I'm breaking even.

Back to the pizza. Please prepare yourselves for the introduction of a three-circle Venn diagram. In the center we have "dough." To the left, we have my Great Auntie Chickie's pizza (an extended family favorite for as long as I can remember), to the right is a recipe called "pizza rustica" and it comes adapted from the mother of one of my friends from middle school, Andrea. On top of the Venn, is a deep dish BLT pizza recipe (origin: uncertain). The overlap between Aunt Chickie's pizza and pizza rustica is the sauce and cheese. The overlap between pizza rustica and deep dish BLT pizza is the meat and the deep dish-ed-ness. The overlap between Aunt Chickie's pizza and deep dish BLT pizza is the cooking temperature of 350 degrees (ooooh, that was a weak overlap, I know, but the only other overlap is the dough and this is a three-circle Venn, so we have to work with what we have to work with within Vooking parameters!)

Whoa, these Venns are getting technical!

GREAT AUNT CHICKIE'S PIZZA
 Ingredients (there really aren't any measurements...):
-28 oz can of plum tomatoes
-olive oil, a drizzle or so
-salt, pepper, garlic
-basil and oregano
-pre-made pizza dough
-cornmeal
-parmesan cheese
-mozzarella cheese (only a sprinkling, way less than you would think)

 Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2) coarsely blend the tomatoes through the oregano in the blender
3) coat a cookie sheet with the olive oil, cornmeal, and the rolled-out dough
4) top with the tomato mix, parmesan and mozzarella
5) bake until the crust is lightly browned, 15-20 minutes

 DEEP DISH BLT PIZZA
Ingredients:
-3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
-one package of refrigerated breadsticks (11 oz)
-8 oz cooked, crumbled bacon
-1/3 c thinly sliced scallions
-3 plum tomatoes, sliced
-2 c romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
-ranch dressing to taste (might I suggest Hidden Valley? http://www.hiddenvalley.com/)

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2) unroll the breadsticks and place in a greased pie dish
3) mix together half of the cheese, half of the bacon and the green onions; spread the mix on the dough and top with the sliced plum tomatoes
4) sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bacon
5) bake 30-35 minutes until the edges are golden brown
6) toss the lettuce and some extra tomatoes with the ranch dressing, and add to the top of the pizza, once removed from the oven and slightly cooled

PIZZA RUSTICA
Ingredients:
-one ready-made pie crust
-1 T olive oil
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1/2 lb sliced, fresh mushrooms
-1 can of tomato sauce (8 oz)
-salt and pepper
-1 lb ricotta cheese
-1/4 c grated parmesan
-1/2 lb ground beef (or, I suppose, ground turkey)
-2 T fresh parsely
-1/2 lb mozzarella
-2 eggs
-some wine...

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2) saute the onions and mushrooms in the olive oil until the mushrooms release liquid (and continue cooking until the liquid evaporates); remove from pan
3) cook the meat in the same pan, drain off the fat, add the mushrooms/onions back in, tomato sauce, and wine and simmer on low

4) while the sauce is simmering, mix together the eggs, ricotta, salt, pepper, and parsely
5) place a layer of meat, a layer of ricotta, a layer of meat, a layer of ricotta in the pie crust until filled to the top (any extra leftover meat or cheese can be frozen separately for another time...)

6) top with the mozzarella cheese and bake for 35-40 minutes (if the cheese appears to be browning too much, cover with foil while continuing to bake)
7) let stand for 20 minutes before serving

This is rich and delicious! A small sliver will fill you up!